Page 40 of Regrets

Mr. Darcy glanced at his sister and his gaze softened. Looking back at Mr. Wickham, he said, “Very well, Wickham. You claim that you have changed. I hope, very much, that this is true. I doubt it, of course, but I have always hoped it. But be careful. Be very, very careful around my sister. Do you understand me?”

Georgiana put in, “He is to dance with me, Brother. Please, please let us dance!”

Mr. Darcy did not reply. “I will be watching you, Wickham. Every minute, I will be watching you.”

“I understand, Darcy. Surely you know I would never harm so much as a hair on Georgiana’s head.” The music started up then and Mr. Wickham offered his arm to Georgiana. She took it and floated away.

Mr. Darcy sighed and shook his head. For a long minute, he stared at Mr. Wickham and Georgiana, watching them laugh together easily. Perhaps it would be all right, he thought. Wickham had always been fond of Georgiana.

His eyes drifted around the room and he discovered with a start that Miss Elizabeth Bennet was standing just behind him. “I apologise, Miss Elizabeth,” he said. “I did not notice you there, or I should have asked you to dance at once. Will you honour me with this dance? It has already begun, but we can join the end of the line.”

“I shall be delighted, Mr. Darcy,” she answered.

Mr. Darcy led Elizabeth to the dance floor.

“I agree with you,” she said at once.

“You do? That is heartening indeed, but about what?”

“Mr. Wickham. I feel strongly that he is not to be trusted, though I cannot tell you why. Is it true that you have known him since boyhood? Though,” she added, colouring. “If you do not wish to discuss it, I completely understand.”

He was silent for a minute, and she was afraid that she had offended him. Finally, he said, “Yes, it is true that I have known him all my life. His father was my father’s steward. We grew up together at Pemberley, and my father gave him a gentleman’s education.”

“Thus his fine manners and accent,” Elizabeth surmised.

Mr. Darcy nodded. “His behaviour since then has been reprehensible; I will not shock your sensibilities by providing details.”

“I am not so easily shocked, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said, coolly.

He opened his mouth and then closed it again, shaking his head. “I cannot speak of it,” he whispered. “Truly, I cannot.”

Elizabeth bit her lip in exasperation, but suddenly understood. “You have always hoped that he would change, have you not?”

Mr. Darcy sighed. “I have, of course. He was a friend, my only friend, for so long, and then…”

“And thus you wish to believe in his transformation, even as you doubt it.”

“You are right, of course; I hope very much that he has improved his character.” He changed the subject then, speaking of the dance, the room, the neighbours, anything and everything except the problem of Mr. Wickham.

Mr. Wickham, once his dance with Georgiana was done and he had escorted her back to a silent Darcy, looked about the room. He would have to proceed carefully and slowly with Georgiana, but there was no reason not to look for other entertainment while he was here. He saw two young ladies – girls, really – staring at him in fascination, and so he made his way over to them.

“I do not think there is anyone here to introduce us,” he said, pitching his voice low and flashing his dimples. “Would it be too dreadful if I introduced myself so that I might invite the two loveliest ladies in the room to dance?”

“Not dreadful at all,” cried one of them. “I am Lydia Bennet, this is my sister, Kitty. Who are you?”

These were the two young ladies his friend Denny had spoken of, and clearly Lydia Bennet was a hoyden with no manners at all! Wickham chuckled to himself. “I am Lieutenant Wickham. Might I have the pleasure of the next dance, Miss Lydia?”

The girl cast a triumphant glance at her sister and nodded vigorously.

***

When the Netherfield party returned home, Mr. Darcy spoke to his sister. “Georgiana, Wickham is not a good man. He says he has changed, and I hope from the bottom of my heart that this is true, but I cannot trust him until he has proven himself. Please, please, have nothing to do with him until I am certain of his character.”

Georgiana frowned at her brother. “He told me what happened between the two of you.”

“He told – what did he tell you?”

Georgiana, remembering now that George had bade her not to repeat what he had said about the disagreement over a woman, looked at the carpet.