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“Thank heavens Papa was steadfast in his refusal to submit to Mama’s scheme of going to Newcastle to visit the newlyweds. Hence, it will likely be two to three years before we are forced to endure our dear brother’s company once more.”
Jane said, “In addition, Papa is adamant that Kitty should not travel to Newcastle, so I imagine some benefit derived from this unfortunate debacle. We shall have no fear of Kitty running wild.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Yes, Jane, but it comes at the expense of your marriage to Mr. Bingley, who is a good man, whereas our poor sister shall be forever shackled to a man of Mr. Wickham’s loathsome character.”
“Lizzy, I chose to end the engagement. Now I must live with my decision.” Jane’s tone took on a measure of playfulness she could not possibly have enjoyed. “Besides, Lydia did offer to be of assistance in finding husbands for us all.”
“That is true, but I do not much like Lydia’s way of getting husbands. Now, I beg you to be serious, for is this not a grave matter regarding your future with Mr. Bingley?”
A fair maiden Elizabeth may have been, but Lydia’s conduct had awakened her to certain truths that could no longer be denied, even if she wished it. Regardless of how Elizabeth and her eldest sister pretended Jane having anticipated her vows with Mr. Bingley did not signify, there was the matter of what would be done should the consequence of the estranged lovers’ injudicious behaviour bear fruit.
Jane’s mood turned sombre. “Oh, Lizzy! The best I can do is pray. I know my mother and father will be disappointed should my worst fears be realised, but I see no point in dwelling on what might never be.”
Not wishing to see her sister suffer when there truly was nothing to do but wait and as Jane rightly attested—pray, Elizabeth sought to change the subject. “I heard Lydia mention that Mr. Darcy was at her wedding. She did not reveal how it came to be. She said it was supposed to be a great secret, and Mr. Wickham would be angry were the truth to be found out.”
“I heard her say it as well. I thought Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy hated each other.”
“I know they hate each other. Whatever could have been Mr. Darcy’s purposes in attending Mr. Wickham’s wedding and possibly standing up for him?”
Elizabeth stood and walked across the room. “How a person so unconnected with any of us should have been amongst the family at such a time is exceedingly puzzling. I will not rest until I uncover the truth, and I shall start by writing a letter to petition my Aunt Gardiner. With Lydia’s having stayed with her during the days leading to the wedding, she will know everything. She will tell the tale; else I shall be reduced to tricks and stratagems to satisfy my curiosity.”
The answers she sought were not long in coming. Elizabeth, upon reading the letter from her aunt, suffered a mixture of shock, perplexity, and guilt.
By my Aunt Gardiner’s account, Mr. Darcy employed extraordinary measures to recover my youngest sister—heavy financial inducements, coercion, and, even worse, he had to endure the degradation of calling on that horrible woman, Mrs. Younge, whose duplicity had been the means of his own sister’s brush with scandal.
Well on her way to memorising the letter by now, Elizabeth spent the next several days with perplexing thoughts uppermost in her mind. First of all, why on earth did Mr. Darcy take it upon himself to come to her family’s rescue? By his own testimony, he held them in low esteem. Her next thought was equally confounding.
How shall I ever repay him?
CHAPTER 16
A HEARTBEAT AWAY
Bingley raced into the breakfast room, his face all aglow. Clutching a crumpled paper, he took a seat across from Darcy. “Did you see the papers this morning?”
Darcy sat his coffee cup aside. “I read the papers every morning, Bingley.”
“If you had seen what I am referring to, I wager you would not be this nonchalant. It said, ‘Lately, George Wickham, Esq. to Miss Lydia Bennet,’ without there being a syllable said of her father, or the place where she lived, or anything.”
“I was not aware you held interest in such matters.”
“Actually, I overheard my sisters speaking of it in hushed tones. I was compelled to see for myself what they were discussing.”
Darcy said nothing.
“Surely you know what this means.”
“Pray, enlighten me.”
“It means my Jane can have no reason to object to our being married.”
“What do you intend to do with this intelligence?”
“I intend to return and reclaim what is rightfully mine—the woman I love. I intend to beg her forgiveness for allowing myself to be persuaded to abandon her side.”
The two friends discussed the best options for righting the situation with Bingley’s angel and soon it was decided. A trip to Hertfordshire was in order.
In his excitement to quit the room, Bingley nearly collided with Georgiana, who, concerned for her brother’s well-being and his decidedly gloomy demeanour since returning from Kent, was spending more and more time at Darcy House.
