As they drove away from the town, Mr. Gardiner was still thinking about everything Elizabeth had told him.
“Elizabeth,” he said, “the more I think about this, the more I agree with Jane.”
“It seems extremely unlikely that a young man would deliberately run away with a girl under such circumstances.”
“She was staying with his own commanding officer’s family. She wasn’t alone or without friends.”
“Surely Wickham would know that her friends would come after them.”
“And after insulting Colonel Forster in this way, could he really expect the regiment to welcome him again?”
“The risk would be far greater than anything he could possibly gain.”
Elizabeth looked at him with renewed hope.
“Do you really think so?”
Mrs. Gardiner joined in.
“To be honest, I am beginning to agree with your uncle.”
“Running away with Lydia would be such a terrible decision in every possible way.”
“It would damage his reputation, his future, and his position in the regiment.”
“I find it difficult to believe that Wickham could be so foolish.”
She looked at Elizabeth.
“Surely you can’t believe him capable of something so disgraceful either?”
“I don’t think Wickham would ever ignore his own interests,” Elizabeth replied.
“But apart from that, I believe him capable of almost anything.”
She hesitated.
“If this really is what happened, I don’t know what to think.”
“But if they intended to marry, why wouldn’t they simply go to Scotland?”
Mr. Gardiner considered the question.
“For one thing, we don’t have absolute proof that they haven’t gone there.”
“Oh, but the fact that they changed from the chaise into a hired coach seems very suspicious.”
“And no one has found any trace of them on the road to Barnet.”
“That is true,” Mr. Gardiner admitted.
“But suppose they are still in London.”
“They could be hiding there for a reason that isn’t necessarily shameful.”
“Neither of them is likely to have much money.”
“They might have decided that getting married in London would be cheaper, even if it took longer.”
Elizabeth shook her head.
“But why hide?”
“Why would they be afraid of being discovered?”
“And why would they need a secret marriage?”
“No, I can’t believe it.”
“Jane told us that Wickham’s closest friend was convinced he never intended to marry Lydia.”
“Wickham would never marry a woman without money. He simply cannot afford such a match.”
“And what does Lydia have to offer him?”
“She is young, healthy, and cheerful, but none of those things would make a selfish man like Wickham give up the chance to marry someone wealthy.”
“As for the danger of being disgraced by the regiment, I don’t know enough about military life to say how seriously he would take that.”
“But there is another problem.”
“Lydia has no brothers who would immediately come after him.”
“And judging from my father’s behavior, Wickham might think he would do nothing.”
“He may believe that my father is too lazy and too unconcerned with his family to take action.”
Mrs. Gardiner looked troubled.
“But could Lydia really agree to live with him without being married?”
Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears.
“It is terrible that we even have to ask such a question about our own sister.”
“I hardly know what to say.”
“Perhaps I’m being unfair to her.”
“But she is very young.”
“She has never been taught to think seriously about life.”
“For the past six months—or perhaps even the past year—she has cared about nothing except pleasure and excitement.”
“She has been allowed to spend her time however she pleased.”
“She has been encouraged to follow whatever foolish ideas came into her head.”
“Ever since the regiment arrived in Meryton, she has thought of nothing except love, flirting, and officers.”
“She has spent so much time thinking and talking about romance that she has only made herself more easily carried away by her feelings.”
“And Wickham has exactly the kind of charm that can easily make a young woman lose her judgment.”
Mrs. Gardiner reminded her,
“But Jane doesn’t think Wickham capable of something like this.”
Elizabeth gave a tired smile.
“Who does Jane ever think badly of?”
“Even when someone has behaved terribly in the past, Jane refuses to believe they are truly bad until she has undeniable proof.”
“But Jane knows what Wickham is.”
“She knows just as well as I do.”
“He has behaved badly in almost every part of his life.”
“He has no honesty or integrity.”
“He is charming and persuasive, but he is also dishonest and completely untrustworthy.”
Mrs. Gardiner looked at her with great interest.
“But how do you know all this?”
Elizabeth blushed.
“I really do know.”
“I told you about the terrible way he treated Mr. Darcy.”
“And when you were at Longbourn, you heard how Wickham spoke about Darcy, even though Darcy had treated him with remarkable generosity and patience.”
“There are other things too, but I’m not free to discuss them.”
“And honestly, there is no need.”
“Wickham has told endless lies about the entire Darcy family.”
“After hearing what he said about Miss Darcy, I expected her to be proud, cold, and unpleasant.”
“But Wickham knew perfectly well that she was nothing like that.”
“He knew she was kind and modest, just as we discovered when we met her.”
Mrs. Gardiner was surprised.
“But doesn’t Lydia know any of this?”
“Surely she knows what you and Jane have discovered.”
“That is the worst part.”
“Until I went to Kent and met Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, I didn’t know the truth myself.”
“By the time I returned home, the regiment was due to leave Meryton within a week or two.”
“Jane knew everything because I told her.”
“But we didn’t think there was any reason to tell everyone else.”
“What good would it have done to destroy Wickham’s good reputation throughout the neighborhood when he was about to leave anyway?”
“And when Lydia was invited to Brighton with Mrs. Forster, it never occurred to me that I needed to warn her about him.”
“I never imagined that she could actually be in danger because of his lies.”
“I certainly never imagined that things could become this terrible.”
Mrs. Gardiner asked another question.
“When they went to Brighton, did you have any reason to think Lydia and Wickham were in love?”
“Not the slightest.”
“I can’t remember seeing any real affection between them.”
“And if there had been, you know our family well enough to understand that Lydia would not have kept it secret.”
“When Wickham first joined the regiment, Lydia certainly admired him.”
“But so did every other girl in Meryton.”
“For the first couple of months, nearly every young woman in the neighborhood was fascinated by him.”
“He never paid Lydia any special attention.”
“So after a while, her wild admiration faded.”
“Then she became interested in other officers who treated her as though she were especially important.”
The subject came up again and again during the journey.
There was almost nothing new left to discuss.
Yet Elizabeth could not stop thinking about it.
She blamed herself more than anyone else.
The guilt was so painful that she could hardly find a moment of peace.
They traveled as quickly as possible.
After spending one night on the road, they finally reached Longbourn around lunchtime the following day.
Elizabeth was relieved to know that Jane had not been forced to wait for them for too long.
The Gardiner children were standing outside the house when they saw the carriage approaching.
The moment they recognized their relatives, their faces lit up.
They jumped around excitedly, unable to contain their happiness.
Elizabeth quickly climbed out of the carriage.
She gave each child a hurried kiss and rushed inside.
Jane came running down the stairs from her mother’s room and immediately embraced her.
Both sisters had tears in their eyes.
Elizabeth did not waste a moment.
“Have you heard anything about Lydia and Wickham?”
“Not yet,” Jane replied.
“But now that Uncle Gardiner is here, I feel more hopeful.”
“Is Papa still in London?”
“Yes. He left on Tuesday, just as I told you.”
“Have you heard from him?”
“Only once.”
“He sent me a short letter on Wednesday saying that he had arrived safely.”
“He also gave me some instructions, which I had asked him to do.”
“He said he wouldn’t write again until he had something important to tell us.”
Elizabeth looked worried.
“And Mother? How is she?”
“And how are you and the others?”
Jane sighed.
“Mother is doing reasonably well, considering everything.”
“But her spirits are terribly shaken.”
“She is upstairs and will be very happy to see you.”
“She still refuses to leave her dressing room.”
“Mary and Kitty are both well, thank goodness.”
Elizabeth looked closely at her sister.
“But what about you?”
“You look pale.”
“You must have been through so much.”
Jane quickly reassured her.
“I’m perfectly well.”
Their conversation was interrupted when the rest of the Gardiner family arrived.
Jane hurried to greet her uncle and aunt.
She thanked them both repeatedly, smiling through her tears.
Soon everyone gathered in the drawing room.
The others naturally asked the same questions Elizabeth had already asked.
Jane had no new information.
Still, her natural optimism had not disappeared.
She continued to hope that everything would somehow turn out well.
Perhaps Lydia would write.
Perhaps Mr. Bennet would send good news.
Perhaps one morning they would finally receive a letter announcing that Lydia and Wickham had been married.
After a short conversation, they all went upstairs to see Mrs. Bennet.
She reacted exactly as they expected.
She cried.
She complained.
She angrily blamed Wickham for everything.
She spoke endlessly about her own suffering.
And, as usual, she blamed everyone except herself.
“If I had been allowed to take the whole family to Brighton, this never would have happened!”
“Poor Lydia had nobody there to look after her.”
“Why did the Forsters ever let her out of their sight?”
“They must have been terribly careless.”
“Lydia would never have done such a thing if she had been properly supervised.”
“I always thought they were completely unfit to take care of her.”
“But no one ever listens to me.”
“And now Mr. Bennet has gone away!”
“I know he will fight Wickham the moment he finds him.”
“And then Wickham will kill him!”
“What will become of us?”
“The Collinses will throw us out of Longbourn before his body is even cold.”
She turned desperately toward her brother.
“And if you don’t help us, I don’t know what we will do!”
Everyone immediately tried to calm her.
Mr. Gardiner assured her that he loved her and the entire family.
“I intend to go to London tomorrow.”
“I will help Mr. Bennet in every way I can to find Lydia.”
“But please don’t frighten yourself with things that haven’t happened.”
“We should certainly be prepared for the worst.”
“But we shouldn’t assume that the worst has already happened.”
“They left Brighton less than a week ago.”
“In a few more days, we may have some news.”
“Until we know that they are not married, and that they have no intention of marrying, we shouldn’t give up hope.”
“As soon as I reach London, I will find Mr. Bennet.”
“I’ll persuade him to come back with me to Gracechurch Street.”
“Then we can decide together what to do next.”
Mrs. Bennet immediately became hopeful.
“Oh, my dear brother!”
“That is exactly what I want.”
“When you reach London, please find them wherever they are.”
“And if they aren’t married yet, make Wickham marry her!”
“And don’t worry about the wedding clothes.”
“Tell Lydia she can spend as much as she likes on them after the wedding.”
“But most importantly, don’t let Mr. Bennet fight Wickham!”
“Tell him how terrified I am.”
“I can hardly sleep.”
“I tremble all over.”
“My side hurts.”
“My head hurts.”
“My heart keeps pounding.”
“I feel as if I’m going to collapse!”
“And tell Lydia not to order any clothes until she sees me.”
“She doesn’t know which shops have the best things.”
“Oh, brother, you’re so kind!”
“I know you’ll take care of everything.”
Mr. Gardiner promised again that he would do everything he could.
But he also advised her not to become too hopeful or too frightened before they knew what had actually happened.
He continued speaking with her until dinner was ready.
Then he and Mrs. Gardiner left her with the housekeeper, who was looking after her while the girls were away.
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner did not think Mrs. Bennet really needed to be isolated from everyone else.
But they decided not to argue.
They knew that Mrs. Bennet could not keep quiet in front of the servants.
It was safer for only one trusted servant to hear all her fears and worries.
Later, Mary and Kitty joined the family in the dining room.
Mary came from her books.
Kitty came from getting dressed.
Both looked reasonably calm.
Kitty seemed slightly more irritable than usual, partly because she had lost her favorite sister and partly because she had been blamed for some of the trouble.
Mary, however, soon leaned toward Elizabeth with a serious expression.
“This is a terrible situation.”
“And I’m afraid people will talk about it for a very long time.”
“But we must not allow cruel gossip to destroy us.”
“We should support one another as sisters and give each other comfort.”
Elizabeth said nothing.
Mary continued.
“However unfortunate this has been for Lydia, there is at least an important lesson in it.”
“A young woman’s reputation can be destroyed by one serious mistake.”
“Once virtue is lost, society may never forgive her.”
“A woman’s reputation is extremely fragile.”
“So we must always be careful around men who do not deserve our trust.”
Elizabeth stared at Mary in disbelief.
She was too exhausted to respond.
Mary, apparently satisfied with her own wisdom, continued making moral observations about the situation.
That afternoon, Elizabeth and Jane finally found half an hour to speak privately.
Elizabeth immediately began asking questions.
She had already accepted that the situation was probably disastrous.
Jane could not completely deny it.
“But tell me everything I don’t already know,” Elizabeth said.
“I want every detail.”
“What did Colonel Forster say?”
“Did he suspect anything before Lydia ran away?”
“They must have seen Lydia and Wickham spending time together.”
Jane nodded.
“Colonel Forster admitted that he had sometimes noticed that Lydia seemed especially interested in Wickham.”
“But he never saw anything serious enough to make him worried.”
“I feel terribly sorry for him.”
“He had always treated us with great kindness.”
“He was actually coming to see us and apologize before he even knew they might not have gone to Scotland.”
“When people first became afraid that they had disappeared somewhere else, he hurried here immediately.”
Elizabeth continued questioning her.
“And what about Denny?”
“Did he really believe Wickham would never marry Lydia?”
“Did he know they were planning to run away?”
“Did Colonel Forster speak to him personally?”
“Yes.”
“But when Colonel Forster questioned him, Denny said he knew nothing about their plans.”
“He also refused to give his personal opinion.”
“He didn’t repeat his earlier claim that Wickham would never marry Lydia.”
“So perhaps we misunderstood what he meant before.”
Elizabeth frowned.
“Before Colonel Forster arrived, did anyone seriously doubt that Lydia and Wickham were going to be married?”
“How could we have imagined such a thing?”
Jane sighed.
“I had some concerns about Lydia’s happiness if she married him.”
“I knew that Wickham had not always behaved properly.”
“But Mother and Father knew none of that.”
“They only understood that Lydia’s decision to marry him was extremely foolish.”
“Kitty then surprised us by saying that Lydia’s last letter had already hinted at what was happening.”
“She apparently knew for weeks that Lydia and Wickham were in love.”
“But she didn’t know before they went to Brighton?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“And did Colonel Forster have a bad opinion of Wickham?”
“Does he know what Wickham is really like?”
“I have to admit that Colonel Forster didn’t speak as highly of him as he once had.”
“He now considers Wickham reckless and irresponsible.”
“And after what happened, there are rumors that Wickham left Meryton owing a great deal of money.”
“I sincerely hope those rumors aren’t true.”
Elizabeth looked miserable.
“Oh, Jane!”
“If only we had told everyone what we knew about Wickham.”
“If we hadn’t kept quiet, perhaps none of this would have happened.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Jane said quietly.
“But at the time, exposing someone’s past mistakes without knowing what their current intentions were seemed unfair.”
“We were trying to do what we thought was right.”
Elizabeth thought of another question.
“Did Colonel Forster show you Lydia’s letter to his wife?”
“Yes.”
“He brought it with him.”
Jane took the letter from her pocket and handed it to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth read it.
It was addressed to Harriet.
“My dear Harriet,
“You’re going to laugh when you find out where I’ve gone.”
“I can already imagine your face tomorrow morning when you discover that I’m missing.”
“I’m going to Gretna Green.”
“And if you can’t guess who I’m going with, you must be very slow indeed.”
“There is only one man in the world I love.”
“And he is absolutely wonderful.”
“I could never be happy without him.”
“So don’t be angry with me for leaving.”
“You don’t need to tell anyone at Longbourn that I’ve gone if you don’t want to.”
“It will make the surprise even greater when I write to them and sign my name Lydia Wickham.”
“Just think how funny that will be!”
“I can hardly write because I’m laughing so much.”
“Please apologize to Pratt for me.”
“I won’t be able to dance with him tonight as I promised.”
“Tell him I’m sure he’ll forgive me once he knows what happened.”
“And tell him I’ll happily dance with him at the next ball.”
“I’ll send for my clothes once I reach Longbourn.”
“But please ask Sally to repair the large tear in my embroidered muslin dress before she packs everything.”
“Goodbye.”
“Give my love to Colonel Forster.”
“And please drink to our happy journey.”
“Your affectionate friend,
“Lydia Bennet.”
Elizabeth finished reading and stared at the letter in disbelief.
“Oh, Lydia.”
“How could you write such a foolish letter at a moment like this?”
“Still, at least it proves that she really believed she was going to marry him.”
“Whatever Wickham might later persuade her to do, she did not leave Brighton intending to do something shameful.”
“My poor father.”
“He must have been devastated when he read this.”
Jane nodded sadly.
“I have never seen anyone so completely shocked.”
“He couldn’t speak for nearly ten minutes.”
“Mother became hysterical almost immediately.”
“The entire house was thrown into confusion.”
Elizabeth sighed.
“Jane, by the end of that day, was there even one servant who didn’t know what had happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“I hope at least one of them was still unaware.”
“But it was almost impossible to keep anything private under those circumstances.”
“Mother was hysterical.”
“I tried to help her as much as I could.”
“Perhaps I should have done more.”
“But I was so terrified of what might happen that I could barely think.”
Elizabeth looked at her sister with concern.
“You’ve done far too much.”
“You don’t look well at all.”
“I wish I had been here with you.”
“You’ve had to carry all this fear and responsibility by yourself.”
Jane gently shook her head.
“Mary and Kitty have been very kind.”
“They would have helped, I’m sure.”
“But I didn’t think either of them should have to deal with all of this.”
“Kitty is rather delicate.”
“And Mary spends so much time studying that I didn’t want to disturb her.”
“Aunt Philips came to Longbourn on Tuesday, after Father left.”
“She stayed until Thursday.”
“She was very helpful and comforting.”
“Lady Lucas has also been kind.”
“She came here Wednesday morning to offer her sympathy.”
“She even offered to help us herself or send one of her daughters if we needed anything.”
Elizabeth sighed.
“She should probably have stayed at home.”
“I’m sure she meant well.”
“But when something this terrible happens, the last thing we need is to see all our neighbors.”
“They can’t actually help.”
“And their sympathy only makes everything worse.”
“Let them talk about us from a distance.”
“That is more than enough.”
Elizabeth then turned back to the matter that concerned her most.
“What exactly did Father plan to do in London to find Lydia?”
Jane thought for a moment.
“He planned to go to Epsom first.”
“That was the place where Lydia and Wickham last changed horses.”
“He wanted to speak with the postilions and see if they remembered anything.”
“His main goal was to discover the number of the hired coach that took them away from Clapham.”
“The coach had originally come from London with another passenger.”
“Father thought the driver might remember a gentleman and young woman changing from one carriage to another.”
“So he planned to make inquiries in Clapham.”
“If he could discover where the coachman had dropped off his previous passenger, he hoped that person might tell him where the coach had come from.”
“Then perhaps Father could identify the coach stand and its number.”
“I don’t know what else he planned to do.”
“He was in such a hurry to leave, and he was so upset, that I could barely learn even this much.”