Page 53 of A Life Diverted
H e heard talk that the Bennets, and more importantly the lost Ellie Wendell, had returned to Longbourn. He knew he needed to be very careful because one slip would see him swing at the end of a hangman’s rope.
As far as he knew, no one was seeking him, but he could not take a chance that it would remain so.
It would be best if he could keep his hands clean, like he had intended all those years ago, but there were two impediments to his employing someone to do the deed.
He had not enough coin—such men wanted their price before they would act—and in the weeks he had been in Meryton, he had not discovered a single person who would be willing to take on such a charge.
No, local help was definitely not something he could chance.
The Bennets, and the little brat in particular, were too well liked for him to find a sympathetic ear in this backwater.
He smiled as he thought back to that fateful night.
He had used ‘little one’ as he had heard others call her, and it had worked.
Any mistrust or dislike she may have had towards him had evaporated when he had called her that.
He had been debating how to get her to follow him without raising the alarm when she had provided him the perfect opening in speaking of her desire to see faeries and pixies.
Magic potion indeed! It had been an inspiration to tell her that.
As much as his success that night pleased him, unless he dealt with the girl, it would have been for nought. He was determined that a young girl would not be his undoing.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~ ~
Brian and John Biggs had been in Meryton for about a sennight. They had applied for work in the stables attached to the Red Lion Inn.
The landlord could not have been more pleased with the two new men; they were able to do the work of four men, were always punctual, and although they did not speak much, other than between themselves, they were always courteous.
They had seen their sister’s defiler strutting about like a peacock without a worry in the world.
Rather than pounce and tear him limb from limb, the Biggs brothers decided to watch the man first. That way they could learn his routines and decide where they would be able to find the seducer on his own away from his fellow officers.
So far they had spiked his guns to a large degree.
They had mentioned to a few gossip-loving serving wenches that they knew people in Dadlington, Leicestershire, where this particular regiment of the Derbyshire Militia had been encamped.
They repeated tales from trusted sources about how some of the officers left big debts behind them.
Worse, one officer repeatedly promised marriage to separate young ladies from their virtues and refused to marry them after ruining them.
It had not taken much more than one day before the merchants had revoked the credit previously given to members of the militia.
A few times since, they had seen the man named Wickham trying everything he could to have the merchants grant him credit, but they all steadfastly refused.
Also, and more gratifying, was that as soon as he attempted to coerce a young lady into his bed with his ‘if you love me, you will anticipate our vows’ line, she would run the other way. One even slapped him.
Having the useless officer cut off from his usual pursuits resulted in exactly what the brothers hoped it would. The useless libertine had to seek his entertainment in Hatfield or further afield. That would cause him to unwittingly come to them.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Wickham could not understand why things had changed all of a sudden. One minute he had credit in every shop in Meryton, and overnight he and all members of the militia, save for Colonel Forster, had their credit accounts closed, and payment in full had been demanded.
As it applied to everyone—soldier, non-commissioned officers, and officers alike—Wickham was comforted that it had not been aimed at him specifically.
Thank goodness, he had kept his purchases small.
His plan was—as it had been in any town he had visited—to begin to make heavy purchases about a month before it was time to move on.
He had given up attempting to change the merchants’ minds, as they would not relent.
No matter his stratagem, regardless of how much of his vaunted charm he deployed, the answers remained a very firm ‘no.’
Thanks to his pitiful wages, Wickham had been able to pay off the little he already owed to the tradesmen.
Of course, since the other militia members were paying off their own debts, no one would, or could, lend him money.
Colonel Forster had threatened twenty lashes to any man who did not settle his debts right away.
He had chosen the lesser of two evils and the one with no physical pain, even though it stuck in his craw to have to pay his own debts.
As if that had not been bad enough, the two girls he had been preparing for bedding prior to their wedding , were gone.
He had made pretty proposals and been accepted by both of them separately.
As he always did, Wickham waited a few days before giving them his ‘woe is me’ tale of how sad he was that the girl did not love him enough to anticipate their vows.
One had slapped him, and both had left with alacrity.
Since then, neither they nor any other female, fell for his well-practiced, and until now, very successful seductions.
Not even ones older than he preferred would agree to comfort him.
How could this be? Wickham had never before been to this town. Well, he was almost sure of that, not that he could remember every locale where he had plied his trade.
The previous night he had heard talk of the friendly girls and available credit in Hatfield, which was just a little more than an hour’s ride away. Thankfully, the next day was his day off from duties, so on the morrow, Wickham intended to rent a horse at the stables and ride to Hatfield.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Lizzy dear, as much as we want you to continue to live in this house and always bear the Bennet name, it is time,” Fanny stated.
Fanny, Bennet, and Beth were meeting with Lizzy in the private sitting room attached to the mistress’s and master’s bedchamber.
The Wendells had not asked this of them, but there was no reason not to acknowledge the reality.
Lizzy’s name was, in fact, Elizabeth Elaine Wendell.
It was time to own that publicly. The three Bennets explained to Lizzy that no one had asked them to do this.
It was their choice because it was the right and just thing.
They did not tell her, but they were aware she was hesitant to make the final change thinking she would injure the Bennets.
“I will always be a Bennet as well as a Wendell,” Elizabeth insisted. “However, I do understand why it needs to be done.” She looked at Mama, Papa, and Grandmama. “Will you keep on calling me Lizzy?”
“For as long as you want us to do so,” Beth assured her. “You will always be Lizzy to me, to all of us.”
“When I am addressed as Lizzy, it brings to mind the wonderful years I spent here at Longbourn. At least when Jane marries David, even if I am no longer living here all of the time, there will be someone nearby who will call me Lizzy.”
“As I may have said previously, you will always be our daughter,” Bennet said, his voice gruff with emotion.
“I would not want anyone to suffer as the Wendells did when you were stolen away from them. That being said, I, we, will never repine that we had you with us. God made sure you would be safe and loved until He brought you back to the Wendells and the two families together as one. I will give thanks until the day I leave the mortal world that, in His wisdom, He chose us to look after you.”
“Will you move to Netherfield Park later today?” Beth asked.
Fanny saw Lizzy was hesitating to reply, and she was sure she knew why.
“Just like it is time for you to reclaim the name with which you were born, so is it to live with your birth family; that is, until you marry.” Fanny did not miss the blush when she mentioned Lizzy marrying.
“If you and William end up wedded, you will do very well together. I have great pleasure in thinking you will be so happily settled if William proposes, and you accept him. I have not a doubt that you two were formed for one another. Your tempers are not alike; indeed, they are complementary. You are each so decisive that everything will be resolved with speed and so strong, that no servant will ever dare to cheat you. You will both be very generous, but you will never come close to exceeding your income.”
“Mama, as pleased as I am that you think William and I are meant to be together, I must remind you that he has made no declaration,” Elizabeth responded while she tried to control her blushes.
“Yet,” Beth added, “in my opinion, based on close to seventy years’ of experience, it is not if, but when. That boy is besotted with you. ”
Elizabeth said nothing to refute what Grandmama said.
However, she only hoped William would come to the point soon.
Since seeing him in his element at Pemberley, Elizabeth was in love with William.
After hearing what Mama and Grandmama Beth said, Elizabeth decided the time to prompt William to speak had come.
“Lizzy, you know it is not because we do not want you here,” Bennet assured her.
“We would selfishly keep you for many more years, but we need to be thankful for the time we were granted. Besides, we will be in company one with the other on an almost daily occurrence. Add to that, until we travel north for the wedding, we are but three miles away, and what is three miles of good road?”