Chapter 5 #2
Mr. Bennet’s heart ached as he heard Lydia’s voice. The door opened, and Wickham’s shocked face appeared. He immediately attempted to close it again, but Darcy placed his boot forward and pushed it forcefully.
“Wickham! We meet again. What an unpleasant surprise, would you not agree?”
∞∞∞
In Gracechurch Street, the passage of time was painfully slow.
That afternoon, Elizabeth shared with her aunt a part of her conversation with the countess and Miss Anna.
Although she trusted her aunt with all her heart, Elizabeth decided not to disclose anything about Miss Anna’s elopement.
Still, Mrs. Gardiner was impressed and astonished by the two ladies’ kind and generous reaction and expressed her eagerness to know more about them and perhaps even to meet them one day.
As time passed, they started to count every minute, watched through the window for every carriage, and wondered about the possible outcome.
After the children were prepared for sleep, time slowed even more under the complete silence. Retiring for the night was impossible to consider, so they kept each other company until midnight.
When the main door opened, they both ran towards it, and their distress turned to joy as they saw Mr. Bennet holding Lydia’s arm tightly.
With equal distress and relief, Elizabeth noticed her sister seemed unharmed, but her eyes were swollen from crying while her father appeared unsteady on his feet.
Elizabeth rushed to them, embracing her sister tightly.
“My darling Lydia, I am so happy to see you! How are you, dearest? I missed you so much, and I was so worried for you! But you are safe now. Let me look at you. How are you feeling?”
“Lizzy, please take Lydia to clean herself and rest…I need to rest for a moment too,” Mr. Bennet said weakly.
“Papa, are you unwell?” Elizabeth released her sister and took her father’s arm, supporting him.
“I will be fine as soon as I lie down,” Mr. Bennet replied as he walked towards his room. “I only need rest and silence…and a glass of wine would be most welcome…”
“Brother, where is my husband?” Mrs. Gardiner asked with deep worry as she took Lydia’s hand and directed her inside.
“Do not worry; he will return soon. He remained with Mr. Darcy to talk with Wickham. You have no reason for concern —other than we are both sick from spending time with the most dishonourable man ever to join a militia. Now, Lizzy, leave me and see to Lydia.”
“I will send you some food and drink, Brother,” Mrs. Gardiner answered, still concerned by the brief information she received. “I will have something for Lydia too. I know she must be not only tired but also starved.”
Lydia’s sudden cries startled them both, and Elizabeth returned to embrace her sister.
“Oh, Lizzy, did you hear Papa? What shall I do? I feel so bad! I cannot hold my tears.”
“It will pass…we will take care of you,” Elizabeth said tearfully, holding her tight. “Come, we will share the same room so I can watch you. Everything will be fine, and your suffering will pass soon.”
“It will never pass. I am devastated, and I feel I will die of pain and shame.”
“Lydia, are you in pain? Are you hurt? Should we fetch a doctor?”
“Why should you fetch a doctor? I am in pain because my heart is broken. I hoped at least you would understand and help me.”
“I will do anything to help you, dearest. And your heart will heal soon… you are very young, and you have all the time in the world to find an honourable man and to marry in a few years.”
“Lizzy, you are so silly! What do you mean to marry in a few years? I will marry in a few days! I am almost married already! But Papa is so cruel and unfair! He said such horrible things about George! It must be Mr. Darcy’s fault.
What business had Mr. Darcy to talk to George?
Why was he even there? Papa took me by force.
I did not want to leave George. And even worse, he said he would not buy me a trousseau.
And I do not have a proper bonnet and dress either!
I cannot possibly marry this way! And where is the food Aunt promised me?
Lord, I am so hungry, I could eat ten courses. ”
No matter how well Elizabeth believed she knew her sister, she refused to comprehend and accept Lydia’s careless, insensitive speech. All her concerns, sleepless nights, and distressing hours of fear seemed now useless and even ridiculous.
“I see. We were very worried for you, Lydia. It was thoughtless to just run away. How could you not think of all the trouble you caused Colonel Forster and your family?”
“Why would you be worried? I told Harriet precisely where I was. You should be happy for me. I am the youngest one and already married.”
“You are not married, Lydia, can you not see that? And you informed Mrs. Forster that you were going to Gretna Green, which obviously did not happen.”
“Surely, you are not scolding me, Lizzy! You have no right to do so! I will marry as soon as George solves some money problems, he said. As soon as I am married, everybody will envy me! But Papa must purchase me the trousseau I need. Nothing less would please me!”
“Here is the food you were waiting for, Lydia. Come and eat, and let us sleep. We will discuss tomorrow what pleases you or not. It is almost midnight.”
“Oh, look how much food there is! I did not eat much in the last few days, but I did not need food since I had the company of my dear George. Lizzy, you know nothing about what a man’s company means.
I can laugh when I think that I know more about men than any of you do.
Oh, and I want a glass of wine too. I discovered I really like wine! ”
While Lydia became more cheerful and greedily enjoyed the tasteful meal, Elizabeth’s heart grew even heavier than in the past days.
Shame and sorrow added to her distress as she realised there was nothing to be done with her youngest sister.
Lydia was finally discovered and brought home safely —in this, Elizabeth’s prayers had been heard.
Could she dare hope and pray for anything more?
Lydia slept peacefully the entire night, but Elizabeth found little rest. She heard her uncle return long after midnight, and she left her room to talk to him, but Mr. Gardiner had hurried to his bedchamber, so she would not dare disturb him.
The following morning, however, she woke very early, prepared herself a cup of tea, and waited.
Finally, her father joined her. Mr. Bennet looked as pale and tired as he had the previous night. Elizabeth helped him sit and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.
“Papa, you look quite unwell. Should we fetch a doctor?”
“Nonsense, Lizzy, I am well enough. Please pour me a cup of coffee then come sit by me; we must talk.”
Elizabeth got coffee for her father and herself; Mr. Bennet took his with trembling hands.
“Your sister slept well, I imagine.”
“She did, Papa. She is still sleeping.”
“Just her usual habit…I am content to see her so well and serene, but it does pain me to witness how little understanding she has of the world. I tried to convince her to return home with us, you know. But she would not have it; she cares about no one except Wickham, and she is not even concerned about when, or if, they will eventually marry…”
“Oh, Papa, I am sorry for your distress, but I am afraid you are correct. Her only preoccupation seems to be the lack of a trousseau.”
“I took her from there last night because I was too ashamed to allow Mr. Darcy to hear her excitement at being ‘all but married’ and her request that I order the new gowns she will need as a married woman.”
Elizabeth’s torment increased, and she could conceal her curiosity no longer.
“Papa, how did you find them? Was Mr. Darcy with you? Did I understand you correctly? You said he remained with my uncle…to talk to Mr. Wickham?”
“Mr. Darcy found them in a small inn. It would have taken weeks for us to discover them by ourselves, but as it was, we exerted no effort except in going there. It appeared Darcy had the means and the knowledge to track Wickham —and the will to waste his time on it, which was unimaginable. I tell you, Mr. Darcy is truly the most extraordinary person. I was shocked by how different he seemed, compared to when we met in Hertfordshire. I was a bit intimidated by him to tell the truth. And, Lizzy, he has a splendid library. Did you see it? You were so smart to suggest talking to him. We could not have found them without his help unless Wickham himself had appeared voluntarily.”
“I am glad my suggestion helped you. But did you have time to visit his library? So you spent some time in his house? And in what way did Mr. Darcy appear different to you?”
“In every way. He was a very polite host and quite generous in helping us. Indeed, he is obviously not a friendly man. I would wager he rarely laughs or indulges himself in easy chatter; his temper appears to be severe too. I would not want to have Darcy as an enemy. But to us, he was as helpful as a close friend would be. We never expected that.”
“Papa, please be more clear. What did Wickham do when he saw you? I really need all the details,” Elizabeth whispered, intrigued and increasingly nervous.
“Wickham was rather scared when he saw us, and he seemed terrified once Darcy confronted him. Of course, that did not stop the scoundrel from being a despicable excuse of a man.”
“Was he? Is it so?” She could hardly keep pace with her father’s story as her mind was overcome by countless, disturbing questions.
“He is such a low sort of human being, Lizzy. He showed no restraint in placing the entire blame for the elopement on Lydia. He declared he could not marry because he is unable to support a wife. He is without a commission or any means of living. Even more so, he implied that he was burdened by debts and he could take on no other commitment until he was free of them. In other words, he threatened us that, if we do not pay his debts, he will distance himself from your sister.”