Note: This is a one-shot with no connection to the previous stories.

Chapter Eight – The one who got away

Good intentions or no, sometimes the person you want to help just won't listen

Mrs. Linton could read the writing on the wall, after all, she had seen it all before.

The young miss was a pretty little thing who had grown a womanly figure entirely too early for her own safety. Unfortunately, she had not grown the sense to be able to understand the dangerous implications to all the male attention she garnered.

Mrs. Linton understood that very well indeed. She remembered the exhilarating feeling of having grown men being attentive to her every word. She also remembered the secret thrills she felt when those same men deliberately brushed against her in intimate ways. It had all seemed so very exiting at fifteen!

Mrs. Linton sighed, remembering those early days. She had been so young and yet thought she knew so much. She would not listen to her father, her mother, her sister, or her governess. She was right and everyone else was stiff-necked and boring. Now Mrs. Linton was seeing the mirror of her younger self in Miss Lydia Bennet. She did not know what could be done, but she had to try!

That day was one of those rare days when Mrs. Forster was out and about without Miss Bennet. It was one of the few chances to speak to the girl without interruption or prying ears.

"Miss Bennet," the Forster's housekeeper spoke out to gain the girl's attention. Prior to this point the girl had been rambling on and on about who she had danced with on the previous night, how they were all competing for her attention, and how jealous her sister "Kitty" would be when she wrote to her. When the girl continued to talk, Mrs. Linton tried again, "Miss Bennet."

This time the girl looked up and smiled, "Yes, Mrs. Linton?" To give the girl credit, she was cheerfully polite even to the servants, though she had moments of thoughtless cruelty when her words could cut.

Taking advantage of this of this momentary attention, housekeeper said, "Miss Bennet, I was hoping that I could speak with you... and that you would listen." The girl's smile vanished and her expression clearly showed she was expecting a scolding... and was ready to fight. Marigold chose a different approach. "I would like to tell you a story... a true story... but I need to trust that you will never repeat the story to anyone else. May I trust you?" This appeal to honor and the promise of a delicious secret had exactly the effect that the housekeeper hoped. Lydia nodded vigorously.

"There was a young lady by the name of Lady Marigold. She was the daughter of a baron and the youngest sister in a large family. She was also very pretty, like you, and had a womanly figure even when she was fifteen."

The compliment was not lost on Lydia and she was all attention. "Marigold loved to dance and she loved to visit, but most of all she loved to flirt with handsome men... Men in uniform were her favorite."

Lydia was not stupid, though she often pretended to be. She suspected that a comparison was being made. Still, she decided to listen. The housekeeper continued, "Marigold's father was an ambitious man. He had arranged all of his children's marriages when they came of age according to what he thought was best. At the time Marigold thought his only concern was what was right for him. She did not want to marry boring men like her older sisters. She wanted excitement and adventure."

The girl nodded, understanding exactly what the housekeeper was saying. She felt much the same way. "As soon as she was old enough to attend dances, she began looking for just the sort of man she wanted: an officer, handsome, tall, and exciting. Her father kept introducing her to the men he wanted her to pair with, but she wanted a different sort. She was very pretty and so she gained a lot of attention from all sorts of men. Then she met Captain Teague. Oh, Miss Bennet, he was the most handsome and dashing man she had ever seen, and he had that hint of danger about him!"

Lydia was totally absorbed by this point. The older woman was describing exactly the type of man she wanted... in fact she was describing exactly the sort of man she had already found. The housekeeper smiled sadly, "The foolish girl believed herself in love with him and he with her. He certainly worked his charm with great artistry until... one fine day... he convinced her that she was the only one for him. She was overcome with joy, yet she knew that her father would never approve... and she let herself be convinced to elope."

"Oh, how romantic!"

"You would think so. They fled in the night and got as far a Sheffield, thirty miles from her home before Captain Teague claimed to be exhausted. He rented a room for them and, as you might expect, he convinced her to anticipate their vows. But when they woke in the morning, the Captain made no effort to carry on towards Gretna Green. Instead he told her that they were waiting. They waited all day, with Marigold becoming increasingly confused and worried and the captain becoming irritable. Then Marigold's father showed up.

The two men told her to go to another part of the inn, but she stayed outside of the door and listened in," Mrs. Linton sighed, "What she heard broke her heart. It seems that the captain was after Marigold's dowry, with or without Marigold. He would marry her only if he was given full control. An altercation followed and her father, who had brought several men along to help, thoroughly thrashed Captain Teague before sending him on his way."

"It serves him right!" Lydia declared vehemently. "What happened to Marigold?"

"Marigold was dishonored, Lydia. The baron could not and would not take her back into his home. He would barely look at her. He said that since she wanted to marry an officer, he would find one for her. He found a major with a promising future who needed funds and Marigold was made to marry him."

"That's dreadful! It isn't fair!"

"Miss Bennet, that was one of the better outcomes possible after Marigold's actions."

"Well, at least she married an officer."

"I suppose, unless you like to have nice clothes, servants, and a large and comfortable home. An officer's pay is barely enough to sustain him, much less a wife. It is not all dances and fun. Blessedly, the major was a good man. She learned to love him and be content. Sadly, he was also a heroic man. He fell in India leading his troops during a skirmish."

"And Marigold?"

The housekeeper looked the young girl right in the eyes, "I had to work as a servant for a general's wife for the next five years until her husband was posted home. When I returned, my mother was dead. My father, my brothers, and my sister would have nothing to do with me. Since then I have worked in other people's homes to put clothes on my back and food in my stomach."

Lydia Bennet gulped and nodded. Sadly, she hadn't fully applied the story to her own choices, so when Lieutenant Wickham begged her to elope, she found a way to reason away Marigold's tale.

It was the housekeeper who found Lydia's note the next morning and took it to Colonel Forster. Then she went to her little room and cried for the foolish girl.

Further investigations revealed that Wickham had lefts debts all over Brighton. Not only had he deserted in a time of war, but he had also stolen funds from his the provost officer. And as time went Colonel Forster learned that the man had seduced several local girl and the wives of two officers... one of them being Mrs. Forster. The colonel could not leave his post to hunt down Wickham, but he did petition for a divorce from his unfaithful wife. Two weeks after his desertion, Colonel Forster received notification that Lieutenant Wickham had been caught, made to marry Lydia Bennet, and reassigned the the farthest northern base.

Marigold Linton believed that she had hard the last of Lydia Wickham, nee Bennet. But four years after the elopement Marigold received a letter. It read:

Dear Mrs. Linton,

You probably thought you had heard the last of me and said "good riddance." I would deserve that after you tried to warn me and I ignored you.

I married Mr. Wickham and soon discovered that all of his promises were lies. He was a gambler, a womanizer, and a mean drunk. Thankfully we were assigned to a post in the Caribbeans where he managed to catch a fever and left me a widow. A very kind local merchant took a shine to me and offered to marry me. It was better than I deserved, but I consented. We have a little girl who I love most dearly. I named her Catherine Marigold after my favorite sister and you.

I intend to live out my days here with my dear Mr. Seaton. I doubt that my own family would ever welcome me home. Still, I am content.

I hope that you will take care of yourself and find your happiness too.

Sincerely, Mrs. Lydia Seaton

Marigold did eventually find happiness. She continued to serve as Colonel Forster's housekeeper until the war with France ended and her employer chose to retire. She expected to look for a new position, but he surprised her by asking for her hand in marriage.

Marigold Forster never heard another word from Mrs. Seaton, yet she did think of her and her family from time to time.

Author's Note: I'm loving the response to my little short stories, though I was hoping for more contributions to the challenge. The two which were provided were fun to read.

To Jackiesoares: You asked a question regarding Mr. Collins and the inheritance. In my story "Our Lady of Longbourn" I have provided a detailed explanation as it was given to me. My legal terminology may not be correct, but the essentials are there. Look for in in the beginning of Chapter Twenty.