by Beth Wood
I also do not want you to be concerned for me. Mr. Darcy is the best of men. I have come to care for him deeply. I do not want you to think I am sacrificing myself for our family. He still loves me, and I have found my feelings for him are quite the opposite of what they once were.
I will see you as soon as may be.
Your loving sister,
Elizabeth Bennet
Jane had to read the letter three times before she believed its contents. She had long felt that Mr. Darcy was a good man. She did not find it surprising that his feelings for her sister would not fade with time. Elizabeth was her most beloved sister, after all. She could not fault anyone who chose to love her as well. What Jane found surprising was Mr. Darcy's willingness to open himself up to censure from society by eloping. It was no secret that Mr. Darcy was a very private man who had no desire to have his personal affairs spoken of. By eloping with Lizzy, he was guaranteeing that his marriage would be talked about indiscriminately, possibly even speculated about in the papers. She could only be amazed at his willingness to open himself up in such a way to save the family of the woman he loved. Jane was certain that everything would turn out right.
* * *
When Jane finished contemplating the letter from Elizabeth, she set out to find her aunt and uncle. She found them in the drawing room with her mother and Aunt Phillips. Not wishing to involve herself in that conversation, she took herself out of doors to help Mary with the children until the Gardiners were free once more.
After Mrs. Phillips took her leave, the Gardiners called their children inside where they could be more easily monitored with less supervision by placing them in the nursery. Mrs. Gardiner then led Jane and Mary to Kitty's room where they could discuss the situation with more privacy.
Mary did not fail to moralize on the fact that two elopements could in no way be considered better than one, and condemned Elizabeth's actions as much as she did Lydia's, even if Elizabeth had chosen to elope with a much better man.
Kitty was just confused by the fact that although everyone was condemning Lydia's actions, they did not seem to be censuring Elizabeth for doing the same thing. It quite escaped her notice that one sister ran off in the middle of the night, leaving only a note, while the other informed her relations ahead of time. She also could not grasp the idea that Elizabeth would not have been tempted to elope if she were not trying to salvage their family's reputation.
Although there were grumblings from both the young ladies, in the end they were not ignorant of the fact that all of their reputations were on the line, and agreed to go along with the scheme.
* * *
Mr. Bennet was tired. Although there was no sign of his daughter and Mr. Wickham north of London, he was unable to shake the feeling that he should make his way to Gretna Green. Knowing that his limited knowledge of London made him a very poor candidate for finding the couple, he decided that making that trip to Scotland could be one of the few ways he could assist in the search. Leaving Colonel Forster's men to search in London, he boarded a Post coach and made his way north, asking at each stop for any indication that the wayward couple had passed that way. There was nothing to give him hope. He arrived in Gretna Green completely discouraged, convinced he had made the trip in vain.
After arriving, Mr. Bennet visited the Blacksmith, as well as several Inns. Having no luck, he decided to retire for the evening before continuing his inquiries in the morning. If he was unable to find any news on the morrow, he would return to London and continue the search. His brother Gardiner would have arrived in London by then, and would hopefully provide some insight.
* * *
Darcy and Elizabeth both woke quite early the day after arriving in Scotland, especially considering the lateness of the hour with which they arrived. Immediately after consuming a quick breakfast, they set off with Carson and Sally to find the church, with instructions to the footmen to remove the servant's belongings to the carriage that Carson had procured at the break of dawn. In the end, he did end up buying a modest carriage from a local tradesman. He left it to the coachman to hire any additional hands they would need to drive the carriage to London.
The church was easy to find, and the parson was willing to perform the ceremony with all due haste. He was not a stranger to clandestine weddings, being the parson in Gretna Green, but even he could tell that this couple was not the type that would typically seek this route. As he said the words that made the marriage between Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet official, he wondered why they would choose to elope, but knew better than to ask, especially after receiving twice the normal pay to perform this service.
The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Darcy walked back down the aisle, then slipped into an alcove instead of exiting the church. Carson and Sally, who had served as witnesses, passed by them, stepping outside to await their employers.
As soon as they had privacy, Darcy pulled Elizabeth into an embrace, claiming her lips with his own.
“You know not how long I have wanted to do that,” Darcy explained, after releasing her. “You have made me the happiest of men.”
“I would not have stopped you from kissing me earlier,” Elizabeth replied, blushing furiously.
“Yes, but there has always been someone about. I will admit I am very much looking forward to the days of seclusion in the carriage on our way to London.”
“I am eager for the time alone as well,” Elizabeth admitted. Darcy leaned down and kissed her again, only slightly more passionately. He was aware of the fact that they were still in the church, and knew he needed to curtail his behavior until they had more privacy. “It almost feels unseemly to be so happy when we still have no knowledge concerning Lydia's fate.” Elizabeth confessed.
“Do not worry, my dear,” Darcy assured her. “I will find your sister when we return to London, if Colonel Fitzwilliam does not find her first. Miss Lydia will be returned to your family.”
Knowing that they needed to begin their journey to London as soon as possible, the two lovers reluctantly left the alcove and exited the church. They would walk back to the Inn, with hopes that all arrangements had been completed with the new carriage so that they could begin their journey as soon as possible.
They had not made it more than two steps in the direction of the Inn before they were stopped by something completely unexpected.
“Elizabeth?”
At the sound of her name, Elizabeth turned reflexively in the direction of the speaker. She knew she had no acquaintance in Gretna Green, but found herself looking in the direction of the voice. She was completely taken by surprise to see her father standing on the side of the road, a look of utter shock on his face.
“Papa?” Elizabeth paused only momentarily before leaving the side of her husband to greet her father. “What are you doing here?”
Instead of answering, Mr. Bennet allowed his gaze to stray from his daughter to the gentleman who had just exited the church at her side. As he recognized the gentleman, his face showed even more incredulity.
“Mr. Darcy? I think I am in need of an explanation.”
“Of course, sir,” Darcy replied. “Perhaps we can return to the Inn for some privacy.”
The plan was quickly agreed too, and the three made their way to the Inn where Darcy and Elizabeth had spent the previous evening, Carson and Sally trailing behind.
After they were ensconced in a private sitting room, the explanations began. Mr. Bennet had always considered his second daughter to be his most intelligent, but as he listened to her explanation in regards to her hasty marriage, he wondering if he had given her too much credit. Maybe she was just as silly and ignorant as his other daughters. In any case, the deed was done. He had witnessed them coming out of the church himself. There was no way to convince Elizabeth to change her mind.
By the end of the conversation, it was clear that continuing his search for Lydia in Scotland would be a waste of time. When it was revealed that he had travelled to Gretna Green by Post, Darc
y graciously invited him to join them for the trip to London.
After Mr. Bennet left to gather his things from the Inn where he had spent the night, Darcy momentarily considered the possibility of asking him to ride in the second carriage with the servants to allow him some privacy with his new wife. Realizing that asking his father-in-law to ride with servants would be incredibly rude, Darcy immediately dismissed the idea. He would not want to start his marriage by offending his wife. It was only when Elizabeth spoke that he realized his face had betrayed at least some of his thoughts.
“Do not worry, my dear, we will be at an Inn for the evening before you know it.”
“Am I that obvious?” he asked, blushing slightly.
“Only because my thoughts mirror your own,” Elizabeth confessed quietly.
It was nearly noon before they were finally able to step in the carriages and begin the long journey to London. After handing his new wife into the carriage, Darcy allowed his father-in-law to enter next. As Darcy stepped inside, he had every intention of claiming the seat next to his new enchanting wife, only to discover that the seat was already occupied by Mr. Bennet. Trying to hide his scowl, he settled into the seat opposite Elizabeth, instead. It was only when he heard the light chuckle coming from Elizabeth that he realized he had been completely unsuccessful in hiding his frustration.
“Now, Mr. Darcy, I hope you do not mind indulging an old man,” Mr. Bennet said. “You will have many opportunities to sit next to your wife for the remainder of your life. This trip may be the last time I am granted that pleasure.”
Although he would rather have asked Mr. Bennet to exchange seats, Darcy graciously indicated his willingness to allow his father-in-law the privilege of sitting next to Elizabeth, though he now thought the whole process of securing a second carriage for Carson and Sally had been a waste of time.
Chapter 3
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were a little more relieved than was proper when they were able to load their children into the carriage and take them all to London. They had remained in Hertfordshire for less than a day, but were still anxious to be on their way. Although they were still a little nervous about Mrs. Bennet's ability to perpetuate the desired rumor, they were confident that their three remaining nieces at Longbourn were committed to advancing this rumor as much as possible. As much as any elopement would cause gossip, they were confident that Elizabeth's elopement would, in fact, culminate in a marriage. When Elizabeth returned as Mrs. Darcy the scandal would be laid to rest, at least in Hertfordshire. They had no such assurances that Lydia's elopement would end as favorably, and so would work together to conceal the fact that it occurred at all.
When they arrived at their home in London, they were surprised to find a note waiting for them from Colonel Fitzwilliam, asking to be notified as soon as they arrived. They were aware that Darcy had sent his cousin an express, but had not anticipated he would reach out to them before they had time to contact him. They could be excused for not understanding just how excited Colonel Fitzwilliam was to finally be given the opportunity to bring Mr. Wickham to justice.
When Colonel Fitzwilliam had received the express from his cousin outlining the fact the Mr. Wickham had chosen to desert his regiment, taking with him Miss Elizabeth Bennet's youngest sister, he was astonished. He understood from the letter that they wished to keep Lydia Bennet's involvement as secret as possible to avoid a scandal. When he read to the point of the letter that indicated Darcy's plan to elope with Miss Elizabeth in an attempt to draw speculation away from her younger sister, the Colonel laughed out loud. He was not ignorant of the fact that Darcy found much to admire about Elizabeth Bennet. As they prepared to leave Rosings Park, he had expected Darcy to declare himself. When no announcements were made, he had assumed that Darcy would not allow himself to see past his pride to offer for her. Now, he could only feel a bit of gratitude for the circumstances that pushed Darcy into securing the only woman who had ever held his interest. There was no doubt in his mind that Mr. and Mrs. Darcy would be a very happy couple.
Although Colonel Fitzwilliam had never liked George Wickham, it was not until the events at Ramsgate that he sought a way to punish the man. At the time, they could not risk exposing Wickham due to the danger to Georgiana's reputation. Fitzwilliam took his shared guardianship of his cousin very seriously, though, and remained on constant vigil for an opportunity to punish him that would not reflect back on his cousin. He could not believe his good fortune when the fool decided to desert.
As soon as possible after receiving the express, Fitzwilliam set out for the address provided by Darcy for Miss Elizabeth's Uncle and Aunt Gardiner. Although Darcy had said they would contact him when they arrived in London, he did not want them to have any doubt as to his willingness to do all within his power to find the runaways.
After leaving a note at the address on Gracechurch Street, Fitzwilliam handpicked a contingent of men and set out to locate Mr. Wickham.
* * *
Although Darcy had envisioned much different activities occurring in the carriage ride on the way back to London from Gretna Green, he did not want to do anything that would offend his father-in-law. It was clear by the expression on Mr. Bennet’s face from time to time, that, although it was too late to do anything about the elopement, he was not entirely pleased to have found Darcy and Elizabeth emerging from a church in Gretna Green. Especially considering the fact that he was on a mission to find a completely different daughter. He was still a bit confused as to how Mr. Darcy convinced the Gardiners to allow him to run off with Elizabeth, though he had to admit that Mr. Darcy was the kind of man to whom he would never dare to refuse anything, which he condescended to ask. That did not mean that he was happy with the situation. He had listened to their arguments, and had to admit there was some sense to them, but still felt there must have been a way to save Lydia from disgrace without jumping into a new scandal.
For the first two hours of their journey, Darcy tried to keep his long legs from intruding on the other occupants of the carriage. As they were drawing closer to an Inn in order to exchange horses and get some refreshments, he allowed his legs to stretch across the carriage a bit farther. He was completely unprepared for the slight brush of Elizabeth's leg against his own. He immediately looked in her direction, trying to determine whether the touch was accidental. With a completely innocent look on her face, she raised the eyebrow that was not facing her father, then proceeded to casually adjust her leg once again, brushing it against Darcy's leg in the process. Just as he was trying to decide if it would be safe to do anything in response, the carriage came to a halt and the door was pulled open.
“It appears to be time to get out and stretch our legs,” Mr. Bennet declared, exiting the carriage. “We still have many miles to go today, so I am sure you are just as anxious to escape this carriage as I am.”
Although at that moment there were many things that Darcy thought would keep him entertained quite nicely if they were to close the carriage door for a few minutes while Mr. Bennet remained outside, he exited the carriage before handing out his bride.
“Do not fret, my dear,” Elizabeth whispered. “We will only be on the road for a few days. It will not be long before we can enjoy the privacy of your home in London.”
“Although I am looking forward to introducing you to our home in London, at the moment I am just looking forward to the privacy that will be offered by our rooms at the Inn this evening,” Darcy replied, just as quietly. He was completely delighted by the blush that infused Elizabeth's face as he led her into the current Inn for a bite to eat before continuing their journey.
* * *
When Caroline Bingley first discovered that Elizabeth Bennet was in the neighborhood of Pemberley, she knew that no good could come of it. When Mr. Darcy was called away on urgent business, she was willing to forgo their continued familiarity at Pemberley in order to see him separated from her rival. When it became clear that Mr. Darcy would be in London for an indeterminate
amount of time, Caroline began hinting at her brother that they should remove themselves to town as well. She was delighted when he immediately agreed that they should leave Pemberley. Somehow, though, he must have misunderstood. It was not that she was anxious to leave Pemberley, she was anxious to arrive in London. She should have expected the appearance of one Bennet sister would remind her brother of the elder one.
The Bingley party did not leave Pemberley until two days after Darcy had quit the area. They had travelled so long to get there, they saw no need to hasten their departure.
In fact, Mr. Hurst was so disinclined to travel a long distance, he decided it was time to visit his family’s estate. The fact that Caroline had previously made it clear she had no intention of ever visiting the Hurst estate while his mother was still in residence added to its appeal.
Although Caroline was not as adverse to making the trip to town so shortly after arriving at Pemberley, she reasoned that Darcy's urgent business would likely keep him occupied for a few days. As they could not hope to intrude upon his notice immediately after his arrival in London, she thought it would be better to give him a lead of a few days. It was not until the trunks were being loaded onto the carriages that Bingley chose to inform his sister that he had written a note to the housekeeper at Netherfield Park to have the house opened up for them for a short stay. Caroline tried to convince her brother that if they were going to remain in the country they ought to stay at Pemberley, but Bingley reasoned that it had been the better part of a year since he had last visited his leased estate, and as they had to pass through Hertfordshire in order to reach London there would be no harm in taking a detour to inspect the grounds.
