“It should be in the countryside,” Elizabeth added, “far from any town or village, and it must be secure. Lydia has a habit of slipping away when no one watches her. She can be remarkably devious.”
“Very well,” Mr. Gardiner replied. “I shall instruct him accordingly.”
Promptly at one o’clock, Elizabeth and Jane stood at the entrance to Darcy House. The grandeur of the home struck her anew. The Corinthian columns flanking the doorway made her feel they were entering another world entirely, a world of rank and wealth beyond her imagining.
They were shown to the principal floor by a middle-aged butler. At the far end of the hall, he opened a door and announced them.
Georgiana sat within. At the sight of them, she rose and came forward.
“I am so happy you could come. The house is terribly quiet without Fitzwilliam.”
The two sisters settled on a small couch near the hearth, while Georgiana sat on a settee opposite. A small table at her right was piled with books, embroidery, and a fashion magazine. Elizabeth glanced about the room before asking, “And your companion, Georgiana?”
“Oh, Lizzy, she was dismissed without a character.”
“Then she must have done something far beyond what could be forgiven,” Elizabeth replied.
“Yes. She attempted to introduce me to a libertine, for the purpose of arranging an elopement.”
She looked near tears.
Elizabeth moved to sit beside her.
“You need not speak of it, my dear, if it gives you pain.”
“No, I will speak of it for I am grieved and it pains me like a physical wound. Mrs. Younge was my companion for two years, and she was very personable and attentive. One day, as we walked in Hyde Park, a gentleman approached us. She greeted him as a valued friend, and we were introduced.”
Georgiana’s voice faltered.
“His name was Mr. George Wickham.”
Both sisters stiffened.
Georgiana saw at once that she had struck upon something unexpected. Her eyes narrowed as she studied her friend’s face.
“What is it, Lizzy? What have I said?”
“You have entrusted us with your secret. I will entrust you with ours.”
Then she related what had passed between their family and Lieutenant Wickham.
“And your sister?” she asked. “How is she? Is she much affected by such an affront?”
“No, I wish she had been. My sister is your age, but she craves adventure. She was angry for perhaps a day, but when we fled to my uncle’s house, she was distressed that Lieutenant Wickham had not sent her a note.”
With a grave expression, she continued, “My uncle is searching for a school where she may be placed for her own safety.”
After they finished speaking of Lydia, Georgiana resumed her own account.
“When I heard Mr. Wickham’s name, I remembered my brother speaking of a man with the same surname. He was the son of my father’s steward, and Fitzwilliam had warned me never to have anything to do with him, should I ever meet him.”
“I asked a few questions, and when Mr. Wickham understood that I knew of him, his manner altered, and he acknowledged the connection. Not wishing to provoke him, I received his compliments with feigned pleasure, then claimed a headache, and Mrs. Younge brought me straight home. I told Fitzwilliam what had occurred, and he dismissed Mrs. Younge that very day. He hired a trained man to search for Mr. Wickham, but the man was never found.”
Jane remarked, “It is truly a small world. The reprobate has ended in Meryton, a village scarcely a mile from our father’s estate.”
“When Fitzwilliam returns, I shall inform him where Mr. Wickham may be found. My brother has been searching for another companion, without success, and now, with Cousin Philip’s accident, and this journey north, everything has been delayed.”
The tea tray was brought in, and Georgiana occupied herself with the service. As they were eating, Elizabeth attempted to lighten the conversation by asking about Georgiana’s new book.
