Ch 38

Elizabeth was staring out the window, holding a hot cup of tea when her phone buzzed on the counter. She set her cup down before answering the call. It was her Aunt G.

"Hey," she said cheerfully.

"Lizzy," her aunt said as though she was exhausted. "It's all been a flutter the last few days. What do you know?"

"Not very much," Elizabeth admitted, "Lydia was very tight lipped when she got here. Which is very unlike Lydia. What happened?"

"Well, you're never going to believe it even if I tell you."

"Try me," Elizabeth said as she moved around the counter and wandered towards the shelves of books.

"To start off with, once we were back in London, we were visited by none other than your Mister Darcy. He seemed very distracted when he arrived and sat down with my husband in the kitchen. He told us about his previous encounters with George Wickham and how he knew an old accomplice that he had named Melissa Young. She was apparently his lady-friend whenever he needed one. Darcy knew where she was and figured that was the best place to look for Lydia. He said he would be paying Melissa Young a visit and would let us know how everything went. He expressed his deepest fears that Lydia was in trouble and wished to find her as soon as possible. Elizabeth, I wish you could have seen the look on his face. I have never seen someone so distraught and determined to do what he had to do. You would have thought it was his own sister he was so upset. He told us he would let us know once he had made contact with Young."

Elizabeth found herself sliding to the floor, listening intently to the information her aunt was giving so freely.

"He called later that night. He had found Melissa. It took a bit of a bribe before she would tell him where she thought they might have gone to hide. Darcy asked us to stay put and said he would go to the location and see if he could talk to Lydia first. He was adamant about trying to resolve this situation himself. He told us he would continue to be in contact and let us know the minute he found anything out. He also asked us to keep his involvement a secret. I know I'm telling you, Lizzy, but you're his friend and I don't think he would mind.

"It wasn't until the next day that he showed up for the last time. He told us the entire story about how he went to the flat and found Lydia there. He said that he and Wickham had come to blows and that Lydia was safe. He had contacted the authorities so that she would be taken care of until my husband could get down there to pick her up. He also said that he was taking care of Wickham and he wouldn't be trouble for anyone else. Before he left, he apologized for barging into our home and told us what wonderful company we were at his house. He also invited us to visit him any time and said his house was always welcome to us."

Lizzy rubbed her forehead as her Aunt's words sunk into her slowly.

"I know how you feel about him, Lizzy," she started, "but he's such a lovely man. So thoughtful. And," she hesitated, "he's so very much in love with you."

There was silence on the line. Elizabeth imagined what she could say, but was afraid all that would come out were choked tears.

"Elizabeth?" she asked.

"Yeah," she managed to push out.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said through a sniffle, "It's just so much to take in, you know."

"I'm sorry dear, I didn't mean to upset you. I know that you know this can go no further than the two of us. Darcy asked me specifically to make sure I didn't tell anyone."

"Of course," she said, finally composing herself.

"Well, I'm going to go now. I hope I didn't upset you too much. I just thought you would want to know. I love you dear."

"Love you too, Aunt G."

Elizabeth hung up her mobile and stared out the door at the beautifully sunny day. She thought about taking a walk to clear her thoughts, but she couldn't leave the shop empty. Instead, she walked behind the counter and turned some music on, hoping the calming sounds would help her get through the day quickly.

Before the shop was about to close, both her mother and Jane had shown up and were talking with Elizabeth as she cleaned the kitchen.

"I don't know what else I can get done today," she said, "We might as well get ready to leave."

"Look there," Jane began, pointing outside.

Charlotte Lucas's mother was rushing down the street towards the bookstore.

"Is she coming here?" Elizabeth asked, bewildered. "Perhaps something is wrong."

Their mother turned to watch also, all curious about the lady rushing their way. She entered the store quickly and seemed breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm so glad you're here. I was afraid I would be too late."

"Too late for what?" Elizabeth's mother asked.

"To tell you the news. Bingley is coming back."

"What?" her mother said, immediately changing her attitude.

Elizabeth couldn't stop herself before shooting a glance towards Jane who had suddenly taken an interest in the clean countertop.

"Yes, he called my husband today," she said, "He's quite set on coming back to Meryton for a few weeks. He didn't say exactly how long he was staying though."

"Well, I don't see how it really matters to us. It's not like it will make any difference in our lives. There was no need to rush down here just to tell me. But you are sure he will be here?"

"Within a week," she said with a gleam.

While they continued talking, Elizabeth rested her hand on Jane's arm. Jane pulled it away indignantly. "Stop," she said suddenly. "It's not like I still have feelings for him or anything. I'm just worried everything will be awkward. Hopefully we won't have to see too much of each other while he's here."

Elizabeth looked at Jane's eyes and knew for once she was attempting to lie. She was still very much in love with Bingley and was probably secretly hoping that they would see a lot of each other. Elizabeth thought back to a similar expression on Bingley's face when she saw him at Darcy's. Was it possible that he was coming just to see Jane? More than anything, she didn't want to watch her sister's heart get trampled on again by the same guy. That was something she knew she had made the right judgment on in regards to Darcy.