Mr. Bennet found Darcy at breakfast when he went down at his usual time the next morning. Darcy was opening his mail and did not appear to be pleased with Mr. Bennet. Before Mr. Bennet could say anything, he said, "Mr. Bennet, here is an express for you; it appears to be from Longbourn."
Mr. Bennet wondered what this was and opened the letter. It was from Jane and he was shocked to read her words.
Darcy saw the shock on Mr. Bennet's face and asked, "Mr. Bennet, what is it?"
"It is from Jane. She writes to say that my youngest daughter Lydia has left Brighton in the company of an officer, someone you know—George Wickham! They were expected to go to Gretna Green, but Colonel Forster followed their trail as far as Clapham, but no farther. They must have gone to London.
"Lydia has no money, no connections, nothing that can tempt him to marry her; she is lost forever. Lizzy warned me against letting her go to Brighton on her own, but I did not listen to her. I thought she would be safe from any harm while she was in the Colonel's care. It is completely my fault. I have to go to London to see if I can find them and try to make things right. I do not know how such a man is to be worked on or even how to find them, but I have to try. The disgrace will be a disaster for my family. How could anyone ever even consider associating themselves with any of us after this? My poor girls!"
Darcy looked shocked at this news. "Mr. Bennet, this is my fault. When I saw Wickham in Meryton I should have warned everyone what he is really like. I have a long association with that villain and knew of his disgusting practices. I even knew he would not hesitate to corrupt an innocent young lady. He has no morals or conscience. He eloped with Miss Lydia either to appease his lusts or to escape his creditors. He has left unpaid debts wherever he has lived. He has no scruples whatsoever.
"I will go to London with you. I will brook no opposition to my decision. I may be able to help find him as I know of his habits and former haunts. We will leave as soon as we can, but we have to get the ladies together to decide how we can leave them alone here. I allowed Georgiana's companion, Mrs. Annesley, to take the summer off as I had planned to be with her for several months. We are also expecting the Gardiners to arrive here very shortly."
Darcy spoke to the footman in the breakfast room, "Please ask Mrs. Reynolds to come here right away and warn Jameson that there is a change in plans. Mr. Bennet and I will be needing the carriage to go to London as soon as possible."
When Mrs. Reynolds entered, he said, "Mrs. Reynolds, Mr. Bennet and I will be leaving for London as soon as possible. Please ask the ladies to join us as soon as they can so we can discuss this. I will want your attendance as well. Ask John to pack my things and have Robert do the same for Mr. Bennet. I will likely be gone for several weeks."
"I will go to see Lizzy, or she might be reluctant to come down," Mr. Bennet said.
He and Mrs. Reynolds left and Darcy was left wondering how he could work on Wickham. He knew that the only incentive would be cash, as he had no other reason for marrying Miss Lydia.
Mr. Bennet tapped on Lizzy's door and said, "Lizzy, I must speak to you. Lydia has done something very foolish. Please open the door."
Lizzy opened the door and said, "What did she do?"
Mr. Bennet replied, "She eloped with Wickham from Brighton and it appears that they went to London and not Gretna Green. Mr. Darcy and I are going to London to try to find them. Please come to the breakfast room right away so we can make plans for you girls." He left and Lizzy followed him without arguing.
The six of them gathered in the breakfast room and Mr. Bennet took charge, "Miss Darcy, I am sorry to involve you, but you must be told of our family's predicament. My youngest daughter, Lydia, has eloped from Brighton with a militia officer, George Wickham, and they have been traced to London. I have to go to try to find them." Only Darcy noticed how Georgiana blanched at this name as no one else knew what she had nearly done with Wickham just the previous summer.
Mr. Darcy then said, "Mr. Bennet and I are going to London immediately to try to find them and see what can be done to cover up this elopement. We have to leave you three here with no chaperone. I will find Mrs. Annesley when I get to London and ask her to come back to Pemberley as soon as she can. I am sure she will come and you will be alone for only a few days or a week at most. As we expect the Gardiners any day now, Miss Elizabeth, I ask that you remain here to greet them and explain the circumstances as best you can.
"We also have the Burleighs coming to dinner soon. I will write a note to postpone that. Mrs. Reynolds, please see that it is delivered."
Mr. Bennet added, "Lizzy, it would be best if you remained here, at least until the Gardiners come. I know you are needed at home to help Jane, but it would not do to have the Gardiners arrive at Pemberley to find all of us gone." As Lizzy was still shocked at Lydia's action, she did not argue, even though she knew that Jane would need her help at Longbourn.
Mr. Bennet continued, "Kitty, I would like you to stay with Lizzy. When the Gardiners come, you two can decide what you will do. If I know your uncle, he will want to go to London to help us find them. It would be best if your aunt stayed here with you until Mrs. Annesley comes, but it is up to her."
Kitty pleaded, "Father, I do not want to go home right away. You know it will be in an uproar and I will be blamed, being Lydia's confidante in most things. I assure you I had no idea this might happen. Lydia never said anything to me about this. If I could stay here until the situation is more settled at home, I will be company for Miss Georgiana."
Her father quickly gave in as his mind was on more serious problems, "As long as it is acceptable to Mr. and Miss Darcy, I will let you stay."
Mr. Darcy agreed with this plan and added, "If Mr. Gardiner wants to go directly to London, he can use one of my lighter carriages; it will get him there faster. Then the Gardiner carriage can be used to take Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Elizabeth back to Longbourn and London. If they decide to stay here for a few days until Mrs. Annesley arrives, that would be a good idea. Georgiana can act as hostess, especially as Miss Elizabeth will be here to assist her. I certainly have no objection to having Miss Catherine remain here with Georgiana, as long as it is acceptable to you and Mrs. Gardiner." Mr. Darcy did not realize that by asking Elizabeth to assist Georgiana, he was obviously viewing Elizabeth almost as the mistress of Pemberley.
"Is there anything else we need to consider?"
Mrs. Reynolds surprised him by asking, "Mr. Darcy, may I speak to you privately?"
They went into Darcy's office and she said, "I would very much like to go to London with you. My youngest sister there has four young children and her husband just inherited a busy inn from his uncle. Neither of them has any experience running a large establishment and they want me to come to help them manage the inn."
Mr. Darcy was taken aback by this request. "Mrs. Reynolds, the timing of your request is most unfortunate as your absence would leave Georgiana to run the household by herself. Who would act as housekeeper in your place? I must say I am very surprised by your request. I had no idea this might happen; you have been with us for so long."
"Rose Green would be my choice to act as housekeeper in my absence. She has been here for several years and she knows how to keep things in order and what needs to be done. She is young but she is very intelligent and knows how to manage almost everything I look after. I know that Miss Georgiana is young, but if Miss Elizabeth is here with her, she can help her as she is very competent and mature. Then Mrs. Gardiner will likely be here, then Mrs. Annesley. I do not expect any great difficulties to arise that they could not handle.
"In any case, there are other reasons why I should go to London now that I would rather not discuss at the moment. They are quite personal."
Mr. Darcy was puzzled at this admission, but he could see the sense in her suggestion. He respected Mrs. Reynolds and agreed to her request in spite of its unfortunate timing. She left to send Rose to Mr. Darcy, who went to find Georgiana and Elizabeth so they could speak about this change in plans. Needless to say, they were very surprised at Mrs. Reynolds' decision, Elizabeth less so than the others. Georgiana was very pleased to have Lizzy to support her while they were alone at Pemberley.
When Rose came, Darcy told her of Mrs. Reynolds' request to leave and asked if she would be comfortable in acting as the head housekeeper while Mrs. Reynolds was in London. She was hesitant, but agreed as long as she could rely on Miss Darcy and Miss Elizabeth to support her, as she respected them both. Darcy told her that if any staff did not support her new position, she should immediately refer them to Miss Darcy. He knew that Elizabeth would support Georgiana and would not tolerate anyone who tried to challenge the situation and Georgiana's decisions. He also told Rose that as long as she was acting as housekeeper, she would be known as Mrs. Green, as was the custom.