Hello. Thank you everyone for your kind words about this story. As ever, I must state that Jane Austen created these characters, I am just taking them out to play. This story takes place as soon as Wickham meets Elizabeth and I have taken a liberty with the timeline for the purposes of my story. Also, a little suspension of belief is required, I will state that I do not believe that Denny would be quite so malleable but for my story to work I need him to be so! Enjoy chapter two.
"Wickham, surely you must be in jest?! You can not mean to go ahead with this plan of yours? You must know you will not succeed? Miss Elizabeth is no simpleton, she will see through your manoeurves no sooner have you passed Longbourn's gate, you must know that?!" Denny said with some desperation and much horror. This man had lost his mind!
"My friend, that is what I am counting on. The more distress Miss Elizabeth is in the better it is for me. I can turn Darcy to my desires if it is so. That is, if he feels for Miss Bennet as I believe and if I have judged the man right he will have to play the knight and rescue the fair damsel. He is not a man to shirk what he sees as his duties and once he has given his affections and respect, he is not one to shy away from helping those he considers his own."
Denny listened to Wickham with a growing sense of alarm. The man was entirely serious. His hatred of Mr Darcy must be deeply rooted. Denny wished he had time to alert Colonel Forster and by extension the Bennet family and Mr Darcy but the wheels were set in motion and it was far too late now. He looked on as George Wickham charmed the room and as he escorted Miss Elizabeth to the seat nearest the door. When seated the two seemed engrossed in an absorbing conversation, Denny could hardly look away and yet he could only look on as Miss Elizabeth listened with rapt attention to Wickham. The longer their conversation went on the worse Denny felt for the poor girl, for he knew only too well how beguiling Wickham could be when he chose.
One day when the regiment had some time away from their training, Wickham convinced Denny, Sanderson and a few other of the officers to ride to the next town and join one of the gaming tables in a tavern there - Denny could scarce remember his name the next morning nevermind the place when he had brought shame on himself. He had lost far too much and Wickham had promised him that Colonel Forster would never know the extent of his shame. Except there was a limit to Wickham's good graces, he would lord this knowledge over Denny whenever he wished to get his way.
On reflection, Denny knew instinctively that this was to be one of those times and to his shame he was not strong enough to stand against Wickham nor his fear of what may happen if his shame was found out. He had three sisters dependent on his pitiful earnings and he could ill afford to lose it. And so it was too late to say anything against Wickham.
",,,We are not on friendly terms, and it always pains me to meet him but I have no reason for avoiding him but what I might proclaim before all the world, a sense of very great ill-usage, and most painful regrets at his being what he is…"
Denny could hear it no longer, he could hardly bear it. Wickham was entirely too good at twisting the truth for his own ends and his ability to sense a weak spot in his audience was unparalleled. He used this ability to great effect with Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Denny saw the moment Wickham won the day. "... and most painful regrets at his being what he is…" The look of complete sincerity in Wickham's eyes as he uttered those words, one could hardly blame Miss Elizabeth for taking them as nothing but the truth,
The seeds were sown. There was nothing to do now but wait with bated breath for what may happen. Would Miss Elizabeth trust Wickham's word enough? There would be doubt until the night of the Netherfield Ball. Wickham only needed one chance to draw Miss Bennet away from the crowd and the damage would be done. One moment was all it was going to take.