Page 20 of Brighton Rescue (Pride and Prejudice Variation #23)
Mr. Bennet sighed deeply as Colonel Forster, militia commander, stepped into the parlor at Hartford House. It had already been a thoroughly exhausting day, and he did not look forward to a painful conversation with the man who had been hosting his dunderhead of a daughter.
“Mr. Bennet,” Colonel Forster said, bowing formally. “I am overjoyed to see you here in Brighton, though I confess to feelings of humiliation as well. I apologize, most abjectly, for my failure to protect Miss Lydia while she was living under my very roof.”
Bennet gestured to a nearby chair. “Please, do sit down, Colonel. It has been a wearing day for all of us, and you most of all. I assure you that I do not fault you in the least for my daughter’s foolish behavior; it is I who bear the blame for permitting her to journey here when I should have known she would behave irresponsibly. ”
Forster took the offered seat, but his bushy eyebrows were lowered in disapproval. “It is hardly Miss Lydia’s fault that a man under my command attempted to abduct her, sir.”
Bennet poured a glass of brandy for his guest and then refilled his own.
“Colonel, without a shadow of a doubt, Wickham is a scoundrel. The fact remains that Lydia crept away from the safety of your home this morning to enjoy a secret assignation with the man. I can only thank God that my daughter Elizabeth and my brother and sister by marriage chose to come here to Brighton to watch over Lydia when I should have taken steps to remove her from danger.”
“May I inquire as to why Miss Elizabeth believed Miss Lydia was in jeopardy?”
“Lizzy intercepted a letter from Lydia to my fourth daughter, Kitty, in which Lydia spoke of possibly eloping with Wickham. My second daughter knew that Wickham was not an honorable man, and sounded the alarm. Regrettably, I was too lazy to intervene, which left my relations to do what I should have done.”
“So Miss Lydia did agree to elope with him?” Forster asked in confusion. “Wickham claims that she did and thus it was an elopement, not an abduction.”
“Do wait a moment, Colonel,” Bennet requested, rising to his feet and walking hastily out of the room. Three minutes later, he returned with Lydia on his arm, and Forster rose to his feet, swallowing convulsively at the sight of the girl’s heavily bruised face and greatly swollen eye.
“As you can see, Colonel, Lydia changed her mind and did not go willingly. Wickham did snatch her, and struck her, and deserves severe punishment for his deeds.”
/
“Lizzy?”
Elizabeth rushed to the door of her bedchamber and opened it, allowing Jane to enter from the corridor. “Oh Jane, I am glad you are here! We have not had much time to talk since you arrived.”
Jane embraced her favorite sister and said, “That is exactly why I am here, dear one. Please tell me, are you well? You must have had a trying and painful time since you left Longbourn.”
Elizabeth drew Jane to a small couch near the draped window, and the two sat down together, relishing the comfort of sisterly affection.
“No, Jane, I have no complaints at all. Our aunt and uncle have been kindness itself, as have Lady Amelia and all the gentlemen, including Mr. Darcy. I would have been far more distressed if we had traveled north, as I would have been plagued constantly with fears about Lydia’s well-being.”
Jane moaned and admitted, “I realize I was dreadfully na?ve about Mr. Wickham and can only be thankful that you and the Gardiners were sensible enough to intervene in a most dangerous situation. I have much to think about concerning this affair, which has shown me that my optimism about the goodness of men is obviously misplaced at times. I am grateful, at least, that this dreadful affair has allowed you and Mr. Darcy to find peace with one another, and perhaps something more.”
“I hope that there will be more as I am well on my way to loving him. I confess to some fears that Lydia’s actions are sufficiently shameful that he will not wish to align himself with our family.”
“I know that I have been too optimistic about the general goodness of men, but in this case I believe I am right in saying that Mr. Darcy is a noble, generous man and will not blame you for the failings of our parents and sister.”
“I hope so.”
The two sisters sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes and then Elizabeth spoke again, rather carefully. “How are you truly feeling?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have always thought the best of others; are you very distressed to discover that there are men like Wickham, who are all too ready to harm others for their own gain?”
Jane bit her lip and stared thoughtfully at a picture hanging on the wall, a painting of Brighton beach with colorful sailboats floating, apparently at anchor .
“I am distressed,” she said eventually, turning to look at her favorite sister, “distressed and angry and ... and a little ashamed, I think.”
“Ashamed? Why, dearest Jane?”
Jane’s brow wrinkled as she tried to put her thoughts into words.
“I realize that my optimistic view of humanity was truly foolish. The Bible is full of accounts of evil people, after all, and so is history. I think that I ... I wished to believe the best of others because it made the world seem safer. Does that make sense?”
“Of course it does! I do beg you not to be too hard on yourself, dearest. Your cheerful and loving disposition does you great credit.”
“I would not care to be like Miss Bingley, of course,” Jane mused, “who is a gossiping cynic, but I also ought to be more aware of the darkness in men’s souls. My eyes have been opened to much that I refused to acknowledge in the past.”
“I do not think you could ever be like Miss Bingley,” Elizabeth said, looking with concern on her sister.
Jane leaned back and cogitated for a full two minutes, while her sister waited silently.
“I am angry at Mr. and Miss Bingley,” Jane finally said in a rather surprised voice .
“Are you?”
“I am. Last December, when Mr. Bingley did not return to Netherfield, I insisted on blaming myself for reading too much into his attentions in the autumn. But he did pay a great deal of attention to me, and he ought not to have left without a word of farewell. It was hurtful and rude, and I know people were whispering behind my back, not to mention that I had to listen to our mother moaning about it continually.”
“You are entirely correct, of course. Mr. Bingley treated you very ill indeed, though it could be argued that Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley are largely to blame since they insisted that you did not love him.”
Jane shook her head dolefully. “No, you cannot excuse him that way, Lizzy. I will not permit it. Yes, Miss Bingley is a termagant and yes, Mr. Darcy ought not to have imagined he knew my heart, but it was Mr. Bingley’s responsibility to make up his own mind about our relationship, and if he wished to see me no more, he ought to have at least bid us farewell instead of hiding in London. ”
“I cannot disagree with you, my dear.”
Silence fell again as Elizabeth pondered Jane’s words. It was a trifle disconcerting to hear such discourse from the lips of one of the most optimistic ladies in all of England, but all in all, Elizabeth could only be thankful .
“Lizzy?”
“Yes?”
“What can you tell me about Mr. Hartford, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth stared in some surprise at her sister, who promptly turned pink under her sister’s intense scrutiny.
“He is Lady Amelia’s second son,” Elizabeth said, “and owns an estate a short distance from Brighton. He lost his arm in the war.”
“Do you like him?” Jane inquired, making rather a point of smoothing her sleeve.
“I do like him, yes. He has been generous regarding Lydia’s escapades and most noble in assisting us to protect her. Mr. Darcy bribed the driver whom Wickham engaged to drive the hired carriage, and it was Mr. Hartford who replaced the driver when Lydia was abducted.”
“So he can drive with only one hand?”
“Oh yes! In truth,” Elizabeth said thoughtfully, “Mr. Hartford is so adept that I often forget that he is missing an arm. He has adjusted marvelously well to his disability.”
/
“I want to see the Regent,” Lydia whined as she walked toward the carriage which would carry her back to Longbourn. “It is not fair!”
Jane, who could see her father was on the verge of an explosion, put a loving arm around her silly sister.
“Dear Lyddy, you cannot possibly go out into society with your face so very bruised. No, my dear, perhaps you will return to Brighton another time and meet the Regent, but given what came to pass yesterday, you must go home.”
Lydia’s lip quivered but she nodded. “Indeed, I would be horribly ashamed if Pratt or Denny should see me like this. I look dreadful! Oh, what if I am disfigured forever?”
“My dear niece,” Mrs. Gardiner said, descending down the steps with her husband at her heels, “I assure you that in a few weeks, you will be as good as new. Now come, it is time to depart; we have a long day of traveling ahead of us.”
Lydia allowed herself to be guided into the carriage, and Mr. Bennet turned to face his two eldest daughters along with Darcy and Hartford, all of whom had risen early to see the party off.
“My dear Jane and Elizabeth, thank you for your loving kindness toward your youngest sister and your foolish father. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Hartford, thank you again for assisting our family in such a sacrificial way. God bless you both for your goodness.”
The two men bowed and muttered inarticulate reassurances, and, after a last flurry of embraces, Mr. Bennet joined his youngest daughter and relations in the carriage. Within seconds, the coachman had started his horses and Elizabeth and Jane, arm in arm, watched as their family drew away.