Page 12 of The Duke of Derby (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

On May first, Mr. Bennet told his daughters over breakfast, “Well, my dears, the paper is finally hung in your mother’s and sisters’ bedrooms. The sheets and blankets are ready.

I believe it might be time for me to fetch the rest of our family and inform them that their lives are about to be turned upside down. ”

“If that is the case, my sister and I can be ready to depart by noon,” said Mr. Darcy. “Now that the rest of your family will be arriving, I am certain you would rather have your house to yourself to become accustomed to your new lives.”

“Thank you, Mr. Darcy, for all your help,” said the duke. “If it was not for your help, I would likely be floundering away for months if not years.”

“You are, of course, most welcome,” said Mr. Darcy.

There was silence at the table for a time as each of them focused on their food and secretly mourned the necessity of their impending separation.

Jane and Elizabeth would miss Georgiana’s company.

Mrs. Rigby and Mrs. Annesley would miss each other.

Mr. Darcy, though he could not give any hint about his feelings, would most definitely miss the ability to be in Lady Elizabeth’s company every day.

After a few minutes, Mr. Warburton brought in a letter. “This was delivered as an express, Your Grace,” he said.

Elizabeth watched her father as he read the letter. His face went from stern to stormy to furious in seconds.

When he was done, he stood up and said, “Our plans have changed. I will need to go make arrangements.”

As he turned to walk out of the room, Elizabeth said, “Papa, whatever can be the matter?”

He gave no verbal answer, though he did hand her the letter. Then he stormed out of the room. Elizabeth opened the missive and read aloud:

April 30, 1812

Dear Papa,

Please come home as quickly as possible.

This morning Lydia was noticed to be missing.

After some asking around, it seems as though Mr. Wickham is also missing from the regiment.

Both Colonel Forster and Uncle Phillips have concluded that they must have gone together.

Only after they determined that did Kitty find a letter from Lydia on her dressing table stating that such was her intention.

She was positively gleeful at the thought of running off to Gretna Greene despite the fact that neither of them have enough money to get there.

Colonel Forster has sent some of his men to search along the north road, but we have not had word yet. They have only been gone half a day, so there is hope, yet. You are very much needed here. Mama has taken to her bed, and Kitty is nearly insensible.

Love,

Mary

Elizabeth looked up from her letter to see how Jane was taking the news. Only then did she notice that Mr. Darcy had stood up from the table with a furious look on his face, and Georgiana appeared pale and frightened.

Before Elizabeth could speak, Mr. Darcy said, “I will go and offer my assistance to your father. I have more knowledge of Wickham’s character and connections than he does, which might be useful in finding them. I would ask if Georgiana can stay here while I am gone.”

“Of course,” said Jane immediately. “We would be most happy to have her stay with us.”

“Absolutely,” said Elizabeth, echoing her sister. “I wish you luck with the search.”

With a nod to acknowledge Elizabeth’s good wishes, Mr. Darcy exited the room to find the duke.

When he was gone, Georgiana, with her face pale and frightened, said, “You may not wish me to stay when you hear what I have done.”

“That is nonsense,” said Elizabeth. “What could you possibly have done that would make us wish you to leave?”

“I almost eloped with Mr. Wickham last summer,” she said.

Elizabeth could not hide the surprise she felt upon such a statement, nor could she think of anything to say immediately. The implications of such a thing would certainly explain why Mr. Darcy was so angry any time Mr. Wickham’s name was mentioned.

“The material point is that you did not,” said Jane. “None of us should be judged based on what we almost did, only what we have actually done.”

“You don’t understand,” said Georgiana, practically in tears.

“If Fitzwilliam hadn’t come to visit a day earlier than he had planned, I would have.

It was merely luck that I did not fall into the same trap your sister has.

Even worse, if I had eloped with Mr. Wickham, he would not have been available to take your sister.

You must hate me, both for what I almost did as well as the fact that I didn’t follow through. ”

“That is nonsense,” said Elizabeth. “If Lydia did not elope with Mr. Wickham, it is entirely possible she would have done so with someone else at some point. She has been dying to get married since she was fourteen, and she has very little understanding of the consequences of her own actions. Though it may seem that your situations are similar, they are as night and day.”

“I agree,” said Jane. “The fact that you are a wonderful young lady who tries her best to do what is right has been obvious to us since the day you arrived.” She paused then said, “Though I know it won’t change our opinion of you, I think it would be helpful to us all, including you, if you would tell us the whole story of how you almost eloped. ”

Hesitantly, and with much encouragement from Elizabeth and Jane, Georgiana told her story.

Last summer, she was placed in the care of a companion, Mrs. Younge.

Together, they went to Ramsgate to escape the heat of London.

While there, she encountered Mr. Wickham, of whom she had a few fond memories from the time he lived near Pemberley.

She fell in love with the young man, but not knowing what to do about it, since she was too young for her guardians to agree to her marriage, she consulted Mrs. Younge.

Her companion and Mr. Wickham convinced her that the only way she could be happy was to elope.

Fortunately, Mr. Darcy arrived to visit her a day before they planned to leave.

Once in her brother’s presence, she could not bear to keep the secret from him.

She hoped that he would see how important this was to her and would consent to a normal marriage.

Instead, he was furious. He waited for Mr. Wickham to arrive to discuss their plans, and he let his fury loose on the man.

Georgiana had felt terrible that the object of her love was being abused in such a way…until Mr. Wickham’s parting words. “Well, you have ruined my plans once again, Darcy. I hope you’re happy. One good thing about all this is that I’m not saddled with that spiritless bore for the rest of my life.”

When Elizabeth heard this, she jumped up from her seat and went around the table to hug Georgiana, who was crying freely. She allowed the young girl to sob onto her shoulder until she could cry no longer.

As Georgiana cried, Elizabeth thought furiously about Mr. Wickham and Mrs. Younge. Both of them had used the trust Georgiana had in them in their attempt to ruin her life for selfish gain. The more Georgiana cried, the more angry she became.

Eventually, Georgiana stopped, and Elizabeth went back to her seat.

Jane said, “One thing I don’t understand is why Mr. Wickham took Lydia.

No one in Meryton knows about our changed circumstances, not even our own family.

As far as Mr. Wickham knows, Lydia has nothing.

Why would he attempt to elope with her?”

Silence reigned for several moments. Then, Elizabeth said, “Truly, I do not wish to contemplate the matter, but as far as I can tell, he can have no honorable reason. I would not be surprised if he was not planning marriage at all.”

Both Jane and Georgiana gasped at the implication. “Even Lydia is not so foolish as to run away with a man unless he proposed,” said Jane.

“One thing about Mr. Wickham that I remember clearly,” said Georgiana, “is that he often implies things that he doesn’t say outright. It is possible that your sister believed he wished to marry her, when he never said anything of the sort.”

Elizabeth thought back over the many pleasant conversations she had with him, and she had to agree.

“Whatever Lydia’s beliefs and whatever Mr. Wickhams intentions, they do not change the material point.

By now, the two of them have been together overnight.

If Lydia does not return home married, she could ruin our entire family. ”

~~~~~

It did not take long for Darcy to find the duke after he left the breakfast room. The Duke of Derbyshire was in his study with his secretary and his butler giving instructions for them to follow in his absence.

Darcy patiently waited for the duke to finish speaking with his servants. Then he asked for a private word. The two men stepped out into the hall.

“I would like to come with you, Your Grace,” said Darcy.

“This is not your business,” said the duke.

“Lady Elizabeth read the letter out loud after you left,” said Darcy.

“I know the man in question, and I have a good idea where he might be going. I can help. In fact, I am honor-bound to do so, considering I knew what a blackguard he was, and I said nothing. I should have done something in Hertfordshire, told someone what the man was capable of. I did not, and this is the result.”

Darcy was deliberately speaking vaguely in case a servant overheard some of the conversation.

The duke followed suit. Shaking his head, he said quietly, “The lady in question is one of the silliest females in the country. This was bound to happen, though I had hoped to prevent it by providing a better education going forward.”

The duke thought for a moment then said, “Very well, Darcy. It will be good to have someone along on this hellish journey. I accept your offer.”

“I have asked your daughters to allow Georgiana to stay here while I am gone. Do you have any objections?”

“No, of course not,” said His Grace. “Now, get yourself packed up. I plan to leave in thirty minutes.”

Darcy bowed and said, “Yes, Your Grace.” He then dashed away.

Thirty minutes later, Darcy and the duke were in a carriage pulled by four horses. On the box sat both a driver and a footman, and there were two outriders as well.

Changing that many horses along their journey would become expensive quite quickly. Darcy had only done something similar a small handful of times. Apparently, the duke was not opposed to spending money when doing so would get him where he was going both faster and more safely.