Page 45

They rose and excused themselves, Miss Darcy giving the excuse that she wanted to show Elizabeth something in the sunroom.

They walked down a maze of halls, and when they came to the rear of the house, went through a set of double doors that opened on a capacious, humid space filled with late afternoon sunshine.

She was taken aback by the beauty of the exotic plants and the sound of trickling water issuing from a fountain in the centre of the gravel walkway.

They walked side by side down the aisles for a while, enjoying the sounds of a few birds that were nestled aloft in the branches of the trees.

“You have made quite an impression on my cousin,” Miss Darcy began after a while.

Elizabeth felt her heart race. She had not expected to have this kind of conversation with Miss Darcy. “I suppose I have, although I did not set out to do so. He is very easy to get along with, and I enjoy his company.”

Miss Darcy nodded, remaining quiet for a little while longer. “There is another gentleman, I believe, who has caught your fancy? A Mr George Wickham?”

Elizabeth was immediately put on the alert. “Yes, I know Mr Wickham, although I would not say he has captured my fancy.”

Miss Darcy stopped in the path and turned toward Elizabeth.

She looked very grave indeed. “Miss Bennet, I hope I may speak plainly? I do not wish to offend you, but I have information that I must share with you concerning Mr Wickham.” She motioned to a white marble bench a few paces away, and they sat down.

Elizabeth was even more perplexed when Miss Darcy took both her hands and pressed them with a familiarity that she would have thought would be saved for a much longer acquaintance. Yet Miss Darcy’s diffidence and obvious sincerity made it impossible to be repelled by the gesture.

At last, Miss Darcy spoke. “I must tell you what happened between Mr Wickham and myself.”

Elizabeth drew in a breath, her mind travelling back to the strange conversation she had had with Mr Darcy. Surely the woman whom Mr Wickham had tried to trick into an elopement was not his very own sister? She nodded and bid her continue.

“Last year, Mr Wickham came back into our lives after a long stint of separation. I believe my brother told you he refused to give him a living that my father had set aside for him? A parish in the confines of the Pemberley estate?”

“Yes, Mr Wickham told me so.”

“Well, he did not tell you the whole of the matter. When my father died, my brother gave him a substantial sum of money instead of the living. Mr Wickham did not then fancy the thought of joining the church. And so, my brother gave him the money instead and sent him on his way.” Miss Darcy looked down at her hands, turning them over as if to inspect them.

“He squandered the entire sum within a twelve-month, after which time, he returned and demanded more. That is when my brother refused.”

Elizabeth shifted uneasily. But she could see no hint of guile in the young woman’s gaze. “Go on,” she urged.

“That was some years ago. We did not see him again until he suddenly came back into our lives, claiming that he had been reformed. After a few weeks of renewed acquaintance, he claimed passionate love for me. I was fifteen,” she replied.

Sadness had overwhelmed Miss Darcy’s face, and Elizabeth held her breath at what her heart knew was coming.

After a steadying breath, Miss Darcy went on.

“Quite deliberately, he courted me when I was away from my brother. We learned only later that my paid companion, Mrs Younge, was his confederate. She and I had travelled to Ramsgate for an extended stay. And it was there that Mr Wickham began to press me into an elopement, even though it made me vastly uncomfortable. But by that time, I thought I was in love with him.” She sighed.

“He had worn me down by his constant protestations of love until I finally agreed to elope with him. I would have married him, too, if it had not been for my brother coming for a surprise visit the morning we were due to run away to Gretna Green.”

“I was upstairs when Mr Wickham came for me, and my brother confronted him. It was clear from their conversation that Mr Wickham never truly loved me. He only wanted my dowry. He was thrown from the house, as was Mrs Younge, for her part in the scheme. We had not seen him since, until the night of the play, when we saw him sitting with you.”

Elizabeth took a long moment to collect herself.

Mr Darcy had not been lying. She had known, deep down, but had refused to listen.

How blind she had been! Georgiana’s story was too similar to her own experience with Mr Wickham to be a mere coincidence.

She wondered if Mr Wickham would have even paid her any attention if it had not been for her inheritance.

“That must have been a very difficult experience, Miss Darcy. I am sorry you were forced to endure it.”

Miss Darcy stood then, and they continued walking among the lush plants of the greenhouse. “I have suffered much doubt and shame since the episode. However, I am finally beginning to believe that it was Wickham who was at fault.”

Elizabeth’s heart went out to the young woman.

“It was indeed his fault. No man of honour would act in such a way.” She paused for a split second, chewing on her lower lip.

“Indeed, I am grateful to you for sharing your experience. It could not have been easy. I too have experienced something similar, just the other day.”

“You, too?” Miss Darcy asked. She looked deeply concerned. “What has he done?”

“Mr Wickham made me an offer of marriage. When I hesitated, he suggested we need not wait for the banns to be read or even negotiate a settlement with my father. He said he did not care about such things, that he only wanted to make me his wife as soon as possible. He suggested we elope as well.” And had Mr Darcy not warned her, little as she had wished to heed his warning, she might have been fooled.

Elizabeth sighed. “Perhaps the worst of it is that his suggestion shocked me, and when I allowed him to see my dismay, he told me he had not meant the suggestion sincerely — that, in fact, he was offended I would have believed it of him. I hardly knew what to think. But what you have shared with me casts another light on the matter.”

“I know he is a charming man, Miss Bennet. But he is insincere. I can almost guarantee that. He is all greed and malice.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I thank you for endeavouring to warn me. I am surprised you would take such a risk for a woman you barely know.”

Miss Darcy gave her a soft smile. “It was not wholly my idea. My brother asked me if I would tell you my story. Like myself, he feels responsible for some part of the harm Mr Wickham has done. And I knew I could not allow Mr Wickham to get away with ruining someone else’s life.”

Elizabeth was astonished. She had guessed it was Colonel Fitzwilliam’s doing, arranging the meeting. But to hear that the proud Mr Darcy, so protective of his little sister, would allow her to tell such a tale was nothing less than astonishing.

Elizabeth could not help but feel the compliment.

However much responsibility Mr Darcy took upon himself, he would never have allowed Miss Darcy to confide in her if he did not trust her to keep the secret.

And he had not only allowed the disclosure, but encouraged it.

Only a very great degree of respect for her could have brought him to it.

“My brother is a good man. And I have seen that he holds you in the highest regard. I believe he came to you and tried to warn you, but he tried to do so by leaving my name out of the incident. An anonymous accusation cannot be very convincing, and besides, I thought perhaps it would be better coming from a fellow woman.” Miss Darcy halted on the path.

“I beg you, Miss Bennet, to consider what I have told you today. Mr Wickham may be charming, but he is not worthy of your trust and regard.”

“I thank you,” Elizabeth said low. “Indeed, Miss Darcy, I may have cause all my life to thank you for what you have done today.” Miss Darcy nodded, a slight sheen of tears shining in her eyes, and they continued their walk until they had traversed the whole of the conservatory.

They rejoined Mrs Gardiner and the countess, sitting back down to tea as though it had been a perfectly normal conversation, rather than a series of revelations Elizabeth would never forget.

Elizabeth had never imagined she might have wished for less congeniality between the countess and Mrs Gardiner, but she soon found it was so.

The conversation between them was so lively and engaged that it seemed unlikely to end soon — and while Elizabeth could not fail to delight in seeing her aunt so honoured by a member of the nobility, she felt badly in need of a little time alone to think over all she had learned.

At last, Mrs Gardiner made their excuses seriously enough that the countess must accept them, and they at last left the table.

Elizabeth had already put on her pelisse and was at the point of making the last formal farewell to their hostess when she discovered that her time of discomfiture was not yet at an end.

It was suddenly made far worse than ever, when a knock came at the door, and it was opened to admit Mr Darcy!

Elizabeth hardly knew whether it was better or worse that he seemed as surprised by the meeting as herself.

“Miss Bennet! How — how pleasant to meet you. I have come for my sister,” he said abruptly. “Aunt Beatrix, I beg your pardon for interrupting your party. I had thought it must be over long since.”

The countess laughed at him. “Darcy, how clumsy you are! You ought to have come along with dear Georgiana, and enjoyed the company with us. You see it has been quite delightful, such that I could not bear to part with our guests any earlier.”

“I am afraid I was otherwise engaged,” Darcy replied briefly.

Elizabeth bit her lip. It was all too clear what that must mean. He had shown her the greatest of all compliments in sending Georgiana to warn her, but he could hardly bear to be in her presence. It was not surprising, after such an insult as she had dealt him.

But she could not leave without letting him know how much he had given her. If only they might speak in private for a moment! Speaking in front of the two aunts, she would need to be discrete almost to the point of obscurity.

She could only hope that he would understand.

“It has been a delightful afternoon, Mr Darcy,” Elizabeth said carefully.

“I was so very pleased to meet your sister again. Miss Darcy is a truly delightful acquaintance, and so well informed! I declare I have learned more in conversation with her today than in my last week of receiving callers.”

Miss Darcy stepped forward. “That is a very fine compliment, and I thank you for it,” she said in her soft, gentle voice. “And do you — am I too bold in surmising that we are in quite the same mind about that Bach sonata we discussed?”

“You are not too bold at all,” Elizabeth replied with alacrity. “Indeed, I am very grateful to you for opening my eyes to that difficulty of timing on the second page, for it will greatly change how I play it in the future.”

“Excellent,” Miss Darcy said, with a relieved sigh that did not quite fit the supposed topic of conversation. Indeed, Mrs Gardiner was looking at them rather strangely, and Elizabeth suspected she would have to satisfy her aunt’s curiosity once they could speak more privately.

With an effort, Elizabeth looked up at Mr Darcy, curious to see how he would have taken their discussion, for she had no doubt that so intelligent a man would have understood them perfectly.

For once, his gaze did not meet hers. He was looking instead at Georgiana, with such an expression of fierce pride in her that Elizabeth felt her heart constrict.

This, then, was the true essence of Mr Darcy. For all his understandable pride in his social position and connections, he was a man who would encourage his precious sister to do what she felt was right, and who was strong enough himself to rejoice in her strength.

And of this heart, I might have been mistress. If I had only known him, the real Mr Darcy in time —

But she had not. And though his nobility extended to saving her from Mr Wickham, it was surely too much to expect that he could forgive her so far as to forget how hatefully she had thrown away his love.