Page 116 of The Long Road Back to Yesterday

At last Georgiana put down her pen and said, “I have told myself not to go to Ramsgate and not to trust Mrs. Younge. I explained the false marriage and what Mr. Wickham intended.”

Georgiana looked at her brother. “But that is not what I most need to know.”

“What is, Sweetling?”

“That I must tell you.”

Darcy's expression changed.

Georgiana took up her pen again and read to herself the last words she had written.

If anything happens that frightens or confuses you, tell Fitzwilliam. Do not conceal it for any reason. He did not reject you when he learned what happened at Ramsgate. He did not abandon you. He loves you. Trust him.

Georgiana reached out to take his hand.

“Fitzwilliam, there is something else.”

Mr. Darcy waited for her to continue.

“If Mr. Wickham is still in England, I shall never feel entirely safe.”

“I will keep you safe, Georgiana. I will not leave you unprotected again.”

“What if the man who reads your letter does not understand the danger as you do now?”

Mr. Darcy considered that.

“Could he be transported?” Georgiana asked. “Sent somewhere so far away that he could never come near us again?”

“I do not know whether there is a lawful means to accomplish it, but I will make the attempt.”

Mr. Darcy drew another sheet toward him. “I will instruct myself to put my solicitor to work upon the question. In the meantime, Wickham has debts. I have already purchased many from merchants in Lambton and Bakewell, and there will undoubtedly be others. I will have him sent to debtor’s prison while I work out the other.”

“Perhaps he also left debts with the merchants in Meryton,” Elizabeth said. “He was there with the militia. Could he be court-martialed for desertion?”

“I do not know. But I will find out. Richard will know what laws govern the militia during wartime.”

Elizabeth studied his face. “You intend to find him before he can reach either girl.”

“Yes, before he can reach anyone.”

He began to write.

Elizabeth read his final line when Darcy turned the sheet toward her.

Do not wait for George Wickham to destroy another life before you act.

“That,” she said, “I believe you will understand.”

“Yes. I pray so.”

Georgiana handed a page to Elizabeth. “Lizzy, you must write in mine.”

Elizabeth wrote her name, Longbourn, and enough about their friendship that Georgiana would understand why an unknown Elizabeth Bennet appeared throughout pages describing a future that had not happened. She gave Edward Gardiner’s name and the Gardiners' address in Gracechurch Street as another means of finding her.

Then she added the part that mattered to her.

In the history recorded in these pages, you became one of my dearest friends. If you remember me, find me. If you do not, I hope you will allow me to know you again.