hand on his shoulder.
‘Mr Darcy has come to reprimand me for abducting
you,’ said Wickham, covering her hand with his own.
She laughed at me.
‘My dear Wickham did not abduct me! Why should
he? I was eager to see London. I told him he must take
me with him.What fun it has been!’
‘Have you no thought for your family?’ I asked her
coldly. ‘They have been worried about you ever since
you left the care of Colonel Forster. They have no idea
where you are.’
‘Lord! I forgot to write,’ said Lydia. ‘I have been so
busy with my dear Wickham. We have had such a time!
But never mind. I will write as soon as we are married.
What fun it will be, to sign my name, Lydia Wickham!’
She squeezed his hand and he, the insolent dog, pulled
her into his lap and kissed her, then smiled at me whilst
caressing her.
‘So you see, Darcy, your concern is misplaced,’ he said.
Lydia’s words had told me one thing: that at least she
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expected to be married. I felt she would be less eager to
remain with him if she knew that Wickham had no such
intention. I did not think he would tell her, however –
why should he lose an eager companion? – and so I felt
it necessary for me to do so.
‘I would like to talk to Miss Bennet alone,’ I said to
Wickham.
‘Very well,’ said he, pushing her off his lap. ‘Try and
talk her into going home if you will. She is a baggage.
But I cannot see why her fate matters to you,’ he added
as he stood up.
‘It matters because I could have made your character
known in Meryton and did not. It would have been
impossible for you to have behaved in this way if your
true self were known.’
‘Perhaps,’ he said, ‘but I do not believe that is the reason. I doubt if you would have sought me out if I had
run off with Maria Lucas.’
I did not flinch. If I let him once guess that I had a
personal reason for seeking him out, he would be difficult to buy off at any price.
‘Stay,’ said Lydia, snatching at his hand as he walked
towards the door.
‘Mr Darcy wishes to speak with you alone. He is
afraid I am keeping you here against your will, and he
wants to give you a chance to go home with him.’
‘As if I would wish to go back to stuffy old Longbourn,’ she said, twining her arms round his neck and
kissing him on the lips.
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He put his arms round her and returned her kiss, then
looked at me tauntingly before leaving the room.
‘Is he not handsome?’ asked Lydia, as the door closed
behind him.‘All the girls were wild for him in Meryton,
and Miss King would have married him if her guardian
had not put a stop to it. It was the same in Brighton.Any
number of them would have run away with him. Miss
Winchester – ’
‘Miss Bennet, you cannot stay here,’ I interrupted her.
‘It is a little shabby, to be sure, but we will have something better by and by. I would like your help though, Mr
Darcy.’
‘Yes?’ I said, hoping she had seen sense at last.
‘What do you think? I cannot decide. Does my dear
Wickham look better in his red coat or his blue?’
‘Miss Bennet!’ I rapped out. ‘You cannot stay here
with Wickham. He has no intention of marrying you. I
know he has said he has, but it was a lie, to make you
elope with him.’
‘He did not make me elope with him, it was I who
made him elope with me. Brighton was growing boring,’
she said with a yawn. ‘Colonel Forster was so stuffy. He
would not let me go to half the things I wanted to, and
I had to sneak out of the camp on two occasions to
attend my Wickham’s parties. Denny helped me. I dressed
as a man. You should have seen me. My own mother
would not have recognized me.’
‘Your reputation will be in ruins! He will abandon
you as soon as he tires of you, and you will be left in
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London without a protector, with no money and
nowhere to live. Come back with me now, and I will do
what I can to persuade your family to receive you.’
‘Lord! I do not want to go home! I would die of boredom. I am sure we shall be married some time or
another, and if not, it does not much signify,’ she said.
She was immovable. She would not leave him. Since
such were her feelings, I could do nothing but try and
make sure a marriage took place.
Wickham came back into the room, carrying a
decanter in one hand and a glass in the other. He put his
arm round Lydia and she turned to kiss him immediately.
‘Well, Darcy? Have you persuaded her to leave me?’
he asked, when he had done.
‘She is lost to all sense,’ I said angrily,‘but since she will
not leave you, you must marry her.’
‘Come now, Darcy. You know I cannot do that. My
pockets are to let. I have debts all over the country.There
are unpaid bills in Meryton, and worse in Brighton. I
need to many an heiress.’
‘Do you hear this?’ I demanded of Miss Bennet.
She only shrugged.
‘It does not signify. An heiress would bring us some
money, then we could have a better house,’ she said.
It was only because of Elizabeth that I stayed. My
inclination was to walk out and leave her sister to the life
she had made for herself. But the thought of Elizabeth’s
pale face sustained me.
‘Meet me at my club tomorrow,’ I said to Wickham.
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‘My dear Darcy, you know I am not welcome there.’
‘I will make sure you
