Jump to new as of November 20, 2001
Chapter 1
Elizabeth put on her boots, bonnet, and coat and hastily made her way towards the front door of Longbourn.
She could not bear it anymore. 'It' being Mrs Bennet's constant outbursts and exclamations of joy at her youngest daughter's imminent marriage.
All Elizabeth's mother could presently do was congratulate herself on having a daughter married (even though it had begun with a scandalous elopement), praise Lydia and make known her wish that her elder daughters follow her example.
Lydia was to be married tomorrow to Mr Wickham, who had persuaded her to elope with him and Lydia being the naïve, silly girl that she was had agreed. She had agreed without the smallest thought about the shame she would bring upon her family, but Mrs Bennet now overlooked this without a second thought.
This was one of many things that angered Elizabeth at the present. Jane bore it well as she always did, attending to her mother and attempting to control her outbursts, even though she was still suffering from the pain of her love for Mr Bingley. But Elizabeth was of a different disposition, one that could not cope with being shut indoors and listening to her mother for extensive periods of time so she left the house, and as soon as she was too far away to be seen by her family or onlookers, she ran.
She decided to make her way up to Oakham Mount and slowed down her pace to a leisurely walk. Elizabeth was angry, not just with her mother but with Lydia herself.
Stupid Lydia, who had brought ruin on the family, destroyed all her sister's chances of making good marriages, and condemned herself to what would surely be a miserable life. After all how could she be happy with a gambler and an adulterer, as he surely would become, for a husband?
No one would solicit the Bennets' society now after the disgrace brought upon them, that had been made very clear by one individual.
Mr Darcy had been so kind and attentive to her while she had been in Derbyshire. She truly believed he was still in love with her and maybe would have declared himself but what hope was there now? He would have to call the very man he detests most in the world his brother-in-law, not to mention the effect it would have in society if his wife's sister had eloped.
It almost broke Elizabeth's heart when he left her that morning in the Lambton Inn and as she reached the mount and sat down on a tree stump, a tear ran down her cheek.
Elizabeth did not know why she had chosen to walk there until she looked down at the view the mount provided. Before her she saw the grounds of Netherfield, in fact the same place where she first saw Mr Darcy, on his horse racing Mr Bingley towards the house.
Another tear slowly ran down Elizabeth cheek and then she heard a twig snap behind her. She turned around to she who was there but there was no one. Suddenly a hand came over Elizabeth's mouth and everything went black.
Chapter 2
London
Darcy awoke with a severe headache, one that had been with him for the past week or so. Today he would once again have to face Wickham, the bane of his existence. Darcy felt he could not seem to do anything without it being ruined by the companion of his childhood.
First Georgiana, his younger sister. Darcy shuddered to think of what might have happened if he had not arrived in Ramsgate when he did. To think that Wickham could have married Georgiana, disgraced her, escaped with her fortune, and left her even more emotionally shattered was almost too much to bear.
Secondly Elizabeth. Darcy had no doubt that she would never have eloped with Wickham, after all she was a mature young woman who would have known the consequences, knew the consequences of such actions. However, Wickham had originally befriended her, made her believe him instead of Darcy. She knew the truth now of course, but it still hurt.
Finally Lydia, Elizabeth's youngest sister. She was a silly, immature girl who had been indulged by her mother to the extent that she thought there was nothing wrong in eloping with an officer and behaving abominably in public. Sometimes Darcy had to remember why he was doing all of this, he cared not for Lydia, she probably deserved Wickham, but then he would always think of that morning in the Lambton Inn.
To see Elizabeth in such despair and torment and actually blaming herself was something Darcy just could not cope with. He secretly vowed to himself before he left the Inn that he would do everything he could to ease her suffering and that was why he was here in London organising a wedding that most people would take no pleasure in.
After dressing Darcy breakfasted alone in the dining room and then set off towards Wickham's lodgings. He passed through crowded streets of poor children begging for money and anything else. The smell was putrid and the language the people around him were using is hardly suitable for reading. He handed a young girl a ha'penny as she was obviously not being given as much as the other children. He turned round a corner and knocked on the door. An old woman appeared, the same one Darcy saw every time he had been there but she seemed unusually surprised to see him.
"I have come to speak to Mr Wickham, can I find him in his rooms?"
The woman's look of surprise on her face became even more apparent.
"But he is not here Sir!"
"This is where he has been staying is it not?"
"Yes Sir, but he left yesterday evening. Told me you'd said he could stay with you until the wedding. Took all his belongings and left. I hope there's not a problem Sir."
As she was saying this a look of sudden shock and understanding came across Darcy's features; he turned red with anger and then pale with contempt at Wickham. He said not a word more to the old woman, who by now was looking quite anxious, and set off for the Gardiners' home in Gracechurch Street.
Longbourn
Elizabeth had been out for three hours and Jane was becoming very worried. Even though Elizabeth loved the countryside, she had not left the house in the best of moods and it would be getting dark soon. Jane decided she could sit around waiting no longer and went to her father's library.
"Papa".
"Ah Jane it is most unusual for you to be visiting my library, I thought it might have been Lizzy knocking. You know how we enjoy our little laughs at the ridiculous, and witty spars!"
"Actually Papa, Lizzy is the reason I came to talk to you. She went for a walk this afternoon but has not yet returned and it is getting dark outside."
"How long has she been out for Jane?"
"A little more than three hours, which in itself is not unusual but considering the weather I think she would have come back by now."
Mr Bennet pondered this for a moment and then said...
"I think I shall go out and look for her. You stay here in case she comes home. Do you know where she was planning to walk to?"
"I confess Papa I do not but it might be wise to go in the direction of Oakham Mount, that is one of her favourite haunts."
"Thank you Jane I shall", and then as he left the room, "Oh Jane, I think it best not to mention this to your mother or sisters at the present, after all she'll probably be back soon".
To this Jane nodded her assent but all the while she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Mr Bennet mounted his horse (a thing he did rarely) and started to go in the direction towards of the mount. Oh my dear girl he thought I will arrive home to find you in the library ready to reprimand me for being silly enough to worry about you.
As he neared the mount he thought he spotted something on the ground. He dismounted and walked towards it. On closer examination he discovered what it was and then he said in a broken voice...
"Oh God no!"
Chapter 3
London
Darcy made his way to Gracechurch Street with a medley of emotions in his head. He was shocked but then again not surprised. This was just the type of thing that Wickham would do and he should have suspected it. How could he have let Wickham slip through his grasp when he was so close to being out of his life and unable to disgrace any other young girl? He should have been married to Lydia Bennet tomorrow and then sent to the north of the country in Col. _______ regiment. No one he cared about should have had to deal with him again.
Now he had to face the Gardiners and tell them Wickham had vanished. It would not be an easy task, especially with Lydia there.
Darcy knocked on the oak-panelled door of the Gardiners' home and was admitted by the housekeeper who showed him into the drawing room. He waited patiently for a few minutes until Mr and Mrs Gardiner appeared.
"Mr Darcy, what a pleasant surprise! We did not expect you until this evening. Pray what brings you here at this time of day?" exclaimed Mr Gardiner.
"Unfortunately nothing of great pleasure Sir. I went to call upon Mr Wickham about half an hour ago, only to find that he is no longer in residence at what we knew as his lodgings. In short, he appears to have fled London in order to avoid marriage to your niece and I have absolutely no idea where he has gone."
As Darcy said this Mr and Mrs Gardiner's faces turned grave and their brains immediately realised the consequences of Wickham's actions.
Darcy continued, "Of course I will make more enquiries throughout London today. There is bound to be someone able to give information about his whereabouts and movements, for a price."
To this Mrs Gardiner replied, "Mr Darcy we cannot allow you to pay out more money to try and help our family, indeed we owe you so much already".
"Please do not think of it. I believe we have already had a discussion about my finances which would be pointless repeating. I think I must take my leave now. "
"I shall accompany you Mr Darcy," said Mr Gardiner
"Good day to you Madam. I hope the next time we meet I will have something positive to say to you."
"Good day Mr Darcy. Will you still be our guest for dinner this evening?"
"I would be honoured Madam."
With this the two gentlemen departed from Gracechurch Street and the undesirable task of informing Lydia of her fiancé's disappearance fell to Mrs Gardiner.
Longbourn - Oakham Mount
As he neared the mount he thought he spotted something on the ground. He dismounted and walked towards it. On closer examination he discovered what it was and then he said in a broken voice...
"Oh God no!"
Mr Bennet knelt down and picked up the blood-stained bonnet from the ground. It was definitely Elizabeth's, for she had embroidered her initials on the inside of the rim to prevent one of her younger sisters claiming it. He pressed it to his chest and cried, "Not Lizzy! Please God not Lizzy!"
When he had picked up the bonnet, a slip of paper had fallen out of it and Mr Bennet only just noticed this. It was written in a very untidy hand and contained information of an alarming nature.
Your daughter Elizabeth has gone on a little excursion to an unknown destination. She will return unharmed if my demands are met with, but if they are not you will never see your daughter again and who knows what might become of her considering my present mental state?
I want 6000 pounds in addition to my expenses being paid to enable me to leave the country. I want this by the end of the week and no one else must be involved except your family. More details will follow.
To the Bennet family,
The letter was unsigned. Mr Bennet, who was by now in a state of shock, picked up the note and the bonnet, mounted his horse and galloped back to Longbourn as quick as his poor horse could carry him.
Unknown location
Elizabeth awoke to find herself in a darkened room that was unfamiliar to her and she had no idea how she had got there. There was hardly any furniture apart from a table and chair in the corner and a mattress by her left-hand side. The curtains were closed, preventing any light entering the room and there was one burning candle on the table.
Elizabeth found she had a headache and reached up to rub her temples with her hands, that had somehow been tied together. She realised that her feet were also attached by a length of rope and she had a lump on the back of her head that was tender to the touch. Because of this she concluded that she must have hit it on something. She examined her surroundings and tried to imagine where in the world she could be. The last thing Elizabeth could recollect was that she had walked up to Oakham Mount, but then her mind drew a blank.
Suddenly the door opened and a tall, dark, male figure appeared. He slowly stepped into the room and finally positioned himself in front of Elizabeth. Light shone in through a small gap in the curtain, revealing his identity. Elizabeth was silent for a moment and then exclaimed with disbelief, "Captain Denny!"