The blurb for this story can be found here.
Wickham’s Letter
Falling into the opening scene of Chapter Thirty Eight, I am showing below the short content of Wickham’s ‘letter’ – as you can see, it is very brief and to the point!
It won’t tell you who actually opens it, or who gets to see it, but you can probably tell from the crumpled state it ends up in, someone is rather angry!
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- Wickham’s Letter
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- It almost ended up in the fire!
In case you find it hard to read from the image, the text is below:
Thursday, at the same time as the last.
This time, go to the West Entrance and bring double the sum.
Come alone, or else your daughter will be at risk.
If you do not show, all will be revealed and everyone will
comprehend what you have done.
W
Chapter Thirty Eight will be posted on Tuesday!
Copyright © Cassandra Grafton 2017
I'm Cass, and I write the sort of stories I love to read - heart-warming, character driven and strong on location. I lean heavily towards the upbeat in both my reading and my writing. 
Cass Grafton - Writer 
I saw this after leaving my comment. Now the girls will understand that their father is being blackmailed by Wickham, but what on earth could he hold over them as they are already ruined. The only thing I can think of is that he will ruin them in Derbyshire as well. Still, must wait four days for another chapter,
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Lots to think about, Lizzybel! 😉 Have a fab weekend!
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Oh my! “Your daughter will be at risk”? Who does he mean? Elizabeth? My mind went to Lydia and her somehow not having died on that fire. Could it be or am I just crazy? I am sure Darcy was the one who crumpled the letter!
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I think you may well be right about Darcy! 😉
Yes, he’s not shy on the threats, is he, this Wickham? Nasty man!
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Fuel for the fire. Loving it. Thank you for the spoiler. Such a treat!
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Glad you enjoyed it, Lauren! ❤
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Oh my. What has mr Bennett done???
It just gets worse!!
Thank you Cass!!
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Yes, indeed, Carol! Just when it seemed Latimer was the only problem!
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You have certainly left us alot to speculate on over the next 4 days! Which daughter indeed? Is Lydia still alive? Now it can’t be Mary or Kitty as Elizabeth just received Mary’s letter even though she read it very quickly. I would think that it would have to be either Lydia or a threat against Jane or Elizabeth as the locket is still missing…I hate wishing the next 4 days away but….
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Ah yes, the missing locket. I wonder where it could be?! (Well, I know where it is, but I love the speculating!)
Wickham’s a bit keen with his threats, isn’t he, Carole? Of course, if Mr B doesn’t come home in time, then all sorts of stuff might happen! I wonder what Latimer will make of that! LOL
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Well, here’s my wild speculation, based on absolutely no evidence. Wickham is blackmailing Mr. Bennet concerning something hinky about Mrs. Bennet’s death (that thought harkens back to the accusations swirling around in Meryton). Mr. Bennet took the locket to pawn it in order to get enough money to pay Wickham. Wickham is the person doing the poaching and is being deliberately bad at it because he wants Mr. Bennet to realize that he is able to get very close to Jane and Elizabeth and no one (so far) is able to stop him. Finally, I think the threat is toward Elizabeth since he would know that she is Mr. Bennet’s favorite. How’d I do? I will just have to wait (patiently? I think not!) to see if anything swirling around in my head is right. (I really ought to clear those pesky dust bunnies out of my head before I try to solve such a delectable mystery!)
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Haha! Well, Jan, I obviously can’t comment on specifics, but what I will say is that you have hit a couple of nails on the head, and missed with a few too! 😉 Happy speculating and have a great weekend!
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Well, in all honesty, I never was very good at hitting nails. 🙂
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Then you should be proud of those you did! You’ll know them as they come up! 👍
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That’s a creepy letter but your pictures are AWESOME! I love how you have set the stage for a showdown between Darcy and Wickham! Fabulous job!
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Thank you SO much, Carol! I wondered if anyone would notice! I enjoyed setting the photo ‘shoot’ up! 😉
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Bravo!
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❤
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Oh yes, I noticed! Loved how the ‘stage’ was set!
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Thank you, Carole!
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Oh PLEEEEEEEASE let Lizzy open the letter with the colonel and Darcy. PLease????? Awesome!
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LOL, Jen. You may well be getting your wish!!!
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Speculation is part of the fun! What has Mr Bennet done so that Whickam can have such a hold on him? I believe, as Carol does, that the locket must have been taken by Mr Bennett to fund the blackmail. How delightfully suspenseful! Can’t wait for D v. W in front of Elizabeth, hopefully, so that D can be her hero;)
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What indeed has Mr Bennet done! 😉 LOL
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I just want the writing desk and its contents. 😉
No seriously,I do. I have two writing desks, but one is more modern (Bombay Company) and the other is a painted one that’s probably far more Victorian than Regency.
For my birthday, I really want a sealing kit. I have lots of dip pens and ink bottles, but a sealing kit would be lovely!! There are some nice ones I plan to add to my Amazon wish list and then send the links to my kids. 😉
I have never tried the glass dip pens. How do they work?
Thanks again for including Wickham’s letter…and for deepening the mystery (mysteries, actually).
Have a lovely weekend!
Warmly,
Susanne, who did survive the rains although our town has received over half of our annual rainfall this month alone. We even received an inch or so of snow which is a bit of an anomaly in sunny Southern California! 😉
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LOL re the writing desk. It is a Georgian one; not in great condition, but not too bad.
I must admit I haven’t tried to use the glass dip pen so I can’t say how it works. Tempted now though! 😉
Wow re the snow! Hope you have a better weekend, Susanne!
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If you do try the glass pen, please let me know how well it writes!
~Susanne 🙂
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Will do, Susanne!
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Well, Wickham blackmailing Bennet is not surprise but can it be that Lydia is alive or is Wickham threatening a different daughter?!!! Burn the man at the stake, I say!
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No, the blackmail isn’t a surprise, Sheila, I agree!
I know I shouldn’t, but lol re the stake! 😉
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Ahh! At last, the photo above reveals the missing Clue to Wickham’s demise.
It will be Mr Bennet.. at The Grange.. with the candlestick!! Sooo obvious now!
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LOL, Dave!
Question is, whose death he will be responsible for?! 😉
I’d say ‘mwhahahaha’, but it just doesn’t work with my Britishness! 😉
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Something tells me that Wicki is blackmailing Mr B for something he thinks he has done… but has in truth not done. I think I might know what that is. But then again my might be easy off.
How enticing this story is, Cassandra.you have our minds all enthralled.
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I’m so happy you are still enjoying it, Trez!!
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I love the photos; you obviously took so much care staging this! Where did you get the props? 😀
I suspect Darcy opened and crumpled the letter. Who else would have that much anger towards Wickham, especially if he feels that it is Lizzy who is being threatened?!
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I’m thrilled you love the photos, Mel. I had so much fun with the ‘staging’! The props are all ones I have at home, including the writing slope. 😀
I suspect you may be right about who screwed the letter up into a ball!
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Oh so cryptic, yet obviously blackmail, if that makes any sense? Where is the west gate? What does Wickham think he has over Mr. Bennet and is it Elizabeth he’s threatening?
I’d love a writing slope of my own but I don’t think they’re that easy to get hold of in reasonable condition and at a reasonable price any more.
I was going to head off to read the next chapter but I’ve just noticed the time, 11:20pm, so I think I’ll save that delight for tomorrow. Then I’ll only have one day to go until the next one, unless life gets in the way again.
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My slope is Georgian and it wasn’t cheap but it’s also not in very good condition! I think you can pay hundreds or more for a good condition antique one! I still like to think about whose it was, though, and what letters they wrote on it! 😀
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