How would he eliminate little Ellie Wendell now? His mind drifted back to when he had started to think about punishing the Wendells by stealing money and the precious watch from them, the one which was supposed to be given to David when he reached his majority.
A few days before the thirtieth of January 1794
George Wickham, who at fifteen was the eldest of the group of friends, had become more and more frustrated.Before the little brat, the one the uncle and aunt calledlittle one,came along, he used to garner all of the attention he desired when with the group of friends.
At first when she,Little Ellie, was born, other than Mrs Wendell and the Countess proclaiming her birth a miracle, nothing much had changed. By April of 1792 that was no longer true. The brat was walking, running really, and talking, and all of her male cousins were enthralled by her. This caused them to want to play with her when the group of friends were at Willowmere.
By the time she turned two in March 1793, anything little Ellie wanted, the rest of the group was willing to indulge her. Rather than do the things he wanted, more often than not, they would gratify the brat, especially with her fixation with faeries and pixies.
As time went on, it got worse, not better. George was well pleased to be invited to spend time with his friends at Willowmere towards the end of January 1794. For the first day, things had been good again and George had received the attention he believed he was due. Recently having turned fifteen, he was the tallest of the group of friends, and he was strong for his age. Unfortunately, he was not as strong as Richard Fitzwilliam, the one in the group of whom he had a healthy fear.
From the next day on, his friends gave in to the little brat’s whims. After two days, George began to plan how to punish the Wendells for spoiling his fun. He had seen where Mr Wendell placed the key to the safe, the one behind the portrait of Mrs Wendell. He knew there was a fair amount of banknotes and coins in the safe, as well as something he had coveted since the first time he had seen it when Mr Wendell had shown it to him and others one day. It was a solid gold fob watch which, according to Mr Wendell, had been handed down through three generations from father to first born son when said son reached his majority.
On the day of the thirtieth of January, Wickham feigned illness and remained in his chamber the whole day. When hisfriends—how could they be friends if they indulged that little brat all of the time—came to see him, he acted as if he was quite sick. Hence, that evening when he said he needed to sleep and make himself well again, no one questioned him. Mrs Wendell said she would call the doctor if George was not better by the next day. Sleeping drafts were left, as well as other elixirs.
In order to maintain the illusion he was ill; Wickham poured an amount from each into his chamber pot. That way it looked like he had been taking what he had been told to drink. That fateful evening, he feigned sleep, allowing everyone to believe the sleeping draft was doing its work.
A little after the clock struck one in the morning, dressed in clothing a manservant would wear, he slipped out of his chamber. Wickham was grateful Mr Wendell did not have footmen patrolling the house at night like they did at Pemberley and Snowhaven. He slipped down the stairs and into the study, leaving the door cracked in case there was noise to be heard.
The key was in its place; he swung the painting open and exposed the safe door. Using the key, Wickham opened it and removed the strongbox and the fob watch. He opened the strong box, shoved the banknotes into his inside pocket and was busy secreting the coins when the brat walked into the study.
“Come now, Little One, why are you wandering around at night like this?” George used the endearment to make her relax.
“Icky, what you do in Papa’s swudy?” Ellie asked. “It late now, is it not? Why you here,” she demanded, her arms akimbo.
“Are you sure you are awake and not walking in yoursleep?” Wickham suggested.
“Why, you silly? I awake. I looking for faeries and pixies. I sure they come into the house at night,” Ellie explained.
“I have seen them,” Wickham claimed. What luck! He would use this. He thought quickly and remembered the bottle of laudanum in the kitchen. “There is a magic potion you must drink, and then you will be able to see all of them, even the faerie queen who is flying right there.” He pointed behind Ellie.
“Queen here?” Ellie exclaimed excitedly.
“You cannot be loud, or you will scare her and the rest of them away. Do you not want to see them?”
Ellie nodded emphatically as she placed her one forefinger over her lips.
“Come with me and I will make the potion which will allow you to see all of them. You must remain quiet. Now give me your hand.” Wickham reached out his one hand, and the girl took it without hesitation. Using her love of the damned faeries was perfect.
Wickham led her into the kitchens, knowing her parents had ordered her not to enter, he gave her a warm smile to help her relax. “Now stand here, and do not move or make a sound. You do not want to frighten the faeries away, do you?”
Just as he commanded, the little brat stood quite still and said not a word. Wickham entered the pantry and climbed up on a chair within. He found the bottle and poured a good measure into a glass mixed with some sugar and water. He made a show of adding a few random spices he found and then stirred it well.
George held the glass out to the brat. “Now you need to drink every last drop otherwise you will not see them. Even if it tastes bitter, drink it all, unless you never want to see the faeries and pixies. This is your only chance.”
“I dwink it all,” Ellie promised.
With satisfaction, he watched her eyes begin to close. He caught her as she fell. “You are a bad girl, and your parents and brothers do not want you any longer,” Wickham told her as she slipped into a drug induced sleep. He found some rope and bound her legs at her ankles and her hands. Then he took a kitchen cloth and used it as a gag.
Now he had a quandary. He refused to kill her with his own hands, but then again, the laudanum may do it for him, but she could not be found before it was done. What was he to do, he would not hang because of her. He cared not that she had only her nightgown on. He swung her over his shoulder and slipped out of the servants’ door from the kitchen and stole over to the stables. He placed the brat on some straw before he silently saddled the horse his godfather allowed him to ride. He picked up little Ellie and swung up into the saddle and placed her across it in front of him.
He rode no faster than a walk until he was well clear of the manor house. He thanked his lucky stars that there was a full moon. He rode to the inn outside of Matlock. There was a carriage in the courtyard outside of the carriage house. He first looked around to make sure he was alone, and he was. He approached the conveyance and opened the door. One of the benches was loose, so Wickham lifted it. There were blankets inside. He lifted all but one layer and let the sleeping girl drop inside. Once she was inside, he covered her with blankets. Hopefully, he had given her enough laudanum to end her, but if not, the cold, hunger or thirst would do the job as he was sure she would not be discovered in time. He replaced the seat to make it look like it had not been moved and was soon on his way back to Willowmere.
He stopped, wrapped his haul in cloth, put it into an oilskin bag, and placed what he had liberated in a hole in an oak tree just before he entered the estate’s land and rode on. He returned the horse to its stall and made sure to replace the tack exactly as it had been. On the way back to his chamber, heclosed and locked the safe, pushed the painting back in place, and dropped the key back into the drawer. Wickham was back in his bed before half past the hour of two.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next morning when he was asked to join in the search for the brat, he claimed he was somewhat better and assisted. That way Mrs Wendell would not call for the doctor to examine him and discover he had never been sick. He made sure to be seen seeking the brat as diligently as any other.
