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“It is not over yet William. I am leaving all the problems until the end.”

He managed not to laugh for a second time.

“Let me finish with my family. Mary has been the sister I am closest to for many years. She was allowed to bring Longbourn’s ledgers to London whereas Jane only brought them once in ’08. Other than a weekend visit in early ’09 by Jane I only saw Mary of my family until my return to Hertfordshire. I had invited both Jane and Miss Lucas to visit in practically every letter I sent but they had been denied by both their mothers. As a result, they became closer, if only through shared misery. What I did not realise was they were jealous of the freedom I enjoyed in London. Even when I returned there was a distance we were unable to bridge.

“Then Jane started to receive attention from Mr. Bingley. I do not think either of us can claim to be experts on courting.” Mutual chuckles. “But his attentions were marked. Just as we glossed over the Assembly so we will gloss over my stay at Netherfield Park. What you probably do not know is that Jane took the side of Miss Bingley that evening. Now it was not really her side, more supporting Mr. Bingley, but it drove a wedge between us. She wanted to escape the confines of Longbourn and did not want me to upset an eligible gentleman. When he left suddenly and did not return, it only reinforced her belief that my intemperate tongue had done her wrong.

“With Miss Lucas now Mrs. Collins Jane is worried that she will end up on the shelf. She apologised in January once I was settled in London. We reconnected and we are working on re-establishing our sisterly friendship. But we both want it, so it is more a matter of time. I will come back to that in a moment. Let me finish up with my two youngest sisters. They are a mixed-up combination of guilt and innocence. You only have to observe their behaviour to assign the former, but they have received no parental guidance. My Aunt Madeline helped establish the manners and genteel behaviour in Jane, myself and Mary. As she had more children of her own she was unable to spend as much time teaching us good manners. I received the most time with her, due to being sent to London every quarter. Kitty and Lydia did not have the benefit of any time with her. The three of us try our best but are constantly undermined by our mother and occasionally our father. I worry about them, especially Lydia who has the body of a woman but still the mind of a child.”

She looked at Darcy.

“Let me tell you about Wickham.”

She watched his shoulders stiffen, the tension immediate and obvious.

“When he was suspected of seducing the daughter of the wheelwright in Meryton I knew something had to be done. She was a year younger than Lydia who had been overheard extolling Wickham’s handsomeness.”

She looked at Darcy.

“This will go no further. Not to Georgiana, not to the Colonel, to no one.”

“I will not mention this to a soul.”

“It was Robert that came up with the plan. The wheelwright’s son was driving a cart with two wheels to the northern outskirts of London. He left in the afternoon but did not travel far. When he saw Wickham walking along back to the Militia camp he drove him off the road. Conveniently close to Robert and his cosh. They covered him with tarpaulins and drove him down to the docks.”

She paused and blushed.

“He was left at the back door of a house of ill repute called the Sailor’s Delight. The madam was happy to inform the Impressment Squad of an easy capture and he was on board a Navy vessel before dawn. Robert and the young man delivered the wheels and returned to Meryton, with no one any the wiser. In the meantime, Wickham had been discovered missing. Mr. Green was the immediate suspect but he had been drinking at the Inn all evening. Sir William Lucas is the local magistrate and he had stopped by for a drink that night, so Wickham’s disappearance is being treated as desertion until proven otherwise.”

Darcy pulled Elizabeth to a stop.

“You must think of a reward, not just for yourself but for Robert as well. I cannot describe to you how I feel knowing that miserable human being is gone from my life, and my sister’s life, forever.”

Elizabeth looked over at Robert and beamed with pleasure. He had not heard the words but she would let him know as soon as they returned to Hanover Square. Her smile faded as she decided to tell her fiancé about the sordid parts of the last four years.

“Let me tell you this next part as quickly as possible. It is embarrassing and I do not wish to remember it but I will tell you the full truth. I was propositioned to be a man’s mistress three times. The first time was when I was 17 and the other two were the summer after I turned 18. At that point, I would allow no man to talk to me without Claire being close enough to hear.”

Darcy clenched his fists, three unknown faces waiting for a beating.

“As you can imagine, it did wonders for my attitude towards men.”

With a blushing face, she recounted her experiences while working in her uncle’s offices.

“Thank you for telling me, I can see that it was not easy. And thank you for not sharing any of that with Georgiana, however persistent she was. No young woman should have to suffer such behaviour.”

“This next tale is one that only Sir Edward knows.”

She sighed.

“I say that but it is known to the servants, and by now almost certainly Aunt Agatha. But it is another thing that was at my instigation. While I was mistress of his house, I organised a cauldron of soup and several loaves of bread for the women of the Sailor’s Delight.”

Darcy was, for about the 10th time that morning, speechless.

“Can you tell me why?”

She nodded sadly.

“There were two routes to my uncle’s offices, one shorter than the other. This shorter route went past the house of ill repute. Normally I would use the longer route, so as not to be exposed to the people there. But on occasion I was in a hurry and we would take the shorter route. I was never bothered by anyone who worked there although it was mortifying to hear some of their catcalls to poor Robert. But I thought nothing of it, frankly it was an inconvenience, forcing me to take the longer route. But one day we were taking the shorter route and for the first time I really saw the impact on the poor women.”