Chapter 6
Chapter Six
WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER 1811
LONGBOURN
T he morning after the assembly, Jane gave her sister the time she needed to recover from whatever had troubled her the night before. When Jane descended the stairs shortly before noon, she spoke with the housekeeper and learned that Elizabeth had returned the previous evening, gone straight to her room, and requested laudanum for a headache before going to bed. Still, when the family gathered in the dining room for breakfast, Jane was surprised not to see Elizabeth there. Her absence was remarked upon by her family, but Jane made excuses for her.
After the meal, Jane went to Elizabeth’s room to check on her. She was startled to find her sister absent and the bed seemingly untouched, while it appeared some items had been hastily removed from the closet. Upon looking further, Jane discovered two letters—one addressed to her and another to their father. She sat down on Elizabeth’s bed and began to read her letter.
My dearest Jane,
I do not know if you recall four years ago, when I visited Derbyshire. I know you noticed that not long after that trip, I began to suffer from periods of melancholy. Our father forbade me from telling you that a man proposed marriage to me while I was there and promised to come for me to ask for my hand. However, I was heartbroken when he never came, and I believed he had deserted me.
Last night, the gentleman showed up at the assembly with Mr. Bingley. The man from all those years ago is Mr. Darcy. After speaking, we realised that Mr. Bennet deliberately kept us apart. He informed Mr. Darcy that I was married, and he told me Mr. Darcy never came. But he did, twice, and both times Mr. Bennet lied to us both. We do not wish to give Mr. Bennet the chance to separate us again, so we have decided to travel to Scotland where we can marry without his consent since I am not yet one and twenty. Once we are married, Mr. Bennet can no longer control me. I am sad to take such a drastic step, but I will not allow Mr. Bennet to do this again. Not knowing his motivation behind these lies, we are choosing to face life together and not wait any longer. Keep this a secret as long as you can, I beg you. Before you say anything to Mama, hand Mr. Bennet the letter addressed to him. I doubt he will stir himself to chase us, but at this point, I have no idea what that man might do.
I love Fitzwilliam, Jane. I have loved him for years. I know you have sensed my melancholy at being kept apart from him; I will bear it no longer.
Love,
Elizabeth soon-to-be-Darcy.
This letter astonished Jane. She remembered Elizabeth’s despondency in the months after returning from the north that summer, but knew their father had forbidden Elizabeth to speak of it. Her sister had pretended cheer though Jane had known something was wrong. It had lasted for years, and it was only a few months ago that Elizabeth finally seemed to come out of whatever melancholy had lingered all this time.
Therefore, it came as a surprise to learn that Elizabeth, her usually sensible sister, intended to flee for the border with a man she claimed to have fallen in love with four years ago. It was also odd that she referred to their father as Mr. Bennet throughout the letter, and given Elizabeth’s rather scathing tone towards him, she wondered what exactly had taken place.
Jane was not the only one surprised by a letter that day. The rider Darcy sent south left a letter at Netherfield for Bingley, making excuses for his absence, before continuing on to London. After leaving a letter with Darcy’s solicitor arranging for the marriage settlement, he proceeded to Gracechurch Street with a letter addressed to Mrs. Gardiner.
My dear Aunt,
All this time I have wondered what caused my father cut off all contact between our families. However, I trusted him, believing that he loved me and would do what was best for me. When Mr. Darcy never came, I believed that what passed in Derbyshire was all in my imagination or that perhaps my father had learned something truly terrible about him.
However, last night I learned the truth. Mr. Bennet has deliberately separated me from my love and, I believe, from your family. I cannot understand his reasoning for either. Mr. Darcy, Fitzwilliam, did come for me. He came to Meryton twice and was told the first time that I was engaged and the second time that I was married. Both were lies. If Mr. Bennet had attempted to engage me to someone, I would not have willingly surrendered to his plans. He could not have forced me to marry, and since that summer in Derbyshire, I have been determined that if I could not marry the man I loved, I would not marry at all. Had he forced the issue, I would have found some way to come to you in London, regardless of the lack of contact.
Fitzwilliam appeared this evening at the quarterly assembly in Meryton. He came hoping to see me again, having been told by Mr. Bennet that I had married three years ago, not long after my seventeenth birthday. It was obviously a lie, and I wonder if he told you the same. I do not know what he said or did that made you stop contacting us, or if he did to you what we believe he did with Mr. Darcy, simply intercept the letters between us to give each of us the impression that we had been forgotten. I cannot understand such meanness as Mr. Bennet has displayed over the last four years.
Regardless, when Fitzwilliam and I met again last night we determined that we would not allow Mr. Bennet or anyone else separate us ever again. I packed a few things and sneaked out of Longbourn, and now we are headed towards Scotland to marry. Neither of us care what scandal might ensue as a result of our decision. For four years, my father’s machinations have kept us apart, but by absconding into the night, we are able to be together again. I have loved him for four years and could never imagine loving another. He feels the same.
After we wed, we will go to Pemberley for a time. We will likely travel to London for a part of the season in the spring. Fitzwilliam hopes that his aunt and uncle will support his decision, but if they do not, we do not care. These last four years have been painful for us both, and as long as we have the other, no one else matters. Perhaps it is selfish, but we have a chance at happiness, and neither of us can stand to not take it.
I hope you will be happy for us. Please write to me, Aunt. I have missed you terribly these last years, almost as much as I have missed my Fitzwilliam. I hope when we return to London you will agree to see me and will ignore whatever scandal might arise due to our elopement.
Your devoted niece,
Elizabeth
When she finished reading, Mrs. Gardiner raised her hand to her mouth. For the last four years she had never understood what caused the Bennets to cease all contact, and this had saddened both Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. They loved their nieces, particularly the eldest two, and could not understand what had led to the break.
Similarly, they had been astonished to receive letters from both their brothers, Bennet and Philips, announcing Elizabeth’s engagement and subsequent marriage. However, the letters never mentioned whom Elizabeth was supposed to have married, and despite his efforts, Gardiner was unable to uncover any details.
With this new letter, it became clear that none of the earlier news had been true. Elizabeth had not married, and while it was possible that Mr. Bennet had arranged a marriage for his daughter, it had not yet been solemnised.
Mrs. Gardiner could not help but laugh, realising that all of Mr. Bennet's lies had come to nothing. No matter what he had planned, his efforts were overturned entirely by Elizabeth’s hasty decision to elope with the man she had longed to marry all those years ago.
She wished she could have been at Longbourn when her brother and sister learned what Elizabeth had done. Mrs. Bennet would be pleased to have a daughter married, regardless of how or why, and would be ecstatic when she learned who Elizabeth married, particularly upon learning his income. However, since this action overset all of Mr. Bennet’s plans, he would be livid.