“It does not matter,” she replied, and held him tighter. Finally, he relaxed into her arms. “Oh, Lizzy, you have no idea…”
“No, I do not, but you must tell me.”
Mr. Gardiner herded them into the drawing room. “Is there a maid who can stay with the children? I would like Madeleine to join us.”
Mary stood up. “I will arrange it.” She left the room and returned in ten minutes with her aunt beside her.
Mrs. Gardiner said, “I stopped in the kitchen to ask for a tea tray, Jane.”
Jane flushed. “I am sorry; I should have thought –“
“No, no, Jane. You have a good deal on your mind just now, and I am here to help you. Please allow me to do so.”
This kindness brought tears to Jane’s eyes again. She wiped at them impatiently. “All I do is cry!”
“And no one can blame you,” her aunt assured her. “Now, tell us everything that happened. Start at the beginning.”
Jane took a deep breath. “As Lizzy knows, Lydia was invited by Mrs. Forster to go to Brighton with the regiment.”
Mr. Bennet sighed. “Lizzy warned me against letting her go, but I did not listen. All I could think was that Longbourn would be a good deal quieter with Lydia gone.”
“I should have told you what I knew of Wickham,” Elizabeth said, bitterly.
“What did you know of him?” Mr. Bennet asked.
“Mr. Darcy told me –“ she faltered, and then began again. “Mr. Darcy explained that Mr. Wickham had a very poor character, particularly where young women were concerned. But I did not imagine that Lydia could be in any danger, as money was Mr. Wickham’s primary interest and Lydia has none. I should have told you, Papa. I blame myself entirely.”
“Why did Mr. Darcy not tell the rest of us of Wickham’s character?” Mr. Bennet demanded. “Why did he leave all of us here in Meryton so vulnerable?”
“He had his reasons, Papa,” Elizabeth said, heavily. “His knowledge of Wickham involved the reputation of another young lady, so he did not speak in order to save her character. I may not say more.”
“Let us not assign blame,” Mr. Gardiner said. “It is entirely useless. Go on, Jane.”
“Well, Lydia left on the twenty-sixth of May in Colonel Forster’s coach. She was to be gone for several weeks.”
“Did she write?” Elizabeth asked.
Mary broke in. “You know how Lydia is! She wrote about balls and gowns and Captain Denny and Captain Carter and Lieutenant Wickham and every man in the regiment.” She sniffed in derision before turning to her younger sister. “But Kitty knew more than the rest of us.”
All eyes turned to Kitty. The tea tray arrived at that moment, but as soon as refreshments had been handed around and the maid was gone, Mr. Gardiner prompted, “Well, Kitty?”
Kitty sighed and her shoulders slumped. “She wrote to me saying that she and Lieutenant Wickham were in love.”
“When was that?”
“I think she began writing about it in mid-July; I recall that it rained a good deal and I had little to do but read the letter again and again.”
“And you did not tell your father?” Mrs. Gardiner demanded.
“She begged me not to tell anyone, saying that it was oh-so-romantic, like a secret engagement.”
“Foolish Lydia!” Mary exclaimed. “And foolish Kitty, for not telling anyone!”
“Mary,” Mrs. Gardiner said, softly. “This is not helping.”
“Helping? There is no helping! We are ruined, all of us, and it is Lydia’s fault and Kitty’s as well!” Mary was torn between fury and indignation.
“And you may as well assign blame to me,” Mr. Bennet said, resignedly.
