Page 5 of Searching for Elizabeth (A Pride and Prejudice Variation)

—the next morning—

Elizabeth Bennet was happily sorting the foods that Mary and Hill had managed to pack into Mary’s basket. She was so cheered by the sight of an entire cup full of elderberry jam—she was quite hungry, at the moment—that she must have stopped listening to what Mary was saying for a second. But when Mary said “Mr. Darcy,”

Lizzy stopped putting food into the cupboard and whirled around to face her sister.

“Mr. Darcy?” she said.

Mary narrowed her eyes at her sister. Lizzy blushed, embarrassed that she had not been listening. She tried to think of an excuse, but at that moment a loud grumble from her stomach accomplished the task. Both girls giggled at the sound.

Mary said, “You are too hungry to listen to all the Longbourn drama, especially since there were four momentous things that happened yesterday afternoon. Quick, get some food ready, and I promise I will tell you everything while you eat.”

While Lizzy ate a boiled egg, a piece of toast with jam, and a honey cake, Mary told her the news. Elizabeth thought it seemed surprising that four momentous things could have happened since she had left, less than one day before!

First, Jane had received a note almost immediately after Lizzy had left. It was from Caroline Bingley, who had written that, despite her brother’s assurances that he would return in three days, circumstances had changed; Caroline and the Hursts were also forced to return to London, and they would likely remain in Town for the rest of the winter.

“Oh, poor Jane!”

Lizzy said. Tears sprung to her eyes.

“Yes, and Miss Bingley also hinted that Mr. Bingley would probably marry Georgiana Darcy, and that those two were looking forward to seeing each other again soon.”

Lizzy instantly became skeptical. That did not seem at all likely, and it cast doubt on the rest of the letter as well.

“I bet the whole thing is a lie,”

she said.

“Of course I believe that Mr. Bingley has business to handle in London, because that was the plan weeks ago, but I think Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst just took advantage of his absence and decided to escape back to the oh-so-elegant folks they prefer. As for Mr. Bingley marrying Miss Darcy, Mr. Darcy said his sister would not be out until she was eighteen or nineteen years old, several years from now. I am almost positive he would be angry if he knew Miss Bingley was spreading this rumor about his sister!”

“I agree,”

Mary said.

“But when I told Jane that, she said that she was certain that Mr. Bingley was just a good man who was likely in love with Miss Darcy, and that Miss Bingley would never, ever dissemble, and that she had been foolish to get her hopes up…”

“That is another thing that makes me believe the entire letter is rubbish,”

Lizzy said.

“No one who saw Mr. Bingley and Jane together could doubt that he loves Jane, not Miss Darcy.”

Mary related how Jane had cried, Mama had yelled, and Lydia had just laughed.

“I had to escape,”

Mary said.

“I just had to take a walk and get away from all of them.”

Lizzy smiled, recognizing in Mary her own response to shrieking and tantrums.

Mary went on, “The second thing that happened was that Mr. Darcy called. I did not see him, because he arrived after I left and was gone by the time I came back, but apparently everyone was crying and carrying on until Mr. Darcy was announced.”

Lizzy shook her head again, still surprised.

“Mr. Darcy!”

she exclaimed.

“Yes. I heard all about his visit from Jane, and she said he asked for you.”

“Me?”

“You need to stop interrupting me by repeating my words every time I finish a sentence!”

Mary complained.

Lizzy grinned before repeating, “Interrupting?”

Mary stuck her tongue out and went on, “Mr. Darcy said he needed to talk to you about something the two of you had spoken of the night before, at the ball. And when Mama said you were not home just then—apparently Mama did not bother to explain that she had banished you—Jane said that our mother told Mr. Darcy that you and I are her most troublesome daughters, and that he should call on Jane, instead—”

“Oh, lord, that is so embarrassing. Is it not just like Mama that she switched to pushing another match so soon after the Bingley letter?”

“Anyway, Jane said that Mr. Darcy asked to speak to Papa, since you were not available, and that he was in the book room for some time. Everyone was still wondering what they had talked about when I got home from my walk, but before I had time to even tidy up, Papa came into the parlor and said that he had an important announcement.”

“Ah, the third momentous thing that happened after I left,”

Lizzy said.

“Yes,”

Mary agreed.

“Papa told us what he had learned about Mr. Wickham.”

Then, Mary told Lizzy what Papa said about Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham growing up close to one another, one the son of the master and the other the son of the steward. She mentioned the dying request of the elder Mr. Wickham and enumerated the ways in which Mr. Darcy’s father had tried to fulfill the request. When she got to the part about Wickham choosing to take three thousand pounds as compensation for the living, but then coming back a couple of years later, asking for more, Elizabeth gasped.

“He went through three thousand pounds in just two years! Heavens!”

“Actually, it was four thousand pounds, because Mr. Darcy’s father also left him one thousand pounds outright in addition to the living. By the way,”

Mary said, looking very serious, “I wanted to say to you that what Mr. Darcy told Papa makes much more sense to me than what Mr. Wickham told you. After all, something left in a will would have to be given or compensated for, or there would be legal action.”

Mary shook her head and said, “I never thought that Mr. Wickham’s story made much sense.”

“Well, I wish I were as wise as you, little sister,”

Lizzy said. She had finished eating and was putting the rest of the food away; she took a moment to stop tidying in order to give Mary a fond hug.

“I think you wanted to believe bad things about Mr. Darcy because he said you did not tempt him, and you wanted to believe that Mr. Wickham would not lie about the living because he made it clear that you did tempt him.”

“Out of the mouths of babes,”

Lizzy said softly.

Mary scoffed.

“I am only one year and two months younger than you, Lizzy!”

“I know. I am just trying to laugh at myself, because the alternative is to cry and scream and rail, and I want you to still like me and come visit me.”

“Oh, Lizzy. I am so sorry about everything,”

Mary cried, momentarily off track. She cleared her throat as she continued.

“Anyway, the main thing that Papa said as a warning is that Mr. Wickham gambles—and apparently loses great sums of money quite quickly—he has more than once skipped town without paying his debts, he regularly seduces women and has abandoned several with child, and he even tried to elope with an heiress for her dowry. Papa said Mr. Darcy gave enough details that he is certain that Mr. Wickham is the most dissolute wretch.”

Closing her eyes, Lizzy plopped her head down into her hands.

“Oh, I am so very sorry that I ever listened to Mr. Wickham. What must Mr. Darcy think of me, now?”

“Anyway,”

Mary continued, “I am getting close to the end of my news, because the fourth thing that happened was that Mr. Collins came back from his dinner at Lucas Lodge, and he just smirked and sniggered at us while he crowed about how he was now betrothed—to Charlotte Lucas!”

Lizzy’s mouth dropped open in utter astonishment. She was completely unequal to that bit of news piled on top of all of the other bits, and she burst into tears.

She cried for herself, for Jane, for poor Mr. Darcy, who she had unjustly criticized just two nights ago, and for Charlotte, even. Who could abide marrying such a man as Mr. Collins?