Colonel Foster would have been better served had he paid attention to what was said by the three officers he called to his room the other day. What happened that evening in Longbourn's stable was canvassed and the shocking amount of debt Mr. Wickham had was touched upon.

What neither of the three mentioned were the debts of honour Mr. Wickham had also accumulated among his fellow officers. Had he been less in a hurry, Col Foster might have understood more from the veiled threats Capt. Carter issued to any gentlemen who would not cover their debts in full. Thus, it would not have come as a surprise that Tuesday morning he was alerted by his man that one of the officers took a bad fall during the night and he would need the surgeon.

Mr. Wickham was a sorry sight indeed. His face was all colors of purple and swollen and his breathing was laboured. Lt. Pratt was keeping him company, playing with his timepiece.

"Why, Pratt, you devil! You found your watch! We flogged Martin for being the thief! I will not stand for such behaviour among my officers!" said Col. Foster, momentarily distracted from Wickham, and he would have said more, but he was abruptly cut by Lt. Pratt who stood on his entrance.

"My thoughts exactly, sir. Imagine my surprise when I found it sewn in the lining of Wickham's great coat."

"Wickham's?"

"Yes, sir. I have made my apologies to Martin and he forgave me. I fully intend to make reparations. However, it would behoove us to call on the regiment and explain that it was a mistake and Martin is no thief."

"Of course, of course. What about Wickham here?"

"I cannot say much. I've heard he took a fall on the stairs; cracked a few ribs I believe."

"And where was Carter?"

"This morning he was at his lodgings, sir, as far as I know."

Not knowing what to do and not understanding much, besides the fact that Pratt and Martin must have beaten Wickham almost to death, Col. Foster went back to his office and sent a private after Capt. Carter.

"What happened last night, Carter?"

"Wickham is in debt for more than fifty guineas to us all," Capt. Carter answered. "We had a word with him when he was about to leave."

"Leave? Leave where? And fifty guineas? How can it be?"

"I'm sure he only wanted to get a pint for himself, sir, but it was so late he would have found everyone asleep. More than that, I cannot tell. He must have drunk too much and taken a fall."

"Did he now? Without getting himself to the inn?"

Capt. Carter shrugged unconcerned. "It was a lucky occurrence his coat tore open and Pratt found his grandfather's timepiece. He is very fond of the keepsake."

"Where other objects, ahem, found?"

"A few."

"Go on."

"A few of us were holding on to the hope that Mr. Darcy might come through for Wickham, what with Darcy owing him the living and all. Miss Watson's aunt* was kind enough to explain more fully the matter of the will Wickham talked so much about. All in all there is no will and never was. The father of the current Mr. Darcy might have valued Wickham, but he is dead and the son has no use for him. In short he has nothing to cover his debts and he is not likely to ever come into money."

-`o´-

Col. Foster visited Mr. Bennet Wednesday morning, more because he had left word that he will be back than for any other reason. Wickham's disgrace among the officers was already known in town.

All Meryton seemed to be striving to blacken the man who, but days before, had been almost an angel of light. He was declared to be in debt to every tradesman in the place, and his intrigues, all honoured with the title of seduction, had been extended into every tradesman's family. Everybody declared that he was the wickedest young man in the world; and everybody began to find out that they had always distrusted the appearance of his goodness.

His shocking behaviour, being both a gamester and a thief, was talked about and analyzed in minute detail. As a result, Mrs. Bennet's standing in the community was higher than ever. She had, almost single handedly, saved the whole town much grief, for who knows what mischief Wickham would have wrought, had he been allowed to continue. Whatever else could be said about her, she was a most perceptive woman and always ready to help every one of her neighbours, be them high or low.

It did not go amiss that the Colonel was accompanied by Lt. Denny when he visited Mr. Bennet. The latter was straight to the point: he did not, yet, have the means to marry Miss Lydia, but he intended to court her with a view to convince her he would make a good husband.

Mr. Bennet explained that Lydia would be with their relatives in London for the foreseeable future and Lt. Denny declared his intention to move to a post in London to be closer to her. His own father was in trade, but they did have some cousins within the gentry and he would apply to them for help.

Lydia being jilted was forgotten and everybody hoped the young people would do well together. It was heartwarming to see a young man so much dedicated to his lady love that he would move town to please her. It portend well for the kind of husband he was going to be and after all why not. Lydia was a good sort of girl, just like her older sisters. Nobody could say much more ill of her other than she was boisterous, but that was to be expected at her age.

-`o´-

Author note:

It was my intention to continue to post Mon-Wed-Fri, but on Tuesday I had my second shot of the vaccine and, I kid you not, in a matter of hours I started to feel like I had been run over by a train. I'm perfectly fine now.

If you haven't had your shots yet, I strongly advise you to just get on with it. Be prepared to feel more or less poorly for a couple of days though.

Thank you all for the reviews, they are wonderful, they give me ideas and keep me motivated!

Guest Colleen S: I'm glad you continue to read and enjoy the story :)

Guest Lisa: life it's all about silver linings :) Let's hope Wickham will appreciate it too!

Guest who said that the same description could be applied to Elizabeth as well before reading the [Hunsford] letter: we'll agree to disagree :)

Elizabeth was not wrong in how she judged people: she saw Darcy thought himself too good for Meryton; she took the measure of Bingley's sisters at first sight and of Bingley too; Wickham was the most amiable man of her acquaintance; and Collins was a bore, based on his letter alone. What she missed in Wickham's case was his motives.

You can say she should've been more careful, but then again nobody in the whole novel picks up on Wickham being the worst kind of person; not the grown ups in Meryton, not his commanding officer, not the Gardiners, not Charlotte Collins - you get the idea.

I would like to say something about Wickham's fate: I don't care about people learning the truth about him and changing their minds. He deals in deceit and self serving half truths and I want him to feel what it's like to be the victim of the same.

Live by the gossip, die by the gossip. Right?

*Miss Watson is mentioned in the original novel as being somebody Capt. Carter stopped visiting. I suppose she must have had an aunt or two :)

One more thing: from the first chapter until now there's been only five days or so. There's too much happening to move forward in time any faster.