Chapter 4 Safety
Elizabeth paced the drawing room. “What is to be done, Aunt Maddie? Nothing can be done. Lydia is lost, condemned to a life of suffering, and perhaps to an early death. Poor little Liddie, oh, poor Liddie.”
She crossed to her aunt and collapsed on the couch beside her.
“Aunt Maddie, Papa believes Wickham means to sell Lydia to a brothel. She will perish in such a place. Ought Papa not to be out searching for her? We know where we lost her on Russell Street. If he were to walk those side streets, he might inquire after her, or even catch sight of her.”
“Lizzy, they intend to hire a runner. Those men are practiced in finding lost persons.”
Elizabeth wept. “Oh, Liddie, Liddie. Will I ever see you again?”
Mrs. Gardiner was trying to comfort her niece when there came a loud rap upon the front door. Both ladies started, and Mrs. Gardiner asked, “Who can that be at such an hour?”
They heard steps in the hall, and then Lydia burst into the drawing room. “Aunt Maddie, I have longed to reach you.” She threw herself upon her aunt’s neck and wept.
Elizabeth stood as one paralyzed. Lydia!
“Lizzy, go and fetch the gentlemen.”
Elizabeth hastened from the room.
Madeline seated the girl. “Let me have tea and cakes brought up. Have you eaten today?”
The weeping girl shook her head. “No, Aunt. I am so hungry.”
Heavy footfalls sounded in the hall, and then both gentlemen entered in haste. Gardiner closed the door behind him. Mr. Bennet stood still in amazement. “Lydia, how have you come here?”
The young girl jumped to her feet and threw her arms around his neck, weeping. “Papa, it was all dreadful. I think Mr. Wickham meant to sell me to a house of ill repute. The coachman told me to run, and so I did.”
He held his daughter close. “Child, I thought I would never see you again.”
Elizabeth stood beside her sister, weeping uncontrollably, and when Mr. Bennet at last released her, she drew Lydia into an embrace and kissed her brow. The two sisters held each other until their uncle spoke.
Edward Gardiner asked, “How came you from Russell Street to this house?”
“A woman showed me where I might hire a coach, and I paid the driver to bring me here.”
“Did Mr. Wickham take you into any house or other place?”
Lydia asked in confusion. “Into any house? No, sir. We remained in the carriage until we reached London.” Lydia then related all that had passed during her journey with Wickham.
“I am tired and hungry, and my gown smells badly from the hackney carriage.” She started to weep again. “I left all my gowns in the boot of the carriage. I have nothing to wear.”
Bennet said, “I can scarcely believe we have recovered this child.” He asked Madeline, “When she has taken some tea, will you speak with her further? We must be certain she has come to no harm.”
“Yes, I will.”
The two men sat in Gardiner’s office, each absorbed in his own thoughts.
“Thomas, whether that man has had relations with her or not, she is compromised, and if any part of this becomes known, it will bring ruin upon her sisters.”
“Yes. She must be a stranger to us now. I should wish to see her married, but I do not desire her to remain in England. Perhaps a Scot, or a man bound for Canada.”
Gardiner raised his brow. “What of an Englishman preparing to travel to India?”
Bennet lifted his eyes with renewed hope. “You know such a man?”
“I do. He is a client of mine, recently engaged by the East India Company. He is only a clerk, and for that reason may accept a woman with a modest portion. What can you command for Lydia?”
“I have two thousand pounds set aside for my daughters. To free us from this difficulty, I will settle it upon Lydia.”
Gardiner considered this. “It may not be sufficient inducement. With your leave, I shall add two thousand pounds for my niece. That will form a respectable portion. It will be necessary to speak plainly to him, but he is only twenty years of age. Perhaps because of his youth, he will be less rigid than the older generation, and Lydia is a very pretty girl, nearly as handsome as Jane. I cannot suppose he would refuse such an offer.”
Gardiner rose. “Come, let us seek out James Adams and discover whether he is willing.”
The three women sat in the drawing room while Lydia recited her account.
“When I touched his arm to gain his attention, he brushed it away, and the look upon his face made me fear he might strike me; he appeared so angry.”
“Was it then that you realized you ought to run from him?”
Lydia asked, confused. “Why should I have wished to run from him then, Lizzy? He is the handsomest man I know, and he dresses well. He was everything I believed a gentleman ought to be.”
Madeline pressed her niece. “What happened next, Liddie?”
She gave a full account of what had passed and how nothing in his conduct matched his promises. He spoke of balls and parties, yet carried her instead to a wretched brick house in a narrow, filthy street. His manner had altered entirely. He became coarse and disrespectful.
“Aunt, I need a bath and clean clothes.”
Mrs. Gardiner rose. “Come, we shall go upstairs. I will have water brought for a bath. Lizzy, you have no gowns with you either?”
Elizabeth laughed. “No, Aunt. Papa and I left the house in too much haste to pack. Our only concern was to save Lydia.”
“Well then, Lizzy, you and I are nearly of a size, but you, Lydia, are somewhat more stout. None of my gowns will fit you, but we shall make the attempt.”
That evening, seated at the dinner table in borrowed gowns, the two Bennet sisters ate with hearty appetites, and the conversation was lively.
Though neither sister knew it, Adams had agreed to accept Lydia for three thousand pounds and considered himself fortunate.
He was to join the family for dinner the following evening.
Gardiner had pressed the young man. “James, she is but fifteen, and I think it best she not be told in advance that she must marry. Would you join us at dinner? You may see your intended bride and determine whether you wish to proceed. I believe she would accept the situation more readily if you invited her to join you on a travel adventure. You must make it plain that she must marry you or forfeit her welcome.”
The young man laughed. “I shall attempt a little intrigue, sir, and I am glad to do it. I feel I owe you a vast deal. You have assisted me greatly in securing my position and preparing for my journey, and I must admit, sir, the three thousand pounds is a considerable inducement.”
The family retired early, for the day had been most trying.
“Aunt Maddie, this day is the longest and most dreadful of my life.”
“It has been that for all of us, Lizzy. Though I fear Lydia does not even now comprehend the enormity of what she has done.”
“No, she does not. But why does a grown man take advantage of a young, defenseless girl, Aunt?”
“He must be desperate for money. To sell another person into such a fate is beyond anything I can comprehend.”
“Nor I.”
“She trusted the wrong man.”
“Papa deceived my mother, as must we all. Mamma must have some account of why Lydia does not return with us. We are said to be here attending you, as you are ordered to remain in bed lest you endanger your condition.”
Madeline paled. “God forbid such a thing should occur.”
“I apologize, Aunt Maddie. Papa seized upon the first excuse that came to him.”
“Yes, and it will be readily believed, since I have already lost two. But this time it is different, Elizabeth.”
“I am happy for you, Aunt Maddie. I know how you have longed for a child.”
“Yes, Edward has borne it heavily when I have been brought to bed too soon. He strives to conceal it, yet I have seen him weep, and it only increases my distress. This time, however, it is different.”
Elizabeth embraced her aunt and held her while the older woman wept. After several minutes, Madeline said, “That is enough of me. What are you to do after Lydia is wed?”
“I must remain in London long enough for our neighbors to credit the story. But then what, Aunt Maddie? When I return home, what shall be said of Lydia?”
“Nothing so simple, Lizzy. Your uncle was so grateful for your assistance that he has offered to pay for Lydia’s education at a respectable London school. She will return home after two years, and by then she will have met a suitable gentleman, married him, and gone out to India.”
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive,” Lizzy quoted
“Indeed, my dear. As neither your mother nor Kitty can be trusted with a secret of this gravity, they must be deceived. And, given the enormity of the impropriety your sister has committed, your neighbors must be deceived as well.”
Madeline rose. “I had best retire. The physician has warned me not to overexert myself.”