Page 63 of Master of Himself

George Wickham will be the death of me, Darcy thought, as Bingley’s carriage barrelled down the London Road. How had he not seen this coming?

He ought to have known that Wickham would pull a stunt like this. Wickham and Lydia were probably the only two people in Meryton who hadn’t attended the assembly last night. Now the blackguard had used his charm to captivate another fifteen-year-old girl, right under Darcy’s nose.

Naturally, he would go to any length to protect Georgiana; however, no brotherly affection or otherworldly warning had inspired this call to action. His thoughts ran in a rather different direction. He had never loved any woman before but felt the strongest desire to shield this one from every adversity. But now, constrained by other more pressing goals, the idea of winning that lady’s heart had to be relegated to the back of his mind. He had to concentrate all of his efforts on finding Wickham.

“I can’t imagine why Collins would quarrel with Mr Bennet,” Charles said, referring to Elizabeth’s note.

“Nor I. One might think he would offer his support to his family, especially as a clergyman.”

“That reminds me – last night, he had the audacity to mention your pending nuptials,” Charles said.

Darcy groaned, scarcely able to believe such impudence.

Charles shook his head in annoyance. “He droned on about Lady Catherine’s desire for a match with your cousin. But don’t worry, I gave him a proper set-down for speaking out of turn.”

“Good Lord. My aunt must have filled his head with nonsense.”

“He’s quite a ridiculous fellow, so I’m glad he’s left the neighbourhood.”

“I hope, for Elizabeth’s sake and her sisters, that no word gets out about Lydia.”

Charles huffed. “Jane must be frantic. I intend to address her after we switch back to our true selves.”

“Well then, you’ll not be surprised when I do the same with Elizabeth,” Darcy said, hoping for a similar happy outcome.

“Nothing would surprise me less. You’ve made your interest in her perfectly obvious since the moment she stepped into the breakfast parlour that morning,” Charles said, then returned to the business at hand. “What’s our plan for confronting Wickham, providing we find him?”

“You must be the main spokesman, of course, but since the Bennets put out the story that she travelled with her father, we should compel her to come away with us. If she refuses, we must convince George to marry her.” In Darcy’s opinion, either of these two solutions would ensure Elizabeth’s happiness.

Bingley hesitated. “Marriage would preserve her reputation, but if he has no fortune, he’ll have no means to keep her. Should we pool our resources and offer to fund a proper dowry for her?”

Knowing Wickham would never marry without financial incentive, Darcy agreed. “I suppose two thousand from each of us, plus Lydia’s own one thousand should suffice.”

“Yes, but she can’t remain unchaperoned with him,” Charles said. “We must remove her to her uncle’s house while the banns are read.”

“Hopefully, she’ll see reason. Besides, they’ll need Mr Bennet’s consent, since she’s underage.”

“I doubt we’ll have any difficulty there,” Charles said in a confident tone. “Since his other daughters are at risk, he has no other choice but to give his consent.”

Yes, in Darcy’s opinion, they had a solid plan.

When they alighted at Edward Street, Darcy flew up the stairs and knocked on the boarding house door. Handing two calling cards to the answering servant, he asked to see the proprietress immediately.

Upon being admitted to the office, he came face-to-face with Mrs Younge for the first time since dismissing her from his service in August.

“What do you want?” she said, glaring in defiance at Charles.

“We’ve come to speak with Mr George Wickham,” Charles said.

“He’s not here,” she said in a hostile tone.

Darcy withdrew a guinea from his waistcoat pocket and held it in the palm of his hand. “It’s a matter of great importance.”

Her eyes grew round at the sight of the gold coin. “I had no room for him here. He’s gone to a lodging house on Surrey Street, number 116.”

Darcy dropped the coin on the desk and bolted out of the house with Charles following behind. After a brief wait for Lockhart to return with the carriage, he gave the new direction and within minutes they arrived at the house on Surrey Street.

There, he offered another coin to the proprietor and was directed to the first room at the top of the stairs.