Page 56 of Collins Takes Charge

As the epistle was unsigned, at first, Forster had wanted to consign it to the fire. However, if this was a colonel in the regulars and had the proof he claimed, it would redound on him badly if Forster ignored the request to meet.

“Carter,” Forster bellowed.

“Sir.” Carter snapped off a neat salute. “You summoned me?”

“Is the man who delivered this message still in the offices?” Forster enquired. He saw his adjutant nod. “Tell him to inform his master that you and I will follow him within minutes, as soon as our horses are saddled. Send a soldier to the stables with instructions to have them in front of the offices for us as soon as may be. While we wait for our steeds, retrieve the contract Lieutenant Wickham signed; we will take it with us.”

The captain did not question his colonel; he saluted again and went to carry out his orders.

The Netherfield Park groom was on his way as soon as the captain repeated the message from the colonel. He untethered the gelding from the hitching rail, mounted, and was soon on his way back to Netherfield Park to deliver the message to the colonel.

Wickham was walking with Denny when he saw the man ride away from the colonel’s offices. The two entered the Red Lion Inn, where, thanks to his lack of funds, Wickham had to rely on the charity of his brother officers. That lightskirt, Miss Lydia, had promised she would have some coin for him soon. Wickham was already in the inn when the Colonel’s stallion and the adjutant’s geldings were brought to the front of the offices. Hence, Wickham did not see the two men gallop away in the direction of Netherfield Park.

It took the two officers only five minutes to reach the manor house of the estate. There was no missing all the preparations underway for the ball to be held at the estate on the morrow.

The militia officers were relieved of their outerwear by the butler and a footman, and the former showed them to a parlour on the first floor.

Fitzwilliam had donned his uniform for this meeting. He and Darcy stood when Colonel Forster and Captain Carter were shown into the room. The four men kept standing until the butler withdrew and pulled the door closed.

“Darcy, will you introduce me to these men, please?” Fitzwilliam requested.

“Certainly. Richard, this is Colonel Forster, the commander of the regiment of the Derbyshire Militia quartered in Meryton. With him is his adjutant, Captain Carter. Colonel and Captain, my cousin, Colonel the Honourable Richard Fitzwilliam of His Majesty’s Royal Dragoons,” Darcy stated. After that, he would remain silent unless Richard spoke to him, just like his cousin had advised.

“You are the Colonel Fitzwilliam who was the hero at the Battle of Roliça, are you not?” Forster asked with reverence. “And you distinguished yourself at the Battle of Elviña.”

“I would not call myself a hero, but yes, I was at the Battle of Roliça and the one at Elviña,” Fitzwilliam acknowledged. “As willing as I would be to speak of my experiences on the Peninsula, as my note intimated, we invited you here to address the parasite you have in your ranks.” He looked at the two officers. “I am sure he has vilified my cousin by telling you how a living meant for him was denied.”

Forster and Carter both nodded.

“Did anyone ask him why he did not seek another living? Or even whether he had ever taken holy orders? That is, after all, a prerequisite to gain a living in the church,” Fitzwilliam stated evenly.

Both militia officers had the decency to look embarrassed. They had been taken in by Wickham’s looks of sincerity and had not questioned his tale.

“You are not unlike many others that man has beguiled. Now to the reason I made my requests of you. I said I had proof. Before I show you the first piece, do you have something Wickham signed in front of one of you?” Fitzwilliam queried. He saw two nods. “The reason I requested that you bring it is that I am about to show you a document that your lieutenant signed. Rather than have to prove the signature is genuine, you will be able to see it for yourself.” Fitzwilliam nodded to William.

Darcy stood and handed a document to Forster. Then, without saying a word, he took his seat again.

The two officers who had been taken in by Wickham’s lies lost their colour as they read the document. Captain Carter retrieved Lieutenant Wickham’s contract from his satchel. There was no question that both documents had been signed by the same man.

“So, he was not denied the living but rather received three thousand pounds in lieu of it because he signed that he would never take orders,” Forster summarised.

Seeing a nod from his cousin, Darcy spoke for the first time. “This was soon after my late father was called home to God. He was also given one thousand pounds bequeathed to him in my father’s will. A little more than two years later, the incumbent who had held the Kympton living passed away. Wickham wrote to me demanding the living, telling me his situation was quite desperate. He had still not taken orders and had signed the document in your hands two years previously; hence, I refused his application. He did not want the living; what he wanted is what he always seeks—to be given funds without lifting a finger to earn them.”

“There is more,” Fitzwilliam told the stunned officers. “Tell me Colonel, does your regiment have officers sign an honour pledge like many others in the militia do?”

“Yes, Wickham signed ours,” Forster acknowledged.

“Is there a question about the man having left unpaid debts behind him?” Fitzwilliam questioned.

“Yes, Colonel, that is one of the explicit things a new officer must swear he does not have,” Carter revealed.

“Wicky, as I call him, may have fibbed just a little. Although he owns that he perhaps should not have cleaned up after the profligate, my cousin here, the same one Wicky painted as the worst kind of man, has over three thousand pounds in Wicky’s debts he has paid,” Fitzwilliam informed the reeling officers. “I was thinking why one who abhors work like Wickham does would join the militia. I am sure it is too much like work for him. May I ask where he was when he was recruited? Or did he arrive in Meryton and request a commission?”

“Two of my lieutenants found him in London and brought him back here to join the regiment,” Forster related.

“Then, I would wager that Wicky had to escape his creditors in London, and joining your regiment was the most expeditious way of running out on more debts,” Fitzwilliam opined. “Bear in mind, please, that I am not a gambling man. I am surprised that after he found that he was to be denied more credit, and the womenfolk hereabouts had been warned about the tricks he uses that he did not slip away like he always does when things get tough.”

“I am able to tell you why not,” Carter interjected. “One of the other officers heard a conversation between him and Lieutenant Denny. Wickham asked about the penalties for desertion and was told that in time of war, it was death. It seems that has kept him with us.”