Miss Lucas Read online

  Needless to say, Charlotte arrived home both exhausted and famished. (The food at the table lost all its appeal after seeing it masticated during Mrs. Bennet’s open-mouthed sobs.)

  Ignoring dinner entirely would certainly not help Charlotte come the morning, so she intended to sneak something cold from the kitchen and be on her way to bed before she fell asleep at the table. Her plans for rest here put off, however, by the presence of the five eldest members of the family all waiting for her in various states of undress and wakefulness.

  It was proof of Charlotte’s exhaustion that the first words out of her mouth were, “How did you talk Thomas and Lucy into going to bed?”

  Her father snorted. “They insisted on staying up and then fell asleep in the sitting room.”

  Lady Lucas rose to her feet before they could continue, nudging Charlotte onto one of the chairs and murmuring that she would get her something to eat.

  “Something cold will be fine, mother. I’m afraid I’m too tired for much else.”

  “Did something happen today, Charlotte?” Sir Lucas asked. While the Lucas family knew the gossip that had been spread about Lydia’s actions, they only asked Charlotte to confirm or deny certain things so they could nip any false rumors in the bud before they had the chance to spread too far and do too much damage. The truth was quite damaging enough as it was, but as stalwart friends they did what little they could to help.

  “Nothing in regards to Lydia, no. Mrs. Bennet simply joined us all for dinner.”

  “But dinner was over hours ago.” Maria objected.

  “We began late because Mrs. Bennet insisted on joining us, and the meal itself only ended a few moments before I left the house.”

  “You couldn’t get away?” William asked.

  “It seemed impolite to leave.”

  Maria and William nodded along as though that made perfect sense, while Sir and Lady Lucas knew that Charlotte’s concerns were less a matter of politeness and more about the damage Mrs. Bennet might do if left to her own devices. The last thing the Bennet family needed was for Charlotte to leave early and someone to drop by ‘checking up’ without her there to mediate. Already there had been a large number of neighbors seeking to satisfy their thirst for gossip by appearing uninvited at the Bennet’s door. Jane’s soft frown and Charlotte’s firm words about Mrs. Bennet’s health had sent them all away. Mrs. Bennet would happily invite in the neighbors to tell them all her woes, and that would be the end of her daughters.

  Henrietta, however, disagreed. “It’s not your responsibility,” she snapped. “I know you’re trying to fill in for Lizzy, but that doesn’t mean you have to be as good as a sister!”

  “Etta,” their mother tried to soothe, but her middle child wasn’t having it.

  “No! Charlotte has been there from sunrise to sunset ever since Mary turned up at our door and demanded her presence. Lydia got herself into this mess without your help, she can get herself out of it too!”

  Charlotte took her hand. “It’s not about, Lydia, darling. If everyone knew the details of what Lydia has been up to it wouldn’t ruin just her, it would ruin her sisters as well. And you don’t want that for your friends, do you?”

  “No.” Henrietta sniffed. “But I don’t want you stuck taking care of them, either.”

  Charlotte tugged on the end of her sister’s braid. “Have I been ignoring you so much, Etta? I thought you were enjoying your newfound invitations.”

  “We are, but it’s no fun without you!”

  Maria slouched against Charlotte’s other side. “You’re tired, Lotte. You’ve never looked so tired before, not even when Thomas had colic and Lucy decided we were all paying too much attention to the baby so she ought to scream too.”

  Lydia gave her sisters kisses atop their heads. “As you said, it will just be until Elizabeth gets home to take over matters, and I believe we all expected her to return today.”

  “Is that why Mrs. Bennet started being more difficult?” William asked.

  Sir Lucas rested a hand on his shoulder. “Not ‘difficult’. This would be a trying time for any mother and I imagine that Mrs. Bennet’s nerves aren’t helped at all by wondering about another one of her children. When Miss Elizabeth returns I have no doubt Mrs. Bennet will calm considerably.”

  Charlotte blamed her urge to laugh out loud on her exhaustion. Mrs. Lucas put a plate of cold chicken and cut summer fruit before her daughter and said, “Your father is right. Now, we should all let Charlotte eat her dinner and get to bed. There’s not much we can do to help her with her burdens, but we will do what we can.”

  Her siblings nodded along, though Henrietta and Maria stayed by her side with William across the table occasionally snatching pieces of fruit as they all rambled to Charlotte the details of her family’s day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The cottage shook with the pounding on his door. Henry woke in an instant and scrambled out of bed to answer, expecting the barracks to be on fire. It was no act of nature waiting for him, but Darcy, standing there rumpled in the dead of the night.

  “William?” Henry croaked, still half asleep and convinced this was a dream.

  Darcy shouldered his way past Henry, for once doing so without a comment about the size of his cousin’s home or an offer to move him someplace where the sitting room wasn’t a step away from the bedroom.

  “Darcy, what’s wrong? Did something happen to Georgiana?”

  “No, I’ve left her at Pemberley with Mr. Bingley and his sisters. I told them I had an urgent matter of business that required my attention.”

  “And that matter of business was in my sitting room?”

  “Miss Elizabeth was in Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle.” Darcy continued before Henry could ask if he was here to be talked out of proposing again. “They left this morning after receiving a letter from Miss Jane Bennet informing them that Miss Lydia Bennet has run away with Wickham.”

  Unfortunate experience meant the Colonel knew his horror at this news was exactly like getting stabbed. “How did this happen? I thought you told Elizabeth the truth of it? Why would she let him near her sister?”

  “It is my understanding that Miss Lydia went to Brighton as a guest of the regiment colonel’s wife. Whether Miss Elizabeth warned her sister about Wickham’s true nature, I do not know, but the younger Bennet sisters have always struck me as being rather incapable of sense even when it has been handed to them on a silver platter.”

  “What do you know?” Henry went back to his room and started getting dressed while Darcy explained.

  “They were believed to have gone to Gretna Green to elope, but Wickham’s fellow officers say he never intended to marry her.”

  “Of course he didn’t, the bastard. Why would he want to run off with a girl who has no money?”

  “He has been traced to Clapham and was last seen on the London road, which is why I come to you. Given enough time I’m sure I could persuade the right people and find them, but I’m afraid that I have never quite moved in the circles, or near the circles, that would let me find them quickly. You, however…”

  “Have made far less savory friends. Get back in the carriage, I’ll be out as soon as I’m dressed.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The first sign that they had of Elizabeth’s arrival was the Gardiner children gathering on the front steps with that sixth sense all children seem to have for their parents. Elizabeth paused long enough to give each child a kiss before she hurried into the vestibule. She was met by Jane, who came running down from her mother’s apartment. The two sisters wrapped one another in a hug, and though tears filled the eyes of both, Elizabeth’s presence seemed to lift a great weight from Jane’s shoulders and she looked more herself than she had in days. All too soon, Elizabeth asked whether anything had been heard of the fugitives.

  “Not yet,” replied Jane. “But now that my dear uncle has come, I hope everything will be well.”

  “Is father in town?”
r />   “Yes, he went on Tuesday, just after I wrote you.”

  “And have you heard from him often?”

  “We have heard only twice. He wrote me a few lines on Wednesday to say that he had arrived in safety and to give me his directions, which I particularly begged him to do. He merely added that he should not write again until he had something of importance to mention.”

  “And mother—how is she? How are you all?”

  “Mother is tolerably well, though her spirits are greatly shaken. She is upstairs and will have great satisfaction in seeing you all. She does not yet leave her dressing room. Mary and Kitty, thank Heaven, are quite well.”

  “But you—how are you?” cried Elizabeth. “You look pale. How much you must have gone through!”

  “I am perfectly well, far better than I would have been without Charlotte’s support.” It was not until Jane gestured over Elizabeth’s shoulder that she realized Charlotte was standing in the vestibule’s doorway while the sisters said their hellos. As much of a change as it had been to see Jane lighten at Elizabeth’s presence, the sight of Charlotte did the same for her. Lizzy pulled Charlotte into an embrace and murmured thanks into her ear.

  Their conversation, which had been passing while Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were engaged with their children, was now put to an end to by the approach of the whole party. Jane ran to her uncle and aunt, welcoming and thanking them both with alternate smiles and tears. Charlotte bid them what she intended to be short hellos before she left the family to itself, but Elizabeth would not relinquish Charlotte’s hand and took her with them into the drawing room. The questions that Elizabeth had already asked were repeated by her aunt and uncle, and while Jane was entrusted to offer the hopeful account of what had occurred, Charlotte was relied upon to share the more painful realities of the situation.

  After a few minutes’ conversation so that they could be prepared, all gathered in Mrs. Bennet’s apartment. The lady received them, as was expected, with tears and lamentations of regret, invectives against the villainous conduct of Wickham, and complaints of her own sufferings and ill-usage. For all that Elizabeth squeezed her hand so hard Charlotte suspected it might bruise, neither one looked at the other while Mrs. Bennet blamed everybody but the person to whose ill-judging indulgence the errors of her daughter must principally be owed.

  “If I had been able,” said she, “to carry my point in going to Brighton, with all my family, this would not have happened. But poor dear Lydia had nobody to take care of her. Why did the Forsters ever let her go out of their sight? I am sure there was some great neglect or other on their side, for she is not the kind of girl to do such a thing if she had been well looked after. I always thought they were very unfit to have the charge of her, but I was overruled, as I always am. Poor dear child! And now here’s Mr. Bennet gone away, and I know he will fight Wickham wherever he meets him and then he will be killed, and what is to become of us all? Mr. Collins will turn us out before he is cold in his grave, and if you are not kind to us, brother, I do not know what we shall do.”

  Jane and the Gardiners exclaimed against such terrific ideas and Mr. Gardiner, after general assurances of his affection for her and all her family, told her that he meant to be in London the very next day and would assist Mr. Bennet in every endeavor for recovering Lydia. It was his intention to gather Mr. Bennet to Gracechurch Street and consult together on some plan for apprehending the two.

  “Oh! My dear brother,” replied Mrs. Bennet, “that is exactly what I could most wish for. And now do, when you get to town, find them out, wherever they may be. And if they are not married already, make them marry.”

  Mrs. Bennet proceeded to lecture her brother on the wedding clothes and how it was his greatest responsibility to keep Mr. Bennet from fighting. The girls left it to Mr. Gardiner to recommend moderation and Mrs. Gardiner to endure all Mrs. Bennet’s feelings on the subject until such time as she could justify returning to her children. With a moment to themselves, Elizabeth instantly availed herself of the opportunity of making inquiries, which Jane was equally eager to satisfy. Jane informed Elizabeth of all the details that she knew of Colonel Forster’s visit and his opinion of matters, including his lack of knowledge that there had been any sort of attachment between either of them and the belief of officers such as Denny that Wickham never intended a marriage.

  “And till Colonel Forster came himself, you entertained a doubt, I suppose, of their being really married?”

  “How was it possible that such an idea should enter our brains? I felt a little uneasy—a little fearful of my sister’s happiness with him in marriage, because I knew that his conduct had not been always quite right. Our father and mother knew nothing of that. They only felt how imprudent a match it must be. Kitty then owned, with a very natural triumph on knowing more than the rest of us, that in Lydia’s last letter she had prepared her for such a step. She had known, it seems, of their being in love with each other, many weeks.”

  “But not before they went to Brighton?”

  “No, I believe not.”

  “And she did not think it a matter to mention to anyone in the interim?”

  “As near as I can tell she seemed to consider it entirely a matter of love,” Charlotte explained. “She saw nothing wrong in their behavior and considered it a thoroughly romantic choice on Lydia’s part. Though I admit, I do not know Kitty well enough to know if it was wholly a matter of romance or if she was rather more motivated by the thrill of being the only person to know of Lydia’s entanglement.”

  “I have spent the last day being shocked that both my sisters’ sense of decency and virtue should be in such doubt. But, truly, the longer I contemplate Lydia’s decision and Kitty’s complicity, I cannot pretend it is anything but. Perhaps I am not doing either of them justice, but they are both so recklessly young. Neither has ever been taught to think on serious subjects and for the last half-year, nay, for a twelvemonth—they have been given up to nothing but amusement and vanity. They have been allowed to dispose of their time in the most idle and frivolous manner, and to adopt any opinions that came in their way. Since the ---–shire were first quartered in Meryton nothing but love, flirtation, and officers have been in their heads. Lydia, in particular, has been doing everything in her power by thinking and talking on the subject, to give greater—what shall I call it? Susceptibility to her feelings, which are naturally lively enough. And we all know that Wickham has every charm of person and address that can captivate a woman. Tell me, did Colonel Forster appear to think well of Wickham himself? Does he know his real character as we do, or was he surprised by this?”

  “I must confess that he did not speak so well of Wickham as he formerly did,” Jane admitted. “He believed him to be imprudent and extravagant. And since this sad affair has taken place, it is said that he left Meryton greatly in debt, but I hope this may be false.”

  Elizabeth cast a look to Charlotte, seeking her opinion on the matter and it was all Charlotte could do to keep her expression from revealing anything. Elizabeth knew there was more to it, of course, but she respected Charlotte’s silent warning that there was something about the matter that ought to be kept from Jane. Elizabeth asked after Lydia’s note to Mrs. Forster and Jane took it from her pocket-book for Elizabeth to read.

  “Oh! Thoughtless, thoughtless Lydia!” cried Elizabeth when she had finished it. “What a letter is this, to be written at such a moment! But at least it shows that she was serious on the subject of their journey. Whatever he might afterwards persuade her to, it was not on her side a scheme of infamy. My poor father! How he must have felt it!”

  “I never saw anyone so shocked. He could not speak a word for full ten minutes. I will admit that it was no small relief that mother did not join us for the meeting and was informed about the particulars of the conversation only after father had already left with the Colonel.”

  “Such restraint was your doing I imagine, Charlotte?”

  “We all did our best to keep ev
ery bit of information from the neighborhood, though I confess that the passage of an entire week has made things a bit difficult on that score. No one outside your own family has been told the specifics from any of us, though I do not know what your Aunt Phillips might have shared. Whatever it is, we have had much company dropping by to ask questions.”

  Elizabeth nodded and then inquired into the measures that her father had intended to pursue, while in town, for the recovery of his daughter.

  “He meant, I believe,” replied Jane, “to go to Epsom, the place where they last changed horses, see the postilions and try if anything could be made out from them. His principal object must be to discover the number of the hackney coach that took them from Clapham. It had come with a fare from London. He thought that the circumstance of a gentleman and lady removing from one carriage into another might be remarked and he meant to make inquiries. If he could discover at what house the coachman had before set down his fare, he determined to make inquiries there and hoped it might not be impossible to find out the stand and number of the coach. I do not know of any other designs that he had formed but he was in such a hurry to be gone, and his spirits so greatly discomposed, that I had difficulty in finding out even so much as this.”

  “I do not blame him for his difficulty in this matter. It must have seemed like the greatest shock to him that such an outrage was even possible, let alone that his daughter was wrapped up in it. To father and mother, this must have come out of nowhere with a young man that they had trusted and thought most well of. Oh, had we been less secret, had we told what we knew of him, this could not have happened!”