Chapter 15

Bedchamber

The Golden Goose

The dark maroon curtains had been drawn over the windows to shut out the night, and half the room lay in shadow. The three candles atop the mantle flickered, and their amber pools of light wavered around their base. The fire burned low and smoldering, emanating heat but little light as the coals glowed red. Lydia, already in bed on her side with her back to the rest of the room, was no more than a hump in the darkness, buried beneath the heavy quilt, bleached to a pale dun in the dimness.

Elizabeth glanced at her sister as she dug her toes into the plush rug spread across the clean polished floor boards. On the far wall sat a door which led into an adjacent sitting room, where Mrs. Greenfield was spending the night on the cot made up for her. No light shone now around the thin gaps of the door, and Elizabeth presumed the older lady had retired to bed. It seemed like an eminently sensible course of action, and one Elizabeth would follow as soon as she tucked her last stray curl into her cap.

Elizabeth blew out the candles and carefully made her way in the darkness toward the bed, whereupon she rolled in and covered herself with the quilt. She was tired after a day of traveling, followed by a rather difficult dinner. The food was excellent, but the news that Commodore Quill had decided to return to Town had resulted in some sarcastic remarks from Mr. Bennet, and stunned silence from Lydia. Elizabeth was grateful to the others at the table, who had managed to maintain a light conversation about dancing, of all things. Sir Christopher, in particular, had been particularly amusing in describing his great difficulty with the waltz when he was first learning it.

Elizabeth heaved out a sigh and gazed toward the dim ceiling above. They had not traveled far this day, but at least they were out of London and on their way to Gretna Green. It would be a long journey requiring many days, but the carriage was pleasant and the company, except for Lydia, even pleasanter.

It was absolutely incredible to her that less than a year ago, she had thought Mr. Darcy to be the very worst of men – haughty, rude, and irritating. So much had happened in the last few months – his proposal, her refusal, his letter which had explained the truth about Wickham, the meeting at Pemberley, Lydia's idiotic elopement with Wickham, and Darcy's assurance that he would solve the problem.

It was wonderful to be in love with a man who did what he said he would, who was hardworking, who was willing to deal with unpleasant people and situations, who assured her of his care and respect, who…

"Lizzy?"

She rolled over to face her sister's back, surprised that the girl was not yet asleep.

"Yes, Lydia?"

"Why did Commodore Quill leave?"

Elizabeth blinked. "I understand that he concluded that you and he will not suit."

Silence fell for a minute, and then Lydia spoke again, and now her voice was a trifle wobbly. "What will happen if no one wishes to marry me?"

In an instant, all of Elizabeth's fears rushed in once more, causing her stomach to twist. If Lydia remained unmarried, the Bennet sisters were ruined, and while Mr. Darcy had indicated his willingness, nay, desire to wed her regardless, could she accept? How would that influence Miss Darcy? How would it affect her own children?

"Lizzy?"

Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath and reached out a hand to pat the lump that was Lydia. "My dear sister, try not to worry about it."

Lydia uncurled from her position so that she lay on her back, facing the ceiling.

"I cannot stop worrying!" she cried, and then lowered her voice a trifle. "I thought that Commodore Quill and I were getting along very well and having a marvelous time conversing, and he spoke of our potential future together, and then suddenly, he said he needed to speak to Mr. Darcy, and the next thing I knew, he was leaving for Town!"

Elizabeth was exhausted, but she asked, "What were the last things you said?"

"Well, I told him that I would not stay with his family in Yorkshire while he is at sea, because it is too far from Town, but that I could stay at Longbourn, and Mamma would be very pleased to have me since I am married, and I could sit in Jane's chair and oh, how wonderful it will be! I will be the first married of all my sisters, and Mamma will be so proud of me, as indeed she ought to be!"

Elizabeth rolled onto her back and cogitated. On the one hand, it seemed pointless to admonish her sister for being arrogant and stupid, since it never did any good. On the other, Lydia was actually asking for insight, so…

"I suspect," she said carefully, "that he was unhappy about your declaration that you will stay at Longbourn and lord your marriage over your sisters. That was boastful and, frankly, unkind to the rest of us."

"Why?" Lydia demanded, obviously in genuine bewilderment. "Mamma wants us to capture a husband more than anything. Anything!"

Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, struggling to maintain her calm. "Yes, Lydia, but if you are married – if – you will have done so due to the kindness and sacrifice of Father, our Uncle Gardiner, and Mr. Darcy. You must know…"

"Mr. Darcy did not help at all!" Lydia hissed angrily. "He is the one who chased away my dear Wickham…"

"The only way Wickham would have married you is if he had been paid off, and he would have been a terrible husband. My dear sister, you seem to have no concept of how much the rest of your family has suffered through your actions. Jane is exhausted. Mamma did not leave her bedchamber for nearly a fortnight in her distress, Father…"

Lydia rolled to face her at these words, causing Elizabeth to break off her speech.

"Why was Mamma distressed? I do not understand. She always wanted me to be married!"

Elizabeth actually ground her teeth in frustration and said in a biting tone, "She wished for you to be married honorably, not run off and have intimate relations with an impoverished and indebted steward's son, who had made it very obvious that he would only marry a woman with a substantial dowry. Truly, you are such a fool sometimes, Lydia!"

To her considerable surprise, along with a certain amount of guilt, the youngest Miss Bennet suddenly started crying noisily. "I did not … oh Lizzy, Mamma is angry with me? I thought … but Wickham is so handsome…"

Elizabeth gritted her teeth in frustration but reached out to draw the younger girl into her arms. It really was not Lydia's fault that she was so na?ve and stupid. And perhaps, possibly, the girl would actually learn something from Quill's departure and Elizabeth's stern words.

/

Jane's Bedchamber

Longbourn

Jane Bennet pulled the covers over her body and sank against her pillow with relief. She was exhausted beyond anything she could ever remember, and she prayed fervently that she would sleep well tonight. That was frankly unlikely, as the last nights had been plagued by unsettling dreams.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Jane moaned. There was no reason for a servant to come and fetch her except that Mrs. Bennet wanted her. Naturally, as the eldest daughter of the house, it was Jane's duty to care for her mother, but the mistress of Longbourn was a most wearying companion with her complaining and fussing.

"Come in!" she called, and the door opened to reveal Kitty, dressed in her night clothes and carrying a candle.

"Oh!" the fourth Miss Bennet said, "I had hoped you were not asleep yet. I am sorry, Jane. I will talk to you tomorrow."

Kitty's voice was trembling, and Jane, for all that she did not want to talk to anyone about anything, found that she could not send her little sister away.

"Come in, Kitty, and climb into bed with me," she instructed. "It is too chilly to be wandering about in bare feet."

Kitty hastily set the candle on a small table next to Jane, and then circled around the foot of the bed and climbed under the covers.

"What is bothering you, my dear sister?" Jane asked.

There was silence for a minute, and then Kitty sobbed, "I am so confused, Jane! Why are Papa and Lizzy and Lydia going to Gretna Green? Why is Mamma still so upset? Isn't Lydia married now?"

Jane bit her lip thoughtfully and then said, "She is not married yet, but she is going north with the man who will be her husband."

"But why go to Gretna Green? I know that Lydia thought she and Mr. Wickham were traveling to Scotland to be married because Lydia is under age and they did not have our father's permission to wed, but if Papa approves of the marriage, why not come here to Longbourn and be married at the church in Meryton?"

This was a surprisingly good question, and Jane took a moment to contemplate what to say.

"I need to tell you a secret, Kitty," she finally said in a quiet voice. "Do you promise to tell no one about this?"

"Not even Mamma?"

"Definitely not Mamma! She cannot hold her tongue, and it would be catastrophic if this were bandied about the community."

Kitty hesitated and then said, "Very well, I promise."

"The truth is that Lydia is not engaged to any man yet. Mr. Darcy has arranged for three fine gentlemen to travel to Scotland with Lydia, and Father, and Lizzy, with the plan that Lydia will pick one of them to marry."

"Lydia has three gentlemen to choose from?!"

"Yes," Jane replied and lowered her voice even further. "Yes, because Mr. Darcy will pay ten thousand pounds to the winning man, which is obviously an enormous sum!"

"Ten thousand pounds? That is … why did Mr. Darcy not give Wickham ten thousand pounds to marry Lydia instead of making our sister wed an entirely unknown man?"

"Because," Jane said sternly, "we know that Wickham is a bad man. There is a Bible verse that keeps coming to mind. ‘For the Lord sees not as man does; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks in the heart.' Wickham is, without a doubt, an incredibly handsome and charming man, but inwardly he is a thief and a scoundrel."

Kitty was silent for a minute and then said, "I am not certain that Lydia really cares what he is like on the inside. She has always wanted to marry a good-looking man in a red coat."

"I am confident she would start caring if he began beating her."

This provoked a gasp, and Kitty started coughing. Jane patted her arm until the cough had gone away, and then continued, "There are no laws to protect a woman from a violent husband, my dear. Keep that in mind about your own future! Far better an ill-favored gentleman with a good temper than a handsome rogue who frequently is in his cups!"

"Lydia has always said that it would be horrible to marry an ugly man," Kitty protested.

"Lydia is a fool," Jane replied plainly, for once not mincing matters. "It is only thanks to Mr. Darcy's great generosity that we will, we hope, be freed from permanent ruin. Now I hope you see why the party went to Scotland; the less our neighbors know about the situation, the better. Lydia will, God willing, return home on the arm of a fine man, and Mamma can show her off to the community. As for Father, while it is true that Lydia could marry in Scotland without his blessing, all three gentlemen in question would not be comfortable with such a thing. They will, as is entirely honorable, wish to ask for our father's blessing before tying themselves to our sister."

There was silence for a moment, and then Kitty said in a subdued tone, "Thank you, Jane. I understand."

"You are welcome."

Silence fell for another five minutes, and then, just as Jane was dropping off to sleep, Kitty whispered, "Do you think that Samuel Lucas is very ugly?"

Jane jerked a little and frowned in the wavering light of the candle. "No, not at all. He is not conventionally handsome, but he is good humored and a diligent young man."

She glanced over in time to see Kitty smile, and the girl said. "Thank you, Jane. I think the same."