Before Mrs Darcy could become distressed over Mrs Collins’s petty jealousies, Darcy said, “Mrs Darcy still practises in the early morning hours. I think she does it for her own enjoyment, not for display.”
He smiled at his wife, and she appeared more at ease. “I had best practise when you are gone, otherwise you will not be impressed when I play for you in the evening.”
“After all, I did only marry you in order to have music in the house.”
Their private smile was interrupted when Fitzwilliam attempted to engage Lydia in conversation. He failed in books, music, and staying at home, but travelling produced a true interest.
“I am to have my turn to escape Longbourn for a winter. It was a trial to see Lizzy go to town every winter, and then Kitty went last season and she caught herself Captain Redmond! There is nothing so dull as life with Mary and Mr Collins. If anything I have learnt from my sisters’ marriages, except for Lizzy’s, of course, is that one must seek a husband far from home, and he must have a good income.”
“You must have an idea of what style of living you require.” Fitzwilliam was barely taking her seriously. “You appear to have given much thought to your competence for one who is just sixteen.”
“Two thousand a year should be sufficient, but of course I would not be opposed to more. Officers in the militia regiment quartered herein the winter were charming, but most were too poor for me. Still, I might have been tempted to flirt by Lieutenant Denny, or perhaps Lieutenant Wickham had he not pursued that freckled Miss King.”
“Lydia, you ought not be so unfeeling toward Miss King. My aunt said that her family removed her to prevent?—”
“That is old news. Oh, did you hear, Lizzy? Mr Jones shall return within a fortnight. He took his son to Bath to recover and intends to wait on his patients here before returning to Bath this autumn. I have never been to Bath. Perhaps if I do not find a husband in town, I could convince Mrs Cuthbert to take me. Mamma could never afford Bath, and Jane would not leave her children, but her mother-in-law might take me. I suppose you might do as well, Lizzy? You could chaperon me to all the balls. It shall not be dreadfully expensive in Bath—only for a month or so to see if I can find a husband.”
Darcy looked at his wife and instantly read the sadness in her eyes. She could make Lydia no promises at all, even if she was willing to bring her boisterous sister to balls and parties. He put on a smile of practised patience and, for the sake of Mrs Darcy’s feelings, said, “As much as Mrs Darcy would enjoy it, I do not know if it will be in our power to travel to Bath next year.”
Before he could add more, Fitzwilliam rose with a serious expression. “Miss Bennet, did you say that you were acquainted with a man named Wickham?”
“Fitzwilliam,” Darcy said with a quiet laugh, “it is a common enough surname.”
Mrs Darcy looked between Lydia and him. “No! There cannot be such a coincidence in the world.”
Fitzwilliam ignored them and sat nearer to Lydia. “Do you know a man named George Wickham?”
Darcy stood, shaking his head. “I would have heard at church if one of the militia officers in Meryton was Mr Wickham! Besides, it is a common English name.”
“You spend a lot of time gossiping in the churchyard, do you? You hardly stirred from this house, and you attended, what, three evening parties in six months? I cannot imagine Mr Wickham attended morning services and you would not have seen him anywhere else.”He turned his emphatic gaze back to Lydia. “Miss Bennet, you were saying whether or not you were acquainted with a George Wickham…”
“He joined the militia in the middle of November. However, after the incident with Miss King, he did not move amongst our society. Mary never invited the officers to Longbourn anyway, but after that he was not welcomed anywhere. Not even Sir William invited Mr Wickham, and that man loves company.”
Fitzwilliam sighed heavily. “Darcy, he might have been here.”
“It is impossible!”
“Lydia, dear”—Mrs Darcy linked an arm through his to calm him—“what was the incident between Miss King and Mr Wickham?”
“Miss King inherited ten thousand pounds in December, and Mr Wickham, who had made himself agreeable to every pretty face, suddenly made nasty, freckled Miss King his favourite. In January they attempted to elope, but, oh, ’tis such a joke! She slipped from the ladder, and everyone came running. Mr Wickham fled and left her on the ground beneath her window! Miss King repented of the whole thing, and Mr Wickham was forced to spend the winter as Colonel Forster’s messenger, hardly better than a servant. Colonel Forster said he would have demoted him to ensign if he had the men, but he was as good as treated as one. He was not flogged—what a sight that would have been!—but he was not trusted by his corps, and all the girls in the neighbourhood could not help but laugh whenever they saw him.”
Attempting to seduce a girl once she came into a fortune did sound like Wickham.“Lydia, what can you tell me about this man’s friends, where he came from?”
“I remember him saying that he had no near relations living.”
Darcy looked to his cousin, shaking his head. “It might still not be the same man.” He turned back to Lydia, who appeared to enjoy being the provider of interesting news. “I know it was months ago, but can you remember what he looked like? I refuse to believe he was in Meryton and I never saw him.”
“Mr Darcy, you were not part of Meryton society until well after the militia left.” His wife spoke gently. “And since January, this Mr Wickham was nearly as isolated as you were if he was not received byany respectable family.” In a louder voice, she asked her sister to describe the man.
“He had a fine countenance, a good figure, and a ready smile. Had he not been so poor, I would have flirted with him. Mr Wickham was not as tall as Darcy, but more handsome.” Darcy felt his temper rising, and Lydia must have felt it, also, for she turned from him and replied to Fitzwilliam. “Blue eyes, fair hair, a few inches shorter than Darcy, but about the same age.”
Darcy dropped his wife’s arm to pace with his hands clasped behind his back.There was one way to be certain. It would force him to answer difficult questions, but he had to know the truth. He would explain it all to Mrs Darcy and suffer her anger. As he paced, he asked, “Did he say where he grew up, or what his education was and the profession he expected to have?”
Lydia shrugged. “I spent more time with the higher-ranking officers. I do remember before the elopement Mr Wickham saying his father had been a steward on a grand estate, but he complained of ill usage at the hands of a man connected with that family. I could not tell you more. He was handsome, but he was not in a position to marry me.”
Darcy could not even feign the appearance of composure. Wickham had been in Meryton. Had he been so inconsequential in this place that a member of the militia regiment had no cause to hear his name, or had Wickham learnt he was here and avoided all possibility of a meeting?
Fitzwilliam left the room and returned with a writing box. “Miss Bennet, the regiment, where did they go after winter? What is the colonel’s name?”
