I think it very bad of you to invite Mary to London and not me! Mary cannot possibly enjoy Town as much as I! Mama says you have bought her a whole new wardrobe, and if you do not send me at least a new winter cloak, I shall think you the worst sister in the world!
The militia have come to town, and there are any number of gentlemen in red coats who have been happy to call on Longbourn! Kitty says they come to see her, but nothing could be further from the truth! Lieutenant Wickham has been most particular in his attentions, and I think him the handsomest man in the entire world. He says he knows the Darcy family well and that they are far too high in the instep for his tastes. But he likes me very well, so perhaps it is just as well that I am not in London, though I mean what I say about the cloak!
Your affectionate sister,
Lydia
“Why do you frown so, Lizzy? It is just Lydia’s usual nonsense.”
“I know this Lieutenant Wickham, and he is a very bad man.” Elizabeth went on to tell her sister what she knew of the man and Mary’s eyes were wide by the end of her story.
“You must write to Papa at once,” Mary said.
Elizabeth went immediately to her room to pen her letter.
Dear Papa,
I send this letter by messenger so that you will actually open it! Lydia writes about a Lieutenant Wickham, who is evidently paying her a good deal of attention. Papa, Mr. Darcy knows Mr. Wickham all too well, as he is supporting six of Mr. Wickham’s natural children. Mr. Wickham attempted to woo Mr. Darcy’s sister, who was fifteen years old at the time, with his eye on her thirty thousand pound dowry.
My husband also holds some three thousand pounds of his debts to merchants, so our merchants in Meryton must not extend him credit. They must be warned as soon as may be.
Papa, you must stop Lydia from seeing him; moreover, you must make certain that his character is made known throughout Meryton. I have told you what I know, and I now rely on you to keep our family and neighbours safe.
Your Devoted Daughter,
Lizzy
Elizabeth ran downstairs to find Thompson, and charged him to have a messenger take her letter to Longbourn, place it into Mr. Bennet’s hand, and await a reply.
***
The reply came the next day.
Dear Daughter,
You did right to send the letter by messenger. I would have read it soon enough in any case, as I enjoy reading the few letters you send (yes, this is in the nature of a complaint, though I know myself to be a dilatory correspondent), but I might have delayed a few days.
I have forbidden Lieutenant Wickham entry to Longbourn, though at great personal sacrifice, as Lydia has not yet stopped her loud weeping. I have also communicated your information with Sir Lucas, who has taken it upon himself to visit the merchants in town. Evidently Wickham has already accumulated a rather significant amount of debt, and the shopkeepers plan to go as a body to complain to Wickham’s commander, a Colonel Forster.
Next time I trust you will write with less troublesome news.
Yours, Etc.
Papa
***
The following day, a letter came from Lydia expressing her outrage at Elizabeth’s actions in depriving her of so desirable a suitor; Elizabeth cast it into the fire.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Mr. Darcy put his mother’s suggestion into practice immediately, sending a trusted under-secretary to Meryton to put up at the Red Lion and surreptitiously watch Longbourn and Netherfield for Mrs. Darcy. He had chosen his man with care; while it was known by all that Mrs. Darcy had left Pemberley, Mr. Darcy had not wanted to have it bruited about that her destination remained unknown.
The man returned, some ten days later, saying that he had seen a good deal of coming and going between the two estates, but there had been no sign of the mistress at all.
Vastly discouraged, for he had held out great hope for this stratagem, Mr. Darcy thanked the man gravely and retreated to his study, where he sat for an hour with his head in his hands, not sparing so much as a glance at the pile of correspondence on his desk.
Elizabeth had now been gone more than a month, and each day – each hour! – had been pure misery. Elizabeth! He missed her terribly, but more than that, he was very worried that she had come to some harm. He offered up a bargain to the heavens. If he was destined to live without her, he would do his best to accept that fate, as long as she was well! Please, please, let her not be lying in a ditch somewhere as the result of a broken carriage wheel! Please, please, let her not have been set upon by highwaymen! He could think of a hundred things that might have occurred to prevent her from returning to Pemberley or to Longbourn, each more dreadful than the last. He slept only a few hours every night, instead pacing the floor, trying to think of where she might have gone and how he might find her.
