Chapter 5

2 nd April, 1812

Rosings

Darcy!

I daresay you are startled and concerned to receive an express from me, so let me say first that we are all physically well.

However…

Cousin, how could you possibly allow George Wickham to run free in Miss Bennet’s home town of Meryton?

But let me back up a trifle. I have walked with Miss Bennet more than one day of late; the weather has been fine, the exercise pleasurable, and the lady’s company truly delightful.

I gathered from some subtle signs – signs which you, no doubt, would entirely miss – that Miss Bennet is not at all fond of you. She was, truly, the epitome of courtesy, but there was an odd degree of reserve when your name came up in company.

It was, of course, my aunt’s ridiculous clergyman who spilled the truth that you insulted Miss Bennet the very day you met her – at an assembly, I believe? You loudly announced that she was ‘not handsome enough to tempt you’ to dance!

Naturally, Collins did not blame you in the least. It seems that while he is willing to have Miss Bennet as a guest, he disapproves of her because she does not kowtow before our mutual aunt and considers that your indifference to her beauty and charm is entirely reasonable.

In any case, after I heard this, I made a point of apologizing on your behalf. It was then that Miss Bennet informed me of her acquaintance with George Wickham, currently serving as a lieutenant in a militia regiment stationed in her home town of Meryton, who had filled her ears with poisonous mutterings regarding your character. I reacted with great heat, which startled her, and proceeded to explain that it is not your character that is so greatly lacking, but Wickham’s.

She was disinclined to believe me, but I told her of the Hunsford living and how you paid the man three thousand pounds to go away, and then spoke of Wickham’s penchant for impregnating servant girls and, after a day to cogitate, she informed me that she realizes that Wickham is an unscrupulous fraud.

She also declared her concern that Wickham, who we agreed is a fine and handsome young man, will harm the servant girls and tenant daughters in her area. I did not disagree, certainly. You know that if I had been the one to find Wickham at Ramsgate, he would no longer be sporting a charming smile and a mouth full of teeth!

I have no intention of letting Wickham wreak havoc in Miss Bennet’s home county, Darcy! Indeed, I am distressed that you knew he was there and did nothing.

I have a few thoughts regarding how to remove that snake from our midst, but I welcome your ideas.

But make no mistake, I will act!

Sincerely,

Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam

/

3 rd April, 1812

Hunsford

Dear Jane,

It seems that God above is determined to humble me.

A Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam has been staying at Rosings for more than a week. He is the second son of the Earl of Matlock, Lady Catherine’s nephew, and cousin to Mr. Darcy.

He is as courteous and mannerly as his cousin, Darcy, is not. He is an excellent conversationalist, manages Lady Catherine adeptly, and has now joined Anne and me for our daily walks. He too was obviously startled to discover that his female cousin is not as sickly and frail as she looked when within the walls of Rosings, but he has cheerfully promised to keep her secret from her dictatorial mother.

It was on one of those walks that he solemnly requested the honor of apologizing on behalf of Mr. Darcy. It appears that Mr. Collins, always loquacious, told him of Mr. Darcy’s insult of my beauty at the assembly in Meryton. The colonel, who is naturally enough loyal to his cousin, said that Mr. Darcy is often stiff in company, while agreeing that the slur was rude in the extreme.

I was inclined to be pompous about the entire affair. I explained that Mr. Darcy’s insult was not the primary reason that I despise the master of Pemberley, but in fact, I was outraged at his treatment of George Wickham.

Oh Jane!

I declare that in that moment, I saw Colonel Fitzwilliam's courtesy melt away in favor of real ferocity! I have never seen such an expression on any man’s face, much less that of the formerly genial earl’s son!

It is now clear – and oh, how it pains me to admit it – that Wickham is a genuine rogue of the first order. That church living, which he complained about so much? Mr. Darcy paid him three thousand pounds to give it up. Furthermore, the elder Mr. Darcy left Wickham one thousand pounds in his will. So Wickham, only a few years ago, was given four thousand pounds and has managed to spend it all and more.

And there is more – oh, my dear sister, how this distresses me. He is a known seducer of tenant daughters and servant girls! The colonel informed me that there are three women and their children – Wickham’s children – being supported by Mr. Darcy at Pemberley.

I was wrong about Wickham. I truly thought him the very best of men, but that charming exterior conceals the heart and soul of a cretin!

It was hard for me to admit that I had been deceived so thoroughly, but then I thought about how Wickham shared such personal information the first time we spoke at length, and also how he avoided the Netherfield Ball where Darcy was, and how he blackened Mr. Darcy’s name to everyone but only after that gentleman left for London.

Oh, by the by, Mr. Darcy was supposed to visit Rosings with the colonel but was prevented from doing so by his younger sister’s poor health. He is, at least, a devoted brother, and I am glad to avoid meeting the man again, especially now that I am aware of the magnitude of my mistake regarding his character.

Well, enough self-flagellation. I hope and pray you are well, dear sister.

With much love,

Your Lizzy

/

6 th April, 1812

Dear Richard,

With regards to Miss Bennet, I am appalled by what you have relayed. I had no idea that she had overheard my animadversions on her looks, which you have, by now, realized were entirely false. I was not in the best of moods that night. We had just arrived at Netherfield by carriage – that is, the estate Bingley had leased in Hertfordshire – that very day, and I was weary. You know of my agitation from previous events at Ramsgate. I was still distressed, and we had scarcely stepped foot in the door when Bingley insisted that we attend a local assembly that night. I had no desire to do so, and consequently my manners suffered. My words regarding Miss Bennet were motivated entirely by irritation with Bingley, for he kept insisting that I dance with a stranger, which I despise. I very much regret that she heard my outburst and cannot excuse it. I should not have allowed my disinclination to color my words and my behavior. It is little wonder that Miss Bennet holds such a poor opinion of me, and I fear that it is completely justified!

Concerning Wickham, I appreciate your defense of my honor regarding him. That villain certainly has none. Nonetheless, I am hesitant to move against him, for reasons you fully understand – his history with our family is not conducive to overt action. If word of my most recent problem with the rogue were to become public, it would be bad for all of us.

Still, I know you, Cousin; you are a warrior, and you will not be content to leave well enough alone while he walks free. I can only pray that your manner of dealing with him will be sufficiently circumspect that he is unable to spread slanderous rumors about our family in general, and Georgiana in particular. To that end, I will collect all the receipts that I hold for his debts to be placed at your disposal as you have need of them.

I will caution you to be prudent if you move against him in Meryton. What passes for the local gentry there are gossiping, uncouth folks, as eager as the haut ton to destroy a person’s reputation based on rumors alone, and with far less compunction about delicacy in their conversation. Wickham is popular there, with his looks and his charm and his silver tongue. I, on the contrary, am not, for you know my manners are stiff and unengaging. I have no doubt that his poisonous seeds have found fertile soil, and it would take but little for them to grow fruit.

I will further warn you that you cannot depend on the Bennets to further your cause. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is a clever and intelligent young lady, and her elder sister is refined and gracious and kindly. But their younger sisters are mannerless hoydens, encouraged rather than restrained by their vulgar mother, who was born the daughter of a mere country solicitor. Their father, though a gentleman, is content to laugh at them and does not bestir himself to take them in hand or see to their education or behavior. They were entirely taken in by Wickham’s appearance, and their mother was light-minded enough to believe them over her more sensible daughters. As a leader in the local gossip ring, she could do us much damage. As I am already disliked in the area, the townsfolk may well take Wickham’s side over my own.

It would, perhaps, be best to make him simply vanish. Marshalsea, with the debt receipts? Or possibly press-ganging? He has no sea-skills to make him desirable to a captain, but he can both read and write, as well as knowing his arithmetic, so maybe a post as a ship’s clerk would suit for him. I leave that in your capable hands, though I will confess, there is a certain appeal to the image of Wickham living in cramped quarters aboard a ship, subsisting on weevil-filled hardtack and watered grog, his every move dictated by a stern captain.

I stand ready to assist, whatever your decision may be.

Sincerely,

Fitzwilliam Darcy