Page 74 of Heiress of Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variations)

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Lydia Bennet demanded petulantly, rolling to her feet and wandering over to the mirror on her dresser. She looked quite dreadful with her hair tangled and her garments askew. She smoothed out her pink day dress and grabbed her comb, carefully running it through her soft brown ringlets.

Miss Colby wandered casually over to the window seat and sat down without leave, provoking a glare from the room’s occupant. “I did not give you permission to sit down, Miss Colny.”

“Miss Colby,” the woman corrected calmly. “No, you did not, but it hardly matters. Longbourn belongs to your father, not you, and he has given me permission to address you.”

“Well, address me then!” Lydia ordered, glowering at her unwanted visitor.

“You have obviously inherited your mother’s beauty, Miss Lydia.”

In a moment, Lydia’s expression shifted from angry to preening. “Yes, I have! I am quite the second most beautiful of the Bennet daughters, after Jane, of course.”

“No, you are third,” Miss Colby contradicted. “Miss Elizabeth is second to Miss Bennet in beauty. I would agree that your features are slightly prettier than Miss Kitty, but given your current scowl, she is a far more appealing young woman.”

Lydia actually snarled and hurled the comb at her tormentor, who caught it with one hand. “Why thank you, Miss Lydia! Your father said I could keep anything you threw at me.”

The youngest Miss Bennet screeched in outrage, “No! That is my favorite comb! You cannot have it!”

“You can try to take it back from me,” Miss Colby responded with an amused quirk of her lips.

Lydia threw herself forward with a squeal of fury. She was the tallest of the Bennet sisters, and well formed, and it would be no trouble at all to…

Miss Colby rose to her feet, casting the comb to one side, and ducked under Lydia’s arm. A moment later, she caught Lydia’s arm, spun her around, placed her in a headlock, and pushed her over and onto her bed in a prone position. Lydia screamed and wiggled, but Priscilla lifted one leg and planted it firmly on the girl’s back.

Lydia howled in protest for a full minute, her face muffled by the coverlet, before subsiding into hiccupping sobs.

Priscilla waited another few seconds before releasing her captive. Lydia slowly sat up, her skin tone bleached with wonder and fear. “How … how did you do that?” she quavered.

“I have had substantial training in defending myself, Miss Lydia,” Priscilla explained, standing up straight. “Get up, young lady, now.”

Lydia did so, still gulping in shock.

“Now look at me,” her adversary ordered. “I am shorter than you, and thinner, and yet I blocked your feeble attack and effortlessly restrained you. How much easier would it be for a reprehensible man to attack you and, if he wished, take your virtue?”

Lydia was beyond gasping, so startled and horrified was she. “Take my...?” she finally whispered in distressed bewilderment.

“Yes,” the older woman said grimly, a frowning cleft forming between her eyebrows. “I do not always explain the brutal realities of life to sixteen-year-old girls, but I have spoken to your father and your elder sisters, and given your penchant for flirting with officers and wandering off with them, you are definitely in danger of being attacked and yes, ravished. There are good men on this Earth, and very bad men. You put yourself in danger when you are careless in your speech and actions, when you allow men like the militia officers to take liberties when they hold your arm or when they, perhaps, steal a little kiss in the dark corner of an assembly hall?”

Now the girl’s eyes were teary. “I ... yes, I ... Mr. Wickham did ... and Mr. Pratt, but they are officers and gentlemen! They would never…”

Miss Colby sighed and drew the girl to the window seat, where both sat down, Lydia most thankfully as she felt quite shaky.

“The officers of the militia are men from other counties of fair England. You have no knowledge of their families, of their propensities, of their true views of our sex. They may appear all that is charming, but some of them, not all, are hiding a selfish, lascivious heart under a pleasing countenance. In a perfect world, Miss Lydia, no man would take advantage of your youth and inexperience, but it is not a perfect world. I have worked with young women who have been ruined, who have found themselves with child, when a man attacked them. You are a reasonably intelligent young woman, blessed with considerable beauty, and it would grieve me, and break your family’s heart, if your carelessness resulted in your ruin and the ruin of your sisters. Do you understand?”

Lydia Bennet had felt uneasy more than once in the last week, but this was the first time in her life that she felt truly sick with dismay.

“I understand,” she murmured.

“Good,” Miss Colby acknowledged, and rose briskly to her feet, “then my work here is finished.”

She turned to go, only to halt when Lydia spoke again, rather plaintively. “Miss Colby, might you be willing to teach me to defend myself?”

Priscilla turned and awarded her an approving smile. “I will speak to Miss de Bourgh, but yes, I believe that will be possible.”

***

“Horses are so tall!” Elizabeth explained meekly. “I find them quite intimidating.”

“You need not ride, of course,” Darcy said carefully, “but there are regions of the estate which are most easily attained on horseback. We have very gentle mares in our stables, or, if you prefer, you could learn to ride on a pony.”

Elizabeth nibbled one luscious pink lip and then awarded her future husband a smile. “I will consider a pony, at least, but I wish to meet him or her first and make friends.”

“I will hold you to that, Elizabeth. Our most gentle pony loves apples. I daresay you will find her delightful...”

“Darcy, Miss Elizabeth!” a voice called, causing the couple to turn in surprise.

“Colonel Fitzwilliam!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “What are you doing here, sir?”

The colonel’s face was dark with concern, but at the sight of his cousin and Miss Elizabeth standing very closely together, his eyes brightened. “I will explain in a moment, Miss Elizabeth, but first, may I inquire as to your health and well-being?”

“I am very well. Mr. Darcy has done me the honor of asking for my hand in marriage again, and I have accepted.”

“Congratulations!” Fitzwilliam enthused. “Congratulations to you both!”

“We are overjoyed,” Darcy said, looking happier than Fitzwilliam had ever seen him, “but come, Cousin, why are you here? Is it about Wickham? I approached Colonel Forster yesterday regarding the debts I have in hand, and the colonel agreed that the miscreant will be arrested as soon as he returns to his barracks from London.”

Fitzwilliam groaned aloud. “Wickham did return to Meryton, but was apparently warned that he was to be arrested, and he fled.”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose in surprise and Darcy snarled softly.

“Who warned him?” he demanded angrily, reaching out to take one of Elizabeth’s hands protectively.

“That we do not know,” Richard admitted, “but I traced Wickham to a stable which rents out job horses. Our old enemy returned his first horse and then reappeared some twenty minutes later, claiming that an express had arrived from London and that he had to return there immediately. He rented another horse, a gray gelding, and disappeared. This was a few hours ago.”

“He is probably going to London, then?” Elizabeth inquired with uncertainty.

“Perhaps,” Richard acknowledged, “but Mrs. Jenkinson informed us that only yesterday, Wickham called on Mrs. Younge to retrieve the remaining letters, and was furious when she discovered that they had disappeared. Mrs. Jenkinson was able to creep out of the side door and over to the kitchen window, which was open in the heat, and she heard the latter part of the conversation between the two. Wickham intends to take Anne as his bride and requested Mrs. Younge’s help. She refused, but based on our enemy’s final words to his former compatriot, he has not given up his hopes to become master of Rosings.”

Elizabeth cast a horrified look in the vague direction of Netherfield. “You must warn Anne! She is in great danger!”

“She is aware of the potential danger,” Darcy said gravely, “but I agree that we must consult with her, and soon. Elizabeth, my dear, would you be willing to inform your father of the latest news of Wickham? Richard and Miss Colby and I must return to Netherfield.”

“I will, and I promise we will all stay inside in safety until we hear news from you. Do be careful, please.”

***

“So Wickham is lurking somewhere hoping to abduct me?” Anne inquired, her gaze fixed on the waving fronds of ornamental grasses which were trembling in the wind outside the window.

“Possibly,” Darcy cautioned. “Perhaps, with the news of his imminent arrest, he has given up hope and retreated to London.”

“I hope he has not,” Miss Colby commented. “Far better to capture him now than to have him skulking out of sight like a particularly malignant wasp.”

Anne sat down on a couch and crossed her ankles neatly. “It appears to me that we have the bait for a finely tuned trap, do you not think? We should make use of his desire to take me as his bride to determine whether he remains in the area or not.”

It took Darcy a moment to understand her meaning, and then his mouth gaped in horror. “Anne, no! He is not a safe man! He might…”

“Nonsense, Darcy,” Anne interrupted, leaning forward to spear him with her most imperious glare. “I am a member of the League of the Golden Daffodil, and while I do not pretend to be able to hold my own against a true warrior, I can handle Wickham. Besides, I would not be alone; I have two fine male cousins, and Miss Colby, to assist me in capturing the rogue.”

“It is too dangerous!” Pemberley’s master exclaimed and turned pleading eyes on Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Do you not think so, Richard?”

The man gazed at the ceiling for a few seconds and then looked directly into Darcy’s eyes. “No, I do not. Anne is quite right; if Wickham is still in the area, we need to find and take him. He is particularly dangerous now, with the blackmail letters gone, with an arrest warrant hanging over his head. If he has slid away into the wretched alleys of some great city, he is beyond our reach, but if he is still here in Hertfordshire, we must use that to our advantage.”

Darcy looked back at Anne anxiously, and she rose to her full, petite height and addressed him. “Do not worry, Cousin. I will be entirely well. Keep in mind that Miss Colby has taught me extensively on how to defend myself.”

Priscilla Colby nodded reassuringly. “Miss de Bourgh is completely correct, sir. Wickham is strong enough to overcome a woman caught by surprise, but that is not the situation, and in fact, the element of surprise will be on Miss de Bourgh’s side.”

Darcy bit his lip. “What if he brings a pistol, Anne? I concede that you have remarkable hidden talents in the art of self-defense, but you can hardly conquer a bullet.”

Anne grimaced. “That is true enough. Priscilla, does Wickham own a pistol?”

“He does not,” her companion asserted. “I searched his quarters quickly but thoroughly; a pistol is far more difficult to hide than a packet of letters, after all.”

Anne relaxed. “Then all will be well.”

***

“No one is permitted to leave Longbourn for the rest of the day,” Mr. Bennet ordered his wife and daughters. “Is that entirely clear? Mr. Wickham is a treacherous man, and I will not allow him to harm any of you.”

Everyone nodded obediently, and the Bennet patriarch stalked over to his youngest daughter, who was seated next to Kitty, her face downcast. “That is particularly true for you, Lydia. You seem to relish in flouting me, but I promise you that if you even consider creeping away...”

“I will not, Father, I promise,” Lydia assured him, her tone strangely submissive. The rest of her sisters cast her doubtful looks, and Mr. Bennet glared. On the one hand, Lydia was never submissive. On the other, he could hardly argue with her meek agreement. Nonetheless, he should do something more than merely lock her in her room.

“Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, I will be requiring you to take turns with Lydia today. I want to be absolutely certain that she remains peacefully within Longbourn.”

“What of me, Father?” Kitty inquired.

“You may also spend time with Lydia, but not alone; I fear that she might convince you to do something foolish.”

Kitty did not protest; it was true enough that while she was the older of the pair, Lydia was stronger willed and had dragged her into more than one foolish escapade.

“I will not do anything stupid,” Lydia repeated gravely.