Chapter 4

It was agreed upon by the Bennett family that they should stay in Longbourn, and that Lydia would be brought to them. Mr. Darcy commissioned a hearse with black horses to bring her from town. He had summoned Mr. Bingley to town, and arranged that he, Mr. Bingley and some hired men ride on horseback with the procession. Miss Bennett and the Gardiners would follow the hearse in their own carriage. The children would be left in London with the nanny.

Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley sat somberly in the Gardiner's front room waiting for everyone to finish preparing for the journey. Mr. Darcy was grateful that his friend was here with him. These past two days had been trying for him, although not near as trying as it had been for Elizabeth. He was certain that his heart would break as he had sat helplessly next to her in the garden. The quiet sounds of her grief would haunt him for the rest of his life he was certain. He had been mentally berating himself for his candid declarations of his motives behind coming to London and was certain that he only increased the distress felt by Elizabeth during this difficult time.

In the past two days, he had been careful to allow her to begin her mourning without imposing on her his unwanted affections, but her acquaintance could not be completely avoided. He was insistent upon giving his assistance in anyway that he could including offering up the award money for any information leading to the capture of the parties responsible for the death of the youngest Miss Bennett. His status and fortune were ensuring this case to be one of the utmost importance for the police force in London. Mr. Darcy also ensured that the attentions of the British military was focused on finding their AWOL'd officer since he was the primary suspect in the investigations at this time.

In addition to the matters regarding the manhunt for Wickham, Mr. Darcy also lent his assistance in taking care of arranging to have Lydia returned home to her family and keeping her reputation intact. He, along with Mr. Gardiner, agreed that the official story to be told to society was that Lydia had been taken from Col Forster's home unwillingly and held in London against her will. Mr. Darcy had spoken with Col Forster who agreed to preserve the lady's good name in consideration for her relations considering the tragedy that had befallen her. Naturally Elizabeth had voiced some reservations about this idea.

Elizabeth had argued that she did not agree with Col Forster and his wife tarnishing their good names lying in order to preserve Lydia's reputation. Luckily, Mr. Gardiner's contentions that Col Forster's good name would have been equally tarnished by the idea that he had failed to look out for the young lady in his charge seemed to placate Elizabeth's fears. For that Mr. Darcy had been grateful. What both the Gardeners and Mr. Darcy had failed to mention to Elizabeth was that the story of a kidnapping had already been conveyed to the police force in order to facilitate the necessity of a swift capture of Mr. Wickham almost immediately upon her discovery.

When the time to depart finally arrived, Mr. Darcy once again felt pains in his heart as he viewed Elizabeth in her black mourning dress and veil. He hated the thought that her face should be hidden and that her brightness be dulled by the grief she carried. Solemnly he led the way to the awaiting carriage and offered his hand to both Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth to help them into the vehicle. He wanted to believe that the squeeze that he had felt from Elizabeth before she released him had meant something significant, but he could not allow himself to hope for such sentiments. Instead, he steeled himself for the long ride to Longbourn and the melancholic task of bringing Lydia home to her family.

When they arrived in Meryton, their caravan was a spectacle that all wanted to see. Mr. Darcy had figured that the news of a murdered gentlelady was probably the biggest news to ever hit their small town. He suddenly felt grateful on behalf of Elizabeth and the Gardiner's for the opaque curtains that hid them from the prying eyes of the townspeople. He could only imagine how much this unwanted attention would add to their distress.

When they had at last arrived at Longbourn, Mr. Darcy recognized Mr. Bennett awaiting them. Searching for the words to say to the grieving father, he dismounted from his horse and approached the man. Fortunately, he was spared the initiation of the conversation.

"Mr. Darcy," began Mr. Bennett, "I am to understand that you have been most invaluable to our relations thus far throughout this trying time. I must beg of you to accept my most sincere appreciations."

"Do not trouble yourself, sir," Mr. Darcy assured. "I only wish there was more that could be done to ease your family's suffering."

"You are too kind, sir. I dare say the only thing that I wish for at this time is for Mr. Wickham to be brought to justice," Mr. Bennett replied with much emotion.

Mr. Darcy bowed his head and replied, "For certain sir, I give you my word that I will not rest until his aggressions have been justly dealt with. Perhaps tomorrow I may seek an audience with you and Mr. Gardiner to update you on the particulars of the matter thus far."

"Of course," he stated as the carriage that held Elizabeth and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner pulled up to the estate. "Excuse me, sir. I must go to my Lizzy. How distraught she must be."

With a nod, Mr. Darcy watched as Mr. Bennett approached the carriage and waited for the passengers to dismount. He watched with emotion as an unveiled Elizabeth jumped to the ground and threw herself into her father's arms with a sob. Although he could not hear the whispered words shared between the two of them, he was glad to see her finally be comforted by her beloved family. He knew how much she had been desiring to reunite with them.

As her sisters all took their turn welcoming Elizabeth and their relations home, he could not help but notice the absence of Mrs. Bennett. Just as he had concluded that perhaps she was simply not feeling well enough to leave the house, he saw her emerge through the door and march purposefully to where Jane stood still embracing Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth Bennett! How dare you expect to be welcomed here with warmth," Mrs. Bennett began in a shrill voice. "And to bring with you an audience to observe and scorn our family in such a time!"

"Mother!" Elizabeth said in horror. "Please lower your voice—"

"What do I care if they hear! Or perhaps you are not wanting them to know how you alone could have prevented this?" Mrs. Bennett shrieked.

"Mother," Elizabeth whispered. "Please."

"No!" Mrs. Bennett screamed. "You brought them here. Let them know that this is all your fault! My Lydia is gone, and you could have prevented it if only you had not thought it beneath you to reveal to your sisters Mr. Wickham's true character!"

Elizabeth took a stunned step backwards and held her hand up to her chest and saw her shoulders begin heaving too quickly which Mr. Darcy recognized as signs of her struggling to catch her breath. As he began walking towards where they stood, he saw Elizabeth open her mouth to try to speak and was met instead by the sting of her mother's hand across her face.

Ignoring all propriety, he ran to Elizabeth's side as she took several staggering steps away from where her older sister still stood rigid with shock. From somewhere beside him he heard Mr. Bennett scolding his wife and recognized her being roughly escorted into the house, but all Mr. Darcy could focus on was the stunned expression he saw on Elizabeth's face.

As gentle as he could, Mr. Darcy took Elizabeth's arm and said quietly, "Miss Bennett, are you alright?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm. So. Sorry." She panted still trying to catch her breath. She turned her head and looked up at Mr. Darcy with tears swimming in her eyes. "I don't feel well, sir," she whispered as her knees buckled beneath her and she lost consciousness.

Mr. Darcy easily caught her and swept her up into his arms. He looked to Jane who immediately motioned for him to follow her into the house. She led him up the stairs, calling for someone to bring a cooled cloth and smelling salts and proceeded into a bedroom that he could only assume belonged to the woman he held tightly against him.

Reluctantly he gently laid Elizabeth onto the bed and stepped away as an older woman that he could only assume was a housemaid, made her way into the room with a basin of water. He made his way to the door without taking his eyes off the still form laying upon the bed, until Jane followed him out into the hall and closed the door behind them both.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Darcy," Jane said quietly. "Please allow me to apologize on behalf of my mother. She has not been herself since she heard the news about Lydia."

Mr. Darcy raised his eyebrow, but bit back the retort that had formed almost too quickly. "Of course. Please send word to Netherfield about your sister when she awakens so I may be reassured that she is well."

Barely awaiting Jane's response, he gave a small bow and made his way down the stairs and out of the house. He left instructions with the hired men to arrange to have Lydia brought into the house and then to make their way to the Darcy home in London for payment before mounting his horse and speeding away, with Mr. Bingley in tow, towards the sanctity of Netherfield Park.