When he had bathed and changed the day he arrived home, Mrs Reynolds knocked on the study door where Darcy was about to gulp down a second two-finger snifter of brandy. The conversation was still fresh in his mind.
“Master William, what is ailing you? I know you are not mourning that man who turned out so wild and caused you so much heartache, not to mention, almost ruining Miss Gigi. So, what has caused this low mood?” Mrs Reynolds had asked. “You are too well known to me for me not to see that it is something else.”
“You have always been perspicacious regarding me and my sister. You are right. I have no reason to mourn George Wickham. Rather, I mourn all the victims of his behaviour who are left behind and who have to live with the consequences of his cheating, lies, and seductions,” Darcy had lamented. “And this time, because I thought it below me to warn a whole community about him, it has cost me the hand of the only woman I shall ever love.”
Rather than speak, Mrs Reynolds had waited, knowing thatMaster William would say more when he was ready, for there was definitely more to the story.
“It began the first day I arrived in Hertfordshire to assist Bingley, which, as you know, was less than two months after Wickham almost carried Gigi off to Gretna Green. The day I arrived…” Darcy related everything up to and including the escape after the ball and his wrongheaded advice to Bingley.
“None of that was well done, Master William,” the housekeeper had stated firmly. “Your parents taught you better than that. Tell me more before I give my opinion. One thing I will say is that if Mr Bingley truly wanted to return to Miss Bennet, no one was forcing him to stay away.”
“That is what the lady herself concluded. However, I am getting ahead of myself. As you know, Colonel Fitzwilliam and I went to visit our aunt. Miss Elizabeth was there…” Darcy had told all which occurred at Rosings Park, right up to and including his horrendous proposal and the letter he had written to explain his side of the story. “You know I am far more articulate in writing than when I speak.”
“Master William, why would you expect any self-respecting lady to accept you after the insults you flung at her and her family? As far as Miss Bingley and her scandalous claims about you and Miss Gigi go, did I not tell you that the woman would go too far one day?” Mrs Reynolds had shaken her head. “You are correct though. How could you tell what her sister felt when you were blind to Miss Elizabeth’s dislike of you? How did the lady react to your letter? Did she read it, and if so, did she believe your words? It seems to me that she would not have been well disposed to think any better of your words than she did of you.”
“You are not telling me anything I have not already realised as far as my interactions with Miss Elizabeth are concerned. After my family excoriated me for my rudeness, I decided I needed to apologise to Miss Elizabeth, her sister, and their London relatives. I hoped but did not know if the ladyI still love was present. She was. It seems…” Darcy had related the mutual apologies and forgiveness with Miss Elizabeth and the pardons granted by Miss Bennet and the Gardiners. Then he told of the trip to Hertfordshire and what happened once there. “As soon as I saw the look on her countenance when they realised Wickham had meddled with the youngest Bennet sister, I knew I needed to remove my presence from her company, so I escorted the body here to Derbyshire. That is why I am forlorn.”
“Master William, there are times you can be a dullard.” She had seen the outrage in Darcy’s look. “Were most of the problems you had with Miss Elizabeth caused by misunderstandings?” Mrs Reynolds had demanded.
“I suppose, but I did not miss the look…” Darcy had begun to respond when the housekeeper had raised her hand.
“Are you a soothsayer with abilities to read another’s thoughts? Remember, you did not do so well with Miss Elizabeth’s sister.”
Darcy had shaken his head.
“Master William, then pray tell me, how do you know what she was thinking?” Mrs Reynolds had asked.
As he remembered the conversation, Darcy had to own that he had made an assumption and could not have known what she was thinking. He had urgent work he must complete at Pemberley, and then he needed to make for London to be with Gigi and confront the Bingleys.
Afterwards, he would travel to Hertfordshire to see if there would be a chance to see Miss Elizabeth again and discover if he had been wrong.
Chapter 12
As had been planned, Lydia left Longbourn the next morning with Colonel Fitzwilliam and the Derbyshire Militia soldiers as escorts.
When she had been farewelled by her parents and sisters, Lydia had not dared look them in their eyes to see the condemnation she felt she rightly deserved. There had not been any words of reproach, only wishes that all would be well.
Mary had not attempted to deliver any of her quotations from the Bible or Fordyce’s Sermons.
In a way, Lydia may have felt better had her family berated her.
Gone was the brash, flirtatious, devil-may-care girl who had inhabited Lydia’s body until recently. There were no illusions left about how badly she had behaved and that she was now reaping the consequences of her bad behaviour and even worse choices.
Lydia was finally willing to admit that Mama had never told her to give away her virtue before marriage—flirt, yes, a kiss on the cheek, but not that; never that. Finally being honest with herself, Lydia owned that it was hubris which made her ignore all the facts and reasons that no one else wanted to have anything to do with the late seducer. That, combined with her dream to experience as many firsts as possible before her sisters did, contributed to her downfall.
She was finally able to see that her sisters had never been jealous of her, but the opposite had been true. Lydia had feltenvy that her sisters, especially Jane and Lizzy, were so much more popular in the neighbourhood than she was.
And what had her hubris purchased her? Depending on what occurred and whether she was with child, this could be the final time she would see her family and Longbourn. For once, Lydia prayed in earnest as she admitted her sins to God and begged Him to help her.
As the ride to Hatfield was only a little less than two hours, there had been no rest break between Longbourn and that town.
When the carriage and the outriders arrived, Hannah and Emma were waiting with the former’s father. Mr Sawyer did not speak to anyone as they waited while the horses were rested. Before Hannah boarded, he told her that he loved her and hoped to see her back home after her schooling.
Emma was already in the conveyance with Lydia, holding one another’s hands. Hannah boarded, followed by the maid. Once the door was securely closed and the footman in his place, Colonel Fitzwilliam nodded to the coachman.
The farther they got from Meryton, the more trepidation the girls felt. All they could do was hope and pray that they were not in the family way.
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