Page 12 of Requirements for Love (Love in London with Mr Darcy #3)
She nodded, wiping her eyes. “Last summer, I went with my former companion to Ramsgate, and this man followed us there. With Mrs Younge’s aid, he recommended himself to me.”
Elizabeth felt confused. “When you say man, you do not mean someone of an age with yourself?”
“No, he is older, about my brother’s age. He grew up at Pemberley, actually. I retained a powerful impression of his kindness to me as a child, so with his persuasive manner and my companion’s encouragement, I believed myself in love.” Miss Darcy took a deep breath. “And consented to an elopement.”
Elizabeth gasped. “You were fifteen!”
Miss Darcy gave a rueful smile. “He was charming, and he flattered me. He made me feel like I was…older.”
“Not a girl, but a woman?”
She nodded. “A woman he loved. I was foolish and too trusting. Fitzwilliam joined us unexpectedly a day before the intended elopement, and I acknowledged the whole to him. There is no one dearer to me than him, and I could not distress him. I wanted them to love one another, you see?”
Of course, a shy girl would want the two people who she thought loved her best to be friends. “A natural wish, of course. You might also have known your intention to elope was wrong and could not go through with it.”
She wondered why Mr Darcy did not approve. Her age would have been reason enough. Or was it because he hoped someday she would marry Mr Bingley? “When you confessed the elopement, did this man not agree to court you openly?”
“He did not want me , Miss Bennet. He wanted my fortune, and with no settlement to secure my future. I have thirty thousand pounds, and this man was poor from his own extravagance.”
“Oh, Miss Darcy,” she said, reaching out to hold her hand. “I am sorry he deceived you.” Thank goodness that villainous man failed, but she hated to see a lonely girl used so heartlessly.
“You may imagine what my brother felt and how he acted,” she said with a sad laugh. “Although, of course, I am relieved he intervened. Regard for my reputation prevented Fitzwilliam from exposing Mr Wickham.”
Elizabeth stopped breathing. “What?”
“Fitzwilliam wanted to protect my credit and my feelings, so he only wrote to Mr Wickham to stay away from me.”
Astonishment, apprehension, and even horror oppressed her.
She could not react. Miss Darcy might think it was in response to her confession.
For all her womanly curves and ornately pinned hair, Elizabeth could see the child in her features, imagine her in a schoolroom with her hair down.
She felt absolutely sick. She had thought Wickham her friend—her wronged friend—and he had tried to abscond with a fifteen-year-old for her money.
But while Elizabeth remained in horrified silence, Miss Darcy said, “Please, do not tell anyone! And I hope you do not hate me for such foolishness. That is why I want to help you find a man who meets all your requirements and who truly loves you.”
Elizabeth tried a few times to find her voice. “I do not judge you. Never. You were a victim. A victim of a self-seeking liar. And I promise it will go no further than me. He, that man…” She strove to collect herself. “Thank goodness your brother arrived when he did.”
“Fitzwilliam could tell you stories of that man’s want of principle. He told me all after Mr Wickham left Ramsgate. Such vice, such a capability to lie.”
She had to stay calm in light of this news for Miss Darcy’s sake. “ He is a dreadful man, and you had a narrow escape. You must feel very relieved.”
Miss Darcy shrugged, hanging her head again. “I feel very ashamed.”
“The greater fault lies with that man,” she cried. Everything Wickham told her about his past, his history with the Darcys, was a lie.
“That is what my brother said, too.” Miss Darcy attempted to compose herself.
“I am sure one of my brother’s friends will suit you.
You know all the things you require for a respectable and loving husband, and Fitzwilliam would not introduce you to anyone unworthy.
And your aunt and uncle can meet him when he furthers the acquaintance. ”
Elizabeth forced herself to smile while her mind passed over every attention she had ever paid to Wickham.
He had flattered her, singled her out, and she had blindly accepted everything he had said against Mr Darcy because Mr Darcy had given her half a look and decided he did not want to dance with her.
“Yes, we will have great fun with the exercise. I am always willing to make a new acquaintance, and I am glad to distract you from an unpleasant episode.”
They fell quiet for a while, with Miss Darcy prompting her to think of more requirements, but Elizabeth could not take part. Her thoughts were full of her own foolishness. After a long time of silence, Miss Darcy whispered, “You must be so disappointed in me. I can go.”
“No,” Elizabeth cried. “All the blame lies with Mr Wickham, I promise you. I was merely lost in my own thoughts. And I would like us to be friends.”
Miss Darcy sat back down. “Truly?”
She looked wistful, and Elizabeth was determined to be her steady friend for the rest of her life. “Truly. And you must call me Lizzy.”
She grinned. “Call me Georgiana. You just looked so downhearted after what I said.”
She was not ready to admit she was mortified by her own foolishness. “ My ankle is sore,” she said, convincing herself this small lie was forgivable. “I think I ought to rest for a while.”
“Would you like to wait until my brother returns to help you to your room?”
How could she look Mr Darcy in the eye after she had trusted the man who nearly ruined his sister? “I cannot wait, I am afraid. I feel rather unwell.” That, at least, was true. “Would you ring for Mr Darcy’s valet to help me?”
Soon she was settled in her chamber, but her mind was anything but.
She could see Wickham before her, in every charm of air and address, but she could remember no substantial good in him.
No instance of kindness, no distinguished trait of integrity or benevolence.
His designs on Georgiana showed his true character.
Was she truly so blind to reality? Sometimes, the truth was too painful to look at, but now she had to.
She perfectly remembered everything that had passed in conversation between Wickham and herself.
She had been so insensible, so blinded by prejudice.
Mr Darcy’s actions could never have been what Wickham represented them.
So gross a violation of everything right could hardly have been concealed from the world.
But she had believed it because Wickham gratified her vanity and Mr Darcy neglected her the first night he saw her. She grew absolutely ashamed of herself and cried over her own stupidity and over what had happened to Georgiana Darcy.