“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.”

When Mr. Bennet called her “Fanny,” she understood that anything he said was not subject to debate. But there were things her husband simply did not understand. It was absolutely critical that Lydia be reintroduced into society as quickly and as often as possible because, with each meeting, there would be a little less gossip among the tongue-waggers. Eventually, they would tire of the topic and would move on to dissecting others who had fallen from grace. The gossip surrounding Betsy Egger’s false pregnancy had already been replaced with the announcement that sixty-year-old Mr. Long was to marry Mrs. Gantner of Sheffield, a woman half his age. And so it would go. Some other juicy morsel would replace the news of Lydia’s unconventional marriage. It was just too bad Mr. Long hadn’t waited until after Lydia’s departure to the North to make his announcement. That news would have been a nice distraction from Lydia’s marriage, but there would be others who would fall short. There always were.

Chapter 49

Of all the guests at Pemberley, Charles was the first to leave. After arranging for Belling to accompany his sisters and Mr. Hurst to Scarborough, he had asked Miss Darcy if he might depart as he had important business in Hertfordshire.

It was Kitty who first recognized the man on horseback as Mr. Bingley, and she immediately ran to the garden house where Jane and Lizzy were drying sprigs of rosemary. Lizzy was looking at her sister when Kitty told her the news, but her face remained unchanged. Jane had put on a protective shield, and Lizzy was no longer sure of the reception Mr. Bingley would receive.

By the time the sisters went into the parlor, their mother had already shared the news with Mr. Bingley that Lydia was shortly to be married, explaining it was only a matter of the time needed to publish the banns that was delaying the nuptials.

“I was aware Miss Lydia was soon to be married, and I offer my sincere wishes for the couple’s health and happiness.”

Mrs. Bennet rambled on for several more minutes before leaving with Kitty. The conversation that followed was stilted and awkward. Jane was polite but said little, and by the time they had finished their tea, Bingley was beginning to fear the worst. Miss Bennet no longer loved him. It was then that Mrs. Hill announced that Jane had a visitor.

“Who is it, Mrs. Hill?”

“An old friend, Miss Jane, who is waiting in the sitting room.”

“But who is it?”

With everyone staring at her, Mrs. Hill finally said, “It is Mr. Nesbitt, miss.”

Jane looked confused, but Lizzy’s mouth fell open. Surely, he was not here to renew his attentions. Not now. Not at this critical moment.

After Jane left the room, Mr. Bingley’s face showed that he was on the verge of despair. “Miss Elizabeth, it seems I am too late as Miss Bennet has a suitor.”

“No, he is not a suitor as such. There was some interest, but not recently.” But the statement was made with such a lack of conviction, it failed to reassure Mr. Bingley.

Lizzy was at a loss as to what to do. Should she go to Jane to make sure she did not accept an offer from Mr. Nesbitt or stay with Mr. Bingley to make sure he did not become even more discouraged and leave? She decided to remain where she was; Mr. Bingley was greatly in need of reassurance.

“Mr. Bingley, you said you knew of my sister Lydia’s upcoming marriage. May I ask how you came by that information?”

“Mr. Darcy told me.”

“Mr. Darcy? How would Mr. Darcy know?”

“The day after you left Pemberley, Darcy went to London to help find… I mean to offer his assistance in…”

“Sir, you may speak frankly. If you were unaware of the circumstances regarding Lydia’s elopement, you would be one of the few.”

“I am not sure what you know, Miss Elizabeth, but Darcy has a history with Wickham. He felt that if he had made known the defects in his character, your sister would never have left Brighton with him. He recruited my brother, George, in the search, and it is my understanding that it was George’s men who found the couple. But knowing Darcy, I am sure he has been working behind the scenes to do what he could to help your sister.”

So she had guessed correctly. Darcy had left the inn at Lambton with the intention of finding Lydia, and now that he had succeeded, what would be his next step? Would he return to her or close the book on their relationship, especially since Lydia’s marriage would make George Wickham his brother-in-law? For the present, she must put those thoughts aside and concentrate on Jane. What on earth was taking her so long?

* * *

When Jane went into the parlor, she found Mr. Nesbitt happily conversing with Mary about all the headaches involved in probating wills, with her sister hanging on every word as if each was a pearl of wisdom. But upon seeing Jane, Mary immediately left the room.

“Miss Bennet, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Mr. Nesbitt said, rising.

“I must confess, sir, that in light of your last letter, I am surprised to find you at Longbourn.”

“That is why I am here. My mother urged me to write the letter, and now I have come to tell you that I regard it as a cowardly act. Even though no plans were formalized, and thus no promises made, I should have come in person to tell you of the change in circumstances that prompted such an action. But before you think ill of my mother, please allow me to explain that she has raised me from the time of my father’s death when I was five years old. I have been her life’s work, and when she heard the news about your sister, she believed my career would be jeopardized if we married. But I have studied the law for most of my adult life. Although I believe your sister has made a grievous error in judgment, you cannot, by association, be held accountable for her actions. You are completely innocent of all wrongdoing, and as such, should not be punished. The law is very clear on this.”

Jane wondered what constituted punishment: Mr. Nesbitt’s ending the relationship or his attempt to begin anew? If it was the latter, then Jane had some sad news for the gentleman sitting across from her. As soon as Charles began speaking, stumbling through his sentences, every feeling she had for him had returned. His halting speech was one of the things she loved best about him, but instead of being with him, she was listening to Mr. Nesbitt instruct her as to her legal rights. At times, life could be very unfair.

“In the days since I wrote that letter,” Mr. Nesbitt continued, “I have spent hours thinking about our time together. In hindsight, I could see that although you are pleasant company, Miss Bennet, I noted our conversations were strained. I had no such difficulty when talking to your sister Mary.”

Jane, who had been avoiding making eye contact with Mr. Nesbitt, fearing he might find encouragement there, now looked at him right in his eyes.

“Mary? Are you saying that you are interested in Mary?”

“I have no wish to hurt you, Miss Bennet, but the purpose of my visit is to ask permission to call on Miss Mary. As I have discussed with you on previous visits, it is my intention to study for the bar. As a result, the length of any courtship may be considerable and…”

Jane jumped out of her chair and made no attempt to pretend his news had upset her. Instead, she asked if she might go tell Mary the good news.

Mr. Nesbitt, who had been prepared for the possibility of Jane shedding a tear or two, was relieved to find her quite pleased with his decision to court her younger sister. Jane did not have far to go to find her as she was standing outside the door. Despite her proximity, she had been unable to hear what the two soft-spoken parties had been saying to each other. When Jane told her the purpose of Mr. Nesbitt’s visit, she stepped back from her sister.

“Of all people, Jane, I never thought that you would be so cruel. How can you say these things when you know how I feel about Mr. Nesbitt?”

“Mary, I am not in jest. Mr. Nesbitt is not here for me. He is here for you!”

It was another few minutes before Mary was convinced, but Jane finally pushed her toward the door. “I have business in the parlor, and you have business in the sitting room. Now, let us go to it.”

* * *

When Jane returned to the parlor, she was positively glowing.

“It seems we are to have a wedding here at Longbourn.”

“Oh, Jane,” Lizzy whispered. She felt as if she was going to be ill, and from Mr. Bingley’s expression, she was sure he was in a similar state.

“Mr. Nesbitt has come to Longbourn to ask for permission to court… Mary.”

“Oh, heavens!” Lizzy said, collapsing into the sofa. “What wonderful news! Mary, you say?” Lizzy’s eyes filled with tears of relief. “I must go to her immediately,” but did so only after giving Mr. Bingley a big smile.