Page 29 of New World Tea Company
The arrival of the Bingley party without the younger sister was disappointing.
‘I cannot present myself to her without the opportunity to speak. And her brother will not make a suitable ambassador to speak of investment opportunities for her dowry,’Wickham thought. Then he studied Fitzwilliam Darcy for a time–the man has grown even more reserved since inheriting his father’s estate.
‘Unlimited gold and the minister’s ear will make Darcy think he is a god before reaching thirty years,’Wickham mused.‘I shall not tempt the lightning bolts he can throw my way. Perhaps Edith’s failure to move Miss Darcy to Ramsgate was fortuitous. An angry Fitzwilliam Darcy would trample me.’
Suddenly, George realized,‘Lord, if he was angry enough, Darcy would have had me transported to Australia.’
Banishing such thoughts, Wickham turned his attention to the lovely ladies–without question, Jane Bennet was the loveliest young woman in Meryton. Miss Saunders, Miss Rushing, Miss Goulding, and the other Bennet sisters wereall comely and fairly well-mannered. Some sang or played the instrument in the corner, and they all danced. The youngest girls in long dresses were too immature for a man of Wickham’s tastes.
‘They are pretty but give them another year or two to grow to be women,’he thought, considering them only as objects.
The most entertaining member of the party proved to be the parson who arrived with the Bennet family. The man spoke endlessly and while he appeared to capture each individual’s attention for a moment or two, the parson quickly overwhelmed them with a flood of words that left them glassy-eyed.
At supper, Miss Elizabeth Bennet sat on George’s left, and he questioned her carefully and learned the parson who never ran out of words was her father’s cousin and heir.
“An entailment then?” asked George. “Only a male heir can inherit?”
“Yes, Mr Wickham. My sisters and I cannot inherit.”
“And if there is more than one son, only the eldest can inherit. The powerful lords make certain that power and money remain concentrated in the hands of one heir,” he added. “I understand how you feel.”
“How I feel?” she asked, not understanding the man’s statement.
“The home you have known all your life will be lost to you upon your father’s death. That happens to younger sons and daughters. Natural children of the powerful men are excluded also.”
Elizabeth blushed hearing that last statement, and he apologised. But the young woman replied, “No, sir. I am coming to understand that it is the way of the world. History is full of the tales of dalliances by our kings.”
“Many of those men take care of their natural children.” George stumbled before he continued, “We…they cannot inherit the estate.”
Elizabeth heard the carefully worded slip but said nothing about Mr Wickham’s situation. She made no inquiries of the man and would not ask Mr Darcy about Wickham’s statement. But she would remember them.
Then George asked about the character of Mr Collins, and Elizabeth visibly winced.
To allow the young woman to consider her response, George continued, “My old friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, seldom interferes in the affairs of persons. When he was young, his father taught him the Darcy family is above all other persons and the problems of such people were not worthy of his notice.”
“A most unfortunate view of the world,” Elizabeth opined. Then she asked, “But why?”
George looked away; his expression one of a painful memory. Then he continued weaving his tale. “In my childhood, I wanted to attend university and as Old Mr Darcy’s godson, he paid for me to attend with Fitzwilliam–Young Mr Darcy. But when Old Mr Darcy passed, I needed to attend another year to become a clergyman, and Fitzwilliam refused to assist me.”
Elizabeth remained silent, and George prompted her, “Please, Miss Elizabeth, I did not mean to confuse or overwhelm you with my stories. I merely was interested in the character of your cousin.”
“I should try to model myself on Mr Darcy and not express an opinion about others,” Elizabeth said. “But I cannot. I am sorry for your loss Mr Wickham. Would you have made a good member of the clergy?”
The young woman glanced toward the verbose parson seated at another table and dominating the conversation among thediners before she added, “Mr Collins speaks without ceasing and exhibits no common sense. He is a parson, but I fear for the parishioners sitting through one of his sermons. I believe he has learned to inhale while still speaking.”
“And what does he speak of for so long? The Psalms or New Testament?”
“Neither unfortunately. If Mr Collins spoke of the Bible, we could at least participate. He speaks exhaustively about his patroness, a noble lady named Catherine de Bourgh, who lives in Kent.”
George had led Miss Elizabeth to believe he was the natural son of Old Mr Darcy, and that Young Mr Darcy resented his natural brother to some degree. He debated revealing the connection between Darcy and Lady Catherine for a moment but then proceeded.
“Miss Elizbeth, your cousin is…his patroness is the maternal aunt of Mr Darcy. Lady Catherine was the sister of Mr Darcy’s mother, Lady Anne. Naturally, I remained out of the aunt’s sight whenever she visited Pemberley while growing up, but I believe Mr Darcy remains close to his aunt and her daughter.”
“Mr Darcy’s aunt? Oh Lord,” Elizabeth said, rising from the table before the meal was completed. “Forgive me, Mr Wickham, I must speak to my father this instant.”
~~~
Mr Bennet listened carefully to his daughter’s tale of the relationship between Mr Darcy and the patroness of Mr Collins. They were standing in a hallway away from the rest of the dinner party–the dessert offered was not a particular favourite of Thomas Bennet, and his daughter’s countenance promised an interesting bit of news when she drew him away from the table.
