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He was unable to answer, for Lydia and Kitty marched up to them and demanded an introduction, much to Elizabeth’s chagrin. “We hardly had time to be properly introduced, girls,” Elizabeth chided, smoothing down her skirts.

“I would be happy to oblige,” the young man said quickly. “It is irregular, perhaps, but please allow me to take the liberty of introducing myself. My name is George Wickham, newly commissioned into the militia, and I humbly place myself in your service, ladies.” He gave a gallant bow.

His charming manners made such an impression that Lydia and Kitty giggled and began whispering behind their hands to each other.

Elizabeth smiled, knowing that colour was filling her face.

Telling herself not to betray such sensibility, she took it upon herself to return the introduction.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr Wickham. I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and this is my elder sister, Miss Jane Bennet.” She turned toward her younger sisters and gave them a warning look.

“And these are our youngest sisters, Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia.”

“What a fortuitous afternoon, to meet such lovely young ladies on my first visit to Meryton,” he exclaimed.

“Oh, Mr Wickham, how perfect you are!” Lydia burst out.

Elizabeth stepped in front of Lydia and grabbed her hand before she could say anything more. “I thank you for coming to my aid, Mr Wickham.” Lydia struggled to get her hand free, but Elizabeth would not allow it.

“It was my duty as a soldier and a gentleman, but also my pleasure. I am glad you are uninjured, Miss Elizabeth.” He smiled gaily at all of them in turn. “May I see you home?”

“Oh, no, that is not necessary,” Elizabeth said. Her sister dug her nails into Elizabeth’s skin to show how displeased she was. Lydia started whispering behind her, but Elizabeth waved her away with her free hand. “We would not want to inconvenience you.”

“It would be no inconvenience, but I would not want to intrude on your family outing. May I be so bold as to call on you at your home tomorrow afternoon, to be sure that you are well?”

Elizabeth felt the heat rush into her cheeks anew. “We would be delighted to receive you, Mr Wickham, whenever it may be convenient for you.” She told him the address, and he thanked her.

He bowed and started to back away. “Until the morrow then,” he said and walked away to rejoin some of his fellow soldiers.

When he was far enough away, Elizabeth finally let go of Lydia’s hand. “Why did you do that?” Lydia whined loudly. “We might have had him introduce us to his compatriots. And we might have invited them all in for tea this very afternoon! Why are you so selfish, Lizzy?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes heavenward. “You are much too forward for your own good, Lydia. And you too, Kitty. We will see him tomorrow, and I promise it will not be the last opportunity for us to meet the officers of the regiment.” Elizabeth sighed.

“I think I’ve had enough excitement. Shall we return home? ”

Jane nodded in understanding. “Yes, I think we ought.”

“I do not want to go! We have not seen all the militiamen yet! Really, Lizzy, you may not be in a hurry to find a husband, but that does not mean you have to ruin it for the rest of us.”

Though the younger girls might not have gone quietly, Elizabeth found she had a powerful ally in the form of the dark clouds that were just beginning to approach from the horizon.

She gestured to the sky, drawing Lydia’s attention to them.

“We should be off for home, and quickly. If we hurry, we may return before the rain begins.”

That argument was persuasive, for Lydia had no wish to see her new bonnet ruined.

On their way home, Lydia and Kitty stayed well ahead of their elder sisters, no doubt whispering of the imagined wrongs they had suffered.

Elizabeth was glad of a moment to talk privately with Jane.

“That was so wholly unexpected. I was sure I was going to meet the ground with a hard thud and break something.” She tucked the book under her arm as they walked, her heart fluttering as she thought of how Mr Wickham had held her in his arms, even if only for a moment.

She looked down at the ground, embarrassed. “He was very kind to come to my aid.”

“Yes, he certainly was. And it did not hurt that he was so handsome,” Jane whispered.

Elizabeth looked at her sister in surprise. It was a rather forward remark, unlike Jane’s usual careful delicacy. Elizabeth could only give a short laugh. “I would have been no less grateful if he were old and battle-scarred.”

“Oh, I know you would have, Lizzy. But I do not think you would have blushed such a deep red if he had been old and worn.” Jane gave a rare mischievous smile.

“And to think he wants to come and call on you tomorrow. He has no notion of your inheritance, and yet, he comes. Perhaps Mama will finally forgive you for not taking Mr Collins when she sees how handsome Mr Wickham is.”

Elizabeth could hardly contain the wild beating of her heart.

It was a fair point. Her heart lifted at the thought that Mr Wickham was simply coming to see her because he was concerned for her welfare, not because of her inheritance.

“It will certainly be a relief not to have that hanging over my head during his visit.”

Jane turned to her and linked arms with her. “I think he was genuinely taken with you, Lizzy. And his manners are almost as good as Mr Bingley’s.”

Elizabeth gave a sly smile. “Almost?”

It was Jane’s turn to be embarrassed. “Well, yes. I only meant that —”

“There is no need to explain. I understand your meaning perfectly,” Elizabeth said.

Though she understood, she did not entirely agree.

Jane’s opinion was perhaps a little clouded by love, for Mr Wickham’s manners were clearly better than Mr Bingley’s.

Much as she liked the affable Mr Bingley, it was a fact that was sometimes a little tongue-tied, even blundering.

In contrast, Mr Wickham had been so smooth in speech, so confident.

She glanced at her sister. No doubt Jane was embroiled in her own private musings.

Jane had eyes for no one but Mr Bingley, and for that, she was happy for her sister.

Jane had waited a long while to find love, and it would seem she was on the brink of marital bliss — if only Mr Bingley would not keep her waiting too long.

When they arrived home and told their parents of what had occurred, the whole house was thrown into an uproar.

“My dears, what a fortuitous turn of events. I am very glad you went to Meryton. I so wish I would have gone with you, but you know what a state of upset my poor nerves have been since Mr Collins left us,” her mother said.

She was still upset with Elizabeth, but the news that she had met another young man seemed to help assuage her grief over Mr Collins’s departure.

“We must prepare the house immediately!”

And so, for the rest of the evening, the maids worked diligently on scouring the house and being sure that it was presentable for their male callers.

“Perhaps Mr Wickham will bring a few of the other officers with him!” Mrs Bennet cried eagerly.

Their mother flitted about, Mr Collins all but forgotten.

Elizabeth was more than a little relieved that she seemed to be forgiven. Though she had known that her mother could not maintain her anger for the rest of her life, as she had threatened to do, any amount of time spent at such odds with her parent was deeply unpleasant.

Perhaps she might even set her mother’s mind still more at ease one day before too many more months had passed — if a certain charming gentleman proved to be all he had seemed at first glance.