The Meryton War Read online

  The

  Meryton

  War

  By

  Deborah E Pearson

  Copyright © 2017 Deborah Esther Sharon Pearson

  All rights reserved.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE7

  CHAPTER TWO15

  CHAPTER THREE24

  CHAPTER FOUR32

  CHAPTER FIVE40

  CHAPTER SIX53

  CHAPTER SEVEN62

  CHAPTER EIGHT73

  CHAPTER NINE84

  CHAPTER TEN91

  CHAPTER ELEVEN99

  CHAPTER TWELVE104

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN111

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN115

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN121

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN127

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN133

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN140

  CHAPTER NINETEEN143

  CHAPTER TWENTY147

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE153

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO161

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE167

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR171

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE174

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX176

  Excerpt from Darcy Vs Bingley By Gianna Thomas200

  PROLOGUE

  The Blessed are a select lineage that trace their ancestry back to Socrates. Socrates was a unique individual who had learnt the secrets of enhancing his body through meditation and manipulation of the physical world around him. During the age he lived, and ever since, he and his descendants have been feared, accused of witchcraft and hunted. Eventually, they spread across the world. Those whose blood is unmingled and a direct descendant of Socrates discovered that they have unique gifts that appear miraculous to the world around them. To protect all of the Blessed and the world, the Blessed Elders have maintained strict laws about what may be told to those who are not Blessed.

  Socrates also fathered another line known as The Empty, who inherited the completely opposite traits and gifts to the Blessed. Three types of mixed blood exist - Empty and Children of the Past, Blessed and Children of the Past, Empty and Blessed. When an Empty or Blessed marry a Child of the Past then the child is accepted as full blood. Despite this the term half blood is only ever applied to the child of an Empty/Blessed Union; because they cancel each other out, making it impossible for any of their unique gifts to develop.

  The first day of September 1730 was a momentous day for the Blessed. It had started much as any other, where a birth was taking place. Screams had torn the air at midnight as Christopher Bennet's wife went into labour. Christopher had gone down to his study to await the new heir to Longbourne and Carlisle house. The other elders of the Blessed had come to keep him company as was usual during the hours of labour when an heir to one of the elders was being born.

  The elders were a select group.

  Those of the Blessed lineage in England had begun as a subsection of the British court, having arrived in Britain as part of William the conqueror's court. Fortunes had changed for some, and the elders had all managed to remain as members of London's elite known as the Ton.

  There were five families that made up the Elders. These were The D'arcys (who anglicised to become Darcys), the Bennets, the Lucas', the Devereux and the Fitzwilliams. Mrs Bennet delivered George William Bennet into this world around 2pm. At Precisely that moment Christopher Bennet looked up and said:

  "When the houses of Darcy and Bennet unite, and Wickham's perfidy has reached its height. Then shall turmoil rage, leading earth to unite."

  Shocked the elders looked at each other. The Wickham family was well respected in high society, as Doctor Wickham was Doctor to the whole of High Society. Something would have to be done, but what? Christopher's prophecies had never failed! "I'll take my wife and child to settle at Longbourne. I won't enter society again; it's too dangerous" Christopher said pragmatically. "We do not know if this terrible fate can be avoided, but we must do all that we can to avoid it and change things."

  "But what about Carlisle house, you surely cannot dream of abandoning that?" Asked Fitzwilliam

  "I shall sell it! In fact, you can have it Fitzwilliam; I know you've wanted it for years" responded Bennet.

  "What will we do with the Wickham's?" asked Devereux, concerned.

  "Simple enough, I'll make sure that the good doctor knows that it'll be worth his while to retire to Derbyshire to look after Pemberley's tenants" replied Darcy. "I'm sure that there's something we could find to 'persuade' him to retire to Derbyshire and not return to Town."

  "Devereux your estate is not far from Longbourne is it?" Lucas asked.

  "Indeed not, Netherfield is only three miles away, we are essentially neighbours”, Devereux replied.

  "Good, Good, I've never liked being idle and have always wished to go into the millinery business; I think this is a good reason to do so. I shall retire to Meryton and run a little shop" Lucas replied. "I'll invest everything I have. The Gardiners are good friends of mine, and they're excellent solicitors. They'll know where good suppliers are. All elder’s business can be conducted from my shop in Meryton; It will be a good cover."

  Lucas’ idea was considered by all to be an excellent way of working things. So it was that the sleepy town of Meryton in Hertfordshire was to play a pivotal role in history.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The Darcy Family

  Fitzwilliam Darcy had been very lucky. He was joint guardian of his younger sister with his cousin a Colonel in the regulars. When he had hired Mrs Younge as his sister’s companion, she had suggested a holiday to Ramsgate before Georgiana started her studies prior to coming out. This he and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam had acquiesced to. Colonel Fitzwilliam’s commanding officer had, out of gratitude to the Colonel, managed to arrange for her to stay at the home of a mutual acquaintance. The owner of the home was kept a closely guarded secret. The home was situated right on the seafront, with a short walk to the high street for the shops and circulating library. This morning Mrs Amelia Younge bustled into the library of the house, where she conducted Georgiana’s lessons.

  “Georgiana it is time that you sewed a sampler with your genealogy” Mrs Younge began. “We will begin by drawing out the family on a piece of paper. We’ll begin at your great grandparents.” Mrs Younge drew out a piece of paper and drew an example for Georgiana. Georgiana quickly grasped the idea and wrote down her genealogy.

  Henry Darcy was Georgiana’s great grandfather. In 1729 he married Miss Penelope Richards, and his son Harold Darcy was born the following year 1730. Georgiana was not aware that Harold was born the month before the prophecy was given by Christopher Bennet, in fact, Georgiana didn’t know anything about her heritage as a full blood member of the Blessed. Georgiana however did know that something had happened in 1730, and that her great grandfather had begged the Wickham family to move to Derbyshire. What she did know was the story given out that Henry wanted the best Doctor on hand should anything happen to his wife and son.

  Georgiana’s Grandfather Harold married Miss Claire Fellowes in 1755, but his first son, George, was not born until four years into his marriage. Harold was unremarkable and led an unremarkable life. He was a good master of Pemberley and looked after the Wickham family handsomely. Like his father before him Harold had felt that he owed a debt of gratitude to the Wickham family who left London, and looked after their family and the tenants of Pemberley in his fathers’ generation. More than once Doctor Wickham had saved the life of his mother. The Wickham’s family were good and caring people. Doctor Wickham’s son, Stephen, had followed in his father’s footsteps, and became a well-known apothecary in Lambton. The Wickham’s and the Darcy’s were very close and looked after each other. Harold had two sons. His second son, Oscar, had become a judge in London.

  George Darcy was Ge
orgiana’s father. Born in 1759 George Darcy attended Eton college and afterwards studied law at Cambridge, the same as his brother. From the age of twenty five until his fathers death when he was thirty-one he and his brother Oscar ran a joint law practice in London, both were very successful in their field however when Harold Darcy died in 1790 George Darcy had received the heavy mantle of running Pemberley and it’s associated estates on his shoulders and so he sold his part of the law business to his brother, and committed himself fully to the welfare of his tenants and servants at Pemberley.

  Stephen Wickham had a son, called Horatio. Horatio went through Eton and Cambridge with George and for a time he was clerk to George and Oscar. In their law practice however when Harold died, his steward died at the same time. Horatio left the law firm to become the Steward at Pemberley. In 1785 Horatio had married and his son George Wickham was born five months after the wedding. George Wickham and, George Darcy’s son, Fitzwilliam Darcy grew up together and were sent to Eton. Two months before the two families would remove to Pemberley, Horatio saved George Darcy’s life. George Darcy was accosted in the street by ruffians and would have been killed if not for Horatio Wickham’s quick thinking and actions. This combined with the family loyalty to the Wickham’s meant that George Darcy felt very indebted to Horatio, and which he would translate into providing a living for the young George Wickham when he finished Cambridge.

  During the season of 1770, Harold Darcy and his good friend Lord Anthony Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Matlock, arranged for George and Lady Anne Fitzwilliam to marry. George didn’t actually meet Lady Anne until the season of 1775 and the moment George laid eyes on Lady Anne, he fell deeply in love with her. George and Lady Anne married at the end of 1775.

  George and Lady Anne struggled to conceive and it wasn’t until they had been married for nearly ten years that their son was born. Lady Ann struggled to birth her son, Fitzwilliam, for nearly twenty-four hours. The length of time that she had spent in childbirth severely weakened her, and she contracted childbed fever afterwards, which put her life into doubt on many occasions. However, she did recover slowly and gave birth to a daughter twelve years later.

  Fitzwilliam Darcy was born on the 1 of April 1784 and he would grow up to be, a very good man. Entering the world a full twelve years before his sister, Georgiana, Darcy’s world would seem to be almost perfect. The sole heir to a large fortune and multiple estates Darcy was loved dearly, and slightly spoiled by his parents. His early years held few challenges. Darcy took pleasure in the usual childish pursuits, but when his younger sister was born he took an almost paternalistic care of her; a care that was noticed and nurtured by his parents.

  Miss Georgiana Darcy was born on the 15 September 1796 the sole daughter of George and Lady Anne Darcy. No one would talk about the day that Georgiana was born. It seemed to Georgiana that it was a very painful event for the family. The few stories she had heard were from Mrs Reynolds, the elderly housekeeper who would tear up at the mention of her late mistress and make an excuse to exit the room. Georgiana did know that her mother had struggled with her birth, and that she was very sick afterwards. That her mother recovered didn’t ease Georgiana’s perceived guilt that she had made her mother sick. Lady Anne had contracted a severe cold days before Georgiana was born and being already weak and suffered from childbed fever after the birth. For days afterwards Lady Anne had been close to death.

  Many times, if Darcy was missing, he would be found in the nursery looking after his little sister. His Mother and Father would smile fondly at his antics. They knew that this sensitive and caring young man that they were nurturing would do well by his sister, should anything happen to them. It was this more than any other that allowed them to see that Darcy and his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam, who would grow up to become a Colonel in the regulars, would be the ideal guardians for Georgiana.

  George Wickham would often join Darcy in the nursery as they entertained the newest arrival to Darcy nursery. However he would soon become restless and lose interest quite quickly so spent more and more of his spare time on his own getting into all sorts of mischief. By the age of fifteen Wickham’s jealousy and envy of the Darcy’s would consume him and his character would undergo a major revolution as the two boys matured.

  One of Georgiana’s earliest memories was of Darcy’s sixteenth Birthday. Georgiana remembered that her father had given Darcy a special book that he had been told to keep secret and hidden, she also remembered her father promising when Darcy turned twenty-one, he would be given another book. Georgiana wondered about the significance of the two books. She had yet to learn that one is the person’s life story that they are writing and the other, was the book of the Blessed history and wisdom. As a child she could affect the emotions of those around her, often calming down a chaotic situation. The nursery was at times the only calm and soothing place to be in a busy house that housed not just the Darcy family, but a whole army of servants. What made this particular birthday memorable to Georgiana was that this was both the first time she had been allowed to eat in the family dining room, with her parents and her brother, and was also the first time she had tasted cake. To her child’s mind this was a grand day indeed, and she had felt very grown up.

  September 1801 was to bring tragedy to the Darcy household. Georgiana’s sole memory of her mother was on her fifth birthday. Darcy had come home from school for a few days to help celebrate Georgiana’s birthday. The family walked into Lambton. Georgiana could not remember very much except that they spent a very long time in the bookshop, and it was here that Darcy made books fun and exciting. She remembered feeling safe and secure with her family and that the world of adventure contained in the books would entertain her for years to come. When they left the bookshop it had started to rain heavily. Georgiana and Darcy ran across the road into the local tearooms, thereby avoiding becoming too wet. However, her father and mother moved across the road at a much slower pace; her mother was wet through when they joined Georgiana and Darcy in the tearoom.

  Georgiana happily drank her hot chocolate and enjoyed the lemon cake in the tearoom so much she didn’t notice her mother shivering violently and very pale. The walk home was slow and arduous due to the amount of mud on the road; when they arrived back at Pemberley Georgiana couldn’t remember what happened, however, two days later Georgiana and Darcy were called to her mother’s bedside as their mother had become very sick.

  Death is not a concept that a young child understands, and Georgiana was no different, for weeks after her mother died, all she thought was that her mother was ignoring and abandoning her, and the day her mother died, Georgiana did not remember. While Georgiana came to terms that her mother would not come to her anymore Darcy remained at home, returning to school only once Georgiana was settled. During this time Darcy spent extra time in the nursery with Georgiana; Pemberley now seemed to be empty with her mother’s cheerful personality gone. Her father stopped coming to the nursery to play with her and gradually she saw less and less of her father in the years that followed.

  Over the next three years the remaining Darcy’s settled into a quiet routine. Darcy was away at school for most of this time and Georgiana had a stream of governesses that seemed to be very unsuitable. At eight, her father decided that it would be better to send her away to school, where she would learn with other girls of her age. This was a fairly solid plan and Georgiana was accepted into one of the most exclusive schools in the country. However Georgiana struggled to make friends at school. She seemed not to fit with either the gentlemen’s daughters nor with the daughters of the peerage. Often the other young girls would tease her and leave her confused as to what she had done wrong. She weathered the storm, but her shyness increased dramatically. This went undetected as she performed well in her studies.

  In January 1805 Georgiana and Darcy were called back to Pemberley. Their father had suffered an apoplexy. George Darcy was alive, but not able to run Pemberley anymore. Darcy was a responsible young man and at twenty he
had been well trained to step into his father’s place. The only person who seemed to query Darcy’s right to make the decision’s for Pemberley was George Wickham, who would constantly bother the elder Mr Darcy for confirmation of the orders that Darcy had given. It seemed that the young man who had grown up with Darcy, as friends and almost equals, resented that as the steward’s son he would now have to take orders from Darcy. Darcy became even more protective of Georgiana and when they were both home from school they would often be found together in the same room, Darcy often helping Georgiana with her lessons that she had been struggling with.

  In January 1807 George Darcy passed away peacefully in his sleep, after a near constant decline since his apoplexy. The two young Darcy’s were devastated and both spent a few months hiding with their Aunt Lady Matlock. Pemberley now seemed lonely and empty. It was their home and would always remind them of the happy times with their parents. Their Father had not visited his London home since before his wife’s death, so that felt even more desolate and deserted. Georgiana did not return to school until nearly a year after her father’s death, she was now the ward of her cousin and her brother.

  Four years had helped to ease the grief of the orphaned Darcy’s, and they had set up a tolerable routine. When it was just the two of them at home, they would spend the time together, either in Georgiana’s sitting room or in Darcy’s study. The early years after their father’s death was particularly difficult for Darcy. He seemed to become more and more withdrawn, much like Georgiana seemed to have very few friends. He wouldn’t talk about the social events he attended, but she knew that he struggled with them. Sometimes when she asked about his nights out she would see a visible shudder go down his spine as he relived the events of the night before. She wondered why he attended them if he disliked them so much, but she did not dare ask.