Chapter 4
Shortly before arriving in London, they had made the decision to go to Darcy’s home first.
Secretly, Mr Bennet had imagined they might go to the Gardiners and rest a while, but seeing his daughter’s anguished countenance, he had agreed to accompany her, hoping to find Darcy in his study, and that day to end on a peaceful note.
Those were also Elizabeth’s secret thoughts.
She dreamt that her groom-to-be would open the door full of remorse.
Of all possible scenarios that crossed her mind, the one she preferred was to find him safe… and looking guilty.
London was cloaked in heavy rain. Even though it was only late afternoon, it already seemed dark under the enormous grey clouds that had invaded the sky.
Usually she adored London—the busy streets, the people walking around, carriages travelling at incredible speed on the cobblestones, those sounds she did not recognise—everything fascinated her.
She liked to walk and observe her surroundings and the passersby, but that day was very different.
She feared London now, disliked the rain, and dreaded the oppressive atmosphere that seemed to be preparing her for the worst.
The front door was opened by Mr Parker, Darcy’s valet, obviously in the same anxious state of mind as the travellers. He bowed and tried to smile; however, his concern was visible. Aside from the usual greetings, not a word was proffered, each of them waiting for the other to speak.
“You do not have any news, Mr Parker,” Mr Bennet said.
The valet just shook his head, avoiding speaking in front of Georgiana, who ran down the steps and threw herself into Elizabeth’s arms, the ceremony of receiving guests forgotten.
Darcy’s sister was acting like a little girl, and Elizabeth instinctively tightened her arms around her frail body.
Elizabeth knew Darcy was Georgiana’s only support, and his absence was even more horrible for her.
“I hoped you would come after reading my message, although I did not dare to ask you.”
“My dear,” Elizabeth said, still holding her, “we are almost family now. You will find support in us whenever you need it.”
Mr Bennet nodded his full approval with a kind look on his face.
He had met Darcy’s young sister a few times and liked her simple ways of behaving and speaking, while it pained him to see her so tormented.
Mr Bennet experienced a moment of personal irony.
It seemed everywhere he went, he found daughters and no sons.
In a way, it was a comforting feeling as he knew how to behave around ladies in crisis.
Still, he longed to have a young man in his family to help him remember his younger years.
He intended to visit their relatives’ house to rest and refresh themselves, but, anticipating his words, Georgiana said in haste, “Please, please, Mr Bennet, Miss Bennet, stay here with me!”
“I believe that would be very useful.” Parker dared to express his approval.
As Mr Bennet hesitated, Georgiana spoke again, “You must stay, both of you, please. We have plenty of rooms. Parker ordered them to be prepared, and a hearty supper is being prepared for us in an hour. You can rest and refresh yourselves, and Mr Bennet, Parker is at your disposal.”
There was no problem with Elizabeth staying at Darcy’s house as long as Mr Bennet was with her.
Still, she felt a little sorry for her father, who seldom came to London and who would have enjoyed an evening with his brother-in-law, Mr Gardiner.
However, the circumstances were peculiar; Georgiana and Elizabeth needed a man to help them find Darcy.
Knowing how much her father loved her, she was sure that such a sacrifice would be undertaken with no resentment.
Reverently, Parker led Mr Bennet to his rooms while Georgiana took Elizabeth’s hand and guided her to an apartment not far from her own.
On any other occasion, Elizabeth would have adored discovering Darcy’s house.
She was curious about his private life, the décor of his home, those little details about him impossible to discover from the outside.
She would even have dreamt of the changes she would make once she became its mistress, transforming the house to suit her own taste.
All the plans she had, the dreams she had made…
That night, the house was desolately empty.
He was not there to welcome and guide her.
Her husband-to-be, the man she loved, was missing and, once again, her heart froze in despair.
She yearned for a little privacy, but Georgiana could not let her go.
She followed Elizabeth into her rooms and sat on the bed the way her sisters did.
As Elizabeth took a second to find out the maid’s name, Georgiana observed again how polite and benevolent her future sister-in-law was.
She was so proud of her brother, who had the intelligence to choose such a beautiful and amiable young lady as his bride.
But, as soon as her brother was again in her mind, she began to cry.
“Where is he, Miss Elizabeth?” She could hardly speak through her tears.
“Whatever you might think of him, you must believe me, he does not behave like this. It is the very first time I have not known his whereabouts. Something bad must have happened. Otherwise, we would have had news from him. Parker is also worried, and he knows my brother better than anybody else. It is, in fact, his attitude that worries me the most.”
Elizabeth did not answer. In truth, she knew very little about Darcy’s life.
They had danced and kissed, spoken of books and of life, but nothing about his daily pleasures and duties, his business, or his friends—except Bingley.
Elizabeth realised how little she knew about him or where to begin their search.
She leaned on her wise father. But, unfortunately, Mr Bennet had always lived in the countryside, far away from the town. He knew very little of London life.
Before dinner, Elizabeth suggested speaking to the servants who had seen Darcy after his arrival in London.
“Parker has questioned the servants more than once!” Georgiana said.
“I am sure he has, but perhaps a pleasant little talk will reveal other details they did not dare to tell Mr Parker.”
“Very well then, please do whatever you wish,” Georgiana agreed. “This is your house, too. I shall introduce you to the housekeeper, and you may decide whom you wish to speak to. After all, you will soon be its mistress.”
It could be my house if only he were here, Elizabeth thought, struggling not to give way to despair. I would be its future mistress if only he would come back.
A short while later, Georgiana introduced the housekeeper, an amiable lady of about fifty, who stood before Elizabeth looking as anxious as Parker.
Elizabeth spoke to her gently and warmly, inviting Mrs Anderson to tell her everything she could remember about her master on the morning she had last seen him.
The woman nodded, clearly searching her memory for every possible detail.
Unfortunately, there was very little to tell, and she repeatedly apologised for knowing nothing of importance.
Like everyone else, she had seen her master only on the morning of his departure, three days earlier.
“Mrs Anderson, please tell us everything you can remember, no matter how unimportant it may seem.”
“He was not happy, madam,” the woman replied, blushing.
It was so unusual for her to speak of her master in such a manner.
Still, Elizabeth’s gentle eyes gave her the courage to continue.
“I served his luncheon because Mr Parker had another matter to attend to. The master is usually very kind and always asks after my mother, who is ill, but that morning, he did not say a single word. And he scarcely touched his meal.”
“Mrs Anderson, would you please gather the servants in your parlour and ask each of them to remember every detail, however small, about my master’s last morning here? I believe they will speak more freely to you than to us.”
As soon as Mrs Anderson had withdrawn, Elizabeth turned to Georgiana.
“I cannot help wondering what happened between the moment he left me and the following morning. The last time I saw him, he was happy and smiling. A little sad to leave Hertfordshire, perhaps, but neither worried nor unhappy.”
“Are you certain that nothing was troubling him?”
“Yes… Perhaps he was disappointed because I refused to accompany him to London,” Elizabeth replied, and at the very thought, tears filled her eyes. “If only I had come with him…none of this would have happened.”
Now it was Georgiana’s turn to draw her future sister into her arms.
“No, my dear, it is not your fault. He would have left the house, whatever happened. What we must discover is where he was going.”
∞∞∞
At last, just before the dinner was served, they spoke with Parker. Elizabeth asked him to recall everything he could about Darcy’s last morning, as he had spent more time with him than anyone else.
“Mr Darcy always tells me about his plans for the day, but that morning he said nothing, and I did not think it my place to enquire further. It is neither my habit nor my duty to trouble my master with questions about his affairs. He alone decides what he wishes me to know.”
“Of course, Mr Parker, of course,” Elizabeth said. “Tell us where he usually goes when he is in London, so that we may make a plan and begin our search in the morning.”
But Parker was already one step ahead of her. He handed Elizabeth a list of the places his master most frequently visited.
“I could not sleep last night,” he admitted, “and I kept adding names in the hope that someone might know where my master is.”