Sorry this update took so long but I've been having problems in my personal life. No one should have to attend the funerals of three family members in less then three months. I've put up two chapters to make up for it and I hope you all enjoy and review!
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Mr. And Mrs. Gardiner quickly gathered their belongings and their children to make a quick journey down to Hertfordshire and to keep their promise to their niece. Elizabeth had been looking forward to their trip and she was too good of a girl to complain about the time being shortened and postponed because of business. They barely had time to send an express to warn their niece of their imminent arrival before they set out.
Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived at Brighton shortly before Darcy and Bingley arrived at Netherfield. Colonel Fitzwilliam's first stop was at the house that had been rented by Colonel Forster where he was immediately invited to stay while he was conducting his official investigation. After doing a thorough investigation of the camp Colonel Fitzwilliam came to the conclusion that Colonel Forster was a good but unassuming man with a silly young wife to distract him from focusing fully on the discipline and training of his men. While he was amiable it was obvious that the man's ability to conduct anything but training drills was lacking and a new commander would be able to clear cut the worthless officers that were clogging up the camp. It was also obvious that the ringleaders of the bad apples understood that the Colonel was easily deceived and that as long as Mrs. Forster was happy there was nothing that they could do that would gain Colonel Forster's attention to their illegal actions.
Now Colonel Fitzwilliam could focus on the next big issue that plagued the training camp and she'd be flattered that she was taking up valuable time in the investigation. Lydia Bennet's, and you can be assured that he almost asked in a very ungentleman-like manner if she was adopted or not, actions proved to be a great distraction to the camp. Keeping in mind that this was after Mrs. Forster had imposed the sanctions on her it was incredible that such a woman could be related at all to Elizabeth Bennet. Lydia Bennet was obviously planning some sort of game that would undoubtedly create havoc among her family that she would probably see as a great joke.
The greater concern of course was the fact that she had gained the attention of Lt. Wickham and was probably going to be brought along for the ride when he finally could not get anymore credit from both his fellow officers and the shopkeepers in the area. This concern that Wickham would soon flee from Brighton destroying a young ladies reputation, that was already on the edge already, while he was at it. Believing that Darcy had a right to know about a possible scandal that could derail his courtship with Elizabeth Bennet, Colonel Fitzwilliam immediately wrote letters to Darcy and to Mr. Bennet. Hopefully these two letters would send enough help to be enough to control Lydia when the love of her life was arrested and sent to debtor's prison for all of his crimes against the population of Britain. Of course being the suave, debonair and responsible guardian that he was Colonel Fitzwilliam wouldn't let the opportunity escape to let Lt. Wickham know that his actions towards Georgiana Darcy would never be forgotten.
Mr. Darcy was getting ready for the day, he was hoping to get to see Elizabeth before her aunt and uncle arrived. Maybe he'd even be able to ask her to marry him so that he could return to Pemberley with his new bride before Christmas, a magical date that was a scant six months away. Mr. Bingley was similarly occupied since he wished to marry Jane Bennet as soon as he possibly could, although he was ignorant of the fact that he was present so Mr. Darcy would have the opportunity to commence his own suit.
Since Mr. Bingley was a forgiving sort of man he did not hold a grudge against Mr. Darcy for interrupting his unofficial courtship with Jane Bennet several months earlier and was pleased to have the opportunity to take up where he left off. Darcy and Bingley were about to leave the house to visit the Bennets when an express arrived from Brighton from Colonel Fitzwilliam. The letter was short and informative. It did not surprise Mr. Darcy since it told him that Lydia's actions at Brighton were deplorable and if not stopped immediately would have detrimental effects on the lives of the rest of the Bennet family. On a more minor note Darcy was pleased to learn that Lt. Wickham was soon to be arrested and thrown into debtors prison until he was able to pay off his official creditors whose bills ranged from a few hundred pounds each to almost a thousand pounds in Meryton and in Brighton.
Darcy quickly shared the letter with Mr. Bingley and the two men hurried down to Longbourn to warn Elizabeth of the actions that were about to take place in the far off town of Brighton. Another motive was to make sure that Mr. Bennet went in person to collect Lydia since she would be in a dangerous position whether or not Wickham was arrested immediately. It was impossible to tell what kind of things the young stupid girl would take if she was denied her 'heart's true desire' and Mr. Darcy did not want to waste any more valuable time putting the pieces of the Bennet family back together because of her immaturity.