Page 19 of Fitzwilliam Darcy Undone
“I wonder whether he is likely to be in this country much longer.”
“I cannot say as I heard nothing of his going away when I was at Netherfield. I hope your plans in favor of the ____shire Militia will not be affected by his being in the neighborhood.”
“Oh! no - it’s not for me to be driven away by Darcy. Ifhewishes to avoidme, he must go, much like he did yesterday.”
Mr. Wickham seemed genuine and charming and had all the appearance of goodness, yet there was something off and she knew, in her soul, she dared not trust him in any way, shape, or form. At this moment she wished Papa had joined them for the evening. Given his history and their family lineage, he’d know how to handle Mr. Wickham. At least, she hoped he did. Her disquiet continued to grow as Mr. Wickham expounded on his grievance with Mr. Darcy, claiming he’d denied him a living which was bequeathed to him upon the elder Mr. Darcy’s death. The dichotomy which was Mr. Wickham grew in leaps and bounds.
On one hand he vowed to not disparage the elder Mr. Darcy’s son because of his great respect for the man, yet he cast nothing but derision in the direction of the younger Mr. Darcy by stating his motive for denying the living was a deep-seated hatred for the godson whom his father favored. Lizzy’s head pounded with the beginnings of a megrim at his vitriol. How to close this conversation without revealing how much she despised the godson over the son?
“Surely he is not all evil. There must be some good within him.”
“Oh yes,” Mr. Wickham scoffed. “To those who are his equal he is most liberal and generous - to give his money freely, to display hospitality, to assist the tenants, and relieve the poor. He is very proud of his family and would never disgrace his father’s memory.”
Lizzy couldn’t stop her brow from furrowing and turned her face so Wickham wouldn’t sense her confusion. If Darcy had such family pride and would never disgrace his father’s memory, then why would he deny Wickham the living his father bequeathed? Nothing of this conversation made sense. By this time the whist party was breaking up and Mr. Collins quickly established his place by Elizabeth’s side. For the first time since he appeared on Longbourn’s doorstep she appreciated his presence, although when he once again began spouting inane platitudes about his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she wished him gone.
Mr. Wickham’s attention was caught, and after observing Mr. Collins for a few moments, asked in a low voice, “Is your relative intimately acquainted with the de Bourgh family?”
Her interest was piqued by his query. What could he possibly want in connection to her idiotic cousin?
“Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” she replied, “has very recently bestowed on him the living at Hunsford.”
“You are aware that Lady Catherine and Lady Anne Darcy, the current Mr. Darcy’s mother, are sisters?”
Mr. Darcy’s family were nobility. That explained why he had no time or desire to dance with a mere gentleman’s daughter. She bit back a smirk. At least he thought she was only a gentleman’s daughter. In a peaceful world where the enemy of Miatharans didn’t lurk in dark hollows, she’d be known as Lady Elizabeth Benoit. As Lydia would say, ‘what a laugh’.
“I had no knowledge of this at all. In fact, I’d never heard of her existence until yesterday.”
“You’ll be pleased to know that the daughter, Miss de Bourgh, has a very large fortune, and it is believed she and her cousin, Mr. Darcy, will unite the two estates.”
Elizabeth’s heart plummeted at the news. She’d known she never had a chance of gaining his attention, but to know definitively they could enjoy nothing beyond the realm of polite friendship, was devastating. Her mood was lightened by a random thought. Poor Miss Bingley. Vain indeed must be all her attentions, vain and useless affection for the highly gifted Miss Darcy, and all her wasted efforts to please him when he was predestined to be with another.
Her conversation with Mr. Wickham ended and thankfully he turned his attention to other ladies. Her megrim grew as the room became louder and there was no reprieve in the carriage ride home as Lydia and Mr. Collins both spoke over each other in their attempt to regale their captive audience with their wins and losses over cards. The lights of Longbourn had never looked more welcome and her bed never more inviting than tonight and she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Chapter Eight
The next day, while she and Jane walked about the garden, Lizzy attempted to discuss portions of her conversation with Mr. Wickham. She wanted to warn her sister, in the gentlest of ways, to be leery of his attentions.
“Surely he is not as vile as you say,” Jane patted her forearm where their arms linked. “His manners are much too pleasing to hide a vicious nature. Although, I don’t condone what he had to say about Mr. Darcy. If true, then poor Mr. Darcy is all deficient in character.”
“Jane, I’m sorry I bothered you with my musings. You are completely incapable of seeing evil in anyone and this is a conundrum. I cannot make them out.” She squeezed their arms closer together and softly hip bumped her sister. “I give you leave to keep the peace and not worry about either of them.”
“I give you leave to cease your worries as well. This feud does not concern us in any way and you must let them figure these things out.”
“Must I? You know I love a good mystery and if this plays out further before our neighbor and friends, I fear the type of repercussion which might be visited upon Mr. Bingley.”
Their attention was re-directed by the sound of a carriage approaching bearing the very person of whom they’d just been speaking.
“It’s Mr. Bingley!” Jane cried out, a slight blush making her cheeks rosy and fresh. It did not miss Lizzy’s attention that her sister had not even commented how the esteemed gentleman was accompanied by his sisters. A slight oversight, but then, Jane was well on her way to being in love with the happy young man and that type of behavior might be expected.
Also expected was the behavior of Miss Bingley and her sister. They gushed over Jane, exclaiming how delighted they were to see theirdearfriend again. Elizabeth thought for sure she’d become dizzy with the amount of eye rolling she did behind their backs. Although Jane sent her a chastening look, she wasn’t worried. The ladies from Netherfield paid scant attention to the rest of the Bennet family, focusing all their efforts on Jane, declaring they’d had no good society in the house since she left and what had she been doing whilst separated from them. Lizzy stifled a very unladylike snort at that comment. As if their lives revolved around the comings and goings of people they’d only known for a few months. The rest of the family either didn’t realize or completely disregarded their rude behavior as they’d come bearing invitations to the long-awaited ball at Netherfield.
Elizabeth also felt a stirring of excitement. A private ball was not as crowded, usually with equal number of gentlemen to ladies and the likelihood of not dancing all sets were slim to none. Would Mr. Darcy ask her to dance? She shook her head at the fanciful thought. He may dance with her in her dreams but in real life, Mr. Darcy was too high above her station and she’d do well to keep her feet grounded in the rich soil of Hertfordshire. So caught up in her musings she didn’t see Mr. Collins slide in beside her as they watched the carriage taking Mr. Bingley and his sister off to their next call.
“May I take this opportunity of soliciting a dance at the ball, Miss Elizabeth.”
“I did not think you would dance, Mr. Collins.”
“I have no objections to a ball given by such as man as Mr. Bingley. I hope to be honored with the hands of all my fair cousins during the course of the evening.” He turned fully to face her, almost bowing as he spoke the next words. “I take this opportunity of soliciting yours, Miss Elizabeth, for the first two dance especially.” He raised moon calf eyes to hers. “A preference which I trust my cousin Jane will attribute to the right cause, and not to any disrespect to her.”
