Page 18 of Bella Darcy is on the Run

"Come now, Darcy, old man," said Charles gently, placing a hand on his shoulder and pushing him towards a chair. "Ten minutes will make no difference. We have good men continuing the search. You cannot possibly do it all yourself."

"I keep thinking..." Darcy lowered himself heavily into the chair. His voice sounded hollow, and it cracked as he spoke. "What if it is like Georgiana? Like Lydia? What if there is some man who has taken advantage of her good nature, and even now she is scared and alone and has no one to care for her?"

Elizabeth crossed the room and stood behind his chair, resting her cheek against the top of his head and winding her arms around his neck. "There is no evidence to suggest that, William. Bella appears to have left entirely of her own accord. No strange man has been seen on the grounds of Pemberley, she left on Tempest, and the one firm sighting we have places her with a woman. A maid. There is absolutely no sign that she was travelling with a man, and by every account she was heading south rather than north to Scotland." She pressed a kiss into his hair. "Please rest. I am so very worried about you."

At that moment, Kate and Mina came hurrying into the room. Their eyes were wide and heart breakingly hopeful. "Uncle Charles! Papa!" Mina said brightly, hope flooding her face. "You have found her. You must have found her. That is why you have returned. I told Kate, but she wouldn’t listen."

William closed his eyes and leant back in the chair. Elizabeth kissed the top of his head.

Charles stood and turned towards the girls with a brightness Elizabeth knew he did not feel. "We have not found her yet, girls, but it is only a matter of time. Now, I trust you have been keeping your Aunt Jane and your cousins occupied in our absence. What trouble have you all managed to get into? Has young Henry been climbing the bookshelves again?"

"But I wanted to speak to Papa," Kate said forlornly.

Charles tightened his arm around her shoulders. "Not now, my dear girl. Let us give your parents a moment of peace." With that, he accompanied them from the study and closed the door gently behind him.

Elizabeth moved around to the front of Darcy's chair and knelt before him, resting her cheek against his thigh as he stroked her hair. There were no more words to say. They had discussed every possibility and put in place everything they could think of to recover their daughter. Now all they could do was comfort one another and hope.

They remained like that until a soft knock sounded at the door and Johnson entered, clearing his throat delicately. Elizabeth rose slowly. She was well past the point of being embarrassed by servants discovering her and William in an embrace. It had happened far too many times over the years for anyone at Pemberley to be surprised, and in truth this was nothing compared with some of their scandalous antics in their younger days.

"The post has arrived, mistress. Master," Johnson said gently. He carried a silver salver stacked with letters and placed it carefully on the desk.

"Thank you, Johnson," Elizabeth said distractedly.

He bowed and withdrew.

Elizabeth immediately began rifling through the letters, hoping against hope for some message from one of the search parties they had sent out. She saw nothing that matched any of the handwriting she expected, but then one letter made her pause. The lopsided scrawl was unmistakable. "William. I believe this is from Lydia."

"Lydia?" He opened his eyes. "When was the last time you heard from Lydia?"

"Two years, perhaps three. Why would she be writing to us now? She has not responded to any correspondence in an age. Though Jane sometimes has better luck." Elizabeth stared at the letter. "Could she have heard what happened to Bella? But if word has reached that far..."

She broke the seal and unfolded the letter quickly, scanning the contents. Then she gave a cry and clapped one hand over her mouth. "She is safe."

Darcy's head snapped towards her.

"Oh God, William, she is safe. Bella is safe. She is with Lydia."

"Safe?" He blinked as though waking from a dream. "Lydia? What do you mean?" He jumped to his feet, every trace of exhaustion suddenly gone, and leant over Elizabeth's shoulder as they read together.

Dear Lizzy,

I am sorry for being such an utterly horrible correspondent. You know I have never been good at keeping up with my letters, and life here has been busy, although I daresay you do not wish to hear about any of that nonsense at present because you will never guess who is sitting in my parlour as I write this.

I shan’t keep you in suspense for a moment longer. Your beautiful Bella!

Lizzy, she appeared on my doorstep completely unexpectedly. I thought she must have travelled here with you, or her sisters, or perhaps Mr Darcy, but no. She has come all this way without any of you.

Now I can hear your voice in my head, dear sister, and I want you to know that I have scolded her quite thoroughly. I know you and your husband must be out of your minds with worry, but I promise you that she is well. She is unharmed and perfectly safe. She travelled with a maid and somehow managed to make it all the way to Falmouth in one piece.

Oh, Lizzy, she is such a beauty, and such a kind girl. She reminds me so much of you and Mr Darcy that it is rather extraordinary. It is as though someone has taken the best pieces of you both and put them together.

I know you will be angry with her, and I know she has done wrong by putting you through such unimaginable worry, but please try not to be too harsh. She is young, and we have all been young and foolish once upon a time. I like to think everyone has forgotten my own foolishness by now, but I am sure my reputation as a scandalous girl has survived the passage of time across our circle — certainly in Meryton! I do not believe one foolish choice ought to shape an entire life however, and truly, Bella is completely well.

Of course, I have told her that she and her maid, a clever little thing named Clara, may stay here as long as they wish, although I know you may prefer to have her home considerably sooner than that. You are both welcome in my home whenever you please, but if you insist that she return to you at once, I can make the journey north with her. It would give me a very good excuse to make a long-overdue visit to Papa and Mary, and to Jane and Bingley too. I still find it hard to visit Longbourn without Kitty. Isn’t that silly of me after all this time?

I shall end here because I have ever so much to catch up on with your beautiful Bella, and I am sure she will wish to pen her own note to you as well.

Your affectionate sister,