by Leenie Brown
Darcy crushed her to him once again. “I am glad. So very glad.”
“Fitzwilliam, we are on the street.”
“I do not care,” Darcy replied.
“You must meet Sally.”
Darcy slowly released Elizabeth from his embrace but took one of her hands in his. He would keep her at his side and safe until she was once again within the wall of Darcy House.
“Mr. Darcy,” the lady from the doorway had descended the steps.
“Sally?” he inquired.
The older woman smirked. “That is what they call me.”
“But that is not her name,” he heard Lydia whisper to Richard, who, Darcy noticed, had his arm protectively around Lydia’s shoulder as Lydia held Dash. He had to admit in that moment and in the limited light of the lamp and what spilled from the house behind them, Richard and Lydia looked very well-together, perfectly at ease, as if they belonged as they were now.
“Not many know my given name,” the woman replied with a laugh. “Come. You may tell your gentlemen your story in my sitting room.” She raised a brow at Elizabeth who had just opened her mouth to say something. “It is better to share it there than on the street where anyone who passes or drives a carriage might hear it.”
She turned to her footman, who was standing next to the carriage. “Have the driver stay in case he is still needed, remind him that he only gets called because of his discretion, and see to the gentlemen’s horses. We will not be long, but I should hate for them to wander off.”
The footman nodded, and Sally turned back to lead the group to her sitting room. Once they were in her private quarters and seated, she looked at Miss Lydia. “You might as well begin. I do think you were telling me that this whole adventure was your doing.”
Lydia bit her lip and looked from Richard to Darcy and back. “I did not intend for it to be,” she began. Then, much to Darcy’s surprise, the always bold Lydia Bennet dissolved into tears.
Elizabeth moved to go to her sister, but Darcy held her beside him. Richard could deal with a few tears. Indeed, he seemed to be doing a fine job of soothing Lydia.
“I am sorry,” Lydia sobbed into Dash’s neck.
Darcy was reminded of another young girl sobbing after being tricked by Wickham, and compassion for Lydia washed over him. He waited a moment until, under Richard’s soothing caresses of her back and whispered reassurances, she calmed.
“I will not dismiss any guilt you may hold in this ordeal,” Darcy began, “however, both my cousin and I know how artful Wickham can be.”
“You do?” Lydia sniffled and peeked up at him, fear and question mingled in her eyes.
Darcy nodded and smiled. He had seen that look before as well. It was a look of a young lady seeking his approval and hoping she had not lost his good opinion. It was something he expected from Georgiana but seeing Lydia Bennet longing for his approval was unexpected.
“You are not the first young woman to need rescuing from him,” he replied softly.
“Dash gave us this,” Richard said, taking Wickham’s letter from his pocket.
“I was not going to go with him. I only went to tell him I could not marry him because I did not love him.” She shrugged, and her lips trembled. “I did not know he would not take us home.”
Richard placed his arm around her shoulder and drew her to his side. “He has been rewarded for his lack of care for you both. I dare say he’ll not trouble you again.”
“What did you do?” Lydia’s eyes were wide.
“We pummelled him,” Richard replied bluntly. “And Dash growled and barked at him.”
Lydia’s eye turned from Richard to Darcy.
“You hit him, too?”
Darcy nodded. “Several times.”
Lydia blinked. “I did not think you knew how.”
Richard threw his head back and laughed loudly.
“I may not do it so often as my cousin,” Darcy replied with a glare for Richard, “but when you have a cousin such as Richard, you must learn how to fight.”
Lydia blinked again. “I had not thought of that. Did you spend a lot of time together when you were young?”
“Lydia, could we focus on the matter at hand,” Elizabeth inserted.
Lydia scowled. “I’d rather not.”
Darcy chuckled.
“But we must,” Elizabeth replied.
Lydia sighed. “Very well. We got into his carriage. I told him I could not go to Scotland with him. He said some rude things and told us to get out.” She lifted her chin. “He did not like it at all that Lizzy likes Mr. Darcy or that I preferred a colonel to a lieutenant.”
Darcy saw a look of pure horror wash over Lydia’s face as she realized what she had said.
“Do you?” Richard asked with a chuckle.
Lydia’s cheeks glowed rosy, but she lifted her chin. “Who would not?” she said without looking at him. “And then we walked here. I made a man give me a shilling for a kiss because he would not let us enter without kissing him, and Lizzy refused. And then we met Sally.”
“You did what?’ Richard interrupted the stream of words flowing forth from Lydia as quickly as water from an upturned pot.
“I met Sally,” Lydia replied.
“Before that.” There was a slight growl in Richard’s tone.
Lydia huffed. “There was this gentleman who would not let us enter without giving him a kiss. So, I told him I would kiss one cheek for a shilling or both cheeks for a half-crown. He gave me a shilling, so I grabbed his nose,” she demonstrated on her own nose turning her head away from Richard as she did, “and pinched it while giving him a kiss on the cheek.”
“You grabbed his nose?”
“Of course. I did not want him to turn his head. Our agreement was only for a kiss on the cheek. Nowhere else. And then we met Sally.”
“And we had tea, and I found some clothes for them to wear to their uncle Gardiner’s.” Sally shook her head. “To think I met Fanny Gardiner’s girls,” she muttered. This, of course, led to a relating once again of the tale of how Mr. Bennet rescued Mrs. Bennet at Sally’s house.
A quarter hour later, as Darcy handed Elizabeth into the hackney and waited for Lydia and Dash to be settled inside, he thanked the Lord for directing Mrs. Bennet to this house twenty some years ago, and then guiding Elizabeth and Lydia to the same place tonight.
He turned and looked at Richard as the carriage began to move, and they waited to follow it to Darcy House.
Richard nodded. “I feel exceptionally grateful to have met Mrs. Bennet.”
“Who would have thought?” Darcy muttered, a smile spreading across his face.
Chapter 29
Abrams greeted the returning party at the door to Darcy House.
“How is everyone?” Darcy inquired as he handed his hat and coat to his butler.
“There has been much pacing of the hall from Mr. Bennet’s room to Miss Georgiana’s and back. I was nearly required to call the physician to inquire after his opinion about whether Mr. Bennet could be moved, but Miss Bennet calmed her mother.”
Darcy sighed as he tucked Elizabeth’s hand into the crook of his arm. “I can only imagine the worry she must have faced.” He shook his head. “Two daughters lost to the night is no small thing.”
“It is understandable, sir. We are all happy to see everyone returned safely.”
“Oh, Mr. Darcy!” Mrs. Bennet stood at the top of the stairs. “Have you found them?” She waved her handkerchief as she began to descend to them.
“We will come up to you,” Darcy replied. “Both Elizabeth and Lydia are well.”
“You are too good, sir. Too good.”
Jane wrapped an arm around her mother’s shoulders and moved her down the hall.
“Mr. Bennet’s room,” Darcy called to her. “Your father will wish to know the full story,” he added to Elizabeth.
“He will not rest until he does,” she agreed.
“What troubles you?”
Eliza
beth’s brow was furrowed with grief.
“The distress we have caused.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I knew that our being gone would cause worry, but I am afraid in my focus on seeing us safe, I had forgotten about the anguish Mama would feel.”
“Your focus was just as it ought to have been,” he replied as they mounted the stairs behind Dash. He stepped to the side to allow Richard and Lydia to chase after the escaped pup.
“Your mother was in good hands.” He blew out a breath. “We must tell her of our betrothal.”
Elizabeth laughed. “If we do not, Lydia will.”
“You told Lydia?”
Elizabeth nodded. “It seemed right.”
Her head tipped, and he knew she was thinking about something, so he said nothing, choosing to wait to hear her thoughts. They climbed three steps before she spoke.
“Lydia’s visit to Darcy House has been good for her. Even our ordeal tonight, though I would not wish it on anyone, was to her benefit.” She sighed. “And your cousin and your dog seem to be the reason. She is beginning to think not as a girl but as a young woman. That is why I told her. She seemed to finally understand the solemnity of marriage, but I do not trust her to keep it a secret. She tends to speak before she thinks, much like my mother.” She shook her head and laughed lightly. “I do not think that is a lack of maturity but rather just part and parcel of who they are.”
“We comes to view others differently when we pause to consider them through a different lens,” Darcy said.
They had reached the top of the stairs. There was not a great deal of corridor to traverse before they reached Mr. Bennet’s room, and they could only saunter so slowly. Therefore, Darcy spoke quickly to clarify his statement.
“I have come to understand better your sisters and your mother – even your father. Though I would not wish an injury on anyone, your father’s fall has been a blessing. I do not know where else I would have been given such opportunities to be intimately acquainted with you or your family.” He shook his head at her attempted protest. “In Hertfordshire, I would be at Netherfield, and you would be three miles away. We would not pass hours sitting across a chessboard, hearing tales of the past or sharing banter over breakfast. Nor would we see one another in passing as we retired for the night or rose to face the day.” He covered Elizabeth’s hand, which lay on his arm with his free hand. “I like her – them. I am pleased to be adding them to my family.”
“Truly,” he added in response to her shocked expression. “They may still be trying at times, but it is far easier to overlook a few eccentricities in those we care for than it is in strangers.”
“Do you mean it?” She blinked her eyes, which were glistening with tears.
“I do.” He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. Then with a nod toward the open door, he whispered, “Are you ready to go delight your mother with the news of our betrothal?” He winked. “After Lydia finishes regaling them with her tale of adventure, that is.”
Lydia’s voice could be heard telling her mother about how detestable Mr. Wickham was, and Dash was adding his agreement with an occasional bark.
Elizabeth’s expression did not say she was ready, but she nodded.
He lifted her fingers and kissed them once more before leading her into the room.
“Sally?” Mrs. Bennet squeaked as they entered the room.
“Yes, Mama. She knew you,” Lydia said.
“Sally?” Mrs. Bennet repeated as she fanned her face.
“They were fortunate enough to stumble upon someone who knew you,” Darcy inserted. “I must thank you for having met her those years ago, for it was the memory of you and Mr. Bennet which led her to take particularly fine care of your daughters.”
“Was it a brothel?” Mary asked.
“Mary!” Jane scolded.
“Yes,” Richard replied.
“And someone knew Mama there?” Mary continued to question, ignoring her sister’s second scold.
Lydia did not waste a moment in sharing a well-crafted tale of a damsel in distress being rescued first by a kind woman and then a handsome gentleman.
“And that has something to do with that horrid Mrs. Salter?” Mary inquired.
“Yes, there is something there,” Mrs. Bennet replied softly, carefully inspecting the hem on her handkerchief.
“And you met her how long ago?”
Miss Mary was not one to just hope to discover details. She seemed to be the sort that actively sought them even if the questions were at times somewhat awkward. Darcy attributed it to a keen mine and an ample supply of her father’s inquisitiveness.
“More than twenty years ago!” Lydia’s tone was slightly exasperated as if it was not necessary for Mary to have asked such an obvious question.
Mary’s brows furrowed, and her lips pressed together as she shrugged. “It is very like Joseph; do you not think? His brothers meant to be rid of him, but God had a different purpose.”
“Oh, Mary!” Mrs. Bennet scolded. “Now is not the time for sermons! Indeed, I am not sure when it is the time for a young lady to moralize as you do.”
Mary scowled but held her peace.
“She is right, Mama,” Kitty said softly. “Your horrible ordeal did provide a blessing just as Mr. Darcy said.”
“I would rather not speak of that ordeal,” Mrs. Bennet said sternly and then shrugged, “though I am happy it helped my daughters.”
“You have always said you would do anything for us, Mama,” Elizabeth said with an impertinent grin.
“Elizabeth!” Mrs. Bennet cried.
“Oh!” Lydia’s eyes grew wide, and her hand flew to cover her mouth as she looked at Elizabeth.
“What is it?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
Lydia shook her head.
Elizabeth smiled at her. “You may share it.”
“Truly? I may tell Mama?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied.
“Lizzy is getting married,” Lydia declared, “to Mr. Darcy.”
“Is it true?” Georgiana asked her brother from where she sat next to Kitty.
Darcy nodded.
Mrs. Bennet squealed in delight and jumped from her chair to kiss Elizabeth on the cheek.
“Oh, Mr. Darcy,” she said, “you are too good.” She turned to Mr. Bennet. “You knew and did not tell me?”
He chuckled. “Your daughter wished to tell you in the morning.”
“She does like to vex me,” Mrs. Bennet muttered as she took her seat again. The smile she wore spoke loudly of the fact that such a vexation was more a delight than a torment. “We shall have to go shopping. Jane and Lizzy both need wedding clothes.”
And with that statement, the ordeal of the night seemed to be over, and the future seemed all important.
“Not today, of course. We shall sleep today and do some quiet activities. And I shall write to your aunt with the news.” Her brows furrowed. “We should visit her tomorrow. She will surely know all the best places to procure what we need.” Mrs. Bennet rose. “Mary, Kitty, Lydia, it is time for bed.”
“I should like to speak with my youngest daughter,” Mr. Bennet interjected.
“She has had a trying night, my dear,” Mrs. Bennet replied.
“As have we all,” her husband said.
Mrs. Bennet pulled herself a little straighter and looked at Lydia. “You heard your father, Lydia. Mary, Kitty, come.”
“My good woman,” Mr. Bennet called, raising an eyebrow when she turned toward him. “I require a proper parting.”
Mrs. Bennet looked around the room uneasily.
“They shall all avert their eyes,” Mr. Bennet commanded.
“We shall leave you to your peace,” Darcy said with a chuckle. “Do you require Elizabeth?”
Mr. Bennet shook his head. “I should like to hear her thoughts tomorrow, and those of you and the colonel, but I do not require that tonight.” He looked at Lydia. “See that Dash is in his proper place and return.”
“Yes, Papa,”
Lydia followed Elizabeth out of the room. “He loves Mama very much.”
“He does,” Elizabeth agreed.
“And he is very angry with me.”
“Is he not right to be?” Richard asked.
Lydia’s gaze dropped to the floor as she nodded.
“Come along. Let’s see that pup to his bed,” Richard held out his arm to her. “He was very worried about you…” His voice faded as he moved away from Darcy.
“I should like a proper parting as well,” Darcy whispered to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth looked down the hall. Nearly everyone had disappeared inside a room.
“Very well, Mr. Darcy, but if my mother sees us…”
“I will take full responsibility,” he muttered, pulling her into his embrace and kissing her as he had wanted to do from the moment he saw she was safe.
Chapter 30
“Ah, Mr. Bennet!” Bingley said as he entered the sitting room at Darcy House two days later. “I see the physician is pleased enough with your improvement to allow you to leave your bed.”
“Happily. Yes,” Mr. Bennet replied. “Although I cannot rise to greet you.”
“I am just pleased to see you in the sitting room,” Bingley replied.
“Papa’s improvement means we will be returning home soon,” Jane said as Bingley took a seat next to her.
“Not until all the lace in London has been purchased,” Mr. Bennet said with a laugh.
“Everything will be ordered or purchased by the beginning of the week,” Elizabeth inserted. “Mama is very efficient at seeing a plan put into action.”
For the past two days, Elizabeth and Jane had been required to follow their mother from their aunt’s house to their uncle’s warehouse and then to a variety of shops. Gloves, hats, dresses, slippers, whatever Mrs. Bennet thought a new young wife of a wealthy gentleman might require — and Mrs. Gardiner agreed was a necessity — had been listed out and attended to.
Lydia had wished to go with them on their excursions, but Mr. Bennet had required her to sit with him for a portion of each day – the same portion of the day in which her mother would be shopping.
There would be fittings and such in Meryton, but whatever could be acquired in London to quicken the preparations had been purchased.
