Monday, March 1, 1813 – Longbourn, Hertfordshire
Mrs. Bennet was still basking in the glow of Jane's wedding and had hied herself off to Meryton to relive the day with her sister. Her hopes that she might encounter a neighbour or two who wanted to congratulate her once again were more than satisfied with the invitation to stop and visit by a woman who had largely ignored her for months. She returned for lunch tired but satisfied. The Gardiners had a more practical purpose in hand. Having decided to be present, if possible, when the letter from Lydia arrived they had remained at Longbourn for the morning with the intention of calling on the Thompsons after lunch even if the post had not arrived. As a consequence, when the Bennet servant returned with the day's post, they were at Netherfield.
The housekeeper delivered the post to Mr. Bennet who, in his usual dilatory fashion paid it little heed until an hour had passed. There was only the one letter and the handwriting was poor and not immediately recognizable. Seeing it was addressed to his wife, he summoned the housekeeper and had her deliver the letter to her and then forgot about it entirely. Mrs. Bennet was in the parlour when she received the letter. Opening and reading it left her speechless for minutes. Her silence was broken by a screech that brought Mr. Bennet, Mary and Kitty to the room, with concern written on all their faces. Waving the letter in one hand and her handkerchief in the other, she was as incoherent as anyone had ever witnessed.
"Oh my dear girl, married! Canada, Mrs. Wickham, why did she not write? Married! Oh my nerves! Mr. Bennet, she is married! Oh, my dear, dear Lydia!"
Mr. Bennet could take no more."Madame, cease this caterwauling!" he bellowed. Grabbing the letter from her hand, he began to read. It rendered him speechless and he collapsed into the nearest chair. The remonstrations of his daughters to explain he waved off as he read the letter a second time.
"Quiet, everyone! I will read the letter so you may judge for yourselves."
Halifax, Nova Scotia
November 14, 1812
My Dear Mama,
You will never guess where I am. My dear Wickham has brought me to the colonies where he has hopes of making his fortune. We were assisted in this by Mr. Darcy although my husband, how droll that sounds, says that he had no knowledge of it. George had a good laugh at Mr. Darcy's expense. What a joke! I can hardly write for laughing! He gave George £1,000 to go to the United States by himself but instead he brought me to Canada. We plan to travel to a place called York in Upper Canada. La! These colonies seem to have so many places with English names. It almost seems like home.
We went to Gretna Green as planned and were married there. We had stopped in London for me to buy some wedding clothes and then to Gretna Green. I am the first of my sisters to be married and Jane must now come after me. I was so proud to be standing next to my dear George in his regimentals. Unfortunately he has had to resign his commission but perhaps he can join the militia in Canada. I am sure his experience in the militia in Hertfordshire will make him a Major or Colonel.
We wished to visit Longbourn before we left but Mr. Darcy apparently would not allow George to delay the trip. I so wanted to show my handsome husband to all our neighbours. How they would envy me.
I meant to write before we sailed but in the hurry I forgot. We are sending this via a ship that will stop in London sometime in the next few months. It must go to the West Indies before heading to London. I am sure it will get to you eventually unless the ship is captured by those Americans. I do not understand why they wish to fight us.
Anyway, I must hurry to complete this letter as we are preparing to leave for a place called Montreal and then on to York. George is calling me to come. I don't know when I will meet you all again. Perhaps my sisters can come and visit me. I am sure I can find husbands for them here.
Your Loving Daughter,
Lydia Wickham
Kitty and Mary could hardly comprehend the letter and had to read it themselves before it could be believed. Their mother could not wait to spread the news and commandeering the carriage and the letter from Mr. Bennet was quickly on her way to visit her sister. As he watched her leave, Mr. Bennet was certain that the glad tidings would be spread the length of Meryton before nightfall. It was at this point that the Gardiners returned from their call on the Thompson family.
Mr. Gardiner looked at his brother, "Why was Fanny in such a hurry?"
"My youngest daughter has finally proven she is truly the silliest girl in the country. We have just now received a letter from her saying that she has married Wickham and they have gone to the colonies. Canada, can you believe that? Of all the countries they could have chosen…Canada!"
"Married? ... Lydia?"
"Apparently they went to Gretna Green after all! The trip to London was for wedding clothes for Lydia. Wickham must have had more funds than we knew if he could go there for such a purpose." Mr. Bennet was clearly still grappling with the fact his youngest daughter was married, safe and had left the country.
"You are sure it was from Lydia?"
"Who else could it be from? I recognize her hand. She is as poor a writer now as ever she was."
"This must be a great relief to you all. I can see my sister has wasted no time spreading the news."
"I expect everyone in Meryton will know that she has another daughter married. I will hear nothing but complaints now that she wasn't married at Longbourn or that I did not purchase her wedding clothes. However, if she asks to visit Lydia, I might just agree."
Mrs. Gardiner had listened quietly to all this, "I must write Lizzy and Jane with this news. I know they will be much relieved."
Mr. Bennet shook his head. "There is one aspect that puzzles me sorely. Lydia mentioned that Mr. Darcy had paid Wickham to leave the country. He must be aware of Wickham's connection to Lydia. I am surprised and puzzled that he said nothing to me. Has he said anything to you, Brother?"
Mr. Gardiner had expected some such question, "Yes, he did mention it. He was not aware that Lydia was involved. In fact, the funds were given to send Wickham to the United States, not Canada. As far as we were concerned, Wickham had deserted Lydia. This will be quite a surprise for Lizzy and Jane."
Mr. Bennet regarded Mr. Gardiner carefully. It seemed to him that neither he nor his wife was as shocked by this development as was he. But was there any reason he should question the news? He could think of none. Nor was he inclined to dispute that which appeared to salvage his family's reputation. Nevertheless, there seemed to be several oddities that he was having trouble understanding and reconciling.
"Brother, would you and Madeline join me in my study? I have a few questions for you and privacy seems indicated." With this, he led them there and, once everyone was properly settled, began to express his concerns. "I have been given to understand that Mr. Darcy was simply here in the role of a groomsman for Captain Stovall but, unless I am completely imagining things, he appears to have been very attentive to Lizzy." Mr. Bennet did not miss the quick exchange of glances between the Gardiners. "Ah, so I am correct then. What can she be thinking? I believe her to dislike him greatly. Am I wrong? He is rich to be sure but I would not think that counts much with Lizzy." He paused and, without giving either of the Gardiners a chance to interrupt, continued "Then there is this trip to Pemberley and now this letter from Lydia. And he is involved in it all." As he expressed these seemingly unrelated events, it became clear to Mr. Bennet that they were not unrelated at all. "I must have some answers! There are too many oddities for me to ignore and Mr. Darcy is in the centre of them all."
Mr. Gardiner looked at his wife and, receiving a slight nod from her, turned to his brother saying, "I will tell you all but first I must have your promise of complete secrecy. Neither my sister nor Kitty nor Mary must ever be told what I am about to relate. Do I have your word?"
"You have it!"
Mr. Gardiner considered his brother carefully and smiled. "Be not so grim, Thomas. This is, in truth, rather a happy story." He then proceeded to tell Mr. Bennet about Darcy's dealings with Wickham, their meeting in January and subsequent meetings and, finally, his efforts to discover Lydia and the plan to see her married.
Mr. Bennet shook his head in amazement. "I can hardly credit it. So this young man has taken it upon himself to restore my family's respectability in order to marry Lizzy. He must care a great deal for her. I know I teased Lizzy about him but I was far from certain about his interest. I must say he has been much more amiable than when he was here last. Reserved but amiable and a good chess player as well! Can I assume that those rumours of his poor dealings with Wickham are as false as that man?"
Mrs. Gardiner smiled, "Yes, I am quite convinced of that. He has made Lizzy fully aware of those dealings. He has a reputation as a man of integrity and honour. There is no reason to believe he dealt with Wickham in any other fashion. In regard to Lizzy, if you saw them in a more familial setting, you would be quite assured of his affections. We also believe Lizzy may have had some effect on his manner but he has certainly been very amiable when in our society."
"So, shall he propose then on this trip? Is that its purpose?"
"I suspect it is one of them, yes. But I also think it is a chance for Mr. Darcy to recompense Jane for his interference in separating her from Bingley." At Mr. Bennet's quizzical look, Mrs. Gardiner explained further. "Mr. Darcy believed that Jane was largely indifferent to Mr. Bingley and advised him accordingly which convinced Mr. Bingley to break off his attentions. Mr. Darcy attempted to correct his mistake last summer but at that point, Mr. Bingley had decided his interest was not strong enough to consider marriage and chose not to return to Netherfield."
"Why would Mr. Darcy try to correct his error?"
"He and Lizzy had a serious argument while she was visiting Charlotte last spring. She apparently made him aware of his error and, from her report, not too gently."
"Given her affection for Jane, I can easily imagine her anger. So where does this leave me? Should I order Lizzy to return? I am not sure I would have approved her presence on the journey if I had known of Mr. Darcy's interest."
"I would not order her home, brother. I believe Mr. Darcy to be an honourable man and to behave appropriately. She is properly chaperoned after all. Nevertheless, I would not be surprised if he writes to seek your consent and blessing to his offer of marriage to Lizzy within the next fortnight or so."
"So I can impart none of this to Mrs. Bennet? A wise move, I am sure since it would be all over Meryton in an hour or two." Mr. Bennet considered all that he had been told. "I must admit I am still struggling to understand all of these developments. You say that Mr. Darcy is giving this young Scottish lad £5,000 to wed Lydia? I cannot hope to repay him and yet, must I offer?"
"Brother, do not expend the effort. If I could not convince him that it was my responsibility, I doubt you will."
Mrs. Gardner then excused herself to write to Elizabeth to inform her of all the doings at Longbourn. The two gentlemen continued to chat until Mrs. Bennet returned home, well satisfied that the news of Lydia's marriage was fully appreciated by all her neighbours. Her only complaint was that Mr. Darcy had been so inconsiderate as to prevent Lydia and her dear Wickham from visiting Longbourn before they left for the Americas.
