“Very well.” Mr. Darcy began to sigh again, but caught himself. “I met someone in Meryton. I must forget her, and I shall, but I have not yet succeeded in doing so.”
Georgiana’s tears vanished as quickly as they had arrived. “Oh! Oh, my! Tell me about her! What is her name? Is she beautiful? Of course, she must be beautiful! When may I meet her?”
“Georgiana, no. She is not suitable.”
His sister’s mouth formed an astonished “o” of surprise. “Unsuitable? But how?”
“She has no dowry and no connections.”
Georgiana digested this news in silence for a moment, and then asked, “But is she a gentlewoman?”
“She is; her father owns a small estate, and I understand that the family has occupied it for over two centuries.”
“Have we not enough money as it is? Do we need more?”
Mr. Darcy then recounted the same mathematics that he had explained to Richard in the coach, to which his sister immediately replied, “Oh! Well, if that is all the trouble, you may reduce my dowry from thirty thousand pounds to twenty thousand. Would that not help? If Miss Elizabeth had a dowry of ten thousand, would that make her eligible? Or fifteen thousand? I would be happy to help!”
Mr. Darcy could not, of course, take money from his sister, but he was deeply impressed by her willingness to assist him, and he expressed his approbation warmly.
She was undeterred by his compliments. “Brother, I think you quite wrong. You might not need so much; perhaps you will only have one child, or even none. All this worry about the future that has not yet come!”
Mr. Darcy was forcibly reminded of a quote from Marcus Aurelius’Meditations, to wit: ‘Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.’ But he shook his head. “I will participate in the coming Season, and I have no doubt that I shall meet a young lady who will join Miss Elizabeth’s amiable qualities with a substantial dowry and desirable connections.”
Georgiana shook her head, but she could see that there was no point in arguing further, so she simply rose, kissed him on the cheek, and left the room.
***
That afternoon, a letter arrived from Mr. Darcy’s attorney in London.
Dear Mr. Darcy,
I am delighted to be able to inform you that great progress has been made vis-à-vis Mr. Wickham’s imprisonment for debt. As of this morning, Mr. Wickham was taken from the spunging house to Fleet Prison, where he will reside until his total debts of one thousand pounds, fourteen shillings and five pence are paid. As it is unlikely that anyone will pay this amount for him, we can reasonably expect him to be imprisoned for the rest of his life.
I await any further instructions on the matter.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Joseph Coltrane
Imprisoned for life… that phrase was rather ominous, was it not? Mr. Darcy shuddered, but then he recalled his conversation with Miss Elizabeth. Putting Wickham in prison was the rational choice. As Spinoza put it, ‘When a man is prey to his emotions,he is not his own master.’ Mr. Darcy would be his own master, come what may.
But the vision of George Wickham in prison, with scraps for food, a thin blanket for bedding, and lice in his hair, continued to disturb him. Finally, with a sigh, he wrote back to his attorney.
Mr. Coltrane,
I received your letter regarding Mr. Wickham, and I thank you for this welcome news. Please arrange payment with Fleet Prison so that Mr. Wickham is given better housing and food. I wish the man off the streets of London, but I do not wish to torture him.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy
There; that was a little better.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
On Christmas morning, Miss Bingley surprised everyone at Netherfield by coming down to breakfast. She was not greeted as she had hoped and expected, for the friendly chatter stopped at once and everyone’s faces bore sudden expressions of dismay. But she put a brave face on it, sitting down in the chair that the footman pulled out for her. It was notherchair, for Aunt Beatrice had taken the chair Miss Bingley favoured, but she thought it best not to make a fuss of it. “Good morning, everyone!” she said cheerily.
“Well, there you are at last, Caroline,” Mrs. Armstrong said.
