“Good God!”

Jane nearly fell down the stairs in her efforts to get to her father as quickly as possible and entered his study without knocking. With his chair facing the window, Jane could see that her father was holding a letter.

“Jane, a post rider has just come with a letter from Colonel Forster.” In a state of total disbelief, he continued, “Apparently, Lydia has gone to Gretna Green with Mr. Wickham.”

* * *

It took three days for Jane’s letter to reach Elizabeth at the inn. While Lizzy was riding Sugar in the Peak District, her father had been on the road to London in hopes of finding his youngest daughter. Colonel Forster had come to Longbourn to inform the family that the couple had transferred to a hackney coach at Clapham, which meant they were going to London and not Gretna Green, where such marriages took place.

Because of the lateness of the hour, Lizzy did not read Jane’s letter until the morning. Once she acquainted her aunt and uncle with its alarming contents, Mr. Gardiner left to arrange for the carriage to be brought ’round immediately, and Mrs. Gardiner began packing everything as quickly as possible. Lizzy was writing a note to Mr. Darcy explaining that a family emergency had required their hasty departure when the servant announced him. When he first saw her, he thought she was ill because she was so pale, but then he saw her tear-stained cheeks and he went to her.

“What is the matter? Are you ill? Shall I send for a glass of wine?” Darcy asked. A few short hours ago, he had seen her smiling and happy, and he believed that all barriers to their coming together had been removed. But now something was very wrong. To his mind, the only news that could cause such unhappiness would be news of a death in the family.

“There is nothing the matter with me. I am just distressed by some dreadful news from Longbourn,” and Lizzy burst into tears. Taking her hand in his, he asked her to tell him what was causing her such anguish.

Lizzy did not want to say Wickham’s name because she knew the effect that it had had on Mr. Darcy in Kent, and this time would be no different. When she acquainted him with the particulars of the supposed elopement, he rose from his chair and stepped back as soon as he fully understood what Lydia had done.

“It is absolutely certain?”

“They left Brighton together on Sunday night and were traced almost to London.”

“What has been done to recover her?”

Lizzy shared all that she knew, but with each detail, Mr. Darcy seemed to withdraw further into himself. By the time she had finished, she knew he had already distanced himself from her in his mind, and after expressing his wishes that there might be a happier conclusion than there was at present reason to hope, he was gone. And with him went all of her hopes. There would be no visit by Mr. Darcy to Longbourn nor would he return to Netherfield Park with Mr. Bingley. His objections, so vigorously expressed at the parsonage regarding a union between them, had been validated, and by not making a second offer of marriage, he had escaped being bound to such a family. She had not the smallest hope of a different conclusion, and when her uncle returned to tell Lizzy and his wife that the carriage awaited, she felt as if she had fallen into a pool of despair and that there was no friendly hand to lift her out of it.

Chapter 39

Lord Fitzwilliam poked his head into the breakfast room and asked, “What are you all doing in here?”

“We are having breakfast, Antony,” Anne answered, gesturing for her cousin to join them. “Would you like Jackson to prepare a plate for you?”

“Just ham and a piece of bread will do. I rarely eat at this hour. By the way, what hour is it?”

“It is 9:00.”

“Good grief! What are you all doing out of bed? And where are my relations?”

“Will, Georgiana, Richard, and Mr. Bingley are riding on this beautiful morning. Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley, and I do not ride, and Mr. Hurst is under the weather.”

“Where is that lovely creature with the black eyes? I didn’t run her off, did I?” Lord Fitzwilliam asked while taking the chair next to Mrs. Hurst.

“Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner have returned to Hertfordshire, and their departure had nothing to do with you,” Anne reassured him.

“Well, that is a relief. It is too bad she has departed as I am very partial to dark-eyed women. I think my wife has brown eyes. I shall have to look next time I see her.”

“Antony, Lady Fitzwilliam has beautiful blue eyes, just like your daughters,” and with a puzzled expression she asked, “Do you know that your hair is standing straight up?”

“It always does,” he said, running his fingers through his blonde mane. “My man has invented some concoction that gets it to lie down. Hopefully, he will arrive today with my baggage.” Turning to Mrs. Hurst, he said, “You see, my brother, Colonel Fitzwilliam, inherited the good looks and the hair, and I got everything else.”

When Louisa started giggling, Lord Fitzwilliam knew he had found his audience.

“I know it sounds unfair, but Richard had to get something since he did not get any of the money.”

Louisa tried not to laugh, but the earl was funny. It had been such a long while since a man, including her husband, had paid her any notice. But her sister was looking at her from across the table, and she was anything but amused because today was to be her day.

This morning, Caroline had awoke with a smile on her face because, at long last, she would have an opportunity to spend time with Mr. Darcy. She anticipated long walks by the lake and private conversations about their future, and she took great pains with her toilette. Unlike her dark-haired rival, who could barely keep her curls in place, Caroline had long silky blond hair, which she wore with one long curl falling over her shoulder so that everyone could truly appreciate how beautiful her hair was. Unlike Miss Elizabeth’s two lumps of coal, she had crystal blue eyes, and before going downstairs, she had taken one last look in the mirror and liked what she saw. The equestrians came in shortly thereafter.

“What a morning!” Charles said. “Absolutely perfect for riding, and Miss Darcy is one of the few women who can give me a run for my money.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bingley. I learned from my brother, who would not allow me to use my sex as an excuse, and because of that, I had to work very hard,” and turning to her cousin, she asked, “Will you ride with us tomorrow, Lord Fitzwilliam? I know you are a fine horseman.”

“Past tense, my dear. I was a fine horseman. These days the only riding I do is in a carriage,” he said with real regret because there was nothing like a fine mount to make you feel as if you could conquer the world. However, when you were never completely sober, the last place you wanted to be was on a spirited animal, unforgiving of error. But there had been a time when he had ridden like the wind, and even his brother and cousin could not catch him. “What have you done with Darcy? Hopefully, you have not left him lying at the bottom of some chasm in his nice riding clothes.”

“My brother had business in Lambton, Milord, but he will be with us for dinner.”

“Well, I am not waiting for dinner,” Richard said, patting his stomach. “I am starving and Bingley has done nothing but talk of food since we got in sight of Pemberley.”

Lord Fitzwilliam pushed his plate away from him untouched. The thought of eating before noon disgusted him. “Richard, you may have my chair. Mrs. Hurst and I were about to go into the gardens when you arrived, so if you will excuse us,” and Antony stood up and extended his arm to Louisa.

Louisa and Lord Fitzwilliam’s departure was as surprising as the sight of a nun strolling through St. James’s Park with the Prince of Wales would have been, and no one was more surprised than Louisa Hurst. After finding a seat on the bench nearest to the maze, Lord Fitzwilliam told her, “Since I am an earl, I may say things that other people cannot, and you must listen. You are a delightful young woman, but I am afraid, my dear, your sister quite overpowers you, and you defer to her in everything. Last night, you told me you are rarely separated. May I suggest that you go away for a month or two, so that she might have an opportunity to miss you and thus recognize your value?”

It was true that Louisa deferred to Caroline. Because of her sister’s strong personality, she usually found it best to agree with her, even when she really disagreed, as was the case with Jane and Charles. After so many years of bending to Caroline’s will, was change really possible?

“Is there someone you may visit?”

“I have a sister in Ireland, Milord.”

“My dear, it is not necessary to leave the country. Is there no one nearer?”

“My sister Diana lives near the Welsh border.”

“But not in Wales, I hope. The Celtic race was pushed into the corners, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, and in the case of the Irish, onto their own island. People who live in corners are always odd and should be avoided.”

“She lives in Herefordshire, sir.”

“Herefordshire will do. As for your husband, ordinarily, I am not a believer in reforming others as change comes from within. However, Mr. Hurst is a young man and of an age when reform is possible. So what can you do to help him? I suspect your husband is a younger son, so you might begin by approaching whoever provides his allowance. Bad habits require money. Or you may dilute the port as Jackson is doing on Mr. Darcy’s orders for me. A bucket of cold water is also known to work. Temporarily. But it did get my attention.”