Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading my WIP, Mr. Darcy's Cipher, Book 1 of the Spies and Prejudice series. This book is being shared with the hope and plan of being professionally published in ebook format. Feedback has been awesome! You'll be glad to know that no ladies are wearing gloves in their homes in this chapter!

Updates: I have lowered Mr. Denny's income significantly in this chapter. TY to all who pointed that out! Also, TY MerytonMiss for recognizing that I was following cannon in regards to how the militia is structured in P&P, which is not actually accurate for the militia of the time. Sorry if that threw anyone, but I'm leaving it as is because it's Austen's cannon.

In this chapter: - A trip to town and more is learned.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your feedback and hope that you enjoy this variation! This is my first Pride and Prejudice book, it is not yet professionally edited, and details within the book may change as the story evolves. With that caveat, I sincerely hope you love reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it (which is a WHOLE LOT!)

Chapter 11

Two days later, Jane cornered Elizabeth in the stairwell. "I know you do not wish to do this," Jane started. "But do it anyway, for me."

"You know I would do anything for you, Jane," Elizabeth said. Still, the vague nature of Jane's request made Elizabeth nervous. "What do you ask of me?"

"Miss Caroline Bingley wishes to meet with me in town and do some shopping."

Elizabeth winced. "Miss Bingley, that popinjay with her nose so high in the air? Why would you wish to spend an afternoon with her?"

"She is Mr. Bingley's sister, and not so terrible once you speak with her."

Jane could make pleasant conversation with a rooster attempting to peck her to death. Though to be fair, Miss Bingley was more taciturn peacock than anything so common as a rooster. "You can manage Miss Bingley," Elizabeth said. "Why would you need me?"

"Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Together, they are rather intimidating. And you are so witty. I had thought it might be easier managed if I was not alone."

Elizabeth could think of more salubrious ways to spend an afternoon, but Jane was her sister, so reluctantly, she agreed.

Jane's face blossomed with a full, beauteous smile. She rocked forward on her toes and took both of Elizabeth's hands. "You will!"

"She will what?"

Both sisters looked up the stairs to where their youngest, Lydia, was walking towards them with a parasol in hand. "What will you do?" Lydia was dressed prettily in pale yellow trimmed with lace. She looked at Elizabeth suspiciously. "I thought Lizzie was to coop herself up with father in the study for the day."

"We are to meet with Miss Bingley in town," Jane said before Elizabeth could stop her.

"Not dressed in that dusty skirt, you cannot," Lydia lectured, pointing at the hems of Elizabeth's dress, which had taken on a greyish cast at the lower hem from Elizabeth's late morning walk. "Miss Bingley is so fashionable!"

"I was preparing to change."

"Good. And we shall walk with you. Kitty and I had wanted to visit the town and pay respect to our fighting men. Kitty!" Lydia called back over her shoulder. "Jane and Lizzie are walking with us to town!"

Kitty, dressed in salmon and lace, joined her sister at the top of the stairs. "Wonderful! Mrs. Forester revealed a new group of soldiers is coming imminently. I should like to meet them."

"Do you think we might cross paths with Mr. Wickham? I was so hoping!" Lydia's eyes were wide in shining as she said the handsome soldier's name.

Elizabeth did not like her sister's obvious infatuation. Lydia was like a hummingbird, darting from flower to flower, but while flirting was not a cause for ruination, Mr. Wickham was a stranger and far too handsome. And Lydia was young, pretty, and irreverent.

Elizabeth quickly changed. When she returned, their mother and Mary, with a Bible in hand, had also agreed to go, and the carriage was called.

Lydia and Mrs. Bennet chattered on about fashion, town gossip, and Miss Bingley's fashion.

Lydia said, "I should like to speak with Miss Bingley. Her dress, her fan, her bonnet, it was all so very London and so beautiful."

"If that is what you wish, then, of course, you must stay with us for the entire afternoon," Jane said. Elizabeth was struck again with admiration for her sister. Elizabeth had wanted to warn Lydia from too aggressive in a flirtation with Mr. Wickham, but anything she said would be taken wrongly. But Jane, without even a mention of Mr. Wickham, had easily and thoroughly distracted Lydia from her plan of meeting with him.

Jane and Mr. Bingley had agreed to meet at the haberdashery, and Miss Bingley stood in front of the building with two wrapped packages. She handed them to a servant as the Bennets' carriage drove towards her. Miss Bingley was very striking in her cream walking dress with a layered collar up to her chin, bodice crossed with golden ribbon and a golden shawl embroidered with black. Her boots, a soft calfskin, were hardly dirtied from walking about.

Elizabeth found it remarkable she would wear a color so easily stained for a walk about town, but likely her plans included stepping from the carriage into a shop, back out of the shop and into another indoor enclosure.

As they pulled up, Mary said, "I would like to visit the music store. And perhaps to take a look at some books."

"Later!" Mrs. Bennet said, during both of her hands up in the air. "We must do all we can to make the very best impression on Miss Bingley, for Jane's sake. And then we shall have Madame Godiva tell us your future, Mary. It has already worked out so wonderfully for Jane."

Elizabeth glanced at the well-worn, leather-bound Bible cradled in Mary's lap. Apparently, she had chosen to armor herself before entering the lion's den. Elizabeth's lips quirked.

"Miss. Bingley!" Jane said, alighting first. "I hope we did not keep you waiting."

"I was enjoying the air. It is lovely to see some sunshine." Miss Bingley's eyes narrowed as Elizabeth alighted from the carriage followed by her sisters and mother.

"Oh Miss Bingley, it is a delight to see you! Is Mr. Bingley also in town? It would be a wonderful coincidence if we were to cross paths, would it not Jane?" Mrs. Bennet said.

Elizabeth's face grew warm in sympathetic embarrassment for her sister. But Jane took it in stride. "Miss Bingley and I had made an arrangement to meet. She was interested in possibly seeing Madame Godiva."

Jane had not mentioned this to Elizabeth, though Miss Bingley nodded at the suggestion. "Miss Bennet has told me wonderful things about Madame Godiva's abilities."

"A truly talented woman," Mrs. Bennet cut in. "My daughters Mary and Elizabeth have yet to experience her powers, but I found her so refreshing. Why Jane was so pleased when she had her future told!"

"Miss Bingley, allow me to introduce you formally to my mother and sisters." Jane introduced each in turn, and the daughters curtsied.

Lydia said, "Forgive my forwardness, Miss Bingley but the layering of your skirts, and the color of your ribbon is so lovely. Is this the style of London?"

"Last season," Mr. Bingley said. Her tone was dismissive, but Elizabeth recognized more than a hint of pride in her manner. It reminded Elizabeth unfavorably of Mr. Darcy. Miss Bingley looked down upon the Bennets as though their relative stations were separated the width of the English Channel. "That is a lovely frock too," Miss Bingley added, waving her hand towards Lydia's best walking dress. "Did you do the embroidery yourself? The work is so very detailed, one can hardly notice an occasionally misplaced stitch."

Lydia's face flushed as she brushed her fingers over her stitching.

Elizabeth often found Lydia irritating, especially in recent years, but she was Elizabeth's sister and did not deserve Miss Bingley's prettily disguised insult. Elizabeth quickly looked over Miss Bingley's appearance, searching for something with which to find fault. "Is that hanging thread?" she asked, peering at Miss Bingley's neckline.

Of course, there was no hanging thread, but Miss Bingley looked down anyway. With her chin in that position, the layered neck ruff made her look like a rooster covered in flour. Elizabeth's lips quirked even as she attempted to maintain a serious expression. Jane gave Elizabeth a warning glare even her own lips twitched.

Elizabeth tried to catch Lydia's gaze to bring her in on the joke, but Lydia's attention was focused on Miss Bingley's neckline. "What thread? I see no thread. Lizzie, what are you on about?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "It must have been a trick of the light," she said. "My apologies, Miss Bingley."

"Hmmph."

"Our Lizzie is often prone to fits of vision," Mrs. Bennet cut in. "It fails her at the most inopportune times. Sometimes I wake in the middle of the night, my heart fluttering at the thought of what will happen to her if her eyesight fails in its entirety!"

"It can be very distressing," Elizabeth said drily.

"Madame Godiva's home is just a street over," Mrs. Bennet explained. "She is leasing a small home for the winter."

"Well, that is a relief. I admit I was not sure of the propriety of visiting a woman who lived in a wagon. Is she a Gypsy?"

"Not precisely, though her ways are odd, and she must have some foreign blood to see the future as she does. Peering into ethereal planes is not exactly civilized, is it?" Mrs. Bennet said.

Miss Bingley said, "I have heard Gypsies can become violent. Why the Morning Chronicle had an article last month about a woman and child who were abducted by Gypsies, and they were not to be seen again. We might have been murdered!"

"All of us? Together in broad daylight?" Elizabeth laughed. Whether in a wagon or a leased home, it seemed unlikely. "If this Madame Godiva was the murderous type, I suspect we would have heard rumor of missing persons and mangled bodies by this point, no matter how she chose to live."

"Lizzie!" Mrs. Bennet gasped. "Such talk is not fit for proper conversation!"

"It is not I who brought up the subject of murder."

Jane said. "Madame Godiva is a widow. She is very sweet and kind. I believe she has some perception for understanding the future and takes joy in sharing her observations with others. Perhaps she is lonely, and if our company eases her pain and gives her purpose, what harm can come from that?"

A great deal of harm, Elizabeth suspected, if she could bring herself to believe Madame Godiva had any of the abilities she claimed to possess.

As they walked, Lydia caught a glimpse of Mr. Denny walking towards in their direction on the opposite side of the road.

Lydia exclaimed, "Why that is Mr. Denny. Mr. Wickham's friend?"

Elizabeth wished Charlotte had joined them this afternoon.

Mrs. Bennet whispered, "Mr. Denny has an income of 200 a year."

Mrs. Bennet's tone and manner were dismissive, but Elizabeth thought a woman could live comfortably in a small household with an income of 200 a year, provided she was allowed her own freedoms. While Elizabeth did not have any particular regard for Mr. Denny, and if Charlotte and Mr. Denny both developed a fondness for each other, perhaps something could grow from it. Even if Sir Lucas considered 200 yearly too miserly for his eldest daughter.

"Mr. Denny!" Lydia called out.

Mr. Denny returned their wave and quickly crossed to meet them.

Elizabeth was confident Lydia, with her attentions purely on appearance, had no interest in Mr. Denny himself. At the same time, Elizabeth also wished to learn more about Mr. Wickham, and Lydia's questioning, which was certain to occur, along with Miss Bingley's longer acquaintanceship with Mr. Darcy, might yield some insight.

Mr. Denny smiled in return and walked towards them. "Beautiful afternoon, is it not?"

"Yes. Glorious. One could hardly count it as nearing winter." Lydia flashed her most dazzling smile. "It is a delight to see you, Mr. Denny. And your friend, Mr. Wickham? He is not given leave to walk about the town today?"

"Mr. Wickham has… umm… Taken on some extra duties for himself at the barracks."

"Oh," Lydia remarked. "He is so very diligent, isn't he?"

"Very," Mr. Denny said in an oddly flat tone.

Elizabeth asked, "How long have you and Mr. Wickham been acquainted?"

"We were assigned together to the same unit."

So they had not been acquainted very long, and Mr. Denny had a certain reserve when speaking of Mr. Wickham.

Interesting.

"Mr. Wickham, you say," Miss Bingley interjected. "He and Mr. Darcy were raised together, though I fear they had some sort of falling out."

Raised together? How had Mr. Darcy seen no need to remark on that when issuing a blanket warning against Mr. Wickham's character?

"Do you know what happened?" Elizabeth asked.

"I would say it was a lady, but Mr. Darcy is so reserved in his expression of affection, one would hardly discover such a thing through ordinary word-of-mouth."

"If there was some falling out, I am hopeful such ill temper will be eased as a result of their seeing each other again," Jane said. "Childhood bonds are often the strongest, especially amongst family."

"Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham are not related." Miss Bingley said firmly.

"I had not meant to imply that they might be," Jane said, her cheeks reddening with a faint blush. "Merely that two young boys who are raised together might have formed a strong bond. Such a bond is difficult to break. It may be damaged, but broken…" Jane shook her head. "One would have to do something truly unforgettable. And I refuse to believe such a thing of either man, having had only the faintest interaction with both."

Perhaps Jane was correct. Or perhaps, Mr. Darcy's standards being so unbending, he had viewed some action Mr. Wickham's as being unforgivable and acted accordingly. That, Elizabeth's mind, seemed the most likely.

But since neither Mr. Bingley nor Mr. Denny had any further insight into the matter, Elizabeth saw no need to press it further.

Lydia pressed it further. "Does Mr. Wickham often take on extra duties?"

Mr. Denny shrugged. "When it is necessary." He turned to Elizabeth, "Miss Elizabeth, that bonnet is very fetching on you. If you don't mind my remarking."

It was better Charlotte was not here. Elizabeth had no interest in Mr. Denny, and it upset Elizabeth to receive such a clear expression of preference from him.

"Well, Mr. Denny," Mrs. Bennet cut in, rather shortly. "We must be on our way."

"Where to? Perhaps I can offer an escort."

"It is women's business."

Mr. Denny glanced behind him. "You too?"

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Bennet asked.

"Many ladies are visiting that spiritualist, what is her name, Godiva?"

"Be that as it may, we must be on our way."

"Yes, of course. Ladies." Mr. Denny bowed.

When Mr. Denny was well behind them, Mrs. Bennet whispered, "Two hundred a year. Lizzie, you must set your expectations higher than that, my dear."

XOXOXOX

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you loved reading this as much as I am loving writing it! If so, or if you have any comments to make this book better, drop me a review or PM!

Best,

Violet