Page 68 of Sketching Mr. Darcy
“Mr Wickham! This is a surprise, indeed. I did not expect to see you in Town. I wonder why it is that I am faced lately with several surprises a day.”
While Wickham politely greeted Lord Clayton—with whom he seemed slightly acquainted—Elizabeth’s anger grew overwhelming, her head spinning from the questions that arose. How was it possible for him to be there at that precise time?
“We are in quite a hurry. I am afraid we should leave.” She desired to end the encounter.
“Miss Darcy, you are well, I hope? If I were to consider your exceptional appearance, you must be very well indeed. I am truly happy to see you.”
“I am very well, thank you,” Georgiana replied, and Elizabeth frowned when she noticed the expression on the girl’s face. “I am happy to see you too, sir. I hope you are well.”
“Yes. I have been in town for a few days with some business for the regiment, and I will return to Meryton shortly. I intended to visit Mrs Darcy and ask whether she has any note to send to her family, but I feared my endeavour would not be appreciated by all the members of your family. How fortunate that we happened to meet!”
Elizabeth interrupted. “You are very kind, but it will not be necessary to trouble yourself. I wish you a safe trip back to your regiment.”
“Indeed, you must be careful. The weather might turn bad at any time,” whispered Miss Darcy.
“Now that I have had the chance to see you ladies, no bad weather could ruin my disposition.”
“I am rather happy that you leave, Wickham,” Lord Clayton said in jest. “The fewer gentlemen and the more ladies at the ball is a merry situation for me. Now, Mrs Darcy, I hope you did not forget your promise for at least one set tomorrow night.”
“Let us wait for the ball to begin, Lord Clayton.”
The earl’s insistence had become tiresome and boring. She wondered how she possibly could have considered Mr Wickham’s manner to be charming, as he seemed so shallow and insincere in his compliments—and Lord Clayton was no different.
She tried to find a means of escaping from the company of the two troublesome men without making a spectacle in the street. She could not expose Georgiana to such torment, precisely in front of Lord Clayton and Mrs Annesley, who was clearly oblivious of Mr Wickham’s identity.
“We truly must leave. I am afraid we are already late,” Elizabeth said decidedly.
In front of those empty, flirtatious smiles, she recollected the conversations she conducted with her husband—his steady voice as he explained to her the nature of his business, his gravity in describing his duties, his deep gaze watching her—and she realised how keenly she missed him.
A moment later, a carriage halted a little distance from theirs and a well-known silhouette hastened towards them.
My mind must be deceiving me! However, Georgiana’s pallor and Mr Wickham’s backward step left her in no doubt.
A strong voice spoke: “Good day. What a strange surprise to find you all here.”
“William, I am so happy you have returned. We were just leaving,” Elizabeth said, smiling at him with an open heart and watching with worry the dark shadows around his eyes, his less than proper appearance, and the trace of fatigue on his face. He looked at them coldly.
“I must leave too,” Wickham said. “We shall return to Meryton immediately. I was asking Mrs Darcy whether she wished to send a letter to her family.” Darcy did not favour him with a glance.
The new arrival drew the attention of the others in the party, who joined them cheerfully.
“You must forgive me. I have not slept at all in more than three days. We must leave now.” Darcy helped both Elizabeth and Georgiana into the carriage with a proper but hasty farewell. The carriage finally moved, the other one following.
“I am glad you are home,” Elizabeth repeated gently. “Are things settled? Is everyone well?”
“Yes.”
“You look very tired, Brother…” Georgiana dared to whisper.
“I am very tired. I have not slept a moment in two days and nights as I tried to finish my business and return home as quickly as I could. However, it seems you managed to entertain yourselves rather well without me. That is good to know for the next occasion.”
His voice was cold, and he stared out the window, barely looking at either of them. Georgiana kept her eyes down while Mrs Annesley watched him with obvious puzzlement.
“I went to fetch my dresses—for the ball,” Elizabeth replied, struggling to keep her smile. She easily understood his disapproval of the company in which he found them, and it was clear that he was not only upset but really angry. She knew she had to wait to arrive home to speak to him properly.
“Yes, the ball… It is truly an extraordinary event.” His sharpness cut her temples, and she ceased speaking further. She imagined he was too tired to think fairly .
Fortunately, they arrived home within minutes. Stevens waited for them in the main hall, and Darcy instructed that he was not to be disturbed by anyone under any circumstances.
“Brother, I need to speak to you… Please, if you do not mind, it is very urgent…”
“Not now, Georgiana. I just said under no circumstances. Does anyone listen to me?”
His voice was so cold that Miss Darcy stared at him tearfully while Mrs Annesley’s eyes widened in disbelief. Georgiana hurried upstairs, followed by her companion, and Darcy went to his room with Elizabeth a few steps behind, struggling to be patient and to find the proper words.
“William, I know you are upset, but please let us sit and speak calmly. And you should not censure Georgiana in such a way. It is not her fault. In truth—”
“Of course it is not her fault, Elizabeth! Please do not ask me to sit and have a calm conversation. I believe I deserve at least that much respect.”
“I do not understand your meaning. Please tell me why you are so angry. I know you disapproved seeing us in the company of Mr Wickham, but he had just arrived a few minutes before. We met by chance in the street, and he asked whether I wanted to write a letter to my family—”
“Do not take me for a fool, madam! Do you truly expect me to believe that it was a mere coincidence? Of all the places in London and all the times of the day, Wickham happened to be there out of the blue? And was your conversation with Lord Clayton cordial? How came he also to be there on the precise day that your husband happened to be out of town?”
“Lord Clayton might have been there on purpose,” Elizabeth responded, holding his furious gaze. “At the opera, Lady Isabella invited me to go with her to the modiste—when you were away and Lord Clayton was there. It never occurred to me that he intended to be present.”
“How is it possible that your husband did not know about the visit, yet another man did?”
“I forgot to tell you. We returned home that evening, and…then you left in a hurry and…”
“How convenient! The truth as I see it is that you took advantage of my absence to seek the company of the people I specifically told you to avoid. Did I not insist that you not leave the house alone? I completely trusted you, and you disregarded my wish and put my sister in danger by placing her in a harmful situation!”
“You are being unfair! I was not alone but with your sister and her companion. And I am more concerned for Georgiana’s well-being than for my own!
I have done nothing wrong, and if you were reasonable, you would see that for yourself!
I met with several ladies whose company you seem to approve!
I did not know that anyone else would be there. ”
“So it must have been fate again, was it not? And yet, I did not see you being uncomfortable and leaving. You seemed to have spent at least an hour and a half there—or at other places! Trying on dresses in the company of other men! While I have been such a fool to not even enter your room for days without your consent! I was afraid to even touch you, and I was frightened that any step might displease you. I am your husband, and I never asked you to try on dresses in front of me! I promised you I would be patient, to allow you time to adjust to your situation and—”
Elizabeth’s anger almost suffocated her. With each word, she became furious and appalled by what he dared to imply. He might have been tired, but he was being outrageous, and she could not allow it. She moved closer, confronting him face to face.
“I could have ignored your unfair accusation had your manners been more gentlemanlike, Mr Darcy! There is nothing more wretched than for a man to make a promise to a woman and then hold it against her! How dare you reproach me that I needed time and that I was uneasy and restrained with you after you offered your patience to me? ”
His countenance darkened, and his eyes seemed to burn her as he took a step back.
“I am not reproaching your uneasiness and restraint towards me but your easiness and lack of restraint in bonding with others, madam! Especially with men whose only qualities are nice words and pleasant manners. It seems it is more important to you to enjoy flattery than to respect your husband’s wishes, and as soon as you were alone, you sought the company you preferred most! ”
She was breathless with fury.
“How dare you say such a thing? What exactly are you implying? That I purposely arranged that meeting? Can you not hear how ridiculous you sound? So I convinced Lady Isabella and Lady Maryanne to meet at the modiste, and I asked Lord Clayton and Mr Wickham to come there too, so I could enjoy their flattery? That is so ridiculous that you clearly need to rest, sir. I shall end this conversation now before one of us says something we shall later regret.”
She turned her back, but his icy voice stopped her.
“I already regret many of the things I have said and done, madam! I trusted in you as in no one else. I opened my heart to you, and you made a fool of me. I agree with you: we should end this conversation and any other. There is nothing to be said.”