He set a pace as he walked through the darkness, the spring air brushing over our bodies. “I suppose because your cousin the colonel will be there, and I do not wish to tell him everything there is to know about me. Does he know about Wickham and your sister?”
“He does,” I said. “He shares guardianship with me over my sister, so we were both apprised of the incident when it happened. He was away, at the fighting, so I took care of it on my own. I daresay he doesn’t approve of what I did, but he seems to always have some bloodthirsty solution to everything these days.”
Mr. Bennet nodded carefully. “Yes, I can see how that might have that sort of an affect on a man, the fighting. At one point, I thought to go myself, but I knew that I could not risk myself, what with my mother and sister needing my protection upon the death of my father.”
“Right, right,” I said. “Just so.”
“I wonder if it is simply an excuse for cowardice, however,” he said.
“No,” I said. “I do not think so.”
“Well, but we would not, for we would not wish to appear cowardly,” he said. “But this is neither here nor there. I truly came to speak to you about my sister. Are you in love with her?”
I cleared my throat. “Clearly not.”
“Clearly not?” he said.
“Well, she is not an appropriate match for me,” I said. “I could not marry her. I need to marry someone with better connections, someone who will be right at home with my social circle, a woman who would have no difficulty mixing with the peerage or even the Queen.”
“I see,” he said. “But you seem rather preoccupied with her.”
I sighed heavily. “I know she is your sister, so I do not wish to make this all very uncomfortable, but you are correct. I have a, um, a preoccupation with her.”
“But what are your intentions towards her?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I intend nothing. Truthfully, I came her to try to put her from my head.”
“You traveled to the country to be closer to her and thought this would mean you would think of her less?”
“Well,” I said, feeling uncomfortable, “this truly wasn’t my idea, and the person who presented it to me made it sound more reasonable, I must say. I thought perhaps she had grown in my imagination, larger than life, and that if I saw her, I would realize she was not so very extraordinary.”
“Oh, I suppose I can see that,” said Bennet. “You really cannot marry her?”
“No, definitely not,’ I said. “I thought you didn’t wish her married at all.”
“I do not,” said Bennet, “but if I must choose between you and Wickham, I choose you.”
“Has Wickham asked for her hand?”
“Not yet, but when I tried to speak to her, to warn her, to say that I had been told, in confidence, of Wickham’s behavior towards another young woman, that he was a known fortune hunter, she was quite dismissive. She wanted the young lady’s name, and I was disinclined to say it, seeing as I knew you would not like it. She said that if there was no name put to it, it was only vicious gossip.”
“She did not believe you,” I said.
“No, she had absolutely no interest in believing me, and we got into a bit of a row over it all. I pressed her about her marriage plans and she said something quite similar to what you said, that it was not fair that she should never know the touch of a man whilst I was off, erm, touching men.”
“Must you have put it that way?” I said.
“No, I apologize,” he said. “All I mean is, perhaps she should get married. But I will not have it be Mr. Wickham. I know not what to do. What of your cousin? Could he marry her?”
“Richard is not marrying Miss Bennet!” I snapped.
Mr. Bennet looked me up and down. “Well, I think someone is going to have to. I don’t see how else we’re going to get her away from Wickham.”
But the following day came with the happy news that the regiment intended to decamp for Brighton within the next fortnight, and all of the officers would be gone, Wickham included.
This pleased me, and I told Richard that we would simply wait until Wickham was gone and determine that Miss Bennet had forgotten him and then we could go.
“You’re not going to ask her to marry you?” Richard said.
