“What is so bad about that? Propose to her. What woman would refuse you? While intelligent and with a wit I was thoroughly impressed with, as you said, she is a country girl with no fortune or connections,” Richard grinned.
“I did, and she roundly refused me. I thought the same and could not have been more wrong!”
“I think you need to tell me all.” Richard resettled into a more comfortable position.
Though more like a brother than a cousin, it was still hard for Darcy but he shared the tale of the proposal and her adamant refusal. When Darcy was done with the recitation of his disastrous proposal, it took Fitzwilliam a while to close his mouth, and a substantial number of moments to wrap his head around all Darcy had imparted, and collect his thoughts.
“Until right now I never thought you unintelligent, William. Your first interaction with the woman was an insult, and then there is the way you behaved in the neighbourhood. You thought either or both would endear you to her? But now it is for me to confess that I am afraid that I am why she knows about your interference with Bingley.” Richard winced.
“What do you mean?” his cousin yelled. Richard held up a hand to ward off more of William’s anger so he could offer his explanation as quickly as possible.
“The day I was walking around the park as I do each year, I met her. We talked, and somehow the way you look after people came up. Seeing your partiality, I thought that I was showing you in a good light when I spoke about how you took care of Bingley. But I remember now that she became somewhat angry, questioned your presumption, and said you were officious.”
“She was right.” Darcy sighed. “But there is a lot more to this tale and why my world came crashing down around my head. Most of the previous night I wrote a letter to defend myself and my actions, and gave it to her this morning. I intended to leave right away, but she requested that I return in three hours as her condition to read the missive. She wanted to be able to ask questions, and stated that she too should be given the right to defend herself or respond to mine with her own comments, if she felt that she needed to make any. Knowing I was all knowing and could not but be right in everything with regard to my actions, I of course wanted to hear her apology and hopefully see some regret for her refusal. I got an apology all right, though not for what I originally expected, and what is more? There were a lot of comments.” Darcy swallowed painfully as he was still reeling from some of what she had said, and likely would for a long time to come.
Darcy proceeded to tell his cousin about the contents of his letter, at which Richard was both unsurprised at but concerned with the imparting of Georgiana’s near mistake. And then Darcy finally recited almost verbatim all she had said as she had so accurately outlined his instances of hypocrisy. Not enough time had passed for him to forget what she had said, which was both a gift as he heard her saying the words in his head, as it was a misery while he had to so acutely face the truth. If the colonel was stunned before, he was stupefied, amazed, and awed by the time Darcy concluded his morning’s tale.
“Dear God!” Richard looked at him in alarm. “I had the temerity to warn her off the day that we discussed Bingley by telling her that a second son must marry with an eye to fortune. She jested saying that she felt the price for the second son of an Earl would be fifty thousand pounds, and now I discover she was laughing at me. That amount is merely pocket change for her. I saw your attraction and stupidly I thought I should warn her off in case she was attracted to me.” Richard blushed in embarrassment; a rare enough occurrence Darcy almost smiled. At least it was not just he that had cause to feel embarrassment about his assumptions regarding Elizabeth.
“My father invests with Gardiner and Associates, and he has told me thatconservativelyit is estimated to be worth millions. Her five percent, her dowry, and her estate make her wealthier than you or my family, and her personal wealth makes Aunt Catherine look like a pauper.”
“Time and time again, she accused me of being a hypocrite. Was she right, Richard? Am I a proud, arrogant hypocrite?” Darcy asked honestly as he met his cousin’s eyes.
“She was absolutely accurate on the subject of your reticence to show your true feelings, and in knowing yourself you should have been the last person in the world to be convinced of what another’s feelings are,” Fitzwilliam stated.
“When you look at what she said in the way she laid it out? I am afraid that you do come off as both arrogant and a hypocrite. She has the measure of Bingley’s sisters. How couldyouallow a tradesman’s daughters to hold themselves above said gentleman’s daughter, to continuously say nothing when cutting remarks were spoken about a gentleman’s daughters, regardless of fortune? But now you know these are some of the richest women in the land, and Miss Elizabeth is the goddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford. Father relies on the Duke’s support in the Lords. I pray for you that if he hears about how you treated his goddaughter Miss Elizabeth that there are no repercussions to his alliance with my father. If you thought that Miss Elizabeth was angry, that will be mild in comparison to Father’s fury if that alliance is damaged,” Richard reminded him dryly.
“What have I done?” Darcy was bent over with his head between his arms, his voice muffled.
“Before we fear the worst, we will talk to my father and see what his advice is. But I should warn you, I agree with her assessment of Bingley. No matter what you or his sisters said, it was very badly done by him to walk away if he loved her as he claimed to do. Miss Elizabeth has the right of it. I hope that her sister does not reward his poor behaviour and take him back,” Richard agreed.
“But I…” Darcy frowned.
“No, William. It is high time that the man became resolute, found some character and started to make his own decisions. I have not told you this before, but I have never respected him. He always allows others, mainly you, to direct him. That way if things do not work out, it is not his responsibility; he can hide behind the knowledge that he was only doing what someone told him to do,” Richard frowned.
“I suppose there is truth in what you and Miss Elizabeth have said about him. I have seen it as well, but I tried to ignore my internal voice that told me I needed to allow him to grow up and take charge of his life. It was nice to be needed, even if it sometimes felt like a chore. To feel like I was imparting knowledge and benevolence when in fact I was ignoring Bingley’s true needs.” Darcy sighed, then considered his most important concern. “What about what Miss Elizabeth said with regards to our family’s behaviour and my accepting from my family what I deem as abhorrent in others?”
“I am afraid that there too Miss Elizabeth was spot on. I love Georgie; and yes, that lowlife, who you did not inform me of his new profession, and Mrs Younge were manipulating her and preying on her emotions for an old family friend, but I do agree with her. Georgie was not innocent in all of this, which I have tried to tell you at least twice and you were angry with me. And what is more? I also agree with Miss Elizabeth in that knowledge is power. We do not help our women when we try and protect them by denying them information. We arrogantly do not think that they will be able to assimilate what the truth is, do we? They often see clearer than we do.
“As for Wickham, did I not tell you well before Uncle George got sick that you should have been open with him about Wickham’s propensities and behaviour? You were trying to avoid an uncomfortable conversation with your father, not protect him. And yes, she was correct, you should have taken action in Meryton,” Richard frowned at him for not having done so.
“Good Lord above, it gets worse and worse. I had hoped much of what she said was unjustified, but I see now that most, if not all, is true. She is the only one that has ever seen me with absolute clarity and she is lost to me. And as the fates would have it, she is the only woman that I will ever love.” As he said the last, tears ran down Darcy’s cheeks while he cried for the first time since his father passed. Richard allowed him time long overdue to vent the grief and realise he was not the man his father had raised him to be. Hopefully, he would not stop there but become the man his sons would be proud to emulate. In Darcy’s case he was not as far off as he presumed as he was not intentionally malicious, just disrespectful, and carried on with little regard of others. When Darcy had collected himself, Richard waited and nodded once in approval of both the allowing of his grief to be released and to accept that change was required.
“Now it is time to gather up your reserves and buck up, cousin. You may be correct; but then maybe you are not.” He chuckled and nodded when his cousin looked at him quizzically “If you can make a real change, to learn from her reproofs and show her that you have attended them, then maybe, just maybe, she will want to know you more.” Richard challenged. For the first time since the disaster that was his proposal, Fitzwilliam Darcy had a glimmer of hope. “One more bit of news to share before we stop. I remembered I had not yet told you that Anne gave me a letter for my father, one she did not want her overbearing mother to know about. Just be aware that it could be the call for help we have been desperate for her to ask for.” Richard nodded once at his cousin who nodded once back. If Anne had finally asked for help, woe to any that tried to deny them the chance to help her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Mr Thomas Bennet sat at his desk in his study and reread for the third time the express that had arrived the previous evening from his daughter Elizabeth. He agreed wholeheartedly that he must take action to protect the citizens of Meryton and its environs. He had suspected Wickham was not all he portrayed himself to be, but he had never expected this. If he had had an inkling the man was so bad, he would have had Sir Randolph Norman, the head barrister at the largest firm at the Court of Inns retained by both his brother Edward and himself for their personal and business affairs, investigate Wickham fully. Sir Randolph’s firm retained the best investigators that money could employ. It was too late now, but he at least could go see Colonel Forster right away. But first he needed to talk to Fanny. He rang for Hill, the long-serving Longbourn butler, and asked him to summon the mistress. He also asked that Mrs Hill, the housekeeper, bring his wife’s salts to the study.
Ten minutes later, his wife of four and twenty years entered his study, nervously waving her hanky as she was almost never summoned to her husband’s inner sanctum.
“Please sit, Fanny. I have some things, serious things to tell you, and I need you to listen very carefully,” Bennet stated in a calm, even tone so she would not over react and miss the import of his words.
“Ooooh Mr Bennet, are you dying? Are I and the girls to be thrown out of Longbourn into the hedgerows before your body is cold in the ground?” As she said the last, she looked as if she was going to have one of her fainting episodes, so Bennet shook his head to answer her immediately, speaking fast.
“No, my dear, I promise you I am well. What I am about to share with you will prove to you that no one will ever be able to throw you into the hedgerows.” His wife visibly calmed, but still looked nervous as she had no idea what had the power to do that now that Elizabeth had rejected Mr Collins’s proposal. “Before I share the good, no, thegreatnews with you; I must tell you some news that will put us on our guard with respect to one officer in Colonel Forster’s regiment of the Derbyshire Militia.” He wanted to impart the more important of the two as it was of great concern when a seducer was amongst his daughters.
“Lydia and Kitty love a man in regimentals like I used to. It is so cruel that they are back in and that Miss Jones is scolding them all the time. Mr Wickham is a particular favourite of Lydia’s again now that that freckled thing, Miss King, has been sent away,” Fanny commented.
