“My wife tells me you have placed a great deal of importance on your wedding clothes. For the sake of argument, let us say you are accoutered from head to toe to your satisfaction. You go to the church and are married, and when you walk down the church steps and get into a hackney, where do you tell the driver to take you?”

Lydia was practically squirming. She had not thought about anything past the wedding ceremony. Where would they go?

“First, we should go to my Aunt and Uncle Gardiner’s. They are excessively fond of me.”

“Still?”

“Of course, Uncle Gardiner is my mother’s brother.”

“As you say, Mr. Gardiner is your mother’s brother, and as such, you have caused his sister great anxiety. In addition to that, he has neglected his family and business in his efforts to find you. I cannot imagine him welcoming with open arms the man who was responsible for wreaking havoc with the emotions of the Bennet and Gardiner families.”

“Well, it will only be for a few days before we go to Longbourn.”

“If you imagine a warm welcome there, I think you will be disappointed. Your father spent many days in London looking for you. He returned home in despair, fearing he would never see his youngest daughter again and that he had lost you to a man who violated every law of decency.”

“But I will explain it was only because we are so in love that we did these things. In time, all will be forgiven.”

“One can hope. However, you cannot expect your father to allow such a man to stay in his home for any length of time as he would be a constant reminder of the disruption he has caused his family. And you have another problem. Since Wickham, at Colonel Forster’s insistence, must leave the militia, I am curious as to what you will live on.”

“We have more resources than you think, Mr. Bingley,” Lydia said, smiling weakly. “Mr. Wickham is the natural son of a very wealthy man, and it is his intention to claim his share of the inheritance.”

“Really? And who told him that natural sons are entitled to a share of an inheritance? There is nothing in the law that requires it.”

“But his son is such a man that he will do what is right.”

“May I ask who this gentleman is?”

“If you promise it will not leave this room, as Wickham would be very unhappy with me if he knew I had told anyone.” Bingley gave her no assurances, but she decided to tell him anyway. “It is Mr. Darcy of Pemberley.”

George Bingley leaned forward in his chair, so that he might get closer to a young woman whose ignorance of how the world worked was staggering. “My dear, do you know what the term ‘slander’ means?”

“It is when someone tells a lie.”

“Yes, it is a lie, but one told to others to the point where it damages another’s reputation. You have just repeated a slander against Mr. Darcy. We know who Wickham’s father was, and he was not Mr. Darcy. So if you or Wickham should repeat this, you will be sued by the Darcy family, and when you are found guilty, you will go to prison.”

For the first time since she came into the room, Lydia truly looked frightened. Wickham had assured her that the elder Mr. Darcy was his father, and that the younger Mr. Darcy would see them right. What would they do now?

“In light of all of this, I would suggest you return to your parents and hope for a new beginning. Wickham is a man completely without principle, and he will cause you great heartache if you should marry.”

“But you don’t know the real George Wickham. He is very kind and attentive, and he loves me so much that he was willing to risk everything to be with me.”

Mr. Bingley laughed, which sent a chill down Lydia’s spine. “He risked very little, my dear. It was you who risked everything. I shall say no more as your uncle will be here shortly to bring you to their home. I hope they can talk sense into you as the man you call ‘my dear Wickham’ is a seducer, a gamester, a liar, and a profligate, among other things. A leopard cannot change its spots, Miss Lydia, not even for you.”

* * *

When Darcy went to George Bingley’s office, he expected to discuss his old enemy’s demands, but Bingley made it clear that Wickham was not in a position to demand anything.

“If for no other reason, Wickham must cooperate with us, or he will be before a magistrate with regards to his outstanding debts quicker than he can say ‘Jack Frost.’ Marshalsea Prison is an unpleasant place on the best of days, and there are very few of those.”

“Have you received instructions from Mr. Bennet?” Darcy asked. “Is he insisting that Lydia marry?”

“It is my understanding that it is her father’s hope that she will return to her family unmarried. However, Mr. Bennet has signed a power of attorney giving Mr. Gardiner complete discretion in this matter.”

“Please advise Mr. Gardiner that I shall do whatever is necessary to assist Miss Lydia if she foregoes marriage. I own a small estate in Hampshire where she might live until the storm passes. Money is not an issue; all her needs will be met.”

“That is very generous of you, Mr. Darcy, but from the conversation I had with the young lady, I believe a marriage will take place.”

“Where is Wickham?”

“In Brighton, where he had unfinished business. As discussed, Wickham will go into the regular army. A commission has been purchased in a regiment quartered in the north of England, and the colonel is a childhood friend of mine and is known for his discipline. Wickham will find life in the army to be very different from the militia. We are in a time of war, so if he thinks he can up and leave his regiment as he did in the militia, he will quickly come to realize his error. Deserters are hunted down and punished. All of this will be made clear to Wickham.”

Darcy was then shown a document drafted by George Bingley and the Darcy family solicitor in which a trust was to be established for Lydia Bennet with funds provided by Mr. Darcy. The conditions for any withdrawal in excess of a designated monthly allowance were stringent, and anything out of the norm required the approval of Mr. Stone, the executor of the trust.

“We have left Wickham with no wiggle room, Mr. Darcy. These funds are to be made available only at certain banks, all of which I have a financial interest in. Every line of this document has been written with Miss Lydia’s interests in mind, and emergency funds are available if she needs to return to Longbourn. If they are frugal, the funds are sufficient to meet their needs.

“In addition, Mr. Stone has drafted a second document, which Wickham must sign, in which he acknowledges the facts of his birth, and if he should make additional statements that can be construed in any way that he is the natural son of David Darcy of Pemberley, he will be prosecuted. After the document is signed, you will leave, so that Wickham will think the only reason you were in attendance was to protect the interests of the Darcy family.”

Darcy stood up and thanked Mr. Bingley for all of his efforts and asked for an invoice to be sent to him at his earliest opportunity.

“There will be no charge, Mr. Darcy, not only because you are a friend and a business associate, but because I am the father of four daughters. Wickham’s actions are a violation of everything I hold sacred.”

“When will Wickham be coming to London?”

“In the next few days. By that time, Captain Wilcox and Lieutenant Fuller will have had sufficient time to deal with Wickham, and I understand a Mr. Egger of Meryton was also interested in meeting with him. When he left Meryton and Brighton, he burned his bridges and is friendless, which I imagine will become a permanent condition.”

After leaving Bingley’s office, Darcy recalled the time he had seen Lydia at Lucas Lodge. She had brazenly declared it was her intention to meet every officer in the regiment, and shortly thereafter, she had proceeded to chase after a young lieutenant. Jane and Elizabeth were aghast, but her parents ignored what he considered to be grossly inappropriate behavior. What you sow, so shall you reap. Harvest time had come.

* * *

As expected, Lydia refused to even consider not marrying her dear Wickham. With their voices added to those of Hannah and George Bingley, the Gardiners tried to convince their niece that such a man would make a terrible husband. But if Lydia had been able to withstand the odious Mr. George Bingley’s withering looks and biting comments, the Gardiners presented no challenge to her at all. Even after it was explained that she would be received by her family with charity, she stood firm in her insistence that she marry. Mr. Bennet had anticipated her response. As a result, he had not even bothered to come to town.

There was only one person at Longbourn who was happy about the news from London—Mrs. Bennet. She was elated that her daughter was to be married, but not for the reason that everyone would have imagined. She had been in a state of high anxiety because she believed Lydia’s elopement would damage the prospects of her other four daughters. If Lydia returned to Longbourn unmarried, many a gentleman would avoid a family who had received a fallen woman back into the fold.

When her husband read Mr. Gardiner’s letter to her, she could hardly contain her joy. It was unfortunate Wickham’s regiment was in the North, which would make visiting difficult, but if he distinguished himself in the army, then everyone would look at his wife quite differently when she returned to Meryton. But in the meantime, she hoped they would be allowed to stay at Longbourn for at least a month.

“Listen to me, Fanny,” Mr. Bennet said before retiring. “I shall receive Lydia and her husband here at Longbourn for no more than ten days. Although I shall be forced to sit at the dining table with Wickham, I shall not utter one word that can in any way be construed as conversation. You are not to give them one penny out of your household funds because Lydia will need to live on a budget for the rest of her life. As for taking Lydia and Wickham about the village to introduce the happy couple to our neighbors, I would not do it. You may take a lump of coal and wrap it up in fine paper and tie it with ribbons and bows, but it remains a lump of coal and no one will be fooled.”