Page 17 of Gold and Good Sense

Without looking back, Thomas mounted the stairs two at a time, his fear prompting him to greater exertion than was typically his habit. Within moments, he was standing in front of Kitty’s door. When his knock brought no answer, he entered the room.

There was no one there. The bed was rumpled as though someone had slept there, but Kitty was not within. “Kitty,” he called on the off chance she was using the chamber pot behind the screen, but there was no answer and no sound of movement.

His fear rose even higher, but his reason remained. Just to be certain he hadn’t missed something, he checked behind the screen. She was not there.

Thomas left the room. As he reached the downstairs hallway, Lady Esther, Mrs. Jamison, and the two new maids were entering.

“Welcome to Longbourn,” he said as Mrs. Hill came into the hall from the back of the house. “I am afraid something rather urgent requires my attention immediately, but my housekeeper, Mrs. Hill, will see to your accommodations. If I am not available once you are settled, Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth can introduce you to Mrs. Bennet and my other daughters.”

He turned to walk away, but Lady Esther stopped him in his tracks by saying, “I do hope it is nothing too serious.”

Thomas resisted the urge to sigh. If it was what he suspected, it was very serious indeed. All he said was, “As do I.”

As the new residents of Longbourn were escorted upstairs, Mr. Bennet entered the parlor. “Mrs. Bennet,” he said, “may I have a private word with you?”

“What on Earth?” she cried. “No greeting or anything, not even for your dear Lydia?”

Thomas fixed her with his firmest, steeliest gaze. “As you well know, there are more urgent matters to attend to.”

His heart sank when she fidgeted and looked away, obviously knowing exactly what he was referring to and confirming his suspicions. “Very well, Mr. Bennet,” she said.

As the two of them left the parlor, he heard Elizabeth ask Lydia, “Do you know what he is referring to?”

He did not hear Lydia’s answer before the parlor door closed behind them.

Once he and his wife were in his study with the door closed, he turned to Mrs. Bennet and demanded, “Where is Kitty?”

“She is ill,” said Mrs. Bennet. “As I told the servants, she has a fever and should not be seen by anyone but me so that the fever doesn’t spread.”

“She is not ill,” said Thomas. “She is not in her room at all. Her bed isn’t even made. Now, I will ask you again. Where is she? And this time you had best tell the full story. You will not like the consequences should you test my patience further.”

For once in their many married years, Mrs. Bennet actually seemed cowed in his presence. “She has eloped,” she said.

The knot of fear which had settled in his stomach twisted further until it was a solid lump that could not be removed or even budged. “When and with whom?” he demanded.

“Yesterday morning with Alan Goulding,” said Mrs. Bennet.

“And why did they not wait just another day to speak with me?” he asked.

Mrs. Bennet finally raised a defiant eye to him and said, “Because you were foolish enough to insist that there would be no marriage discussions or even courtship for a few months at least. Your restrictions are what made Kitty so desperate. If you had not said such a thing, Mr. Goulding would even now be asking you for her hand instead of whisking my dear girl all the way to Scotland.”

For probably the first time in his life, Thomas actually considered Fanny’s words. She had a point, but it was far from the entire story. While Kitty might have been desperate enough to not wish to wait a few months, Mr. Goulding should have had more sense. The only reasons he could think that they would be in such a hurry were if she were already with child or if he truly was a fortune hunter.

There was only one way to discover the truth. He must track them down, even though the odds of catching them before they reached Scotland were slim. “We will apportion blame after Kitty has been found,” he said. “Now, when did she leave?”

Fortunately, Mrs. Bennet made no further efforts at obfuscation. “Yesterday morning before sunrise,” she said.

“Are you certain they headed for Scotland?” he asked.

“No other course of action makes sense,” she said. “Since Kitty is underage, she cannot marry in England without your permission.”

Thomas sighed. “Very well,” he said. “I will make preparations to immediately head north, and I will send riders ahead of me as well as sending someone on the road south in case they were foolish enough to head for London.”

“I don’t know why you are even bothering,” said Mrs. Bennet. “Since they have more than a full day’s head start, you can’t possibly catch up to them.”

“And whose fault is it that they have such a head start?” demanded Thomas. He was almost shouting. “If you had sent me an express as soon as you found Kitty gone, I might have caught up with them yesterday.”

She looked down and to the side, and her lips pressed together in irritation. “I am not the one who pushed our daughter into this position. Rather, I am the one who was trying to help her,” she said resentfully.