Chapter 25

Lydia soon learned that being an editor and being an investor had completely different demands upon one's time. Elizabeth, as an investor in many businesses, was at liberty to work from her study at home at all times. Lydia was not at liberty to work from home unless she was going to move into her office. She spent many hours a day there, though Theodora told her that the demand for her time would be lessened once the first few volumes were released, and the trip to Paris to report on the fashion show was over. Dorian settled into life in the city, and saw Lydia as often as possible, which was often, because Lydia ensured that he received invitations to escort her to all evening events.

There was a grand ball in September, to celebrate the first volume of the magazine. It was held in the ballroom at The Gregson, an enormous luxury hotel that Lydia had decorated and consulted on the opening for three years before. The owner was a good friend of Lydia's, and The Gregson had the only ballroom in London large enough for such an event. Still being in half-mourning and in the north, the Darcys and the Radcliffes would not be attending, which Lydia, Elizabeth, and Georgiana all regretted bitterly, but the Fitzwilliams attended, along with the Brandons and the Bingleys, The Viscount Maverley and his wife, Anne, and everyone Lydia had ever met in society over the last six or more years, as well as many more that she had not met.

Even the Matlocks had taken a detour from their trip to Bath in order to attend, and Diane was permitted to view the first few sets from the gallery above. She was accompanied by Mrs Annesley, and was escorted back to Matlock House very early indeed, but at least she was able to say she had seen such an event, and it gave her a great deal to look forward to when it was time for her debut. There were artists in the gallery as well, taking sketches of the ladies in their fine gowns, and gentlemen in their finery to be featured in the following volume.

The guest list was not capped at the nobility, there were nearly as many wealthy landowners and prosperous tradesmen and their wives. The event was a crush unlike anything Lydia had ever seen, and she looked splendid on Dorian's arm, in an emerald gown designed by Freddie, and a stunning parure of emeralds and diamonds that Elizabeth had sent to London under the care of Mr Banks. There was a matching tiara, and Lydia regretted not being able to wear it, for it would certainly look magnificent with her gown, but since she was still unmarried, she followed tradition and selected diamond pins for her hair.

Theodora and Cora were just as well dressed. Lydia and her sisters had been loyal to Madame Clarisse for years, but Freddie Vaughan had learned much, and in his years in London, was creating designs that rivalled her greatly. Lydia had felt slightly guilty, but Theodora had declared that Freddie had been in the shadows for far too long and that they were going to make him a star, and in the meantime, the three of them and Lydia's sisters would have exclusive access to his services. Madame Clarisse was comforted by a lucrative contract with Theodora for publishing her line of fashion plates.

*****

Theodora had agreed for Freddie to accompany them to Paris, and he was working harder than ever to be deserving of the opportunities that lay before him. He had paid for his youngest sister to attend an academy for ladies' maids, and for his elder sister to attend the nursing school in Derbyshire. One of his brothers had been given a tenancy on land that ad once belonged to Brightling Abbey by Elizabeth and Darcy, and had married his sweetheart. Mrs Vaughan was now the best dressed tenant wife in Derbyshire, for her son was always sending her gifts that he had made. Now that it was clear that Freddie was going to be famous, there was no more hiding of his profession in the village, and the village girls queued up to renew their acquaintance with him whenever he returned to visit his family, which happened a few times a year, for he could always find space in Bank's or Wilson's carriage when they were travelling to conduct Elizabeth's business.

Lydia ought to have expected that fate would work some mischief upon her. Everything had been going far too well in her life lately, and with Dorian escorting her so often, there had been no unwanted suitors following her this year. As she stood with Theodora and Dorian, surveying the ballroom with Freddie and Cora close by, a gentleman approached them. Theodora did not see her blanche, but Dorian did.

"Lydia, darling, have you met Evelyn Ramsey? This, my dear, is the architect that designed our new building!" Theodora announced proudly. "Mr Ramsey, this is Miss Bennet, the Editor of Mode, and her friend Sir Dorian Goulding, of Haye Park in Hertfordshire."

"Thank you, Theodora, Mr Ramsey and I have worked together before," Lydia replied coolly, "Mr Ramsey, I see you are returned from New York. You must have done well there."

"Thank you, Miss Bennet, my time there was nearly everything I could have hoped for," he answered.

Was he expressing regret over her rejection of him? Lydia sincerely hoped not. "The building is exquisite, Mr Ramsey," she complimented him, seeing no reason not to be civil, and to give credit where it was due.

"I should have known you would already have met," Theodora said happily. "Miss Bennet knows everyone of any consequence, she rivals even myself."

"That does not surprise me in the least," Mr Ramsey smiled. "Miss Bennet has always been excessively resourceful. I hope your sister and uncle are well, Miss Bennet?"

"Oh yes! Lizzy and her family are mourning a relation in the north, but Uncle Gardiner is here somewhere tonight," Lydia answered politely.

"I shall have to seek him out before too long. It is many years since we met. Miss Bennet, may I have the pleasure of the next dance?" Mr Ramsey requested politely.

"Of course," Lydia said, as the strings of the next set began, and she took his arm. She was grateful that it was a rather faced paced dance with complicated steps, for it made conversation too difficult to maintain as they whirled about the floor with the other dancers.

"Would you care for some refreshment?" Mr Ramsey asked when the dance was over, as he attempted to steer her towards the refreshment table.

"No thank you, I would prefer to return to my friends," Lydia said firmly as she refused to be turned in that direction.

"Who was that man you were with?" he asked intrusively. "The Goulding fellow."

"My friend," Lydia said, refusing to be explicit with him, for he was already making her feel uncomfortable with his intensity.

"I am excessively glad to find you still unmarried," he continued insensibly as they made their way back across the ballroom. "Might I call upon you tomorrow?"

"I am sorry, but I have an engagement," Lydia discouraged.

"What about Friday?" he persisted.

"Mr Ramsey, I believe you will find me occupied every day ," Lydia said firmly as she rejoined Theodora, who claimed her attention as she introduced her to Sir Phillip Burdett, the owner of a rival publishing company.

*****

The following day, Lydia was interrupted on the pavement by Mr Ramsey as she left her office with Dorian, who had come to escort her to their lesson with Mr Carter.

"Miss Bennet, I thought you said you had an engagement today," said Mr Ramsey in confusion as he bumped into them on the pavement in front of Mode.

"I do have an engagement today," insisted Lydia as she attempted to go around him with Dorian. "Good day, sir."

"Yes well, I did not realise this is what you meant," said Mr Ramsey, gesturing towards Dorian in distaste.

"I beg your pardon, exactly what are you implying, sir!" demanded Dorian in outrage at Mr Ramsey's tone.

"I am implying nothing sir. Indeed, I do not even know you, so I do not feel the need to explain myself. I am simply concerned about Miss Bennet's activities, considering that we have had an understanding these six years since before I left for New York," Ramsey said arrogantly.

"Excuse me, but how dare you tell such a lie!" cried Lydia in outrage. "Mr Ramsey, I firmly rejected you in no uncertain terms six years ago, and joining you for a dance last night was not an invitation to renew your abominable offer!"

"Miss Bennet, it is charming of you to be so reserved with your affections, but it is quite obvious to me that you have been waiting for me all these years," the man continued stupidly. "It was clever of you not to elope with me when I left, not to say that I have not missed you dreadfully, but if you had, we would have forfeited your dowry. I am not ashamed to admit that I was unreasonable regarding that matter. Of course , you should prefer to keep your fortune, and enjoy the life you are used to. I am much more willing to be reasonable about it now, I assure you. I am grateful indeed that you had such foresight, my dear. Our life together will be marvellous."

"I shudder to harm your sensibilities, Mr Ramsey, but I assure you in the most animated language possible, sir, that I rejected you based upon pure lack of sentiment, and not at all because of fortune. I promise you that until last night, I had forgotten you ever existed," ground Lydia between her teeth. "How convenient for you to decide that you have changed your mind about accepting my dowry, but I have no intentions of endowing you with it.

"If you are not waiting for me, then why are you still unmarried?" Ramsey demanded.

"Because she has been waiting for me!" interrupted Dorian in an incredibly aggressive and territorial manner.

"I beg your pardon ?" Lydia whirled on Dorian in shock and outrage at the same moment that Ramsey shouted, "Is that so?" A crowd of people were starting to gather round, and to say that Lydia was dismayed would be an understatement.

"That's right," said Dorian, puffing up his chest, ignoring Lydia as he stepped around her to stand face to face with the other man as Lydia looked on in shock and horror.

Ramsey's eyes were like steel as he ground out, "Name your second, sir."

"Captain Frederick Wentworth. Name yours."

"Joseph Williams," answered Ramsey. "Where can he find you?"

"Number 190 Piccadilly," returned Dorian.

"Weapons?" asked Ramsey.

"Swords," said Dorian in a menacing tone.

Lydia, able to tolerate no more of this humiliation, fled back into the building, followed by John. "Do not allow either of them to follow me," she ordered her footman, who forwarded her instructions to the door man, and signalled two male clerks to assist in that endeavour if necessary. Lydia returned to her office, collapsed on a settee and, in a fit of anger and distress, burst into stormy tears.

*****

Cora, unsure of what she should do, sent someone running the several blocks down Regent Street to fetch Theodora. Thankfully, they did not have to go far, for Theodora's carriage was encountered partway down the street. She entered the building through the back, and made her way into Lydia's office to find the younger woman pacing so furiously that she was surprised the rug had not caught fire.

"Lydia, whatever has happened?" she begged.

"Those idiots! How could they publicly mortify me in such a way?" Lydia shouted in a terrible rage.

"Lydia, sit down and tell me what has occurred!" Theodora insisted.

"It is that idiot Ramsey and Dorian! I knew Mr Ramsey before he left for America. He never courted me. After working in proximity to one another, he demanded that I abandon my family and my dowry for he did not want it, and elope with him onto a ship for America, in the hopes that he might bestow his hand in marriage upon me once we reached open sea, all for the privilege of being his little woman for the rest of my life. I obviously rejected him firmly, and when he attempted to kiss me, my brother entered the room and punched him. I have never seen him since then until last night, nor have I wished to."

"What a beast! I wish I had never invited him to the ball! What happened here today?"

"Today, Dorian arrived to escort me to our Greek lesson, and we met that imbecile upon the pavement outside. He made it clear that he has decided that my remaining unwed all these years is evidence that I have been waiting for him to return from New York, and said so! Right there on the street! The man has taken my acceptance of a dance last night as an invitation to renew his company upon me. He even congratulated me on having the sense to preserve my dowry, for apparently, he finds it quite attractive now. And that lunatic Dorian Goulding took that as an opportunity to behave like a boorish, territorial simpleton! And there is going to be a duel!" Lydia shrieked in a terrible rage.

"They challenged one another to a duel over you? Right there on the street?" Theodora gasped in shock. "How could they? If it were anyone but you, they would be ruined, but even if your reputation survives this, you will still be infamous!

"I shall never forgive him!" Lydia collapsed on the settee, tears streaming down her face. "All of this work here, and it shall all be ruined, and my name shall be destroyed over these hideous men! "

She continued on in such a state for some time, until Theodora called for her carriage and escorted her home. Lydia was sent upstairs to her rooms with Jemima, while Theodora explained the matter to Mrs Gardiner, who sent for the Brandons and Fitzwilliams immediately. Lydia's sisters attempted to comfort her, while their husbands were dispatched, Brandon to Mr Ramsey, and Richard to Dorian, both to attempt to persuade the two men not to damage Lydia's reputation further by engaging in a duel.

*****

They returned later that evening, after both had spent several hours attempting to talk the men out of their folly, The seconds had been dispatched, and the time had been set for the following morning at sunrise. The ladies ended up remaining at Gardiner House, for their husbands would continue to work on the men that night, and follow them to the park in the morning to attempt to talk them out of their folly. The ladies would remain at their aunts in case Lydia decided to leave her room and wanted to talk. Shortly after midnight, Jemima slipped down the servant's staircase and gave a note to John, who quietly left the house to deliver the following message to Miss Carmichael at Matlock House, where she was staying with Diane until the Matlocks left for Bath.

Miss Carmichael,

You will meet me behind Gardiner House at five o' clock this morning. You will tell no one, nor bring any other with you. Do not disobey me.

Lydia Bennet

When the hour arrived, Miss Carmichael was waiting at the servant's entrance when Lydia appeared at the door wearing a particular skirt she had designed for fencing practice, and a sword in her belt. "Miss Bennet, what are we doing? You know I cannot accompany you out at such an hour, your sister would do more than sack me, she would murder me ." the older woman said in a whisper.

"Miss Carmichael, your job is to protect me and all of my sisters in any situation, not to restrict our activities, or even lodge an opinion. You will accompany me to the park, and if I require it, you will stand as my second. If my sister sacks you, I will hire you at the same rate. Do you understand?"

"Your second? Miss Bennet, what are you saying?" gasped Miss Carmichael.

The door opened behind Lydia to reveal Mary and Kitty, dressed and wearing their bonnets. "I hope you did not plan to escape, Lydia," said Mary as she raised a brow. "We have not been Lizzy's sisters all our lives for nothing."

"Mary, you cannot stop me," said Lydia, beginning to get annoyed. "Go back inside, I have no time for this."

"Of course we cannot stop you, sister. We are coming with you," laughed Kitty as she skipped past her sisters towards the stables. "I have not been so diverted in years! We need the carriage! Is it very difficult to manage, do you think?

The party of ladies entered the stables to find Lydia's groom hooking her horses to her carriage. "Won't be a moment, Miss Bennet. I knowed you was taking a journey when I saw Miss Carmichael by the door," Jack Edwards said easily. "You ladies just settle yourself right there, an' we'll be off in two shakes."

*****

Lydia was still shaking her head at the nerve of her family when she boarded her carriage with her sisters. They attempted to speak to her of the matter, and assured her that whatever steps she took, they were both quite on her side, whatever their husbands thought, but Lydia did not speak. Lydia had instructed the groom to stop at the residence of the Wentworths. Mrs Wentworth's husband was at the park as well, serving as Dorian's second. It was only right to include her in the prevention of the men's senseless nonsense. The groom was sent to the door to give a message to the lady. She came out fully dressed and pulling on her bonnet, with Mrs Croft in her wake, in under three minutes. It was obvious they had not slept that night any more than the rest of them. Lydia was tight lipped as their carriage continued to the park, stepped down from the carriage, and strode purposefully toward a small group of men in the distance, as her sisters and other ladies ran behind to keep up.

The men were just beginning to circle each other with their swords as Lydia ran into the fray and shouted, "STOP!"

"Lydia! What are you doing, this is men's business!" said Dorian in shock and outrage.

"I. BEG. YOUR. PARDON!!!" Lydia screeched. She marched straight up to him until she was toe to toe with him, staring straight up into his face, "Just who the hell do you think you are, Dorian Goulding?"

"Lydia, this man has-"

"That is Miss Bennet to you, Sir Dorian! You have absolutely no right to fight over me, and now you are never likely to have anything close to that right! I demand that you withdraw immediately!

"Lydia…" the man said helplessly, beginning to realise his enormous error as the blood drained from his face.

" Miss Bennet !" she insisted. "What did you think would happen next, when the duel was finished? That you would have won me? That I would just fall into the arms of the winner? This is positively mediaeval! How atrociously barbaric!"

"Goulding, the lady does not wish to be fought over. You have likely done irreparable damage to her reputation this morning. Wentworth, this all very unseemly. You should not be lending your support to the matter," said Admiral Croft sternly from the small group of men who had attended in an effort to dissuade the participants.

When Anne Wentworth gently cleared her throat, Wentworth glanced at his wife and said to his friend, "Goulding, you must agree this is appallingly indecorous."

Dorian swore under his breath and threw his sword down, stalking away into the trees.

Ramsey laughed derisively, and remarked to his second and three of his friends who had attended, "The honour of Her Majesty's finest."

Lydia turned around, "Mr Ramsey, if you want to duel someone, you can duel me, for I certainly have enough of a grudge to call you out!"

"I cannot duel you!" Mr Ramsey said in horror, starting to realise that Lydia had come bearing a sword and accompanied by that horrible looking female bodyguard for a reason.

" I am the reason you cannot have me, Mr Ramsey, not Sir Dorian. He has nothing to do with it! I will not have you because you disgust me! Furthermore, I am insulted that you have humiliated me publicly, made me a laughingstock in London, and have jeopardised my career. I demand satisfaction, and I name Miss Carmichael as my second," demanded Lydia.

"But you are a girl !" the man insisted, scandalised.

"If it is good enough for Lady Braddock and Mrs Elphinstone, it is good enough for me," Lydia said. "Ladies do duel, Mr Ramsey. It is not unheard of for ladies of high rank to satisfy their disagreements like gentlemen."

"That is true," said Anne Wentworth from her husband's side.

"Indeed," agreed Kitty, "Recall hearing of Lady Carradine's quarrel last year?"

"Miss Bennet, you are out of your mind! Apologise to me this moment, and I will marry you and save your reputation. You have no other hope now."

With a cry of war, Lydia advanced upon him, not waiting for the seconds to negotiate, nor to even call out any instructions. Ramsey had no choice but to fight back in defence. His friends tried to intervene, but were quickly prevented by Wentworth and the other men.

Lydia advanced upon him again and again, and eventually said in frustration, "I have fought kitchen maids fiercer than you, Mr Ramsey! Fight back!"

Evelyn Ramsey rushed forward and punched Lydia with his fist directly in the middle of her chest. She fell back, crouching, momentarily winded, but as she went down, she sliced hard through the air with her sword, slicing a large wound across his arm.

The gentlemen began swearing in anger and made to restrain Ramsey after his ungentlemanly manoeuvre, but Miss Carmichael prevented them, "Wait! First Blood! Mr Ramsey, do you yield?"

"God's teeth, yes! Get the bloody maniac away from me!" Ramsey shouted, bleeding profusely as the men grabbed him under the arms and dragged him towards his carriage, where the doctor would depart with him and his friends forthwith.

"That was a bloody dishonourable stratagem Ramsey pulled, even had it been against a man," Admiral Croft said in disapproval, as he quickly made his way over to Lydia with his wife and Mrs Wentworth. "Are you hurt, Miss Bennet?"

"I am winded, and I will certainly be bruised, but I will suffer no lasting harm," said Lydia, breathing heavily with her hand to her chest.

"That could have been a fatal blow," said Colonel Brandon, shaking his head, face white at the thought of what might have happened to his sister. "I saw it once, at a boxing match in India when I was in Her Majesty's service. The man who was struck just dropped dead. The doctor said the blow stopped his heart. The soldier who threw the punch was hanged. It put an end to pugilism in our ranks."

"Oh Lydia, you could have been killed!" cried Kitty.

Lydia shook her head. "He does not hit that hard," she laughed.

She was about to return to her carriage when a constable approached. "Begging your pardon, ladies and gents. I am sure there must be some mistake, but there has been a report of duelling in the park. You folks wouldn't be in the way of knowing anything about that, would you?"

"Preposterous!" barked Mrs Croft, followed by a throaty laugh that was echoed by all of the ladies.

"Does this look like a duel, constable?" Lydia asked the law man.

"Well I wouldn't rightly know, Miss. I've never seen one meself. I do note there are swords present, but there are also ladies present, and I never heard of ladies attending a duel," he said apologetically.

"Well, as you can see, we are not duelling. I am Miss Bennet, the editor of Mode magazine. Miss Carmichael here and I are performing a demonstration of ladies duelling for these women and their husbands, who may be interested in investing in or attending a lady's fencing club. There shall be an editorial on the subject in Mode," Lydia responded politely.

"A lady's fencing club, you say? Do not tell me wife about that, please, miss. That would be all I need. I am very interested to see that," he said, obviously not disbelieving them, but not inclined to leave either, when there was such an entertaining spectacle to be seen.

Lydia and Miss Carmichael smiled at one another as they took their places and began fighting with a great deal less zeal than Lydia had displayed earlier. They circled one another, making more noise than anything else, but after Miss Carmichael had jumped up onto a bench and made an impressive flip, the man was properly impressed, and clapped and cheered with the ladies and gentlemen present. He then took his leave, wishing Miss Carmichael luck with her new school.

"It's a pity that the school was not real," murmured Mrs Croft to her sister-in-law. "That would make for stimulating exercise."

"I have not suffered for stimulating exercise since my husband retired from the navy, Mrs Croft, and nor have you!" laughed Anne Wentworth. "So much so, that I will be quite unfit for such exertions as fencing for some months!" The ladies all exclaimed and congratulated Mrs Wentworth on her news as the carriage left the women at their townhouse and returned to Grosvenor Street.

*****

Aunt and Uncle Gardiner were just coming downstairs for breakfast, and were shocked to learn that their nieces had left in the night, and were now returning in high spirits with their husbands following on horseback.

"Whatever have you girls been doing?" Aunt Madeleine asked, as her nieces took seats around the table as their husbands went to make their plates.

"Watching Lydia duel in the park," Mary giggled as she unfolded her napkin.

"Watching Lyd-" Aunt Madeleine started, and then sighed in amusement. "Lydia Bennet, the men were supposed to be duelling, not you! What have you done!"

The younger ladies all began to laugh hilariously, and their husbands joined them, for they could not make the Gardiner's believe the tale if they tried. Still, they tried, as they talked over one another and every so often, Aunt Madeleine would gasp, "No!" or Uncle Gardiner would boom, "Lydia Bennet! You will be the death of me!"

After breakfast, her sisters went home with their husbands, but Lydia could not go to her empty bed thinking of how empty it would remain just then, so when she had returned to her rooms and bathed, Lydia dressed and called for her carriage. She was in her office by eleven, informed Cora that she was not to be disturbed by anyone, and she worked tirelessly for some hours, until somewhere near teatime, Theodora, who did not fall under the category of anyone , sailed into the room exuberantly.

"Darling! You are famous!" she cried.

"I am certain you mean infamous , how bad is it, Theodora?" Lydia begged.

"My dear Lydia, you underestimate your influence in society. Women adore you! They want you to be a heroine, and so a heroine you are!" her friend assured her. "Mr Ramsey's friends could not wait to share his dishonour with everyone at the gentlemen's' clubs! It is being said that he will never work in London again after such behaviour, he will have to return to New York, he has ruined his reputation as a gentleman here. It is bad enough to break the rules of gentlemanly conduct in a duel, but to do so to a lady! It was all over town by noon! All of it!

"The ladies of society are simply enthralled by your defending your own honour, and refusing to allow yourself to be fought over! The gentleman all say that if Ramsey had any skill or honour at all, he should have been able to engage in a fair sword fight with a lady, and even win respectably without resorting to such measures.

"It is being spoken of and confessed in drawing rooms all over London, that you and your sisters are hardly the only women to engage in such exercise as fencing. A number of other high-ranking women have admitted to enjoying the sport in the privacy of their homes, and matrons and debutantes alike are already scrambling to find fencing masters! What a triumph!"

*****

Dorian Goulding left the park and did not return. Wentworth and Croft would retrieve his sword. He could not believe how unbearably stupid he had been. He tried to follow his logic of the last twenty-four hours, but it was like recalling the haze of bloodlust after battle. Ramsey had moved to insult Dorian, and take what was his. Except that Lydia was not his yet, and he had no business behaving as he had. He knew Lydia's disposition well enough to know she would never forgive him.

He made the attempt, anyway, and was firmly refused at Gardiner House, Darcy House, and Mr and Mrs Brandon's house across town. He called at Patterson Publishing but was stopped at the door by two giant door men who were clearly on the lookout for him. A week after the duel, Pemberley House was opened; obviously Lord and Lady Darcy had come to help minimise any damage to Lydia's reputation if necessary. He recalled how determined the Darcys had been to remain in the county for the entirety of their mourning, even missing the ball of Lydia's lifetime out of respect for Lady Rose, and felt exceedingly guilty. He called there, hoping there might be something Lord Darcy could do to help him, but was turned away from Pemberley House as well. He felt an overwhelming urge to flee to Haye Park and drown himself in brandy, but decided it was too pathetic.

Elizabeth had returned to London to support her sister, though she learned quickly, that for as grown up as she had thought Lydia had been before, she had well and truly matured now. Lydia was perfectly self-possessed, showing not the slightest regret for her loss, and Elizabeth and her sisters were aching for her. They all knew, because they were all in each other's confidence, how much she had wanted a future with Dorian, and they had all been overjoyed when it seemed that it would happen. Now, Lydia avoided the topic entirely, and to Elizabeth's surprise, Lydia did not rush to join their family at Pemberley House, electing to remain with her aunt and uncle, who assured their youngest niece that it was no trouble, and that they were happy for her to remain. Lydia was speaking of purchasing a brand-new townhouse near St James to live in alone, but the family were attempting to discourage her.

Dorian had no one to turn to for friendship except the Wentworths and the Crofts, but even in their presence he felt wretched, and avoided their company, drowning himself in his studies rather than drink. Mr Carter was the only other friend he had in town, and he was not even his friend, he was a funny and curmudgeonly old man who taught him Greek, and asked too many impertinent questions. He was certain the elderly man knew what had happened by now, the debacle had been in the gossip columns all week.

The day after their missed lesson, Mr Carter received a note from Lydia apologising for her absence and requesting to move only her appointment to Friday. He sent a reply with his agreement, and when Dorian showed up the following Wednesday, the elderly man boxed his ears upon the younger man's entry to the parlour. "You damned fool, what have you done?" Mr Carter demanded. Dorian, looking like he had not slept in weeks, sat down in mortification with his ears ringing and wept right in front of his teacher.

On Friday, when Lydia entered Mr Carter's parlour, she looked at him and said very directly, "If you speak of him, I will leave." Heart sinking, Mr Carter agreed, and turned the subject to Greek, because he could see Miss Bennet was incredibly serious, and he did not wish for her to leave and not return, for then he might not be able to persuade her later.

*****

Weeks passed, September turned to October, and October to November. Lydia refused to be drawn in whenever Dorian was mentioned in her presence, and so the family learned to avoid the subject. Instead, she threw herself into her work, only attending the society events that she must for the magazine, and spending her days and the rest of her evenings in her office. The editorial on fencing clubs for ladies debuted, and Elizabeth, inspired by Miss Carmichael's loyalty to her family, and pleased that Miss Carmichael had stuck by Lydia throughout her ordeal, made an investment with several other ladies, including Lydia, in a fencing club for women, with Miss Carmichael to run it. A senior housemaid who was a devoted protege of Miss Carmichael, and had spent years learning from her, was promoted by Elizabeth to take her place in the household.

Mrs Bennet made one of her rare visits to London in November, while her husband was commissioned for a portrait. Since she was staying with Mr and Mrs Gardiner, she had all of the liberty in the world to torment Lydia about the subject endlessly, uncaring when Lydia got up and left a room, because she would only follow her throughout the house. Lydia was getting old, and she must not throw away this chance at marriage. Mrs Bennet demanded that Lydia would call the man back. Lydia responded by packing her trunks and turning up upon Theodora Patterson's doorstep, begging for a room until she could purchase her own house.

Theodora, who liked Dorian well enough, but never believed Lydia should get married in the first place, took in Lydia without a qualm, but she did have concerns about Lydia's well-being, for she had not looked well in some weeks. After Lydia was installed in her best guest room, Theodora sat down with her and said, "Lydia, I hesitate to force a topic upon you that has sent you fleeing from your family, but we do need to speak about Sir Dorian, and the effect this is having upon you."

"I am fine, Theodora," Lydia said irritably.

"No you are not fine, you look perfectly wretched, which is not the current Mode at all. You have suffered until you look positively ill."

"I can still go take rooms in a hotel, Theodora," Lydia warned.

"Lydia, even you can only grow so notorious without it posing a serious problem to your reputation. Living alone in a hotel would hardly help your standing in society. Right now, you have a reputation for looking as if you are wasting away from consumption. People are going to accuse me of overwork."

"I want to be working!" Lydia shouted.

"Of course you do, it is the only means you possess to take your mind off of it, except that it does not work, does it? I can see that it does not.

"What would you know about it?" sneered Lydia.

"Everything," Theodora stated simply. When Lydia raised an eyebrow in disbelief, Theodora continued, "You thought I was unmarried because I am an overworking, man hating feminist?" When Lydia nodded, Theodora laughed.

"What happened?" asked Lydia.

"He did something incredibly stupid, and I was offended, and would not forgive him when he wished me to. He went away, and later married, and had children. I am obliged to see him and his family in society occasionally." Theodora smiled. "I always thought we had more time. I thought I had more time. I thought he would keep coming back, or keep pining for me as I did for him. Men do not remain loyal for as long as women do when all hope has gone. They move on."

Lydia said nothing, but sat numbly as her friend looked at her. "Lydia, I would not insist on having this conversation if I thought you did not care to be married. If I believed you did not wish to be married, I would be thrilled that you are one of the women who does not need a man, and I would support you wholeheartedly. But you are not that woman. You wanted not only to be married, you wanted him and he wanted you. It was as plain as day."

"Theodora, he made me infamous! In the middle of Regent Street, in broad daylight, and then again, the following morning at Hyde Park. I would sooner wed an ape from the Royal Menagerie."

"And you would do far better with an ape, I assure you," Theodora agreed, "But you are not in love with an ape, you are in love with Sir Dorian Goulding, which is worse. But your heart chose him, dear. I am quite certain you've taught him never to be so stupid again. And besides, where would you find another man willing to put up with Mode ?"

"The secret is to wed a scholar and get a skilled housekeeper and cook. Scholars are too busy studying to notice you're gone as long as the meals are served on time," Lydia jested. "I will consider what you've said, Theodora."

"Please do, and please also start eating each day, leaving the office by four o'clock, and getting some sun on your face," Theodora insisted. "You, my dear, are setting a fashion for ladies to resemble corpses."

*****

Dorian was also looking terribly ill. He did nothing but read and study, escaping into his books, and while he was not as bad as some gentleman might be in his state, he still drank more than was good for him. Thankfully not beyond all control. Mr Carter had watched Dorian and Lydia grow more and more desolate with each passing week, and decided that he had seen enough. Darcy would have his head for what he was planning to do, but then again, if his sister's happiness was paramount to him, perhaps Darcy would thank him. He sent Dorian a message that his schedule had changed, and asked if he could come on Friday, about half an hour before Miss Bennet was expected. Then he gave Edna the entire day off. She would leave him a great deal of cooked provisions, and return the following day after visiting her sister.

When Dorian arrived, Mr Carter let him in and said, "Edna's unwell. See yourself to the parlour, boy."

The two of them worked on translations in the parlour until the bell rang again some twenty-five minutes later. Mr Carter bade him stay, then rose to go to the door. He let Miss Bennet in, followed her to the parlour, and once she stepped in and saw Dorian, who was staring open mouthed at the doorway, she heard the door close sharply behind her, followed by the key turning in the lock.

"Mr Carter! How dare you, sir! Open this door immediately!" she shouted.

"I have had enough of watching the two of you waste away on this silliness!" Mr Carter barked from the other side of the door. "You cannot break the door down, it opens inward! You have until Edna comes home tomorrow morning to settle your differences! I am going to visit a friend. You have the house to yourselves. There is a chamber pot behind the screen!"

"Mr Carter, come back here! Mr Carter!" Lydia shouted, rattling the doorknob violently.

They heard him walking away, then some minutes later the front door opened and slammed. Lydia spun away from the door and moved as far away from Dorian as she could, sitting down at the table, and putting her head in her hands. Dorian shook the doorknob, and went about the room, checking the window, which was painted shut, slamming things and swearing. Lydia obviously did not wish to see him, so he did not speak. He simply sat in a chair and waited for Mr Carter to come back. He wanted desperately to speak to Lydia, but he would be damned if he forced his conversation upon her. Perhaps she would get bored and decide to chastise him for his behaviour after a while. At least then he could argue in his defence, which was really only to acknowledge his own wrongdoing and stupidity, and beg her forgiveness.

Three and a half hours passed in this manner, with either of them barely moving, barely breathing. Dorian was in absolute agony, but Lydia had yet to even look at him since she sat down. Finally, he caved in first.

"Lydia," he began, but she sharply held up her hand for him to stop, then closed her fingers and thumb, as if to mime closing his mouth.

Two more hours passed before he finally could take it no longer and burst out, "God's teeth, will you not say something !"

Lydia still said nothing for a few long moments, when she finally spoke, "I wish I knew why my servants have not come searching for me."

"I had not thought about that, Jemima did not even come inside with you today," Dorian noted.

"I do not take her everywhere anymore. I do not have you escorting me, and I spend the whole day at my office now, so there is less need for her to accompany me everywhere. I am often accompanied by Cora when I am working, so there is no need for Jemima to go to work with me," Lydia said.

"But what about John? Or your groom Jack? I cannot imagine they would just abandon you here!" He paused. "I wonder if he paid them off somehow."

"They would never take money. He could wave a hundred pounds in their face, and they would laugh at him. They are paid and treated too well for that." Now Lydia paused. "If we did learn there was money involved, my sister would ruin them both."

"I cannot imagine them doing that," Dorian said, shaking his head. "It is getting late. When will your family look for you?"

"Never, if, as I suspect, my brother Darcy is involved. Only he or Elizabeth might have the power to intimidate my staff. Theodora will notice before it gets much later, in any case."

*****

Mr Carter had indeed involved Darcy. The moment he had left his house, he went to Lydia's carriage and said, "Take me to Darcy House, immediately!"

"When John and Jack both expressed doubt about this demand, certain they would both be sacked if Lydia did not give the order, the old man said demandingly, "Hurry up man! Miss Bennet has a headache, and I am to go to Darcy House for her sister. She is laying down inside, and my maid is looking after her!"

The two men scrambled into action, helping Mr Carter into the carriage, conveying him to Darcy House, where he was announced to the study by the butler. Once seated, Mr Carter confessed his crime to Darcy, who laughed out loud.

"Well my old friend, I will not expose you just now, so I suppose I shall sink or swim with you later. Sir Dorian would never harm Lydia, she is quite safe with him. She will be angrier than any woman I ever saw when she leaves your house if they do not make up, but considering the looks I have seen her in recently, I believe it is best that the two of them have it out. They may not make up, but if not, at least perhaps they can put it to bed and move on." He sent the butler to have Lydia's servants put away her carriage and horses and plan to stay the night. Then in a rare fit of untruthfulness, he told his sister's servants that a message had been sent to Mrs Darcy at Darcy House where she was visiting her other sister, and that she would go to Lydia from there. He then returned to the study and grinned at his friend, "Carter, your methods are always so direct ."

*****

Back in Mr Carter's parlour, Dorian was attempting to draw Lydia into conversation. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Perfectly well, thank you," Lydia replied, not meeting his eye.

"Liar," he accused, raising a brow at her.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Lydia, you look just as dreadful as I do. Have you been sleeping at all?"

"Not really," she admitted with a sigh. "It is all your fault!"

"It is," he agreed, attempting to take her hand, which she did not allow, slapping his wrist as he did so. "Will you not forgive me?"

"Just like that!" Lydia shrieked. She looked at him as if he were a complete madman. "Just like that?" she scoffed, shaking her head.

"It can be that easy if you want it to be," he said softly in reply. "It is only hard because you insist that it must be so." Lydia turned her head away and he continued, "Lydia, I know I was wrong. I was entirely wrong."

"You humiliated me in the street, as if I were a common trollop!" she cried in distress. "If I were to let you get away with it, what dreadful behaviour might you display next?"

"Lydia, I do not even remember doing it. All I remember was Ramsey insulting me, and behaving as he had the right to take you from me. I saw red, and I acted in a way I cannot account for, but I have never regretted anything more in my life.

"I have been so alone since we parted," he said softly as he took her hand in his and this time, she hesitantly allowed it. "I know it is different for you, you have such a wonderful family. For a time, I felt like I was a part of it. I have no one but Ella, and I have not written to her, for I know she will be as disappointed in me as I am with myself. I wish you knew how friendless I have felt."

She turned her head away and he heard a small sob, "Lydia?" he asked, her very name a question on his lips, and suddenly she was in his arms, sobbing about how she could not confide in her sisters, they did not understand, and then her mother had turned up, and she had not even the sanctuary of Aunt Gardiner's house anymore, and she had ended up staying with Theodora.

"You are living with Theodora?" he laughed. "I am amazed she let you out so that we could find one another again. She makes no secret that she does not wish for you to marry."

"She was actually quite supportive of me forgiving you. She is a much more sympathetic figure than you imagine. I think she is truly a kindred spirit," Lydia laughed.

"Will you forgive me, Lydia?" he asked, as she nodded and smiled. "And you'll marry me? I think we've waited and been separated long enough."

She sniffled and nodded again, but said, "Ask me again properly tomorrow, would you? I would like to say yes when my nose is not red and stuffed from crying."

"I will be sure to do that," he promised. He stood, went over to the door, pulled out his pocketknife and pried the hinges off, then took the door right off of its frame.

"You devil!" Lydia screeched. "You knew how to get out this entire time!"

"Lydia, I have been waiting for two months to speak with you. Did you think I would allow you to escape me so easily?"