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“I wonder what Mr Darcy did to anger that nice Mr Wickham,” Elizabeth speculated not long after they left the town. “That man gives offence wherever he goes. What an insufferable man.”

William and Miss Mary were not far behind Cousins Jane and Elizabeth, so he had been able to hear what Cousin Elizabeth said.

“Perhaps it was some misunderstanding,” Jane suggested.

“That will not do, Jane. The reactions I saw were not from a simple misunderstanding. I am telling you that Mr Darcy said something to upset Mr Wickham. Could it be that I am not the only one he goes about insulting?” Elizabeth mused. “Did you not see how amiable and honest Mr Wickham looked? Mr Darcy must be the one at fault, I have no doubt about it!”

Although she was well aware that Lizzy jumped to conclusions, Jane preferred to have a peaceful walk.

There was no missing the disdain in the tone Cousin Elizabeth employed when she spoke of Mr Darcy. She had mentioned an insult; he wondered what had upset his cousin to that extent. William decided he would need to make some discreet enquiries at some point.

He knew that in another day or two he would have enough information to be able to see a better picture of his cousins, and then he could decide what, if anything, he needed to do before the end of his stay in the area and he returned to Kent.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Fanny was looking out of the drawing room windows when she saw her daughters and Mr Collins walking on the drive towards the house. She scowled when she saw that Lizzy was walking with Jane and not their cousin.

In her anger, she missed that Mr Collins and Mary were together again. Fanny decided that she would have to work harder to push Lizzy at him.

Before she could issue Lizzy the set down she deserved, Fanny was distracted by Kitty and Lydia—mainly the latter—and their talk of the officers, especially the new one who was particularly handsome. Speaking with her two youngest about how they—mostly Lydia—flirted with the officers distracted Fanny from her purpose.

Chapter 13

No sooner had Fanny greeted her sister than she sat herself with Lady Lucas and Mesdames Long, Goulding, and Purvis. As much as Hattie Phillips would have preferred to join her sister and the friends they had in common to gossip, she could not, as she was the hostess.

Charlotte Lucas had heard Eliza introduce a cousin who was a parson being hosted at Longbourn. She did not expect the man who had accompanied the Bennet ladies into the room to be as handsome as he was. Miss Lucas was not the only younger woman whose attention had been pulled to the good-looking man who had accompanied the Bennets.

He was not happy to have competition in the room. George Wickham fought to keep the scowl from his face when women and young ladies who had been looking at him admiringly were all now looking at the clergyman instead. The only thing that pleased him was to see Miss Elizabeth here. He needed to find some time to speak to her and use her to begin to well and truly blacken the prig’s name.

“Mrs Phillips, I thank you for including me in the invitation,” William Collins said as he bowed. “Your house looks far more comfortable than my parsonage.”

Hattie blushed at the compliment to her home. “You are my nieces’ cousin, so of course, I could not exclude you.” She thought of something. “The games are low stakes, but still for coin. Is that compatible with you being a clergyman?”

“As long as it is a respectable place like your home, there is no harm. In fact, I enjoy some games of cards like whist. You have no reason to be concerned for me,” William replied with another bow. He looked to Mary. “Cousin Mary, will you introduce me to your neighbours?” Out of the corner of his eye, William noticed the calculating way Lieutenant Wickham was watching Cousin Elizabeth. He decided that he would keep an eye on the man whom he did not trust.

When Jane looked around to see who was attending her aunt’s card party, she felt a distinct sense of disappointment on noting that none of her new friends were present. Having recalled that they always seemed to come late, Jane held out hope that they would remain true to form.

“Aunt Hattie, did you invite the Netherfield Park party?” Jane asked hopefully.

“I did. However, Miss Bingley sent a terse refusal with not so much as a reason for them not attending,” Hattie reported.

The news caused Jane’s serene countenance to fall momentarily before her mask was in place once again. Jane felt a hand on her arm and saw it belonged to Lizzy. She allowed her younger sister to lead her to a quiet corner.

“Jane, you are the sweetest and dearest person I know, but I did try and warn you that Miss Bingley is no friend of yours or to your connection to her brother,” Elizabeth insisted softly so only Jane could hear. “Add to that the influence of that proud, contemptuous, insufferable Mr Darcy. Like Miss Bingley, I am certain that Mr Darcy would never lower himself to grace the house of a country solicitor with his consequence.”

As much as she did not want to believe Lizzy had the right of it, Jane was afraid that there could be some truth to her sister’s assertions.

Being close enough to hear Cousin Elizabeth spewing venom aimed at Mr Darcy again, William wondered what the man had done to wound his cousin as deeply as she seemed to be.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

After a plentiful buffet was enjoyed by her guests, Hattie Phillips directed her manservant to open the card tables and set them up in the area which had been cleared of armchairs and the sofa for that purpose.

As soon as the tables and chairs were ready, Lydia grabbed Mr Wickham’s hand and attempted to tug him towards the table where she was about to play lottery tickets. She was not happy the handsome lieutenant was not allowing her to pull him towards the table. “Come, Mr Wickham, you can make up the numbers at my table.” Lydia batted her eyes at him.

“As much as I would enjoy your company, Miss Lydia, I am afraid that I am not in the mood to play cards at this time.” Wickham bowed to the little flirt. Getting her to lift her skirt would not be difficult at all.

William Collins did not miss the way Lieutenant Wickham leered at his youngest cousin. The more time he was in the slimy man’s company, the more suspicious he became. There was something he could do to protect the town from men the ilk of this Wickham. William sought out Sir William Lucas, who he had met at Longbourn, a man who used to be in trade.