“He is not EVIL!” Then, Lydia remembered the word shedid not understand. “What is ‘cashiered’?”
“Lydia Harriet Bennet, interrupt your aunt one more time, and I will gag you and tie you to your chair. Am I clear?” Bennet barked. He saw his youngest quail and nod her head as she realised he was serious. “‘Cashiered’ means that the man has been stripped of his rank and expelled from the militia.”
As much as she wanted to protest that Mr Wickham had to still be an officer, as she only wanted to marry a man in a scarlet coat, Lydia said nothing.
Seeing a nod from her brother-in-law, Hattie resumed her tale. “Do you know what he did? While he was supposed to be courting Mary King, he was proposing marriage to young, innocent girls. According to what is known, he would tell the girls that if they loved him, they would anticipate their vows. He made this vile advance to more than the three girls, but they are the only ones we know of who agreed to gift him their virtues.”
All the while Hattie spoke; Bennet had been watching Lydia. He did not miss the anger, then the recognition, and finally the fear. “Mary and Kitty, leave us now!” he demanded.
Neither girl had seen their father so forceful before. Hence, they stood and wordlessly left the dining parlour.
Bennet rang for Hill. “Close the doors. Post a footman at the servants’ door, and you make sure no one approaches the door the family uses,” he ordered gruffly. When his wife started to speak, he held up his hand, giving her a hard look.
Fanny said nothing.
A few minutes later, Hill reported the footman was in place and that he would be where the master ordered. He pulled the door closed as he exited the room.
“Mr Bennet, what is this about?” Fanny enquired shrilly.
He ignored his wife and turned towards his youngest. “Lydia, did Mr Wickham propose marriage to you?” Bennet queried in a kindly voice.
Not able to speak, Lydia nodded.
“How wonderful!” Fanny exclaimed as she clapped her hands. “A daughter married at fifteen and before her older sisters, too.”
“Mrs Bennet, be quiet! Did you hear nothing of what your sister told us about that man? He offers marriage to gain that which no woman should give outside of the bounds of matrimony,” Bennet reminded his feather-headed wife.
“What has that to do with my Lydia…?” Fanny shut her mouth as she put the pieces together in her mind. “We are all ruined! Hill, my…”
“Mrs Bennet, be quiet while we discover if that is the case,” Bennet directed as he cut off her exclamation. “Lydia, did Mr Wickham tell you that you needed to anticipate your vows to prove your devotion to him?” Bennet felt a cold chill travel down his spine when he saw his youngest nod. “When did you and how many times?”
“Do what, Papa?” Lydia asked with genuine confusion.
“Anticipate your vows, lie with a man,” Bennet stated dispassionately. Not long ago, he had read the poemThe Curse of Kehamaby Robert Southby. There was a line that read, ‘Curses are like young chickens: they always come home to roost.’ The curse in this case had been his indifference to the way his children were raised and his ignoring their behaviour, only to laugh at it.
“I do not know what that means, Papa,” Lydia responded, her eyebrows knitted. “I spoke to him after church on Easter Sunday, and we were supposed to meet on Monday to anticipate the vows. He never came to meet with me. Because he told me it was our secret, I could not ask anyone where hewas.”
The relief that Bennet felt was palpable. His youngest’s virtue was intact by pure chance. No, it was better than that; it was because Sir William, a man Bennet sometimes made fun of, had, for some reason, perhaps pushed by the hand of God, investigated the debts held by members of the militia. The miscreant’s arrest had saved Lydia, and by extension, her family, from ruin. As soon as this meeting was over, Bennet resolved to ride to Lucas Lodge and tell his friend what an immeasurable service he had done for the Bennets.
“I made an error in allowing my daughters to be pushed out at fifteen, or, in Lydia’s case, before that age. That stops now. As of this instant, Kitty and Lydia are back in. They will return to the schoolroom, and they will dress as girls not out yet. And Mrs Bennet, we will employ a governess to superintend their education,” Bennet decided.
“But, Mr Bennet…” Fanny tried to object and closed her mouth when her husband raised his hand and shot her a murderous look.
“You have taught this girl to chase men and flirt with them, and look where that almost got us! No, Mrs Bennet, the days of me allowing any of my daughters to behave outside of the bounds of propriety are at an end.” He turned to his shocked sister-in-law. “Sister, you know that if one-word escapes about Lydia’s almost ruin, she and her sisters will be shunned. This is one time youmustkeep a confidence. I will tell Phillips myself.”
Shaking herself from the shock of her youngest Bennet niece’s near ruin, Hattie stood. “Brother and Sister, I will not breathe a word of this to another,” she vowed. “I must take my leave. Although no one will hear about Lydia, Mr Wickham’s perfidy must be made known.” With that, Hattie Phillips swept out of the room to make sure that not one drop of sympathy for the former lieutenant remained in the area.
Although she was silly, Lydia was not without intelligence. She did not quite understand what would have been involved in ‘anticipating the vows’, but she had no doubt how bad life could get if she were considered ruined. She had seen the butcher’s daughter, Penny, ostracised and sent away for being ruined. That was not something Lydia wanted for herself, and for that matter, neither did she want it for her sisters. Consequently, when she was ordered to the schoolroom, she went without complaint.
Kitty, when informed of her father’s pronouncement, was not so sanguine with it, but she also complied without verbalising her feelings.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Sitting in Sir William’s study, Bennet knew that had he not been seated, his legs would not have supported his weight.
On being shown in to see his friend, Bennet had begun to thank him for the great service Sir William had done for his family. His friend had grinned and told him to sit. Then, he had handed Bennet a missive, one in Lizzy’s hand!
At first, when Bennet read what Lizzy wrote about why she had contacted Sir William and not himself, he wanted to be angry at his daughter’s disrespect, but then he had to admit she was right. If he would have even opened it the day it was received, he would have thought it a good joke and done nothing. While he was the one supposed to save the family, it was Lizzy who had done so by posting her epistle to the right person. He could not bear her any ill will for being justified in the advice she and Jane had given him, which, considering the event her letter stopped, showed some greatness of mind. The question was, where did his daughter gain the knowledge which she had shared? There was mention of the Earl of Matlock for verification but no mention of the source. Surely it was not that Darcy fellow?
