When Kitty heard she was not surprised and Jane realized her sister had known all along what Lydia had planned. She could only pray that Colonel Forster might bring encouraging news when he arrived that morning. However the information he brought was far worse than she could ever have supposed. Wickham had no intention of going to Gretna Green and there was no sign of the runaways anywhere.
For the second time she was obliged to break this terrible tidings to her mother and further hysterics and upset followed. Her father was determined to search for Lydia himself and he left for London with Colonel Forster immediately after breakfast leaving Jane to manage the household as best she could.
She had never seen her mother so unwell. It was some time before she was able to control her weeping and then she did not seem able to converse coherently. Hill sent up a special tisane and after much coaxing Jane was able to get her mother to swallow it. This draught soothed her distress and Jane was relieved to see her patient fall asleep.
There were things she had to do; she must speak to Kitty and Lydia and reassure them. The children might be aware that matters were unsettled so it was imperative that she run up there and instruct Elsie to take them for a picnic. It would be better if her little cousins were elsewhere today. Then must go down to the kitchens and make sure that meals would be prepared as usual.
All this must be done as if her heart was not breaking too. What she had suffered when he had left Netherfield was nothing in comparison to what poor Lydia must be feeling at this moment. She must be so ashamed and so sorry to have caused her family such distress. And now what was to be hoped for? At best, that her sister would marry a man who did not love her. At worst, she would be ruined. Poor, poor Lydia!
Chapter Seventeen
Jane knew there was only one person who could make this less unbearable. She needed Lizzy to come back to Longbourn. She would write at once explaining the whole and telling her how much she longed for her return.
Dearest Lizzy, I hardly know what I would write, but I have bad news for you, and it cannot be delayed.
Her pen flowed over the paper as she revealed the dreadful story. She then wrote quickly about all she knew of Lydia and Wickham’s whereabouts and told her sister she still could not believe that everything would not somehow be put to rights.
I am truly glad, dearest Lizzy, that you have been spared some of these distressing scenes; but now as the first shock is over, shall I own that I long for your return? I am not so selfish, however, as to press for it, if inconvenient. Adieu
Jane read what she had written and decided that it would not do. She snatched up her pen and begged Lizzy to come back at once bringing her uncle and aunt with her. Her uncle would know what to do, he could go to town and help Papa with his search.
Several days later the little Gardiners, attracted by the sight of a chaise, were standing on the steps of the house in order to see the spectacle, thus they were the first to see their parents enter the paddock. Jane, who was in her mother’s apartment, heard them calling out in excitement and ran down the stairs in order to be in the vestibule when Elizabeth came in.
Her eyes were tear filled as she embraced her sister affectionately. ‘Lizzy, I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you.’
‘Has there been any news of the fugitives?’
‘No, there has not. But now that my dear uncle has come, I hope everything will be well.’
Mr and Mrs Gardiner approached and Jane embraced them fondly. ‘I was never so glad to see anyone in my life. Thank you so much for coming.’ She smiled through her tears. ‘Please, come into the drawing-room and I shall tell you all I know.’
When she had completed her tale her uncle shook his head. ‘It is a bad business, and I shall be glad to help in any way I can.’
When they visited her mother in her sitting room she took great comfort from her brother’s timely arrival. ‘Brother, I do not know how I should go on without you! I am all to pieces; I am suffering most dreadfully from my nerves, but I shall be better now that you and my sister are here to comfort me.’
‘You must not give way to useless alarm, but it is right to be prepared for the worst, however there is no occasion to look on it as certain. It is not quite a week since they left Brighton. In a few days more we may gain some more news of them, until we know that they are not married, and have no design of marrying, do not let us give the matter over as lost. As soon as I get to town, I shall go to my brother and make him come home with me to Gracechurch Street, and then we may consult together as to what is to be done.’
‘Oh! My dear brother, that is exactly what I would most wish for. Now do, when you get to town, find them out wherever they may be; and if they are not married already make them marry. And as for wedding clothes, do not let them wait for that, but tell Lydia she shall have as much money as she chooses to buy them after they are married. And, above all things, keep Mr Bennet from fighting.
Tell him what a dreadful state I am in, that I am frightened out of my wits: and have such tremblings, such flutterings all over me, such spasms in my side and pains in my head, and such beatings at heart, that I can get no rest by night or day. And tell my dear Lydia, not to give any directions about clothes until she has seen me, for she does not know which are the best warehouses. Oh, brother, how kind you are! I know you will contrive it all.’
Jane caught Lizzy’s eye, she could hardly credit the extent of her mother’s folly. Her sister gestured that they should go outside and she willingly followed her.
‘It was most unfortunate, Jane. I was reading your letter when Mr Darcy arrived and I was obliged to tell him the whole story.’
‘Mr Darcy! I had no idea you had renewed your acquaintance with him.’
‘Yes, we met quite by accident. My aunt and uncle and I were looking around Pemberley, having assured ourselves that he was not in residence, of course. I cannot tell you how mortified he was to meet me.’
Jane noticed that her sister’s cheeks were flushed. ‘What happened next?’
‘He could not have been more kind and charming and came to visit me with Georgiana the next day and issued an invitation for all of us to dine with him.’
‘I knew Bingley could not have a friend who was not as good a person as he is.’
‘As you have mentioned that gentleman, I have to tell you that I spoke to him as well and he was most insistent that I tell him about Longbourn. He knew the exact date that he had last seen me. I thought that quite significant.’
It was Jane’s turn to flush with pleasure. ‘I think about him all the time, Lizzy, do you think there is a chance that he might have changed his mind?’
‘A very strong chance, my dear Jane.’
The thought that Charles (dare she called him that again in her heart?) might be thinking of her made it easier to bear the business with Lydia and Wickham.
* * * *
Caroline was not at all pleased by being abandoned so cavalierly by Mr Darcy and despite telling him that she would now enjoy her stay by entertaining Georgiana she would not let the matter drop.
‘Charles, surely you know why he has gone like this? We have come down to Pemberley expecting to spend several weeks with dear Georgiana and Mr Darcy and what has happened?’
Charles was almost certain this was a rhetorical question and did not bother himself to answer. He had not liked the way his sister had behaved when Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle had come over for a visit. They were all delightful company and he had been uncomfortable on their behalf at her disdainful comments. Certainly Darcy had been most displeased; his sister would find herself ostracized by his friends if she did not learn to curb her tongue and be more civil.
‘We were not here even a day before Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her dreadful relatives were being entertained. Mr Darcy is all politeness, but I do think he might have considered his other guests before inviting such people here.’
He had had quite enough of this nonsense. He stared at her and instead o
f seeing a fond and loving sister sitting there he saw a jealous harridan, a spiteful woman interested only in furthering her own advantage. Disgusted by his discovery he turned away not bothering to answer. He heard her calling after him but continued his journey out of the house and ran to the stables.
What he needed now was a good gallop across the moors to clear his head.
When he returned he had come to a decision. He no longer had any interest in his sister’s opinion, she had lost his respect. It was only Darcy he had to convince and he rather thought that his friend might be in love with Elizabeth. Why else had he made such a point of introducing Georgiana to her? Something had happened between them, he was sure of that, and whatever the outcome it gave him the go-ahead to return to Netherfield. He did not care any more about Jane’s relatives, or whether she loved him as much as he loved her, he was determined to see how the land lay and take it on from there.
He was bereft without her; if Jane was prepared to marry him for whatever reason, that was good enough to him. He was sure in time he could persuade her to love him in full measure.
* * * *
Every day at Longbourn was now a day of anxiety; but the most alarming part was when the post was expected. The arrival of letters each morning found the entire company gathered expectantly in the front hall.
Mr Gardiner did not write again until he had received an answer from Colonel Forster and then he had nothing of a pleasant nature to report. Mrs Gardiner read the letter to herself and then shook her head sadly.
‘I am not sure if I should read you this missive; there is nothing to encourage us to hope.’
‘Please do, Aunt Gardiner; we must hear the news however parlous it might be,’ Jane said glancing anxiously at her sister for support.
‘Well, he says that Wickham’s former acquaintances are numerous, but since he has been in the militia he does not appear to have been on terms of particular friendship with any of them.
Therefore they cannot find anyone likely to give any news of him. And the wretched state of his own finances was a very powerful motive to secrecy, in addition to his fear of discovery from Mr Bennet. It transpires that he has left gaming debts behind of a very considerable amount.’ Mrs Gardiner looked around at the others before completing her tale of woe. ‘It would seem that although he owed a good deal in Meryton his debts of honour are still more formidable.’
Jane heard this with horror. ‘A gamester! This is wholly unexpected. I had not an idea of it.’ She looked to Elizabeth for confirmation and her sister nodded.
‘Oh! There is some good news for you; Mr Bennet is expected to return to Longbourn tomorrow. It would seem that he has done as much as he can and is feeling very downhearted about his lack of success. Mr Gardiner has convinced him that he would be better at home and leave him to pursue the enquiries on his own.’
Jane immediately stood up. ‘Poor Papa! He did so want to find Lydia and bring her home to us. I shall go at once and tell our mother that he shall be home tomorrow. She has been so concerned he might find Wickham and become involved in a fight, she will be relieved to know he is unscathed.’
That evening Jane and Elizabeth took a stroll in the garden after supper. They had scarcely had time to continue their discussion of the Derbyshire trip, and Jane took the opportunity to ask her sister what Pemberley had been like. She already knew that Mr Darcy had been there.
‘It is as wonderful as Miss Bingley told us, Lizzy? ‘
‘Yes, indeed it is. We were shown around by the housekeeper, and very civil she was. The rooms are well proportioned and spacious, and their furniture suitable to the fortune of their proprietor. I must say it was neither gaudy nor uselessly fine, and with far more real elegance than the furniture at Rosings.’
‘And to think, Lizzy, you might have been mistress of all that splendour. Do you not regret, even a little bit, having refused Mr Darcy?’
‘No, I do not. The house is very fine, the grounds impressive, but if I had agreed to be mistress of Pemberley House I should not have been able to see my aunt or uncle again. They would have been lost to me, I should not have been able to invite them to visit.’
‘I cannot imagine that Mr Darcy would be so proud; but I am sure that you know what is best for you. Did he not invite you all to dine with him? ‘
‘That is very true, but at that time I did not know he was going to do so. Do you know, Jane, that his housekeeper spoke of him so highly that I began to doubt my own judgement? She insisted that everybody who knew him, liked and respected him. That she had never had a cross word from him all her life, and she had known him since he was four years old.’
‘We have both been mistaken in our assessment of more than one gentleman recently, have we not? I believed that Bingley was going to make me an offer, and you believed that Wickham was a gentleman and not a rogue.’
‘I believe that I have certainly mistaken Darcy, he could not have been more charming and civil the three times that I met him. However, I refused him, and that is the end of the matter. A gentleman like him would not ask a second time.’
‘We Bennet girls do not appear to be successful where men are concerned. Perhaps we are all destined to be still here when Mr Collins comes to take up residence.’
‘We have already talked of this, I cannot see any way out of this situation unless we are left a fortune by an unknown relative.’ Lizzy squeezed her arm and they laughed together. The future would have to take care of itself, there were more than enough problems to deal with in the present.
* * * *
Charles received a brief letter from Darcy a few days after his friend’s sudden departure from Pemberley. He scanned the contents quickly. It said little about why he had left or what he had been doing in London but asked him to come to join him as there was something of importance he wished to discuss and it could only be done in person. Georgiana was to be left in the capable hands of her companion, Mrs Annesley, and he was to tell both his sisters that as Darcy was not intending to return anytime soon, it would be better for them to terminate their visit to Pemberley also.
He smiled grimly; it could not have been made more clear. Darcy no longer wished Caroline to have free access to his home. He folded the letter and pushed it into his waistcoat pocket to peruse in more detail at a later time. Although he now saw both his sisters in a different light he had no wish to cause them unnecessary hurt by this curt dismissal.
He would tell them Darcy was not returning and that Georgiana and her companion were to go to stay with friends in Bath. They could hardly remain alone in Pemberley under those circumstances. He immediately sought out Mrs Annesley and explained what he required her to say and for some reason she appeared delighted to be involved in the small deception.
He realized Caroline was not popular with the staff; they would be happy to see her depart immediately.
* * * *
Two days following Mr Bennet’s return Jane and Elizabeth were walking in the shrubbery behind the house enjoying half an hour’s respite from their duties.
‘Lizzy, is that not Hill approaching. I do hope Mama is not unwell.’
‘Miss Bennet, I beg your pardon for interrupting you, but I was in the hope you might have got some good news from town, so I took the liberty of coming to ask.’
‘What do you mean, Hill? We have heard nothing from town.’
‘Dear, madam, don’t you know there is an express come for master from Mr Gardiner? He has been here this half hour, and master has had a letter.’
At once Jane thanked the housekeeper and she and her sister ran towards the house, both too eager to hear the news to have time to discuss what they had heard. They ran through the vestibule and into the breakfast room, it was empty.
‘The library, let us try there, Jane.’
Their father was not in their either. ‘Perhaps he has gone upstairs to speak to our mother, Lizzy.’
They turned and were on the point of ascending when they met the butler. ‘If yo
u are looking for my master, ma’am, he is walking towards the little copse.’
Upon this information they instantly passed through the hall once more and ran across the lawn after their father, who was deliberately pursuing his way towards a small wood on one side of the paddock.
‘Run ahead, Lizzy, you are fitter and lighter than I. I shall make my own way in my own time.’ She watched her sister race ahead and saw her catch up with their father. A lively exchange took place and then he took a letter from his pocket and Elizabeth impatiently caught it from his hand. It was at this juncture Jane came up with them.
‘Read it aloud, Lizzy, for I hardly know myself what it is about.’
Gracechurch Street, Monday,
August 2
My Dear Brother
At last am able to send you some tidings of my niece, and such as, upon the whole, I hope shall give you satisfaction. Soon after you left the vicinity, I was fortunate enough to find out which part of London they were in. The particulars I reserve until we meet. It is enough to know that they are discovered and I have seen both Lydia and Wickham.
‘Then it is, as I always hoped,’ Jane interrupted, ‘they are married! I beg your pardon, Lizzy, please read on.’
I had seen them both, they are not married, nor can I find there was any intention of being so; but if you’re willing to perform the engagements which I have ventured to make on your side, I hope it will not be long before they are. All that is required of you is to assure to your daughter, by settlement, an equal share of the five thousand pounds, secured among your children after the decease of yourself and my sister. Moreover, to enter into an engagement allowing her, during your life, one hundred pounds per annum.
Miss Bennet & Mr Bingley Page 20
