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She covered her mouth with her handkerchief to calm her nerves. “My God! We are saved.” Mrs. Bennet glared at Mr. Collins and jutted her chin. “You and your scheming wife are welcome to Longbourn. I can imagine it is nothing to Pemberley.”

“Do not get ahead of yourself! I merely mentioned my nephew’s plans. Nothing has been decided, and nothing will be decided if I have a say. That is the purpose in my being here. I insist upon seeing Miss Bennet this instant.”

“Then your ladyship will be quite disappointed.”

“Nonsense—I am not in the habit of brokering disappointment. Summon your daughter at once!”

“I wish that I could, for we have much planning to do if we are to have a proper wedding. However, Lizzy is not here.”

“Where on earth is she if she is not here?”

“My daughter has travelled to visit her aunt.”

Enraged in having missed Elizabeth, Lady Catherine headed straight to the door without taking a proper leave of Mrs. Bennet. Her faithful servant trailed along behind her. She insisted that Mrs. Bennet deserved no consideration after having wasted so much of her precious time. Her ladyship was gone as quickly as she had come, leaving Mrs. Bennet in quite a state.

Elizabeth, in fact, had begun her journey of only twenty-four miles early that morning. How she had missed her Uncle and Aunt Gardiner since she last saw them at Longbourn this past December. Several years had passed since she and her sister Jane were last in Cheapside. Her being in the Gardiners’ home after so long a time was a painful reminder that her dearest Jane would never pass through those hallways again. Elizabeth knew that if she allowed herself to dwell on such matters for long, then she might not possess the courage to accomplish what she meant to during the visit.

Her aunt eagerly welcomed Elizabeth in the drawing room. Mrs. Gardiner was an amiable, intelligent, elegant woman and a great favourite with all her Longbourn nieces. With Elizabeth, there was a particular regard. There was so much to tell, and they spoke on many subjects with alacrity, though none of it as seriously as the matter of Lydia’s elopement.

“I am surprised your father consented to the newlyweds calling at Longbourn before taking their leave to Newcastle, not to mention their staying an entire week, after the way the marriage came about.”

“As scandalous as it was, it is so fortunate that Lydia was married in Gretna Green, but wait until you hear what I need to tell you.

“It appears my family’s good fortune is all due to a gentleman named Mr. Darcy.”

“Mr. Darcy? Would this be Mr. Darcy of Pemberley and Derbyshire?”

“Yes. How do you know of him?”

“You will recall my having spoken of growing up in Lambton. It is a small town but five miles from Pemberley. The larger question is how does Lydia know Mr. Darcy?”

“She did not. The day he called on her, as she so foolishly asserts, was the first time she ever laid eyes on him.

“Lydia said that she did not think they would ever make it to Gretna Green, and it was a good thing Mr. Darcy called on them; otherwise, she suspected she and Wickham might not be married still. Mind you, she had not intended to tell me because it was meant to be a secret, but once she inadvertently mentioned Mr. Darcy’s being in Gretna Green, I would not let it rest until I knew the full account.”

Elizabeth had heard such a jumbled mixture of ridiculousness from her youngest sister as to be exceedingly puzzled. She uttered foolish ramblings of having had a rivalry for her Wickham’s affection with Mr. Darcy’s sister and having emerged the victor. Lydia continued on about how she was much prettier than the other young lady, for her Wickham had always told her so.

What on earth did Mr. Wickham have to do with Miss Darcy? Whatever it was, could it have been the impetus for Mr. Darcy’s strong dislike of the man? None of this was anything she might share with her aunt. For all Elizabeth knew, her sister may have contrived the entire story—not without some encouragement from that husband of hers. Elizabeth simply detested the man after his despicable behaviour towards her youngest sister—even if she was obliged to refer to him as her brother forever more.

“It would then appear that we all owe Mr. Darcy a debt of gratitude.”

“Indeed. I do not get on one bit with the notion of Mr. Darcy taking so much upon himself. I know Mr. Wickham and Mr. Darcy have been acquainted since their youth.” Elizabeth shrugged. “I do not know much about their history except to say that Mr. Darcy abhors the gentleman.”

“How do you know how Mr. Darcy feels about Mr. Wickham? Lizzy, have you an acquaintance with the gentleman that you have yet to confide in me?”

“Oh, dearest Aunt Gardiner, if you only knew.”

“I have all day.”

Elizabeth commenced telling her aunt all there was to tell about her acquaintance with Mr. Darcy. The only question in her mind was why he had gone to such lengths on behalf of her family. Surely the endeavour could not have been very pleasant for him.

“It seems to me you know perfectly well why the gentleman behaved as he did. My question is why will you not admit it?”

“I am afraid to allow myself to hope. I believe I treated him abominably when attempting to persuade him of my indifference: first in Bosley when I refused to give him the assurances that I would remain there and wait for his return and again in Hertfordshire when I spurned his offer to be of service to my family in Lydia’s recovery. While he proclaims to be a patient man, I fear I may have exhausted him.”

“Why do you say that? You will concede that neither of your attempts served as a sufficient deterrent. When you did not await his return in Bosley, he came to you in Hertfordshire. When you tried to persuade him that his assistance was not required, he took it wholly upon himself to recover Lydia and at considerable expense, I would imagine.”

“Yes, but it has been weeks since Lydia and Wickham were married. Mr. Darcy must find the idea of aligning himself with the Wickhams an abomination, or else he would have returned to Hertfordshire by now.”