The Darcys had lived in Derbyshire for several centuries, and were a very wealthy family. Generation after generation saw and increase in their wealth and prestige in England. In 1777, despite being merely a gentleman, George Darcy married Lady Anne Fitzwilliam in an arranged marriage. Their marriage was like most of the first social circle; the gentleman visited his wife's bedchamber frequently to produce the desired heirs, they occasionally attend social events, and the rest of the time they lived separate lives.
During the first years of marriage, Lady Anne suffered several miscarriages, which gradually turned her into a sad and bitter woman. Because of a serious infection from her last miscarriage, the doctor suggested waiting at least six months or a year to try again.
With that disappointing news, the marriage's fragile relationship deteriorated even more. A very unhappy and disillusioned George Darcy sought out the woman who had been his mistress for five years, before his marriage to Lady Anne - Mrs. Wickham.
Carrie Wickham, formerly Jones, was the daughter of a tenant from Pemberley, and a couple of years younger than George Darcy. Since their youth, there had always been a great attraction between them, but because of the difference in their social status, both knew that they could never marry.
Carrie was married at a young age to a soldier, but unfortunately, within two years, she was widowed. She lived precariously on a very small pension, and doing sewing work for the Lambton dressmaker. One afternoon, when Carrie was going to deliver some clothes, she ran into George Darcy. They chatted for several minutes, and both returned to their respective homes. Days later, and after much thought, George – who had been in love with her for years – proposed that she be his mistress. At first, Carrie did not accept the proposal, since he had asked her to be his mistress only until he married. But eventually, she did accept, and Carrie's life improved substantially. George opened an account in her name, and in the five years that their relationship lasted, he gave her a total of £3,000 so that she could have a comfortable life when their relationship ended. They were always very careful, and there were no children from that relationship.
A year after George was married, Carrie met Mr. Wickham - an honest man, several years her senior - and they married. Carrie and George both decided to avoid seeing each other out of respect for their respective partners, and so as not to fall into temptation.
One afternoon, when George Darcy knew that Mr. Wickham was going to be away from Pemberley for a week, he arranged a meeting with Carrie. They began a clandestine romance, which they were very careful that no one should find out. The sad reality was, that despite their social differences, they were in love. They knew that what they were doing was wrong, but it was very difficult to deny themselves those little moments of happiness.
A few months into the romance, Carrie became pregnant, and it was impossible to guess if the child was Wickham's or Darcy's. The birth was difficult, but the child was born healthy and strong. It took Carrie several months to recover, and the midwife estimated that it would be very difficult for her to have another child. Perhaps for this reason, from a very early age, George Wickham - as the child was named - was spoiled by his mother.
Despite Lady Anne's protest, who suspected her husband's infidelities and George Wickham's paternity, Mr. Darcy was George Wickhman's proud godfather.
The relationship between George Darcy and Lady Anne continued to deteriorate, but a few months after George's birth, at Lady Anne's insistence, Darcy resumed visiting her. A year later, in 1784, his first child was born - at least his first legitimate child - who was named Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Years passed, Darcy and Carrie continued to see each other secretly, but she did not get pregnant again. Since Fitzwilliam Darcy and George Wickham were only a year and a half apart in age, they often played together. It was not uncommon to see George Wickham at Pemberley, and Mr. Darcy spending even more time with him than with his son, Fitzwilliam.
Lady Anne was greatly annoyed by her husband's constant favoritism of George Wickham over their rightful son, and this led to many quarrels in the marriage. When Fitzwilliam was 11 years old, Lady Anne traveled to London to visit her brother. Her relationship with her husband was grown increasingly distant, and she felt lonely.
In London, she became reacquainted with a friend of her brother's, whom she had known since childhood. The gentleman, now widowed, was in love with her, and had wanted to marry her before her marriage to Darcy, but her father had already made arrangements with George Darcy. During the month she was in London, they saw each other several times, and they had a brief affair which ended when Lady Anne returned to Pemberley.
Nine months later, Georgiana Darcy was born, but from complications during the birth, Lady Anne did not recover and died a few days later. She had never been certain of Georgiana's paternity.
Two months following Lady Anne's death, Carrie Wickham also passed away. Darcy was devastated by the death of his lover, but in London they all assumed his sadness was due to the death of his wife.