Chapter 21
Breakfast parlor
Netherfield
The food was abundant but not varied; a ham, a few vegetables, a single pudding. It was perfectly reasonable for a small intimate dinner, in Darcy's opinion. The diners' dress was equally appropriate, buckskins and country coats for the gentlemen – olive and a dusky blue, respectively – and Georgiana was in a delicate peach that flattered her complexion. Mrs. Annesley, beside her charge, faded into the background in a simple dark green with a pale shawl.
"My apologies for the simplicity of the meal," Bingley said as the servants left the room. "My sister Caroline will be my acting as hostess of Netherfield, but she and the Hursts were delayed in Town and will not arrive until tomorrow."
Darcy schooled his face into one of polite regret, though inwardly he rejoiced. He tolerated Bingley's relations because of his fondness for Bingley, not because he particularly liked either Miss Bingley or Mrs. Hurst; both ladies, educated in the finest of finishing schools, with large dowries, had a very high opinion of themselves, even though their fortune came from trade.
"Do you happen to know the location of Longbourn, a nearby estate?" Georgiana asked eagerly.
Bingley nodded and said, "Indeed, the Longbourn estate lies to the west of Netherfield, and I had the honor of meeting Mr. Bennet only recently."
Georgiana's eyes were shining now and she asked impulsively, "Have you met Elizabeth?"
"Miss Elizabeth Bennet? No, I have not; regrettably, I have not met any of the Bennet ladies yet. I hoped that perhaps we could call on Longbourn tomorrow, though, if you are interested."
"I would love that!" Georgiana said enthusiastically, and then turned uneasily toward her brother, "If that is all right with you, Brother."
Darcy was as eager to see Elizabeth as Georgiana, but he forced himself to wait a few seconds before saying, as casually as possible, "Indeed, I would enjoy that, very much."
/
Library
Longbourn
The Next Morning
"Sir William Lucas," the butler announced, and Bennet, who had been waiting impatiently, rose to his feet and held out a hand toward his neighbor.
"Thank you for coming so quickly in response to my message, sir," Bennet said. "Please, do sit down!"
Sir William, who had been knighted after giving an address to the king, hurried to take his place by the fire, his normally good humored face wrinkled in concern. "It is my honor and pleasure, of course! How can I serve you?"
Bennet glanced over to the door and, after ensuring it was shut, took his own seat across from his neighbor and said, in a lowered voice, "I need to speak of you of a villain who has entered Meryton in the guise of a militia officer."
"A villain, you say!" his companion replied, his blue eyes wide with wonder. "Whom do you mean?"
Bennet blew out a breath and leaned forward. "His name is Mr. Wickham, and he is a lieutenant in the regiment; he arrived, along with three other officers, a few days ago, apparently to prepare for the rest of the regiment to arrive in the next month. My Lizzy met Mr. Wickham in Ramsgate in July, and, while I cannot share all the details of Wickham's activities in order to protect the family concerned, he behaved in a most ungentlemanly way toward a young lady staying in Ramsgate at the time."
"Dear God!" Sir William exclaimed in genuine horror. "Do you mean…?"
"Lizzy tells me that it did not progress to actual intimacy, but Wickham was attempting actions toward the girl which were not at all honorable," Bennet said. "Elizabeth, when she found Mr. Wickham at the Phillips' last night, informed the man that given his disreputable character, he is not welcome in Meryton. He proceeded to threaten her that he would lie and claim that she allowed him liberties while in Ramsgate!"
"No!" the other man exclaimed. "Not Miss Elizabeth! She is as honorable as my Charlotte! She would never permit such a thing!"
"Indeed, she would not," Bennet agreed and, with a return of his usual sardonic wit, said, "If it had been Lydia, I might not be so sure, but Elizabeth is both virtuous and sensible. Nonetheless, it will do my family no good if Wickham spreads rumors about my girl. As you are magistrate of the area, I wished to consult you on how to manage this difficult, and delicate, situation."
Sir William was looking as angry as was possible for such a placid man and he said, "Something must indeed be done, Mr. Bennet. A man who would lie about Miss Elizabeth would do anything!"
"Indeed," Bennet agreed gratefully. He did not think a great deal of Sir William Lucas's intelligence, but the man had more determination and drive in his little finger than Bennet had in his whole hand. Sir William was, moreover, an honorable and kindly man and could be trusted to champion the reputations of the Bennet ladies.
/
The Pig in the Poke Pub
Meryton
Wickham glanced around as he entered the local pub. It was humming with lively activity, a good portion of the locals who were near enough to do so repairing to the establishment for their noon meal. The air was fragrantly scented with roasting pork and fresh bread, and Wickham eyed the wedge of cheese on a nearby plate greedily. At a table under one window, his three fellow-officers sat gleaming like so many rubies in the sunlight, surrounded on all sides by rustic yokel farmers and vulgar tradesmen.
Wickham twitched his own coat perfectly straight to stride over, boot heels clicking across the rough-hewn boards. One chair was left at the table and he swung it out, seating himself without compunction beside Captain Denny.
"Good morning," he remarked, and turned a smiling look on the buxom girl who was scurrying to and fro. The girl stopped in her tracks and returned the smile as she glided up to say, "What will you be having, sir?"
"Might I have what my friend Denny is having?" he asked winsomely and the girl blushed, nodded, and rushed off.
The other officers, who had looked up at Wickham's arrival, were openly curious and Denny demanded, "Wickham! Whatever happened last night?"
"Last night?" Wickham repeated casually, reaching out to take a piece of toast from Denny's plate. "You do not mind, do you? I am quite hungry."
"Come now, Wickham!" Smythe said. "Do not play coy with us. What on earth happened between you and the second Miss Bennet? She was obviously furious with you!"
Wickham deliberately took a bite of toast, chewed it, swallowed it, and then, at the arrival of a glass of ale, took a drink. He had thought long and hard about the matter through the dark hours, and had, after some consideration, decided to go to war with Elizabeth Bennet. The girl was the daughter of a local member of the gentry, and country folk were generally prim and proper; even the hint of rumors about the reputation of a young woman could cause the entire family to be cast aside by the local populace. He would extract money from Darcy, and he would not permit a young miss to prevent him from doing so!
"Miss Elizabeth," Wickham finally said, enjoying the avid stares of his fellows. "well, we have been introduced before, you see. She and her aunt were in Ramsgate in July, and I was there as well."
He paused again and took a bite of ham, relishing the attention of the others.
"And?" Pratt said finally. "Come on, Wickham! What happened?"
"What do you think happened?" Wickham demanded with a sly grin. "She is like many a girl without enough oversight; we met, we enjoyed some very charming times together…"
"You are saying that you and she…?" Denny demanded, an impressed expression on his face.
"Yes, quite a charming bedfellow, Miss Elizabeth," Wickham said with a drawl. "We had some very pleasant times together."
"You lucky dog, you!" Pratt said, sniggering. "I wonder if Miss Elizabeth will be equally free with her favors for the less handsome among us."
"Very few loose women can turn away a man in a red coat," Smythe said, laughing.
"What are you saying about Miss Elizabeth?" a rough voice demanded from behind him.
Wickham turned in his chair to observe a tall, hulking red headed young man, dressed in laborer's clothing, glaring at him with four other men, with similar features and hair color, behind him.
"I do not see that is any of your business," Wickham said with a sneer, turning back toward his companions.
A moment later, a large and very strong hand grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to his feet.
"I asked, what did you say about Miss Lizzy?" the man said and now Wickham felt a trickle of fear run down his back. The man was several inches taller than he was, and his muscles bulged in his rough sleeve.
He was relieved with Denny stood up as well and addressed the man. "My good fellow, this has nothing to do with you, I assure you."
"If you are speaking out of turn about Miss Lizzy, then it has everything to do with us," the man replied, tightening his grip on Wickham. "The Bennets are a fine family and Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth are the best of them all. So I repeat, what did you say about her?"
Wickham, glancing around, observed that everyone else in the pub was staring at them, some still seated, a few standing. He hesitated; he did not much care for the expression of his assailant but what could he do, and in public?
"I am reluctant to say this publicly, but since you have forced me, I will do so, though I do beg you to keep it quiet for the sake of the family. Miss Elizabeth and I met a few months ago at Ramsgate and given that she is a pretty girl, and I am a handsome young man, it was perhaps inevitable that we would fall in love, and that the lady would bestow upon me her most intimate favors…"
He was cut off abruptly and unceremoniously by a dreadfully hard and knobbled fist driving with appalling speed and accuracy into his mouth. His head snapped back and he heard a frightening crunch, vision whiting out for a second as he staggered back. Behind him were sharp clatters, chairs screeching back across the floor to fall over as the militia sprang to the defense of their own, the hulking yokels surging forward with vicious good will.
Wickham shook his head, a spatter of blood flying from his mouth, and lifted one hand to probe with dismay at his jaw. In the places flaming hot with pain, he found only gaps and copious amounts of blood.
A head cracked onto the wooden floor in front of him, distracting him momentarily from his own agony. Carter shook away the stars and scrambled to his feet, swinging a right hook towards the burly farmer who had felled him. Behind the counter huddled the three barmaids, all of them screaming and clinging to one another.
Fury surged through Wickham's veins as he saw his own white teeth laying on the grungy boards and he surged upright once more, plowing into the lout who had first dared lay hand on Wickham's person. This proved to be an unfortunate mistake, as the man recognized him and plainly still bore a grudge. Wickham raised both arms to protect his head and face, all but weeping with the pain throbbing like a smithing iron through his nose.
"Enough!" an authoritative voice shouted above the din. "Tom, enough!" The merciless blows bruising his forearms and crown ceased, and Wickham slumped into a ball on the bloody floorboards, panting and whimpering. A portly man had seized the farmer's arms, pulling him back; a bald, heavily-muscled man had a restraining arm bulging with sinew across a rangy youth's chest. Pratt stood slowly and spat out blood, while Denny wrung out a hand and Smythe moaned, one eye noticeably red. Wickham stared in dismay, one hand to his mouth and another to his nose, right leg held very gingerly. What had happened?
/
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Author Note: Notice... I will be posting the entire main story here on FF and then will need to take most of it down on Feb 17 per Amazon's rules. The "author's cut" of Ramsgate Rescue, will include various edits, tweaks, additions and two epilogues so we can see how our favorite characters (and villains) are doing in the future. If you're interested, the pre-order is now live on Amazon. :-) UPDATE: It looks like it's still hard to find 'Ramsgate Rescue' on Amazon. You can also try search on 'Laraba Kendig'