Page 22 of Wickham Likes 'Em Young
CHAPTER 10
5 November 1811
Jane stood in the doorway, her arms crossed, watching Elizabeth and Mr Darcy walk up the gravel pathway.
When the two stepped up to the door, instead of stepping inside so that they could enter, Jane said, “Welcome back, Mr Darcy. I was so surprised to see you, when we first spied you in the street outside the bookshop, I forgot to greet you properly; my apologies.”
“Thank you, Miss Bennet.” Mr Darcy made a quick bow and made a tiny move towards the door, but Jane continued to bar the way.
“I was wondering, Mr Darcy, if you could tell us why you denied poor Mr Wickham the living that was left to him in your father’s will.”
“I would be happy to explain the circumstances in detail, madam. Would you like me to do so standing here on the porch, where servants and family members could likely overhear without our knowledge? Or would you like to sit down in a more private room in the house?”
Jane begrudgingly led Mr Darcy to the small morning room. Given the fact that it was on the east side of the house, and was therefore completely blocked from the afternoon sunshine,the room was quite chilly, but Elizabeth did not mind, because she was still wearing her pelisse, and Mr Darcy sat down on the settee close enough to her that she felt warm. Jane, who only had a lacy shawl over her walking dress, sat in another chair and kept her arms crossed, rubbing her upper arms every once in a while.
“Would you ladies like to ring for a fire, or I could start one if you like?” Mr Darcy said.
“I do not think we will be here long enough to worry about that,” Jane said. “Please explain, as you promised.”
“In my father’s will, George Wickham was mentioned twice. As a beloved godson, he was left one thousand pounds outright. The second provision was made based on a promise my father had made to Wickham’s father, a promise that he would attempt to provide for his godson a stable occupation with a home and a regular income. My father had always promised Wickham that he would be left a valuable living that he could access if he graduated from university and took orders. I heard my father tell him, in my hearing, at least a half a dozen times.
“I was at Cambridge with Wickham when he was caught cheating for a second time. He was expelled. At the time, I reminded Wickham that he would not be able to be ordained, and therefore would not be able to access the living, if he did not graduate with a degree. I urged him to consult someone to find out if he could become ordained in the Church of England if he went to a Scottish University, since Oxford has always made it a policy to turn down applicants who were expelled from Cambridge.” Mr Darcy stopped talking for a moment and said, “Miss Bennet, you look very cold. Might I not speak while also building a fire?”
“Very well,” she said. Jane sounded petulant. Even from a few feet away, Elizabeth could see that she had goosebumps, and she was grateful that Mr Darcy was so generous as to worry about the comfort of someone who clearly wished him ill.
Mr Darcy got down on one knee and carefully removed the curfew that covered the banked coals from that morning’s fire; he used the fireplace tools to scrape away the ash and rake the embers together. Elizabeth had never built up or banked a fire in her life, but she now decided it might be something she would need to know, someday, so she watched carefully as Mr Darcy reached for tinder and then carefully blew on the glowing embers until the tinder burst into flame. Then he selected several sizes of logs to build a small fire.
While he was doing all of that, he kept up his explanation of the will fairly well, although he had to pause a few times.
“So, as I was saying, Wickham had been expelled from Cambridge. Oxford would not take him, and I reminded him of the importance of earning a degree. But when I suggested that he ask about Scottish universities, he carelessly shrugged and said he had no interest in making sermons anyway, and so he would look into another occupation.
“After my father’s death, I reviewed the will and saw that the bequest was just as my father had always said. Of course, there was a healthy parson at Kympton, so it was an unknown factor as to when the living would fall empty, but I had every expectation that Wickham had not earned a university degree and therefore had not been ordained. I considered that I could offer a lump-sum when he came, and I consulted with two attorneys who were able to help me determine that three thousand pounds was a reasonable and fair amount to offer in lieu of the living.”
Jane looked ready to interrupt, but apparently decided against it. Mr Darcy was happy with the fire and settled back onto the settee as he continued, “As I expected, when Wickham arrived at Pemberley, just three days after my father’s funeral, he breezily informed me that he had not earned a degree, nor did he intend to, and that he did not wish to wait for his bequest, atany rate. He said that he had decided to study law instead, and he asked for ten thousand pounds.”
Elizabeth gasped. “Ten thousand!” she said.
“Yes. I informed him of the outright bequest of one thousand pounds, and I related to him the steps I had taken to come up with a more reasonable amount to settle on him in lieu of the living. I pointed out that a single man who has prudently invested four thousand pounds could live a respectable life as a gentleman. By studying law and becoming a solicitor, as he said he wished to do, he would increase his annual income substantially. I had him sign a note stating that he relinquished the claim for the living and had received a lump-sum payment. He seemed delighted to have the cash, and I hoped that he had listened to the wordsprudentandinvest. Naturally, I had no desire for him to squander the monies he had received, just as he had squandered the chance at a university education….
“But Wickham loves to squander. I know not how he lived before he came to me with his hand out, asking for more money, just two years after I had given him the four thousand pounds, but from my experience, I would have supposed that he had gambled much of it away. My cousin was so angry, he looked into Wickham’s life during those two years, and it turned out that he had bought a very elegant carriage and two horses, many costly clothes, and a signet ring. He gambled, as I had supposed, he ran up debts that are still not paid, he drank the finest spirits, and he visited…well, shall we say places where gentlemen can spend their money on private entertainment.”
Jane was frowning. Elizabeth could not tell if she believed Mr Darcy, but of course she herself did. He finished his explanation with just a few more points: “Wickham has written seven letters and made in-person demands two more times for more money. If he had been careful with the money I had already given him, if he had at least attempted to invest it, but had somehow lost itthrough no fault of his own, I would be happy to give him more, to give him a second chance…although, to be honest, between my father and myself, we have given Wickham many chances. But I am not going to give him more money that will just go directly to gaming hells and houses of ill repute.”
“I should say not!” Elizabeth said. “Thank you for such a thorough explanation of the matter. I imagine you would like some tea?”
“Actually, I am quite tired,” Mr Darcy said. “I had a long couple of days.” He exchanged an intense look with her, and she felt dreadful that she had not thought about his condition after such a long journey.
“But,” he went on, “I would like to discuss something with your father if he has a few minutes.”
Elizabeth showed him to her father’s bookroom, and as Mr Darcy closed the door on their conference, she hurried to inform Hill of the untended fire that was burning merrily in the morning room.
Rapidly changing her clothing, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and admitted that she looked as silly and dreamy as Jane ever had.You have atendrefor the man!she accused herself.
But she was not as cross at herself as she would have been, just the day before, because there was some evidence that he was interested in her. However, she had no delusion that he was asking her father for permission for a courtship or engagement. She was entirely certain that he wanted to discover what Mr Bennet had told his brother, Mr Philips, about Mr Wickham. He might also wish to inform him that Mr Wickham had made an effort to approach her at the bookshop.
Her assumptions were both validated and overturned before Mr Darcy left.
He came to the parlour door, looking even more worn out than ever. “Miss Elizabeth, would you be able to walk me out?”
