NOTES: Not to be a downer or anything, but I'm not summarizing this chapter— it'll spoil it. All I'm saying is 2 words: Nearly There.

Love you guys, and stay safe 💕
~Vinny

Lizzy had been wrong. Apparently, a great number of people were awake at 10:00 in the evening.

She hadn't seen anyone on the street, as she traced her steps back to where her carriage had stopped, watching the moss underfoot slowly give away to dilapidated cobblestone. There was a signpost there, painted like a red and gold hand, that said 'Lambton' was within 5 miles. Lizzy wasn't quite sure how far that was, exactly, but it couldn't be long.

She started walking, and tried not to think about the howl she heard five minutes in.

She wouldn't die out here, surely? Not if she had survived so long already— 10 years was a long while. She wasn't going to be eaten by wolves… or kidnapped… or swallowed by some chasm or ditch in the road and never see the light of day…

She started walking, slightly faster.

It felt like time had no meaning in the woods. Every so often, a bird would cry out in the distance, or a twig would snap somewhere to the side. Other than that, the night was breathless and infinite, stretching on until the partial moon was hanging like an omen overhead. Lizzy kept waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness; it kept not happening. It was like her body knew that she wouldn't like what she saw.

The city changed that.

All things in Lambton were bathed in a sickly yellow light, emanating from candlelit lamp posts. On the street corners, crowds of three or four people gathered, standing in circles and exchanging things Lizzy couldn't see and stuffing them into pockets. A police officer roamed down one alley, a cigar dangling from one hand, a black stick in the other. Strange noises called out from the alleyways, drunken voices slurring out phrases she didn't understand.

Lizzy suddenly began to be very afraid, and walked with her hands pulled in close to her stomach.

As she passed one of the alleyways, a figure emerged: a thin, skeletal woman with a torn dress. She watched Lizzy for a moment with wide, twitching eyes, before calling out, "P-p-pardon me, lil' one, but... but you lost?"

She stopped walking, frozen by fear. The woman took another shaky step forward.

"If you're l-l-lost, lil' one… I can.. c-can 'elp you."

Lizzy looked at the woman with apprehension. She had painted lips and teeth like sticks of chalk— they had even rubbed off on her upper lip, where white powder had accumulated just below the nose. Her hands were jittery as she reached out to the little girl.

"C-come on then…," she whispered, the stark lines of her bones flexing as she gestured for Lizzy to follow. "I can t-t-take you.. take you someplace where… you'd b-be appreciated…"

Lizzy felt a cold hand clamp around her heart— something about the way that woman was… was looking at her… like she was a home-cooked meal, steaming on a plate, ready to be eaten. Lizzy turned, and broke into a run, and didn't look back.

"WAIT!" She could hear the woman screaming behind her, "P-PLEASE! NO!"

Soon, the slapping of her feet drowned out all sound, and after a little more time, Lizzy felt safe enough to stop. Turning into an empty side street, Lizzy slammed herself against a wall, like William had done back at the servant's quarters, hoping it would hide her in case the woman had chosen to pursue. A few seconds later, and there were still no footsteps to be heard.

Lizzy doubled over and gripped her knees, finally letting herself breathe. Her heart felt as though someone was beating it bloody inside her— fear and loneliness and doubt all ganging up to pummel her insides.

The small girl hiccuped, unable to sob, and let herself go slack against the brick wall.

She wanted her mother. She wanted her father. She wanted someone to tell her it was all a bad dream, and to hug her until all the tears leaked out.

Instead, they did that on their own. Too tired to wipe them away, Lizzy just dropped her head to her chest, and covered her face, letting them slip like grains of sand through her fingers.

The sound of a door opening caught her attention. She was gathering her strength to leap up and run away again, when two figures practically fell out of the doorway, giggling.

"Shush!" One of them— a girl— said. "We're gonna get caught.."

"No, we're not," a young man answered, his voice cracking a little as he laughed, "Mr. G turned in already— it's just you and me…"

The girl, who Lizzy could now see, standing in the yellow light of the doorway, was sweetly round and had hair the color of carrots, smiled with her whole body. She put her face close to the boy (who had spectacles and pinkish spots on his cheeks) then jerked away, gasping.

"Oh lord! Abe, Look!"

He looked, and his eyes caught on Lizzy's scrawny frame, huddled and terrified at the edge of the street. He blanched. "Um… evening."

"...Good evening," Lizzy whispered out in a parched voice. For some reason, she couldn't stop shaking.

The girl bit her lip and covered the motion with her hand. "Oh… Sweetie..," she said, stepping forward, "How old are you?"

"Ten," she whispered. "Ten years old, since February."

Hesitantly, her face creasing in worry, the girl asked, "And… what are you doing out here, if you don't mind me asking?"

The boy— Abe— put his hand on the girl's shoulder. "Maggie, c'mon. You're obviously bothering her. She's probably.." he adjusted his spectacles, and looked away, "Well, she's probably used to being out this late. Come on. Let's go."

Lizzy felt a twinge of anger, a residual feeling of hatred from her time with Mr. Darcy. "I am not used to this," she said, straightening up. "I have a home, I am not being bothered, I'm just..!"

The anger died away, and she shrank back towards the street. "I'm just lost," she finished, meekly.

Quickly, the girl sucked in a breath, and smacked her companion's chest. "Oh! Oh, Abe! Do you— is this—?"

"I'll ask," he said softly, then bent down to speak to Lizzy. "So… kid. What… uhm, What's your name? Full name, if you don't mind."

"Elizabeth Marie Bennet," said she.

The two adolescents turned to stare at each other. Finally, Abe spoke in a kind of a wonder struck tone. "I… I think you better come in."

Lizzy hugged herself around the middle, and nodded. She wasn't putting any bets on it, but these two seemed more.. trustworthy than the other people out tonight. She followed them in through the square of light, and onto a well worn office carpet.

"Sit down, uh… anywhere," the boy said, pushing up his spectacles again. "Maggie can you…?"

"Of course," said the girl, and she glanced shyly toward Lizzy. "I'll stay with her."

"Good. I'll run and get them, then." Abe turned and dashed out of the room, grabbing a crumpled overcoat as he went.

When he was gone, Maggie wrung her hands and smiled. "So.. um, Lizzy, right? Me and Abe.. we work for your uncle. He's been looking for you?"

Lizzy looked up at her with wide eyes. She couldn't believe it. Suddenly, she was crying, and Maggie was hugging her confusedly, and everything was almost alright. Once she had cried herself out (her eyes had started to swell and her nose was running like a river), Maggie offered to bring her some sweet raisin bread. It was crunchy, and lukewarm. Nothing had ever tasted so good.

About ten minutes later, Lizzy heard a door slam, a familiar voice ring out shrilly through the cavernous echo that was the warehouse. "Lizzy!? Where is my Lizzy?!"

"Uh, she's in the office, with Maggie, ma'am." Hurried footsteps followed this statement, coming closer and closer until—

Mrs. Bennet exploded through the door, and swept Lizzy up in a crushing embrace of scarves and tears. "My baby," she cried, holding her daughter so tight she almost burst, "My poor sweet baby!"

"Mama!" Lizzy called out in utter relief, and discovered she still had the strength to cry a little bit more. "Mama, I love you. I love you so much."

Before her mother could even say she felt the same, another body tackled them, and the smell of aging paper and cork wood hit Lizzy like a warm breeze. "My darling," her father said, his face pressing close to hers, "Oh, Lizzy. Thank the Lord we found you."

It was many minutes, and many more emotional words and weeping before anything of substance was said. And when it was— shockingly— it was her Aunt Gardiner that dealt the first blow.

Literally.

Sniffling, she removed her glove, and slapped Lizzy's cheek with it.

"How DARE you!" Her Aunt said, her eyes betraying that she was less angry than her words would imply, "What were you thinking?! Running off like that— you nearly frightened us all to death!"

Her father put on his 'serious' face. "Indeed," he said, in as solemn a voice as Lizzy had ever heard him use. "You were very naughty. We shall hold you in a very tall tower, away from everyone else, until you've learned your lesson."

"I'm sorry," Lizzy said, half chuckling as she wiped her face.

"Seriously though, young lady," her mother hummed cheerfully, her arm around her shoulders (she had refused to take her hands off of Lizzy, and would hold that sentiment for a long while to come), "You are in a whole lot of trouble."

She laughed outright at that, and put both arms around her mother. She breathed in long and heavy, nestling her head in the familiar spot of her chest.

"Dear Mama," Lizzy said, smiling. "I would not have it any other way."