“He did not call upon you?”
“No. I have not heard from him at all.”
Elizabeth's eyes filled with compassion. “I saw Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst the day before I received Mamma’s letter calling me back to Longbourn. Mrs. Hurst was kind to me. We met in a haberdashery, and they were just leaving. She did not speak of Mr. Bingley, but she was open and amiable. I did not notice anything amiss.”
Jane’s voice trembled. “Lizzy, I cannot think what could have happened. Have you heard from Miss Darcy? Perhaps she knows something of Mr. Bingley through her brother.”
“No, Jane. Mr. Darcy was called away on business to the north, and I have not heard from his sister either.”
Elizabeth paused. “I should write to Georgiana. I promised I would, but I have been so occupied with Papa that it slipped my mind. I will write to her today and ask after the Hursts and the Bingleys. Perhaps she will write about his whereabouts. I will also tell her that you have returned home, in case she has an opportunity to speak with Mr. Bingley.”
Jane’s eyes brightened. “Thank you, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I begin to sound like our mother with her incessant matchmaking.”
All the sisters smiled at that.
Lydia spoke through her tears. “How will I get along without her? Who will buy me dresses and bonnets, and care for me as she did?”
Elizabeth lifted her eyes to meet Mary’s and saw anger there. Jane answered the young girl.
“My dear, you will be at school, and so engaged with new friends and new experiences, and seeing new places, that you will hardly have time to miss her. It will not be so different, in truth, for you know that our mother would never have taken the time to write a letter.”
This made all the sisters smile. After a while, Elizabeth asked, “Uncle returns tonight?”
“Yes,” Jane replied. “He will not risk bringing the influenza home to little Edward, or to Aunt Maddie, who is with child. Uncle Gardiner made me swear not to allow Lydia into the house, lest she fall ill.”
“No indeed,” Elizabeth agreed. “That would never do.”
An hour later, they saw Mr. Gardiner walking up the lane with Mr. Hill and the two footmen. He soon reached them and called to Lydia.
“Come, niece. We must return to London before it gets much later.”
Then he turned to Elizabeth. “Is there anything you need before I go?”
“No, Uncle, thank you for coming to us, and thank you for all you have done for your nieces. I will write if we require anything. God grant that Papa may recover from this dreadful illness.”
“Yes, Lizzy. We will keep him in our thoughts and prayers as well. Farewell, my girls.”
The sisters curtsied, and then he was gone.
Elizabeth watched him depart, then turned back to Jane and Mary.
“Once again, it is just the three of us. Lydia will be well looked after. Mary, you will soon be Mrs. Collins, and you will secure our family against the entail.” She took her younger sister’s hands. “You cannot know the relief I feel. Such a blessing to us all.” She turned to Jane. “If I can discover what has become of Mr. Bingley, perhaps you will soon be married as well.”
She rose. “As Uncle Edward always says, what must be done eventually is best done immediately. I am going to write toGeorgiana. Perhaps we may learn what has become of Mr. Bingley.”
Longbourn, Hertfordshire
April 09, 1811
My Dear Georgiana,
How much has happened in the few days since I left you. I arrived home to find my father ill with an inflammation of the lungs, and both my mother and my younger sister fallen sick with the influenza. I worked day and night for seven days on behalf of my father, and at the end of it, I found him sitting upright at his bedside, with color returned to his cheeks and having eaten a light breakfast. I was so happy to see him improved, my dear, but on that very day, my mother passed away in her sleep.
We buried her today, and my sister Lydia, of whom you and I have spoken before, has left with our uncle. She is to be placed at a school on the Isle of Wight.
I apologize for not writing sooner, but this is the first moment I can call my own. Pray tell me how you go on. Have you heard from your brother? Have Mr. and Miss Bingley paid you a call? I confess I like Mrs. Hurst very much. She was kind to us when we met her and Miss Caroline at the haberdashery. I hope I may see you all again one day. Pray send them our regards if they should visit you.
