His Uncle's Favorite (55 page)

For the next days, Darcy’s time in Town was split among his solicitor’s office, his club and his uncle’s house.

Two days after his visit to Gracechurch Street, Georgiana and Selina each received a note from Mrs. Gardiner, thanking them for their concern. The note also said that, if they happened to be in the neighbourhood, they would be most welcome to visit at anytime—which event occurred that same afternoon. On her return, Georgiana was happy to report to her brother that Mrs. Gardiner seemed if not fully recovered then certainly improving.

Darcy decided to spend the remaining time finishing his business, so nothing would disturb their newlywed time. Keeping his mind occupied was a good idea as, the moment he had nothing else to think of, his thoughts returned to Elizabeth and the pain of being separated from her. He was content, though, that there was such a distance between them, or else he surely would not be able to keep his promise to Mr. Bennet.

After the wedding, they would go directly to Pemberley, he suggested to Elizabeth in a letter, and she happily accepted. He wished to be alone with her so that they could dedicate themselves to each other without any distractions or disturbances.

He had already ordered Mrs. Reynolds to have everything perfectly arranged for Mrs. Darcy’s arrival. Mrs. Reynolds replied with two pages of questions about Miss Bennet’s favourite colour, her preferences in dishes, her wishes to change the furniture in the apartment, and personal maid of the future Mrs. Darcy. He assured the housekeeper that Mrs. Darcy would not require any changes, at least for the present, and declared he trusted Mrs. Reynolds to find the most suitable maid to serve Mrs. Darcy personally.

He had been in Town for six days and expected the papers to be ready the next day as his solicitor assured him. Two more days would pass until he could return to Netherfield with his family. Even Anne insisted on attending—to everyone’s surprise and to Bingley’s great delight as he had long wished to have Netherfield filled with dear guests.

The earl had not decided whether he would attend, and Darcy did not insist as he knew Mrs. Gardiner would be there. Since the day he talked to both his uncle and Elizabeth’s aunt, Darcy had not brought up the delicate subject again. He did not intend, nor would he ever dare, to interfere further between the earl and Mrs. Gardiner.

A couple of days before, Darcy was forced to bear a stressful and disturbing visit from Miss Bingley. To his utter shock, she arrived alone, asked for Georgiana—who was not at home—and instead of leaving, simply took a seat. She than declared that she could not believe he decided to marry Eliza Bennet and reminded him of his unfavourable comments in November about the Bennet family. Then, suddenly, she changed the subject and confessed to him that she always loved children exceedingly and wished nothing more than to have at least four children when she married. Darcy could do little but listen to her—dumbfounded, clueless, and fearing what she would say next.

She left only when Bingley unexpectedly appeared at the door, questioning the reason for his sister’s presence there and offering to escort her back home.

On the evening of the sixth day, Darcy and Georgiana had a late and peaceful dinner alone as they had for the past three days. These were the last days of their solitude, and Darcy tried to spend as much time with her as possible. He already warned her that after the wedding she would have to bear his utter neglect as he intended to spend an entire month at Pemberley alone with Elizabeth. Georgiana laughed and assured him that the joy of having Elizabeth as her sister would be worth being neglected for a while.

They were enjoying the second course when a servant entered to announce a visitor, and the most surprising appearance lifted Darcy from his seat.

“Mr. Bennet! What an extraordinary surprise, sir! Please come in, what—” He was shocked into silence as he saw Elizabeth step shyly from behind her father, her appearance in great disorder, her eyes red and swollen. Georgiana cried in surprise and ran to her, while Darcy quickly took her hands and sat her in a chair.

“Good Lord, what happened? Elizabeth, are you ill?”

Elizabeth did not reply, only her hands held his tightly while she avoided looking either at him or at Georgiana. “Perhaps you and Papa should talk privately,” she whispered.

Mr. Bennet, however, replied with reasonable coherence. “She is not ill; do not worry sir. Please forgive us for such an intrusion, but we did not know where to go as we are quite desperately in need of all the help we can find… We… This is quite ridiculous, and I would laugh if I were not so ashamed… My daughter Lydia… She eloped with Wickham. Poor stupid, mindless child. She ran away from home with Wickham.”

Darcy looked at Mr. Bennet in disbelief. His common sense wanted to deny the possibility of what he just heard while his mind painfully comprehended the gravity of it. He glanced at his sister, whose pale countenance seemed burdened by sadness, then at Elizabeth, whose eyes were still averted to the floor. He returned his attention to Mr. Bennet without releasing Elizabeth’s hands.

“I am grieved, indeed. Grieved, shocked… How did this happen? When? Where?”

“It happened last night, but we discovered it only this morning. It was my fault… Lydia was very upset that we did not allow her to go to Brighton, and she argued with her mother daily. I confess I could hardly bear all their fights; so when she asked me to allow her to spend some time with Maria Lucas, I was quite pleased. She went to Maria three days ago, and the first night everything was fine. Then the second night… When Maria went to wake her for breakfast this morning, the elopement was discovered.”

“But are you certain, absolutely certain that she eloped?”

“I am certain, unfortunately. She left a letter for Maria that is very clear. And I suspect Kitty was aware of her plans. She said they would go to Gretna Green to marry, but I somehow doubt it. I left Longbourn immediately, and Lizzy insisted she on coming with me. I confess I did not wish to bring her, but I had no strength to fight with her—so here we are. We stopped at every station, every inn from Meryton to London, asking about them. We have reason to believe they are in London, but from this point on, I am completely lost. I do not know how I could possibly trace them in Town. If you have any information…”

Darcy suddenly released Elizabeth’s hand and started pacing the room. Mr. Bennet followed him with a preoccupied gaze, not daring to interrupt him.

Elizabeth’s pain and the coldness in her soul froze the tears on her face. Her hands trembled, hanging in their loneliness, while the shame forbade her eyes to rise from the floor. She could hear his steps and feel his anger while she feared what he must be thinking. What would he do in such a horrible situation that could possibly have a favourable solution?

“Mr. Bennet, before we take any other steps, you and Elizabeth must change and eat something. You will need to recover your strength and—”

“Mr. Darcy, that will not be necessary; I would rather go and—”

“Sir, please let us not argue; there is no time. As I said, you must refresh yourselves and eat something; I will not have it any other way. I shall send for Colonel Fitzwilliam; he will be very useful in our quest.”

He suddenly resumed his place near Elizabeth and took her hands again. “Mr. Bennet, if it is acceptable to you, I would like for Elizabeth to remain here with Georgiana. I would not wish to leave my sister alone.” Mr. Bennet silently nodded, and Darcy continued.

“Dearest, please show Elizabeth a room near yours and help her change and refresh herself. I shall have some food sent to your apartment, as I doubt you will wish to return downstairs. I trust you will take good care of each other while we are gone. I need to be certain of that; I do not wish to worry about your well-being. Will you be fine?”

“I need to inform my aunt,” Elizabeth whispered, her gaze still on the floor.

“Mr. Bennet and I will speak to Mrs. Gardiner. I believe it is the best way. Will you be fine?” he repeated, looking at both of them and they nodded in silence.

Darcy called Mrs. Spencer and gave strict orders; when the housekeeper left the room with Elizabeth and Georgiana, Darcy hurried to the library, wrote three notes and rang for Miles.

“Please take this to Colonel Fitzwilliam at once. After that, you will deliver these two notes; the directions are on them. This needs to be done with the utmost urgency.”

Miles left without a single word, and only then did Darcy return to Mr. Bennet in the dining room and pour himself a glass of wine.

“Mr. Bennet, you do look tired; I am afraid you are not well. I believe you should rest. I understand your worry, but there is not much you can do for the moment. I will attempt everything possible to discover them; please have no doubt about that.”

“Surely you are mocking me, sir. I have done little but rest my entire life, which is why I have come to such a disastrous situation with my youngest daughter lost—perhaps forever—and my other daughters in despair. You must at least allow me to look unwell and tired. What pains me more is that I do not even have the comfort of knowing Lydia felt anything for Wickham. I believe she was so silly that she would have been fooled by any officer who smiled at her. What I cannot understand is why
he
would do such a thing? He could not possibly feel much for her, and he must know Lydia has little dowry, if any; he could not possibly intend to actually marry her. And if he intended only a brief distraction, why take the risk of choosing a girl who, as silly as she might be, is not alone in the world? He must imagine I would look for her, and he would be forever compromised in the militia and lose his only source of income. As much I think on it, I cannot understand his reasoning.”

Darcy paced the room for some time, sat on the chair, then rose and paced again.

“It is my fault, Mr. Bennet. First, because I refused to expose Wickham’s deceitful nature as I should have done long ago. And second, because I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by everything that has occurred lately and put aside my caution. I should have anticipated this. Since he knew I would marry Elizabeth, he would not hesitate harming your family to accomplish his plans.”

“His plans? What plans are you speaking of, sir?”

“To assure himself of an easy living, of course—and to revenge himself on me. The more I think of it, the more I believe he intends to marry Miss Lydia. In that way, he believes he will be part of my family. However, even if that is his plan, I fear things will not be easily solved.”

“What you say astonishes me, sir. I believed Wickham to be a worthless sort of man, but I never imagined him capable of planning such a scheme.”

“He is capable of anything if it is convenient for him.” The hasty appearance of the colonel interrupted their discussion. Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed equally angry and worried, and before Darcy had the chance to give him more details, he began to curse.

“Robert, growing furious is not very useful. We must think rationally; if they are in Town, as Mr. Bennet rightfully suspects, there are few places he could afford to stay. If we are lucky, we shall receive news about their whereabouts shortly.”

“I believe we should speak to my father; he might have valuable information about where Wickham might stay in London. You may trust the earl’s secrecy, Mr. Bennet.”

“Please do whatever you think is necessary, sir. There are many things that worry me considerably more than the secrecy of this situation, even if I did not trust Lord Matlock.”

“There is no need to involve the earl for the moment. I would suggest that we talk with Mrs. Gardiner and then have a word with Mrs. Younge.”

“Mrs. Younge? I thought she left London last year after Ramsgate,” the colonel exclaimed.

“Quite the contrary—she settled in London. She took a large house in Edward Street last year and has since maintained herself by letting lodgings.”

“Then he surely must be there; let us go there directly,” said the colonel; Mr. Bennet looked at them both with little understanding.

“Forgive me for a moment; I must speak to my sister before we leave. I shall return directly,” Darcy said and he almost ran up the stairs.

He nervously knocked at Georgiana’s door; he found his sister alone and tearful. She glanced at him, uncertain whether she should dare to approach or not. He gently embraced her, and she started to sob in his arms wordlessly.

“Dearest, why are you crying? Where is Elizabeth?”

“I do not know…forgive me… Elizabeth said she wished to be alone. She is so upset and…I did not know what to say to her. I do not know how to speak to her.”

He caressed her hair as he spoke gently. “I am sorry to tell you this at such a delicate moment, but there is something you should know. I told Elizabeth about Ramsgate…”

She stared at him, her eyes wide and tearful. “You told her? When? What will she think of me now? Why did you tell her, Brother? I shall never dare speak to her again.”

“My dear, I told Elizabeth in January… Believe me; it was necessary, but you should not let it worry you. She knows you were not to blame. And she thinks highly of you, as you well know. I dare say it is for the best; you may speak openly to each other.”

“I do not believe she wishes to speak to me. She is so troubled, so distressed and—”

“I shall talk to her briefly, then I must leave; we have not a moment to lose.”