Page 40 of Through the Eyes of Love

“When my father died, he left his godson £1000 and the living in Kympton when it became available. George came to Pemberley for the reading of the will, which directed me to assist him in establishing himself. I was relieved when such an immoral man told me he had no interest in the church and wished to have the value of the position, which was £3000, so he could study the law. I gave him the money, and he signed away any claim to the living. I believed it would be the last I saw of his sorry soul. After that, he stopped all pretence of being agentleman, living a life of idleness and dissipation. In less than three years, he had no money left.”

Elizabeth clasped her hand over her mouth. When she uncovered it, she said, “He spent £4,000 in such a short time?” Darcy was not surprized at her astonishment. It was a large sum to squander away.

“George is talented at spending money but far less skilled at holding onto it.”

“What happened to him?”

“When the living became available, he returned, demanding what he had been promised. I denied his claim because he had already been paid and sent him on his way.

“Georgiana was enjoying the seaside during the summer of the year ten. Georgeaccidentlyfound her there with the cooperation of my sister’s new companion. What we did not know was that Mrs. Younge was well acquainted with the blackguard, and aided him in his efforts to convince my sister to elope.”

She gasped. “Elope! She was not yet fifteen and still a child.”

“He persuaded her to think they were in love, and she believed him and her heart was engaged. Thankfully, I arrived in time to save her from ruin and ensure no one discovered their nefarious scheme. My sister is naïve and kind hearted and had no idea of his evilness. Her dowry is £30,000, and George’s only goal was to get his hands on her money.” Darcy bit his bottom lip as he recalled his response to the scoundrel. “His hatred of me always increased when he was in desperate financial straits. In many ways, my father’s generosity led to George’s downfall. He became so consumed with having limitless resources to spend on his debauchery, he would stoop to any depths to obtain it. I shall never understand how old Mr. Wickham had any hand in the making of a son so devoid of any honour.”

“Your poor sister. Your family helped prepare the younger Mr. Wickham to make his way in the world and he repaid you by trying to steal your sister’s dowry and ruining her. How cruel can one person be? Thank heavens you saved her from a life of misery. He and Mrs.Younge belong in gaol.”

“I was filled with rage over what George tried to do, but Georgie believed I was angry withher. She became painfully shy, and feared saying or doing something wrong again. I kept telling her she was a mere child who had been taken advantage of by a skilled seducer and that I was proud of her for telling me about their plans before it was too late.

“My cousin Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam is her co-guardian, and we thoroughly investigated her new companion, who has turned out to be the perfect person to help my sister. By listening to Mrs. Annesley, Georgiana has gradually come to understand thatshedid nothing wrong and was not at fault for what happened. She is slowly becoming the lovely young woman she is meant to be.”

“What happened to Mr. Wickham after you saved your sister from his clutches?”

“Richard was here shortly after the constable told me his investigation showed the fire was intentionally set. We both knew only one person could be responsible. When we searched my study, we found that everything in my safe—all the money, the Darcy jewels, and the deeds to all my properties—were gone. Theonlyperson who hated me enough to destroy Pemberley and steal everything I own was George Wickham.

“Richard returned to London and, assisted by the Bow Street Runners, recovered the jewellery George tried to sell. The avaricious dog made the mistake of trying to sell the jewels to the same man who created them for my mother. This jeweller knew the Darcy family would never part with family heirlooms. The miscreant also went to my solicitors and tried to sell Pemberleyand all my other properties. When he was told it would take many months to conclude the sale, George dropped all the deeds on the desk and said Pemberley was a burnt-out ruin and had no value. No one could have known about the fire’s devastation— unlesshestarted it. The end of the story is that Richard has reclaimed all the jewels and my solicitors sent back all the deeds.”

At this point, Elizabeth shook her head with a frown. “Thank you for trusting me enough to share your sister’s story, but I am frightened that Mr. Wickham will attempt to hurt you or Georgiana again. He tried to destroy you once—why would he not try again?”

“No need to fret. The Runners tracked him down, and he was arrested in the act of selling some of the Darcy jewels. Because he knew of my father’s misdirected affection for George, my uncle Lord Matlock asked that Wickham not be hanged for his crimes, and the judge agreed on one condition: Wickham is now on his way to Botany Bay. We need never fear him again. Now that you know all about my sister, what ofyourfamily?”

* * *

Elizabeth hesitatedbefore divulging her news. How could she not be deeply saddened that no one from her family would be with her on her important day?

“I wrote to the Gardiners, but they are unable to come. My uncle has not been with his new firm for long, and they will not be able to travel at this time. I told my mother and Jane the good news but all I said was the man I was marrying owned an estate in Derbyshire which had recently had a fire. Mama has always told me that because my face was imperfect, no man would ever marry me. Whenever shedoeschoose to come, she will see how she was very wrong about me. I shall have a tall, handsomehusband and a beautiful house to live in. . .well, someday. If you approve, I plan to invite Mrs. Hopkins and Mrs. Murray—they know not to mention my short time in service. After all, Mrs. Hopkins is my relative, and I met Mrs. Murray through her.”

“Good idea. Until he knows you better, my uncle would not react well to your having worked, regardless of how brief that time was. You are a gentleman’s daughter and will always be one regardless of the circumstances. You may invite anyone you please, but I was thinking more about your mother and sisters.”

“I invited them to the wedding, and only Mama responded. She wrote of her desire to visit us at some time in the future. I am certain her expectations of anyone who would marrymeare low, and she feels no obligation to travel to our wedding. Besides, she wrote that she cannot possibly travel at this time because an unmarried young man of considerable fortune has just let Netherfield Park, near Longbourn. She will not leave Meryton any time soon since she believes she must find wealthy husbands for my two mindless, frivolous young sisters before she can travel anywhere. There you have it. One of Napoleon’s cannons could not distract Frances Bennet from her only objective in life, marrying off her daughters, other than me. I am disappointed but not surprized she will not be here. I wrote to Jane about our engagement, and she sent us her best wishes. She is in half-mourning and is not yet up to travelling.”

“You will soon be wed, Jane is widowed, and Mary is married. How old are the others?”

“Kitty is eighteen, and Lydia is just sixteen.”

“There is plenty of time for them to marry, so why the urgency for them to wed at such a young age?”

Elizabeth was likewise bewildered. Why could her mother’s views on matrimony not concur with Mr. Darcy’s or society’s in general? Her mother had behaved in such a way since Elizabeth was a young girl. “All my sisters were pushed into society assoon as they turned fifteen. My mother has no reservations about telling everyone she meets that her only purpose in life is marrying off her daughters. Perhaps one day, when the manor house is rebuilt, she will visit us. When my mother attempts to manipulate people, she tells everyone around her she is ill from a nervous complaint. My only fear is that once she sees the restored Pemberley, she will never leave. She may take to her bed for months and months.”

“Have no worries. If she keeps postponing her departure, whenever she does visit us, we shall offer to buy her a house near Meryton. She would be better off living close to her daughters, her sister, and friends.”

“An excellent solution. You have not yet met my mother, but she is a woman of little information and an uncertain temper. She is quick to speak and slow to think, and that is all I shall say.”

“I was an only child for a long time. With so many sisters about the house, I am certain you never felt lonely.”

She shrugged. “I have learnt from experience that it is possible for someone to feel alone amongst others, particularly when the person you felt closest to is gone.”

“Without him, who will walk you down the aisle?”