Master Under Good Regulation

by Kara Louise

  Wickham suddenly seemed to find his bravado and stepped forth. “You see, Darcy? You would not want to break her little heart by separating us now, would you?”

  My master eyed him threateningly. “Wickham, you have no more regard for her than you ever had regard for the clergy!” I added my growl of agreement to my master’s words. “The only thing you love about Georgiana is her thirty thousand pounds!”

  “No, Fitzwilliam! That is not true!” Georgiana cried as tears began to stream down her face.

  “And just how much was Mrs. Younge to receive for her complicity in this scheme?”

  When he steeled his eyes at the cowering woman, she blurted out pointing to Wickham, “It was all his idea! He made me do it!”

  At the sound of a cry behind him, my master turned to his sister who, upon hearing Mrs. Younge’s admission, covered her face with her hands and began to sob uncontrollably. He reached over and wrapped her in his arms. After a few moments he told his cousin to take her back to the carriage.

  I believe I was shaking as much from anger as Georgiana was from devastation. I waited by my master’s side to see what would transpire. I was not going to leave him alone in Wickham’s presence. I stood ready to attack if my master required that of me.

  My master looked down, shaking his head once with an emphatic lurch. Bringing his hand up to his jaw, he clasped it over his mouth, almost as if he was keeping in check a torrent of expletives that threatened to explode. He looked back up and the objects of his accusatory stare remained still and silent.

  Slowly, he walked toward them. I sensed that Mrs. Younge was disposed to run, but she may have thought that would not be a very ladylike thing to do and besides, she would not get very far, for I would easily be able to overtake her. Wickham squared his shoulders as if preparing himself mentally, if not physically, for a fierce battle. I was ready to do the same.

  “What, may I ask, is the meaning of this?” The fury in my master’s voice, though tightly reined, was unmistakable.

  “Come, Darcy. There is no harm done,” Wickham brusquely alleged.

  “No harm done? You led Georgiana to believe you loved her and that you were to be married?” He was standing practically on top of Wickham’s toes, now, looking him directly in the eye. Wickham tried to match his stare, but finally looked away.

  “We have talked. She is old enough to know what she wants.”

  “Old enough to know what she wants? She is but fifteen! Fifteen years old!” My master’s eyes narrowed and I believed him to be on the verge of some very violent, physical act.

  Feeling all the intensity of the anger that my master was feeling against Wickham and this woman, I was unable to restrain myself any longer.

  I must confess I do not have that ability, as my master so obviously has, to control my emotions; especially when they are a precarious combination of anger coupled with the unassailable instinct to protect. Baring my teeth and releasing a barrage of ferocious barks that exceeded anything I remotely believed possible for a dog my age, I tenaciously approached Wickham, feeling my skin rankle and fur along my back stand up on end.

  With little advance warning, I saw his foot come toward me. I made a vain attempt to thwart the impact by taking hold of it with my teeth, but it hit me in the back leg, sending me off balance and off to the side. I tried to suppress a yelp, but one unwittingly escaped.

  Struggling to get myself upright, I saw my master quickly advance toward Wickham and grab the collar of his coat. I sensed that this had infuriated him beyond all control and was about to engage in some violent action when his cousin, returning from leaving Georgiana in the carriage with the driver, came up from behind and took hold of my master’s free arm, preventing him from making any contact with their adversary.

  “Come, Darcy. No need to lower yourself to his kind. “

  The initial pain had passed and I quickly pulled myself up, but had to admit that my leg was sore and I favoured it as I took my position again alongside my master, ready to assist him if he chose to do battle with Wickham.

  It took my master a few moments to settle in his mind whether he would obey his cousin or every impulse screaming within him, but at length he steeled his emotions. He turned to Wickham and uttered a threat to him in the coldest voice I have ever heard. It sent shivers down my back for all its icy, calm menace.

  “If I ever ascertain that you have been anywhere near my sister again, Wickham, you will find yourself on the receiving end of my full wrath and will be hard pressed to even crawl away once I have dealt with you!”

  My master then turned to Mrs. Younge, who would not meet his eyes at all. “And you, Mrs. Younge. You are dismissed, effective immediately. You are never to see Georgiana again. It hardly needs saying that you may expect no references from me. In fact, your trespasses against the trust I placed in you are so egregious, if I hear that you are trying to obtain work with any reputable family -- with any family, for that matter -- in the whole of England, I will see to it myself that you are not hired! Make no mistake; I will take measures to ensure that you will never be in someone’s employ again!”

  My master took a couple steps back. “Now, my cousin and I will escort Georgiana to the inn to retrieve her things. If you know what is good for you, you will stay as far away from there as possible until we have departed. Do you understand?”

  They both nodded mutely.

  My master turned to leave without offering up any civil word or gesture of parting. As I turned to follow him, I brazenly gave the dirt path a good, quick kick with my good back leg, hoping that some of the kicked up dirt hit its mark.

  As we walked back to the carriage, Fitzwilliam asked my master, “What happened back there? What did you say to them?”

  “I made it quite clear that I never wanted to see either of them again. I told them that if either ever came near Georgiana again, I would settle the matter with them in a decidedly ungentlemanlike manner.”

  Both his cousin and I could see the disgust and dismay with which my master was tortured. “What are we to do now?” he cousin asked.

  “We remove Georgiana from Ramsgate. I will not feel safe until we have placed many miles between her and that scoundrel. I told them we are returning to the inn to retrieve her things and that they had best not come anywhere near until we are gone.”

  “Are we to return to Rosings, then?”

  “Lord, no! If our aunt were to discover what we just confronted, she would question our ability at raising Georgiana and would insist on raising her herself!”

  “London is too great a distance to make before nightfall. Any ideas?” Fitzwilliam asked.

  “Anywhere but here. Come, let us get started.” As my master continued toward the carriage, his cousin put up his hands to stop him.

  “Now, Darcy, for Georgiana’s sake, you must rein in that anger of yours before you step one foot inside the carriage. She is confused, hurt, and, I think, distraught that she has so disappointed you that she has forever lost your favour and affection.”

  My master let out a frustrated sigh. “How could I have let this happen, Fitzwilliam? What did I miss seeing?”

  His cousin firmly planted a hand on his shoulder. “Darcy, you had no way of knowing. Do not blame yourself. And we must not allow Georgiana to believe that you blame her either. This is all Wickham’s doing and entirely his fault!”

  I looked up and saw my master swallow hard and shake his head. “But she is my responsibility…”

  “Our responsibility, Darcy. If you are at all to blame, then I am, as well.” As sincere as the attempt was Fitzwilliam made to convince him, I believe my master wholly blamed himself.

  “Look, Darcy. When we get in that carriage, you must do your best to console your sister and reassure her of your love. Now is not the time to ask her how she could have done such a thing, how you could have allowed it, or even... Lord help us... the details of what happened between them. There will be time enough later for you to interrogate her
and censure yourself. Right now she needs reassurances from both of us that she is still loved. She is quite inconsolable.”

  “I do love her, but how do I let her know that when those feelings are presently being overwhelmed by my anger at Wickham?”

  “Tell her you understand that she is possibly confused and hurt and that you will do everything in your power to help her overcome this. Make certain she knows she is not to blame, but the most important thing is to convince her not merely with your words, but your demeanour. Try to remain calm, for her sake.”

  My master looked at his cousin. “Is she really inconsolable?”

  “Quite so, Darcy. Let us make every attempt to not make it worse. Do you think we can do that?”

  “But Wickham had no right! I swear that man is the devil incarnate!”

  “He is, Darcy. And even now, even though you have removed Georgiana from his presence, he has won if you let those feelings spill out to Georgiana. Now, Darcy, cast away all those thoughts, calm yourself, and let us retrieve Georgiana’s things and depart from this place!”

  I wondered whether my master was capable of dealing in such a way with his anger, but after taking a few deep breaths, he appeared ready to face his sister.

  We arrived back at the carriage where Georgiana was seated inside and our driver was standing at the door. I gingerly hopped up first and placed myself at Georgiana’s feet. Fitzwilliam entered and was followed by my master.

  I settled myself in the carriage with my heart still beating thunderously. Instead of nursing my injured leg, I turned my attention to Georgiana to do what I could to soothe her gravely wounded spirit. I felt as though the severity of my injury was nothing compared to Georgiana’s wounded and devastated heart, so I nuzzled up against her to assure her that my devotion was unchanged.

  I could not, however, curb my thoughts from retreating back to Wickham’s dog, Storm. Did Wickham treat him as he just now treated me? Was that his means of controlling his dog? Was Storm as mean as he was because of Wickham’s brutal treatment of him? I would not be surprised.

  Georgiana held a handkerchief up to her face, holding it to her eyes which were filled with tears. She looked up cautiously at her brother took his seat next to her.

  My master slid close to her and put his arm about her. She turned into his chest, heaving uncontrollable sobs, and whispered a barely audible “I am sorry, Fitzwilliam.”

  “I know you are, Georgiana.” He closed his eyes tightly as if trying to erase all that had just happened. When he opened them, his cousin nodded at him to go on.

  “Listen, Georgiana, I know you probably do not fully understand now, and you must be hurt and confused…” The words did not come easily, and he seemed to struggle even more as she let out a heartbreaking cry.

  “You must believe me, Georgiana, that we still love you and do not blame you for falling victim to Wickham’s infamous schemes. You are young and he took advantage of your guileless nature with his deceptions.”

  She looked up at him with swollen, red eyes. “He said he loved me. I believed he wished to marry me because he loved me.”

  “I know, I know,” I could feel my master fighting down his building anger towards Wickham.

  “He talked to me about how much regard he and Father had for one another. He told me that Father would have been delighted at our marrying. He said it would be acceptable to you, as well; that you would be very pleased. He said that when we returned from Gretna Green as man and wife…”

  “Gretna Green?” My master’s voice boomed and Georgiana withdrew from him. Taking a deep breath, he pulled her towards him again and said in a softer tone, “Forgive me, Georgiana. He was going to take you to Gretna Green? To elope?”

  She nodded mutely. I did not know all that my master was thinking, but I could pretty easily read in his face that it was probably a good thing that Wickham was not in the carriage with us at the moment. His hand tightened into a fist and his jaw clenched as he struggled again with maintaining his composure. He turned to look out the window -- at nothing I would guess -- and then turned back to Georgiana.

  “Yes, he wanted to marry me as soon as possible and he said that was the only way to do it.”

  My master was silent. I believe it was to prevent him from saying something that would distress Georgiana even more.

  We reached the inn and Fitzwilliam reached over and took her hand. “Georgiana, allow me to accompany you and retrieve your belongings.” My master needed time to collect himself and fortunately, his cousin realized that.

  The two of them stepped out of the carriage and as soon as they were out of sight, my master let out a mournful groan. Leaning over, he dropped his head into his hands. “I have failed the most important person in my life! How could I have done such a thing?”

  I whimpered to console him and moved closer. Without looking up, he reached down and scratched my neck. “You were useful today helping us find them, Reggie. Sometimes I wonder what I would do without you.”

  Fitzwilliam and Georgiana returned in short order and we all settled back into the carriage. It was determined that we would set out toward London and find suitable accommodations before dusk. Once we were on the road again, it was a very long, quiet, and uncomfortable ride.

  As the sun was slowly descending toward the horizon, we found a very pleasant inn that had two rooms available.

  I could not help but limp a little as we walked toward the inn. Noticing it, Georgiana innocently asked why I was favouring my one back leg. I looked up at my master, knowing it would hurt Georgiana even more so to know the truth.

  “My dear,” he began, “Back there, Wickham kicked him. But I think our Reggie will be all right. I think he is but a little sore.”

  Georgiana gasped and crouched down, wrapping her arms about me and burying her head in the scruff of my neck. “I am so sorry, Reggie. I am so sorry.”

  “He is not badly hurt, Georgiana. It ought to heal in no time.”

  I felt her arms tighten about me. “He really was not a good man, was he, Brother?” Her voice trembled.

  My master slowly and silently shook his head and with much self censure watched as her tears flowed unhindered.

  Georgiana was given a room of her own and after barely eating anything at supper, she excused herself and retired for the night. Before she quit the room, my master called her over and drew her into his arms. He held onto her very firmly and for quite a while, I think for his sake as well as hers.

  “Good night, Georgiana. Please try to get a good night’s sleep.”

  She nodded mutely and walked slowly past her cousin. He reached out for her hand and brushed a kiss against it. “Good night, Georgiana.”

  When she left, the two men agreed that any discussion should be delayed until they were back at the townhome in London. Here, there was too great a possibility that she might overhear them or that someone else might unwittingly hear and her reputation would be jeopardized. They reasoned the tumultuous events of the day would leave her either too distressed to sleep or too exhausted to stay awake, but they did not want to take the chance of upsetting her any further.

  Needless to say, my master scarcely slept that night. If ever he doubted his ability to be an adequate guardian for Georgiana, it was now. He looked over to his cousin who was, surprisingly, sleeping soundly in a separate bed in the room whilst my master paced, stared endlessly out the window, or went out into the sitting area to ponder over the situation.

  I knew he was anxious to get more details from Georgiana, but he also knew he must use a gentle approach, lest he frighten her. Devoted to her as he was, I believe he wondered whether he would ever trust her to anyone else again.

  The next day we departed early to cover the remaining distance to London. When we finally arrived at the townhome, it seemed as though everyone breathed a little easier. We were in familiar surroundings and we could almost believe that the previous day had only been an imagined thing. Almost.

  As diffic
ult as it was for my master, there were some things he needed to find out from Georgiana. Once they had been home and had the opportunity to rest for awhile, he called her into the library with Fitzwilliam.

  “Georgiana, forgive me, I know this might be difficult. I would ask you to please relay to Fitzwilliam and me everything that occurred from the time you and Mrs. Younge arrived in Ramsgate until we arrived and found you with Wickham.”

  Georgiana’s mouth began to twitch and tears pooled in her eyes, but she began to relate how they first encountered Mr. Wickham at dinner in the inn that first night in Ramsgate. He had moved Georgiana with a touching remembrance of her late father and she invited him to join them for the meal. Subsequently, he would always appear as if by Providence wherever Mrs. Younge had planned for their daily outing, paying solicitous attention to Georgiana, pleasing her with kind words of the excellence of her father. It was a matter of very little time before he was invited, with Mrs. Younge’s approval, to join them each day afterwards.

  My master looked intently at his sister. “Georgiana, were you ever left alone with Mr. Wickham?”

  Georgiana blushed slightly. “No, no, not really. We sat together in the sitting room several times whilst Mrs. Younge was in the next room.”

  “What happened during those times?” His fervour to discover what all had transpired between his sister and Wickham caused her to tremble.

  Fitzwilliam drew close and took her hand. “Georgiana, we only wish to ascertain whether Mr. Wickham displayed only gentlemanlike manners toward you.”

  “Yes…yes. He just… he just…”

  My master’s eyes narrowed. “He what?”

  “Go ahead, Georgiana, it is all right,” Fitzwilliam helped soothe the tension in the room.

  “He was just very kind in all his words towards me. He told me how he had always admired Father and looked upon me with fond regard. He told me how he cared for me, thought I was beautiful, and could think of no one finer that he would ever want to marry.”

  When they had finished talking with Georgiana, they had pretty much determined that Wickham had used his deceitful charm to flatter her and taken advantage of her youth and innocence to convince her of his devotion and affection. Being so young and naïve, she believed him and believed herself to be in love with him, as well. They were greatly relieved that Wickham did not further compromise her.