Ah! I thought that would make you sit up! But the best of it is, she is not just the companion to any heiress, she is the companion to Georgiana Darcy!
You can imagine how I felt when she told me. My heart leapt! An heiress, one I could approach and scrape an acquaintance with, and then reminisce about our happy childhoods with, for although I am some ten years older than her I was always kind to her when she was a little girl. Better yet, she is being sent to the coast by her brother for the summer, and what better place for me to approach her, where there will be no old servants watching, and no Darcy House to present a forbidding aspect? Only a promenade and many sheltered coves, with no friends or relatives nearby. A companion to guard her, of course—and that companion to be Belle!
I intend to run away with her to Scotland, where we can be married over the anvil, and then her thirty thousand pounds will be mine. Not only will I have a rich wife, but I will be revenged on Darcy for his contemptuous treatment of me.
Belle intends to work on Georgiana, encouraging her in romantic thoughts, so that she will be susceptible to my advances. I am to bump into them by chance when they are settled and then Belle will suggest I am invited to dinner. Before long, I will have Georgiana eating out of my hand.
I am going to buy a new suit of clothes but I will write to you again when I know where I will be spending the summer. Come and join me and we will celebrate: you, me and Belle together.
Wickham
Mr Parker to Mr Wickham
London, July 6
They say the devil looks after his own and it seems they speak truly. A rich wife and revenge into the bargain! By God, Wickham, you’ve fallen on your feet. Make the most of it!
Parker
Miss Georgiana Darcy to Mr Darcy
Ramsgate, July 8
Dearest Brother,
We arrived in Ramsgate yesterday evening and we are very happy with the house. Mrs Younge says it is very convenient. It is small compared to my London establishment, but it is very comfortable and it has a pretty view of the sea. Mrs Younge and I are going down to the beach this afternoon as I am eager to make a sketch of the coast. I will send it to you when it is finished.
Your affectionate sister,
Georgiana
Mr Darcy to Colonel Fitzwilliam
Darcy House, London, July 10
It is good to know that you will soon be with us. I am in London at present and I will be here until the end of July, certainly, and probably for August as well. I have sent Georgiana to Ramsgate for the summer. Caroline Bingley was keen to go, too, until she learnt that I would not be there. Her attentions to me grow ever worse. She flatters and praises me, and drops hints as large as Derbyshire about becoming the future Mrs Darcy. Poor Charles! He is mortified by her attentions to me and he feels he has to apologise at least twice a month. He is in town at the moment but he will be going north to visit his family next week and then he intends to continue his search for a country estate. His family want him to buy one, and he is not averse to the idea—indeed, he is of their opinion, although he asked sensible questions of me, about upkeep and other practical matters. But I have promised to look over any property he is thinking of buying and I have offered to help him appoint a steward. He thinks he will settle somewhere in the middle of the country. He has his family home in Yorkshire and he visits me often in Derbyshire, so he is thinking of somewhere in Hertfordshire or thereabouts. He has told his agent to look in that area.
I hope to see you next week. Until then, my dear Henry, I am
Your cousin,
Darcy
Mrs Belle Younge to Mr Wickham
Ramsgate, July 10
We are settled in Ramsgate, and a quieter spot you could not hope to find. Georgiana knows no one here and so there is no one to take an interest in any comings and goings. The servants are all local people. The only two who knew Georgiana were the footmen who accompanied us on our journey, but they have since returned to London. She receives letters from her cousin and from her brother and her guardian, but no one calls.
I have already encouraged her to take Romeo and Juliet out of the circulating library and she is reading it with interest. I spun her a yarn about my own love for my husband and said that I hoped she found a love of her own. I sighed and said how we had eloped and how it had been so romantic, without all the fuss of a society wedding, and she was enthralled.
Meet us on the promenade on Monday; we will be walking there between eleven and twelve.
Belle
Mr Parker to Mr Wickham
London, July 15
How are things going along? I have had to move out of The Black Bull and back in with the Widow. Hurry up and carry your prize off to Scotland.
Parker
Mr Wickham to Mr Parker
Ramsgate, July 17
I am off to a good start. I met Georgiana and Belle ‘by accident’ on the promenade. It was a fine day, exactly the sort of day I wanted, with a smiling sea, a gentle breeze, a blue sky and white clouds floating across it. The poets themselves could not have designed a better day for my purpose.
Georgiana was even more beautiful than I expected, the years since I have seen her having done remarkable things to her face and figure. I feigned a look of surprise as I drew close and said, ‘Why, if it isn’t Georgiana! Or Miss Darcy, I should say.’
Belle played her part magnificently, pretending to be very wary of me until she learnt that I was a friend, and the godson of old Mr Darcy, and then she thawed and encouraged Georgiana to behave in a friendly fashion, saying that I must join them for dinner. Georgiana was hesitant, knowing that I had fallen out with Darcy but not why. However, Belle smoothed it over, saying that gentlemen often fell out and that it meant nothing.
A willing chambermaid helped me to pass the time agreeably until the evening and then I set out for Georgiana’s house. I flattered her subtly, listened to her playing the pianoforte—why women must play the thing I cannot imagine, since no one can actually enjoy listening to the noise—and told her she was becoming very accomplished. I made friends with her dog and arranged to take her and Belle on a picnic.
Luck favoured me again. We took our picnic up on to the cliffs and Georgiana’s bonnet blew off. We both ran to catch it, she went too near the edge of the cliff, and I caught her in my arms to prevent her falling—or so I said, though really she could have gone ten yards closer to the edge without any danger. But she did not object, far from it. I made the most of the opportunity, looked deep into her eyes and told her I was glad I had found her again. She blushed and said she was glad she had found me, too.
I bought her a new bonnet and presented her with it this morning. She is already half won. Another week to win her affections entirely, then a week to do away with her scruples over an elopement, and then we will run off before Darcy pays his planned visit at the start of next month.
Wickham
Miss Georgiana Darcy to Mr Darcy
Ramsgate, July 17
My dear brother,
It is another sunny day here in Ramsgate and I am very pleased to be here. Mrs Younge and I are in the habit of taking healthful walks by the sea every day, which I very much enjoy. Ullswater goes with us and you would laugh to see her running up to the waves and pouncing on them. You will be pleased to know that I am using the parasol you gave me, and it is much admired. The gloves and bonnet you sent me, too, are admired wherever we go.
We have met some old friends here and made some new. How good it is to see familiar faces when we are a long way from home! Mrs Younge encourages me to be sociable, saying it is good practise for me, so that I will know how to behave when I have my formal come-out. She is instructing me on how to behave, and giving me advice on how to deal with the ladies and gentlemen we meet, so that I know how far I may go in my friendship with them. I wish Mama were alive, so that I could learn from her, for I am not convinced that Mrs Younge always knows the right way to go on, but I must not repine. I have you, dear bro
ther, to look after me, and my dear cousin Henry, and my other friends from Pemberley who will make sure that I do not go wrong.
It is a great thing to be young, is it not? To have one’s life before one, and to know that love is never far away. How I long to see you, to share my joy with you, but perhaps I speak too soon. I am still very young, I know.
Mrs Younge is calling me. It is time for us to go for our afternoon walk. I wonder if we will meet our dear friend by the sea? I hope so! But for now, dear brother, adieu.
Your loving sister,
Georgiana
Miss Anne de Bourgh to Miss Georgiana Darcy
Rosings Park, Kent, July 17
I am thinking of you overlooking the sea as I sit here in my room overlooking the rose garden. It is very hot and I envy you a sea breeze.
Mr Collins dined with us last night. We learnt all about him, what little there is to know. He has a brother and also a family of cousins who live in Hertfordshire. Their property is entailed on him as they do not have a son, only five daughters. I am glad Rosings Park is not entailed away from the female line. I would not like to leave here even when I marry. I love the house and the grounds—even when it is very hot, as now.
We are looking forward to Henry’s visit. Remember me to him if he should happen to visit you in Ramsgate.
Your cousin,
Anne
Miss Georgiana Darcy to Miss Anne de Bourgh
Ramsgate, July 19
I will have to leave Pemberley when I marry, but I do not think it will trouble me. I love it dearly, but I would gladly live in a crofter’s cottage if I could be with the man I love.
I think you will see my guardian before I do. He is presently in London but I have had a letter from my brother this morning and he says that Colonel Fitzwilliam intends to go to Brighton before calling upon you in Kent, after which, I dare say, he might visit me in Ramsgate, perhaps arriving with my brother, who, I know, intends to visit me at the start of next month. How happy we will be, all friends together.
Your loving cousin,
Georgiana
George Wickham to Matthew Parker
Ramsgate, July 21
Why does anyone come to Ramsgate? The place is like death, all virtue and propriety. If not for my chambermaid, I would go mad with boredom. However, I will not be here for much longer. Darcy is due to visit at the start of August and so I must run off with Georgiana by the end of this month. She is nearly ready for my proposal. Belle has worked on her tirelessly, encouraging her romantic notions and saying that when two people are in love they do not need all the pomp and ceremony of a cathedral, but prefer a rustic wedding. The idea has borne fruit, for when Georgiana wrote to her cousin a few days ago she said that she would gladly live in a crofter’s cottage with the man she loves. Not that an heiress with thirty thousand pounds will ever have to live in a crofter’s cottage! I mean to treat her well when we are married and buy her all the frills and fripperies her heart desires. She will not regret having married me. And this will be my best revenge: for Darcy to see how happy she is with me and be unable to turn her against me. It cheers me every morning to think that he has no notion what is going on behind his back, for Belle reads all Georgiana’s mail and prevents anything which mentions me by name from being sent. By the time Darcy learns that I have been in Ramsgate it will be too late. I cannot wait to see his face when he finds out what has happened and learns he will have to call me brother.
Wickham
Mr Parker to Mr Wickham
London, July 23
The end of the month, eh? Then you will need a week or two to get to Scotland and back, but by the middle of August, or the end of August at the latest, we will all be in clover.
Parker
Mr Wickham to Mr Parker
Ramsgate, July 28
Congratulate me, Matthew, for I have won the hand and the purse of Miss Darcy! Ah, life is good. I went to dinner there this evening and Belle left us alone on pretence of going to fetch her workbasket. Georgiana blushed very prettily and I satisfied every girlish dream, you can be sure. I told her how much I loved her and then I went down on one knee and proposed. Belle, who had been listening outside the door, came in at the right moment to hear our news and then congratulated Georgiana. ‘Oh, this is wonderful news! You were made to be with each other! Just like my good, dear Stephen and me. Oh, the happy times we had together from the moment we met to all the magic of our wedding in Scotland, to all the happy years we had together until he died. I only hope you two young people can have the same,’ she said.
At this I appeared much struck, and said, ‘Why should we not go to Scotland?’ I talked of the romance of it all and Georgiana, who has been encouraged to think of nothing else all month, was carried away with the idea. She hesitated only for a moment, thinking of her brother and worrying that he might not approve, but Belle rose to the occasion, saying that her family had thought it quite wonderful that she had eloped and had been full of admiration for her when she returned, praising her for following her dreams.
So take the best set of rooms at The White Hart, Matthew. No more Black Bull for us! No more living from hand to mouth or scraping along; there will be plenty for all.
Wickham
Mr Wickham to Mr Parker
Ramsgate, July 29
A note in haste. It is all up with me. Darcy is here. He arrived unexpectedly, d——n him, and foiled the elopement. What’s more, he understood Belle’s part in the scheme at once and dismissed her. He was in a towering rage, and only his sympathy for his sister and his desire to comfort her prevented him from pursuing me at once.
Belle and I are leaving Ramsgate together within the hour. Cancel the rooms at The White Hart, or play out the charade by pretending your wealthy friend will be arriving imminently, whichever you please, but do not expect to see us in London this month. We have nothing to live on but what we have on our persons, and we will have to find some cheap hole to hide in. God knows what we will live on when the money runs out.
Wickham
AUGUST
Mr Darcy to Colonel Fitzwilliam
Darcy House, London, August 2
Henry, are you still at Rosings? If so, find out all you can about Mrs Younge from my aunt. I must find her at once. She has proved to be a deceitful, scheming impostor—but you do not know all. And yet you must have it.
When Georgiana wrote to me about love and happiness and the future and old friends, I thought she meant nothing more than that she was enjoying her holiday, that she felt secure in my love, and that she had by chance met someone from Derbyshire. Little did I know she meant something quite different.
When I found myself with a free couple of days, on account of having finished some business more quickly than I expected, I went down to Ramsgate to pay her a visit before the appointed time. Thank God I did! For I found her about to elope with George Wickham.
Was there ever anything more villainous than his determined seduction of such an innocent girl? And the whole thing was cynically done, of course, with a view to persuading her to elope with him, whereupon he would become the master of her fortune.
He could not have done it without the help of Mrs Younge. I soon discovered that she and Wickham knew each other and that she was responsible for inviting Wickham to the house. It was child’s play for her to encourage Georgiana’s romantic notions and encourage my sister to see Wickham as a romantic hero.
Georgiana, poor girl, is heartbroken, and no wonder: the villain can make himself very agreeable when he chooses. He is handsome and charming and he knows how to make women admire him. He deliberately sought her out in Ramsgate and presented himself as a respectful and attentive cavalier who flattered her gently, bought her gifts, took her on outings, reminisced about their happy childhoods and expected nothing in return. What girl of fifteen could resist such a determined assault? He so worked upon her that she quite forgot it was wrong to run away, and thought instead it was romantic. It was not until sh
e saw me that the glamour was broken, and she came to herself. She remembered the worry it would cause her family to find that she had gone, and remembered, too, that it would ruin her reputation.
That was Wickham’s hope, of course: that once he had ruined her reputation, I would do anything to prevent the knowledge of her ruin becoming known; that I would recognise the marriage and disguise its beginnings; in short, that I would welcome him into the family for the sake of appearances. He would then have everything he wanted: a wealthy wife, an indissoluble connection with the Darcy family and his revenge upon me.
The latter, I am sure, was his chief motive. Revenge. He has never forgiven me for refusing to give him the living my father promised him. He conveniently forgot that he did not want it; that he asked me for money instead; that I gave it to him, knowing him to be unsuited to the church; and that he had willingly given up all claims upon it. Only when he had spent the money and found himself with nothing to live on did he remember the living, and try to claim it.
And now he has had his revenge.
Although, not quite. Thanks to Providence I was able to save Georgiana, and she is now upset and ashamed, but otherwise unhurt. In time, I hope, she will come to see it as a lucky escape, although at the moment her sense of relief is mingled with regret at what she has lost: a handsome suitor who engaged her affections and promised her a lifetime of bliss.
Once I find him, I mean to make him pay for what he has done and to this end I need your help. Find out everything you can about Mrs Younge, for where she is, Wickham will not be far behind.
Darcy
Colonel Fitzwilliam to Mr Darcy
Fitzwilliam House, London,
August 4
Darcy! I was appalled by your last. I discovered Mrs Younge’s address in London and went there at once, intent on calling Wickham out, but the birds had flown. Let me know what you want to do. I am entirely at your disposal.