“Locked in with Wickham? Dear Lord—and you did not kill him? Or at least beat him?”
Darcy rolled his eyes. “There is more. We realised that we were not alone in the library. Miss Elizabeth Bennet had been there all the time and apparently she had witnessed our entire conversion.”
“What?!”
“What indeed. She heard everything. Wickham attempted to offer some explanations but she silenced him. She said she had heard enough and that she had been a fool to believe his lies. She accused him of deceiving her and others and behaving uncivilly and ungratefully to his godfather’s family. I believe she meant Georgiana. She was angry and confronted him with much bravery. Wickham was furious as I have rarely seen him—as much with me as with her. Fortunately, it all ended rather quickly. I opened the door with a knife, Bingley and others were on the other side of the door, and that was all.”
The colonel listened completely dumbfounded, his mouth widened in disbelief. He drank a little brandy and continued.
“And?”
“And nothing. Oh yes, I briefly spoke with Mr Bennet and advised him not to allow his young daughters near Wickham. That was all. No, in fact, there is more. Aunt Catherine’s clergyman, Mr Collins, is Mr Bennet’s cousin and the estate is entailed upon him. The man is a pompous fool, self-satisfied, pretentious and gullible. A nightmare. He introduced himself to me and I barely evaded him the entire night.”
“Lady Catherine seems to trust him. She mentioned in her letter that he will marry a Charlotte Lucas—the daughter of a knight.”
“Of course she trusts him; he is the one who reported the gossip to her. Poor Miss Lucas. I had a better impression of her. It seems I have misjudged everyone lately.”
“Darcy, the story is so tangled that I need another drink. Would you like one too?”
Darcy nodded and the colonel refilled the glasses.
“So, how did the story of the affair come out?”
“I am as astonished and puzzled as you are! There was nothing that might suggest a close relationship between me and Miss Bennet. We exchanged a few words in the library, mostly provoked by Wickham. She declared she disliked me but that did not make her blind to the truth and she threw more accusations at him. We did not speak further for the rest of the night.”
“What about the affair between Miss Bennet and Wickham?”
Darcy hesitated a moment. “No, I do not believe it. The way she addressed him in the library certainly did not give the expression of a romantic attachment. That rumour is just as untrue as the first one.”
“So, what about Wickham? You just left Meryton?”
“I tried to speak to Colonel Forster but he took my warnings rather casually. He jested and said that army men are far from perfection and most of them are fond of cards, drinks and lovely ladies. Something like that. I saw no point in insisting further.”
“Well, Darcy, it might vex you further, but I do agree with the colonel. And what did you do next?”
“I left. Bingley and his family were already far ahead of me. There was nothing else for me to do. I have accomplished my duty.”
“So when you left, Miss Elizabeth Bennet knew the truth about your past and she was angry with Wickham for his deception. After you left, some strange reports appeared all of a sudden, all of them affecting Miss Bennet’s reputation. It is quite clear to me that, whoever fabricated those falsehoods, intended to hurt her. Which, if we are to believe Aunt Catherine’s letter, has already occurred.”
Another moment of silence passed, then Darcy emptied his glass in one gulp, then threw the glass into the fireplace.
“Darcy? You scared me!”
“Wickham! How could I have been such a complete fool? I should have guessed Wickham would find a way to have his revenge. I should have known and warned Mr Bennet.”
“Wickham? You believe he spread the rumours?” the colonel was utterly dismayed.
“Who else? He is well accustomed to such habits. He certainly knew I would expose him to the colonel, and Miss Bennet was likely to reveal what she had heard to others. That might have caused him to lose his credibility, his new friends and his position in the regiment. He had no other way to fight the accusation except by ruining our own reputations and credibility, so whatever I or Miss Bennet might say, people would ignore or dismiss it. It is an evil, shameless plan.”
“But … why would he mention his own name in the affair?”
“Why not? People were already aware of the close friendship between him and Miss Bennet. With this new deceit,he turned her into a jealous, resentful woman, rejected by him, who became a victim of her revenge. How could anyone believe anything that Miss Bennet might have said against him?”
Darcy’s voice grew louder while he became more perturbed.
“Do you truly consider Wickham capable of such a scheme? Is he smart enough to invent all those tales?” the colonel asked incredulously.
“Who else would be capable, Richard. Who would have any reason to hurt a young woman who seemed liked by everybody?”
