“She has not said so, and he has not offered,” said Bennet. “But she walks to town with Miss Lucas, and they talk to theofficers and Mr. Wickham tells her all manner of tales, like the one he told of you, for instance.”
“Which was?”
“That you prevented him from an inheritance from your father.”
I laughed softly. “That is not at all the way of it.”
“No?” said Bennet.
“No, my father wished him to take a position in Derbyshire as the local parson, but when it came time for that, Wickham did not wish to do it, and so we settled on an alternate form of payment, and I gave him quite an inheritance, I most certainly did. Now, what he did with all of it, I could not say. My understanding is that he spent it, and I must say it was a bit of a feat to spend that much money as quickly as he did.”
Bennet made a face. “That fits more with the impression I have of him. He wants Lizzy for the inheritance she will get from Lady Susannah, not because of any real regard for her.” He turned and began to walk again.
I fell into step with him. “Yes, I fear it is so. What is more, I told her this myself.”
“Yes, I know. She told me,” he said. “We are quite close. We tell each other everything. Well, we used to. Obviously, I keep certain personal things to myself. And since more and more of my existence is personal, I think she has felt that as a bit of a blow. She is left alone, and perhaps she wishes her own little romance with Wickham as some compensation.”
“But you do not wish her to marry him,” I said.
“If she marries some man, I am left with Longbourn,” he said. “I shan’t have the money to travel or to do what we planned on my own. I shall need to take care of my parents, obviously. Her getting Trawlings, it was our freedom, hers and mine. If she marries, the estate is essentially her husband’s.”
“Yes, well, we wouldn’t want Wickham to get his hands on it,” I said. “But I think it is entirely unfair what you are saying, not allowing your sister to marry while you are free to dally with Bingley or other men.”
He considered that. “Perhaps not. It is only that I don’t think women are nearly as preoccupied—”
“Not because of that,” I interrupted. “Because you are denying your sister the chance to fall in love.”
He sighed. “Well, if that is the way of it, then I suppose I must stand aside for Wickham and allow her to have that experience. If he is what she chooses, who am I to say anything?”
“You can say something if you know he does not truly love her, but is only using her for her fortune,” I said.
“You think that, and I think that, but I have no way to sway her thinking to ours.”
I licked my lips. “If I tell you something, it must remain a secret between us. You cannot tell Miss Bennet.”
“We tell each other everything, sir. I do not know if I can promise that.”
“It must not get out is what I am saying. It concerns my sister and Mr. Wickham.” Well, there, I had as much as told him all with those words. Dash everything.
“Oh,” said Bennet, “oh, I see.”
“He attempted to elope with her for her fortune,” I said. “I prevented it just in time, but you see, there is little doubt what sort of man he is.”
“Yes,” said Bennet, looking troubled.
“You must prevent any union between her and Mr. Wickham,” I said. “You cannot allow a man like that to take advantage of her.”
He gave me a stiff nod. “You can be assured that I will protect your secret, sir. I understand its gravity. We both have a secret to hold against the other now, and it puts us on equal footing. Iappreciate that you’ve told me. Perhaps we may someday count each other friends.”
I shook his hand.
He took his leave of me.
The next day, Richard and I presented ourselves at Lady Susannah’s house in the afternoon during normal calling hours.
When we were shown into the sitting room, Richard went on his little spiel about how her ladyship could not be expected to welcome us to the area and that we must needs come to introduce ourselves to her, but I said nothing.
For I was staring at Elizabeth Bennet, who was more beautiful than I had remembered. She was seated on a couch, looking both of us over, and Lady Susannah was on an easy chair at the front of the room, her cane in hand.
