CHAPTER 28
Darcy House, London
My dearest Lillybeth,
I had hoped my first letter to you might be full of nothing but my love for you, my longing to be with you and sweet remembrances of our last time together, but alas this may be the best I can do, and I know you are more interested in the pertinent facts at hand. Know that my heart is with you always.
We have sent runners to all his old haunts, and some of his associates to see if we can determine his whereabouts, and I have asked them to discreetly follow Mrs Younge also. Before I expose my involvement, I want to be certain she is in place, and if she is assisting him - he has always been able to manipulate her – she is our best chance of laying hands on him. If he is aware of my involvement he will run without delay. Richard has returned to his regiment ostensibly but has raised up some former officers willing to do some unpleasant work for good pay and I feel confident that if we can surprise him, they will do what is necessary to prevent his escape. In these efforts they will be joined by two of my footmen, whose sister and cousin were impacted in the worst way by Wickham's profligacy, so they will be well pleased should he choose to protest his capture. He has been sighted in the area in recent days, as much as we can gather, so we are on his trail.
As such, I have taken it upon myself to be visible in society so any word he may hear of my being in London will hopefully appear to be coincidental. I have dined at Chilton House, and met with my steward, solicitor and my banker, all legitimate reasons for me to be in town while preparing for our marriage. If nothing else, I will have the settlement papers ready for you and your father to peruse. I am praying I will be able to deliver them into your hand personally but would ask you to make preparations to come to London early. I find I cannot countenance not seeing your beautiful face for many more days, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth, and it will lend an air of legitimacy to my being in town again. I have also dined at Gracechurch Street and Lillybet insisted that I take tea with her in your stead. She is quite the most accomplished young lady I have ever met, answering all of Miss Bingley's list as well as my own requirement of improving her mind with extensive reading, so I am afraid she has quite stolen my heart. As she is not yet out, I will make do with my second favourite Elizabeth until such time as she favours me with her acceptance, or you favour me with another one just like her.
Uncle Henry and Aunt Gwendolyn send you their regards, and Georgie sends you all the love in the world, that she can spare from me. Know that we are safe, and that I am missing you more than I am capable of expressing.
Forever yours,
FD
Longbourn, Hertfordshire
My dearest One,
Has it only been two days since you left? This will be the longest week of my life, but I am making use of the time to prepare the family for a change in plans. The Gardiners expect me in town next Monday, regardless of where things lay with W. Jane has agreed to stand in for me at events in Meryton during my absence but will join me at Gracechurch Street according to the original schedule the week after. Mama is beside herself but that is nothing new and to be honest, I believe she thrives on the drama and enjoys spouting whatever nonsense she can about her second daughter's fiancé and his eccentric, entitled ways. I am grateful she has no knowledge of the W situation as she would be incapable of respecting your privacy, so she just thinks you are "busy and important" and therefore given to these abrupt decisions, regardless of the reason. It won't be long before such capricious behaviour will be given the veneer of affable condescension in the manner of Lady Catherine, and no one will blink twice.
While it is my heart's desire to disabuse these ignorant notions and declare to all your truly noble and amiable heart, it works in my favour to have a taciturn and forbidding fiancé to explain all my own eccentricities and melancholy moods during your absence. I am confident that once we are married, I will make very good use of your cultivated disdain for society to keep you all to myself for many months until either you or I tire of our own company. Fitzwilliam, my darling, I do want the world to know how truly wonderful you are, how warm, loving and utterly captivating is your true nature, but I am convinced that my family will trespass on your goodness so extensively that I will be driven to insanity ere long. I am therefore resolved to allow Jane and Charles to suffer the indignity of being the most affable and genial couple in the family, while you and I share the mantle of self-sufficient and conceited independence to keep the rabble at bay. What say you?
As I write, Lydia and Kitty have been squabbling over the contents of the sewing basket as a proxy argument over the integrity of W, neither subject being worthy of the breath expended in discussion, but I am hopeful that Lydia may yet be convinced that the way to ensure she is kept in the manner to which she has become accustomed cannot include dallying with low ranking officers of no fixed income, with questionable integrity and connections, who by necessity, follow the drum. If Richard has any tips on how to impress this universally acknowledged truth upon naive young girls without completely violating their innocence, I would be grateful.
It goes without saying that the man most responsible for their situation in life is doing what he has always done. Papa is in his library avoiding any and all responsibility and is also insisting that my presence is not required in London earlier than scheduled. As he knows I will not be moved in this decision, his only recourse is to ignore me sullenly, a tactic which used to never fail, I am ashamed to say, as his good opinion used to be the only one that mattered to me. It is remarkable to me how quickly and completely I have already "left and cleft", as it were. I felt a momentary twinge of guilt, which was then overtaken by an intense and overwhelming need to be in your presence, somewhere in your orbit, just wherever you were.
It has become clear to me that my father's circumstances are entirely of his own making and were made long past the age of his majority and maturity, and as such, have never been my responsibility to ameliorate. I love my father and am grateful for the attentions I received from him, but had I not been gifted with the wit and intelligence that earned these attentions, I would have been left essentially at the mercy of my mother's best efforts. I cannot agree that my three younger sisters are any less deserving of their father's love and attention, and it cheapens the value of his attentions to me. What is paternal love worth if it is only bestowed upon "the worthy" – based on some arbitrary and subjective measure? My mother's love was similarly bestowed upon the two daughters she considered most beautiful, which so happened to be those most like her. That my father's subjective assessment was based on intelligence is no less mercenary than an assessment based on physical appearance. Both are gifts received at birth, and essentially unchangeable characteristics, though I am convinced some measure of education and instruction can bear fruit with almost all levels of intelligence to be found in the human condition.
Oh dear, I seem to have strayed into melancholic introspection. These musings have been inspired by your absence, my love, and on my thoughts about our future, my hopes and prayers about any children that we might be blessed with, and the kind of love and life I wish them to have, that perhaps has been missing from mine. Rest assured my life will be complete if I am to share it with you alone all my days (I do hope you feel the same?) though I know an heir is highly desirable, and I am hoping, given my mother's apparent fecundity, that my ability to bear children will be a likely outcome of our union, at some point. I hope you are not too disturbed that I have made such leaps of logic, I am well-read enough to understand the basics of procreation, though I would be less than honest if I suggested I haven't been spending much time thinking on the mechanics of it of late, but the few hints my mother has given me have made me hope that The Mysteries of Udolpho or even Tom Jones might have given me a more accurate picture of the felicity of human intimacy? I look forward to being enlightened soon enough.
Moving from melancholic philosophy to connubial felicity in one paragraph has at least improved my humour. I am now giggling like a little girl, but rest assured I am missing you desperately and hoping this missive also leaves you in better humour than when you began it. Jane wishes to send you her love and prayers, please pass on our similar wishes to Richard. I am in no doubt of the serious nature of your business, my love, and know that you understand how necessary your safety and well-being are to my very breath, even if left unsaid from hour to hour.
All my love,
EB
Richard Fitzwilliam watched the tension leave his cousin's face as his eyes devoured the words his fiancée had written on the page. A ghost of a smile turned into a quiet chuckle, then a blush appeared before he cleared his throat, adjusted his cravat, and then he laughed out loud. Unable to stop himself, he caressed the ink before he looked up to see Richard's amused smirk. "She is well and preparing to be in Gracechurch Street on Monday." Richard raised a questioning eyebrow. "No, I am not going to tell you what made me laugh." Darcy relaxed into his seat and gazed up into the ceiling with a satisfied smile. "She is delightful, quixotic and yet pragmatic, with the blessed ability to write and speak what she thinks with complete honesty and beguiling charm. How does one possess such mischief and insightful wit combined with pure innocence and unspoiled naiveté?" He smiled down at the letter before folding it and depositing it into his desk drawer. "What time can we expect an update?"
As Richard was about to respond, a knock preceded the immediate entrance of the butler, Harrison, who had been told to usher in the next visitor promptly and without ceremony. "Mr Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam." Lieutenant James bowed and gave a short salute as Harrison withdrew. At a nod from the Colonel, he began his report of the evening's surveillance. It was short and to the point and differed little from the reports of the previous three nights, except that some fresh intelligence had been gleaned from Mrs Younge's maid, who had been approached earlier by one of Darcy's footmen and befriended for just such a purpose.
It appeared Wickham had written to her employer recently, as she had been heard railing about his demands the night before. The maid, Betsy, had no good feelings for Wickham, who had pursued a dalliance with the young in-between-stairs maid several months ago despite her vehement refusals. After a physical altercation, which had drawn the attention of Mrs Younge, Wickham had been summarily dismissed from the house, as well as from Mrs Younge's bedchamber, by the burly footman employed for just such a purpose. Mrs Younge was in no humour to accede to anything Wickham may have requested, and all the staff had been told to refuse him entrance. Lieutenant James seemed to feel that Darcy's footman was becoming attached to the tweeny as he expressed some concerns for her safety and her virtue, should Wickham reappear at the boarding house.
"Was it Sam?" At the lieutenant's nod, Darcy sighed. "Sam almost lost his sister to Wickham's depredations three years ago, he would feel Betsy's situation deeply. Let Sam know if he has genuine feelings for Betsy, he has my blessings to court her and bring her to Pemberley. Mrs Harrison will be able to find something at Darcy House for her until our business is finished."
Even the Colonel, who was well aware of Darcy's generous nature, was surprised at this turn of events. "Sam is an excellent judge of character, Richard, and Betsy knew enough to resist Wickham's charms, which speaks well of her discernment and moral fibre, regardless of her current situation or circumstances."
"You are not responsible for Wickham, Darce."
"I am responsible for the consequences of my inaction against him, Richard. It was my mistaken pride, my refusal to lay my private actions open to the world-"
"You could not expose Geor-" Richard blanched as he realised he was about to expose Georgiana himself, as Lieutenant James was still present. Darcy shook his head and continued. "I know enough of his character flaws, can easily contradict his falsehoods, and have the proof of his misdeeds, such that Wickham's worthlessness should never have been so easily hidden. No young woman of character could have been deceived enough to love or confide in him, had I been even partly honest or presented a more amenable nature to the world. Richard, because of my reserve, my desire to shield the truth from everyone, and my selfish disdain for the well-being of others, I nearly lost two of the most important women in my life! If I can right any wrongs, if my wealth can undo whatever evil my father's indulgence created, then I will spend what I have been blessed with to do so."
He nodded to the lieutenant who had been patiently waiting for instructions, aware that he was privy to a private conversation and intent upon conveying to his superior that he could be trusted with these inadvertent confidences by his respectful stance and his lowered countenance. The Colonel was satisfied and briefly outlined his expectations and asked him to return with Sam if he had any questions about Darcy's generous offer. They would need to move delicately and swiftly if Betsy was to be protected also. It also made it imperative that Darcy, Richard and any recognisable Pemberley staff would have to keep their distance until Wickham's actual location was discovered.
The intelligence confirmed that Wickham was likely close by, and in desperate circumstances. Both knew him well enough not to fear violence, but Richard also understood that desperation and fear bred foolhardy and uncharacteristic behaviour in the best of men, so recommended caution in their next steps. Either flight or fight would reduce the chances of success in their endeavour. Darcy was resolute. If it was at all possible, Wickham's association with the Darcy family would be terminated using whatever means necessary.