Wickham Leads Georgiana Astray: excerpt from a WIP

 

Georgiana and Wickham at Ramsgate 2Ever wonder how Mr. Wickham convinced Georgiana to agree to an elopement? I did. It’s one of the questions that intrigued me about the enigmatic Miss Darcy when I set out to write her story. The book (tentatively titled Miss Darcy of Pemberley) is nearly finished now, and I can tell you that it has been a pure delight getting to know my heroine better along the way. Here, then, is another excerpt (see previous excerpts here: chapter 1, part 1 of chapter 2, part 2 of chapter 2 ). In this one, Georgiana tells how she fell for the villainous Mr. Wickham and nearly came to ruin.



Mrs. Younge and her small school suited me well. She allowed her charges considerable freedom to pursue their own interests, which for me translated into more hours spent at the pianoforte and fewer with my academic studies. She also fulfilled my dearest wish by personally escorting me whenever a new concert or opera debuted. By this and by dint of other similar attentions, I soon supposed myself her favorite among the girls. And so it was no great wonder when she very particularly invited me to accompany her on her holiday to the seaside that summer.

Ramsgate. That is where I met Mr. Wickham again.

I saw him at once when he entered the dining parlor at our inn that first evening. He looked about himself, and then his eyes settled on my chaperone. With an expression of happy recognition, he approached our table, saying, “Why, Mrs. Younge, what at delightful surprise!”

She lifted her eyes and immediately offered him her hand. “Mr. Wickham! Well, I declare, this is a happy coincidence, running across you so unexpectedly in such an out-of-the-way corner of the kingdom. Allow me to introduce my friend. Mr. Wickham, may I present Miss Darcy from Derbyshire?”

Mr. Wickham turned and for the first time seemed to register my presence. “Pleased to meet you,” he said smoothly. Then he scrutinized me more closely and continued. “Can it be? No, surely not. Mrs. Younge, your fair companion cannot possibly be Miss Georgiana Darcy of Pemberley.”

“The very same, Mr. Wickham. Why? Do you know the lady?”

“I do,” he answered, never taking his eyes off me. “Perhaps I had no occasion to mention it to you before, but I grew up there. Yes, I knew that Miss Darcy very well, but as a mere child. You have presented me the woman, and a mature beauty at that.”

“Well, then, it is high time you two were reacquainted. Do sit down and join us, Mr. Wickham.”

And so it began.

If I am still painfully shy, I was more so then. Indeed, I doubt if I spoke more than two dozen words to George Wickham that evening. But my reluctance was soon overcome with the attentiveness of his repeated visits.

Although Mr. Wickham had spent all his youth at Pemberley, he was enough older that he was away at school and then at Cambridge during my own adolescence. At first he had still occasionally visited between terms, and then, after my father’s death, he stopped coming to the house at all. Thus, I had seen nothing of him in years. I still retained a strong impression of his kindness to me from those earlier days, however. This, added to the knowledge of my father’s past partiality towards him and Mrs. Younge’s obvious approbation, supported the aptness of rekindling our friendship.

As friendship it began, but it did not remain so for long. Dashing and gallant as he was, Mr. Wickham rapidly became the natural object of all my girlish ideas of romance. He was tall, mightily good looking, smartly dressed, and so well spoken. The extent of his charm and the superiority of his address were things I had never encountered before. And that such a man should be interested in me… Well, that was flattering beyond my imagination.

Therefore, winning my love on top of my already-ceded admiration, presented no very difficult challenge to a skilled operator like Mr. Wickham. 

By the second day of our renewed acquaintance, I was utterly besotted. The gentleman gave the most positive proof of his feeling the same for me by proposing marriage less than a week later.

Georgiana and Wickham at Ramsgate 3I was in a state of pure rapture. “Oh, Mr. Wickham, I am so happy…” I began as we strolled along the beach together, moments after coming to our mutual understanding.

He interrupted. “Wait. Now we are engaged, you must call me George whenever we are alone.”

I smiled shyly up at him. “If you wish it, George,” I said, delighted to try his name on my tongue for the first time.

“That sounds very well, indeed. Now, what were you saying, my dear?”

“I meant to say that I must write to my brother at once of our good news. Think how happy this will make him – to learn of an attachment between his sister and someone he knows so well.”

Wickham patted my hand, which rested on his coat sleeve, and sighed deeply. “Yes, I pray Darcy will learn to acknowledge it as good news, at least in time, but I cannot share your optimism for his immediate consent.”

Detecting the first threat to my high spirits, I paused our walk and turned my face sharply upward to view Wickham’s handsome countenance clearly, hoping to find there the reassurance I sought. “Surely my brother can have no reason to disapprove,” I said, for I had never heard him utter anything that would have caused me to suspect a prejudice against his old childhood friend.

“No valid reason, Georgiana, but that is not quite the same thing, is it? I know you are a grown woman, able to make intelligent decisions for yourself. But I doubt your brother will agree with me on that score. I would wager he still thinks of you as little more than a helpless infant – someone needing to be protected and controlled.”

I considered this. “There may be some truth in what you say, but William never can deny me anything for long. When he understands how happy you have made me, he is sure to give his blessing to our plans in a moment.”

“Are you so certain that you are willing to bet our future on it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just this. He is your guardian and you know we cannot marry – not in the customary way, at least – without his consent. If you tell Darcy of our engagement and he, on some whim or another, should disapprove, he could refuse to allow us to marry or even to see each other until you come of age.”

“Separated and kept waiting for years? How should we endure it?”

He shook his head. “And it may be worse than that. Before then, your brother may have married you off to someone more in keeping with his high-flown ideas – probably someone with a title who is old enough to be your father.” He shrugged. “But perhaps you should like such a man as well as any other.”

“No!” I protested, close to tears by this time. “How can you say such a thing? Dear Wickham, I could never love any man but you.”

Wickham smiled wistfully at me and lifted my chin. “I’m afraid love has little to do with the matter in such cases, and I have seen the unhappy outcome time and again. Your brother will arrange the marriage as he sees fit, believing he is doing you a great kindness. And you? You, my angel, will have no way to oppose his plans until you reach your majority. Sadly, by then, it will almost certainly be too late for us. We will both have been disposed of against our wishes.”

“This must never be!” I cried. “Is there not some other way, some way we can be together now and forever?”

“It is true that you deserve a better fate, my dear. And so do I, for that matter. Perhaps…” He discontinued this thought and strode off down the beach, saying resolutely, “No, it would never do!”

Hurrying after him, I demanded, “Tell me. You have an idea for how it can be managed, and I insist on knowing what it is!”

“No, my darling,” he reiterated. “I could never allow you to make such a sacrifice for me.”

“I can think of no sacrifice that would be too great, dear George. Now tell me what I must do. Please!”

Looking back, I can scarce believe that I, in effect, begged George Wickham for the privilege of running off with him, or how easily he maneuvered me into thinking the elopement my own idea.

I thank God that my brother turned up in time to disrupt the plan. I shudder to imagine what might have happened otherwise. In any event, his arrival was enough to awaken me from my foolish delusions. I perceived how wrong I was to have trusted a comparative stranger over my faithful guardian of many years, over my own blood. And so I confessed the whole affair at once.

Georgiana comforted by her brotherForced to relinquished his claim, Mr. Wickham beat a hasty retreat from the fire of my brother’s righteous wrath. None of that anger was allowed to touch me, however; I received only gentleness and compassion. No, I paid my penance in other ways – by the humiliating knowledge that I had been duped, by the pain of my unrequited love living on longer than it had any right to do, and by the private shame I have quietly carried ever since.

To this day I cannot satisfactorily explain my conduct in the case. I wonder how I could have been so foolishly blind. Though I was very young at the time, I still cannot conceive how I saw truth and beauty where there was only vanity and guile…



Is this the way you pictured that scene playing out? How do you thinks these events influenced Georgiana’s character and behavior into the future? I hope you will enjoy my interpretation in my upcoming release!

 

18 comments

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    • Deborah on April 27, 2015 at 5:33 am
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    I loved this WIP Shannon. Georgiana definitely was duped by a master manipulator. I always felt Wickham was that way. Look at how he duped Elizabeth and her father, Colonel Foster, his fellow soldiers, the shop keepers in Meryton, as well as, I am sure, many innocents and their families. After all, he dropped Elizabeth for Mary King and Elizabeth saw nothing wrong with that. I believe he learned a lot by manipulating the elder Mr. Darcy.

    As for influencing Georgiana’s character, it may have made her more shy and even depressed. It, most definitely, would make her question her own judgment and affect her self-confidence in a negative way. To be so manipulated and duped would also affect spirits in a negative ay making her even more quiet, perhaps, it may cause her to not be so trusting of other’s motives and take what they say at face value. A lesson not too harshly learned.

    I am so looking forward to reading this book.

    1. Thanks for your comments, Deborah! Interesting idea – that W. learned the art by practicing on old Mr. D. You’re probably right. That would have been his early training grounds. He would have seen the advantage of currying the favor of one who had so much to give and then moved on from there.

  1. That was fantastic! Exactly as I would have thought Georgiana would have felt. I think Wickham is a master manipulator. He has duped everyone from the start, including The late Mr. Darcy. He learned early on that he could get away with anything just by using his charm and good looks.
    Georgiana, however, must now suffer even more of a loss of self-worth. I believe that it makes her painfully shy, and very very guarded. I am certain if she ever feels she is falling in love, she will analyse her feeling and the young man until the feeling goes away. If she even allows such a thing in the future. This may lead to some very lonely times for her. I am really excited to read this book! Thank you for giving us a peek!!

    1. My pleasure, Angie! What you say reminds me of the very next line in this chapter: “The remembrance of such a lapse will, I hope, make me forever wiser, more prudent, and suitably humble. Put to proper use, a little mortification now and again can be good for the soul, I suppose.”

  2. I have so enjoyed this WIP; I just went back and re-read Chapters 1 and 2 before moving on to this excerpt. I look forward to being able to read the book in its entirety when it becomes available.

    Thank you for posting it for us! I love waking up to an Austen variation in my inbox almost every morning!!

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    1. Thanks, Susanne! So glad you’re enjoying it! I’m working on the final chapter this morning, so I hope it won’t be too much longer before you can read it in its entirety. 😀

  3. Very well done Shannon! Hopefully Mrs Annesley is able to see Miss Darcy needs a more rounded education, not just music. If she is ever to be mistress of a grand estate, learning such skills needs to be gained now. But, which servant or staff could convince Darcy? This has always bothered me!

    I like how you played George in this snippet – a master manipulator!

    1. Indeed, Dave! Since our earlier discussions, I’ve given much thought to rounding out Georgiana’s education and accomplishments! When you read the book, hopefully you will recognize where I’ve worked that aspect into the story. 😉 I appreciate your input!

    • Julie on April 27, 2015 at 2:26 pm
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    Oh, I like it. Or, I hate it – just writhing under the discomfort of seeing how Wickham works his dark charm… and how poor Georgiana falls for it. I like that she woke up and saw, though, how silly it was to believe such thoughts of her brother, whom she knows to be good and true. I think, with Elizabeth by Darcy’s side, the two of them will be able to help Georgiana become more confident in her own good judgment. She had it – she just lost sight of it for awhile, and even Elizabeth was completely taken in by Wickham.

    1. That’s the scary part, isn’t it, Julie? If even someone as smart as Elizabeth can be taken in, no one is safe from such villains. At least in a novels, we can make sure guys like Wickham get what they deserve (and I did!).

    • Julia M Traver on April 27, 2015 at 2:36 pm
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    I always wondered way back in 1962 when I first read P&P (I was 12), that poor Georgiana at 15 would have been expected to have recognized the snake-in-the-grass that Wickham was. I had a Mother. I knew immediately. I knew boys were out for no good. She just seemed awfully naive and young, she didn’t have the Mother I did who would have told her what was what. Big Brother was too upset himself to tell her about these things. Ignorance is bliss. NOT. It was not her fault, rather that of her guardians. Girls/young women were kept ignorant. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

    1. Yes, I think girls were sheltered as much as possible from the seedier side of life – pleasant, but dangerous if their guardians let them down, like Mrs. Younge did Georgiana. Glad you had a sharp mother to watch over you, Julia!

    • TLeighF on April 27, 2015 at 9:04 pm
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    I loved this excerpt! I could really see how Georgiana was taken in. I remember being that age and it didn’t take more than a few looks and kind words from a guy to get one’s imagination going, imagining a future together. The fact that Mrs. Young approved just sealed the deal. Looking forward to reading more!

    1. Thanks, Leigh. I can see how it could happen. At that age, weren’t we all ready to promise our undying love to the first handsome guy that paid us some attention?

    • Kathy on April 28, 2015 at 10:16 pm
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    I’ll add my praise to everyone else’s, I really thought this captured what Wickham and Mrs. Younge must have done and how they really took advantage of a naive young lady. They were pretty crafty, laying all the groundwork for Wickham to suddenly show up and be attentive and charming! With any other man, not set out on destroying the Darcys, Georgiana would have been too shy to advance the relationship, and that would be just fine given her age and inexperience. It was all the more creepy to see how George worked his slimy charms on her. I thought it was an interesting point that Georgiana she didn’t have a mother to guide her — but then on the other hand, Lydia did have a mother, and look what happened!

  4. He’s the snake in the garden of Eden – craftier than any other creature and set on corrupting the innocent. If the description fits, Mr. Wickham…

    Thanks for adding your compliments and comments, Kathy. I appreciate the encouragement!

    • Anji on May 3, 2015 at 12:05 pm
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    Ooo, Wickham is such a slime-ball! Presumably he’s already manipulated Mrs. Younge into setting up the whole Ramsgate escapade and now he manages to persuade Georgiana into persuading him to elope with her! Master manipulator doesn’t even begin to describe him. I rather think he must have a PhD in it!

    Looking forward to reading the completed book.

    • Sheila L. M. on May 12, 2015 at 12:43 pm
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    I am just getting to some unopened e-mails and found this missed excerpt.

    Yes, it is just as I imagined. Wickhead is such a manipulator, slimy and wholly without conscience. I agree with the comment about how he learned much as he manipulated the elder Mr. Darcy.

    Poor Georgiana – she cannot imagine what her life would have been as soon as Wickhead got his hands on her money and ran off. Fate certainly was kind is getting Darcy to Ramsgate in time to prevent the elopement.

    Thank you for allowing us to share in reading this WIP. Looking forward to the book.

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