Page 14 of I am Jael (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

“Surely this is not necessary!” Elizabeth protested. “Our coachman is a faithful man and we will be traveling straight home to Longbourn.”

“I agree with Miss Eliza,” Caroline Bingley added, looking startled that she and Elizabeth could agree about anything. “Surely there is no real danger. This Wickham person may be a thief and a despicable ingrate, but is there any reason to believe he would attack gentlewomen?”

“He has attacked a woman before,” Georgiana stated.

Elizabeth stared at the girl in surprise. Gone was the timid girl, to be replaced by the warrior woman with steel in her gaze.

“Has he?” Miss Bingley inquired, her eyes filled with avid curiosity. “Whom did he attack?”

“Caroline, we don’t need to know that,” Bingley said quickly in a shocked tone. “Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. I hope you will accept my assurance that you are most welcome here.”

Elizabeth and Jane exchanged glances, but realized that there was nothing to do but accept.

“Thank you, Mr. Bingley,” Jane said softly.

“Caroline, please order the housekeeper to have beds made up for the two Miss Bennets.”

The woman glared at her brother and swept out of the room, her skirts quivering in subdued outrage.

“I believe this puts an end to our meal,” Mr. Bingley continued, his smile uneasy. “Given the unusual nature of the evening, I hope you are pleased to eschew the regular separation of the sexes after dinner.”

There were murmurs of assent, and the group rose from their seats, walking quickly into a large sitting room a few doors from the dining room.

Mr. Bingley and Jane settled near the fire, talking softly.

Mr. Hurst sat down and almost immediately dozed off, and Mrs. Hurst placed herself in a chair near the door, clearly waiting for Miss Bingley to return.

Elizabeth hesitated briefly before sitting down next to young Miss Darcy, whose face was dark with worry.

A few feet away sat Mrs. Annesley, whose kind and gentle face was concerned.

“Are you well, Miss Darcy?” Elizabeth asked softly. She did not wish to pry, but the girl looked truly upset.

Georgiana lifted her chin, “I do not wish him to escape justice again, Miss Elizabeth.”

A sudden and horrible thought crossed Elizabeth’s mind. Miss Darcy had said that Mr. Wickham had attacked a woman. Could it be that Miss Darcy herself had been his victim?

“Your brother and cousin seem very competent.”

“They are, though I fear that my brother struggles with allowing Mr. Wickham to experience the natural consequences for his crimes. They were good friends as children, you see, and Mr. Wickham was my dear father’s godson.”

Elizabeth knit her brows, “I am sure that is difficult, but if he is a dangerous man ...”

“He is. Miss Elizabeth, you have already seen me at my most brazen, when I confronted him in the bookstore in Meryton, so I will continue to be bold and tell you that he once attacked a young maid at Pemberley, our estate in Derbyshire.”

Elizabeth allowed herself to relax an iota. At least it had not been Miss Darcy herself.

“Was he upset about some dereliction of duty on the maid’s part?” Elizabeth asked.

Georgiana bit her lip and shook her head slowly, “Not that kind of attack, Miss Elizabeth. He ...”

Elizabeth felt herself pale in horror as she grasped the other girl’s meaning.

“He attempted to take her virtue,” she whispered.

“He succeeded in doing so,” Miss Darcy returned fiercely, though she kept her voice low enough that only Elizabeth and Mrs. Annesley could hear. “Poor Jenny fell pregnant with his twins and he abandoned her to her fate.”

Elizabeth felt almost sick. Mr. Wickham, with the face, form, and demeanor of a gentleman, was in fact a despicable monster

“What a vile miscreant!” she murmured.

“Indeed. My brother did not, until a few days ago, know the true details of Mr. Wickham’s attack on poor Jenny Reynolds. He thought their interaction was, though foolish and immoral, a consensual one.”

Elizabeth shook her head in self-reproach, “I truly thought him the perfect gentleman when I first met him. How could I be so blind?”

“He puts on an outer facade of goodness,” the other girl replied quickly, reaching out to place an urgent hand on Elizabeth’s. “You are far from the first person to be deceived by him.”

“I hope then, for all our sakes, that his depredations will soon be at a permanent end.”

/

“Mr. Darcy, isn’t it?” Colonel Forster asked, his face hard with suspicion. “What brings you to my quarters late on a Monday evening?”

“One of your officers, Colonel, precisely Lieutenant George Wickham. I have evidence that he has committed a number of crimes tonight.”

Forster glowered at Darcy, “I have heard of your persecution of Mr. Wickham, Mr. Darcy. The lieutenant has performed his duties well, and I will not be a part of your godless vendetta against him.”

Darcy felt a spurt of rage at this stupid man, but tamped it down carefully, “One of his crimes, Colonel Forster, is that he stole your horse – unless, that is, you gave him permission to extract it from its stable and gallop it down the London Road in the last hour.”

The Colonel’s dark brown eyes bugged out in shock at these words, and a moment later the militia officer was calling for his hat and coat from a startled servant.

Ten minutes later, Forster was staring in disbelief at the empty stall where his horse should be eating its grain even as a stable boy shivered nervously.

“But sir,” the boy stammered, “Lieutenant Wickham had a paper giving him permission to take your horse, sir!”

“I most certainly did not give him such permission,” Forster roared in fury. “How could you be so stupid?”

“Wickham learned to forge my father’s hand as a boy of twelve, Colonel Forster,” Darcy said grimly. “He is quite adept with such things.”

The Colonel leaned on the stable door and shook his head, “I apologize profusely for my earlier words, Mr. Darcy. So the fellow is a miscreant, is he?”

“Completely,” Darcy replied, his earlier anger giving way to a modicum of sympathy.

Colonel Forster sighed, “Without any idea of where he is heading, I fear we will not catch him easily. That horse was a gift from my late father, and precious to me.”

“Do not give up hope too quickly. We had servants watching him in case he tried to run for it. I expect my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, will have him in custody before dawn.”

/

“Tell me about Pemberley, Miss Darcy,” Elizabeth asked softly. The girl looked tired and worried, and Elizabeth wished to while the minutes away in a gentle manner. Furthermore, with Miss Bingley sitting nearby now, they dare not discuss anything too scintillating.

Georgiana’s face brightened, “Oh, Miss Elizabeth, Pemberley is such a wonderful place.”

“Indeed it is,” Miss Bingley chimed in with enthusiasm. “I have had the pleasure of visiting twice now, and I have never seen such a well-constructed residence, nor a household run so well.”

“The latter is thanks to Mrs. Reynolds,” Georgiana said with a smile. “She is our housekeeper and such a kind, gracious woman.”

Elizabeth remembered that Jenny, the girl defiled by Wickham, was named Reynolds as well. A relation, perhaps?

“Naturally, the Darcy family would not permit a haphazard household,” Miss Bingley simpered. “The meals were always exquisite, and the grounds kept perfectly.”

“But not too perfectly,” Georgiana replied happily.

“My brother does not like the gardens excessively formal. My aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, is owner of a large estate in Kent. Her style is very different from my brother’s – not that I mean, of course, to disparage my aunt’s estate in any way.

Fitzwilliam prefers to keep our park more aligned to the natural horticulture of the region. ”

“It sounds absolutely beautiful, Miss Darcy,” Elizabeth murmured.

“Indeed it is,” Miss Bingley agreed. “Anyone privileged, as I have been, to visit Pemberley finds it an awe-inspiring experience.”

Fortunately for Miss Darcy, who was looking uncomfortable at this fulsome praise, Mr. Bingley and Jane joined the group and the discussion of Pemberley and the surrounding region of Derbyshire grew more general.

Elizabeth was not a large contributor to the conversation, but she found herself reluctantly impressed – not by Miss Bingley’s self-absorbed blandishments, but from the little things.

“It is obvious that Mr. Darcy is a hard-working and diligent master,” she commented to Jane that night as they prepared for bed in the room made up for the eldest Miss Bennet.

“His holdings are extensive, and based on Mr. Bingley’s and Miss Darcy’s comments, Mr. Darcy clearly spends significant time overseeing the tenantry and optimizing the use of the land. ”

“Mr. Bingley has told me the same,” Jane agreed. “I fear our father is not nearly so conscientious.”

“Father is naturally indolent, but he is a reasonably good master,” Elizabeth said. “I believe, based on the conversation of tonight, that Mr. Darcy is a truly excellent master.”

“I suspect that the lack of a male heir has influenced Father’s lackadaisical attitude toward optimizing the Longbourn earnings, given that in the end, the estate will go to Mr. Collins.”

“I am certain you are correct, Jane.”

“It sounds like your views on Mr. Darcy are shifting rapidly, dear Lizzy.”

Elizabeth blushed and chuckled, “Indeed. I still think he is overly proud and his manners here in Hertfordshire wanting, but he is clearly a diligent brother and master. He also has carried much responsibility in overseeing the truly vast Pemberley estate. It is impressive for such a young man.”

“I agree,” Jane murmured, then ducked her head slightly. “I find Mr. Darcy intimidating, truthfully.”

“Intimidating in what way?”

“He is so intelligent, so well read.”

“You are intelligent.”