by Don Miller
“I suppose you are surprised to see me here, Jane,” said Mr. Bingley. “After you left, I sent Darcy an express telling him I wanted to visit him on Thursday and surprise you. He sent an express back to me saying he thought it was a good idea, and he would get theater tickets for us. There is a Shakespeare comedy, I believe Twelfth Night, at the theater, and we hope you will approve going to the theater with us and becoming part of your time together.”
Jane looked at Elizabeth very seriously and said, “What do you think, Elizabeth? Should we allow these two men to steal the time we were to have together by ourselves? They did this without seeking our opinion, and this could set a bad precedent. Do we need to go off discuss this by ourselves before we give them an answer?”
Elizabeth was amused and amazed. This was a lighter side of Jane she had rarely seen in company. Looking just as serious, she said, “Lady Monttard, what do you think? Do you think we should let two uninvited gentleman preempt our time without discussing it with us first?”
Lady Monttard, enjoying the little scene, played along with them and said very seriously, “They have gone to some expense and effort to do what they thought might please you. My advice is, if you have no other pressing appointments, you grant them their wish, but let them know in no uncertain terms they are indebted to you and you will extract your payment at some time in the future. I am sure the anticipation of what that payment will be will weigh heavily on their minds for some time.”
Lord Monttard, deciding to take part in this play, said “Nonsense! I say you tell them to go fly a kite. Imagine, a gentleman arranging for a social event with a lady without getting her permission first. Unheard of!”
Darcy could read his beloved well and could tell from her eyes she was not serious. But Bingley was not so sure and some concern showed on his face. He had never seen Jane in a frivolous mood, so did not know quite what to make of this whole exchange. He was about to say something when Jane walked over to him, gave him a little kiss on the cheek, and laughingly said, “Charles, I was just kidding. Of course we will go with you. At least I will go with you. Maybe I should not speak for Lizzie. I just want you to remember I do like to be consulted before you make plans. But I must admit, this was a wonderful surprise.”
“Well, Elizabeth, can we go with them, or am I to be punished?” Darcy said, trying very hard not to smile.
“Oh, you will be punished, and I am going to have fun trying to figure out what the punishment should be. But of course, we will go with them.”
After lunch at Dumont House, the young couples decided, because it was such a fine day, they would take a tour in Darcy’s landau of some of the prettier parts of London which Jane, and even Elizabeth to some extent, had never seen. Later in the afternoon, before dinner, they strolled for a while in Kensington Gardens.
They had dinner at Darcy House where they meet with Georgiana, who told them about Mary and Kitty’s visit. Mary had been much less somber than usual and very excited to be able to practice on Georgiana’s grand piano. Georgiana sat down with her at the piano for a while and gave her some instructions on the piano, repeating things she had heard from the masters who taught her about interpreting music, fingering exercises and techniques, and trying to get a ‘feel’ for the music.
She then spent much of the morning discussing sketching and painting with Kitty. She was very impressed with Kitty’s innate capabilities, for though she had no formal instruction, she sketched and painted exceedingly well.
After lunch Mary decided to stay at Darcy House to practice on the piano while Kitty and Georgiana took their sketch pads to the park to make sketches of some outside scenes. Georgiana had been so impressed with the sketch Kitty made of the pond and the swans, she asked her if she could frame it and put it in her room.
At this point in her description of the afternoon, Georgiana showed those at the dinner table the sketch that Kitty had made, and both Jane and Elizabeth were amazed at how much Kitty had progressed in her sketching ability since she had last shown them anything she had done. It was indeed something worthy of framing. Georgiana then went on to say that when they returned to the house, she and Mary had practiced a duet together Mary had been practicing while she and Kitty were in the Park. Georgiana thought Mary had improved noticeably in just a few hours she practiced while at Darcy House. She believed Mary was on her way to being a much more accomplished pianist, and she expressed the opinion it was too bad that Mary did not have professional instruction.
She ended her description of the day by saying she was truly sad to see them leave and know she would not see them again for a long time. She promised she would visit them whenever she visited Netherfield Park with her brother and new sister and also invited them to stay with her some time in town.
When the Darcy carriage pulled up in front of the theater that night, there was quite a crowd of people waiting to enter. As the two couples descended from the carriage, Col. Fitzwilliam and Margaret approached them and greeted them. Elizabeth was extremely happy to see them and to introduce them to Jane. And then she said to Darcy, “William, this is wonderful. If you had told me right away your cousin and Margaret would be here, I would not have given you such a hard time.”
As they approached the front of the theater, the crowd parted to let them through and there was much whispering about the ladies on the arms of Mr. Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam, who were well-known members of the ton. Several of them also recognized Elizabeth, or knew she and Darcy were betrothed and were anxious to view her up close. There was much speculation about Margaret, many of them recognizing her face, but not remembering who she was. Bingley and Jane were of interest because they were accompanying the other two couples, and because of Jane’s striking beauty. There was much speculation as to who she was.
The rest of the evening was spent very agreeably and three couples all agreed they should enjoy each other’s company often in the future. There was an assumption there, of course, that Col. Fitzwilliam and Margaret would be a couple for the rest of their lives, although there was no formal engagement yet. However it was clear to the other two couples they were in love and very compatible, and it was only a matter of time before the engagement was announced. And neither of them had made any mention of the fact they were not yet engaged during the discussion about doing things with the other two couples in the future.
Chapter 19: Tragedy at Longbourn
It was July 1, and George Wickham was dejected and angry, and he knew he was in trouble. His debts to his officer friends and to the merchants in Meryton now exceeded anything he could possibly pay out of his wages as a lieutenant in the militia. He knew it was his own fault that he had let his pride rule over his intelligence, and if he did not find a way out of his current dilemma, he would be cashiered out of the militia and possibly sent to debtor’s prison.
He thought back over the two years before the disastrous events in Ramsgate. During that time his innate intelligence and ability at cards, along with an incredible streak of luck had allowed him to recoup almost all of the inheritance he had received from Darcy. When he had gone to Ramsgate to escape the heat of London for a while, he had over £3000 in the bank. He had been accepted in gambling parlors frequented by men of the highest circles of society and accepted as a rich young gentleman from the north who was a friend of the very rich Mr. Darcy. He had begun to believe he was meant to be a part of that society and reveled in his success. Such was his state of mind when he went to Ramsgate. And then everything began to unravel.
By what he thought was a very lucky coincidence, he had run into Mrs.Younge, formerly Sarah Barnwell, who had been a serving maid at one of the pubs in Cambridge he had frequented when he was a student there. He had met her in his penultimate year, and for a short time they had had a torrid affair. When he had returned for his final year, he had hoped to rekindle the affair, but discovered that over the summer she had met and married a farmer from the north named Younge and had left Cambridge. And now, there she was,
six years later, in Ramsgate, and by strange coincidence, the companion of Miss Georgiana Darcy. She and Miss Darcy had just arrived in Ramsgate for a two months stay at the house of a friend of the Darcys.
Deciding that it was a perfect time for him to take his revenge on Darcy, he mapped out a plan to get in the good graces of Mrs. Younge and Georgiana and try to get his hands on Georgiana’s £30,000 dowry. Over the next few weeks, he managed to convince Mrs. Younge he was a suitable suitor for Georgiana, whom her brother would accept, so she would allow him visits with Georgiana under her supervision. Sensing Georgiana was feeling neglected by her brother and that her brother had not warned Georgiana to stay away from him, Wickham was able to convince her he loved her and she loved him and they should marry. When Georgiana insisted her brother would never agree to a marriage while she was only fifteen, George convinced her that their love was just too strong to wait until she was eighteen, and he suggested they elope. He also convinced her that once Darcy became used to the marriage, he would be happy to accept Wickham, his old friend, as his brother.
And then everything went wrong. By pure chance, Darcy showed up in Ramsgate the morning Wickham and Georgiana were to elope, and when Darcy arrived, he found Georgiana waiting for Wickham to pick her up. She had sent Mrs. Younge off on an errand, so she would not be there when Wickham arrived. When her brother walked in the door, she was actually glad to see him, and without a thought, told him what she had intended to do. She had never seen him so furious.
When Wickham did arrive, Darcy, being much bigger than Wickham, literally pinned him against the wall in a choke hold and told him he would kill him if he did not admit his true intentions to Georgiana. Knowing his ploy had failed and fearing for his life, he readily admitted he was after her dowry and intended to abandon her after he was given her dowry. Georgiana was devastated, but Darcy kept his word and did not kill Wickham. He told him to leave and never contact him or Georgiana again, or he would be in danger of his life, particularly after he told Col. Fitzwilliam of the incident. Wickham could not leave fast enough, and was very careful to stay out of the lives of the Darcys the following year, because as much as he worried about Darcy, he did not think that Darcy could kill him, but he did not think Col. Fitzwilliam would even hesitate.
From that point on it seemed as the gods were against him. He had a run of bad luck that was even more incredible than his previous run of good luck. Within 8 months he had run through most of his nest egg. He finally decided he had to leave London while he still had some money left. He bought himself a commission in the militia and ended up in Meryton, where he thought he could live as a gentleman officer and woo some local young lady. Unfortunately, he had no sooner arrived when once again he encountered Darcy, who was at Netherfield Park, an estate in the area, visiting a friend. Although Wickham’s initial reaction was one of discomfort, he felt fairly confident that as long as he stayed with his militia friends, he was not in any danger from Darcy, and he made sure they were never in the same place at the same time. Finally, Darcy left and Wickham had felt safer, but he was not able to curb his profligate ways. His gambling and his penchant for overspending became his downfall. And so here he was, now, out of money and desperately seeking a way out. He knew he would have to desert in the next few weeks, and although he knew desertion was a hanging offense, he could not stay around and face debtor’s prison. He would rather be hanged.
As he considered his options, he decided his only possible source of money, despite his lack of success in the recent past, was to somehow get it out of Mr. Darcy, or perhaps his future bride, Elizabeth Dumont, the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet. When he found out she had been discovered to be not a Bennet of Longbourn, but a Dumont, the granddaughter of Baron Monttard and also, as he recalled, the granddaughter of some Earl, he was upset he had not pursued her with more vigor. It was rumored her inheritance would be enormous, even greater than Darcy’s. Imagine if he had been able to compromise her and eventually convince her to marry him. What a life he would have had then.
He had been quite attentive of her once-upon-a-time sister, Lydia Bennet, and knew the young woman was infatuated with him. He wondered if he could convince her to go with him when he left, and then maybe he could somehow blackmail Elizabeth Dumont. He would probably not have much success if he compromised Lydia, but if he could assure Miss Dumont, that by paying him, her ex-sister would not be harmed, she might be willing to pay. She surely still felt connected to the family with whom she had grown up. It could not hurt. He knew the Bennets had put restrictions on Lydia in the last several weeks, but he would have to see if he could find a way to talk with her and maybe get her alone. Now he had to go dig up the stash of £40 that he had hidden away for emergencies to make sure it was still there.
On Wednesday morning the Bennet family arose a little earlier than usual to get ready for the trip to London for Elizabeth’s wedding. When Lydia did not join them for breakfast, Kitty was sent upstairs to get her, and shortly returned saying Lydia was not in her room, and it looked like some of her clothes were gone. A search of the estate soon determined she was nowhere on the estate. Jane then went to Netherfield Park to see Bingley, while the rest of the family went into Meryton to see if anyone had seen her.
Jane, on her way to Netherfield Park, was deeply concerned. When she had returned from London, she had not told her father about Mr. Wickham, because her father had already put restrictions on Lydia and the militia were about to leave. She had made sure neither Lydia nor Kitty encountered Wickham without her being there, and that had only occurred twice, once at her Aunt Philips at a tea party and once in town, when it was just a brief chat with several officers who only talked about the imminent departure of the regiment to Brighton. He had not called at Longbourn with the other officers on their last visit, and they would be gone when the Bennets returned from London, so she thought she had ensured they were safe from Mr. Wickham. But Lydia did occasionally go for a walk in the woods near the house, and did occasionally walk over to the Lucas’ house, but usually with Kitty, and Jane was sure, had they seen Mr. Wickham, Kitty would have told her. Yet, she still had this uncomfortable feeling that somehow Mr. Wickham was involved in Lydia’s disappearance.
When Jane arrived at Netherfield, Bingley was happy to see her, but wondered why she was so early. They were not to depart for London until 10 AM. When Jane explained, Bingley immediately called several of his male staff to the house and set them to searching the environs of Netherfield and sent two of them to Parkton, the nearest town to Netherfield on the other side of Netherfield from Meryton. When they heard nothing by 10 AM, it was decided Jane and Bingley would go ahead to London with Kitty and Mary, while Mr. and Mrs. Bennet would stay behind to search for Lydia. Mr. Bennet told the four of them to say nothing to Elizabeth and Darcy about Lydia’s disappearance, to just tell them Lydia was very sick and would probably not make it to the wedding. They would try to come up the night before the wedding. As they were leaving, Jane, without explaining herself, suggested to her father he visit Col. Forster of the militia and see if they would help the search and see if Wickham might know something.
After the coach departed, Mr. Bennet went to Col. Forster and discovered Mr. Wickham had left for Derbyshire early that morning. He had had a letter from the doctor of Mrs. Williston, the woman who had become his surrogate mother after his mother had died. The letter said she was critically ill and asked Wickham to come to Derbyshire as soon as possible, because he thought Mrs. Williston would not last the week. When Col. Forster heard about Lydia’s disappearance, he sent for Lieutenants Denny and Phillips, who were Wickham’s closest friends, and asked what they knew. They claimed that all they knew was that Wickham received the express letter the day before, hired a curricle from the local hostelry, and started out for Derbyshire well before sunrise that day. At least he was gone before they arose. They knew nothing about an alliance with Miss Lydia, although Mr. Denny did admit to delivering a note to Miss Lydia from Mr. Wickh
am when they visited Longbourn a few days earlier. Wickham had told him it was just a message saying he was sorry he could not accompany them on the visit and wishing her well and expressing a hope he would see her in Brighton. He acknowledged to Mr. Bennet it was an incorrect thing to do, but since they had been so friendly with Lydia for so long, he saw no harm in it. Mr. Wickham had certainly not shown any particular attachment to Lydia in the intervening time.
Col. Forster immediately sent mounted militia men out on the various roads emanating from Meryton to see if anyone could remember seeing a young man and young woman in a curricle. It was not until evening they received news from one rider who reported a curricle had been seen going north on the road Wickham would have taken to Derbyshire, but the person giving the report had not seen who was in the curricle. None of the inns along the way had had anyone meeting their description stop for lunch or a rest.
Col. Forster said he could do no more, because there was no proof that Lydia was with Wickham. It was entirely possible Wickham’s departure and Miss Lydia’s disappearance where just a coincidence, and she might still be found somewhere in the neighborhood, or, God forbid, if she had been abducted, it had been by someone else.
