Page 54 of Master of Netherfield
“Darcy!” exclaimed Wickham. “What are you doing here?”
“This is my house Mr Darcy! I shall ask you to remove yourself at once!” Mrs Murray exclaimed.
Without regard to the woman, Darcy said, “Mrs Murray, I came immediately upon hearing that Mr Wickham came to pay a call.”
“Mr Wickham came to share my grief over losing your father,” the woman said, blotting at an imaged tear as Darcy glanced at the uncovered mirror on the wall and the bright blue dress the ‘grieving’ mistress wore.
“The depth of your feelings is clear to anyone Mrs Murray,” he said as he bowed his head. The woman blushed but did not say more.
“Why are you here Darcy?” asked Wickham.
“I came to encourage Mrs Murray to remove to Kent. Mayflower House is available for her use.” Darcy stopped and looked around at the current house. “I image this house will be let to another before many days–I have no need of it.”
“My son is not to be treated thus!” Mrs Murray argued hotly.
“Your son’s expenses come from my pocket madam. It will take at least two years to fund his trust and until that time, any monies you receive outside of your rents come from me. And it is some time until Michaelmas when rents will be collected.”
Wickham attempted to solicit some sympathy by saying, “Darcy, Mrs Murray is mourning your father.”
“Yes, she is. And you are here to see if you can get your hands on her income.” Darcy turned to the woman and explained, “This afternoon, George read my father’s will, and I am certain he noted your life estate in the house and rents at Mayflower.”
Now he turned to Wickham, “But George, did you notice the section where I am to provide Mrs Murray with the rents in amounts I deem fitting? If she marries, her husband has no say in how I disperse her quarterly income.”
“And you will be as miserly with her as you were with me today!” George complained. “Five pounds for the trip to London!”
“Two pounds will pay for the seat and food the entire way to London. I knew you would drink at least another pound away.”
“Why would you ask me for money if Master William provided you with five pounds?” asked Mrs Murray.
“A gentleman always needs to be flush,” George replied.
“Mr Wickham, I feel fatigued. You must forgive me,” Mrs Murray said in dismissal of the man.
Wickham rose and Darcy stepped in front of the man. “And the other information you saw in the will concerning my sister, I advise you to forget it quickly. If I protect my father’s mistress from you, can you imagine what I would do if you attempted to approach my sister in the future?”
“But Georgiana is not a Darcy.”
The sadness and anger of the last few days rose up, overflowing his control as a red fog took hold of William, and a moment later George Wickham was pinned against the wall, one of William’s arms pressed against his throat.
“Listen carefully George–I am rich and powerful now–the prime minister will call on me in London.” William paused, a glint in his eye as he found Wickham paying close attention. “If you come near my sister, if you so much as whisper her name, you can easily disappear in Pemberley Woods, in the back of a nasty alley in London, or along any deserted road in England.”
Wickham swallowed and blinked before Darcy concluded, “Do not attract my attention again!”
The man nodded as he rubbed his throat once William removed his arm.
“The coach leaves the King’s Arms in an hour George. That gives you time to secure your bag from your sister’s home and depart Lambton.”
“Damn you, Darcy!” George cursed. “Why should I have to labour the rest of my life when you will sit back and collect rents?”
William laughed sourly. “George, you have no notion of the demands on my time.”
**++**
Once Wickham departed, Darcy turned to Mrs Murray, and she motioned for him to sit where Wickham had been seated. But William took the chair across the room from her with Clemmons and Tolliver standing behind him.
“I shall make every effort to be packed by the end of the month,” she said.
“Four days,” William said coldly.
