Christmases at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Laraba Kendig

Author:Laraba Kendig [Kendig, Laraba]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Colonel Forster’s Office

“Mr. Wickham, sir,” Jenkins said to Colonel Forster and stepped aside to allow the lieutenant to enter. Wickham did so with a respectful expression and the slightest bit of swagger, which quickly gave way to perturbation as he recognized the two men seated across the desk from his commanding officer.

“Darcy, what are you doing here?” he demanded.

Colonel Forster cleared his throat loudly, and Wickham turned immediately and saluted. “My apologies, sir. You called for me?”

“I have,” Forster said grimly and gestured at a chair set next to his desk. “Take that seat, lieutenant.”

Wickham did so, rather uncomfortably. He would prefer to be on the other side of the desk, farther from Darcy, but naturally he could not say so. He blew out a breath and folded his gloved hands, his heart hammering. He was quite adept at reading people, and Forster looked displeased.

“Mr. Darcy has made some serious allegations against you, Lieutenant Wickham,” Forster said. “He tells me that you are in the habit of running up debts with shopkeepers and publican owners and then departing without paying. Is this correct?”

Wickham forced himself to relax his posture and produce a winsome smile. “Colonel, I fear that Mr. Darcy and I have been on poor terms for some time, and while I do not wish to accuse him of pernicious harassment…”

“Is it true?” Forster interrupted coldly.

“Certainly not.”

Forster took a deep breath, blew it out, and then looked down at the pile of papers on his desk. “Mr. Darcy brought along proof, in the form of two hundred and eighty pounds worth of debt receipts from numerous establishments in the village of Lambton near Pemberley.”

Wickham forced himself not to wince openly and shifted tactics. “Very well, sir, it is true that I purchased some necessary items from the good people of Lambton and was unable to pay those debts, but that was not my fault. Darcy’s father, my godfather, promised me an excellent church living in Kympton, in Derbyshire, but Darcy refused to grant me the living!”

Forster looked down again at this desk, shifted a few papers, and lifted an unpleasantly familiar document. “This would be the living that you gave up all rights to in exchange for three thousand pounds, I presume?”

Wickham, who had avoided even looking at Darcy, now turned furious eyes on the master of Pemberley. “I confess that I am surprised at this attack, Darcy, given that only a few months ago, I…”

“Do not speak another word, Wickham,” Darcy interrupted, leaning closer, his eyes blazing in anger, “or I will not even give you the option of avoiding Marshalsea!”

Wickham’s breath seized in his throat, and he found himself goggling in confusion. “What?”

“Marshalsea, Wickham,” Darcy replied. “Marshalsea, where debtors are confined until they can repay their debts. Given that you have no family to assist you and have proven yourself a traitorous and useless friend, you will never be able to pay off those debts. Never.”

Wickham stared, his eyes wide, his breath coming quickly. “You cannot be serious.

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