For those who were wondering: you will "see" the confrontation with Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins.
Some plans being made and some news from Meryton.
Mr. Darcy was called to enter when he knocked. Lord Matlock looked up from the papers on his desk as his nephew entered. Colonel Fitzwilliam was sitting in a chair near the window reading over a paper. He looked up when his cousin entered.
"Darcy, I had hoped you would return soon. Come sit. There is something I would like to discuss with you."
"Of course, Uncle." he replied.
He closed the door and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his uncle's desk.
"I have received word from my cousin. He said he will have the cottage ready by the time we arrive. He sent a list of the inns along the road once we cross the border where we should change horses. He will send horses to the last two and will have men waiting there to take the place of those we hire."
"Excellent."
"There is one thing I want to ask of you."
"Name it and I shall do my best to accommodate you."
"I want you to take Anne and Georgiana with you to visit your wife's relations. I do not want to expose them to Catherine's vitriol when she arrives."
"Wait a minute, you did not say you were sending Georgiana to Meryton as well." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked coming over.
"Is there a problem with her going?"
Colonel Fitzwilliam glanced at his cousin.
"There is no need to worry, Richard." Mr. Darcy remarked. "I received word that things are settled in Meryton."
"Settled?" Lord Matlock asked. "What are you two speaking of? Stop being so cryptic."
"George Wickham was in Meryton."
"Who?"
"My father's godson. He is the son of my father's late steward."
"Yes, now I remember him. What does he have to do with taking Georgiana with you?"
"He has caused trouble in the past. After I cut him from my acquaintance, he tried to approach Georgiana while on holiday. We did not want to risk him bothering her again."
"I always told your father he gave that boy too much attention."
Mr. Darcy simply nodded, "He often mentioned his connection to my family so many of his creditors came to me to settle his debts."
"Tell me you did not do it."
"I did." Mr. Darcy answered. "I did not want good people to be harmed because of him and I felt responsible. My father fed his sense of entitlement."
"He is a grown man. He should know his place and learn to live within his means."
"Do not worry, Uncle. My misplaced sense of obligation has caught Wickham and he shall not escape responsibility this time."
"What did you do?"
"I spoke to my solicitor when I arranged my marriage settlement about calling in all the debts that I have paid for Wickham." Mr. Darcy said.
"A wise decision. He will likely curse your name to all who can hear though."
"He does not know it was me."
"How could he not?"
"There was talk about him making promises among some of the merchants daughters in Meryton so I sent a man to collect his debts in the village, saying that he was doing so by order of a group of gentlemen who wished him away from innocent ladies."
"Clever."
"That is not even the most interesting part."
"What is the interesting part?" Colonel Fitzwilliam asked.
"The man I sent wrote yesterday. It seems since his arrival in the village on Saturday evening, he has been approached by three gentlemen and two of the merchants to join the supposed alliance to evict Wickham from Meryton."
They all shared a laugh.
"In addition to their assistance in collecting his debts, he also mentioned an incident on Monday evening. Apparently Wickham sat at cards with several rather rough men who caught him cheating. Along with several hard blows, one of them took a blade to his face. While the wounds are superficial, he certainly will not be tempting ladies with his looks any longer."
"Were the men arrested?"
"From what was said there were no witnesses or rather none willing to come forward. Wickham himself could not identify any of the men. Whether because he was drunk or from fear, I do not know. With the debts brought against him, he was arrested at the militia camp and is to be transported to Newgate this morning."
"His case will be settled quickly, if he does not have the means to cover his debts." Lord Matlock remarked. "You do not believe he will be able to pay them, do you?"
"Unlikely." the colonel commented. "Wickham could never hold a shilling for very long."
"Once he arrives at the prison, my solicitor will add the rest of the debts owed to me." Mr. Darcy explained. "I have receipts from Lambton to Ramsgate, and have a half dozen places in between. He will not breathe free air for a long time."
"I am glad it is settled. Wickham has been a thorn long enough."
The others nodded.
"So there are no objections to Anne and Georgiana joining you?"
"None, Uncle." his nephew replied. "I would not want them exposed to Lady Catherine any more than you would." Mr. Darcy turned to his cousin. "Would you carry a letter to Mrs. Collins for Elizabeth?"
"Of course. When do you plan to leave?"
"I had planned Friday morning."
"Tomorrow would likely be better." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked. "With Mr. Bennet back in Meryton, it is likely news of your marriage has become known and Mrs. Collins's family may have written. A letter could arrive by late tomorrow. If Lady Catherine hears, she may depart before I arrive on Friday."
"Catherine dislikes staying over at inns so if she does hear tomorrow, she will not leave Rosings until Friday morning." Lord Matlock stated.
"Unless the letter is sent express. In which case she could know by this evening."
"The sooner we leave the less likely we will cross paths with her. Richard is right. Departing tomorrow would be best."
"I plan to depart tomorrow afternoon and stay over at an inn a few miles north of Rosings. It is not one we usually stop at. I do not think I would be recognized. A few of my Navy friends will be there as well. We will take Jefferson as soon as we are sure Lady Catherine is away."
"That is a good plan." Lord Matlock remarked. "Is Elizabeth well enough to travel tomorrow?"
"She is able to walk fairly well. She is getting stronger by the day."
"No, disagreements over restrictions?" his cousin asked casually.
"Our opinions do not always align on the subject."
"So should I expect delivery of my brandy soon?"
"I am afraid not, cousin." Mr. Darcy replied with a bit of a smug grin.
"You disagreed about her restrictions..."
"But it was not out first disagreement after we said our vows."
"You have only been married three days, how many disagreements could you have had?"
"Elizabeth is quite passionate about literature so there have been several...intense discussions."
"Your first disagreement was about a book?"
"Not our first, no."
"So what was your first disagreement about?" Lord Matlock asked. "Richard told me about your bet. I must say I am surprised if he truly lost."
"It was about some silly fashion among the Ton she was considering following. She believed it would help her be accepted. I forbid it."
"You forbid it? How did that go?"
"Elizabeth is an intelligent woman. She understood that as my wife she must sometimes give way to my decisions."
"You told her about the bet." Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked suddenly. "You told her and she thought up something to raise your ire enough for you to forbid it."
"Why would you think that?" Lord Matlock asked.
"He told me at Rosings that she sometimes expresses opinions that are not her own. Bingley told me about the time she stayed at Netherfield as well."
"They argued at Netherfield?"
"Well, they were not exactly arguments but Bingley said her sister believed that she took the opposing opinion just to disagree with Darcy."
"It is quite likely." Mr. Darcy replied. "She was not very pleased with my company then."
"But she is now, so why would she disagree with him." Lord Matlock reasoned.
"She is his wife and she wished him to win the bet."
"You believe she would risk angering her new husband to assist in winning him a bet."
"I believe it is possible."
"This is all moot." Mr. Darcy commented. "Our first disagreement was about something other than her restrictions. I won the bet."
"Did you tell her about the bet?" his cousin asked.
"We made no agreement that I could not tell her, so whether I told her is of no concern."
"I am asking her."
Colonel Fitzwilliam rose and left the study. The other men followed.
The ladies were chatting pleasantly when Colonel Fitzwilliam marched into the room. His father and cousin were only a few steps behind. They were greeted cheerfully and invited to join them.
The men took seats then the colonel turned to Elizabeth.
"May I ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Did Darcy tell you about our bet?"
"Richard, gentleman's bets are not proper conversation for a parlor. You should know better."
"This is important, Mother, and there is no one here but family." he replied to his mother then turned back to Elizabeth. "So did he tell you?"
"I am afraid you will have to be more specific, sir." Elizabeth replied sweetly. "Your cousin told me much about his childhood over the past few days. You two seem to quite enjoy making silly wagers."
Colonel Fitzwilliam glanced at his cousin who was sitting looking amused in the chair nearby.
"Did he tell you about our most recent wager?"
"Now that you mention it, he did say something about me winning him a bottle of brandy. Would you care to explain the details?"
"No, no, I was only wondering if he might have told you about it. Some ladies dislike such things."
"I do not mind them as long as they are in good fun and no one is harmed by them. You may not know, but even ladies occasionally make silly wagers among themselves."
"Do they?"
"Yes, though likely not as often or for the same things as gentlemen. My sisters prefer to wager for ribbons or who will get the last piece of some treat."
"I once lost a wager to your Aunt Anne." Lady Matlock remarked. "I had to send her apple tarts. She was quite pleased with herself about it."
"What was the wager about?"
"If she could get George to wear a yellow waistcoat. I knew he disliked the color so I did not think she could do it but she did."
The others shared a laugh.
"Has Uncle share his plans about our trip with you, Aunt Rachel?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"Yes, I was just telling Elizabeth about it. You are leaving Friday, correct?"
"I believe we should go tomorrow if everyone is in agreement. There is a chance the news could reach Lady Catherine by express."
"I had not thought of that." Elizabeth said. "If Lady Lucas sends an express, Mr. Collins will surely take it to Lady Catherine."
"Then we go tomorrow." Anne remarked. "I have no desire to see her ever again."
Everyone nodded.
"I will send a note to Bingley when we return home." Mr. Darcy said.
"Do you think he will have a problem with extra guests?"
"I do not believe so. He is happy to have friends close by."
"Wonderful. You can pick them up in the morning after breakfast."
The butler entered with a card. He handed it to Lady Matlock.
"Oh dear. William, I suggest you and Elizabeth slip into the study before you go. Mrs. Lawson has come to call. If I do not speak to her, she speak of it all over town." Lady Matlock remarked.
"Then we will say our goodbyes now. Enjoy your guest." Mr. Darcy said standing.
"Come we will hide you until she is settled with her tea." Lord Matlock said leading the couple from the room.
Colonel Fitzwilliam rose quickly to follow.
Thank you for reading.
At present I have three endings for Charlotte - not pregnant, pregnant with a girl, and pregnant with a boy. If anyone would like to weigh in and offer an opinion I'd be happy to hear it. All three endings are happy for her and don't change what happens to Mr. Collins. At this point I am thinking about just rolling a dice and seeing what fate has to say.