Author's Note: Please let me know if you see any inconsistencies or errors in the story. We are starting to wind down. I added a tiny bit to chapter 25 and updated it. Thank you to everyone who has pointed out errors; I have fixed them in my original text, but have not updated them on here yet. I will get to that eventually. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your feedback! I promise I am writing as quickly as I can.
Chapter 27
Lord Matlock looked between his nephew and son. "What on earth are you two speaking of?"
"Do you recall how Wickham was hanging about outside Darcy House before you all left London a fortnight ago?" Fitzwilliam asked his father. Receiving a nod, he continued. "Well, we used the boys he was using to keep an eye on things to feed him bad information. When Lady Catherine and her … her retinue showed up, he was there, outside Darcy House, watching. He was still standing there a few minutes later with Darcy's former friend, Charles Bingley, showed up hoping to apologise, having finally understood his sister was a shrew who no one would ever want to accept."
Darcy looked at him in astonishment. "You did not mention that part before."
"Yes, well, I am not certain what caused his pique, but he came to London with the intention of clearing the air between the two of you. Anyway, Wickham has been to Hertfordshire, and apparently had learned you were in London and were courting the former Miss Tomlinson from Bingley. It seems Miss Bingley carried that gossip back to Netherfield when she retreated there, and Bingley was livid to learn she had approached you again. When Bingley left the tavern after the two had a long chat, Wickham informed the innkeeper Bingley would cover his bill. He had run up quite a tab and intended to run out on it, but then after meeting Bingley, decided he would stick him with the bill. Bingley was not amused and actually threatened Wickham. Truly, I would never have guessed he had it in him. In fact, I would have expected him to take the loss without a word, but he had steel in his tone when he informed Wickham he should find a way to pay him back posthaste."
Darcy agreed that "steel" was not a word he would have ever expected to use to describe Bingley.
"Who cares about Bingley?" Lord Matlock demanded. "What have you done with Wickham?"
"He has signed up for a stint in His Majesty's Navy. I doubt he will see the shores of England more many years, though my friend who helped arrange for his entry into the service."
"The navy?" Lord Matlock questioned. "He willing did this?"
"Not exactly," Fitzwilliam replied, still grinning. "It was this or the army, and Wickham prefers to face the enemy from afar. He is not man enough to join the army and fight face to face."
Lord Matlock looked questioning at his nephew when he nearly snorted in his attempt to hold back a laugh. "Alright, boys, what the devil is going on here?"
"Jon informed a few of Wickham's creditors he was in town. They began looking for him, which was what Wickham had hoped to avoid since, as always, he could not pay them. Jon offered him an opportunity to escape and provide gainful employment while he was at it. The creditors were getting rather close, so Wickham chose the option of escaping London on a Naval ship. He is now a landsman on board the HMS Bellerophon, a third-rate ship with 74 guns."
"Again, Wickham went willingly on board? He was not impressed? You did not manipulate this somehow to force him."
"Well, I admit that it was not entirely his choice, but he did get on the boat under his own power. He was not carried aboard unwillingly or under duress. Well, actually, there might have been some duress; there were several men looking for him, ready to take their pound of flesh, including Bingleym, who was rather determined to get his fifty pounds back."
"How long was he in Hertfordshire that he accumulated fifty pounds of debt?" Mr Gardiner asked in shock.
"A sennight. More than half of that was in debts of honour to men in the militia there. A significant portion was for libations in the tavern, and the smallest amount covered his food and bed for eight nights. He intended to skip town without paying but felt it would be easy to have Bingley pay for him." He paused and turned to his father to continue. "Father, why such staunch opposition to the notion that Wickham might have been compelled to join the Navy? He posed a threat to almost everyone he encountered in one way or another. Women, or rather, young girls, were scarcely secure from his influence, and no shopkeeper or tavern owner could endure covering his debts when he inevitably departed without settling what he owed. He believed he deserved more from life than he received and had few reservations about appropriating whatever he could, regardless of the harm it might inflict upon others."
"I question the practice. I cannot imagine a man who is forced into service aboard a Naval ship would willingly do his best work, and the tactics they use to ensure people work are barely better than those aboard slave ships or are found on plantations. How is the practice of impressment any different than slavery? You know my stand on that, son, and I have often spoken out in Parliament against both practices."
"I suppose you are right," Fitzwilliam agreed reluctantly. He had men under his command in the past who had been forced into the service, and they were just as likely to cut and run when they faced battle as to fight. Some of those men turned into excellent soldiers, the ones who stayed, but those who did not rarely lived long after such an occurrence. If they were not killed on the battlefield, one of their fellow soldiers probably took care of things. As an officer, Fitzwilliam could not condone such actions but had turned a blind eye to it when it occured. This gave him pause, but he quickly shoved aside such thoughts for the moment. "Regardless of that, it is done, and Wickham should trouble the Darcy's no longer. Now, let us prepare for battle."
The assembled group began to discuss strategy for when the carriage conveying its miserable inhabitants would arrive. They briefly considered dismissing Mr Bennet and Mr Collins entirely but felt that would only add fuel to the fire and instead would confront the entire party head-on with the news of the marriage. between Elizabeth and Darcy and, therefore, end all the delusions regarding other matches between Darcy and his cousin or Elizabeth and her uncle's cousin and heir.
Not long after the group sat down for an enjoyable luncheon, their peace was disturbed by the loud tones of Lady Catherine demanding entrance to her brother's house. The entire rose en masse before the butler or any other servants could arrive to inform them of their "guests" and moved to the drawing room where they would receive them. Elizabeth and Darcy sat beside each other on a settee, their hands gripped together and hidden in Elizabeth's skirts. They were surrounded by their family until all the best chairs in the room were taken, except for three uncomfortable-looking ones set in a row.
Once again, Lady Catherine's voice heralded her entry. "I demand you take me to my brother at once. He will tell me where to find my nephew, and between us, we will force him to cast that strumpet aside and marry my daughter, just as his mother intended. We will unite the great estates of Pemberley and Rosings, and I will aid my nephew in taking his place in the world. With my help, he will become an Earl at least, if not a Duke, and will be one of the richest families in England."
The guests remained seated as she all but shoved the butler aside as she stepped into the room. She halted speaking abruptly as she took note of the assembled guests. Her eyes narrowed at seeing Darcy sitting beside a lovely young woman, and she noted the position of their hands, covertly entangled within the lady's skirts. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.
Bennet entered on her heels. "Elizabeth Rose Bennet, what the devil are you doing in this house and with that man? You were to stay at the Gardiners, yet I have had to travel all over England in search of you. What is the meaning of this, young lady? I demand you explain yourself." The longer he spoke, the louder his voice grew until he was nearly shouting at the end.
Darcy stood. "You have no right to ever speak to anyone in such a way, and certainly not in my uncle's house. I can see time spent with my aunt has not made you any more reasonable than you were before your journey. For the record, Elizabeth has never been a Bennet, and she no longer bears the name Tomlinson either. We married, above a fortnight ago, and she is now Elizabeth Rose Tomlinson Darcy."
All three of the uninvited guests demonstrated their shock at this announcement. Lady Catherine was the first to give hers voice. "It cannot be. I demand you have this marriage annulled immediately. You were engaged to my Anne. It was the dearest wish of your mother —"
She was cut off by Lord Matlock. "Enough of this nonsense, Catherine. You know our sister Anne never wished her son to marry your daughter. She might have agreed with you that it was a pleasant thought when they were both children, but you know as well as I do that Anne valued wealth and connections no higher than she did. She would have never demanded her son marry anyone he did not wish to, and that goes for your daughter as well. In fact, both George and Anne Darcy told me on several occasions they wished for their son to make a love match, and I recall them both speaking of the possibility of little Ellie Tomlinson marrying Fitzwilliam one day after they saw them together at Pemberley. They were far too young at the time, and neither George nor Mr Tomlinson would enter into an agreement to force the issue, but I recall it being discussed even as early as that."
Elizabeth looked at Lord Matlock with incredulity. "Truly? My grandfather discussed the notion of our marrying one day with William's father?"
He smiled at his new niece. "They did. I believe they both looked forward to watching you lead young Darcy on what they called 'a merry chase'. I believe you fulfilled their wish in this regard, as I believe you had the lad quite tied up in knots."
She grinned unrepentantly at her husband. "Well, Dearest Will, was it a merry chase?"
"It was indeed, my love. And I enjoyed every moment, little Ellie. I believe I have told you this before."
"No one ever mentioned my grandfather wishing for the match. I am pleased to know that we have made my grandparents and your parents happy with our wedding."
"Stop this nonsense," Mr Bennet bellowed into the middle of these happy imaginings. "What do you think you know, Lizzy? You are my niece, the daughter of my brother, Edward. His natural child, I would like to add."
Mr Elliott stepped forward at this. "You are lying, Mr Bennet. You have communicated with me for years about your niece, Miss Elizabeth Tomlinson, and I have kept every letter you sent. We will meet very soon to discuss the lies you have told me over the years and discuss how you will provide reimbursements to Mrs Darcy for the funds you stole from her."
Mr Bennet's eyes grew wide at this, and he spluttered through several attempts to speak. Mr Collins was still standing in the corner of the room, watching wide-eyed as the lady he believed to be his intended was proclaimed to be the wife of another. He was also too in shock at all the persons gathered in the room, and, as no introductions had been conducted, he did not know who to address or, in fact, who all the persons gathered were. However, he did notice Mr and Mrs Gardinr in the room and wondered idly at their presence.
"I do not care about Miss Tomlinson or any matters related to her. We must return to the matter at hand," Lady Catherine began again, her tone imperious. "Darcy, I will not allow you to jilt my daughter. Whatever this balderdash is about her grandfather and your father discussing your marriage to this ... to this person did not take place. All of society knows that you are engaged to my daughter. You cannot merely set her aside so easily."
"If all of society has heard your lies about my fictional engagement to your daughter, madam, then it is your own fault for spreading such rubbish to all and sundry. However, I cannot imagine that many believed your tales as it has been many years since Anne has been of an age for marriage, and one has not yet occured. Surely most people would have realised by now you were merely stating your wishes on the matter, especially as no engagement has ever been announced. Whenever it was mentioned to me by anyone, I have denied it, as has my uncle. I know my father did the same when he was still living, though you were much less likely to mention the purported engagement then."
As Mr Bennet had done, Lady Catherine could do little but splutter at the frank denial of her wishes.
"Catherine, whatever you intended regarding our nephew and your daughter, it will not come to pass. Darcy is quite happily married, and his wife comes with her own estate, which is far closer to Pemberley than Rosings. While you were on your little holiday, Anne wrote to me that she intends to take control of Rosings, as she is well past her twenty-fifth birthday. As you no doubt recall, upon that birthday, the estate passed to her, and she has allowed you to retain control. In the last year or two, she has become far stronger and now desires to take control of what is hers. She asked that I inform you of her intention and for me to assist you in finding a place to reside either here in town or at Matlock while she learns what she needs to do for her estate. My son, Jonathan, will resign his commission and will assist her. Since Anne does not have any desire to marry, she will leave the estate to him when she passes away."
At this, Lady Catherine clasped her chest, and collapsed there on the floor before them all.
A/N: Is she faking it, or is it real? I'll try to get the next chapter posted ASAP - maybe tonight, but more likely tomorrow. We'll see how long I can keep this up today.
