Page 18 of Mr. Darcy and the Mysterious “Miss B”

Elizabeth

E lizabeth found Lydia in the Gardiners’ small sitting room, curled in the window seat with what appeared to be every scandal sheet in London spread around her like a fortress of gossip.

Her youngest sister’s eyes held a gleam Elizabeth had not seen since before their father’s death—a spark of mischief that was both welcome and worrying.

“Lizzy!” Lydia looked up with undisguised glee. “You must see this. It is the most delicious scandal.”

“I hardly think we need more scandal in our lives,” Elizabeth replied, settling into the chair opposite.

“Oh, but this is different. This is about Mr Darcy.” Lydia’s grin could have lit the entire room. “It seems the high and mighty gentleman is about to receive his just deserts.”

Anxiety coiled within her. “What do you mean?”

“Look here.” Lydia rustled through the papers with obvious satisfaction. “Mr Darcy caught in a compromising position with some mysterious Miss B. The gossips are in absolute raptures.”

She held up a particularly lurid publication. “‘Sources suggest the gentleman may be forced into marriage to preserve the lady’s honour.’ Can you imagine? Mr Darcy, who thinks himself so far above everyone else, trapped into marrying someone he probably despises.”

“Lydia, that is hardly something to celebrate.”

“Is it not?” Lydia’s eyes flashed with uncharacteristic hardness. “He forced Jane into an impossible situation with his meddling. Now someone is forcing him into one. I call it fitting justice.”

Elizabeth took the paper, scanning the brief but damaging paragraph. The language was vague but suggestive, designed to titillate readers whilst providing just enough detail to seem credible.

“Do we know who this Miss B might be?”

“Oh yes.” Lydia’s smile turned positively wicked. “Georgiana told me all about it yesterday when we went to Hyde Park. Miss Caroline Bingley is in absolute raptures—she thinks the notice refers to her.”

“Miss Bingley?” Elizabeth looked up sharply. “But surely—”

“Georgiana says Mr Darcy holds Caroline Bingley in dislike since they first met. Finds her grasping and tiresome.” Lydia leaned forward conspiratorially. “But Caroline has been throwing herself at his head for over a year. And now, with this scandal, she thinks she has finally caught him.”

An ache she could not identify rushed through her. “That seems rather calculating.”

“Oh, it gets better.” Lydia’s voice dropped to a whisper, though they were quite alone. “Georgiana says the Hursts have been pressuring Mr Darcy to marry Caroline for ages. The scandal is giving them all the ammunition they need.”

The implications struck Elizabeth with startling force. This was not merely social embarrassment—this was a carefully constructed trap designed to force Darcy into an unwanted marriage.

“How dreadful,” she murmured, surprising herself with the sincerity of the sentiment.

“Dreadful?” Lydia stared at her in amazement. “Lizzy, this is the same man who destroyed Jane’s happiness because he thought our family beneath his notice. Now he is about to be forced to marry someone he cannot stand. I find it rather poetic.”

Elizabeth could not argue with Lydia’s logic, yet something about the situation disturbed her.

She had seen enough of Darcy at Netherfield to know he was proud and often wrong-headed, but not cruel.

The idea of him trapped in a loveless marriage to Caroline Bingley seemed a punishment that exceeded his crimes.

“Uncle Gardiner mentioned he would bring the morning papers with his coffee,” she said, changing the subject. “Perhaps we should see if there are any new developments.”

As if summoned by her words, Mr Gardiner appeared in the doorway with a fresh stack of publications under his arm.

“Ladies,” he said with a slight smile. “I see you have been keeping abreast of the latest entertainment.”

“Is there more?” Lydia practically bounced in her seat.

Mr Gardiner handed over the newest papers with obvious amusement. “I fear Mr Darcy’s troubles are escalating rather than diminishing.”

Lydia seized the papers with undisguised eagerness, scanning the pages with the dedication of a scholar. “Oh la. Listen: ‘Wedding preparations for Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss B are said to be proceeding with all haste. Sources close to the Earl of Matlock suggest an announcement is imminent.’”

Elizabeth felt her breath catch. “Wedding preparations?”

“They are making it sound as though the engagement is practically settled.” Lydia’s voice held wonder and glee in equal measure. “Poor Mr Darcy must be beside himself.”

But Elizabeth was no longer listening to her sister’s commentary. Her mind was racing, pieces of a complex puzzle falling into place with startling clarity.

Darcy was trapped. The scandal sheets were backing him into a corner from which there seemed no escape. Every day the rumours grew stronger, Caroline Bingley’s position more secure. Soon, social pressure would make their marriage inevitable.

And meanwhile, Jane grew paler each day, resigned to her fate with James Morton.

Two problems. Two families facing ruin. And perhaps… perhaps one solution that could save them both.

Elizabeth rose abruptly, pacing to the window where she could see the busy London street below. Carriages rattled past, pedestrians hurried about their business, the world continued its normal rhythm whilst two families faced potential ruin.

But maybe there was another way?

“Lizzy?” Lydia’s voice held concern. “You look as though you have seen a ghost.”

Elizabeth turned from the window, her mind crystallising around a plan so audacious it took her breath away.

“I have an idea.”

Miss B.

Bingley. It would make sense. Perhaps it had been her plan all along, perhaps she had placed the notice to make herself Mrs Darcy…. Even though she knew Mr Darcy did not want her. How desperate.

And yet, not the worst a lady had ever done to set her cap on a man.

Darcy would indeed be miserable. And desperate himself.

“You look as though you are about to draw up a plan to storm the Tower.”

Elizabeth sat back down, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The plan forming in her mind was indeed magnificent and mad—and potentially ruinous for everyone involved.

But it might also save them all.

“I need to write to Mama immediately.”

“Mama? Whatever for?”

“I need her to delay any arrangements with James Morton. He is to be at Longbourn tomorrow. She wrote to me just yesterday, saying he had sent another letter announcing his visit. He has business in Brighton but wished to call on Jane. Undoubtedly to ensure he can elicit an answer from her. We have delayed him once already when he demanded an earlier answer.”

“So he wants to pressure her?” Lydia asked.

“That is what I think. Mama needs to delay him again somehow. I must write to her. She and Jane need to join us also, and I must send word. If I send it with express, it will get there in time.”

“Get there in time for what?” Lydia asked.

“To tell her that she needs to find a way to appease him, to get more time for Jane. She must tell him Jane requires more time to consider, or that she has taken ill again—whatever excuse will buy us a few more days.”

Lydia stared at her with growing alarm. “Lizzy, what are you planning?”

Elizabeth paused at the door, turning back to her sister with a smile that felt both terrifying and exhilarating.

“I am planning to solve two problems at once,” she said. “And if I am very lucky, I might even manage it without ruining us all in the process. Has Uncle Morton settled at his townhouse yet?”

Lydia nodded. “Yes, he sent word this morning to let us know he is in London now and wishes to meet us for a luncheon soon.”

“Good. I shall need to speak to him too,” Lizzy said.

With that cryptic pronouncement, she hurried from the room, leaving Lydia staring after her with a mixture of admiration and terror.

In the hallway, Elizabeth paused to steady herself. What she was contemplating was beyond bold—it was potentially ruinous. But Jane’s happiness hung in the balance, and Darcy, for all his faults, did not deserve to be trapped in a loveless marriage through manipulation and scandal.

If her plan succeeded, it might save them both. If it failed…

Elizabeth squared her shoulders and went to find her mother. Some risks were worth taking, especially when the alternative was watching the people she cared about sacrifice their futures to other people’s schemes.

It was time to take action.