Lost Chapter 4
Elizabeth sat in the forward-facing seat with her Aunt Gardiner, her uncle in the seat opposite, as they headed to town. Nothing was said; her aunt knitted, her uncle stared out the window, and Elizabeth sat rigid, staring straight ahead, lips pursed, awaiting chastisement or worse. Which did not come.
Mile posts passed, the coach swayed and creaked, and it was so quiet in the coach that the noise of the road could be clearly heard: hooves pounding in time; wheels squeaking; the jingle of the tug chains; the coachman talking to the horses and greeting passersby; other coaches, first louder in their approach, than fading away as they moved on by. Every little sound tugged at Elizabeth until she thought her thread would snap. But still, nothing was said.
The stop half way, to rest and water the horses, in substance, was silent; the only words spoken were those necessary for the barest civilities: the offer of refreshment and the like.
In London, as they got closer to their destination on Gracechurch Street, Elizabeth could take no more. "Well?" she said.
Her aunt and uncle looked at her. Her aunt raised an eyebrow.
"Well," Elizabeth repeated, "You must have something to say about what I did today."
There was unspoken discussion between the Gardiners of the sort couples in harmony with each other have, a sort that Elizabeth's parents never had had, and Mrs. Gardiner said, "When Mr. Darcy brought you from Hunsford to us, that night, I told you what I knew of Mr. Darcy: that in Lambton he was regarded as the best of masters: kind, generous and just in all his dealings with his servants and tenants, tradesmen, and townspeople in general. You asked that I make inquiries of my cousin in Lambton as to the dealings between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham. Two nights ago, I told you what I found out: my cousin didn't know the exact reason for the animosity between those two but she was clear that, before he left Derbyshire, Mr. Wickham created quite a mess, both in terms of ruined girls and unpaid debts, and that Mr. Darcy cleaned that mess up. I told you all of this and you seemed to take it to heart. You said you would marry Mr. Darcy. And then today, you refused him. Clearly, as far as you are concerned, what I told you was of no account."
"But I…" Elizabeth started to explain but Mr. Gardiner overrode her voice.
"We're not interested in debating you. The house has burnt down, at this point why you burnt it down doesn't matter. As you're in no position to rebuild the house, it is best to forget it and move on with your life. Tomorrow we'll start looking for employment for you."
Elizabeth bowed her head. "Yes, sir" she mumbled.
"Having said all that" Mrs. Gardiner said, "You best think what you're going to tell the children. They're going to wonder why you're showing up unwed."
Elizabeth started. What would she, what should she, what could she, tell her little cousins?
