Taking a deep breath, she wondered what chaos the house had been thrown into when her mother and younger sisters had been informed she had run away. To her surprise, her mother simply greeted her with a disinterested glance and asked how her time in Meryton had gone.
Her father met her in the corridor as soon as she had cleared the threshold. “Come and see me, Lizzy,” he ordered. She frowned but said not a word to contradict her mother’s understanding of the situation.
When the door of the study had been securely closed, she stood in front of her father’s chair as he settled himself into it. She clasped her hands before her, waiting for him to speak.
“Well?” Mr Bennet asked. “In your note, you said you would explain yourself. Please do so.”
Elizabeth took a steadying breath. “I am sorry, Papa. I know it was wrong to leave without your permission. But I was so afraid for Miss Darcy’s safety that I could not do otherwise. AsI said in my note, I would never have done anything so rash if it had not been in service to a friend.”
“But Miss Darcy cannot stand the sight of you, or so I’m told. Since Mr Wickham arrived, she has not been able to stand the sight of any of us,” her father argued. “Tell me, is she still so dear a friend to you that you would risk your reputation and your safety to save her?”
Elizabeth hung her head. Suddenly, her exhaustion was catching up with her. She swayed, and her father motioned that she should sit down on the tattered ottoman in front of him. “She may not think of me as a friend anymore. Mrs Younge has poisoned her against me. But I still see her as a dear friend, yes. Even if she never accepts that friendship again.”
He steepled his fingers under his chin and made an indistinct noise. “I see. Well, after what you have done today, I doubt she will be grateful. She seems a rash young woman, if she was even considering what you hinted at in your note.”
“No, Papa. I do not think she is rash. She is only misguided by the one person who should have been most concerned about her well-being, second only to her brother. I know now that Mrs Younge has been duplicitous from the beginning, egging Miss Darcy on to her ruin.”
“You defend her?”
“I mean no disrespect, Papa. But I have seen who Miss Darcy truly is. She is a lonely young woman who needs loyal friends, not people who will try to use her innocence and naivety against her.”
Her father thought for several moments before he spoke again. “You were very brave to do what you did. I would ask you that next time something of this magnitude happens, you willcome and talk to me. I should have liked to go with you and help you on your quest.”
Elizabeth was shocked beyond belief that her father would have wanted to help her. Perhaps she had judged him too harshly — and perhaps Mr Bennet would not have been quite as ready to believe in the importance of her mission as he was now, knowing the risks she would take to pursue it. In any case, it touched her deeply that he would make the offer.
She gave him a wry smile. “I thought you hated Town.”
“I do, most ardently. But I love you more.” His eyes clouded with tears that he quickly masked and blinked away. “You are more precious to me than my own comfort, Lizzy dear.”
“Thank you, Papa,” Elizabeth said quietly.
Shaking off the moment of emotion with relief, Mr Bennet called up a wry smile of his own. “I suppose you think I should not punish you for what you’ve done?”
“On the contrary. I think you must punish me, Papa.”
His brows rose in question. “Indeed? And why is that?”
“I assume you withheld the information from Mama about my true whereabouts. But what of the girls?” Elizabeth asked.
He nodded. “Jane is aware, and I assume Lydia and Kitty are as well, since they seem to always be listening at keyholes.”
Elizabeth folded her hands in her lap, taking on a more businesslike tone. “I can assume they do as well. With that being the case, I do not want to send the message to Lydia that it is permitted for her to run off to London whenever she pleases. That would be a grave mistake.”
He gave a rueful smile. “Yes, I would have to agree with you on that end. But what shall your punishment be?” he asked. “I trust you, Lizzy. If you say that nothing untoward happened between you and Mr Darcy, then I believe you. You took the utmost care to ensure that your reputation was protected.”
“Yes, and Mr Darcy had one of his maids come along with us in the carriage, so there no unpleasant rumours could be started against us,” Elizabeth said. She was grateful now that she had not gone to her aunt and uncle’s and dragged them into the little drama. The fewer people who knew of Miss Darcy’s folly, the better.
“This still begs the question of your punishment, Lizzy. I do not wish to be harsh. Shall I forbid you your books for the next few days?” he asked, teasing her.
“That would not deter Lydia,” Elizabeth pointed out. “I suggest you forbid me from attending the next assembly. It will be a minor inconvenience to me. But to Lydia, it would be an awful consequence. That should serve to keep her from running off to London on her own.”
Her father chuckled, low and raspy. “Yes, I agree. She would sooner cut off her thumbs than miss such an opportunity to dance and enjoy herself.”
Elizabeth nodded. “If anyone asks why I am not in attendance, you can say I have a cold, and the whole situation will blow over in a matter of days.” She could only hope it was worth it. Her blood thundered in her ears, wondering and worrying over Miss Darcy. She silently prayed that Mr Darcy had reached the rented house and had stopped his sister before Mr Wickham could steal her away.
Mr Bennet stood, walking over to the ottoman and kissing the top of her head. He pulled her up to stand next to him and squeezed her hands. “I am proud of you, my dear Lizzy. Indeed, I could not be more proud of the young woman you have become. Your conviction and courage is something I hope your younger sisters will see and strive to live up to.”
Elizabeth smiled and hugged her father. “Thank you, Papa.”
