CHAPTER 1 CAUSE FOR ALARM
“Papa, Mama, Lydia’s run away.” Kitty burst into the drawing room, out of breath and flushed cheeks. “With a man.”
Elizabeth dropped the handkerchief she was embroidering. A cold weight settled in her stomach—not surprise, but dread. Of course, Lydia would do something this foolish. Of course, it would happen today, with Mr. Collins still smarting after she’d rejected his proposal.
“What nonsense is this?” Mr. Bennet lowered his book, his face draining of color.
“It’s not nonsense!” Kitty’s voice broke on a sob. “We were at the ribbon shop, and when I turned around, she was gone. I ran after her, but she pushed me down and said she was meeting someone at The Rose & Crown. She had her valise with her!”
“With who?” Elizabeth asked, supporting her sister who collapsed on the settee.
“I don’t know. She told me not to tell.” Kitty’s voice broke. “She said she was meeting someone handsome who would take her away from all this dullness.”
It had to be one of the officers. Lydia was always parading around Meryton and flirting. And if Elizabeth had to bet, it would be the one with the honeyed tongue—George Wickham.
“We are ruined!” Mrs. Bennet’s shriek pierced the drawing room. “Mr. Bennet, you must do something.”
“We need to catch her.” Elizabeth was already rising from her chair. “Papa, order the carriage.”
“But it might be too late,” her father said, reluctantly putting away his book.
Mr. Collins, who had been in the dining room finishing his large lunch, emerged self-importantly.
“Miss Elizabeth, dear, what’s this I hear?” The pompous clergyman refused to believe her rejection of his proposal was final and persistently sought to insert himself into her attention. “Your sister, Lydia, has taken a wayward path?”
“We have no time for discussion.” Elizabeth’s heart was already aching. “Lydia doesn’t have the sense of a goose. Kitty, did she say where they were going?”
“No, only that she was tired of our dull life here with no balls and parties.” Kitty wrung her hands.
“Hill, have the carriage brought around immediately,” Mr. Bennet commanded. “Collins, your assistance is required.”
“I’m coming too,” Elizabeth said firmly, reaching for her pelisse.
“You most certainly are not,” her father countered. “This is no errand for a young lady of quality.”
“Oh, Lizzy.” Her mother’s fan flailed like a bird with a broken wing. “This would never have happened if you had accepted Mr. Collins. You would be planning your wedding instead of chasing your sister at a coaching inn.”
“Mama, I would be chasing her regardless.” Elizabeth fixed her parents with what she hoped was a sensible gaze. “I am the only one who can talk to Lydia when she’s in a state.”
“Oh, but my nerves, my poor nerves!” Mrs. Bennet wailed. “You headstrong girl. If you’re seen at a coaching inn, no gentleman of quality will marry you. What if there are officers about the inn?”
“That’s exactly why we have to go. Lydia could be in danger this very moment,” Elizabeth retorted. “Besides, I shall be quite safe with Papa and my esteemed cousin, Mr. Collins.”
“I will vouch for Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Collins intoned with insufferable gravity.
“As cousin and future master of Longbourn, I am duty-bound to assist in this family crisis and protect my dear cousins, Miss Elizabeth and Miss Lydia. My presence provides moral authority, and we shall be above reproach. As a future wife of a parson, Miss Elizabeth will be required to render aid and scripture to restore fallen women of the parish.”
“I will not allow Elizabeth to accompany us.” Papa remained firm as the sound of the carriage wheels and horses snorting alerted the men toward the doorway.
“Then remember to speak kindly to Lydia. Persuade her that life will be more fun here at Longbourn,” Elizabeth advised. “Perhaps promise her a ball.”
“We cannot reward perfidy,” Mr. Collins snorted. “I do see sense in Miss Elizabeth accompanying us. Her presence may indeed prove beneficial, and should we encounter any… unseemly circumstances, having witnessed them herself might encourage discretion in the telling.”
Elizabeth shot Collins a sharp look, suspecting ulterior motives beneath his seemingly helpful suggestion, but Mr. Bennet was already wavering.
Mrs. Bennet suddenly straightened, her eyes brightening with calculation.
“Oh! But if Mr. Collins were to accompany you as your intended husband, that would be entirely proper.” She clasped her hands together, crisis momentarily forgotten in favor of matrimonial scheming.
“Indeed, nothing could be more respectable than a betrothed couple traveling with the young lady’s father.
And think how convenient, Lizzy! The scandal of being seen at an inn would force you to accept Mr. Collins after all, and then we would have one daughter settled.
Perhaps this misfortune with Lydia is Providence intervening to secure your future. ”
Elizabeth stared at her mother in disbelief, appalled at how quickly she had twisted Lydia’s potential ruin into yet another marriage plot.
Mr. Collins, for his part, appeared to be seriously considering the suggestion, his small eyes glinting with renewed hope as he smoothed his waistcoat with proprietary satisfaction.
“Very well, Lizzy, you may come,” Mr. Bennet conceded reluctantly. “But you are not to leave my side, not for an instant.”
Elizabeth nodded, relief mingling with apprehension.
“I must say, Cousin Elizabeth, your devotion to family duty is most commendable,” Mr. Collins remarked, his tone dripping with pious condescension. “Perhaps this experience will demonstrate the value of prudent guidance and protection that only a suitable husband can provide.”
Elizabeth bit back a scathing response. There would be time enough to deal with Collins later. Now, Lydia needed her.
Hill appeared at the doorway and announced, “The carriage is ready, sir.”