Page 7 of Darcy in Distress (Pride and Prejudice Variation #17)

Darcy carefully inscribed his signature on his letter, folded it, sealed it, and added it to the pile of letters resting on a silver platter near the door.

“I believe that is all,” Wickham said with a sigh of relief.

Darcy nodded in satisfaction. “I believe it is. Thank you, George, for your assistance. It would have taken me twice as long to complete my correspondence without you.”

“It is my honor, of course,” Wickham answered, striding over to the window and staring outside at the distant trees to the north of the mansion. “Darcy, would you care to ride the estate soon?”

“Yes,” Darcy replied, walking over to stand next to his friend.

“If Bingley is willing to ride with us, we can combine business with pleasure; Netherfield seems a fine estate, but it has undoubtedly been neglected these last years. We need to tour the various fields and meet the tenants to determine what must be done.”

“I agree. Ah, it seems Bingley had visitors!”

Darcy squinted toward the coach which was rolling merrily away down the carriage way. “I daresay he will have many guests this week; he is, after all, a congenial man, along with being wealthy and single.”

“The latter two attributes are doubtless most important to the Bennets,” Wickham agreed with a nod toward the carriage.

“How do you know that is the Bennet carriage?”

“Oh, I took a few minutes during the assembly last night to wander outside and chat with the local coachmen who were enjoying a convivial time in the stables. The men pointed out the conveyances of their employers and I remember the Bennet carriage.”

Darcy stared at Wickham and shook his head in amazement. “You are incredible. I have never met anyone who ferrets information out like you do.”

“I wanted to be certain that no one in this small town has ties to London high society. Lady Anne and Georgiana do not need to be confronted unexpectedly by some busybody with any connection to Matlock. I meant what I said last night; the local gentry are respectable folks who, I am confident, are far too sensible to take heed of the foolishness of the Earl.”

“I appreciate your assurances, I truly do. You have been a very good friend to our family.”

“It is the least I can do,” Wickham asserted firmly .

Darcy bit his lip and shook his head. “On the contrary, after my father dismissed Mr. Wickham as steward and threw your family out of your home, after he had you removed from Cambridge on a moment’s notice, you had no further responsibility to us.

You would have been justified in washing your hands of our entire family and not looking back.

I will never entirely forgive myself for allowing such a dreadful travesty of justice. ”

“Darcy,” Wickham said, then sighed before continuing, “I know I have never told you this before, but for me, your father’s unrighteous actions were probably a gift.”

Darcy jerked in astonishment. “A gift? Whatever do you mean?”

Wickham sighed again and looked out toward the cloudy sky.

“I started walking down a bad path at Harrow, and I fear my character only grew worse when I entered Cambridge. I have always been a charming, handsome fellow, and I was also proud of my position as the godson of Mr. George Darcy, even if I was only a steward’s son.

While I was in school, I took up with several other rogues who encouraged me to use my face and fine speech to trick other boys out of their money.

I was even stealing on occasion to make up for gambling losses.

Looking back, I was well on my way to becoming a reprobate.

When I was removed from Cambridge, when my father lost his position and his honor due to your father’s false accusations, I was furious and hurt and outraged.

But those months when my parents and I were living in near poverty opened my eyes to the struggles of most people in this life.

When all is said and done, Darcy, I am no one special.

I am merely George Wickham, son of Horatio and Barbara Wickham. ”

“Legally, at least,” Darcy said softly.

Wickham lifted one eyebrow and turned an amused countenance toward his friend.

“I truly do not believe I am your half-brother, Darcy. I do not look anything like you, after all, though I flatter myself that I am almost as handsome.”

This sally did not provoke an answering smile from the master of Pemberley, who said, “Georgiana and I do not look much alike since she takes after my mother and I after my father. Furthermore, Mrs. Wickham claimed...”

Wickham’s smile disappeared at these words. “I know what she claimed, but my mother was merely trying to blackmail Mr. Darcy to pay her substantial debts. It backfired dreadfully, of course.”

“Yes, it did, and you and your father, and my mother and Georgiana and I, all suffered for it,” Darcy said, glancing away.

“I am sorry. My mother was charming and beautiful, but she was also a selfish, extravagant woman who used her considerable gifts to manipulate others. ”

Darcy quickly shook his head as he turned back to face Wickham, his expression distraught.

“Your mother is hardly to blame! It was my father who chose to carry on an affair with his steward’s wife!

It is possible, Wickham, that you are my half brother; the only persons who know exactly when the affair started are my father and Mrs. Wickham, and they are dead and gone.

I assure you that even if you were not a good comrade, I would feel responsible for you.

As it is, you are a true companion, and whether a brother by blood or not, you will always be a brother in my heart. ”

Wickham, whose character was a cheerful one, was briefly tempted to lighten the conversation by making a joke. But no, this was important to the master of Pemberley, and he must respond seriously.

“Darcy, it truly does not matter. My father told me, on his deathbed, that he was quite certain that the affair had not yet started when I was born; in any case, in the last years, you have treated me with great kindness, and I look on you as the brother I never had, and Georgiana as my sister.”

“Thank you, George,” Darcy replied, his heart swelling with gratitude and affection for his boyhood friend. “I know I speak for my mother and sister when I say we all hold you in the highest esteem.”

/

“My dear Jane, Mr. Bingley could not keep his eyes off of you!” Mrs. Bennet crowed as the carriage carried the three ladies back to Longbourn.

Jane blushed but said composedly, “We had a very pleasant talk, Mother. He is a charming, friendly gentleman.”

“He is, he is! Oh Jane, if only I could see you well settled at Netherfield!”

“It is early days for that, Mother,” Elizabeth interposed, keeping her eyes fixed out the window on the passing countryside. “Jane and Mr. Bingley only met for the first time last night.”

“Oh that matters not, Lizzy; gentlemen are such volatile creatures! Your father fell in love with me the very day we met! We danced twice at an assembly, and he proposed only two weeks later!”

Elizabeth suppressed a sigh. Yes, her father had fallen in love quickly, and fallen out of love just as quickly.

Her mother, the daughter of a solicitor, had only her considerable beauty to recommend her, and Mr. Bennet, intelligent and satirical, had rapidly discovered that he had been foolish to choose the former Fanny Gardiner as his partner in life.

The Bennets were not well matched, and the five daughters of their union all suffered, in one way or another, from their parents’ incompatibility.

“I did not have the opportunity to speak with Lady Anne,” Jane said in an attempt to change the topic of conversation. “Did you like her, Mother?”

“Oh, very much, very much indeed!” Mrs. Bennet gushed.

“She was not at all proud, you know, and spoke to me very kindly. It is a pity that Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham were engaged in business. Lizzy, when next we meet those gentlemen, I urge you not to run on in your impertinent way. Mr. Darcy, at least, must be wealthy, since he is master of a great estate in Derbyshire.”

Elizabeth tightened her lips at these words, but she was not inclined to argue. It seemed unlikely, given her mother’s vulgar complaints about the entail, that Lady Anne would ever consider a Bennet as an appropriate wife for her son.

/

“Mother, Georgiana how are you?” Darcy asked, leaning over to kiss his mother’s cheek. The two Darcy ladies had, once again, settled in the cozy east sitting room where Lady Anne knitted while Georgiana read a book .

“I am very well, Fitzwilliam. I hope you finished all your tedious correspondence?”

“I did, with George’s help,” Darcy said, sitting down and stretching his long legs out comfortably in front of him. The fire in the room was blazing enthusiastically, and the heat was welcome.

“Is all well at Pemberley?” Georgiana asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Reynolds has everything in hand in the mansion, and Verlest informs me that the tenants are well, by and large. The Smythes had a fire in their house, unfortunately, but the family all escaped unharmed, and our servants and the other tenants have arranged for alternate shelter while their cottage is being rebuilt.”

“Oh, that is dreadful!” Georgiana exclaimed. “Do they know how the fire started?”

“The Smythes’ three-year-old son found a lit candle and set the curtains on fire, and the flames spread too quickly to be put out before the entire structure was engulfed.”

Georgiana’s eyes were round with wonder. “How did the parents come to allow that?”

“Oh, my dear!” Lady Anne exclaimed. “I assure you that three-year-olds are incredibly quick. When you and Fitzwilliam were that age, I had an army of servants, and you still escaped from adult oversight at times. I have great sympathy for the tenant farmers, many of whom have large families and are living in small quarters. It takes only a short distraction while the woman of the house is cooking or washing, and a young child can wreak dreadful havoc.”

“That is true enough,” Darcy agreed. “The Smythes’ cottage was one of the oldest, and it was scheduled to be torn down and replaced next year.

Of course, the family also lost clothing and furniture and the like, but I trust our other tenants to be generous, and our steward will take care of the rest.”

“Good,” Georgiana said in relief.

“Fitzwilliam,” Lady Anne continued, her eyes fixed on the scarf forming in her hands, “while you were closeted with George in the study, Mr. Bingley welcomed visitors.”

Darcy nodded absently and asked, “The Bennets?”

“Yes, though only Mrs. Bennet and her oldest two daughters called. I found them agreeable company.”

Her son jerked and turned toward his mother in surprise. “ You met them, Mother?”

“Indeed I did,” his mother said calmly. “My dear son, I know I have not been entirely well for many years, but I am capable of having an enjoyable conversation with new acquaintances. ”

“Oh, I am well aware,” Darcy returned hastily, his color heightened. “It is merely that ... well, I do not know much about the Bennets, and I would not wish for you to be uncomfortable.”

“Mr. Bennet is master of the estate of Longbourn, which lies to the west of Netherfield,” Lady Anne said, returning to her knitting.

“Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five daughters and no sons, which is unfortunate because the estate is entailed away from the female line. Based on Mrs. Bennet’s manners, I would guess that she is not the daughter of a gentleman, though I am not certain.

Her manners are not those of the haut ton, but I found her pleasant enough, and her two eldest daughters are delightful. ”

“Might I meet them, Fitzwilliam?” Georgiana piped up, which drew a surprised look from her brother.

The girl blushed a little at the expression on Darcy’s face and continued, “I would enjoy getting to know young ladies who are kind and welcoming. Mother and I spoke of the Bennets before you entered the room; she is quite certain that Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth, at any rate, would be charming and sympathetic acquaintances.”

Darcy’s initial reaction was to say no, but when he observed the pleading in his sister’s face and the dangerously narrowed eyes of his mother, he quickly changed his mind and said, “Yes, of course, my dear sister! The Bennet ladies sound like delightful companions. ”

To his considerable surprise, his anxiety dissipated slightly at these words.

He had spent years being hunted by matchmaking mothers and their rapacious daughters.

Now, with the Darcy name on the lips of every scandalmonger in London, he too longed for benevolent, kind acquaintances.

Miss Bennet and her sister Elizabeth were handsome and well mannered, yes, but they also exuded a sense of gracious generosity which had been absent in his life.

Yes, he would be glad to spend more time with the two eldest Bennet daughters.