After spending almost an hour near the house, Darcy asked Elizabeth what she would like to see the rest of the afternoon. Georgiana, sensing her brother would enjoy being alone with Elizabeth, said, “Why do you not take her on the five-mile walk, Will. It is the most scenic and she will be able to see more types of vegetation.”
“You said you. Do you not want to go with us? It would not be appropriate for only the two of us to go.”
“Take James with you. I am not up to a long walk today, and I need to spend some time today with Mrs. Annesley on my lessons.”
Darcy had the feeling Georgiana had made the suggestion because she liked Elizabeth and thought he might be interested in her. He was conflicted – his rational mind said he should not spend time alone with Elizabeth, but his emotional side was encouraging him to do it. Finally, his emotions won, and he said, “Miss Elizabeth, she has suggested the five-mile walk, which will take us at least two hours, but there is also a shorter, albeit somewhat less scenic three-mile walk which will not take much more than an hour. Do you wish to take either of them?”
Elizabeth was as conflicted as Darcy, but she knew she would prefer the longer, more scenic walk. Finally, she decided there was no reason she should not choose the longer walk. Thus it was that Darcy and Elizabeth, with James as an escort, started on their long walk.
After walking for some time in silence, Darcy said, “Miss Elizabeth, I have a feeling you want to ask me questions but are reluctant to do so.”
She looked at him in surprise. “How did you know that?”
“I observed you many times when we were together in Hertfordshire, and I began to recognize certain expressions and ways you tilted your head. Furthermore, you have been silent far longer than I expected; thus, I could only imagine you were thinking of things you would like to know but were not sure you could ask. I assure you, you can ask me anything, and I will not be offended. If I do not want to answer you, I will let you know.”
“Very well, then I want to know why Georgie had such a negative reaction to Mr. Wickham’s name.”
“I cannot give you a full answer, but I will tell you he attempted to compromise her, and I managed to stop him. However, the experience, which happened a year ago, still haunts her. For her privacy, I cannot tell you more.”
“Such actions do not seem consistent with the pleasant and gentlemanly behavior I have observed in Mr. Wickham.”
“Miss Bennet, I sense an undercurrent of animosity toward me for some wrong you think I have done him. May I ask what he told you about me that has turned you against me?”
She cogitated a moment, trying to decide how much to tell him. Finally, she said, “Briefly, he said you were jealous of the attention your father gave him and that after your father died, you denied him the living your father had promised him. Thus, he was reduced to his present state of poverty.”
Elizabeth could see that what she had told him made Darcy angry, and that he was clenching his teeth to gain control of his anger. Finally, he said, “And I presume you believed him, without asking me about it.”
“I must admit, I did. It seemed clear from his manner that he was telling the truth. And I never had a chance to ask you about it, because you were called away because of the fire.”
He found it hard to suppress his disappointment. He had thought she would have been perceptive enough to comprehend that Wickham was not the gentleman he seemed to be and would question the veracity of any disparaging remarks he made. “Did he supply you with any proof?”
She thought for a moment and answered with less assurance, “No, he did not.”
“May I ask when he told you?”
“It was the day after we met Mr. Wickham in Meryton, at my Aunt Phillips’ tea party.”
“How long had you known me at that time?”
She could see where he was leading her and reconsidered all her discussions with Wickham. During all these months, why had she not asked these questions of herself? She was beginning to realize how inappropriate it had been of her to accept Wickham’s word, even if he did appear to be honest and sincere. In a softer voice she said, “About four weeks.”
“Did I impress you as a disrespectful or dishonorable man? I can imagine you may have disliked my behavior at the assembly and occasionally at Netherfield and Longbourn, but did you believe me to be dishonorable or untrustworthy?”
“No,” she admitted, becoming more and more uncomfortable.
“Therefore, you believed a man you had just met, about whom you knew nothing, when he maligned a man you had known for four weeks, who was a good friend of a man whom you admired. May I ask how you justified such behavior, for I can assure you, Miss Elizabeth, I would never disrespect my father by not honoring his word?”
By this time Elizabeth was almost in tears. His critique of her behavior had opened her eyes to her lack of discernment with respect to Wickham. Darcy was right. Her acceptance of Wickham’s scurrilous attacks on Darcy’s character had been completely inappropriate. She recalled the rumors she had heard when she returned from her visit to Kent last spring telling of inappropriate behavior of some of the officers, including Mr. Wickham. Once again, she had refused to believe them because of her belief in his goodness. Then there were the things told to her by Georgiana and Mrs. Reynolds. She had been trying to find a way to justify ignoring their allegations about Wickham, because she did not want to believe she could have been so wrong in her assessment of his character.
After a long period of silence, she sighed, shook her head, and said, almost in a whisper, “I cannot justify it.” When he said nothing further, she asked, “If it is not true, may I ask: what is the truth?”
Still looking angry and speaking in a very flat voice, he said, “When Wickham came to me after my father’s death, I showed him the will which stated he was to receive £1000 and the living at Kympton, once it became available, assuming he studied for and took his orders. He stated he had decided he would rather study the law and asked me for the value of the living, which he estimated to be £10,000. I told him that was ridiculous, particularly given the living would probably not be available for at least 20 years. I offered him £3000, which he eventually accepted and signed documents acknowledging that by accepting the £4000, all his claims on the estate had been fulfilled. I can show you the document he signed, if you wish.”
“No. That is not necessary.” She spoke almost in a whisper. “I believe you. I can only be ashamed of my behavior.” They walked on several minutes in silence. Finally, she said, “May I ask you about something Georgie told me about Mr. Wickham?”
“You may,” he said curtly.
“She said that if it were not for you, Mr. Wickham might be in debtor’s prison or worse. Would you be willing to explain what she meant?”
Still refusing to look at her, he explained, “Wickham tends to build up debts, often using his connection to us to obtain credit. Then he disappears, leaving the debts behind. The poor merchants, who can ill afford the losses, would naturally come to me to make good his debts. In many cases I have. I have settled so many of his debts, the amount he now owes me is sufficient to put him in debtor’s prison, should I choose. I am sure he does not have enough money to cover even half of the amount. On top of that, he has a penchant for young girls and has compromised several such girls, and I emphasize young: 15, 16, or 17. In one case, he left a girl of 16 with child. I felt I could not leave that family in such distress, so I agreed to take the woman on my staff as a cook’s helper and give her and her child a home.” He finally looked at her and she could see in his eyes how upset he was. He quickly looked away before continuing. “She is still with us. If you doubt by word, I can introduce you to her.”
She looked at him, staring straight ahead, obviously not wanting to look at her. She suddenly understood how much she had insulted him. She had believed he had been disrespectful to his father and dishonorable in his dealings with Wickham based on nothing more than Wickham’s allegations – a
llegations she should not have even been willing to hear. She had been taken in like a silly, vain young girl, no more discerning than her sister Lydia, by a man whom she must now accept is a philanderer of the worst sort. Darcy’s friend, Bingley, whom she thought was a decent, gentlemanly man, had vouched for Darcy, saying he was the best of men, and she had ignored him, all because he had insulted her at the assembly. How could he stand being in her company?
With tears in her eyes, she responded, “There is no need. I do not doubt your word. May I ask why you have not given him to the authorities?”
“I have not pressed charges in deference to his connection to my family and my father’s love for his father. When we were children, we were friends. However, as he grew older, his true character emerged, but I kept hoping, as he matured, he would improve. That has not happened and now, he has surpassed even my patience. If he does one more thing, he will be imprisoned.”
Darcy looked at Elizabeth and saw the remorse in her face and the tears coming out of her eyes. They were near a bench beside the pathway, and he led her to it. Once she had seated herself, he remained standing before her and continued, “I am sorry to have to inform you of his character so bluntly, but I felt I must. I know he is not in Meryton at present, but he may return; therefore, you must warn your father and friends of his history. Because he joined the militia, he has put himself at the mercy of my cousin, Col. Fitzwilliam, and he and I are giving Wickham one last chance to turn his life around and make something of his militia career. With my cousin’s resources, we will closely monitor his progress. We are praying he will not regress and somehow injure one of your family or friends or, indeed, anyone in Meryton.”
She bowed her head, hands to her face, and sighed. “I was so naïve. I believed I was such a good judge of character, and he completely fooled me. He seemed so good and gentlemanly. I shall never be able to trust my perception of a man’s character again. I shudder to think what might have happened had I thought him an eligible suitor.”
“Miss Elizabeth, he is a master of deception. I am certain you have never met anyone of his ilk before. I believe the experience you have had will make you stronger. In any case, I believe you can understand how he might take advantage of my sister and how that experience might affect her.”
“Yes, I can.” She paused for a moment. “May I ask something else?” When he agreed, she said, “Given how badly I have misjudged and insulted you, why did you invite us here and why have you been so solicitous?”
Those were questions he had worried she would ask, and he was not sure how to answer them. He delayed his answer for so long, she said, “I sense that you are having trouble answering that question. My impression was that it was an impulse of the moment, but I would have never believed you to be an impulsive man, Mr. Darcy. Therefore, the real question is, why did you have the impulse?”
He shrugged, sat down beside her, and shook his head. “I am not sure. For one thing, I had not comprehended how poorly you thought of me and how much you had believed Wickham. To be truthful, I believed you admired me. I must admit, had I known of your dislike and its origins, I might not have asked. However, when I asked, it was simply because I liked you and was interested in speaking with the former Miss Maddie Rodgers. Furthermore, I thought Georgiana and I would enjoy your company. I have been so involved with fixing the house, we have seen few people other than our staff and the craftsmen I hired to repair the damage to the house. I remembered how much I enjoyed our conversations at Netherfield and how impressed I was of your aunt as a young woman.”
“But my revelations on this walk have told you how I have misjudged you, vilified you to others, and accused you of terrible things. I would understand if you would like to return and have nothing more to do with me.”
He did not answer for a long time. Finally, he sighed and said, “Miss Elizabeth, sometimes we have no control over our feelings. They are what they are. We can try to deny them, but it is rarely successful. Despite what you may think, the more I was with you in Hertfordshire, the more I admired you. It is true, your acceptance of Wickham’s word about my character has upset me more than a little, but it does not change what I felt. I thought you would be good for my sister, and despite your experience with Wickham, I continue to believe that. You are resourceful, self-confident, and can easily mingle with people of all classes, attributes she desperately needs to develop. I still believe that having a friend such as you with whom she could correspond would be good for her. Once you know her better, I think you will find her to be a wonderful young woman whose friendship you would enjoy.”
“I can readily believe that and will be happy to correspond with her, should she ask. I would be glad to do anything I can to help her through this difficult stage of her life.”
“Thank you. I could not ask for more.” He stood up, helped her up, and said, “I think we should continue on our way. Have you any more pressing questions?”
“Yes, but I almost hate to ask. My judgment has proven to be so wrong. It relates to why Mr. Bingley left so suddenly after he hosted the ball at Netherfield. We received a note from Miss Bingley telling us he had emergency family business in Scarborough and would be gone for at least a few months. My sister, Jane, had fallen in love with him and his leaving devastated her.”
This time it was Darcy who was upset. He found it hard to believe that Jane Bennet was in love with Bingley. He had never seen her show any special regard for Bingley, and he had told Bingley that when Bingley had asked for his opinion. Could he have so badly misjudged her feelings? In his defense, when Bingley asked him about Miss Bennet, after giving his opinion, he exhorted Bingley to examine his own feeling, because it was Bingley’s perception that counted, not his. Apparently, Bingley’s observations of Miss Bennet following Darcy’s departure had not convinced him she cared for him. Given such uncertainty, it was not hard to believe his sisters could convince him she did not love him. His sudden departure from Netherfield reflected what he tended to do when disappointed. He went elsewhere and left his disappointment behind him.
“He did, in fact, go to Scarborough, but there was no family emergency. I believe he left because he thought she did not love him – that she was only encouraging him at your mother’s behest.”
“But how could he believe that? She even went to London in January to visit my aunt and uncle and called on Mr. Bingley’s sisters, hoping to see him and discover why he had left so abruptly. She did not see him, and his sisters told her he had not returned because the business in Scarborough was taking all his time. When they finally returned her visit three weeks later, according to my aunt, they were quite rude, and once again told her Mr. Bingley had no intention of returning any time soon. I think it inexcusable of him to leave without speaking to Jane himself. Having Miss Bingley write his excuse only made matters worse. My impression was that she did not approve of Jane and would do all she could to cause misunderstanding between them. The note was certainly not apologetic, and it hinted that he had an interest in renewing his attentions to your sister. I am willing to believe he was in London while Jane was there, and his sisters refused to inform either of them the other was in town.
Darcy shook his head in dismay as she recounted her sister’s feelings for Bingley and what had happened after they departed Netherfield. He could well imagine what Caroline Bingley had written in the note, given her determination that Bingley would not marry Jane. When Elizabeth had finished, he responded, “First, let me assure you, he has never shown any interest in my sister or she in him. As for him being in London when Miss Bennet was there, I believe he was. I have not seen him since I left Netherfield, but he did write me from Scarborough and told me he intended to return to town in February. Whether his sisters told him Miss Bennet was in town or not, I cannot tell you. However, I must admit, I certainly had no idea your sister was in love with Bingley. I often watched her when she was with him and could discern no special regard in her manner toward him. She always had the same
serene look on her face. If I could not tell she loved him, I can assure you that Bingley, who is very unsure of himself around gentlewomen, would be uncertain. Furthermore, he would be too unsure of himself to tell her he loved her, particularly if she said nothing or gave him no outward signs about how she felt about him.”
His disclosures about Mr. Bingley reminded Elizabeth of the warning Charlotte Lucas had given her about Jane – that she might not be able to secure Mr. Bingley if she did not show him her preference. Elizabeth had ignored her warning, because she thought Jane was encouraging Mr. Bingley. But was she? Elizabeth thought she was because she knew Jane so well, but would someone who did not know her as well be able to tell? Mrs. Bennet always encouraged Jane not to show her emotions – it was not lady-like. Elizabeth could picture the look Jane always presented to the world and had to admit that someone, who did not know her well, would not be able to tell what she was thinking.
“I can assure you, she did love him. I thought they would be a matched pair. Jane is so forgiving and undemanding, I know there are many men who would take advantage her. Similarly, Mr. Bingley is so generous and unsure of himself, I am sure there are many women who would take advantage of him. However, I believe that neither Jane nor Mr. Bingley would have to worry about one taking advantage of other.”
Darcy thought about what she had said and saw some truth in it. “It is true that even after three years trying to make Bingley more self-confident, forceful, and perceptive of the personality of others, I have not had the success I had hoped. You may be correct. When I next see him, I shall inform him of his sisters’ duplicity and observe how he reacts. If he still has tender feeling for Miss Bennet, I may be able to convince him to reopen Netherfield Park and pursue her again. However, after all this time, would her disappointment with his actions cause her to reject him, even if she still has feelings for him?”
The Lady of the Mount and Patience Rewarded: Two Stories of Darcy and Elizabeth Page 20
