Chapter 46
The following morning, Mr. Bennet returned to Mrs. Younge's home at the earliest suitable hour. Mrs. Younge was clearly surprised to see him there.
"Good morning, sir."
"Good morning, madam, you seem to have misunderstood my intentions yesterday. The boarding house you sent me to yesterday was not exactly the manner of establishment I had in mind."
"Yet you return to me. I cannot imagine you would trust me to locate another place of lodging."
"You are correct."
"Why did you come here yesterday with Mr. Darcy? If you are his friend, he might have offered you lodging in his own home. If you are a casual acquaintance, he would have felt no need to offer assistance. Moreover, I do not believe he would come to me to help a friend find lodging."
"Then why the charade yesterday?"
"I have my reasons. You did not answer my question?"
"Do you have suspicions of why Mr. Darcy was here?"
"You are looking for Mr. Wickham?"
"I am. Mr. Darcy offered his assistance. Do you have knowledge of his whereabouts?"
"I have already told you that I have not seen him in quite some time. Are you not aware that he has been stationed in Brighton?"
"I had the happy experience of receiving an express from Colonel Forster a few nights ago which suggests he has left his regiment." Mrs. Younge was wide-eyed.
"Why would you have received an express from the Colonel?" Mr. Bennet stared narrowly at Mrs. Younge.
"Did Mr. Wickham have a travelling companion when he came to you?" Mrs. Younge said nothing, so Mr. Bennet continued, "When Mr. Wickham came to you, was he perhaps accompanied by a young lady?" Mrs. Younge continued to say nothing.
"Look, I can tell by your expressions that you know where I can find that man. What must I do to gain that information from you?"
"Why is his location a matter of such importance to you? Does he owe you some debt of honor? I doubt even if you find him you can force him to repay it."
"I do not expect to receive any money from him, but he does have something of mine in his possession." Mrs. Younge gasped in sudden realization.
"She is your daughter!"
"And I would very much like to find her before she is forced to come upon the town."
"And I did have the information you seek, why should I provide it to you?"
"Are you asking for a bribe?"
"I am asking you to compensate my effort in providing you with the address."
"So yes?"
"How much will you offer?" At this point Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Younge began to haggle for some time, eventually agreeing on an amount.
"Now sir, if you will pay me this money, I will give you the address where I believe you will find Mr. Wickham."
"If I give you this money, how do I know you will not misdirect me? My experience suggests you are not to be trusted. No, I will not give you the money now. I will return here with payment after I have found my daughter."
"I will give you nothing without some payment."
"Very well, half the amount now, half after your address has proven valid."
Mrs. Younge sighed, accepting the offer, then she turned to Mr. Bennet, "Good luck, sir, finding your daughter. I hope with all my heart you find her."
"You have a heart, madam? Good day."
Mr. Bennet took the information and quickly returned to the place where Mr. Darcy was waiting upon him with the carriage. He had not wanted to bring the younger man at all on his errand today, but Mr. Darcy had insisted.
"Well, Mr. Darcy, I have succeeded in obtaining an address, I hope it shall yield more satisfactory results than yesterday's address."
"How did you convince her to give it to you?"
"With a pecuniary incentive. I paid her half the amount now, and I will give her the other half if her information is correct."
"Do you suppose we ought to directly go to this address?"
"I do not see what waiting shall gain us. Yes, let us go at once."
"By the way, did you write to your family last night?"
"I did. And I did not forget to send your regards. I did not know if I should mention your assistance with the search."
"I would rather you did not. I am not after all, attempting to make your family feel indebted to me."
At this moment, the carriage came to a stop in from of a small inn. The proprietor was standing in the entrance ready to greet them. He welcomed them effusively and asked if they were seeking to rent a room. The innkeeper was clearly displeased to find that such was not their intention. His tone became much less friendly, though he did not become uncivil.
"Pray then, what brings you to my establishment."
"We are looking for a particular gentleman, whom we believe to be residing at this address. A Mr. Wickham."
"Yes, there is a man by that name staying here, though he is not in at the moment."
"May we come in and wait for him?"
"I suppose you may, and perhaps you might purchase refreshments while you wait."
"That we will."
Mr. Bennet had allowed Mr. Darcy to carry the conversation until this point, but now he felt compelled to speak.
"Is Mr. Wickham's lady here?" The innkeeper was clearly startled.
"She is not seeing visitors."
"Please tell her that Mr. Bennet is here to see her, and ask if she will see me."
The innkeeper disappeared and then returned a few moments later.
"I sent a maid to relay your message. She says that she will not leave her room, but she would be happy to welcome you there."
"Thank you. Please take me to my daughter at once. Mr. Darcy will continue to wait here."
"Your daughter, sir?"
"Yes, the woman with whom Mr. Wickham is keeping company is my daughter."
"I am sorry to hear it sir."
"Just take me to her."
A few minutes later Mr. Bennet was surprised by Lydia's cheery greeting.
"Papa! I am so glad you have come. It is so dull here. Mr. Wickham does not want me ever to leave the room. He told me I am not to allow any visitors, but I am sure my own Papa does not count. He could not wish to keep me away from you. Especially since you are so soon to be his father too?"
"So you are not married?"
"We are not married, but my Wickham says that we will be married soon."
"You believe him."
"Of course I believe him. I love him, and he loves me. If he did not love me, he would not –"
"My dear girl! You are so foolish and impetuous. I do not for one moment believe that this Mr. Wickham loves you. If he truly wanted to marry he you, he could have come to me and asked permission. Or he could have taken you to Gretna Green as he said he would."
"You do not understand Papa."
"I understand perfectly well. I shall take you with me now, back to your aunt's house."
"I do not wish to go! Why should I leave? Mr. Wickham will be back soon. I do not want to be away from him. Wouldn't he be so angry if he came home only to find me gone?" Lydia laughed as she spoke.
"You do not understand the seriousness of your actions! You will come with me. If Mr. Wickham desires to marry you, he cannot object to living separately from you until that happy day."
"But Father!"
"I still need to speak with Wickham, but I must get you away from here first. Mr. Darcy will wait until Mr. Wickham returns."
Mr. Bennet and Lydia spoke with Mr. Darcy briefly before departing. Mr. Darcy spoke curtly and saw no use for pleasantries with Miss Lydia, but he readily consented to wait for Mr. Wickham. As a result Lydia's opinion of Mr. Darcy was not favorable.
"Papa I don't understand why you had to bring that dour man along with you today. He seemed most displeased to be here."
"He has a great deal of reason to disapprove of you. Your behavior could bring ruin not only on yourself but on all your family."
"But what has Mr. Darcy to do with all of that? He is not family. I have never even met him?"
"He may not be family. But he hopes to be."
"Oooh!"
"Has your mother not mentioned Mr. Darcy in any of her letters?"
"Mama's letters are so dull. I suppose he's the man who keeps coming to visit Lizzy."
"He is."
"Then why is he in London and not with her?"
"You."
"He must hate me then, if that took him away from his beloved. I suppose I will forgive him. I know I don't feel happily about anyone who tries to take me away from Mr. Wickham."
"If Mr. Wickham is so in love with you, then why did he not ask for your hand before you left for Brighton?"
"Maybe he didn't know he loved me yet?"
"Why didn't he actually take you to Gretna Green?"
"He did not have the money necessary for such a long journey?"
"How then will he support you as a wife?"
"I am sure he has a plan."
"I believe his plan is to leave you behind. Mr. Darcy believes it too. If we had believed Mr. Wickham would marry you, we would not have come so far."
"How can you think that of such a charming gentleman as my Wickham!"
"Charming indeed!"
"He will come for me; you will see."
