Chapter 30
The slap from Mrs. Bennet had jarred Lydia’s senses; she could not ever remember her being so tyrannical and over nothing.
She was now intent on having some fun of her own in spite of her mother’s wishes but was completely baffled by her situation.
Mr. Wickham had initially sought her out at every opportunity and even called on them a few times.
She had been convinced that he was surely in love with her when they had met late at night as arranged by Harriet, but he seemed to have completely disappeared.
“Lydia, I have wonderful news. My husband just informed me that we are all invited to a ball. I expect most of the officers to be there, including your favourite,” Mrs. Forster interrupted her friend’s silent indignation with a suggestive look.
“It hardly matters, I am sure Mamma will not allow me to attend,” Lydia gloomily answered.
“Whyever not?” her friend asked with sympathy and soon was subjected to a lengthy diatribe of how unfair Mrs. Bennet was to her liveliest daughter.
“I am sure I can convince your mother for tonight, and I will have a plan for the rest of your visit,” Mrs. Forster consoled her friend and immediately went down to speak to Mrs. Bennet.
Lydia attended the ball in her mother’s company, and not for a second did Mrs. Bennet let her out of sight; every person asking her for a dance was obliged to request her mother’s permission, and while Mr. Wickham did dance a set with her, most other officers did not think it worth the effort.
Lydia for the very first time sat out multiple sets at a ball, leaving her even more desolate and her friend much more sympathetic to her plight.
Mrs. Forster was quick to mention her friend’s plight to Mr. Wickham. The lieutenant was a favourite of Lydia and Harriet Forster believed him sympathetic to her friend’s predicament. He did not disappoint, and soon a plan was formed to get Lydia away from her mother’s constant supervision.
It was the very next day that Mrs. Forster suggested an outing to the local market for her guests, which met with emphatic approval from Mrs. Bennet.
They were off in the afternoon to wander among the various trinkets that the Brighton merchants had to offer.
Once there, Mrs. Forster proclaimed a desire to visit the circulating library and she insisted that her rather reluctant friend accompany her.
Mrs. Bennet followed them, for she had vowed not to let Lydia out of her sight, but the place proved most tedious to the lady.
She stayed for a few minutes, but since Mrs. Forster was quite comfortable browsing the novels and there was no place to rest her feet, Mrs. Bennet finally gave up and decided to go to the milliners just across the road, giving Lydia a stern warning to behave with decorum.
“Good God! I thought she would not leave,” Mrs. Forster exclaimed as soon as Mrs. Bennet left, and then dragged her rather stupefied friend towards the rear of the library.
“Wherever are you taking me? Oh!” Lydia was pleasantly surprised and gave a big smile on encountering Mr. Wickham.
“Miss Lydia.” The gentleman greeted her with a perfect bow. “I heard about your predicament, and as your friend I have decided to expend considerable effort to your amusement.”
“Mr. Wickham, that is very kind of you, sir, but how do you plan to get around my mother’s tediousness?” Lydia asked with a flirtatious smile.
“Your mother will be agreeably entertained for another hour at the milliner’s, and the proprietor of this store will swear that you were here the whole time. We could easily have some amusement of our own if we leave by the back door and return in time.”
Thus Lydia spent a very agreeable hour being escorted by the handsome officer from shop to shop.
Mrs. Bennet had proved much more difficult to distract, and the servant at the milliner’s shop had to resort to accidentally spilling something on her gown to prevent her from leaving.
In the end Lydia was able to have her fun and return before her mother got any hint of her daughter’s escapade.
To keep up the ruse, Lydia even borrowed a novel from the library and pretended to read it in the evening.
Her mother was satisfied, and when Lydia expressed a desire to visit the library to get another novel, Mrs. Bennet allowed her to visit in company of Mrs. Forster after a stern warning to return within an hour.
A pattern was established whereby every other day Lydia would leave on the pretext of visiting the library and would spend an hour in the company of the handsome Mr. Wickham.
Mrs. Bennet had questioned the proprietor a couple of times regarding her daughter and was assured of her presence in the library.
The man was shrewd enough to realise that the lady held no true power in Brighton, while a favour to the officers was much more likely to pay off.
This would have continued without anyone the wiser, had Mrs. Bennet not been intrigued by the loud discussion of the novel between Lydia and Mrs. Forster.
It was after Lydia had retired that Mrs. Bennet decided to read the novel for herself.
She had always found books to be boring and tedious, but her youngest was much like her in temperament and if Lydia appreciated the novel, she hoped that she might too.
Then she could very well gain back Mr. Bennet’s admiration, for he had always appreciated those who enjoyed reading.
She comfortably sat in her bed and finally started to read the book, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually engaging; it was only in the early hours of the morning that she was able to lay it down and close her eyes.
It was near afternoon when she got up the next day and after having her tray in her room, inquired about her daughter and was informed that she had just left the house to go to the library.
But the book is still here. Mrs. Bennet frowned as she saw the novel lying on her bedside table.
It then occurred to her that the novel that she was reading, though engaging, bore no resemblance to the discussion she had overheard between her daughter and Mrs. Forster.
Convinced that they were up to no good, Mrs. Bennet hurriedly dressed and made her way to the circulating library, and without a glance towards the proprietor went to the back of the shop and discovered the door.
Fuming silently, she decided to wait there for her errant child’s return; it was not long before Lydia entered laughing on the arm of Mr. Wickham and was struck dumb to see her mother waiting.
Without a word, Mrs. Bennet seized her daughter’s arm and dragged her back to the Colonel’s house where she was taken upstairs and locked in her room.
Once her daughter was safely under lock and key, Mrs. Bennet took a deep breath and went to her room.
She could not think of any means to control her disobedient daughter and they still had a full month before returning to Longbourn.
Lydia could hardly be kept locked for that long in someone else’s house without Mr. Bennet being made aware of the situation, and if they returned early, then again her husband would very much realise the truth of the matter.
She wished she had her older daughter’s counsel, both Jane and Lizzy were well-behaved girls, and would know what to do.
Lizzy was in Hampshire with that sister of Mr. Bennet, who in Mrs. Bennet’s mind was the cause of all of her husband’s ultimatums, and she could not afford to have her become aware of the predicament, and hence Jane was her only option.
Jane was in London with her uncle Gardiner and could well request for his help.
Having thus decided, she immediately sat down to pen a frantic note to her eldest daughter.
Jane had been confused following the gathering at the Matlock House.
She had received a visit from Lady Matlock and Lady Margaret and both of them had spent an inordinate amount of time trying to understand how life was at Longbourn, and the education the Bennet girls had received.
Jane still could not quite understand the motive behind these inquiries, but had complied as agreeably as possible.
She had also learnt that Judge Darcy had invited her uncle to his club and spoke to him at length, expressing a desire for continued association as the ladies were now acquainted, but nothing of any importance was discussed.
She may well have ignored all these happenings, for the Matlocks and Darcys were well-respected members of the ton and any association with them was to her benefit except that it had made Mr. Bingley anxious.
She had recently understood that for all his amiability and cheerfulness, the gentleman was unaware of his own appeal.
As a man with antecedents in trade, he had been used to the disdain of high society, even if they were polite to his face.
He was thus very concerned that the Colonel may be interested in Jane and he was no match for the son of an Earl.
Jane had tried to reassure Mr. Bingley as much as possible, but with no declaration from the gentleman with regard to his feelings, she could not convey much about her own. It was all so very frustrating.
It was in this confusion of thoughts that a footman delivered the express from Mrs. Bennet.
Worried about her mother and Lydia, Jane quickly opened the letter and read the contents.
All thoughts of Matlocks and Darcys were completely forgotten as she concentrated on her mother’s missive.
Mrs. Bennet was known to be much more tolerant of her daughter’s less than genteel behaviour, and for her to complain about Lydia’s conduct was truly alarming.
Deciding that she needed to see her uncle at the earliest, she got up to walk to his warehouse when Mr. Bingley was announced.
“I am sorry, sir, but I hope you will excuse me. I need to speak to my uncle urgently,” Jane spoke anxiously as soon as she saw the gentleman enter the parlour.
“Miss Bennet, whatever is the matter? You seem distressed. Where is Mrs. Gardiner?”
“My aunt has accompanied the children to the park.”
“I will, of course, leave if that is what you desire, but if you would tell me what is wrong I could very well fetch your uncle.”
“I may be overreacting, but I received an express from my mother and she has asked for immediate help from my uncle,” Jane finally sat down on Bingley’s insistence.
“I understand that she accompanied your youngest sister to Brighton. Are they in good health? Is something the matter? Miss Bennet, I hope you will trust me with whatever is wrong, for I wish to ease your distress.”
“I do not know what to make of my mother’s letter.
She writes that Lydia’s conduct is alarming and she is determined to ruin herself.
My father had been rather upset with my mother before she departed for Brighton; she now fears his wrath if Lydia’s behaviour becomes known,” Jane finally confessed the whole ordeal to Bingley as succinctly as she could.
“Miss Bennet, I hope you will give me all the details, for I would not wish Miss Lydia to be led astray. She is full young and does not have the sense of her elder sisters,” Bingley pleaded, and Jane told him all about her escapade with Mr. Wickham and Mrs. Forster’s encouragement of the whole scheme.
“Mama is worried that if she returns to Longbourn earlier than planned, Papa would understand her own inability in controlling Lydia. She had been complicit in Lydia’s poor behaviour when at Longbourn, Papa may blame her for the whole thing.”
“I will visit your uncle at his warehouse, for he does need to be made aware of the situation and will then travel to Brighton. There I could help Mrs. Bennet as needed, and may even convince her to leave the area if the situation demands it.”
“Mr. Bingley, it would hardly be fair to you; the matter is related to my family, and you should not inconvenience yourself in such a way,” Jane exclaimed.
“Miss Bennet, I hope soon to call your family my own, and Miss Lydia a sister, and thus I consider it my responsibility to help them when needed.”
Jane blushed deeply at the gentleman’s statement, and was too shy to respond.
“I have no wish to ask you anything when you are so troubled, but once this matter is settled I hope you will give me an answer.”
“Mr. Bingley, while I agree that this is not the correct time for the discussion, I have no need to deliberate on the answer to your question,” Jane boldly replied. She did not want her beau to go away again with any doubts as to her feelings.
All Mr. Bingley’s doubts regarding Colonel Fitzwilliam were assuaged.
His joy was evident in his smile as he bid farewell to the lady and made his way to Mr. Gardiner’s warehouse.
He soon apprised the gentleman of the situation in Brighton, and his intent to travel to the seaside town to help Mrs. Bennet.
Mr. Gardiner was sceptical of the whole urgency, knowing his sister’s nervous temperament but had no wish to discourage the gentleman; he offered to accompany him as politeness required but did not press the matter.
Thus it was a rather purposeful Bingley who went back to the Hurst townhouse and informed his family about his travel the very next day.
No details regarding the Bennets were shared, and his sisters raised no objection, hoping that distance from Miss Bennet could only be good for her brother.
The very next morning Bingley left London and it was only at the first coaching inn that it occurred to him that he had not considered seeking Darcy’s advice.
He had never taken any decision of such a magnitude before discussing it with his more experienced friend, but he considered that as he wished to be married soon, it would not do to consult Darcy on every matter.
He would write to his friend from Brighton, letting him know his intentions, but Jane’s happiness was his responsibility and he would not be dependent on his friend for guidance.