Page 32

E lizabeth ducked into Netherfield’s to buy some flour.

Mrs. Reynolds was going to teach her to make popovers tomorrow, and Pemberley’s kitchen flour bin was almost empty.

Generally, Elizabeth avoided going into Netherfield’s.

Now that Mr. Bingley was gone, there wasn’t a friendly face behind the counter except Jane’s.

Elizabeth grew weary of fending off Caroline Bingley’s verbal barbs and her thinly veiled looks of disdain.

Jealous old shrew . Thank goodness William didn’t listen to her like her nephew apparently did.

Mr. Bingley had been gone for five months now. Between his departure and Elizabeth’s marriage, it had been a difficult year for Jane.Elizabeth felt sorry for her, but there was nothing she could do. The one time they had broached the subject only seemed to upset Jane more.

“I did believe at one time that he cared for me, but I must have been wrong. Miss Caroline told me last week he might soon be engaged to a young lady from Glasgow. He has known her since he was a boy, and their mothers were friends.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. Miss Bingley saw that her nephew was enamored with you, sent him off to Glasgow, and now tries to convince you that he cares for someone else. She looks down on us, but she doesn’t want to lose you as an employee. It pains me to see her treat you this way.”

“We need the money I earn, Lizzy. Besides, I think Miss Caroline was just trying to protect me—so my feelings wouldn’t be hurt.”

Elizabeth remained unconvinced, but she was unable to persuade her sister. How she wished Jane didn’t have to work for that awful, conniving…

“Good afternoon, Miss Bennet.” Caroline sniffed as if she smelled something foul. “Can I help you?”

Elizabeth paused, counting to ten.A slow, wicked grin spread across her face before she turned around, feigning surprise.“Oh, were you speaking to me? I apologize, Miss Bingley—I guess I’ve just gotten used to being called Mrs. Darcy now.”

Caroline squinted her eyes and lifted her lips in a twisted version of a smile.“Yes, of course, Mrs. Darcy.”

“I just need to pick up some flour—a five-pound bag should do.” Elizabeth was momentarily distracted by the young man over by the tobacco who had turned suddenly at the mention of her name.

She usually thought little of it—a lot of people were curious about who had become Mrs. Darcy, and now that the weather was warmer, people were coming into town from the outlying areas of the county more frequently.

He didn’t look like a farmer though. He was dressed in a suit and seemed well-kept, if a little threadbare.

She took a second look. He was handsome too.

She wondered if he was new in town. And if Jane had seen him.

He aimed a devastatingly charming smile at her.

She tentatively returned the smile and turned back to find Caroline’s suspicious eyes raking over her.

“Miss Bingley, I hope your nephew is doing well. We don’t see him around Meryton much these days.”

“No, he’s been busy opening the new store in Glasgow.

I think his residence there may be permanent.

Of course, Louisa and I will miss him, but there’s much more opportunity for him to engage in good society.

Hopefully, he’s meeting some young women more fitting to his station, like Louisa and I recommended. Even William advised him as much.”

“William? As in Mr. Darcy? My husband?”

Caroline narrowed her eyes as if studying her the way a spider might study a fly before snaring it in her web.

“Why yes. William, I mean Mr. Darcy, thought it best for Charles to relocate.He was of the opinion that Charles needed to escape some ‘unfortunate entanglements’ here.It was good advice too, because, well… I just didn’t want the young woman to feel uncomfortable.

There was really no way for any relationship to proceed, you see, with her being an employee.

” She feigned an awkward pause. “Oh dear, how thoughtless of me.”

Miss Bingley seemed almost gleeful as she went on.“I’m sure you know, William’s advice is always so practical, so sound. It’s no wonder Charles always listens to what he says.” She gave Elizabeth a self-satisfied smile.

Elizabeth paid for her flour, trying to hide her expression, and left the store.She could hardly breathe as she headed toward the post office.

William told Mr. Bingley to leave? Discouraged him from pursuing Jane—and Miss Bingley had to be talking about Jane. And knew Elizabeth would put it all together. Jane’s and Bingley’s feelings were obvious to anyone with eyes in their head. Why would William do such a thing?

“Pardon me, ma’am.”

She turned and saw the young man from Netherfield’s. He approached her with a spring in his step and an anticipatory gleam in his eye. “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but overhear the shopkeeper call your name back at the dry goods.Are you Mrs. William Darcy, of Pemberley?”

“Yes, I am. Are you an acquaintance of my husband’s?”

“In some respects, yes. I’m familiar with the family. You see, I’m Georgiana’s husband, and Maggie and Ruth’s father.” He held out his hand. “I’m George, George Wickham.”

Elizabeth forced herself not to gasp out loud, but her eyes must still have showed her shock.

“Yes,” he said quietly, withdrawing his outstretched hand. “I can see you’ve heard of me.”

Collecting her wits, Elizabeth replied. “I’ve actually heard very little of you. I didn’t even know your name.”

Wickham’s expression lightened. “I didn’t know Darcy had married.”

“We’ve only been married since February.”

“Ah, I see. Are you from around these parts?”

“No, actually—I mean, my mother is from here, but I grew up in Chicago.”

“An outsider, like me. I must say that surprises me a little.”

“Really? And why is that?”

“I’ve always thought maybe my being an outsider was one reason Darcy never cared for me being with Georgiana.”

“Oh.”

“I apologize. I shouldn’t have brought up that old family squabble to Darcy’s lovely new wife.

Not very gentlemanly, is it?” His brown eyes sparkled when he smiled.

“I can’t believe my good fortune in running into you.

I’ve come into town from Brighton, where I’ve been staying for the last few weeks.

I’ve been lucky enough to find a job at a service station there, but I came here on my day off, looking for some word of my girls.

I haven’t laid eyes on them, or their mother, in almost two years. Do you get to see them regularly?”

“Why, yes. They live just up the road from us. They’re precious little girls. I’m quite fond of them.”

He beamed with pride. “Yes, they are, aren’t they? I’ve missed them so much. But times were hard when Georgiana and I were trying to start our family, and the struggle to make ends meet was very difficult for her.So different from the way she was brought up, you know.”

“Yes.” Elizabeth looked up the street.

“Forgive me. I’m keeping you from your errands.”

“Oh. Well. No. It’s just that I need to get to the post office before they close.”

“Allow me to escort you then.”

“I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”

“Not at all.I would love to talk with someone who can tell me of my daughters.” His forlorn look tugged on her sympathies. “And their mother.”

Elizabeth started toward the post office, and Wickham fell in step beside her.

“I don’t know what you’ve been told about me, Mrs. Darcy, but I can imagine. You’re surprised that I should inquire so fondly about a wife from whom I’m estranged. But the truth is, I love Georgiana very much and always have. And I believe she loved me too.”

“Whatever happened?” A warning bell went off in the back of her mind, but her curiosity overrode it.

“Well, as I said, life was hard for us a couple of years ago, as it was for many people.A tough time to begin a life together, but we were in love, and we thought we could surmount any obstacle.”

He looked at Elizabeth to gauge her reaction.

“I was educated in business”—he went on—“slated to manage a shoe mercantile in the town where we lived, but after a few, short months, the shop closed. The depression hit us hard.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.I think that was probably the last straw for Georgiana. She was pregnant by then—with the second baby—and frightened, I’m sure, for the future.

We went from place to place—me finding work in this town or that, but I could never find anything permanent.

” He looked earnest and despairing, as if reliving the frustration of that time.

“Anyway, about a month after Ruth was born, she said she’d had enough. She couldn’t live like that anymore, and she was going home and taking the girls with her.

“I was devastated.Not that I blamed Georgiana—like I said, she was frightened for herself and the girls—so she retreated to her familiar surroundings, her old life. I imagine some women are simply not made for that kind of hardship.

“Well, no matter what I think of Darcy otherwise, he has always been a very good brother to her. He took her in without question—moved her and the girls in with him and apparently has cared for them very well.For that, I am grateful, no matter what else passed between us.”

Elizabeth held her breath. Was she about to finally find out what happened between her husband and his brother-in-law?

“I found another steady job, in Illinois, and I came here to find Georgiana.

I wrote her a note, begging her to come home.

In reply, I had a visit at my hotel room from Darcy, telling me in no uncertain terms that I was not to contact my wife or my daughters again.

He also produced a document that declared our marriage void.

He had apparently used his connections and his money to obtain some kind of annulment.

“I couldn’t believe a divorce was truly what Georgiana wanted.

I asked Darcy if there was any work at Pemberley that I might do.

I was willing to relocate, to be near my wife and family, if she didn’t want to leave home.

Darcy was even more threatening this time, insisting that he spoke for Georgiana, and she had no wish to see or hear from me.

To this day, I don’t know if she was ever aware I had returned for her. ”

Elizabeth was deeply shocked. Was it possible? Could William have done this awful thing just because the man was down on his luck?Mr. Wickham seemed so sincere.

“That’s terrible,” she said.

All too soon, they had reached the post office.

“Yes, well, I keep trying to better my circumstances, hoping someday I will be worthy in his eyes of providing for my own family.I took the position over in Brighton in hopes that I could show him and Georgiana that I can care for them adequately.” He quirked his lips into half a smile.

“Although perhaps not in the manner to which she has become accustomed.

“So, you see why, given our history, I would ask that you not tell him of my presence here. Honestly, I do not want to cause any trouble for anyone. I just wanted to see how my daughters are and how they have grown.” His eyes grew misty.

Suddenly, he looked across the street and the color drained from his face.

Elizabeth turned and saw her husband striding toward them with a furious scowl.

“I think I’d best bid you goodbye, Mrs. Darcy.Perhaps we shall see each other again soon.” He tipped his hat and hurried up the street and around the corner.

When he reached her, William took Elizabeth roughly by the arm, leading her at a fast enough pace that she could barely keep up with him.

“What are you doing, Elizabeth?” he said through gritted teeth.

“I was having a conversation.”

“And do you know who you were having a conversation with?”

“Yes, not that I would have ever known if I had waited on you to introduce me. It was Mr. Wickham, as you well know—Georgiana’s former husband and the father of your nieces.”

His cheeks flushed dark red with anger.“Mr. Wickham? Is that what he’s calling himself now?” he said under his breath.

“William, will you stop? I can’t keep up with you.” He halted and whirled around to face her.

She shook her arm out of his grip and huffed, indignant.“He only wanted to know how Georgiana and the little girls are doing. He seemed quite concerned about them.”

William snorted.

“Maybe if you just talked with him—”

“No! I will not ‘just talk’ with that scoundrel!I’m amazed at your lack of common sense, Elizabeth.

I have told you he is not to be discussed at all in my house.

What on earth made you think it was acceptable to have an actual conversation with him on the street?

What if the girls had seen you? Or god forbid, Georgiana had come around the corner and had to face him.

” His voice started low and menacing and rose in volume until he was speaking quite loudly.

He stood over her, glaring down at her, his face contorted with fury.

Something in Elizabeth snapped. She drew herself up as tall as she could manage and lifted her chin in defiance.

Her eyes flashed with the pent-up frustration and anger of several months.

She spoke in a low voice, but her tone was every bit as menacing as his.

“I am your wife, William. You will not dress me down in public as if I were a misbehaving child. I will not tolerate that kind of blatant disrespect from you—no matter what my sex, or my age, or my ‘financial condition’ when I married you.” She turned and headed back the way they had come.

“Where are you going?” he asked her back.

“I have to mail my letters,” she said over her shoulder, holding them up to show him.

He snatched them out of her hand and walked around in front of her.

His unreadable scowl was back in place, and his voice was quiet and tightly controlled.

“I will mail the letters. The car is parked across the street. Please go over there and wait for me.” A sarcastic tone crept into his voice.

“And try not to start any heartfelt conversations with hobos, confidence men, or any other kind of miscreant before I get there.”

Elizabeth stared after him, livid, and then headed toward the car, deciding it was time they had it out once and for all.