Page 23 of Saving Jane
“Come ladies,” Darcy said leading them to the door that lead to the foyer where he bowed as Elizabeth was helped into her pelisse by Jones. As Elizabeth tied the ribbon of her bonnet under her chin, she looked up to see Mr Darcy leading Mrs Annesley deeper into the house to meet Georgiana. But for a moment,he turned back toward her and winked again.
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Chapter 10.Mr Wickham’s Plans
“Who is the chit that Georgiana has taken to keeping in company?” George Wickham asked his companion as they sat in a carriage up the street from the Darcy house. “I saw her face in the window of Darcy’s office with the new lady’s companion the other day.”
Edith Marlborough, often called ‘Mrs Young’, moved closer to George before she replied. “Millie reports her name is Miss Bennet. She lives somewhere on Grace Church Street. Miss Darcy and the girl play pianoforte and talk about books when she visits.”
“Is Millie reliable?”
“She is a kitchen maid, and she is as reliable as an extra five shillings a week can make her.” Edith slipped a hand through Wickham’s arm. “While you were in Bath, I spoke to Millie on each of her half-days and have the schedule the ladies are keeping. Georgiana has not been out of the house without her brother for three weeks.”
“Dora’s fortune is mine,” he said. “The cousin in Bath will no longer be a thorn in my side.”
Edith asked, “Why don’t we sail for the West Indies or Lisbon? With Dora’s seven thousand pounds, we could live very well for years.”
“There are many thousands to be had from Darcy.”
“George, your scheme to elope with Miss Darcy was well-crafted, but Darcy would not agree for the girl and I to go to Ramsgate. And I have mentioned that the girl spoke kindly of you the few times you came up in conversation.”
“Edith, my dear,” he said condescendingly, “We can have no sentimentality when convincing someone to hand over a fortune.”
“I know,” she sighed.
“We must stop by Rothschild’s for the money before the day grows late,” he said. He rapped on the roof of the carriage and called, “Head for the city and take us to Rothschild’s Bank.”
The carriage started down the street with the two passengers discussing travel to a warm city before the cold of winter closed the ports. Traffic was heavy in ‘the city’–the financial district of London–but the carriage arrived at Rothschild’s before the middle of the afternoon.
“Come along Mrs Wickham,” George said as he handed Edith down from the carriage. “Our fortune waits within.”
He had married the cow and suffered her attentions for a month to finalize the papers before plying Dora with inheritance powder in a massive dose to end his time in marital purgatory. Then her cousin in Bath had demanded an inquest–only the promise of five hundred pounds had managed to get the local magistrate to hush up the questions regarding the poisoning of Dora Wickham.
A quick trip to Bath and the sudden disappearance of the cousin–the man would not return to Bath for at least twelve months with his unwitting volunteering for duty onboard HMS Defiance–had eliminated all the impediments to Wickham’s inheritance. But when they stepped out of the banking house almost one hour had passed and the constabulary was waiting.
“Mr George Wickham, you are arrested for the murder of Mrs Dora Wickham. Take him,” the lead man ordered his underlings.
Thinking quickly and realizing he could not escape the current number of men; Wickham played the role of a wrongfully accused man. “My dear, be brave.”
Edith realized his game and allowed tears to fall, all the while clutching a valise with almost four hundred guineas and cheques for almost six thousand more guineas from Rothschild’s.
With almost one hundred guineas on his person, Wickham immediately considered how he could bribe his way out of the gaol in London. Edith loved him and Wickham did not fear that she would flee with the funds.
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Chapter 11.Mr Darcy’s Letter from a Scoundrel
The afternoon was dry but cold; Elizabeth completed her work with her aunt and dressed for a visit with Georgiana. When the Darcy carriage arrived at Grace Church Street, she climbed in with the aid of the footman and the trip through the streets of London was quick with Elizabeth anticipating the time she would spend practicing a new duet with Georgiana. Mr Darcy’s applause the previous visit had been most appreciated.
When the carriage pulled to stop in front of the Darcy house and the footman opened the carriage, Elizabeth stepped down to the street and then turned to climb the steps to the door. But she was interrupted; a woman dressed in mourning with a full black veil covering her face came up to her and thrust a letter into her hands while crying out, “For the love of Christ, Miss Bennet! Ask Mr Darcy to help George! He will hang if Mr Darcy does not to save him!”
“Get off with you!” the footman said, breaking between Elizabeth and the stranger in widow’s garb. But the woman turned and fled down the street, leaving Elizabeth perplexed and shaken.
“Forgive me miss,” the footman said. “I did not see her approaching you.”
Watching the fleeing woman for a moment, Elizabeth told the footman, “No one would make much of a widow in full mourning walking down the street. Think nothing of it.”
When she turned the letter over to determine the direction, she found there were two names written in a man’s strong hand, ‘G. Wickham’ and ‘Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy’. Elizabeth’s face grew sombre, and she began to climb up the stairs to Darcy House as the door opened and the master came out.
