Chapter 5
The following day, Georgiana, Elizabeth, and Mr Bennet agreed that Parker must join the search. He was resourceful and knew his master’s habits better than anyone.
The valet was a middle-aged man, wise and unfailingly loyal, who had known Darcy since the day he was born. As a young man, he had entered the family’s service, following in the footsteps of his father, who had been the late Mr Darcy’s valet.
Parker enjoyed and appreciated his position. He was respected and had more privileges than the other servants. Over time, a strong bond had been established between him and his master. Parker had earned his master’s respect and benefited from Darcy’s trust and confidence.
The valet was profoundly devoted to his master and never ceased to concern himself with his welfare. He did not wish to alarm Miss Georgiana, but in ten years this was the first time he had gone three whole days without any news of Mr Darcy…and he feared the worst.
∞∞∞
After breakfast, Parker set out with a list of addresses to visit, whilst they decided that Mr Bennet should remain at the house in case his assistance became necessary.
His first call was at Brooks’s, where he enquired whether his master might have forgotten a bundle of papers or some books during his last visit, supposedly three days earlier.
As Parker had expected, one of the clerks, who knew Mr Darcy well, kindly consulted the register, but there was no trace of his having visited the club that day.
“Thank you, sir,” Parker replied without betraying the slightest concern. “It seems my master must have left his papers elsewhere.”
The enquiry had been discreetly made and aroused no suspicion, exactly as they had hoped.
Throughout the morning, Parker called upon several of Darcy’s friends, asking whether his master had happened to leave behind a cane, a coat, or some letters. No one had seen him that fateful day. He returned home weary and bitterly disappointed.
Darcy had arrived in London four days earlier, yet no one had seen him apart from the valet and the housemaids. He had neither visited his club nor called upon his friends. Parker’s last hope was C. Hoare & Co., but even there no one had seen Mr Darcy.
Finding him was proving almost impossible. They had no clue where he had intended to go or what business had taken him from the house that morning.
If Elizabeth had hoped only the evening before for a swift resolution, she now sat at the table with the dreadful conviction that something terrible had happened.
Increasingly, they all found themselves expecting a knock at the front door announcing that Darcy had been found wounded…
or dead. For the moment, she forced herself to hope that he was merely injured and unable to return home.
Her darker fears she pushed resolutely aside.
She kept such thoughts to herself, yet she was certain her father and Georgiana shared them.
Fortunately for Mr Bennet, Mr Gardiner arrived that afternoon, and the gentlemen retired to the library whilst the ladies remained in the parlour.
From that moment, Mrs Annesley almost single-handedly sustained the conversation, making every effort to prevent Georgiana and Elizabeth from surrendering to despair.
From time to time, Parker stopped by simply to see how the ladies were faring. His face, after the failure of the morning’s search, had become a mask of quiet misery. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, and even his bearing reflected the weight of his anxiety.
“You must go and rest,” Georgiana urged.
The poor man merely shook his head.
“I could never remain alone in my room, Miss Georgiana. I must keep busy.”
Elizabeth looked at him, struck by how closely his distress mirrored her own.
She could scarcely imagine life without Darcy.
They had been betrothed only a few weeks, yet he had already become the most important person in her life.
Together they had planned their future, talked for hours, laughed together, and she had even dared to dream of their children.
Freed at last from anxiety about her family’s future, she had begun to look ahead with confidence.
Now nothing seemed real. Their plans, their hopes, everything they had imagined together suddenly appeared no more than fragile dreams slipping beyond her reach.
In the space of a few days she might have lost the man she loved forever.
They did not know why he had disappeared or what had become of him, but with every passing minute the word missing grew more dreadful.
∞∞∞
Another day passed without the slightest result, and the waiting itself became almost unbearable. After dinner, Mr Bennet forced himself to ask a question he hated, yet knew could no longer be avoided.
“My dear Georgiana, forgive me, but I must ask you something.”
She looked at him with complete trust. She understood that every possibility had to be considered and silently invited him to continue.
“Is it possible that Mr Darcy wished to escape his forthcoming marriage and simply left England…or disappeared into some distant corner of the country?”
The effort of asking the question had shaken Mr Bennet so deeply that he scarcely dared look around the table. Elizabeth sat utterly devastated, whilst Georgiana stared at him in disbelief, then lowered her eyes to the untouched cup before her, unable to answer.
At that moment, Parker stepped quietly forward.
“If you will permit me to speak, Mr Bennet, sir.”
His words immediately eased the tension, relieving the others of the burden of answering.
“Please, Mr Parker,” Elizabeth said. “Go on.”
“My master is a gentleman. A deeply honourable one, not merely by birth, but by character. Had he wished to end his engagement, I assure you he would have found a way to do so without compromising Miss Bennet’s reputation.
Nor would he ever have left Miss Georgiana without a word of explanation.
He is the most attentive and responsible of brothers.
He is considerate even towards me. He never failed to tell me whether I should wait up for him or retire for the night.
Leaving without a word is simply impossible.
Painful though it is to admit, something has happened to him. ”
“Something dreadful,” Georgiana whispered, as tears began to stream down her face while Mrs Annesley rose immediately and gathered the young lady into her arms, gently rocking her like a child.
“What can I do for you, Miss Georgiana?” she whispered, though she already knew there was nothing she could do to comfort her.
Elizabeth could bear no more. Tears overcame her, together with a despair she could no longer master. For some time she had longed to be alone with her grief. She needed to weep until her heart grew lighter, then gather herself and think calmly.
She rose from the table.
“Please excuse me. I should like to look through Mr Darcy’s rooms. Perhaps I may find some clue to where he went.”
Without waiting for an answer, she hurried from the room after the housekeeper, who was already leading the way.