“And can you do that, Papa?” Mary asked, with some skepticism.
“I shall do my very best, Mary, and I rely on you – on all of you – to tell me when I am neglecting my duty to you.”
“I most certainly shall,” Mary replied, firmly. “If there is one thing I have learnt in these past weeks, it is that keeping silent and hoping for people to do what is right is futile.”
“I have wondered what had caused this change in you, Mary,” her father answered.
“And you remain firm in deciding not to look for Lydia?” Elizabeth asked.
“I am, yes; I think I am needed here at Longbourn.”
Mr. Gardiner added, “Your father is right, I fear; where in London would we look for her? There are thousands of inns and boarding houses. If someone is intent on disappearing, there can be no better place to do so than London.”
Kitty murmured, “Oh, poor Lydia!”
“Poor Lydia indeed,” her father said. “I hate to think what her life will become, should she not marry Wickham. Or even if she does marry him, come to that.”
***
Later that night, Mr. Gardiner spoke privately to Mr. Bennet. “Do you want me to look for her, Thomas?”
Mr. Bennet sighed. “I think not. As you said, you are unlikely to meet with any success.”
“I agree, but what if she manages to return on her own? What will you do with her?”
“Lock her in the nursery for the rest of her life, I suppose, but I think it unlikely that she will be able to make her way home.”
Mr. Gardiner sighed deeply. “To lose both a wife and a daughter together! I am sorry, Thomas, more sorry than I can tell you.”
“And you have lost a sister, Henry. Fanny loved you dearly, you know, and spoke about your business successes with great pride.”
“Which did her no good with her social superiors, I am certain.”
“She did not care, Henry. She never did learn fine manners, and how very much I wish I could tell her that it did not matter. I was not kind to her, you know, and I regret –“ He broke off, unable to continue.
***
The Gardiners left the next morning, the children bouncing about impatiently in the carriage. Promises of a good deal of letter writing had been extracted on both sides. Mr. Bennet held his girls close as the Gardiner carriage disappeared around the bend. He meant to make good on his promise to Henry Gardiner.
Chapter Nine
August 8, 1812
Lydia tried to be patient, but why was it taking George so long to collect whatever monies were owed to him so that they could continue on to Scotland? It had been a week since they had taken up residence in this dilapidated inn, and George continued to leave each morning and not return until nightfall. Moreover, the innkeeper was making loud noises about not having been paid for the food they had eaten, and had taken to glaring at Lydia when she came down alone for breakfast.
She had not grown accustomed to the stares of the men in the common room, and had learnt to wrap a few rolls in a napkin and take them upstairs to her room, where she sat, hour after hour, waiting for George’s return. He came back to her each night, stinking of drink, and refusing to discuss the situation at all. Finally, she said, quite accusingly, “Why, I begin to think you do not intend to marry me at all!”
At that, he stared at her and then broke into hearty laughter. “I just won a shilling, my sweet, thanks to you! I had a bet with the innkeeper downstairs,” he said, hiccupping. “He said you seemed bright enough and would figure it out in two days. I said that you were not as bright as all that, and it would be at least a week.”
It took Lydia a long minute to understand what had just been revealed to her. She was not much interested in the bet, otherthan to feel rather insulted that George thought her not very bright; instead, her attention was focused on the fact that she was evidently quite right. George Wickham had no intention of marrying her.
“Did you ever intend to marry me?” she asked, slowly.
“Of course not,” he scoffed. “You have no money, no connections, nothing whatever to tempt a man to matrimony!”
“But why – oh!” She understood, at long last, that he had brought her along as a bedmate and nothing more. With that realisation, she was filled with rage, rage at him, rage at herself, rage at her situation, and she flew at him, nails extended, and managed to draw blood before he slapped her down and pushed her onto the bed.
***
