Confounding Caroline by Leenie Brown

Author:Leenie Brown [Brown, Leenie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leenie B Books

Chapter 10

Mr. Bennet popped his head out of his study door. “Hill.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Please inform Lizzy that I would like to see her.” He held a very interesting missive in his hand and knew that his daughter had also received some correspondence from town. He was interested to know what Jane and Mrs. Gardiner had to say.

He closed the door and returned to his chair. He propped his feet on a footstool and peered through his glasses once again at Edward Gardiner’s surprising letter, giving it a quick perusal and then putting it aside to open the next unexpected piece of mail. Colonel Fitzwilliam? The name did not sound familiar to him at all.

He smoothed the creases out of the letter and began reading.

Mr. Bennet,

Allow me to introduce myself to you. I am the Right Honorable Richard Fitzwilliam, colonel in his majesty’s armed forces and second son of the Earl of Matlock. I am also the cousin of Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire, whose acquaintance you hold, and am the co-guardian of his sister.

What follows is information that is of a very sensitive nature, and I would request that as a gentleman you guard it with the utmost care.

Darcy has made me aware of the presence in your neighbourhood of a particular scoundrel with a well-practiced charm and ease of manner which will ingratiate him with nearly one and all. However, he is not to be trusted with credit, cards, or the hearts and virtue of young ladies.

Mr. Wickham is, as he will doubtless present himself, an acquaintance of the Darcy family and has been for many years. His father was my uncle’s steward and a fine, upstanding man. His son has not been blessed with the same stalwart character. While Mr. Wickham’s father served the late Mr. Darcy well, treating him with the respect due to one of his station, Mr. Wickham has treated my cousins poorly and has tarnished the memories of both the late Mr. Darcy and his own father.

There is much history into which we could delve but suffice it to say that W. was a favourite of my uncle, and in homage to the service W’s father had provided for Pemberley, my uncle bequeathed W a legacy of one thousand pounds and held for him the living that was in my uncle’s power to bestow. The living was to be given upon there being a vacancy and W’s taking orders. However, W did not wish to take orders but instead petitioned to be allowed to study the law. My cousin Darcy gave him three thousand pounds in lieu of the living. As it turns out, the law did not agree with W, and he spent his time and fortune in licentious living. When his funds had all been squandered, he returned to Darcy to request that he be allowed the living, which had just fallen open. Darcy refused based on the former arrangement of money in exchange for the living as well as the knowledge that W’s lifestyle was not fitting for a man of the cloth.

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