“Why have you not come to see me before the ball, Major?” Elizabeth asked as he led her to a corner away from the crowd.
“I hoped I would never have to say but Mr. Darcy made it clear I was to stay far from Fitzwilliam House.”
Elizabeth raised a brow at this bit of information. “But you came to see me without a thought for his warning after the Matlock ball.”
Major Wickham sighed. “He gave a stronger warning more recently. I did not wish to make a scene for your sake.”
Elizabeth looked to the dancers as the music stopped again. “Come, my friend. Let us dance. Mr. Darcy shall have to see that I alone will decide who is welcome at my home.”
Major Wickham offered his arm, eager to ingratiate himself with his hostess. The buttons on his red coat twinkled in the candlelight and Elizabeth smiled to be near him again. They were a striking couple as they joined the next set, the center of attention.
Miss Darcy saw the dark haired man in his red coat with Elizabeth and pulled on her brother’s arm. She tried to whisper her agitation but no words would escape her lips. Mr. Darcy gave orders to her young man to take her downstairs and see that she was returned to Darcy House.
Mr. Darcy pushed his way through the crowd and parted the dancers. He placed a hand on Wickham’s shoulder and the man whirled away from him placing Elizabeth between them.
Elizabeth heard the whispers swelling in the room as the musicians faltered. “William, let us go to the library and settle this matter please.”
Major Wickham smiled wickedly behind Elizabeth and took up her plea. “Indeed, Mrs. Fitzwilliam, we would not wish to have a scene at such a grand gathering.”
Mr. Darcy’s eyes went to slits and he ground out a challenge for the major. “Elizabeth has no need to leave her guests. You and I can settle our differences outside.”
Elizabeth glared at Mr. Darcy, her anger rising. “Perhaps you should leave, William. You may certainly see Major Wickham elsewhere.”
She turned to Wickham and motioned for the musicians to begin. Mr. Darcy stood amid the dancers, his temper rising until he could bear it no more. He waited for the major to cross back to the space beside him and grabbed the man.
In a moment, the two were locked in place. Major Wickham would not go without a fight. Mr. Harley appeared with three footmen and set upon Darcy and Wickham, forming a mass of struggling arms, legs, and fists.
The music ceased and Elizabeth shouted for the men to stop. Not a one heeded her words but Mr. Harley broke loose from the chaos and managed to get his footmen under control.
Quickly, they forced Mr. Darcy and the major from the ballroom. Lady Matlock and Mrs. Bennet began an attempt to settle the guests as Elizabeth and the earl went after Mr. Harley and the scuffling men.
Elizabeth glared at Mr. Darcy as her butler stood between him and Major Wickham. “I expected better from you, William. How could you behave so terribly on a night such as this?”
Mr. Darcy had no explanation for her other than to repeat his warnings about the man he wished to force away from Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam House. “He will bring ruin to this family. I have warned you again and again and yet you refuse to listen. Why do you doubt me, Elizabeth? Have I not proved myself where you and young Richard are concerned?”
“If there is doubt between us, it is not on my part. You simply cannot allow your friends nor family to hold a different opinion from your own. You lost the friendship and confidence of two of the best men of my acquaintance because of this flaw in your character. Trust me, William. I am not a child nor a dullard.” Elizabeth hated speaking to him so before the servants and Major Wickham.
Mr. Darcy looked about the hallway as though seeing it for the first time. Elizabeth’s words had taken the fight from the man. “If you find you have been mistaken, I will not hesitate to remove him from London. I pray he is unable to hurt you the way he has hurt others who are dear to me. Georgie will no longer be allowed to darken the door of Fitzwilliam House.”
Before Elizabeth might object, Mr. Darcy turned on his heel and left.
Lady Matlock stood with her husband, the earl, in Elizabeth’s parlor long after the ball had ended. “Why is Darcy adamant about Major Wickham being driven from Fitzwilliam House and why will you not listen to his counsel?”
The earl sat beside the fireplace and watched the dying embers. “Margaret, have you not learned yet that our daughter will not be intimidated?”
Mrs. Bennet agreed with the earl. “‘Tis true. Lizzy has ever been obstinate and headstrong. But Major Wickham is a decent man, or he was whilst in Hertfordshire. He called on Lizzy and spent many evenings playing cards at my sister’s home in Meryton. Mr. Darcy is merely interfering in the affairs of my daughter. It is his way.”
Lady Matlock ignored them both. “If Wickham has wronged Darcy in the past, perhaps you might take heed. I would not like to see my grandson influenced by lesser men.”
Elizabeth did not like the woman’s inference. “My son is safe and secure at Fitzwilliam House. Major Wickham is only a friend to my family and I am certain he will not have very much time for socializing. I would like to go to my bed now.”
She stood and called for Mr. Harley. Lady Matlock and the earl quit the parlor and Elizabeth gave a great sigh of relief. Mrs. Bennet began to declare upon the evening but Elizabeth shook her head to silence the woman. “Come Mother, there is plenty of time on the morrow to gossip.”
Elizabeth linked arms with her mother and walked with her to her room. How she wished she might only consider the evening as a chance to gossip.
Elizabeth’s heart twisted as she left her mother and hurried to her own room. She did care very much for Mr. Darcy, as did Richard. But he must not be allowed to interfere in her life as he had with Charles and Jane. Unless she saw some reason not to trust Major Wickham, she could not banish him from her life.
Elizabeth knew the man was a notorious flirt and that he was charming and too handsome by half. But where was the sin in that? And it might be true that he had gambled and owed money in his youth but so had some of Mr. Darcy’s circle.
Young gentlemen of means were known to owe quite a few debts. How would Major Wickham have advanced through the ranks if his character were so terrible as Mr. Darcy charged?
Elizabeth pushed aside her frustration with Mr. Darcy, he would surely come to her and make his apologies in a few days. She would keep her eye on Major Wickham for she did not think Mr. Darcy warned her out of jealousy.