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“Your remembrances of our time at Netherfield Park are a good riposte to my worries. And most of what you say with regard to the ladies of the Ton, I can also apply against the gentlemen. I will allow that our relationship is too perfect. We must refrain from being too happy in case it invokes envy.”

They laughed and picked up their pace as they strode out in the Spring sunshine.

--

In contrast, there was little laughter at Longbourn. Lydia was on her way to Brighton in the Colonel’s carriage, her good cheer in stark contrast to the worry of Mary and Jane, and the tears of Catherine. As they had predicted Mr. Bennet did not care that ‘one of the silliest girls in England’ was to be in the same area as thousands of soldiers, both Regulars and Militia. To Jane’s amazement and disgust he had dismissed her concerns with a scandalous flippancy. ‘Lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some public place or other, and we can never expect her to do it with so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the present circumstances.’

She had left his study without another word and Mary later found her repairing the damage from a bout of weeping. For the rest of May and into June there was an impending sense of doom.

It was not helped by the approach of their sister’s wedding. All three of Jane, Mary and Elizabeth were bitterly disappointed that they could not all be together on her special day. Their Uncle Gardiner had requested that they come to London, the reason not stated, but Mrs. Bennet would not allow them to go without accompanying them. They were at an impasse. The time spent every day with Catherine was bearing fruit, and they were starting to see the individual that was buried under Lydia’s domineering exuberance. But neither Jane nor Mary had shared the date of Elizabeth’s wedding so their sombre mood dragged down the mood of their sister.

“Are our parents aware of the day of Lizzie’s wedding?”

“I do not believe so. How would they know, unless Uncle Gardiner told them? I cannot see him doing that. Have either of them written to Lizzie?”

Jane shook her head at Mary’s question.

“No. If Mama had written and Elizabeth had not responded then she would be complaining about it at the dinner table. I cannot be sure about Papa but Lizzie would have told us if there were any letters from them. It is terrible that our family has come to this, yet I cannot be surprised.”

“There has also been no further letter from Lydia since the note letting us know she had arrived safely. The lack of news worries me.”

“Mary, I share your concerns. Unfortunately neither of our parents do. Papa is grateful for the peace and quiet and frankly Mama is hoping that she comes back married. She never explains how such a situation could come to pass. It is foolish in the extreme.”

In early June all their fears came to pass.

An express came at midnight, just as the family were all gone to bed. It was from Colonel Forster, to inform them Lydia was missing. At the time, it was presumed that she had gone off to Scotland with one of the Militia officers. Mrs. Bennet went from borderline hysterical at receiving an express so late, to full bore hysteria when she heard that Lydia was missing. Mary and Jane watched their father shake his head and reread the letter clearly hoping for the words on the page to change. The letter fell from his grasp and while he organized Mrs. Hill to deal with their mother, Jane quickly scanned the note. She placed it on the table in the hall and dragged Mary to her room.

“What did it say?”

“Lydia broke her fast with the Forsters yesterday morning, Thursday. She has not been seen since. It was not until late this morning that she was discovered to be missing.”

“What about dinner yesterday?”

“There is no mention of that. All of Lydia’s belongings were missing so the Colonel suspects that she has eloped to Scotland. He sent the express and then was going to take a muster of his officers to see which one was missing. He will send an update first thing tomorrow morning.”

“With all her clothes and belongings missing she has not met with an accident. This must have been deliberate, a calculated action.”

There was little sleep that night at Longbourn. The second express from the Colonel was more detailed but did little to bring any clarity to the situation. There were no officers missing from Colonel Forster’s regiment. He had made enquiries with the other Militia regiments at the camp and none had reported any missing officers. It was only in this second note that Colonel Forster reported on Lydia’s behaviour while in Brighton. Mrs. Bennet could try to call it spirited as much as she wanted, everyone else knew the truth. Jane and Mary allowed Catherine to join them as they discussed the news.

“Catherine, this is a difficult question to answer but I need your best guess. There are no redcoats missing but Lydia has carefully packed her belongings and is now missing. You heard Mama last autumn going on about Mr. Bingley and his purported £5,000 a year. Did Lydia ever make any mention of pursuing a rich gentleman rather than an officer?”

Catherine took her time and thought back over the last nine months, ever since the rumour of the Militia had started.

“There was talk of the Militia before we knew of Mr. Bingley. Do you not remember Mama reminiscing about a Colonel Miller, and how she had cried for days after he left? Lydia has been enamoured with redcoats ever since. She had no interest in either Mr. Bingley or the other gentleman that accompanied him. Her focus has been on officers for nearly a year.”

Mary knew of Elizabeth’s three propositions, and them coming from purported gentlemen. Lydia had no dowry and was sufficiently flirty that to a man of no morals she would appear to be only one step away from a light-skirt. What she could not understand is how Lydia was convinced to pack her things and join the man. It was only this fact that was stopping her thinking the worst had happened to her sister. Jane brought her attention back to the issue.

“She went willingly. It is not a civilian gentleman, regardless of how wealthy as she only has eyes for officers. And that is putting aside the issue of a gentleman thinking Lydia worthy of an elopement. In nearly every case there is a dowry or inheritance involved. And as far as Colonel Forster knows, and he checked the other regiments, there are no missing officers. Something does not add up here.”

Even Mr. Bennet could not ignore this danger to the family, but since travel was forbidden on the Sabbath it was Monday morning before he set off for Brighton. Jane and Mary spent Elizabeth’s wedding day worrying about their sister.

The object of their concern was considerably more intelligent than any of her family gave her credit for. Six months earlier Lydia was chasing after officers as close as possible to her own age, the Lieutenants or young Captains of the Militia Regiment. But the disappearance of Wickham and the subsequent gossip on how much the junior officers were paid had educated her to the different levels of pay, and the paltry sums earned by them. While she was self-absorbed and thoughtless, she was also happy to enjoy the comforts of Longbourn. When she realised her pin money was not much less than the pay of a Lieutenant after his deductions, they were gone from her thoughts immediately. Lydia Bennet liked a redcoat but she like food, warmth and new dresses even more.

This was where the acquaintance that had deepened into friendship with Mrs. Forster had made a difference. Sarah Forster was less than three years older than Lydia and had executed to perfection the plan that Lydia was now going to copy. She had targeted Colonel Forster and had looked at no other. He was a wounded war hero, as Elizabeth had discovered all those months ago at Lucas Lodge. 20 years of hard soldiering had left him susceptible to the charms of Sarah Forster. Lydia now proposed to emulate her friend from amongst the officers at Brighton.

With the help of Mrs. Forster it had not been difficult to attract the attention of many of the officers. And she did not just focus on Militia officers, Regular Army officers were equally attractive. After several false steps Lydia refined her demeanour to one more appropriate for senior officers. After three weeks, she had been able to converse with them, while still indulging in mild flirting. It was a fine line to walk but she was young, buxom and pretty. The focus of her efforts, Major Simon Brown was very similar to Colonel Forster. A veteran of much fighting he did not yet have the easy sinecure of command of a Militia Regiment. In 10 days he was scheduled to lead his men to Southampton for embarkation to the Peninsula. During the past two months of training he had become fixated on the idea of finding a young wife to accompany him to Spain and warm his bed at night. He had won a great deal of money playing cards and as a result could ensure her relative comfort.

A moderately rich Major, with a wish for a nubile young wife met a pretty young woman half his age, enamoured with any senior officer in a redcoat and with a thirst for adventure. They were made for each other. Now all they had to do was elope!