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“Sir,” Darcy continued, “I suspect you will regard my interest in what has befallen the Bennets as rather untoward; however, I have come here to offer my assistance in the recovery of your youngest niece.”

“At the risk of sounding ungrateful during a time when any such an offer is precisely what my family needs, I cannot know how my family struggles can be of any concern of yours, Mr. Darcy. I am aware that you and my niece formed an acquaintance when she was in Kent.” Here, the older man nodded. “Indeed, I am grateful that you went out of your way in seeing to her safe arrival. However, unless I am mistaken, your acquaintance is of a rather short duration. You are certainly a stranger to the rest of her family.”

“Indeed, you may think of me as a rather impertinent stranger at that, but I hope it will not prevent you from allowing me to be of service. The fact is that Miss Elizabeth—pardon me, Miss Bennet’s—well-being is very important to me. I cannot stand idly by and do nothing to alleviate her burdens so long as I have the means of bringing about a swifter resolution of the matter than is otherwise possible. You see, sir, I know Wickham. I know him better than most, for he and I were childhood acquaintances. He was once much like a brother to me. I know how he can be worked on.”

“Go on, Mr. Darcy. I am quite interested in hearing more of what you have to say.”

“First, I would ask that you keep my concern in this matter closely held. Of course, I shall leave it to you how much you confide in Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Gardiner as well, but beyond that⁠—”

Mr. Gardiner nodded. “Enough said, sir. You would rather my niece not be informed of any of the particulars.”

“It is not that I wish to keep secrets from her. On the contrary, I do not want to cause her further heartbreak should my efforts lead nowhere.”

“It is apparent that you care a great deal for my niece, else you would not have given yourself so much trouble to reunite her with her family.”

“Indeed—more than she knows.”

With that, the gentlemen turned their attention to the business of tracking down Wickham and young Lydia. Mr. Gardiner acquainted Darcy with all the pertinent details as best he could. Not long thereafter, Darcy came back to the drawing room, made his excuses in the usual way, and he and his sister took their leave of the Gardiners’ home.

Exactly when he would lay eyes on Elizabeth again he could not say with certainty. All he knew was, when the time was right, they would see each other again.

Mr. Bennet returned so soon on the heels of the Darcys’ leave-taking that Elizabeth supposed he could not possibly have missed seeing the stately carriage as it pulled away. If he had, he spoke nothing of it. It pained Elizabeth to see how Lydia’s selfish indiscretion had altered her father. Absent was the quick wit and welcoming smile that had always greeted her whenever they had been parted for so long. His eyes were swollen, his hair unkempt, and his face unshaven. She supposed he had not experienced a decent night’s sleep in days and, thus, when he made the excuse of wanting to retire to the sanctuary of his room, Elizabeth could not help but agree that it was for the best. With that, she accompanied her beloved father up the stairs.

Later on, when Elizabeth and her aunt Mrs. Gardiner were finally alone and at liberty to deliberate as well as commiserate over the events of that particular day and the days before that, the older woman’s curiosity would not be repressed. She wanted to know all that Elizabeth would tell her about their earlier guest, Mr. Darcy.

“I must confess that the gentleman is nothing at all as you described him in your earliest letters,” Mrs. Gardiner said.

Elizabeth painfully recalled her harsh description of the gentleman; specifically, that he was overbearing and haughty with a selfish disdain for those whom he deemed beneath him in consequence. How she wished she could retract those words.

“I fear I have misjudged him terribly, and for that I am utterly ashamed.”

“You need not be so harsh on yourself. Mr. Darcy does not seem to bear you any ill-will, Lizzy. On the contrary, it was very kind of the Darcys to cut short their visit in Kent in order to bring you here. It is apparent that you have made quite a favorable impression on the two of them.”

“Which speaks even further to my regret for having misjudged him. To own the truth, part of the reason I formed such an unfavorable impression of Mr. Darcy has to do with none other than Wickham himself.”

“Does the gentleman know Lieutenant Wickham?”

Elizabeth nodded. “He knows him better than most. You will recall that Wickham also hails from Derbyshire.”

“Now that you speak of it, I do remember hearing that before. Is theirs an acquaintance of long standing?”

“I am afraid so. You see, Mr. Wickham was the late Mr. Darcy’s godson.”

“Oh, my!”

“What is more, Mr. Darcy and Wickham severed all ties soon after the elder Mr. Darcy’s death for reasons I shall not expound upon. Suffice it to say that there were very grave flaws in Mr. Wickham’s character that made any further association between Mr. Darcy and him untenable. Knowing what we now do about the man, you can have no doubt about the nature of his defects.”

Elizabeth fought to hold back her tears. “Oh, Aunt, Mr. Darcy tried in sincere earnestness to warn me not to think so highly of Mr. Wickham. He told me time and again that Wickham was not worthy of such esteem, and he urged that I should warn my father against him as well, but I would not listen. Nor did I listen to anyone who endeavored to warn me: Charlotte, Mr. Darcy’s cousin⁠—”

“—His cousin? Would that be the colonel you also spoke of in your letters?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Indeed. Colonel Fitzwilliam. He even alluded to the exact nature of Mr. Darcy’s grievances, stating that Mr. Wickham had attempted to commit a similar offense against someone very important to Mr. Darcy. Again, I would not hear a word spoken against Wickham. Why, even Mr. Darcy’s aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh advised me to be wary of that horrid man. Is there any wonder I am so mortified?”

“Again, Lizzy, I beg of you not to be so harsh on yourself. You trusted your own opinion over the testimony of strangers. No one will blame you for that.”

“But what of Charlotte? She was not nearly so blatant in her admonishments, but she did try to warn me too—in her own way. No—others may not blame me, but I shall not be so lenient. I feel the shame of my misguided beliefs most acutely, as well I ought to.”

I only pray that it has not cost my family too much, Elizabeth thought but did not say. I pray it has not cost me Mr. Darcy’s esteem.