Page 20 of Mission to Meryton (Pride and Prejudice Variation #25)
“Well, Miss Elizabeth,” Miss Bingley said brightly, “I understand that you and your sisters had a great many visitors yesterday!”
Elizabeth sighed inwardly and nodded. “We did indeed. It was a pleasant day for December, and it seems that many officers and friends wished to pay their respects.”
“That must have been very exciting for you! I daresay you rarely garner so much attention from the gentlemen!”
“That is true enough, and I can only be grateful for the opportunity. When my sisters and I depart for London in February, we will be introduced to a great many new acquaintances and experiences. We are all benefiting from spending time in company with new friends.”
“Oh, Miss Elizabeth, I do hope you will not find yourself disappointed! Many a young woman on the fringes of society has found it quite difficult to obtain invitations to private balls, routs, and assemblies, and that is, of course, where the true gentlemen can be found!”
Elizabeth took a sip of her tea and smiled seraphically. “I do thank you for your warning, Miss Bingley, but I am not concerned. My sisters and I are the daughters of a gentleman, after all, not a tradesman. I have no doubt that we will manage quite nicely in London.”
Miss Bingley choked at this obvious dig at her own antecedents, and Mr. Darcy, who was sitting on a chair nearby, suppressed a huff of laughter.
Elizabeth took her hostess’s brief silence as an opportunity to turn her attention on Mr. Darcy. “Mr. Darcy, do you enjoy London?”
Darcy glanced briefly at Georgiana and was relieved to see that she was still in happy conversation with Miss Lydia Bennet; based on his sister’s expression and hand gestures, they were discussing acting.
Mr. Bingley and Miss Bennet were in a corner, talking animatedly, and the other Bennet ladies were clustered around Mrs. Hurst, apparently discussing flowers.
“I enjoy some aspects of it, Miss Elizabeth,” he said in his deep voice. “The libraries and the museums and the theater all have their attractions, certainly.”
“They most definitely do!” Miss Bingley declared, hurrying into speech. “Indeed, I am quite sure that London is the most fabulous place on earth! Do you not agree, Miss Elizabeth?”
“I do like London, but I also enjoy walking extensively and that is difficult in Town.”
“Hyde Park is both substantial and charming,” Darcy offered.
“Yes, it is quite marvelous,” Miss Bingley squealed. “During the hour of the promenade, the roads are entirely full of society gentlemen riding their finest horses, and ladies in their barouches! It is quite a divine experience!”
Darcy compressed his lips in irritation, only to feel his spirit lightening at the sight of Miss Elizabeth, whose eyes were brimming with amusement.
“It sounds delightful,” Miss Elizabeth said gravely. “I will plan to make a trip there when we move to London.”
The butler suddenly appeared at Darcy’s side and handed him a sealed letter. “Sir, I was ordered to give this to you, most urgently.”
Darcy quickly broke the seal and flattened it, reading the words there in a few quick seconds.
“My apologies,” the Master of Pemberley said, rising to his feet. “I fear I must deal with some urgent business. Good morning, ladies.”
With a slight bow to both Miss Bingley and Miss Bennet, he hurried out of the room.
/
Wickham was waiting in a back room in the stables, chatting genially with John and Jacob, twin footmen who had served the Darcy family with distinction for many years and had known Wickham back in Derbyshire.
When Darcy stepped into the tack room, the two men quickly retreated with a courteous nod to their master.
“Wickham,” Darcy said gravely when the door shut behind them. “What has happened?”
“Pratt is indeed a French spy, and he has discovered that the Bennets are growing tulips,” the English agent declared without preamble.
“He approached me this morning offering me one hundred pounds and the forgiveness of my personal debt to him in exchange for my help. He is planning to steal the tulip bulbs soon.”
Darcy stared at his old friend in open astonishment. “Pratt has asked you to help him steal the tulips? However did you manage that?”
Wickham grinned. “I must admit that it all worked out as well as I could have hoped. I have been following him for a few days now, and tracked him to The Blue Boar on the far outskirts of Meryton. He has met with two local miscreants, the Harrigan brothers, the last two nights. I arrived at the pub early yesterday afternoon with the intention of learning more about the Harrigans, who spend much of their day drinking. Pratt came in earlier than anticipated and of course he spotted me, so I pretended to be drunk and despondent over my debts. He threatened me and then offered me a paying job, though given that I was playing the souse, he waited until this morning to approach me with details about the robbery.”
“I assume this is enough to have him arrested?” Darcy asked.
“It is, but I have no intention of taking him into custody yet. There must be more people involved in this spy ring, and I want them all, not just Pratt. No, I will play along with him by participating in the heist, and once I have discovered the names, then I will move to arrest the lot of them.”
Darcy gazed worriedly at his close friend. “That sounds very dangerous, Wickham. What if Pratt realizes you are a spy? And even if he does not, what if he decides to kill you both to close your mouth and to save money?”
“I suspect that is indeed his intention,” Wickham responded with a dangerous smile, “but I have no intention of being an easy mark. I have been playing the part of a soft, lazy gambler. Still, if something should happen to me, I want you to send information on to my commander in London.”
Darcy felt an unaccustomed lump rise in his throat, “Wickham ...”
“Now do not grow emotional on me, old friend. I am quite confident that all will be well. I am a little concerned about the Bennets, however. It seems unlikely that any members of the family would stumble across the robbery in progress, but if they did ...”
The master of Pemberley bit his lip and considered, then spoke firmly, “You must tell Bennet about the intended theft of the tulips, Wickham.”
“You wish to speak of a state matter to a middle aged country gentleman? You cannot be serious!”
“I am entirely serious, Wickham. It is unfair to the Bennet patriarch to keep him unaware of what is happening on his own estate; besides, if we speak to him, we can decide together how to handle the aftermath of the robbery. I presume you do not want a hue and cry after you and Pratt in the early hours of the morning if you are still trying to find Pratt’s fellow conspirators. ”
Wickham frowned and then nodded grudgingly, “Can Mr. Bennet be trusted to keep his own counsel?”
“I believe so. He kept the secret of the tulips and the dowries for many years, after all.”
“Very well, Darcy. Can you arrange for me to speak with him in private?”
“Yes, I will devise such a meeting as soon as is possible.”
/
“Mr. Darcy, please do come in!” Mr. Bennet cried jovially.
Darcy obediently stepped into the library at Longbourn as the door shut firmly behind him. His eyes wandered toward the bookcases; given what he knew about the tulips, there were probably yet more fascinating and expensive books on the shelves.
Bennet chuckled, causing Darcy to turn with some embarrassment. “I do apologize, Mr. Bennet. My friend Bingley is a fine fellow, but his library is a continued source of disappointment to me.”
“You are welcome to peruse the shelves and borrow what you wish,” Longbourn’s master replied with an expansive wave of his hand. “I can tell that you are a fellow bibliophile, and thus I trust you to be careful with the truly valuable books.”
“Thank you, sir. But I hope now we can play a game of chess?”
“Yes indeed! I was most pleased to hear from Lizzy that you wished to come to Longbourn this evening to play a game or three. She was, I think, a little sorry that you and she were not able to play chess at Netherfield today, but I understand that in the midst of a throng of chattering women, it is hard to find the time or concentration for a game.”
“I would enjoy playing with her again sometime soon,” Darcy replied truthfully. “She is a remarkable player.”
“Yes, she has beaten me on occasion, which, I flatter myself, is not an easy thing to do.”
The two men sat down at the chess board by the fire and for a full fifteen minutes, all was silence except for the movement of the chess pieces and the intense breathing which bespoke of the concentration of the two combatants.
“Check mate,” Bennet announced suddenly, and Darcy flinched as he regarded the chess board incredulously.
A moment later, he let out a reluctant laugh. “Brilliant, Mr. Bennet, absolutely brilliant. I had no idea that your wily pawn was sneaking up on my king ...”
Darcy broke off as a sudden staccato of knocks came, not from the door, but from the large window which faced the back yard of Longbourn.
He rose to his feet and moved toward the window as Bennet, his brow creased with confusion, remarked, “I do hope that is not an officer attempting to woo one of my daughters at this time of night. I spent much of the day having to ignore a steady stream of men coming to my door, though of course Hill turned them away ...”
Darcy ignored his host and, with a grunt, opened the lower panels of the sash window. A moment later, the black clad form of George Wickham rolled gracefully into the library.
/
“Miss Elizabeth, the master wishes to see you in the library,” Mr. Hill informed her.
Elizabeth looked at the family butler in some confusion and laid down her needlework. “Father wishes for me to come to his library?”
“Yes, Miss.”
Elizabeth glanced around at her mother and sisters, and Mary commented placidly, “Perhaps Mr. Darcy wishes to play chess with you, Lizzy, after losing repeatedly to Father.”
As she rose to leave, Elizabeth responded with a twinkle in her eyes, “If so, I am afraid Mr. Darcy may be disappointed yet further.”
A ripple of laughter from the assembled Bennet ladies followed Elizabeth out the door of the cozy sitting room and down the corridor to the library.
Elizabeth entered the library boldly and then came to a stunned halt at the sight before her.
Her father was seated behind his desk, looking both grave and bewildered.
Mr. Darcy stood near the fire as did Mr. Wickham, lieutenant in the Meryton militia.