Page 35

After a simple but satisfying meal, Darcy settled down to a game of chess with Mr. Bennet while Charles and Jane sat talking quietly by the fire. Elizabeth moved to freshen their teacups before turning back to retrieve her own.

Attuned to his fiancée’s movements, Fitzwilliam noticed her pause by the door and then cock her head to better hear the noises coming from the hall. He was surprised enough to rise to his feet when she suddenly flung open the door and, stepping into the hall, uttered a shocked, “Lydia!”

When Elizabeth reappeared, she was half dragging and half carrying her youngest sister. Miss Lydia Bennet had liquor on her breath, her clothes were askew, and her hair was nearly unbound, though stuffed into her bonnet in some half-hearted attempt at propriety.

Behind them, none other than Lieutenant George Wickham swaggered into sight, scarlet coat unbuttoned and a leering glint in his eye.

“Well, well, little Miss Lizzy… we shall have some fun tonight.” He was too drunk to focus on more than one person at a time but Darcy’s tall figure brought a moment of clarity.

“Err… Darcy. Oh, and Mr. Bennet as well. How lovely to see you all. If you will excuse me, I must be seeing about the… err… horse.” And with a jerky bow, he was gone.

Mr. Bennet was too shocked to stand but Jane jumped to assist Elizabeth with the intoxicated girl, shushing her when she began demanding their congratulations as she was on her way to Gretna Green to be married.

Elizabeth looked to her father, who remained pale and immobile, and then to Mr. Darcy.

Understanding, Fitzwilliam spoke firmly to the older gentleman.

“Mr. Bennet, you will wish to see to your daughter. Bingley and I shall go after Mr. Wickham, sir.” Though still pale, Thomas managed to nod weakly and finally levered himself out of his chair.

“Bingley.” Darcy barely glanced toward his friend as he strode out of the room, the younger man only a step behind.

As the pair clattered down the stairs to the main floor of the inn, they heard raised voices outside in the stable yard.

They emerged just in time to see Wickham desperately trying to pull himself into the saddle of a large but uncooperative mare while simultaneously attempting to rip the reins out of the hands of her owner…

an equally large, heavyset man dressed in the manner of a well-off merchant.

Before the two gentlemen could do anything, the merchant let loose his fist, and, with one blow, Wickham crumpled to the mud in an unconscious heap.

Calming his horse with a hand on her neck, the merchant looked up to see Darcy and Bingley in the doorway.

“ Ahem . Sirs, my apologies if this man ‘ere’s a friend o’ yours, but the fool just busted out and tried to grab my mare.

She bites when she’s upset, and I figured my fist would do less damage than ‘er teeth.”

With a black look, Darcy responded, “No, sir— by my mind you did exactly right. This man has some unmet obligations that we wish to see him about, ourselves.” The merchant grinned in understanding and, with a small salute, went on his way.

Leaving Bingley to keep watch over the unconscious Wickham, Darcy rounded up two of his larger footmen.

Both had been with the family since they were boys and, as it happened, one had a sister who had been left in a bad way by Wickham and then looked after by the Master of Pemberley in his usual manner of cleaning up behind his father’s godson.

Together, the men dragged Mr. Wickham, muddy and unconscious, up to a small but empty room in the inn’s attic. Once Darcy was satisfied that his servants had all they needed to “care” for their charge overnight, he suggested to Bingley that they return to the parlor.

They arrived to find Mr. Bennet slumped in an armchair with his head in his hands while Elizabeth paced with what Miss Bingley would have pronounced a most unladylike passion; Jane and Lydia were nowhere to be seen.

Elizabeth looked up at their entrance, eyes widening with alarm. “Did he…”

For once, Darcy gave no thought to the impropriety of his actions, but went directly to his fiancée and wrapped her in his arms. “We stopped him. My men have Wickham upstairs—they will let us know if he awakens.” Seeing her confusion, he added, “The idiot tried to steal a horse from the yard with its owner standing right there. The man knocked Wickham out before we could do anything. Your sister?”

Lizzy could only shake her head in bewilderment.

“Jane took Lydia to her room to settle her down. Hopefully she will sleep off the… effects.” Elizabeth could not bring herself to mention the amount of gin that her sister appeared to have consumed.

“From what I understood of her ramblings, Mr. Wickham informed her that he was being reassigned to another regiment but could not bear to be parted from her. He suggested that they elope and ‘borrowed’ a horse and gig from the militia for the trip this morning.” Eyes downcast, she added miserably, “Lydia was not at all co ncerned that they were stopping in London for some days before heading to Gretna Green.”

Thinking quickly, Darcy squeezed her hand and spoke haltingly, “But, they had not yet…”

Elizabeth’s eyes flew to his—“No, they had not yet… been together .”

“Then there may still be a way through this other than marriage.”

At that, Thomas Bennet finally looked up, appearing even more shocked, if such a state was possible.

Before the older gentleman might protest, Darcy offered, “Sir, with all due respect to your family (which shall soon be mine as well), I have known George Wickham all my life, and with such an understanding of his immoral ways and base habits, I would strongly advise against attaching your daughter to him unless there is truly no other way.”

“Even one who has already demonstrated her own lack of moral rectitude?” Mr. Bennet shook his head tiredly, but seeing that Mr. Darcy was preparing to continue, he waved the younger man off.

“No, no… I am not going to argue with you. Lydia may be one of the silliest girls in England, but I can’t make myself believe she deserves to be shackled to such a villain at fifteen…

even if she believes it would be a wonderful life.

” He sighed and dropped his head into his hands again.

“Oh, Lizzy… what on Earth are we to do?”

Elizabeth stared at her father for a long moment before turning to share a look with her fiancé.

He gave her a small nod and she tried to focus her jumbled thoughts on what needed to be done.

“Well, we cannot simply turn around and take her back to Longbourn; there would be no hope of controlling the gossip.” She paused to think and was relieved when Mr. Bennet did not use the opportunity to make a sarcastic comment about her mother’s silliness.

“If we continue on to London, we will have a fortnight to work on Lydia; perhaps the Gardiners can help us make her understand the consequences of her actions.”

At this, her father snorted. “I doubt very much that talking to her will have any effect, no matter how sensible my brother and sister may be. For now, my greatest hope shall be that they have a room in the cellar where she can be kept under lock and key.”

Elizabeth bit her tongue and managed to refrain from asking her father when he had ever taken the time to talk to her youngest sister about serious issues.

Was it any surprise that the girl was acting in such a way, when she had only ever received guidance from Mrs. Bennet?

Fortunately, her father began talking again before Lizzy could speak her mind.

“However, we must eventually return home, and as much as I might like the thought of leaving Lydia with the Gardiners, they have their own brood to care for. And yet, I fear that taking her back to Longbourn will not support any permanent changes in behavior. ”

“Papa,” began Elizabeth.

“No, no… don’t fuss, Lizzy. I remember your advice to me not so long ago and, considering the present circumstances, I believe it shows some greatness of mind. Allow me to feel my failure for once. I have no doubt that I shall recover my spirits in time, and far more quickly than I should.”

Only barely able to refrain from rolling her eyes, Elizabeth looked to Darcy for help. “If I may suggest, sir,” began the gentleman. “My own aunt may be able to provide some assistance.” Upon receiving strange looks from his audience, he quickly emended, “my Aunt Eleanor, that is.”

“The Countess of Matlock,” noted Elizabeth quietly and shut her eyes for a moment when he nodded.

These were the very relations of her fiancé whom she was traveling to London to meet for the first time.

To arrive with her least favorite sister recently plucked from a potential scandal was not the face she had hoped to put forward.

Darcy took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

“Their youngest daughter was very wild when she was young, to the point of being nearly ungovernable. By the time she turned fourteen, it was clear that something drastic needed to be done. Aunt Eleanor sorted through ladies seminaries to find a school with the right balance of a good education for the girls, high morals of the teachers and,” his eyebrow quirked, “an isolated location in western Yorkshire where, even should a student attempt to run away, her minders would notice long before she encountered anything but sheep at pasture.”

Bingley chuckled a bit and dared to wonder how the place compared to the London seminary his own sisters had attended.

Seeing that Elizabeth’s father appeared unconvinced, Fitzwilliam added, “After three years, Lucy’s behavior was under much better regulation, and yet her spirit was not crushed.”

Thomas sighed deeply, but he could think of no other option. “Very well, Mr. Darcy. Should your aunt honor us with her advice, then that may be the best avenue to follow.”