Bravery was not one of Collins’s attributes. Hence, he stomped back to the gig, climbed up to the bench—with difficulty—and ordered the driver to take him away from the estate. As soon as he was far away enough so that the men could not hear him, Collins instructed the driver to take him to the local inn they had seen in the town.
Chapter 33
As he strutted along the main street in Meryton, looking into the windows of the shops, Wickham was still wrestling with how he could gain some money and escape St Claire and his men’s clutches while keeping himself alive.
So engrossed was he in his contemplations, he did not look when he walked across the street, almost bumping into a rider on a horse.
“Look where you are walking, Parasite,” Hurst growled.
Wickham’s eyes went wide. Hurst! He had not seen the drunken sot since the time his late godfather had cast him off at the inn in Cambridge. He lost all of his colour when he saw who one of the other riders was. Darcy! He recovered his equanimity when he remembered that Darcy no longer held his debts over his head. He was grateful to see neither Fitzwilliam nor Hilldale was with the prig. He thought he recognised the other man riding with them from Cambridge. He believed he was the son of a tradesman, but he could not recall the name.
Although Wickham wanted to issue a setdown, he knew this was not the time. He believed he was being watched by St Claire’s men so being part of any sort of ruckus which drew attention to himself was not wise. “Excuse me, I was not paying attention,” Wickham returned, accompanied by a mocking bow.
Hurst could see that Darcy wanted to retort, so he caught his attention and shook his head.
Darcy understood what Hurst wanted, so he kept his mouth closed no matter what he desired to say, or possibly do, to the man who had so callously planned to ruin Gigi’s life. He and the other two rode on without another word to the libertine.
‘What bad luck that Darcy and Hurst are in the same town as me,’ Wickham thought as he headed towards the Red Lion Inn’s tap room. ‘I need to discover how long they have been here. If they have just arrived, it could spell trouble, but if they have been in the area for a while, then it is a coincidence.’
It cost him three tankards of ale, but Wickham was able to glean that Darcy and Hurst had been in the neighbourhood for around two months before he and the militia arrived. Not only that, but it seemed that it was not the first time either had spent time here, so Wickham was certain that being here at the same time as them was nothing more than bad luck and coincidental timing. Most interesting of all was that Darcy was engaged to a local woman by the name of Elizabeth Bennet, a woman who only had two thousand pounds as a dowry. Not only that, but his sister was being hosted in the Bennets’ house as well. All the money he had lost when his plan had been discovered before he had been able to execute it ignited Wickham’s anger again.
He had never thought Darcy would lower himself to marry a country girl who, from all reports, was not a member of theTon. If he did not have to be careful, Wickham would have made sure to meet this Miss Bennet and extract a measure of revenge on Darcy by wooing the chit away from him, and failing that, ruining her against her will if need be.
After he downed the last of his ale, Wickham stood and was planning to make for Colonel Forster’s offices when he walked through the dining parlour. There was a rather obese man sitting there and mumbling to himself. There was one word Wickham identified; it was the family name of Darcy’s affianced. Wickham’s curiosity was piqued.
Collins looked up from his ranting about the Bennets and saw a soldier looking at him with interest. “May I help you?” Collins asked.
“Have you been wronged by the Bennets?” Wickham enquired.
“I have! Such dishonourable, thieving people,” Collins spat back. Thanks to the man’s question, Collins considered him an ally. “Please sit, Sir.” Collins indicated one of the chairs around the table where he was seated. “What did the Bennets do to you?”
“It seems that a Miss Elizabeth Bennet entrapped a friend of mine, a very wealthy man, into marriage, so I have no tender feelings for them,” Wickham said.
To Collins, this was what he had needed. Here was a man who was as disgusted with the Bennets as he was. He made a quick calculation and decided that this soldier was his best chance at gaining his revenge. Collins looked around and did not notice anyone near them, other than two men slumped in the corner seemingly sleeping off the effects of overindulging.
“How would you like to earn one thousand five hundred pounds?” Collins asked conspiratorially. It was almost all of the money remaining from the amount he had been left by his mother, but if it bought him revenge on the Bennets, it was worth it.
It did not take Wickham long to calculate that this was more than enough to purchase passage out of England to the Americas and be left with a reasonable amount to start his new life. The more he had thought about it, the more convinced he had become that St Claire would not allow him to live to spend the thirty thousand pounds he had been promised.
“And what would I need to do to earn that sum?” Wickham queried.
“It is not the first time this dishonourable family has entrapped a highborn man,” Collins responded bitterly. “The oldest daughter compromised Viscount Hilldale, which led to the courts stripping me of my rightful position as heir to the estate of Longbourn. Now these grasping people have done it again. As a clergyman, I know that God will punish them when it is their time to be judged. However, I feel I should act as His instrument and make sure they are sent to meet Him as soon as may be.”
‘This man is insane or stupid, or both,’ Wickham thought. ‘However, if I help him, I will achieve two things: the money to leave England and revenge on Darcy when his betrothed dies.’ “What did you have in mind?” he asked aloud.
“With your aid, we will go to Longbourn in the small hours of the morning and set fire to the house. We will build a pyre at each and every door. That way there will be no way out, and I will be rid of the scourge which is the Bennets,” Collins proposed.
‘He is insane, but I can imagine Darcy’s anguish! Not only the woman he was to marry but also his dearest sister lost as well. It will break him, and even without the funds from him, my revenge will indeed be complete.’ Wickham relished the idea of the total devastation of his enemy. “I am your man. What say you, we do this at two o’clock in the morning on the morrow.” Wickham saw the man’s confusion. “Two hours after midnight tonight? I will make sure to have char cloth, sulphur matches, and kindling with resinous wood. You make sure to purchase a tinder pistol. With us each acquiring different things, the fire will not be tied to us.”
Collins could not believe how providence had placed this man in his path, and not only that, but he was intelligent, having thought of everything they would need with alacrity. “We can meet at Longbourn’s gateposts just before the hour you suggested. I will be doing God’s work!” Collins exclaimed.
“How do I know you have the money?” Wickham verified.
“The landlord locked my funds in his safe. You are welcome to accompany me to see him now. However, here is the receipt he presented to me for my funds.” Collins withdrew a sheet of paper from a pocket and offered it to Wickham. How grateful was he that for some unknown reason he had brought all his money with him? It must have been the hand of God guiding him.
The receipt was genuine in the amount of one thousand seven hundred and fifty-two pounds. Besides, had it not been true, the man would not have been willing to take him to the landlord for confirmation. He was too much of a simpleton to bluff in that way. “Bring fifty pounds with you to give me when we meet at the estate,” Wickham demanded.
“And you will receive the rest as soon as we see the house is burning well,” Collins agreed.
