Page 13 of Mission to Meryton (Pride and Prejudice Variation #25)
“Wickham,” Darcy said, stepping forward. “It is good to see you. Please do not hesitate to finish your discussion before speaking with me.”
“Mrs. Younge has already given her report, so your timing is perfect,” Wickham returned. “Mrs. Younge, would you be so kind as to watch the corridor for us and alert us if we are to be interrupted?”
“Yes, sir,” the lady replied in a decidedly militant tone.
Darcy waited until the door had closed behind the woman before walking over to his old friend and shaking his hand vigorously, “I confess to being very glad to see you here in Meryton, Wickham. I am not certain that I should ever be sent on a mission alone as I find myself wandering in a fog much of the time. Perhaps I am truly only useful for providing introductions to the high and mighty of the land.”
Wickham chuckled and shook his head, “Nonsense, Darcy. You have a truly remarkable intellect and have provided much useful insight in the past. I regret that I was not able to come as early as I hoped, but my mission on the Continent stretched longer than I anticipated.”
“I am most pleased to see you here now,” Darcy declared, walking over to the bookshelf near the window, stretching up his long arm, and plucking a book on sheep diseases from the top shelf. He strode back to Wickham as he opened the book.
“My report,” he said simply, reaching in and handing over a sheaf of papers.
Wickham took the document with a nod and began scanning the pages as he remarked, “Mrs. Younge seems to be doing well.”
“She is,” Darcy agreed. “It is obvious her left hand is not yet fully recovered from her injuries in early spring, but it does not slow her down.”
“I am glad. I hope that Miss Darcy enjoys her company?”
“Very much, and while I know Mrs. Younge finds her time convalescing with us to be rather dull, I appreciate having her protecting Georgiana. They spent a few weeks in Ramsgate by the sea this summer, and a fortune hunter tried to charm himself into my sweet sister’s life.
Needless to say, Mrs. Younge sent him packing in short order. ”
“The man is fortunate that Mrs Younge did not stab him through the heart,” Wickham commented with an amused quirk of his lips, and then looked up in surprise as his eyes scanned the beginning of the next page of Darcy’s report, “The Bennets? Why are you are concerned about them? They seem a delightful family.”
Darcy sighed, “I agree, but there is too much money being spent at Longbourn, Wickham. I visited with Mr. Bennet two weeks ago, and his library contains some truly remarkable tomes. I had my valet strike up some conversations with the locals and based on the size of Longbourn and the rents of the tenant estates, it cannot possibly be producing enough income to pay for the Bennets’ lifestyle. ”
“The women, at least, are not dressed extremely well,” Wickham pointed out.
“No, it is the carriages, and the horses, and the food, and books. In addition, Mrs. Bennet stated in my hearing that the two older girls will be having London Seasons next year. You know that a Season is very expensive, especially if the women are to be presented at Court.”
“Might they be in debt?”
Darcy nodded, “Possibly, since many gentle families are. I am merely listing them as a family which requires further attention. I hope I am wrong, for Bingley’s sake. He is quite taken with Miss Bennet, to the point of planning to court the lady.”
“She is entirely charming,” Wickham agreed, “though I confess that I find Miss Elizabeth even more interesting.”
Darcy felt a strange lurch in his heart, which he tamped down mercilessly. “Is there anything you wish for me to do besides continue to keep my eyes open?”
Wickham frowned thoughtfully and responded “It would be advantageous for word to get around that I am in financial trouble, as it might flush out an offer from whoever is working with the Enemy. Such men often need idiotic minions, after all. Perhaps you could arrange for such a rumor to circulate through your valet?”
Darcy chuckled. “The storyis a reasonable enough one, at any rate.”
“Come, my friend, you wound me! I admit to being a reckless spendthrift in my youth, but I am reformed now!”
Darcy gazed upon the military man affectionately.
He and George Wickham had been great friends in their youth, but as Wickham had matured, his character had deteriorated.
When Wickham first went to Cambridge, Darcy had been horrified at his friend’s predilections, especially when he was drunk, which was an all too common state.
Darcy, distressed at his former friend’s slide into debauchery, told his father of Wickham’s dissipations.
The elder Darcy, realizing the need to nip such behavior in the bud,removed his godson from Cambridge and forced him into the regular army as a lieutenant.
Wickham’s skills and intelligence were substantial, and he quickly showed himself gifted in the art of subterfuge.
He was now assigned permanently to the War Office, and he and Darcy had worked together three times before in defending their country from spies and traitors.
Darcy was extremely grateful that the companion of his youth was now a man that he was honored to call friend again.
“You are a good man, Wickham,” he asserted. “I assume you still wish us to pretend we are on poor terms?”
“I think that is best, yes. I discovered very quickly upon my arrival here that you managed to irritate many of the local gentry with your high and imposing manners.”
Darcy winced. “I am sorry to hear that. I do try ...”
“I know you do,” his friend returned quickly. “It is quite all right. If I am thought to be at odds with the great Fitzwilliam Darcy, it might attract the notice of someone who could use a clever fellow like me in some underhanded scheme.”
“That is a relief. But come, I must go as I am to dance the last set with Miss Elizabeth. I will send you word if I learn of anything of import.”
/
Darcy found himself enjoying his dances with Miss Elizabeth far more than he expected.
The woman was not quite as lovely as her elder sister, but her chestnut curls were really quite glorious, her eyes remarkably fine, and her petite figure most pleasing.
She was also a wonderful dancer, light and confident on her feet so she never missed a step.
They danced in silence for a full five and twenty minutes, too, which suited Darcy well. At length, however, it occurred to him that perhaps he ought to say something before their time together ended.
“Are you enjoying the ball, Miss Elizabeth?” Darcy asked courteously.
Elizabeth Bennet looked startled briefly, and thensmiled archly at him, “Certainly, Mr. Darcy. It combines the pleasure of dancing, which I greatly enjoy, with the intellectual stimulation of, say, a lecture on the prehistoric cultures of Stonehenge.”
“A lecture?” Darcy asked in a bewildered tone.
“Quite, sir. You must know that I am but a simple country girl, and the ways of highborn gentlemen like yourself is a mystery to one such as I; it is therefore a great honor to observe your ways and behavior. Here in Hertfordshire, for example, it is considered quite unusual for a man to ask a lady who is being courted by another to dance a second time, but I daresay in London it is all too common.”
Darcy stared at his partner in astonishment, “You disapprove of my request for your elder sister’s hand for this set, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Where could you possibly get that idea, Mr. Darcy? I daresay all ladies delight in having their sensitive elder sisters gossiped about throughout the country. It is, no doubt, quite enjoyable to have wild speculation arise as to why a wealthy gentleman like yourself is dancing repeatedly with a lady after largely ignoring her previously in company.”
Darcy frowned and insisted, “I meant no disrespect, Miss Elizabeth. Miss Bennet is all that is charming and delightful.”
“Of course you did not,” the lady returned affably, “but of course you must have concerns about your friend’s interest in my sister given that poor Jane is often forced to be in company with me, and I am, after all, not even handsome enough to dance with.
To actually be attached to me through a possible marriage must make even the stoutest heart quail. ”
“Not handsome enough …” Darcy replied, almost losing track of his steps in the dance.
“Yes, I do believe you said exactly those words about me on the day we first met, Mr. Darcy,” the lady declared brightly.
“It must be quite painful for you to be forced to stand up with me now, but I have no doubt that as one of England’s brightest and best, you can survive the experience relatively unscathed. ”
Darcy felt his face suffuse red with embarrassment and horror. She had overheard his thoroughly rude words at the assembly at Meryton! Wickham was entirely right — he had managed to put his foot in it within hours of arriving at Hertfordshire. He was a dunce!
The music ended and he found himself leading his partner off the dance floor.
“Well, this has been delightful, Mr. Darcy,” the lady declared with a deep curtsey.
Darcy, tongue-tied, bowed without a word.