Beginning, Section II
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Chapter 17
Darcy and Bingley quickly excused themselves, and departed. Mr. Bennet barely seemed to notice. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner disappeared into the latter's study to discuss how best to proceed with the search, leaving Mrs. Gardiner, Jane and Elizabeth to try to make sense of what they had just heard. Jane insisted that there must be some misunderstanding, that surely they had taken a little used route to Scotland, or meant to be married privately in town. Elizabeth could not share her sister's optimism, pointing out how small Lydia's portion was, and how unlikely it was the Mr. Wickham should marry on so slight a temptation.
Over the course of the next few days, the details of the elopement began to emerge. Mr. Bennet showed them the letter which Col. Forster had given him, which Lydia had left for Mrs. Forster. They learned the Mr. Wickham had left substantial debts behind him in Brighton, including debts of honor, amounting to over a thousand pounds. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner combed the city, looking for any trace of the couple, but there was none to be found.
Mr. Bingley called the next day, doing his best to comfort Jane, and offering to assist the family in any way that he could. Elizabeth was greatly relieved that he still wished to connect himself with the family, despite their present disgrace. Rather awkwardly, Bingley made excuses for his friend, saying Darcy had pressing business to attend to. Elizabeth immediately knew how to understand it. Surely he must be congratulating himself on his escape. Had she felt less wretched, Elizabeth might have laughed at the irony of the situation. She had finally managed to realize that she loved Mr. Darcy, but it was all too late. Her father, who had rejected Mr. Darcy's suit, was now desperately trying to find Darcy's sworn enemy, one of the most worthless men in England, and force him to marry his daughter.
Over the next few days, Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner continued their fruitless search for Lydia and Wickham. During a private moment, Mr. Bennet told Elizabeth that Mrs. Bennet had mentioned that Elizabeth had tried to persuade her not to allow Kitty to go to Brighton. "This shows some foresight on your part," he said, adding "I only wish I had been well enough that I might have overruled your mother's decision. It seems my illness has lead to more than one unfortunate occurrence." Seeing the pained look on Elizabeth's face at his reference to her engagement, Mr. Bennet added with a laugh, "well, it appears some good has come out of this business with Lydia. I dare say we shall see no more of Mr. Darcy." Elizabeth turned away to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
Finally, Mr. Bennet decided to return to Longbourn, as he put it, "before Kitty decides to run away." Jane and Elizabeth accompanied him back to Hertfordshire. The situation that greeted them at Longbourn did little to cheer them. Mrs. Bennet was confined to her room, complaining of her nerves, and Mary and Kitty had contributed but little to keeping the household running in an orderly fashion.
Chapter 18
Shortly after their return to Longbourn, Mr. Bennet received a letter from Mr. Gardiner, telling him that the young couple had been found. They were not married, but soon would be, if Mr. Bennet agreed to the terms outlined in the letter, which were not at all severe. If Mr. Bennet agreed, Lydia was to be married from Gracechurch Street as soon as a license could be procured. Jane, of course was very glad, and assured the others that Mr. Wickham's financial situation must not be so very bad as they had assumed. Mr. Bennet, however, concluded that it must be Mr. Gardiner's doing, and wondered how he was to repay him. In the space of a few minutes, Mrs. Bennet went from the blackest despair, to joy at the prospect of having two daughters soon to be married.
Mr. Bennet had at first insisted that the couple not be invited to Longbourn, but he eventually relented, and Mr. and Mrs. Wickham stopped off for a week before continuing their journey north to join Mr. Wickham's new regiment at Newcastle. During the course of their visit, Lydia let slip that Mr. Darcy had been at her wedding. Elizabeth was shocked to hear this, and asked Lydia why he had been there, but she said it was supposed to be a secret, and she could not speak of it. Elizabeth immediately wrote to her Aunt Gardiner, asking for an explanation, and received the following reply:
My Dear Niece,I have just received your letter, and shall devote this whole morning to answering it. On the very day you and your father returned home, Mr. Darcy called here. He came to tell your uncle that he had found out where your sister and Mr. Wickham were, and that he had seen and talked to them both. From what I can collect, he was engaged in the search for them almost from the moment he left Gracechurch Street on the night your father arrived.
It seems there is a lady, a Mrs. Younge, who was some time ago governess to Miss Darcy, and was dismissed from her charge on some cause of disapprobation, who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Wickham. She has of late been maintaining herself by letting lodgings, and Mr. Darcy went to her for intelligence. It was two or three days before he could get from her what he wanted. She would not betray her trust, I suppose, without bribery. Having finally secured the direction, he went and saw them. He tried to convince Lydia to quit her disgraceful situation, but she was absolutely resolved on remaining where she was. She was sure she would be married sometime, and it did not much signify when. On questioning Mr. Wickham, Mr. Darcy found that he had no intention of marrying her, and hoped to make his fortune by marriage in some other country. Under the circumstances, however, Mr. Wickham found immediate relief a more tempting prospect, and after much negotiation, everything was settled between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham.
Mr. Darcy then called here, and acquainted us with what had happened. He insisted on bearing the whole expenses himself. The motive he professed was his belief that it was owing to himself that Wickham's worthlessness had not been so well known, as to make it impossible for any young woman of character to love or confide in him. He confessed that he had thought it beneath him to lay his private actions open to the world, and called it his duty to step forward. Your uncle would have readily settled the whole, and they battled it together for some time, which was more than the lady or gentleman concerned deserved, but your uncle was forced to yield.
I hope you do not think your uncle acted wrongly in yielding to Mr. Darcy. He would not have yielded, had you not acquainted me with certain circumstances where yourself and the gentleman were concerned, and had I not felt certain from observing your expression when you looked at him that your feelings had changed.
Will you be angry with me for saying how much I like him? His understanding and opinions all please me. He wants nothing but a little more liveliness, and that, if he marry prudently, his wife may teach him. I do not think your father's blessing will be too hard to procure. He needs only to be assured of your feelings. Perhaps I am wrong, but should your father prove unyielding, I believe your 21st birthday is next month, and I see no reason why a second Miss Bennet should not be married from this house.
I do think, Lizzy, that you must tell Mr. Darcy the truth about your motive in accepting him, and how your feelings have changed. If he loves you as much as I think he does, he will be hurt by it, but he will forgive you.
Yours sincerely, Mrs. M Gardiner
Chapter 19
The day of Jane's wedding soon arrived. Elizabeth was very nervous, for Mr. Darcy was to be his friend's groomsman, and she would see him for first time since the night her father arrived in Gracechurch Street. It was a lovely ceremony, and Jane was a beautiful bride. Elizabeth felt guilty that she could not be happier for her sister's sake, but all she could think was that Mr. Darcy had not said three words to her all day. Finally, the wedding breakfast appeared to be winding down, and Mr. and Mrs. Bingley departed for Netherfield. At the first opportunity, Elizabeth escaped outside to a private corner of the garden, where she could sit and think undisturbed. Her aunt's letter had given her hope, but now she felt her hopes dashed. Startled by the sound of a breaking twig, she looked up.
"May I join you?" Mr. Darcy asked. Elizabeth nodded her approval, and he sat down. They sat for some time in silence, each trying to think how to broach a painful issue. Elizabeth spoke first, thanking him for his role in bringing about Lydia's marriage, explaining how she came to know of it, and begging him to allow her to thank him on behalf of herself and her family. "If you will thank me," he replied, "let it be for yourself alone. That the wish of giving happiness to you might add force to the other inducements which led me on, I shall not attempt to deny. But your family owe me nothing. Much as I respect them, I thought only of you. I did not wish your father to know of my involvement, for I did not want him to think I was attempting to buy his good opinion. But if there were anything at all I could do which would secure his blessing..." The last was said with obvious anguish.
Elizabeth hesitated a moment, marshaling her courage and praying he could forgive her. "Mr. Darcy," she said, "I think my father can be convinced to change his mind, and if he will not, I am willing to marry without his consent. But, there is something I must tell you, something which I know will pain you a great deal. I ask only that you believe me when I say that I love you, and that you listen to everything I have to say before forming an opinion. If when I am done, you want nothing more to do with me, I will perfectly understand." Mr. Darcy protested that there was nothing which could destroy his regard for her, but he agreed to hear her out.
Elizabeth began at the beginning, telling him how she had resented his slight at the assembly ball, and how that had predisposed her to think ill of him. How she had misinterpreted much of what he said to her in the weeks that followed. How she had considered him proud and disagreeable. How she had assumed that he was always finding fault with her. How she had readily believed Mr. Wickham's lies. How she had suspected him of helping to break up her sister and Bingley. How when he had asked for her hand, she had been ready to refuse him, but had thought of her father's probable death, and had done what seemed to be the prudent thing. How she had regretted her decision when her father recovered. How on learning the truth about Jane and Bingley, and about Wickham, she had thought so much better of him, had seen her own foolishness, had hoped she might come to love him, and had been unable to break the engagement. How her father had questioned her about her feelings, and she had been forced to tell him the truth, resulting in his refusal. How her feelings had gradually changed, and she came to realize that she did love him, but then feared it was too late. How she realized that much as she loved him and wanted to marry him, she had to tell him the truth.
Throughout this speech, Elizabeth watched Darcy's changing expressions with dread. She feared his reaction to her confession, but she knew she could not continue to base their relationship on a lie. After finishing her confession, Elizabeth sat in silence, waiting for Mr. Darcy to make some response, whatever it might be, but he just sat in silence. Finally, she could stand it no longer, and with tears in her eyes, she asked if he thought he ever might be able to forgive her for deceiving him, for being mercenary, and for misjudging him.
Chapter 20
"I do not believe you ever deceived me," Darcy said with sadness. "Until today, you never told me what your feelings were. I was too proud to consider the possibility that your feelings were not what I wanted them to be. As for your poor opinion of me during the early days of our acquaintance," he continued, "I dare say it was deserved, for my behavior, both at the assembly, and later, was unpardonable. Why should you not have believed Wickham? I made no effort to tell you the truth about the history of our acquaintance, and even when I did tell you, I did not give you leave to tell your family. As for your motives in accepting me, I can only say I am glad you did accept me, for whatever reason, for if you had refused me, we might never have met again."
"So," he continued, the question is not whether I can forgive you, but whether you can forgive me for being so proud, and for insulting yourself and your family, especially...." here he looked down in shame "especially the things I said in my proposal to you."
Elizabeth found there were tears in her eyes again, but this time they were tears of joy. "There is nothing for me to forgive," she said. "I do not deserve your goodness." He smiled, and kneeling down, took both of her hands in his. "Can we begin again?" she nodded. "Elizabeth," he said, "I love you, and nothing will ever change that. Will you marry me?" "Yes" she replied. "There is nothing in the world that would make me happier."
As Mrs. Gardiner had predicted, Mr. Bennet's blessing did not prove difficult to obtain. Elizabeth spent nearly an hour in her father's study, explaining her change of heart, her confession to Darcy, and his response to it. When she was done, her father smiled and told her to send her young man in to see him. Darcy entered Mr. Bennet's study with more than a bit of trepidation. Mr. Bennet made no effort to put him at ease, but after watching in amusement as Darcy apologized for his earlier remarks, and very humbly begged for his blessing, Mr. Bennet smiled and shook his hand.
Mrs. Bennet's reaction to her daughter's announcement was about what might be expected. Lady Catherine descended on Netherfield to demand that Darcy call off his engagement, but this he pointedly refused to do. Elizabeth was just as unyielding when Lady Catherine confronted her, and her ladyship never knew how much it pained Elizabeth to hear herself called mercenary.
On a beautiful Autumn day, Elizabeth Bennet finally became Mrs. Darcy. After a brief wedding breakfast, the couple departed on the journey northwards. They arrived at Pemberley late the next afternoon, just as the light was starting to fade. Elizabeth instantly fell in love with her new home, and her husband was bursting with pride as he introduced her to the servants lined up to greet them. For half a year, he had imagined returning to Pemberley with Elizabeth by his side, but he had never imagined just how happy he would be. The following Summer the Gardiners were able to make their long anticipated journey to Derbyshire, and Elizabeth happily welcomed them to her new home.
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