On the walk home, Elizabeth employed the same strategy as she had on the way to Meryton and walked at a pace that Mr. Collins had no hope of maintaining. The parson would have called out to his intended, as that was what he believed her to be, as he already had sanction from her mother; however, he needed all of his breath to be able to walk so he remained silent for once.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
At first Wickham was worried. What if Darcy called on his cousin to come to Meryton, but then as he went over the brief encounter again and again in his mind, he realised something. The anger Darcy had displayed was more than about his past deeds, it was who he was standing next to. Miss Elizabeth Bennet! Darcy had a tendre for the lady, so he would do what he could to turn her against the man. It was only a small measure of revenge, but it was better than nothing.
How he had cursed his luck when Darcy arrived two days before his planned elopement with Georgiana Darcy. His revenge would have been complete indeed and he would have had thirty thousand pounds to boot.
Darcy told him that without the prior consent of both her guardians, his and Richard Fitzwilliam’s, no dowry would ever be forthcoming. Wickham, who knew Darcy would never lie as he abhorred deception, nonetheless chose to believe it a falsehood.
He would make sure the lady would never want anything to do with Darcy again, and he would start at the card party that very night.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As much as Elizabeth disliked Mr. Darcy, she had never thought him this bad. She had an extremely enlightening conversation with Mr. Wickham after he noted that she had seen the manner of greeting between himself and Mr. Darcy.
She did not think to cheat a man out of his rightful future, to ignore his own father’s wishes, was a low to which Mr. Darcy would sink, but it had to be true. She had not detected any artifice in Mr. Wickham.
She could believe Mr. Darcy’s sister was as proud and haughty as the man himself. Elizabeth, who normally was a rational and thinking creature, ignored how highly inappropriate it was for a new acquaintance to make such a disclosure as Mr. Wickham made about Mr. Darcy. However, she was looking to find something bad about Mr. Darcy and had believed him.
Jane was pleased at what had occurred between the handsome Mr. Wickham and her sister. There was one thing she did recognise; in one way he was just like her—he hid his true self from the world. She was sure hardly a word out of his mouth was true, but she had no intention of informing her sister of that.
She heard some of what he had told Lizzy. All of it was aimed at making her hate Mr. Darcy more than she already did. It suited Jane’s purposes. If she could not have the man, then she would never countenance Lizzy having him.
It had been easy for Jane to pick out the inconsistencies and contradictions in the pieces of the man’s story she overheard. Normally Lizzy would not be blind to them either, but she was so determined to learn negative things about Mr. Darcy that she was not thinking clearly.
For his part, Wickham felt good about what he had achieved. He was certain after he beseeched her not to repeat the story, Miss Elizabeth would remain silent, so he would be safe from Darcy’s cousin. He was happy to see how receptive Miss Elizabeth was to his tale.
He was sure he had killed any chance of the woman ever being receptive to his nemesis. She hated him and laid all manner of ills at his door. The indignant response to his tale warmed his heart.
One thing he did realise was Miss Bennet was no fool; even had he preferred girls of her age, she would not have been open to his seductions. Wickham was many things, but rapist was not one of them; even he drew the line at forcing a woman.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The two days before the ball were gloomy and rain filled. For Elizabeth it meant she was trapped in a house with a man who was determined to stick to her as if she were the only woman in the world. Nothing she said or did penetrated his thick head. The man did not take either covert or blatantly overt hints.
It seemed every time she hid herself away, her mother sent one of her sisters to find her and demand her attendance in the drawing room where the stinking man would sit next to her, far too close for comfort. She hated the way he leered at her and she caught him trying to peer down the front of her day dress more than once.
The one thing most troubling to Elizabeth was her favourite sister, Jane. Elizabeth expected Jane to commiserate with her and help her hide from Mr. Collins, but other than some platitudes, Jane seemed disinclined to help her. In fact, it seemed when she hid in a place known only to Jane, she was always found.
Surely, Jane would not tell her mother where she was, would she? Slowly but surely, Elizabeth reached the conclusion there was no other explanation. It was then she remembered some things she had noticed about Jane and words Charlotte had spoken.
It was the most difficult thing Elizabeth ever had to face, but she was beginning to realise that Jane’s serene façade was just that, a façade. That hurt her more than anything her mother had ever said or done to her.
She loved Jane and would have done anything for her sister, so why did she not return the sentiment? Just then she remembered Jane had suddenly ceased joining her during her visits to the Gardiners at Gracechurch Street. It struck Elizabeth?Aunt Maddie had seen the true Jane and her sister would not wish to return to where someone saw her as she truly was. At the same time Elizabeth was saddened to realise very little Jane said or did was honest?but she would not allow herself to question the things Jane had told her about Mr. Darcy.
If she had to hear about Lady Catherine de Bourg’s glazing, chimney pieces, the magnificence of Rosings Park, or the shelves he had placed in his closets at the virago’s behest, one more time, she would scream.
She was forced to award him her first set at the ball when he requested it, as she did not want to sit out the whole of the ball.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Thank goodness the Friday of the ball was clear and dry. Elizabeth collected something to eat from cook and left the house before anyone but her father was up. She did not know how sad her father was.
He had noticed no matter what Elizabeth did to discourage his fool of a cousin; he was blind to it as the man saw naught but what he desired. It sickened Bennet when he saw the lecherous way the man looked at his Lizzy.
For the sake of peace, he would have to support his wife. The only thing that comforted him was the knowledge although Lizzy would be hurt at his abandonment, she would still not agree and no clergyman would perform a wedding where the bride did not consent, regardless of her parents’ wishes.
He would do what his wife wanted. How he wished he were strong enough to protect his daughter, but he simply did not have the fortitude to assert himself. He could only pray Elizabeth would forgive him one day.
