A few weeks ago, I read a story where Sir Lewis de Bourgh was still alive when young Darcy was about 18 and the Darcy family came for a visit to Rosings. Darcy Snr brought Wickham along as well.

Sir Lewis was not impressed.

That gave me an idea why Darcy Snr was as indulgent towards Wickham as he was…

Warning – this is very much OOC. 😊

~~M~~

Molly

Sir Lewis was not impressed that his brother-in-law had again brought his godson along on the visit and he was not reluctant to speak his mind.

'Darcy, just because Wickham is your molly, does not mean that I have to inflict him on my family, and certainly not on my servants.'

'How dare you suggest something so disgusting,' spluttered Darcy. 'I would never…' Words failed him.

'Sorry, old man, but what other reason could you possibly have to keep that bastard around.'

'I have you know that George is the legitimate son of my steward.'

'He may have been born in wedlock, but his parentage is as questionable as his character.'

'Why do you dislike my godson so much that you would cast such slurs on his character and mine?'

'Because that bastard has forced himself on too many young girls. But I suppose that if he is that way inclined, he would pick them young, before they start to develop.'

'He would never do such a thing. That is just a rumour started by my son out of jealousy to discredit George. I have it on good authority that it was in fact William who dallies with the maids.'

'I bet that good authority is George Wickham,' sneered Sir Lewis.

Darcy momentarily looked discomfited, but he protested, 'I know that George is truthful.'

'Is he indeed? In that case your son must be extremely well endowed if he could interfere with Mrs Reynolds' niece while he was at Cambridge at a time when Wickham was at Pemberley.'

'If George had done something so despicable, Mrs Reynolds would have told me,' declared Darcy.

'No, she would not. The one time she tried to defend a maid, you threatened to fire the lady for speaking out against your paramour.'

Darcy looked uncomfortable at that reminder but refused to concede. 'Now I know that you are lying or at least misinformed. No niece of Mrs Reynolds is working at Pemberley.'

'I am very well informed. After Wickham forced himself on the girl, Mrs Reynolds applied to me to succour her niece. She has been working at Rosings ever since and her son, who was born eight and a half months later, looks like a spitting image of your godson,' Sir Lewis snarled, as he was losing his patience.

'You know perfectly well that George is a handsome and charming boy. I expect the little slut led him astray.'

'When I collected her, she was covered in bruises and barely able to see or walk. You cannot tell me that she would have volunteered for such a beating, which she received because she refused that bastard.'

'She probably got somebody to beat her up after she seduced George to make her tale believable,' Darcy was still adamantly defending his favourite.

Sir Lewis sighed and shook his head. 'Only a besotted lover would be so wilfully blind.' He thought for a moment. Giving Darcy a hard stare he said, 'if you do not send Wickham away, you will have to take him away.'

This ultimatum shocked Darcy. 'Are you saying that you will deny your hospitality to family unless \i send my godson away?'

'It is your choice. Your family or your lover.' Sir Lewis added for good measure, 'and I insist that if you leave, you leave your children with us. Neither of them should be exposed to such an unnatural relationship.'

~~M~~

Half an hour later, Darcy was in his carriage and patted Wickham's hand. 'Never mind, dear boy. We shall have a grand time at Pemberley, just the two of us…'

George Wickham shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

~~M~~

Btw, The Colonel and The Lady is available on Kindle and KU.