She would be in the country, and now that she was engaged, he knew that the opportunity to grab the foundling would present itself soon enough.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
To make sure he was not seen in the town of Meryton, Wickham found an inn in Hatfield, which was about fifteen miles northwest of the other town. Unfortunately, after he explained that his stay would be of some duration, the landlord demanded payment for a sennight before assigning Wickham a room. He was told that the money for the next week would also be required in advance.
As much as Wickham hated paying for his expenses, he knew it would not do for him to cause a ruckus here and draw attention to himself. He casually asked if there was a place where he could see a good portion of the countryside around Hatfield or Meryton. Although he did not care about the former, he needed to ask about both in order to avert suspicion. He was informed that there was nowhere elevated to see what was around Hatfield; however, there was a hill near Meryton called Oakham Mount which provided a good view of the area.
The next morning, Wickham took the major’s purloined horse and rode back towards Meryton. It did not take him long to discover a path which led to the hill before he entered the town.
He never considered that his prey may frequent this Oakham Mount. If he had been there before sunrise, he would have been much closer to her than he had been since that day in the stables at Pemberley when he and his late mother tried to tell her to mind her own business.
From when he had observed her before his plan with Karen had come apart, Wickham knew where Netherfield Park lay. Before leaving London, he had visited a shop which sold spyglasses and telescopes. He had seen a brass telescope. It was about six inches in length when it was not extended. He had waited until another customer distracted the shopkeeper, slipped the item in his pocket, and melted away without detection.
Now, he sat looking through the lenses of hisborrowedtelescope to the west of Meryton. With the aid in his hand, he could easily see people walking about at the estate where his soon-to-be wife was resident.
After a few days of observation, Wickham noticed that it seemed the chit rode out into the fields of the estate each day after the time he assumed they broke their fasts. Some days, William Darcy rode out with her, and other days she was without the prig, riding with one footman in attendance, and thankfully, not one of the giant-sized ones.
After almost a fortnight, Wickham was satisfied that he knew her routines. He had been correct about the relaxed vigilance now that she thought herself engaged to the damned William Darcy. That he would be able to gain his revenge on the foundling and the Darcys at once made him feel very good about himself. She had ridden out with William Darcy that day, so based on the patterns he had observed, she would be with one footman on the morrow. That was when he would act. Before anyone knew what he was about, he would be halfway to Gretna Green, and there was nothing his enemies could do to stop him.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next morning, Wickham was hiding in a stand of beech trees that his prey and her footman would ride through. Thankfully, the man rode with enough distance behind the chit so once she entered the treeline, she would not expect to see him until he exited the other side.
Hidden behind some trees, rope at the ready to secure the footman, Wickham was excited to see that she rode without the Darcy heir. That would have been a complication because they rode next to each other when together. The footman was at the expected distance behind her. Wickham positioned himself close to the trees where his prey entered the stand and waited for her to pass him. Once she was out of sight, as the footman approached, Wickham stepped out from the trees. He was holding a cocked pistol pointed at the footman. He held his finger to his lips to tell the man to be silent, and then cocked his head, ordering him to dismount.
Wickham’s concentration was on the footman, so he did not detect movement behind him until a big hand came down with such force on his arm with the hand holding the weapon; it snapped like a twig, the pistol falling harmlessly to the grass below.
“WHY?” Wickham bellowed as he held the broken limb to his chest.
“Why? Because you had some delusional idea you would harm me. As I have not had the displeasure of seeing you since I was a young girl, I should ask you why you have twice attempted something against me,” Elizabeth asked calmly.
The voice of hispreywas the last one Wickham expected to hear behind him. He turned to the side the blow had fallen from and saw one of the giant guards snarling at him; on his other side was the other one, looking no less murderous. Then Wickham turned to look behind him. Where had all the riders flanking the foundling come from? The prig was next to her on one side and Lord Holder on the other. Fitzwilliam, Hilldale, Lord Matlock, Mr Darcy, and Major Tremain were also present, along with one or two men he did not recognise.
As much as his arm was aching, he instead tried to fathom how another plan had come undone in this fashion. Karen could not have shopped on him again. She was in New Holland by now, and neither she nor anyone else knew of his plan.
It could not be his fault, so what had gone wrong?
Chapter 35
Wickham stood staring at the men with his mouth hanging open. His plan had been flawless! What had gone wrong?
A few days before Wickham approached the maid:
Fitzwilliam met with the men in Holder’s study. His father, Uncle Robert, Andrew, Jamey, and William were present along with Holder when he informed them. “Perchance, I met with a friend of mine, Jackson Forster, now a colonel in the Derbyshire Militia. He is aware I know Wickham, so he mentioned a dispatch detailing how the miscreant had weaselled his way into a commission with the Devonshire Militia. He had been there since shortly after he fled London, that is, until fairly recently. A few weeks back, not only did he desert, but he rode off with the commanding major’s prize stallion.”
“That fits with the time he could have possibly read about my engagement to Lizzy. That was following the publication which reported the amount of her dowry. I would wager he has another harebrained plan to gain himself riches and revenge,” William opined.
“I have a miniature of him taken when he was about eighteen. He left it at his father’s house when he vacated after Lucas Wickham passed away,” Darcy related. “I have it in London, keeping it here on the off chance he called at Darcy House so I could return it. We can have an artist create copies to be distributed among our various staff, servants, and guards.”
“I will write to Forster and suggest he write to this Major Tremain to tell him we suspect Wickham is headed towards London. If the man wants his stallion returned, he will travel to meet us,” Fitzwilliam proposed.
The suggestions Darcy and Fitzwilliam made were accepted.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The day Wickham met the maid:
“Mr Biggs, you told us we needed to tell you if any of us saw this ‘ear man.” Jenny, the maid, pointed to the image hanging in the servants’ hall.
