Page 59 of Undone

“Has he always carried her messages?”

“For as long as I have known her.”

“And how long is that?”

Mrs. Younge's eyes moved towards the door through which Wickham had been taken. Darcy could almost follow the course of her thoughts. Wickham had attempted to place every danger upon her, and she appeared at last to realise that Mrs. Vane could no longer protect her. Whatever loyalty had kept her silent now contended with the certainty that neither Wickham nor Mrs. Vane would risk themselves for her sake.

“Six years,” she whispered.

Fitzwilliam remained still. “You first met Mrs. Vane six years ago?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Mrs. Younge clasped her hands in her lap, rubbing one thumb over the other. “I had lost my situation after an unfortunate incident involving the brother of the young lady I served. He seduced me under a promise of marriage, then cast me aside when it suited him. When he became engaged to another lady, I spread a rumour that ruined the match. I considered it fair retribution.”

“Where were you living?”

“In lodgings near Russell Square in Bath. Mrs. Vane sent me several anonymous notes, proposing to employ me before we finally met in a small shop.”

“What happened afterwards?” Darcy asked.

“I needed employement. Any position.” Mrs. Younge raised her head, a trace of her former sharpness returning. “A womanwithout family, fortune, or employment does not disregard an offer of service.”

Darcy could not deny the truth of it, though necessity did not excuse what followed. “What did she offer you?”

“At first, employment. She knew every detail of what I had done to my former employer. Had it become public knowledge, I should never have found another position in that neighbourhood, or in any respectable household. She then asked whether I possessed the courage to undertake work requiring discretion. Afterwards, she offered me enough money to satisfy my most pressing creditors, and I accepted.”

Fitzwilliam exchanged a glance with Darcy. “What work did she require?”

“Very little in the beginning. I carried letters and made enquiries. She never entrusted too much to me at once. It was several months before she finally spoke of Mr. Darcy.”

Darcy's attention sharpened. “What did she say?”

“There were no particulars, sir, only that I was to watch Pemberley and see whether I could get close to Mr. Wickham.”

“So that is how you came to know him?” Fitzwilliam asked.

“I watched him long enough to learn his habits, the places he frequented, and even some of his secrets.” She paused for a moment to steady herself. “About a year after the death of your father, sir, I arranged a meeting between him and Mrs. Vane. He soon agreed to her terms after his disagreement with you concerning the property he believed was his by right.”

“Good Lord,” Darcy exclaimed.

“Beyond that,” Mrs. Younge continued, “all I have done is follow instructions. When the time came, I was told that Wickham would secure me a place in Mr. Darcy's household, which he did when I entered Miss Georgiana's service.”

Darcy could no longer contain himself. He struck the wall with his fist, the sharp pain shooting through his hand doing little to lessen the anger that surged within him. Fitzwilliam and Colonel Forster both looked at him in surprise, but he neither moved nor offered an apology.

He fixed her with a searching look. “The scheme to carry off my sister, was that Mrs. Vane's design or Wickham's?”

Mrs. Younge hesitated. “Mrs. Vane conceived it, sir. Wickham needed little persuasion once he learnt what he might gain by it. She instructed him what course to pursue, and my place in Miss Darcy's household was secured for that very purpose.”

Darcy closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Then Georgiana was marked long before you ever entered Pemberley.”

“Yes, sir.”

Fitzwilliam placed both hands upon the table. “And why did Mrs. Vane do all these? What was her motive?”

Mrs. Younge's brow furrowed. “At first, I confess I did not know the whole of it. She seldom explained herself, and even Wickham knew less than I did. But by carrying out every instruction she gave me, and from things I overheard Wickham say, I gradually realised that she wished Mr. Darcy and everything connected with him ruined. That is the best explanation I can offer.”