When he was done, he stood up and said, “Our plans have changed. I will need to go make arrangements.”
As he turned to walk out of the room, Elizabeth said, “Papa, whatever can be the matter?”
He gave no verbal answer, though he did hand her the letter. Then he stormed out of the room. Elizabeth opened the missive and read aloud:
April 30, 1812
Dear Papa,
Please come home as quickly as possible. This morning Lydia was noticed to be missing. After some asking around, it seems as though Mr. Wickham is also missing from the regiment. Both Colonel Forster and Uncle Phillips have concluded that they must have gone together. Only after they determined that did Kitty find a letter from Lydia on her dressing table stating that such was her intention. She was positively gleeful at the thought of running off to Gretna Greene despite the fact that neither of them have enough money to get there.
Colonel Forster has sent some of his men to search along the north road, but we have not had word yet. They have only been gone half a day, so there is hope, yet. You are very much needed here. Mama has taken to her bed, and Kitty is nearly insensible.
Love,
Mary
Elizabeth looked up from her letter to see how Jane was taking the news. Only then did she notice that Mr. Darcy had stood up from the table with a furious look on his face, and Georgiana appeared pale and frightened.
Before Elizabeth could speak, Mr. Darcy said, “I will go and offer my assistance to your father. I have more knowledge of Wickham’s character and connections than he does, which might be useful in finding them. I would ask if Georgiana can stay here while I am gone.”
“Of course,” said Jane immediately. “We would be most happy to have her stay with us.”
“Absolutely,” said Elizabeth, echoing her sister. “I wish you luck with the search.”
With a nod to acknowledge Elizabeth’s good wishes, Mr. Darcy exited the room to find the duke.
When he was gone, Georgiana, with her face pale and frightened, said, “You may not wish me to stay when you hear what I have done.”
“That is nonsense,” said Elizabeth. “What could you possibly have done that would make us wish you to leave?”
“I almost eloped with Mr. Wickham last summer,” she said.
Elizabeth could not hide the surprise she felt upon such a statement, nor could she think of anything to say immediately. The implications of such a thing would certainly explain why Mr. Darcy was so angry any time Mr. Wickham’s name was mentioned.
“The material point is that you did not,” said Jane. “None of us should be judged based on what we almost did, only what we have actually done.”
“You don’t understand,” said Georgiana, practically in tears. “If Fitzwilliam hadn’t come to visit a day earlier than he had planned, I would have. It was merely luck that I did not fall into the same trap your sister has. Even worse, if Ihadeloped with Mr. Wickham, he would not have been available to take your sister. You must hate me, both for what I almost did as well as the fact that I didn’t follow through.”
“That is nonsense,” said Elizabeth. “If Lydia did not elope with Mr. Wickham, it is entirely possible she would have done so with someone else at some point. She has been dying to get married since she was fourteen, and she has very little understanding of the consequences of her own actions. Though it may seem that your situations are similar, they are as night and day.”
“I agree,” said Jane. “The fact that you are a wonderful young lady who tries her best to do what is right has been obvious to us since the day you arrived.” She paused then said, “Though I know it won’t change our opinion of you, I think it would be helpful to us all, including you, if you would tell us the whole story of how you almost eloped.”
Hesitantly, and with much encouragement from Elizabeth and Jane, Georgiana told her story. Last summer, she was placed in the care of a companion, Mrs. Younge. Together, they went to Ramsgate to escape the heat of London. While there, she encountered Mr. Wickham, of whom she had a few fond memories from the time he lived near Pemberley.
She fell in love with the young man, but not knowing what to do about it, since she was too young for her guardians to agree to her marriage, she consulted Mrs. Younge. Her companion and Mr. Wickham convinced her that the only way she could be happy was to elope. Fortunately, Mr. Darcy arrived to visit her a day before they planned to leave.
Once in her brother’s presence, she could not bear to keep the secret from him. She hoped that he would see how important this was to her and would consent to a normal marriage. Instead, he was furious. He waited for Mr. Wickham to arrive to discuss their plans, and he let his fury loose on the man.
Georgiana had felt terrible that the object of her love was being abused in such a way…until Mr. Wickham’s parting words. “Well, you have ruined my plans once again, Darcy. I hope you’re happy. One good thing about all this is that I’m not saddled with that spiritless bore for the rest of my life.”
When Elizabeth heard this, she jumped up from her seat and went around the table to hug Georgiana, who was crying freely. She allowed the young girl to sob onto her shoulder until she could cry no longer.
As Georgiana cried, Elizabeth thought furiously about Mr. Wickham and Mrs. Younge. Both of them had used the trust Georgiana had in them in their attempt to ruin her life for selfish gain. The more Georgiana cried, the more angry she became.
Eventually, Georgiana stopped, and Elizabeth went back to her seat. Jane said, “One thing I don’t understand is why Mr. Wickham took Lydia. No one in Meryton knows about our changed circumstances, not even our own family. As far as Mr. Wickham knows, Lydia has nothing. Why would he attempt to elope with her?”
Silence reigned for several moments. Then, Elizabeth said, “Truly, I do not wish to contemplate the matter, but as far as I can tell, he can have no honorable reason. I would not be surprised if he was not planning marriage at all.”
