Author's Note:

Hi, guys! I know you are anxious for Elizabeth to come to Pemberley, but be patient! Darcy has to deal with his past first. In this chapter, he'll set his plan in motion and in the next one, you'll see the consequences and a little of Elizabeth's POV.

Stay safe!

Jen

Bingley smiled. "I might send my sisters to Pemberley in July on my behalf. Caroline will be delighted."

Fitzwilliam's eyes bulged and he swallowed hard but remained silent, accepting his fate, until he heard Bingley's laughter.

"Oh, I would not punish you so, Darcy. Do not worry. Besides, I shall have a long talk with them. You admitted you were in the wrong and apologised, but I know they will not. Moreover, I know that their motives were not to stop me from loving a woman who did not love me, but to stop me from marrying someone who is not high born enough for them."

"What shall you do?"

"I do not know yet. For now, I shall ride to Hertfordshire and beg Miss Bennet's forgiveness."

11.

As soon as Bingley was gone, the second part of Fitzwilliam's redemption entered his study.

"Mr. Darcy," the serious and austere man greeted him.

"Mr. Greene, thank you for coming so fast," Fitzwilliam replied and signalled for the man to sit down.

"I received your letter, sir, and determined to come here immediately. I confess I was surprised. I have worked quite a lot with your father, but rarely with you."

"Yes, I have not truly required your services until recently, but I found there is a matter I have been neglecting for many years and I hope you can help me with it."

"I would be glad to help and you can be assured of my discretion," Mr. Greene said firmly.

Mr. Greene was quite an imposing man in his forties, determined and grave, but extremely trustworthy towards those fortunate enough to afford his services.

Lady Anne found him familiar, for she was aware of her husband's affairs but did not quite remember him and so Mr. Darcy quickly reminded her of the gentleman in question as they tried to follow the conversation.

"I trust your discretion, Mr. Greene, for my father recommended you specifically."

"Well, what can I help you with?"

To this, Mr. Darcy and Lady Anne listened most attentively, for they did not know what Fitzwilliam had planned. Their son pulled a portrait miniature from his coat and handed it to Mr. Greene.

"This man is George Wickham," Fitzwilliam explained. "He is the son of my father's stewart and for many years he was a friend of the family. He has recently joined the militia in Meryton, Hertfordshire, and I wish for you to find out everything about his current behaviour. I wish to know to whom he owes money, for I know that he does, and how much, if he gambles and drinks, whom he spends his time with and if he is taking his commission seriously. But most importantly, I wish to know his behaviour towards women, be they servants or gentlewomen."

"Very well, sir. You shall have it," Mr. Greene agreed, no questions asked.

"I already know that he has a long history of dishonest and disreputable behaviour, I only wish to know what he has been doing in the last couple of months."

"I am sure it shall be easily accomplished. Anything else, Mr. Darcy?"

"No, that is all. Keep the portrait. It might help you find him and I have no reason to keep it."

"Then, sir," Mr. Greene stood up and offered his hand, which Fitzwilliam took. "I shall write to you promptly with information about the man."

Fitzwilliam opened the door and upon finding a footman near, signalled for him to come.

"John, escort this gentleman out, please," he asked the footman and turned to Mr. Greene. "Thank you for coming so promptly, sir. Good day."

"Good day, Mr. Darcy," the older man said with a bow and left.

Fitzwilliam walked back to his desk and sat down again. He took a sheet of paper, pen, and ink and began writing. Although his parents rarely read his correspondence, to allow him at least some privacy, they could not help but read over his shoulder this time as he wrote. When he finished, his letter read:

"Pemberley, Derbyshire
May 20th, 1812
11:07 AM

Dear Mr. Bennet,

I am sure you are quite astonished at receiving a letter from me, for our acquaintance is slight at best, but I have recently come across some information that has kept me worried for many weeks now. I hope you are willing to read this letter and do not consider me impertinent for writing it. I have been seriously negligent in a matter that could affect many people, and I have recently come to realise that it could harm your own family. Last month, I met your daughter, Miss Elizabeth, in Kent while I was visiting my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. There, she implied that Mr. Wickham has been spreading lies about me. This, I do not care about, but it has made me realise that the good people of Meryton do not deserve to have a wolf dressed as a sheep among you. I do not know you very well, but Miss Elizabeth, whose judgement I do trust, holds you in high esteem, and so I shall reveal the truth to you and hope that you shall keep my confidence as, I am sure, your excellent daughter has done."

Here, Fitzwilliam explained the whole of his history with George Wickham as he had told Bingley and prayed that Mr. Bennet would be just as trustworthy.

"You might wonder why I have just recited this long story to you. You are a respected member of your community and I am sure you do not wish someone like Wickham near the merchants of Meryton, but most especially, near your daughters. You might think your daughters' fortune is not enough to tempt a man like Mr. Wickham, but heiresses are not his only victims. I hope this does not offend you, sir, but you have five beautiful daughters and the two youngest ones, full of liveliness and the innocence of youth, are particularly vulnerable to a predator such as Wickham.

I know I have offended you and your whole community and most especially Miss Elizabeth, and I shall take this opportunity to apologise wholeheartedly for it. You have no reason to believe me or to follow my impertinent, but well-meaning advice, and you might believe that Mr. Wickham cannot truly be so blind to honour and decency to seduce a gentlewoman, but he has done it before and I currently have no reason to believe he shall not do it again. Please, sir, do your best to protect your daughters and I shall do my best to remove Mr. Wickham from your community.

I am aware I should have taken these measures a long time ago, but it was only recently that I have realised that this is my responsibility. The pain Mr. Wickham has caused is my fault and so must the remedy be. My mistaken pride and my reserve have not allowed me to expose Mr. Wickham's character to the world. I thought it beneath me to lay my private actions open to the world and so I chose to let him run loose and hurt other people. I am sure that by now you know that my friend, Mr. Bingley, shall reopen Netherfield if he is not there already. He knows the particulars and I know he shall help you in any way he can. However, I promise you that I shall take action now and I hope you and your family are safe and sound.

I remain, sir, your most humble and obedient servant,

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Esq."

During the following days, Fitzwilliam received two letters from Hertfordshire. The first one was from Bingley, announcing that he had arrived safely to Netherfield and had visited the Bennets immediately. Miss Bennet had been a little subdued in comparison to his previous visits and he believed it was due to his sudden removal from the county, but he was determined to seek a moment alone with her to apologise. The second one was written by Mr. Greene and arrived a sennight later with news.

"Meryton, Hertfordshire
May 30th, 1812
10:30 AM

Dear Mr. Darcy,

As I have predicted, sir, this particular assignment was quite easy, for the man in question does very little to hide his affairs. I have observed him closely and deduced that his easy manners and his red uniform afford him more credibility than he deserves. He currently owes the incredible amount of £785 to several merchants and shopkeepers of the area, even though he has been here for only seven months. As you have wisely surmised, he spends most of his time in the company of two lieutenants; Mr. Denny and Mr. Sanderson, usually drinking and gambling excessively and he has therefore acquired many debts of honour.

In regards to the ladies, he was very attentive to Miss Elizabeth Bennet from November to February. However, he later seemed to have formed an attachment with Miss Mary King before her uncle took her away to Liverpool upon discovering Mr. Wickham's character. Since then, Miss Elizabeth Bennet seems to have lost interest and he has been bestowing his attentions to the youngest Bennet, Miss Lydia.

Most disturbing, however, is his relationship with several servant girls and the butcher's daughter, Miss Harper, who is rumoured to have left the county to live with an aunt, but I know for a fact that she is confined in her home with an increasing belly.

The militia regiment, under Colonel Foster's command, is to depart Meryton in a fortnight. These have been my findings so far. I shall continue to investigate and wait for further instructions from you.

Your servant,

Mr. Greene"

Fitzwilliam sighed and sat back on his chair, throwing the letter on his desk. It was just as he had thought and he was not surprised, but he always hoped that Wickham would change. He realised that Miss Harper's condition was his own fault and he knew that this could not continue. Wickham had every opportunity available in the world and he had thrown away each one of them.

Wickham's interest in Elizabeth surprised him. He had seen him speaking to her in Meryton and she had defended his character twice, but he did not know he had been courting her and he could not help feeling jealousy and betrayal. Had Wickham approached Elizabeth simply because she was lovely and charming or had he detected Fitzwilliam's regard for her? He had not thought it possible for they had only been in company for a couple of minutes, but Wickham had seen him grow up and he could not discard the possibility. If this was the case, then both Elizabeth and Miss Lydia had been in danger because of him. Miss Lydia might still be!

He took his pen once again and wrote a letter to Mr. Greene.

Mr. Darcy was still trying to come to terms with Wickham's character, but he knew that he had to be stopped. He could forgive many things, but never such treatment of a lady and especially of Georgiana. However, it was still shocking to read of Wickham's dishonourable behaviour from an objective party.

"My love," Lady Anne said, resting her hand on her husband's arm. "Fitzwilliam shall fix it."

"I should have fixed this, but I have burdened my son, instead."

"You did not know and there is nothing we can do about it now. We can only guide our son."

They watched Fitzwilliam writing and leaned over his shoulder to read the letter. They were surprised but pleased when they found that their son was making arrangements for Miss Harper and her child to be taken care of. He asked Mr. Greene to buy Mr. Wickham's debts and wrote to Richard, asking for his help to have Wickham discharged from the militia and thrown into debtor's prison.

By the time he finished his letters, Fitzwilliam was exhausted. He sealed them and asked Mr. Reynolds to send them immediately by express before he headed to the gallery. He stood in front of his father's portrait and felt defeated.

"I am sorry, Father," he whispered, barely loud enough for his parents to hear. "I... I think you might be here, but I might be losing my mind. I tried to help George as you asked me to do, but he has crossed the line many times. I have given him too many opportunities and he has thrown away each one of them. Until now, each time I tried to punish him, I remembered the times when we went fishing by the lake or the time you made me promise to help him with his career, but I now also remember what you told me the day you died. You told me to follow my instincts and trust my own judgment. I shall do so and I hope I am doing the right thing."

I do not own any Pride and Prejudice properties, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story.

Characters and situations, created by Jane Austen, are taken from Pride and Prejudice and from the Pride and Prejudice (1995) adaptation created by Simon Langton and distributed by BBC.

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