Hello again. It has been a while. Sorry, life and work have been very busy. I hope you are all well and still reading my stories.

Just to be clear, none of my stories have been abandoned but it may take time for me to update some.

Thank you for still being here and thank you to the following reviewers:

Lisa, Gedoena, Colleen S, ChrisM0519, Shelby66, Deanna27, Wyndwhyspyr, Jansfamily4, Eleoopy, crispill, Levenez, lpinney, liysyl, RHALiz, PDS1, roses0002, MrsSP9, Maria Teresa C, MelodieMLB, Guest

I am happy that you were satisfied with the D/E interactions from the last chapter. ;-)

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The two colonels left Longbourn after partaking in the assortment of delectable food offered by its most hospitable mistress. While Mrs Bennet was known to be overly dramatic at times, she nevertheless had some admirable qualities such as being generous and solicitous.

Colonel Fitzwilliam sought to be accompanied by the officers who scouted Hatfield for any sign of Wickham. With Colonel Forster present, he asked them questions and informed them that their task today was to return to Hatfield and give the impression that it was safe for Wickham to venture into Meryton again. After a brief discussion as to how they can achieve this, Colonel Fitzwilliam and the officers were on their way to the nearby town.

The officers searched for the first messenger boy they encountered yesterday who told them that Wickham was bound for London. Unfortunately, they were unable to locate him but another messenger boy explained that Tom had a few errands today and would likely not be finished with his jobs until late. In turn, they interrogated this second messenger boy, Ben, who, unknown to them, had also been paid by Mrs Younge. The young lad confirmed that he had indeed heard Tom saying that some men were looking for Wickham yesterday but that they were too late as the said officer had already departed for London. At hearing this, Colonel Fitzwilliam stepped in and addressed the boy himself.

"Are you absolutely certain about everything you said?"

"Yes, sir!"

"But you did not see Wickham yourself nor did you see him board the coach bound for London. Is this correct?"

"Ahh… err… I did not see Mr Wickham, sir. But I heard Tom say that he saw him leave for London. Most definitely, sir."

"Hmm… if that is the case, then I ought to head to London straight away."

The colonel instructed the officers to return to Meryton and inform Colonel Forster that he was moving the investigation to London and that there was no need to continue the search in Meryton and the neighbouring towns. He also issued the direction for word to be sent to Mr Darcy to proceed to London immediately and for them to meet at Matlock House this evening.

Facing the messenger boy again, he looked him directly in the eye and said,

"If you or anyone can provide vital information about Wickham's movements or whereabouts, I can guarantee that Mr Darcy will be more than willing to provide a handsome monetary reward. And if the information will lead to his eventual capture, then I am sure that this assistance would deserve a hundred pounds. Very likely more. Colonel Forster would know how to reach us. Spread the word."

The young lad watched the distinguished colonel as he separated from the group. The other officers then went in the direction of Meryton. After making sure that they were all out of sight, he promptly left in the hopes of finding Tom quickly and reporting back to Mrs Younge.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy took their leave soon after they returned to Longbourn. Realising that he had to again rise before dawn the next morning, Mr Darcy knew he needed to go back to Netherfield and aim to retire early. He did not have many hours of sleep last night but he was not sure whether he would be able to fare better tonight, as he expected that he would be kept awake, musing about the very pleasant memories from today's interactions with Elizabeth.

Before he left, he dared to ask her a question.

"Miss Elizabeth, would you allow me to call on you? Tomorrow or perhaps in the next few days? I know not what will happen with regards to our business with Mr Wickham, but I would very much like to visit Longbourn again soon."

"I would love that, Mr Darcy," replied Elizabeth, whose cheeks appeared beautifully rosier.

Once the men left the house, Elizabeth peered through the curtains and waited until their male callers had disappeared from view.

"Lizzy, can you see what Lydia is doing? She has gone directly to her room after nuncheon and has not come out since," Mrs Bennet said to her second eldest daughter.

"Lizzy?" she called again after receiving no answer. "Lizzy!"

"Oh! Yes, mama? Sorry, my mind was elsewhere."

"Could you go and find out what Lydia is doing? She has been in her room since nuncheon," Mrs Bennet explained patiently but inwardly rejoiced to notice that Lizzy was affected by Mr Darcy and his absence.

"Of course, mama. I will see Lydia now. Perhaps she just wanted to rest."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Elizabeth left the parlour and headed upstairs to look for Lydia. Her youngest sister was a very lively and active young girl and was not in the habit of being confined to her room for long periods of time. Despite not agreeing with Lydia's recent actions especially in connection with Mr Wickham, Elizabeth wanted her sister to be assured of their continued love and acceptance.

Recalling the difficult discussion with their father in his study earlier, Elizabeth grew concerned that Lydia may not have taken her consequences well. The young girl had been very quiet during nuncheon and hardly engaged in social conversation unless a question was directed at her. Even though they did not have a large amount of pin money at their disposal, it was more than sufficient for their needs. However, Elizabeth knew that Lydia was not accustomed to not having her own way and not being able to source cash by way of her mother of her other sisters should she need, nay want, more money. Thinking about their father's decision, Elizabeth now had doubts whether or not it was a good idea for her to be given Lydia's pin money to compensate for the small amount that had been stolen from her drawers. She hoped that it would not be interpreted as her being rewarded unfairly and with a bigger amount than what had been actually taken.

Upon reaching the door of Lydia's room, Elizabeth knocked on it lightly and called out her name.

"Enter," came a weak voice.

Elizabeth opened the door slowly and saw that Lydia was stood staring out the window.

"Lydia? Is everything well with you?" she asked while walking towards her sister.

"I am not sure, Lizzy," Lydia admitted.

Elizabeth positioned herself next to her sister and then gently pulled her closer by the waist. Using her other hand, she carefully tucked an errant curl away behind Lydia's ear and noticed that her eyes were wet with tears. The tears trickled down Lydia's cheeks and Elizabeth wiped them away with her fingers.

"Do you want to sit down and talk?"

Lydia shook her head but continued,

"I like the view from here. But yes, we can talk."

"What is making you so sad, Lydia?"

"My mistakes. And wondering if an honourable man will ever show me any regard. Like how Mr Bingley is to Jane."

"Oh, Lydia. One day, you will meet a respectable man. You are yet young."

"I guess…" Lydia answered, sounding unconvinced.

"Is there something else on your mind?"

Finally showing a hint of a smile, Lydia nodded and said,

"Do you like him?"

"I beg your pardon. I am not sure who you mean."

"Mr Darcy. Do you like him? He seems to like you. A lot. I observed the two of you reading a book together. You looked quite like a romantic couple."

"Umm… I… "

"Come on, Lizzy. It is either a yes or a no. He pays you a great deal of attention. He must surely have meant it when he said he would offer for you."

"That seems like a long time ago now even though it has only been days. I… am not sure what his intentions are, Lydia, and it would be better not to get my hopes up."

"So you do like him. I am glad. I never would have thought that he would suit you, Lizzy. But I think the two of you would make a perfect match. You are both very intelligent and would have the most diverting conversations that no one else would understand. And I think your personalities would complement one another. You can bring more cheer and spirit into his life and he can help balance your temperament."

"Lydia, I think you may be thinking too far ahead…"

"Give the man a chance, Lizzy. Anyone can see he has eyes only for you. I know I did not like him before. Not many of us did. He can be quite sombre and intimidating. But you do not seem to be frightened of him nor his position in society. You are who he needs, Lizzy."

"I dare not say it, but when did you become so wise, Lydia? Not that I would admit to anything…"

"You may not readily say so but I can see that you are beginning to feel something for him. I know I have no say in your decision, but I would love to have him as my brother. He is truly a good man and he… has done everything… to protect us. Even though he does not need to… even though I do not deserve it… if he had not warned us…"

Lydia then started to cry more openly and embraced her sister tightly.

"All will be well in time, Lydia. Come, let us sit on the bed lest other people see us."

Once they had settled themselves on the bed and Lydia had regained her composure, she asked,

"Do you really forgive me, Lizzy? For stealing from you and being such a stupid girl?"

"Yes, I forgive you. No matter what happens, you will always be my sister and I will always care for you. Remember that."

"Thank you, Lizzy. I promise I will try my hardest to be sensible from now on."

"I am happy to hear that. You are not stupid, Lydia. You are a clever girl and you learn fast. You just have to trust the right people and abide by what is right. The right path is not always the easiest to traverse."

"Yes, I understand. I hope I will not let you down."

"Do not worry about that now, Lydia. Just… grow."

Lydia was silent for a while then Elizabeth spoke again.

"I hope you do not begrudge that papa is giving me your pin money."

"Oh no! Not at all. I know it will be hard for me not to have any cash for the next few months but as papa said, there is nothing that I really need. I can do without for some time. I have to learn to appreciate what I have. And I thank you for supporting me when we were in papa's study. I could not have done it without you and Jane."

"You were very brave and I am proud of you. It could not have been easy to confess your actions to papa. I know the amount of your pin money is more than what you had given Mr Wickham. But I cannot give you any money during this time period."

"I do not expect you to, Lizzy. The money is rightfully yours."

"I was wondering… if we can use some of the money for Mary. For her wedding. Or for a wedding present. What do you think?"

"That is an excellent idea, Lizzy! What can we do? What can we give her?"

Lydia could barely contain her excitement. Elizabeth was pleased to see that her sister's low mood had been easily lifted and that she was happy to have some of her original pin money allocated to a good endeavour.

"I have not considered any options yet, to be honest. How about if we meet again later tonight and share our suggestions? We can also ask Jane and Kitty to help."

"Oh, yes, definitely! We do not have long to prepare till the wedding."

"Very well. Shall we go down first? Mama has been asking about you."

With one last hug, Lydia felt all her stress dissipate and now she had something wonderful to look forward to.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

I promise we are getting nearer to Wickham's capture.

I just like to write about other relationships too, not just D/E. Like here, the sisterly bond between Lizzy and Lydia. It just feels more complete with the development of other characters and their interactions.

Thank you for your answers to my previous question. A lot of very good answers again. I agree with all of them, especially about being a fly on the wall when Darcy confessed to Bingley and watching the awkwardness between ODC when they met at Pemberley.

If you wish to answer another one, here goes:

If you were to play the part of one of the PnP characters in a play/film/TV series, which character would you choose? Any particular dialogue you want to deliver? Can be male/female. We can dress up and wear fancy Regency costume, right?

I know most females would probably choose Lizzy. Why not? It would be quite satisfying to have the showdown with Lady C.

It will surely be interesting to play the annoying ones, like Lydia or Caro or Mrs Bennet but I am not sure I have the flair for the dramatics. Mr Hurst will be easy, just eat and drink and slouch on the couch… zzzzzzzz…

Thank you very much for your time. Stay safe, everyone! ;-)