"My Lord, a young woman wishes to see you. She said her name is Mary King, and she needs to talk with you urgently. Would you like me to show her in, or shall I tell her you are not receiving visitors?"
Lord Sebastian was astonished to hear the visitor's name and gave orders to show her in. He also requested that a servant be sent to his study to chaperone the meeting.
Mary King was very nervous and desperate and did not know what to do. Beyond the rumours and a few taunts from some neighbours, she had not heard from Wickham. Her reputation was ruined, and she may be pregnant. Therefore, she plucked up her courage and spoke to Lord Sebastian. She hoped he could give her clues about where to find Wickham.
She entered through the door of Lord Sebastian's study and stood before him but found she was too nervous to speak.
"Good morning, Miss King. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Since Miss King did not reply for several seconds, Lord Sebastian asked, "Miss King, are you well?"
She shook her head.
"Please tell me how I may help you."
She blushed deeply and, in a whisper, said, "I came to ask if you know where George Wickham is."
Lord Sebastian feigned amazement and said, "George Wickham. I have not seen him for a while. Is he not at the inn?"
She shook her head. "He left the inn a few days ago. So, you do not know where he could have gone?"
He shook his head. "I do not know, Miss King. But if I were you, I would completely forget about him. You deserve to marry someone better than Wickham."
Seeing Miss King's pale and terrified face, Lord Sebastian, at that moment, understood her pitiable situation.
In a low voice, so the maid sitting in the study's corner would not hear, he asked her, "You are pregnant?"
Mary King's eyes widened, and she paled even more. She tried to deny it, but Lord Sebastian told her, "Miss King, you are neither the first nor the last naive young woman to give her virtue to a shameless man who promises marriage and seduces with pretty words." He sighed regretfully.
Mary King began to cry.
"Please calm down. We have time to find a solution to your problems, but first, I must know if you are pregnant."
"I do not know." She said it in a whisper.
Lord Sebastian thought for a few seconds and then told her with conviction, "There is more than one solution. If you are not pregnant, I think the ideal solution would be you move somewhere else. I can help you if you wish. If you are pregnant, you must decide whether to keep the child or give it up for adoption. If you want to keep the child, I can find someone to marry you so the child is legitimate. It can even be someone old or sick, so that in a few years, you will be a widow and you can remarry, this time to someone more in line with your preferences. Otherwise, I can help you go to a faraway place to have the child and find a family to adopt him or her. You need to think carefully about what you want to do."
"I do not know." She repeated it with a shaky voice.
"Think about it; I will return to London tomorrow. This is my address." He handed her a card with his address: "As soon as you know what you want to do, let me know, and I will see the best way to help you."
"Why do you want to help me?" She asked.
Lord Sebastian sighed. "Unfortunately, I know of more than one young woman Wickham took advantage of. Sadly, I could not do anything to prevent that scoundrel from ruining the lives of many young women like you."