“Under other circumstances, I would have already offered, I am sure,” Mr. Tilney said with a gallant bow. “But we ought to go in pairs. Darcy, you are a great walker, are you not?”
Mr. Darcy stood and expressed his readiness, and Emma set aside her sweets to clamber to her feet. “Might Harriet and I come, too?”
Mr. Tilney gave a dashing smile. “The three sisters must remain together, of course.”
Elizabeth bit back a retort about how well Sir Edward and Lady Allen might like to be left alone; she was really cross that she would again be obliged to accompany Mr. Darcy. Surelyher origins must send him running for the hills, and yet he was inexplicably smiling at her.
He offered Elizabeth his arm, but at the same moment, Sir Edward extended his hand to her. She went to her uncle, who smiled sadly. “Be careful, my dear, but try to enjoy yourself. We will speak when you return. Here, take this. If anything happens….” He went to the escritoire and handed her the penknife. It was long and sharp, and might be effective in a pinch.
“My goodness,” Elizabeth said with a rueful laugh as she tucked it into her bodice. They were obliged to wait a few minutes more while Emma woke Harriet and helped her dress, and when the pair emerged, Elizabeth could no longer delay taking Mr. Darcy’s arm.
The corridors were wide enough for all six of them to walk abreast of one another, though Mr. Tilney remained at the center of their group, remarking on the various features of the castle as they made their way toward the bailey. The central courtyard was expansive, surrounding the keep on three sides, and for a time they meandered there, enjoying a break in the rain that had persisted since the previous night.
Elizabeth had no qualms about the mud, for the sight of the great castle more than made up for it. The stone walls rose thirty feet above them, with the battlements and towers even higher. A small patch of blue sky had opened in the heavy gray clouds, and more rain was likely, but for now she might enjoy the fresh air.
Mr. Darcy seemed content with silence, and so Elizabeth contrarily forced herself to speak to him. “What do you think of Cathy’s investigation, sir?”
“I am almost ashamed that I did not think of it myself. I believe we ought not speak of it to anybody who is not already aware of what she intends, for fear of any sabotage or retaliation.”
“And I believe we may have to add another thread to Cathy’s web,” Elizabeth said archly.
Mr. Darcy smiled. “It may perhaps be a little indiscreet, but I have no objection.”
Elizabeth looked askance at him, surprised by his reaction. Perhaps he had not taken her meaning. “So I might tie a green string between you and Mr. Wickham, signifying your enmity?”
“What?”
“Sir, what did you think I meant?”
“Nothing – it is of no importance. But of course, I recall you have been Wickham’s champion,” Mr. Darcy said with a frown. “I am astonished that since I was last in Meryton, he has not shown the village his true colors.”
“He left the area after Christmas, to take a special position with General Tilney. Oh dear, I begin to see that was perhaps not a mark in his favor.”
“You can hardly think him ignorant of the general’s misdeeds.”
Elizabeth feared she was setting herself up for an argument she would likely lose. And yet, he had been so kind, would it really be so bad to change her mind about him? “He was in dire circumstances, I suppose. He claimed that it was your fault that he was obliged to take orders at all. I must speak plainly, Mr. Darcy. Whatever he said to me a year ago, I certainly saw with my own eyes that you had a curious reaction to one another in Meryton. And now he is dead. I have not yet broughtthis matter to Cathy or anybody else, but I must do so if you cannot give any explanation.”
“I appreciate your prudence,” Mr. Darcy said curtly. “You asked me once before, when we danced at Bingley’s ball, to account for my dealings with Wickham. I could not – would not – lower myself to speak of it at such a moment. I nearly confided in you yesterday when we walked together, for Wickham constitutes one half of the reason I am here.”
His steps had slowed as they reached a small garden beside the well. The rest of their party walked on, but Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth lingered. He seemed to suffer some internal struggle as she waited for him to continue. “Yes, you did mention wishing to confide,” she murmured, wondering why it had not struck her as odd at the time.
“No doubt Mr. Wickham informed you of his connection to my family. He was a favorite of my father’s – his godson, in fact. My father sponsored him at Eton and then Cambridge, which we attended together. I saw what affection had blinded my father to; away from all restraint, Wickham developed a sense of entitlement and such vices I am loath to mention to a lady. He also began to resent me, for my birthright and likely for my constant admonitions. I wished him to be the promising youth my father imagined, but he was a spoilt and devious wastrel.”
Elizabeth let out a soft gasp and studied Mr. Darcy’s sullen face. She saw something there she had not considered before, and understood that he must have been pained at the souring of a youthful friendship.
“When my father died, he desired that Wickham should have the living at Kympton. I was so relieved that he had no wish to take orders that I gave Wickham three thousand pounds in lieu of the living, in addition to the thousand my fatherbequeathed him. He gambled the whole sum away within a year, and returned to Pemberley demanding the living. I had given it to a respectable man with a large family, so Wickham demanded more money, and he was turned out of the house when one of my former housemaids presented the child he had sired upon his previous visit.”
“Good God! What became of the poor girl?”
“She is now a very contented Mrs. Blanchard. One of my tenants and occasional chess opponents, Mr. Tom Blanchard, a widower with three sons, has one of the largest farms on my estate. I knew him to be in want of a mother for his children, and he understood her to bear far less reproach in her circumstances than her seducer. In the past four years, her son had been glad of his playmates, and there have been two daughters since their marriage.”
Elizabeth smiled. “That was nobly done of you, Mr. Darcy. But I suppose there is more?”
“There is, and thank you. I hope I am diligent in my duty to Pemberley. I have always aspired to be a dutiful brother, though in that respect I have failed my sister, which brings me back to Mr. Wickham.”
A horrible sense of presentiment overpowered Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy took her hand in his for a moment before recollecting himself. “I hope… IknowI can trust in your discretion. The summer before I traveled to Netherfield, I sent my sister to Ramsgate for a holiday, accompanied by a paid companion. Wickham also traveled there, undoubtedly by design, and with the help of that companion, Mrs. Younge, he visited my sister often, and soon convinced her that she was in love with him. She was fifteen years old.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Has that to do with what the general knew of you? What he held over you? Mrs. Younge….”
