It was not long before she was harping about the need to purchase an estate. Her husband did not bother to tell her that although they were well off, he was years away from having the necessary capital to purchase an estate. He told himself that at some point in the future that he would look into leasing an estate.
His wife convinced him that when Charles was of an age to go to school that he must have a gentleman’s education and that their two daughters must go to an exclusive London seminary frequented by the daughters of the first circle so that Louisa and Caroline would learn to behave in a way that would be acceptable to the members of the Ton. She made sure that both of her daughters knew that only a landed gentleman would do for a husband, the richer the better, and hopefully from the first circles.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It was one of the first days that Lizzy was allowed to ride Fairy out of the training circle in Pemberley’s stables. She had both of her brothers and cousins Will and Anne for companions. In addition, they were followed by a groom and the footman Johns. As they passed the boundaries of the park, George Wickham rode up on a cob that his father kept. For a little while he rode parallel to them and did not attempt to speak to any of the family members.
After a while, he felt that no one was paying him particular attention so drew his mount close to Lady Elizabeth’s pony.“Just you wait, you brat foundling,” he threatened in what he considered a soft voice. What he had not noticed was that Andrew and Richard had drawn closer to him as soon as he approached their sister. In the next instant a fist planted in his face, and he was lying flat on his back after he hit the hard ground with enough force to knock the wind out of his lungs.
He wailed as blood flowed from his nose. The two Fitzwilliam brothers stood over the snivelling boy. An approving Johns had ridden on with his charge, Master William, Miss de Bourgh, and the groom. Once he had his wailing under control, Wickham spat out.“What was that for? Just wait until I tell my godfather; he will whip you for hurting me!” young Wickham stated with all the bravado he could muster.
“I look forward to someone getting whipped, but I am afraid it will not be us, Georgie,” Richard said as he advanced threateningly toward the bleeding coward who cringed before him.“We heard what you said to our sister!”
“T-that was a-a j-joke,” Wickham stammered as he tried to prevaricate.
“If youevercome near my sister again, it will be a lot more than one face planter,” Andrew said menacingly.“That I can promise you!”
“How can you call that mongrel…” Wickham never finished what he was about to say, as Richard sent his fist into George’s stomach at full force. Wickham fell to the ground doubled over in pain and gasping for air.
“This is the first and last warning that you will receive,Georgie,” Andrew warned as the brothers mounted their horses then spurred them into a gallop to catch up with the rest.
Later that afternoon, Mr Wickham told his son to follow him as he led the boy of almost ten years to the master’s study. Young Wickham was thinking of the ways that he would spin the encounter and lay the blame on the Fitzwilliam brats. His confidence evaporated when the door to the study closed and he saw a terribly angry looking earl next to Mr Darcy, with both Fitzwilliam brothers and the prig William waiting for him.
Before he could formulate a new lie Mr Darcy spoke.“You will no longer be welcome at the great house or anywhere in the park.” He shot the boy a warning look when he saw that young Wickham wanted to interject.“Your opinion of my niece, while wrong, is meaningless. She is amemberof this family; you are my steward’s son,nothing more! As of today, I withdraw as your godfather.
“For too long I have made excuses for you. I felt badly for you after your mother passed but I have done you no favours. You are notentitledto anything that you do not earn. After I heard what my nephews told me, who unlike you never lie, I made some inquiries. What is this fabricated story that you have been telling that I am your father, and I will bequeath you one of our satellite estates? Where does such an absurd story come from?”
“M-my m-mother,” Wickham squeaked.
“George, your mother lied to you,” his father informed him, seeing his son wanted to interrupt he continued.“You are not my natural son, but the man that your mother laid with before I married her when she was a maid at Snowhaven is no longer alive.”
“Your father will mete out the appropriate punishment to you. I will warn you now, if you ever come into the areas that I have forbidden you from, or threaten a member of this family or any other under my protection again, the magistrate will be called. Do I make myself clear?” Darcy demanded, satisfied he had carried his point when young Wickham nodded and was led out of the study by his father. Young George Wickham was in a near catatonic state at the declaration that his most true inner belief was just denied.
Once they had walked half of the more than one mile to the steward’s dwelling, George Wickham silently promised himself that he would extract his revenge on all who had wronged him, especially the mongrel foundling! When he arrived home, there was a whipping, but it was him who received it not one of the Fitzwilliams as he had predicted!
Chapter5
December 1796
A five-year-old Lady Elizabeth was pouting. She could not understand why she could not ride Fairy just because of a light dusting of snow. What Lizzy called‘a light dusting of snow’was in fact an almost four feet deep accumulation from an early December blizzard which had roared through Derbyshire and the surrounding counties. It was Snowhaven’s turn to host the family for Christmastide this year. Lizzy went to seek out her papa and found him in his study with Andrew and Richard who were home from school for the Christmastide break. Both were now enrolled at Eton, the former in his final year before Cambridge while the latter was in his first year at the august institution of education.
“Papa, Gigi will be able to come see me, will she not?” Lizzy asked after running into the study without knocking. She had decided that Georgie was too long a name for her baby cousin, so Lizzy had chosen to call her Gigi. In the two and almost three-quarter years since Miss Darcy had been born, Lizzy had taken her duties of‘much’older cousin very seriously in her self-appointed role as childhood guide. The truth was that from the time that Georgiana was able to walk, the two had been inseparable whenever the families were in each other’s company, which was fairly frequently.
“If, as I suspect, the roads are not clear for a carriage,” her father said, grinning at her downcast look when he mentioned the roads,“then Uncle George will use some of Pemberley’s sleighs so the ten miles between our estates will not be a problem.”
“As long as the snow is not too deep for the horses,” Richard, who was still called‘Itch’by his little sister sometimes, ever the practical one, clarified.
Before his sister could become sad again, Andrew threw his younger brother a look that said‘be quiet’and addressedhisLizzy.“I do not believe it will snow again before the Darcys leave their estate on Friday, and with four days between then and now I amsurethat they will arrive as scheduled and you will spend time with Gigi soon enough.” The three males were enchanted as Lizzy lit up with pleasure at Andrew’s reassurance. It was hard not to join in her enthusiasm and joy when her whole countenance was as bright as the rising sun.
Elaine Fitzwilliam sat in her study going over the household accounts and as her thoughts often did, she could not help but think about the supreme feeling of pleasure that having Lizzy as a daughter had on her. From time to time, much less now than the first two years, Elaine felt guilty about the family who had been deprived of the whirlwind that was her daughter. All she could do was hope that somehow Lizzy’s birth family sensed that she was loved and cared for. As she sat and ruminated, she could not but remember the first time that Lizzy had accompanied them to town for the season in February of that year.
Lizzy was most excited when they arrived at Matlock House on Grosvenor square. She was so keen to explore the new house—or new to her—and the fact that Darcy House was just across the square did not hurt either. She would be able to see cousins Will and Gigi as much as her heart desired. If she had her way, she and Georgiana would sleep at each other’s houses for the length of the season.
It took all of five minutes for the housekeeper and butler to fall under Lady Elizabeth’s spell. MrsKerry O’Grady and Mr Humphrey Thatcher were extremely loyal long-time employees. The normally stoic butler could be seen cracking a smile at many of Lady Elizabeth’s antics; and the cook, Mrs Carlyle who was usually a no-nonsense person, was soon wrapped around the little miss’s finger and made sure that there was always some chocolate cake on hand. Lady Elaine had been most amused as she and her sister-in-law Anne agreed that it seemed that the employees’first loyalty now rested with Lizzy.
In London, William continued the practice the two had started almost a year prior, they would read the same book and then discuss their impressions. It was both impressive and frustrating to him that he invariably lost an argument when it came to a quotation from a book. No matter how long-ago Lizzy had read it, she could recall any quotation word-for-word. Initially William had challenged his cousin’s recall and would search for passages only to discover that she was absolutely correct. William, who was himself highly intelligent, could only imagine that the older his cousin got, the harder it would be to keep up with her intellectually. He loved his cousin as well as he loved his own sister.
It was a week after arriving in Town that Lady Elaine was entertaining some of the leading matrons of the Ton with her sister Anne at Matlock House; her guests included the Almack’s patronesses: Lady Jersey, Countess de Lieven; Countess Esterhazy; and Lady Cowper. Lady Rose Rhys-Davies, Duchess of Bedford, was also present. The ladies were discussing the upcoming season when the whirlwind that was Lizzy blew into the drawing room. She at least had the decency to blush when she saw that she was disturbing the ladies.
