Mrs. Longden was about to head upstairs to pack her trunks when she had a thought. She went to the study, knocked on the door, and upon receiving permission, entered. She said "Mr. Bingley, excuse me, but I have a question. Does Miss Bennet have any unmarried sisters?"

"Yes, she has four sisters. None of them are married."

"Then her attempted elopement may ruin them as well as her."

"But the elopement didn't proceed."

"How did she and Wickham end up in Pyecombe so early this morning? I presume they came from Brighton; probably in a hackney cab. They were alone in it, for at least two hours, at night. That might be enough to condemn her and her sisters."

Mr. Bingley shook his head. 'Where there's smoke, there's fire' - another one of his copybook proverbs. "What is to be done?" he asked. He had no wish to see the Bennet sisters ruined – he could think of one Bingley that might wish that, but not him. In particular, he wished all the best for Miss Jane Bennet.

"When you write to Mr. Bennet …" Mrs. Longden gestured at the sheet of paper in front of Mr. Bingley "… you could give him the bare minimum. You need not mention Mr. Wickham, or even that there was an elopement. If you do, especially in writing, you may be providing information that may be used against Miss Bennet and her sisters."

"But she must have been staying with someone in Brighton – they must be letting Mr. Bennet know that she is missing. They surely will tell him about the elopement."

"We will jump off that bridge when we come to it. Perhaps those hosts in Brighton thought there was an elopement; but they had no way of knowing that it was nipped in the bud. By you. In Brighton. Before our young lovers had any chance to be alone for any length of time. And instead of returning Miss Bennet to her clearly negligent hosts you decided to send her directly home."

"But that isn't true; I can't say …"

Mrs. Longden held up her finger. "Then you will have to be very, very careful about what you say, or how you answer questions."

"From what I know of Miss Bennet, she'll tell all the moment she gets home."

"Leave her to me. She and I will be riding together in your coach for the better part of three days, not to mention spending two nights together. In that time, I am confident that I will be able to school her as to what are her best interests."

Mr. Bingley thought of the risks involved in such deceit, great certainly, but the risk of the Bennet sisters, particularly Miss Jane Bennet, being ruined, was greater indeed. Mr. Bingley considered. Only his sister, Caroline, and his friend, Darcy, were likely to suss out the truth from him. But they were both gone from Hertfordshire and would likely never hear of this whole escapade. He would do it - but there was still one more objection "But it will be thought that I rescued her, I'm no hero."

"Then you will have to be very modest and self-effacing. In fact, that would give you an excuse not to talk about it at all."

Mr. Bingley smiled at Mrs. Longden. "You seem to have a talent for intrigue."

Mrs. Longden smiled back at Mr. Bingley. "I did tell you I was companion to some very spoiled young ladies; more than one got into worse trouble than that in which Miss Bennet has found herself. "

The two of them put their heads together and after a number of drafts (Mr. Bingley slipped a one-pound note under the blotter to reimburse Mr. Little for the paper and ink used) the conspirators settled on the following letter to Mr. Bennet:

'I have arranged for your daughter, accompanied by a companion, to be transported to your home.

I expect that they will arrive there the day after tomorrow.'

There was no date, no salutation, no names, and no signature.

The letter was placed in a handmade envelope, made from paper different from the letter itself, addressed to Mr. Bennet, and the sender was indicated as C. Bingley, of Mr. Bingley's London address.

Mrs. Little sent her footman to Brighton on Mr. Little's horse with the letter so that it could be sent by express from there. Mr. Bingley gave the footman a pound for his trouble.

-}{-

Mr. Bingley's coach arrived at the vicarage a quarter of an hour before the appointed time. Mrs. Longden's two trunks, one of clothing, and a somewhat heavier one, of her books, were loaded aboard.

There would be plenty of room in the coach, as Mr. Bingley intended to ride his horse alongside – he knew how loquacious Lydia was, he had no wish to hear all the details of her tale of woe, he already could guess the plot of the age-old story – he just hoped he could walk after spending all day in the saddle. His valet, also aware of Lydia's reputation, elected to sit up top with the coachman and groom.

Mr. Bingley and Mrs. Longden stood by the coach waiting for Lydia – after a long, hot bath in the laundry tub, during which she tried to scrub away the stable odour that hung about her, and perhaps her shame as well, which left her bright pink and odour-free but still shamed; after donning the Sunday best dress of a servant, without complaint, indeed complimenting Jennie on her taste, and thanking her profusely; after a large breakfast, sustenance apparently not being on the agenda of an elopement; she was in the necessary casting up her accounts, attended by Jennie, the only sympathetic person she had encountered that day, contemplation of what had happened, and the consequences of such, having proven more than she could stomach.

Given that Mrs. Longden and Lydia would be together in the coach for the better part of three days Mr. Bingley thought it very likely that, at some point, Lydia would recount the sad and cruel story of how he had broken the heart of Miss Jane Benett so, by way of mitigation, a pre-emptive plea of guilty, as it were, he asked his co-conspirator, Mrs. Longden, to walk with him, out of earshot of his servants, while he gave her a few more 'essential details'.

As Mr. Bingley made his confession, he stared across the road at the yew tree growing in the churchyard. He told Mrs. Longden all, from the time he capriciously came to Netherfield to the time he capriciously left. He was a cad of the first degree, careless of an angel's heart. He took all fault upon himself; indeed, he did not even mention his sisters or his friend. When he finished, he gave Mrs. Longden a wry smile.

"So, this boon you do for this youngest Miss Bennet is your atonement for what you did to the eldest Miss Bennet," said Mrs. Longden.

Mr. Bingley shook his head. "If only it was full atonement, I fear that it is only a part; a very small part."

He was saved from further discussion of that melancholy topic by Mrs. Little joining them. She told them Miss Bennet would be just a few more minutes. As they waited Mr. Bingley gave Mrs. Little two pounds for Jennie. He did not offer her anything for the hospitality she had extended, he did not want to insult her, but he did give her his card, the one with the London address, 'if she was ever in town'.

The three of them discussed overnight stays. It was agreed that Mrs. Longden and Lydia would share a room, in case Lydia should decide to chase after Mr. Wickham, Mrs. Longden assuring Mr. Bingley that she was a light sleeper and that none of her previous charges had ever succeeded in doing a runner. In London, instead of staying at Mr. Bingley's townhouse, Mrs. Longden and Lydia would stay at the residence of a third sister. Mrs. Popel was the wife of the canon of St. Paul's Cathedral and Mr. Bingley was assured there would be no problem accommodating Mrs. Longden and her charge.

Lydia came out of the vicarage, pale and subdued, and was handed into the coach. Mrs. Longden followed, Mr. Bingley mounted up, and they were off, Mrs. Little waving merrily behind them.