What could Mrs Cooper mean by alarming? Had someone insulted her? Hurt her? He was prepared to do anything for her, even defend her reputation if necessary. And as he rode towards Derby, he was forced to acknowledge that his love remained entirely unchanged. If she had accepted his proposal, he would have followed the colonel’s advice and gone to the church convinced that a woman such as Elizabeth would learn to love, provided the man she married knew how to win her heart.
He entered Mrs Cooper’s drawing room before her butler had even finished announcing his name. He found Mrs Cooper alone, though traces of distress and tears were visible upon her usually serene countenance.
“Elizabeth?” he cried, looking about him, suddenly terrified that something had happened to her.
“She is well. It is not about her,” replied Mrs Cooper, motioning for him to sit beside a small table where a glass and a decanter of cognac awaited him. Without waiting for the servants, she poured it herself.
“Thank you for coming. Something terrible has happened,” she said. “To a family already so cruelly afflicted. Mr Darcy, Elizabeth’s sister Lydia has eloped with Wickham.”
Darcy immediately set down his glass, fearing he might otherwise drop it. Fury swept over him like a black veil.
“Good God! That scoundrel! That villain!” he exclaimed.
Then he turned back to Mrs Cooper, struggling to recover sufficient composure to learn more.
“How? What happened?”
Mrs Cooper picked up a letter from the table.
“The first news arrived yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” asked Darcy. “Then why did you send for me only today?”
“Because yesterday Jane added only a few hurried lines to a letter that had otherwise concerned the small events of Meryton. She was upset, but not despairing, for she informed Elizabeth that Lydia had run away with Wickham towards Scotland to be married.”
“The same scheme,” said Darcy.
When Mrs Cooper looked at him questioningly, he added briefly,
“It is not the first time he has attempted to run away to Gretna Green with a young lady. Usually, however, his targets were wealthy heiresses.”
“That is precisely what Jane writes in the first letter. She urged Elizabeth not to worry, believing they were probably in love and that it was a disinterested marriage, since Wickham knew perfectly well the circumstances of the family.”
“But matters were not so simple. The letter that arrived this morning brought very different news, far more tragic. I saw Elizabeth turn scarlet. She pressed a hand to her heart and…I do not know what happened next, only that I found myself holding her in my arms. The poor girl could scarcely speak. I took the letter. If you wish to read it, only the second page is important.”
“No. Please tell me what it says.”
“It is plainly a letter written in the greatest desperation, almost incoherent. In short, Miss Bennet writes that however imprudent a marriage between Mr Wickham and Lydia might be, it would still be an acceptable solution, since there are now too many reasons to fear that they never intended to go to Scotland at all.”
“Indeed, it would have been surprising if he had intended to marry Miss Lydia. That scoundrel is not the sort of man to fall in love or act from generosity. But please continue.”
“A Colonel Forster arrived in Meryton—”
“Yes, I know who he is. He commands the militia that was stationed in Hertfordshire.”
“Exactly. Some months ago, Miss Lydia had been invited by Mrs Forster to spend the summer at Brighton. Lydia left a short letter for Mrs Forster, giving the impression that they were travelling towards Gretna Green. However, an officer named Denny expressed to Colonel Forster his conviction that Wickham had never intended either to go there or to marry Lydia. Alarmed at once, Colonel Forster left Brighton determined to pursue them and, if possible, bring them back. He traced them easily as far as Clapham, but no further, for upon reaching that place they disappeared.”
“Clapham,” said Darcy. “They are on the road to London.”
“Yes, that is what they suspect as well. So he travelled to Meryton to tell the ladies the whole story. Mr Bingley immediately left for London to inform Mrs Bennet’s brother, Mr Gardiner, who has most likely already begun the search.”
“Mr Gardiner?” asked Darcy, for a plan was already beginning to form in his mind.
“He is also my brother-in-law. I can give you every detail if—”
“If what?”
The voice came from the doorway, and both started, for neither had heard Elizabeth enter.
