Page 151 of A Question of Character

Elizabeth had never claimed Wickham incapable of deceit. She had claimed that the man before her bore little resemblance to the villain Darcy described. Again and again she thought of the same point: conduct, consistency, observation.

His own accusation rested upon history.

History, and Georgiana.

His thoughts circled the same ground until the horse slowed of its own accord.

He urged it forward.

Three years.

He had not spoken more than a handful of words to Wickham in that time. Their lives had diverged completely after the exchange of the living. Darcy had believed the matter concluded. Wickham had accepted four thousand pounds between the legacy and the living, declared his intention of entering the law, and vanished.

Darcy had expected to hear, in time, that the money was gone.

Instead...

He had found him precisely where Elizabeth claimed.

Working.

Studying.

Keeping regular hours.

If it were an elaborate deception, it was one maintained with remarkable perseverance.

His jaw hardened.

Wickham possessed perseverance enough whenever profit required it.

That much had not changed.

Yet another thought intruded, unwelcome and persistent.

How many men of five-and-twenty willingly become solicitors’ clerks merely to preserve a disguise?

The profession demanded patience. Endless copying. Endless reading. Endless hours bent over deeds and leases and conveyances. It was not the life Wickham had once desired. He had wanted ease. Fashion. Cards. Officers’ messes. Admiration purchased upon credit.

The image of him carefully arranging papers outside the stationer’s shop returned with irritating vividness.

Darcy gave an impatient shake of his head.

“No.”

The word escaped aloud.

A passing farmer glanced curiously toward him before continuing with his wagon.

Darcy removed his hat in apology.

The horse carried him onward.

By the time Netherfield appeared between the trees, the argument within his own mind had grown louder.

One part of him demanded consistency.

Georgiana had nearly been ruined.