Wickham conveniently forgot how he had frittered away the funds which he had been in possession of when he left Derbyshire after the old man’s death. That he could haveinvested the money and lived well while it grew was neither here nor there, as was the fact he had thrown the money away in under three years on grog, gambling, and courtesans. How could it be his fault he never had enough luck at the tables?
No sooner was the service over than Wickham was on his way to the Red Lion Inn. He was aware a meal would be served soon after the church service was complete, and as the target for his matrimonial aims ate her meals in the common dining parlour, he was sure she would be present.
There she sat in one of her garish outfits. Wickham plastered his most charming smile on his face as he approached her table. “Miss Bingley, I presume?” he bowed low in front of her table. “There could only be one dressed so fashionably as you are.”
Miss Bingley was about to send the admittedly handsome officer on his way, but as no one had been pleasant towards her since Charles had banished her from his estate, it flattered her that at last someone recognised her innate sense of style.
“You have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I know not who you are,” Miss Bingley returned.
“Lieutenant George Wickham at your service, Madam,” Wickham responded with all the charm, albeit insincere, he could muster. “I believe you are familiar with my half-brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “I was not aware Mr Darcy had any other siblings besides his sister,” Miss Bingley stated. “How is it that we have not met before?”
“Quite simply because our father favoured me. My brother is jealous of me and is very angry that when I complete my two years in the army, I will be the master of Pemberley.” Wickham was sure the only attraction Darcy had was his ownership of the estate, house in Town, and a healthy bank account. He saw how her eyes had shot open, and she wasattending him with her undivided attention. Thankfully talk of hisinheritancehad distracted the woman, so she was yet to ask any pertinent questions about how he was a half-brother, etc.
“How is it that you will inherit Pemberley?” Miss Bingley cooed.
He had her! Wickham knew she had swallowed his tale like a greedy fish swallows the bait not suspecting it is on a hook. He affected a sad look. “You could help decide things.” He let that hang in the air. Then he continued before she could respond. “I heard you are engaged to my brother, but where has he been? I was attracted to you before I heard that, and when I did, I could not understand why a woman of class and beauty, such as yourself, was not being attended by her fiancé.” Wickham sighed theatrically. “That is so much like my brother, he was never able to appreciate a fine gentlewoman such as yourself. He would much rather use them and then cast them aside when he gets what he desires.”
As she cared not who she married as long as Pemberley and the Darcy fortune were part of the package, Miss Bingley decided to discover how this half-brother was to gain all she desired before she came up with a plan to make sure she would be his wife. After all, Mr Darcy, who his brother had just implied was a rake, had treated her abominably. Anything she could do to help the man suffer, would be done.
“How is it you are half-brothers but you are not named Darcy?” Miss Bingley queried.
Luckily it was a question to which Wickham had a ready answer. “My father was deeply in love with my mother before he married the late Lady Anne. His family refused him permission to make a love match as my late mother was not titled. They had anticipated their vows, and I was born six months after Father was forced to marry Lady Anne. I was named for my late mother’s family name after Lady Anne refused to allow her husband to recognise me as his son andheir. She threatened to have her father ruin the Darcy name if he accepted me as his legitimate son.
“My blessed mother,” Wickham forced a tear from his eye, “married a man who was the steward of Pemberley, and he took me on as his own son and allowed me to keep the name my parents had decided in their love. At first my half-brother and I were the best of friends. At some point, his mother poisoned him against me. She must have told him we were related, because from that point on he played crueller and crueller pranks on me, turned his cousins, the Fitzwilliam brothers against me, and always tried to blame me for his deeds. Thankfully our father never believed him.
“He even turned my half-sister Georgiana against me. So much so that when I was in Ramsgate this summer and inadvertently found her there, she rejected my hand of friendship and had her companion sacked for allowing me to speak to her. She is as proud and cruel as her brother.
“My mother took ill when I was sixteen. When it became known that she was not long for this world, my father swore I would receive my due. As far as the world was concerned, Father was my godfather. He paid for me to have a gentleman’s education in order that I would be prepared for my future inheritance. I was supposed to inherit Rivington in Surrey, an estate which clears more than eight thousand per annum, but as my father suspected he would, my brother cheated me out of what was rightfully mine.”
Miss Bingley saw only honesty in the handsome countenance of the man before her. “I have tried to extend my hand in friendship to Miss Darcy, it has been rejected over and over again, so she deserves to be disgraced along with her brother.” Miss Bingley paused, “Is that why you are reduced to almost penury and forced to join the militia?” Wickham nodded sadly. “If he did that, then how are you to become the rightful heir and reclaim your due?”
“My brother does not know that there is an added andsecret clause to my father’s will which will come into effect at midnight on the final day of this year, in barely two months from now,” Wickham revealed cryptically. He sat back and watched as the woman tried to decipher what he meant.”
“What is this clause, and how am I able to assist you in gaining what is yours by right?”
Although it was hard to school his features, Wickham did so. She was completely in his thrall now and would do whatever he suggested. He could see the look of avarice in her eyes, one he recognised from his own eyes many times when he looked in the mirror. She had suspended logic, if she had ever had any, and would believe anything he said to her. “There are two parts to the clause which will replace my brother with myself as the master of Pemberley. First, my brother would not have corrected his actions and restored my rightful inheritance, and…”
“And?” Miss Bingley leaned forward, almost salivating. As she did she displayed her inadequate, almost non-existent, assets for the man opposite her.
She was blind to anything else, so she missed the look of revulsion which flashed across Wickham’s face. He told himself he had to bed her at least once so the marriage, which he was sure she would agree to, could not be annulled. “I must be married to a lady of quality, one with a dowry of fifteen thousand pounds, or more, at least two months before the deadline. If I am not married in the next day or two, all I receive is five thousand pounds while my brother is left with his ill-gotten gains.”
“What if you find a woman willing to marry you as soon as may be?” Miss Bingley purred as she batted her eye lashes at the handsome man.
“It would be wonderful, but as a man of honour, I cannot marry my brother’s fiancée while she is yet engaged to him.” Wickham put on the saddest of looks he could manage,conveying a breaking heart to the woman opposite. He could see she was lapping it up just like a cat did when it was given cream.
“We had an understanding, but never formally. I suspected he only wanted to dally with me, so I had not permitted him to speak to my brother or make a public announcement,” Miss Bingley simpered. “As you can see, I am quite unattached?”
“That is the best of news,” Wickham responded as he allowed his face to lighten up with pleasure. It was not all put on. He could smell the money which would soon be his. “My only concern was that until the end of the year, we only have my paltry wages to live on. How am I to ask that you live without the luxuries you are entitled to until the new year?”
Caroline Bingley was even more impressed. Never had the man asked about her dowry, and all he worried for was her own comfort. “I have a dowry of twenty thousand pounds, so we will have more than enough to live on until we take up residence at Darcy House. How I have looked forward to redecorating it. Your brother’s mother was not a decorator of any ability.”
“Yes, I know, it was one of Father’s many complaints. We will be able to honour him when you introduce your class and style to all of our properties.” Wickham paused showing her a put on unsure look. “Miss Bingley, may we speak in the privacy of your chambers? I need to ask a particular question and prefer not to do so in public.”
“Allow me a few minutes to go to my suite, it is number four on the first floor. We do not want to begin with scandal by being seen leaving this dining parlour together.” Wickham nodded.
Miss Bingley wiped her mouth daintily with her serviette, she stood, and head held high like a queen, swept out of the room.
