The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy (24 page)

While Darcy was dressing, he gave Mercer very specific instructions for that afternoon’s engagement with Christina Caxton.

“I want a light meal served—not something that is going to take all afternoon. After we have finished eating, if Mrs. Aumont does not leave immediately, we shall go into the drawing room. But I do not want to be in there for more than fifteen minutes. I shall tell her I am expecting an important letter, which is the truth, and if she has not left by that time, I want you to come in and tell me the letter has arrived. I do not like deception. But she is an old friend, and I do not want to hurt her feelings. I just want her to leave.”

It was a simple plan that went awry immediately as Mrs. Aumont sent word that she would not be able to join Darcy at the agreed-upon time, but would visit around 5:00, making it more difficult to show her the door after fifteen minutes. Darcy, who knew he was miserable at small talk, would be at a loss as to how to fill the time. There was nothing in the rules of deportment taught to him by his mother and governess that covered former lovers.

He was already on edge because earlier in the day he had gone to George Bingley’s office in hopes of hearing some good news. But George dealt only in facts, and there was nothing new to report about Lydia and Wickham. Darcy wanted so much to write to Elizabeth, but what was there to say? “I am part of the reason your sister is with Wickham, and I haven’t a clue where she is.”

When Mercer showed Mrs. Aumont into the room, he took a deep breath. She was so beautiful. Who could resist her charms? He knew the answer: A man desperately in love with another could, and he gestured for her to sit on the sofa, while he sat on the chair opposite to her. But Christina patted the sofa and asked Darcy to join her. As soon as he sat down, he explained he was expecting a letter from a friend, and once he received it, he would need to leave immediately and hoped she would understand.

“I promise to be brief, and, therefore, let me begin immediately. Yesterday, your discomfort was so apparent that I thought I should not come back at all because I was embarrassed. But I wanted to explain my behavior,” and she looked to him for a sign that she should proceed, and he nodded.

“My husband and I were living happily in a small villa in the south of France when he became ill, and he never regained his health. When he died, I found it necessary to sell almost everything we owned in order to pay the bills. Even with that, I was never able to fully settle the accounts, which made no one happy, including myself.

“Although I am half French, I was known as
La Femme Anglaise,
and because of the fighting between the French and English, I found a very cool welcome where there had once been a warm one. I was so uncomfortable that I decided to leave France. The farther north I traveled the more hostility I met. I finally called on an old friend who escorted me to the frontier, and I sailed from Ostend. I was so happy to be on English soil, but then it dawned on me. I had not given any thought as to what I would do once I reached England.

“Please remember I have not been in England for ten years, and the first person I thought about was Mrs. Conway because her husband and Mr. Caxton had been political allies and had corresponded for years. She was so kind and offered to provide me with a room. When she asked if I had any friends, I mentioned that I knew you. She said that was fortunate as you and she were good friends, but she knew you to be in the country. Then I remembered your cousin was an earl. So I wrote to him, and he sent a hackney for me.”

“You met Lord Fitzwilliam? Good grief!”

“We spent a lovely afternoon together. I found him to be very amusing.”

“Oh, he keeps his family in stitches.”

“I can easily imagine him to be a thorn in the side of his relations, but he was quite gracious to me. He was very forward in the questions, and I confided in him that I had arrived in England with little more than my clothes and a promise of a draft from my bank, which I have not received. He said that he would help me in any way, except financially, as he was broke. I told him it was my intention to support myself as a dressmaker. My father was a tailor and my mother a seamstress, and basically, I served an apprenticeship under them. As a result, I can sew anything.

“It was then that he made the most incredible offer. He told me that all of his wife’s dresses were upstairs. He explained they were estranged, and he had written to her to come get them. Her answer was that she would not wear anything she had ever worn when she was with him. In an example of supreme understatement, he said, ‘She does not like me very much.’” Christina then stood up and took off her pelisse. “This is one of Lady Fitzwilliam’s gowns, which I have remade with some additional fabric from another. Her dresses were out of style, but the material is beautiful. Is it not?” And she turned around, so he could admire all of the dress.

“It is lovely. You could easily become a dressmaker to a duchess.”

“A
couturier
, William. A
couturier
can charge more than a dressmaker, and I already have a commission. Mrs. Conway gave my name to Lady Edgemont, which is why I was late.”

“My sincere congratulations to you, Christina, and now that I have seen your handiwork, I shall certainly recommend you to others. But until you are established, I hope you will accept my cheque as my contribution to the support of an emerging
artiste
.”

“Thank you, William. I wish I were in a position to refuse your offer, but I am not. As for yesterday, I must explain. Because I left everything familiar behind me, I was looking for a life raft to cling to until I could make my own way, and that is why I came here. But it was so obvious you were uncomfortable, possibly for many reasons, but I am quite sure of one. You are a man in love, but I do not think all is well there. I shall not pry. I will only say I hope that whatever keeps you apart will be quickly resolved. What we had in France remains a lovely memory for me, but it rightfully should stay a memory and I shall speak no more of it.”

At that point, Mercer came into the room to tell his master that the letter he was expecting had arrived, and he went so far as to place a letter on a tray.

“It is all right, Mercer. I can see to it later.”

“Excuse me, sir, but this
is
the one you have been waiting for,” and he held it up as proof that it really was a letter from George Bingley. Darcy was on his feet and gave a sigh of relief when he recognized Bingley’s handwriting.

“I shall detain you no longer as you have urgent business to see to,” Christina said. “I am just happy you really do need to leave, and it was not because you were trying to get rid of me.” Darcy smiled weakly. “Go on. Read your letter. Mercer can hail a cab for me,” and she held out her pelisse, so that Darcy might help her put it on. “I hope to see you about town,” and she allowed him to kiss her hand, and then she went downstairs with Mercer.

Darcy tore through Bingley’s seal, and there were the words he had been waiting for since he had arrived in London.

Mr. Darcy,

Wickham and Lydia Bennet have been found. They are not married. Despite their having shared a lodging room, it is my belief, based on testimony from the landlady, that she is as she was when she left Longbourn. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner have taken their niece home with them, and a post rider has been sent to Longbourn to advise them of our success. However, Mr. Wickham remains in my custody. I would ask that you come to my offices at your earliest convenience so that we might proceed in making arrangements that will benefit the young Miss Bennet.

Sincerely, George Bingley

By that time, Mercer had returned and poured Darcy a wine. “Lydia Bennet has been recovered and is in the care of her aunt and uncle. Her family will shortly have news that their daughter is safe. Hopefully, no matter what happens from this point on, the worst is behind us.”

“May I suggest a letter to Miss Elizabeth might be in order, sir?”

“Not yet. Not until I have all the information. But at least now the picture of her with tear-stained cheeks at the inn in Derbyshire will be replaced by that of her dancing circles in the gardens of Pemberley,” he said, smiling. “Mercer, please have a hackney out front in ten minutes. Too much time has already been lost,” and he took the stairs two at a time.

***

Lizzy lay quietly in the dark with her sister beside her in a deep sleep. They had talked well into the night, and she smiled at the memory of how they had laughed about Mr. Nesbitt and his inept courtship. It was a welcome respite from the tension that had descended upon the Bennet household. Surely, it was a sign of healing when one could laugh again. Now, with Mr. Nesbitt out of the picture, maybe it would be possible to remind Jane of Mr. Bingley’s many attributes. She would make no dramatic statements about true love and forgiveness, but rather talk about the times Jane and Mr. Bingley were together and their compatibility and shared memories.

Lizzy did not consider herself to be a romantic, certainly not like the ladies in a novel or a Shakespearean play, as she was much too practical for that. However, she did believe that two souls could come together, so that the one would know if something had happened to the other despite distance or war. With all of her being, she believed she had touched Mr. Darcy’s heart, and if he had stopped loving her, surely she would be able to sense that. But she had no such feeling.

The more she thought about their last time together at the inn at Lambton, the more convinced she was that he had not stepped away from her in disgust. Instead, he had already formed a plan to help find Lydia, thus explaining his hasty departure.

Again, she returned to the time they were together in the stables at Pemberley. If it had not been for Colonel Fitzwilliam’s untimely arrival, he would have kissed her, and she would have looked into his beautiful gray-green eyes and told him that she loved him.

Wherever Mr. Darcy was, she believed he was still thinking of her as she could almost feel his presence. That would not be possible if he had put her out of his mind. No, she had reason to hope, and she would cling to that until proved wrong.

Even though Hannah Bingley had seven children, and was raising two of her grandchildren, she had never met anyone like Lydia Bennet. Without embarrassment, the girl had explained that she had done nothing more serious than to give her parents a fright, and nothing Hannah had said had changed her mind. Before turning her over to the care of her aunt and uncle, Mrs. Bingley thought it would be helpful if Mr. Bingley talked with her.

When Mrs. Bingley brought her to her husband’s study, Lydia wanted to chat about how much he looked like his younger brother, Charles, but without the spectacles, and, of course, Charles was too young to have so much gray hair. While Lydia chattered on and on, George said nothing. In the past, he found that silence tended to disconcert the other party, and once Lydia finally stopped talking, he could see she was growing uncomfortable.

When Mrs. Bingley returned with a tray with tea and biscuits, her husband had sent her away. “Thank you, my dear, but this is not a social call. Serious business is being conducted here.” That scene had been worked out in advance, and Hannah had not even bothered to put tea in the teapot.

“Where is Mr. Wickham and when will I see him?” Lydia asked. She did not like this at all. He reminded her too much of her finger-wagging Aunt Susan, who was unhappy with everything Lydia had ever done.

“Wickham left his regiment without the permission of his senior officer, and there are matters in that regard that needed to be sorted. Additionally, he left Brighton with a young lady, who was not his wife, but who was a guest in the home of his colonel. It was a gross violation of the military code of ethics as well as common decency.”

“But that was only because Wickham is so in love with me. Surely, Colonel Forster will understand that as he also is in love with a young woman.”

“I can assure you Colonel Forster
does not
understand how one of his officers, whom he trusted to come into his home, could initiate secret meetings with a young lady under his protection, which has resulted in great damage to her reputation.”

“But I have done nothing wrong. I know what people might think, but once I explain that Wickham and I never did anything, they will understand.”

“If you believe that to be the case, Miss Lydia, then you have a higher opinion of mankind than I do. My experience is that most people are quite willing to believe the very worst about others. You will have a hard time convincing your acquaintances and relations that although you were gone for more than two weeks and had lived in a boardinghouse with a man without being married, you remain a maiden.”

“But I am,” Lydia said, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. “It was because we were waiting for Wickham to get the money to buy my wedding clothes. That was what was taking so long.”

“My wife tells me you have placed a great deal of importance on your wedding clothes. For the sake of argument, let us say you are accoutered from head to toe to your satisfaction. You go to the church and are married, and when you walk down the church steps and get into a hackney, where do you tell the driver to take you?”

Lydia was practically squirming. She had not thought about anything past the wedding ceremony. Where
would
they go?

“First, we should go to my Aunt and Uncle Gardiner’s. They are excessively fond of me.”

“Still?”

“Of course, Uncle Gardiner is my mother’s brother.”

“As you say, Mr. Gardiner is your mother’s brother, and as such, you have caused his sister great anxiety. In addition to that, he has neglected his family and business in his efforts to find you. I cannot imagine him welcoming with open arms the man who was responsible for wreaking havoc with the emotions of the Bennet and Gardiner families.”

“Well, it will only be for a few days before we go to Longbourn.”

“If you imagine a warm welcome there, I think you will be disappointed. Your father spent many days in London looking for you. He returned home in despair, fearing he would never see his youngest daughter again and that he had lost you to a man who violated every law of decency.”

“But I will explain it was only because we are so in love that we did these things. In time, all will be forgiven.”

“One can hope. However, you cannot expect your father to allow such a man to stay in his home for any length of time as he would be a constant reminder of the disruption he has caused his family. And you have another problem. Since Wickham, at Colonel Forster’s insistence, must leave the militia, I am curious as to what you will live on.”

“We have more resources than you think, Mr. Bingley,” Lydia said, smiling weakly. “Mr. Wickham is the natural son of a very wealthy man, and it is his intention to claim his share of the inheritance.”

“Really? And who told him that natural sons are entitled to a share of an inheritance? There is nothing in the law that requires it.”

“But his son is such a man that he will do what is right.”

“May I ask who this gentleman is?”

“If you promise it will not leave this room, as Wickham would be very unhappy with me if he knew I had told anyone.” Bingley gave her no assurances, but she decided to tell him anyway. “It is Mr. Darcy of Pemberley.”

George Bingley leaned forward in his chair, so that he might get closer to a young woman whose ignorance of how the world worked was staggering. “My dear, do you know what the term ‘slander’ means?”

“It is when someone tells a lie.”

“Yes, it is a lie, but one told to others to the point where it damages another’s reputation. You have just repeated a slander against Mr. Darcy. We know who Wickham’s father was, and he was not Mr. Darcy. So if you or Wickham should repeat this, you will be sued by the Darcy family, and when you are found guilty, you will go to prison.”

For the first time since she came into the room, Lydia truly looked frightened. Wickham had assured her that the elder Mr. Darcy was his father, and that the younger Mr. Darcy would see them right. What would they do now?

“In light of all of this, I would suggest you return to your parents and hope for a new beginning. Wickham is a man completely without principle, and he will cause you great heartache if you should marry.”

“But you don’t know the real George Wickham. He is very kind and attentive, and he loves me so much that he was willing to risk everything to be with me.”

Mr. Bingley laughed, which sent a chill down Lydia’s spine. “He risked very little, my dear. It was you who risked everything. I shall say no more as your uncle will be here shortly to bring you to their home. I hope they can talk sense into you as the man you call ‘my dear Wickham’ is a seducer, a gamester, a liar, and a profligate, among other things. A leopard cannot change its spots, Miss Lydia, not even for you.”

***

When Darcy went to George Bingley’s office, he expected to discuss his old enemy’s demands, but Bingley made it clear that Wickham was not in a position to demand anything.

“If for no other reason, Wickham must cooperate with us, or he will be before a magistrate with regards to his outstanding debts quicker than he can say ‘Jack Frost.’ Marshalsea Prison is an unpleasant place on the best of days, and there are very few of those.”

“Have you received instructions from Mr. Bennet?” Darcy asked. “Is he insisting that Lydia marry?”

“It is my understanding that it is her father’s hope that she will return to her family unmarried. However, Mr. Bennet has signed a power of attorney giving Mr. Gardiner complete discretion in this matter.”

“Please advise Mr. Gardiner that I shall do whatever is necessary to assist Miss Lydia if she foregoes marriage. I own a small estate in Hampshire where she might live until the storm passes. Money is not an issue; all her needs will be met.”

“That is very generous of you, Mr. Darcy, but from the conversation I had with the young lady, I believe a marriage will take place.”

“Where is Wickham?”

“In Brighton, where he had unfinished business. As discussed, Wickham will go into the regular army. A commission has been purchased in a regiment quartered in the north of England, and the colonel is a childhood friend of mine and is known for his discipline. Wickham will find life in the army to be very different from the militia. We are in a time of war, so if he thinks he can up and leave his regiment as he did in the militia, he will quickly come to realize his error. Deserters are hunted down and punished. All of this will be made clear to Wickham.”

Darcy was then shown a document drafted by George Bingley and the Darcy family solicitor in which a trust was to be established for Lydia Bennet with funds provided by Mr. Darcy. The conditions for any withdrawal in excess of a designated monthly allowance were stringent, and anything out of the norm required the approval of Mr. Stone, the executor of the trust.

“We have left Wickham with no wiggle room, Mr. Darcy. These funds are to be made available only at certain banks, all of which I have a financial interest in. Every line of this document has been written with Miss Lydia’s interests in mind, and emergency funds are available if she needs to return to Longbourn. If they are frugal, the funds are sufficient to meet their needs.

“In addition, Mr. Stone has drafted a second document, which Wickham must sign, in which he acknowledges the facts of his birth, and if he should make additional statements that can be construed in any way that he is the natural son of David Darcy of Pemberley, he will be prosecuted. After the document is signed, you will leave, so that Wickham will think the only reason you were in attendance was to protect the interests of the Darcy family.”

Darcy stood up and thanked Mr. Bingley for all of his efforts and asked for an invoice to be sent to him at his earliest opportunity.

“There will be no charge, Mr. Darcy, not only because you are a friend and a business associate, but because I am the father of four daughters. Wickham’s actions are a violation of everything I hold sacred.”

“When will Wickham be coming to London?”

“In the next few days. By that time, Captain Wilcox and Lieutenant Fuller will have had sufficient time to deal with Wickham, and I understand a Mr. Egger of Meryton was also interested in meeting with him. When he left Meryton and Brighton, he burned his bridges and is friendless, which I imagine will become a permanent condition.”

After leaving Bingley’s office, Darcy recalled the time he had seen Lydia at Lucas Lodge. She had brazenly declared it was her intention to meet every officer in the regiment, and shortly thereafter, she had proceeded to chase after a young lieutenant. Jane and Elizabeth were aghast, but her parents ignored what he considered to be grossly inappropriate behavior. What you sow, so shall you reap. Harvest time had come.

***

As expected, Lydia refused to even consider not marrying her dear Wickham. With their voices added to those of Hannah and George Bingley, the Gardiners tried to convince their niece that such a man would make a terrible husband. But if Lydia had been able to withstand the odious Mr. George Bingley’s withering looks and biting comments, the Gardiners presented no challenge to her at all. Even after it was explained that she would be received by her family with charity, she stood firm in her insistence that she marry. Mr. Bennet had anticipated her response. As a result, he had not even bothered to come to town.

There was only one person at Longbourn who was happy about the news from London—Mrs. Bennet. She was elated that her daughter was to be married, but not for the reason that everyone would have imagined. She had been in a state of high anxiety because she believed Lydia’s elopement would damage the prospects of her other four daughters. If Lydia returned to Longbourn unmarried, many a gentleman would avoid a family who had received a fallen woman back into the fold.

When her husband read Mr. Gardiner’s letter to her, she could hardly contain her joy. It was unfortunate Wickham’s regiment was in the North, which would make visiting difficult, but if he distinguished himself in the army, then everyone would look at his wife quite differently when she returned to Meryton. But in the meantime, she hoped they would be allowed to stay at Longbourn for at least a month.

“Listen to me, Fanny,” Mr. Bennet said before retiring. “I shall receive Lydia and her husband here at Longbourn for no more than ten days. Although I shall be forced to sit at the dining table with Wickham, I shall not utter one word that can in any way be construed as conversation. You are not to give them one penny out of your household funds because Lydia will need to live on a budget for the rest of her life. As for taking Lydia and Wickham about the village to introduce the happy couple to our neighbors, I would not do it. You may take a lump of coal and wrap it up in fine paper and tie it with ribbons and bows, but it remains a lump of coal and no one will be fooled.”

When Mr. Bennet called her “Fanny,” she understood that anything he said was not subject to debate. But there were things her husband simply did not understand. It was absolutely critical that Lydia be reintroduced into society as quickly and as often as possible because, with each meeting, there would be a little less gossip among the tongue-waggers. Eventually, they would tire of the topic and would move on to dissecting others who had fallen from grace. The gossip surrounding Betsy Egger’s false pregnancy had already been replaced with the announcement that sixty-year-old Mr. Long was to marry Mrs. Gantner of Sheffield, a woman half his age. And so it would go. Some other juicy morsel would replace the news of Lydia’s unconventional marriage. It was just too bad Mr. Long hadn’t waited until after Lydia’s departure to the North to make his announcement. That news would have been a nice distraction from Lydia’s marriage, but there would be others who would fall short. There always were.