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“Do not worry, my love. Mrs Bennet will adore me!”
Elizabeth knocked lightly and entered the library, where her mother was waiting, visibly anxious.
“Mama, Mr Darcy has come to speak with you. I shall leave you alone and wait in the dining room.”
“Very well, Lizzy. Mr Darcy, please come in. It is a pleasure to see you in Hertfordshire again.”
“Thank you, madam,” he replied, bowing deeply.
Elizabeth closed the door behind her and hurried back to her sisters. From the hall, she heard Kitty arguing with Jane in a distressed voice.
“She knows something about Lydia,” Jane told her as Kitty tried to leave.
“Sit down, Kitty!” Elizabeth ordered, unable to hide her anger. “You must tell us everything you know.”
“I know nothing!” Kitty cried, looking for a way to escape and avoiding her sisters’ eyes.
“Do you understand that you may make matters worse by keeping silent?” Jane asked. “It is Lydia’s future and ours, including your own.”
Kitty began to sob. She knew something about Lydia’s plans, but she had never understood what misery they might bring.
“I thought they meant to marry! That is what Lydia told me. I never imagined Mr Wickham would not marry her!”
“Then calm yourself and tell us what you know,” Jane urged more gently.
Kitty could tell them little. Lydia had mentioned her intentions in her letters from Brighton but had given few particulars.
“Did you not think you ought to tell our parents of such a dreadful plan?” Elizabeth asked, almost as angry with Kitty as with Lydia.
“No! I could never betray her! She told me they meant to go to Gretna Green. I thought they would be married!”
“The letter!” Jane exclaimed. “Where is it?”
But Kitty had obeyed Lydia and destroyed it.
They had learnt little that might help them. Kitty knew nothing of where Lydia and Wickham had gone after leaving Brighton. Jane looked at Elizabeth, her eyes full of tears.
For a few moments, the sisters spoke in hurried whispers, scarcely knowing what to say at such a time.
“If she had only waited until we were married! With such connections, she might have hoped for a far better match. I hope she has not ruined our lives! Forgive my selfishness, Jane, but that is how I feel.”
Jane nodded, for she felt the same.
∞∞∞
Darcy and Elizabeth accompanied Mrs Bennet to the church in silence. Once there, they found a little peace for the quarter of an hour they remained. Mr Walters, who had known the family for years, received their news with pleasure.
“Well, Mrs Bennet, two daughters engaged to be married! That is a blessing indeed.”
Mrs Bennet began to cry. News of Lydia’s elopement had not yet reached him, and he supposed they were tears of joy.
On the way home, they were silent again. Until Lydia was found, Mrs Bennet could take little comfort even in the thought of her daughters’ marriages. To have two such engagements and still be so unhappy seemed a cruel turn of fortune. She could no longer deny that Lydia had spoilt their happiness.
That afternoon, the Gardiners, Elizabeth, and Darcy left for London. The nearer they came to the city, the more they thought of Lydia and Wickham, finding little to discuss that might make the journey easier. Darcy had another concern. His uncle had encouraged him to marry, but even before Lydia’s elopement, he would have received the news of an engagement to Elizabeth with reluctance. Now Darcy expected him to object outright.
Chapter 13
When they reached London, the carriage stopped at Darcy’s house, where he alighted, saying that he would speak to Bingley. Elizabeth and the Gardiners continued to Gracechurch Street, where they found Mr Bennet pale, thinner and so distressed that they scarcely recognised him, despite his efforts to appear composed for their sake. Seeing them brought him such relief that Elizabeth’s heart ached for him. Her father had plainly needed them there.
