“What do you mean, Father?” George demanded.
“George, you are an intelligent young man. If you want me to say it I will, but I think you know well what I mean,” Mr. Wickham replied sadly.
“How do you know she was unfaithful to you?” George asked.
“Things had not been well between your mother and me for a long time, so she had refused to do her duty to me for more than a year before she passed,” Mr. Wickham informed his son. He was mortified to admit such, but if it helped break the grip his late wife held on their son from beyond the grave, he would not shy away from doing so. “When she became with child, she tried to convince me we had been together, but that I was in my cups and did not remember. Although I knew it was not true, I chose not to provoke a confrontation. Have you ever seen me in my cups, even once, in the whole of your life, George?”
“No Father, I have not,” George admitted quietly.
“On her death bed, your mother took pleasure in telling me she had been sharing her favours almost from the beginning of our marriage,” Mr. Wickham shared the fundamental truth of his late wife with his shocked son.
“D-does that mean I may not be your son?” George asked the question he was petrified to hear the answer to.
“No Son, it means youmay notbe my blood son; however you are, and always will be, my son. Whatever your mother did or did not do was not your fault, and I love you now as much as I did before she made her dying declaration to me.” After he avowed his love of his son staunchly, Lucas Wickham stood and pulled his son, who was in a stupor, into his arms for a hug, something he had not done since he was a small boy. George Wickham cried into his father’s chest, also something he had not done since he was a small boy. His father handed him his handkerchief to dry his eyes when the tears ceased.
“It seems I have a lot to consider,” George stated stoically. “I will accept my apprenticeship with good grace, Father. Carpentry may not be for me, but I will try to see if it is a trade I will enjoy.”
“Will you commit to stay with it until you are eighteen?” Wickham senior asked and George nodded his agreement. “What you have learnt here today could have broken a lesser person, George. I am very proud of you,” Mr. Wickham told his son sincerely. “The direction of your life is your choice, Son. Just remember, you and you alone are responsible for the choices you make. Lastly, there are consequences to every decision we make; whether they are good or bad depends on those decisions.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“It is good to see that the coldness between your Lizzy and our William seems to have been set aside,” Lady Anne observed one evening when the three sets of parents were seated together in the drawing room after dinner.
“We spoke to Lizzy before you arrived,” Fanny shared with her friend, which caused both Lady Anne and Robert Darcy to smile widely.
“It seems we had the same idea, for we spoke to William before we departed London,” Lady Anne informed the group.
“In my opinion, you both showed sagacity, as those two would have not corrected things on their own; they both like to think themselves correct too much,” Lady Elaine opined.
“Fanny, have you decided what to do about Jane’s coming out and London?” Lady Anne asked. “Does she object to waiting a year so she can have her come out with Cassie?”
“Not yet, Anne, although I am leaning towards Edith’s suggestion we have her ball at Holder Heights as they are her godparents,” Fanny averred. “Also, Jane has no objection to waiting for Cassie, especially with the close relationship she has with Anne and the three having decided they would like to celebrate together.”
“Do you think the three girls will object to their ball not being held in London? What will you tell Jane if she asks why the ball will be out of Town?” Lady Elaine asked.
“The other two will be happy no matter where their ball is and I do not believe that is in Jane’s character to complain about the location. She is well aware how much Thomas eschews theTon—present company excepted—and Town,” Fanny explained.
“It seems my aversion to society in London is very useful,” Bennet drawled with jocularity.
No one disagreed with his statement. “What if Jane asks why the ball cannot be in Town?” Darcy asked.
“Then I will explain the true reason to her,” Fanny replied without hesitation. “She will be nineteen, and I do not believe it will change how she feels towards Lizzy one whit. Even now, Jane is like a steel trap when one shares a confidence with her that she is asked not to share.”
“Given how protective she has always felt towards Lizzy and her siblings, I dare say you are correct in your estimation, Fanny,” Lady Elaine stated.
The conversation halted as they were joined by their children. It was pleasant to see Elizabeth and William enter the drawing room deep in conversation and seemingly enjoying the company of one another with ease. There was no more trace of the moue of distaste which had been seen in past interactions between them; for all intents and purposes, it was banished.
Chapter 12
June 1803
If there was one thing George Wickham was sure of, it was that after more than three years, he did not want to be a carpenter. Recently turned eighteen, George was certain he was meant for greater things, regardless of the truth about his mother.
For the first few months of his apprenticeship George had applied himself, as he had decided he needed to strive to be a better man, one more like his father, and to forget the lies his mother had told him.
His new attitude survived about six months. The hard work was not something he enjoyed so George tried to charm his father into taking him back into his home so at least he could be at his leisure. However, his father had pointed to the unwise agreement his son had made before he departed Pemberley for York.
Still reeling from all of the information he was trying to absorb, his father had proposed, and George had agreed, to give it until at least his eighteenth birthday. His wish had been for his father to have forgotten about his acquiescence to the agreement and welcome him home. In that he had been disappointed.
