Page 9 of Searching for Elizabeth
Nod.Miss Marywhispered. “Some. Not a lot.”
Darcy shuddered but went on: “I pray that she is safe and healthy.” Nod.
His heart floodingwith relief, Darcy remaineddeterminedto find out what had happened, and to help if he could.Miss Maryseemed to think Elizabeth was not in imminent danger. But not having a lot of food meant that she was not in the home of a friend or relation, did it not?
“MissMary, I came to Longbourn yesterday to call on your sister. I…very much enjoy her company, and I was hoping to get to know her better. Do you think she would consent to my calls, wherever she is?”
“I am notcertain, Mr. Darcy.”Miss Marywas direct and yet polite. Darcy liked that about her. She continued, “I could tell you that she is at Blackthorn Cottage, but that will not help you. It is not on any map, and nobody knows of it other than her and me.”
“She is all alone in this cottage?”
Miss Maryfirmed her lips, as if she was unwilling to answer. Which was answer enough for Darcy. He had to find her. Was she nearby?
“Could you ask her if she will take my calls?” Darcy asked. He watchedMiss Marycarefully and saw that she answered swiftly and easily.
“If I can get away for a few hours, I will,”Miss Marypromised. “But I am often under orders from my mother, so I cannot becertainhow soon I will be able to ask her.”
Darcy was sure, then, that Elizabeth was nearby, no more than an hour or two away by foot.Miss Marydid not seem overly concerned about getting to her, and she had said, tellingly, “for a few hours.”
“And howmightI check with you,” Darcy asked, “to see if you have an answer from Miss Elizabeth?”
Miss Maryflat-out grinned, and Darcy noted thatMiss Marywas not as plain as many people had described her. She said, “I suggest that you callhere at Longbournin the afternoon and ask for me. If my mother thinks you are calling for me, she will make sure we have a few minutes of private time to talk.”
Darcy chuckled. “If I do this, I am pretty sure your mother will be ordering a wedding dress for you and drawing up settlement papers for me.”
MissMarylaughed, too. “You and I will know that it is all for Lizzy.” Then her expression plunged into a dramatic frown. “And I do not care what my mother does or says. She has lost my respect. Likely forever.”
Darcy caught his breath. He was right, then, when he had first thought that Mrs. Bennet was to blame for whatever had driven Elizabeth out of her home.
“I need to know,” Darcy said, “did Miss Elizabeth learn about the warning I gave yesterday? Has she heard about Wickham’s vicious proclivities?”
“Oh, yes; I myself told her all of it, sir.”
He wanted to ask more questions, although he was not sure ifMiss Marywould necessarily answer. But he did not have the opportunity to interview her further, because Miss Mary turned and hastened back into the house.
Chapter 10: Elizabeth
—afternoon—
Elizabeth Bennet wasenjoying every minute of her ramble, but when shecrested a small hill, shesuddenly hadto stop short to avoid runningstraight intoa tenant who knew her quite well. More precisely, she barely managed to avoid running into the almost-grown son of one of Longbourn’s tenants. His name was Bernie Millcroft, and eventhough she was tucked well away within her hood, herecognized her immediately.
“Miss Lizzy!”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Millcroft.” Lizzy thought fast; it was not unusual for her to walk alone, but she was far enough from Longbourn for her location to be unusual, and therefore noteworthy. Actually, given the fact that nobody else in the Bennet family, other than Mary, cared to walk, it was unusual for anyone to see her during her rambles.
She wondered if she should make some excuse.
Before she had a chance to explain her presence so far from Longbourn, Bernie said,“That man called Mr. Darcy asked about you yesterday. Did he ever find you, for that order your mama wanted you to get?”
“Mr. Darcy?”
“Ya, you remember him, right, miss? The one what’s with the other London fellow, up at Netherfield.”
Lizzynodded. “Yes…I have met him.” She smiled at Bernie and said, “I have even danced with him, at the Netherfield ball. But…what did he say when you saw him?”
Bernie turned his gaze upward and said, “Well, he was near the greengrocer, and he said that he had called on your family, and then he had to come get some things in Meryton, and so your mother asked him to let you know she needed something…I do not think he told me what she needed, because we got stuck on the question of whether or not I had seen you, that day.Like, he was trying to find you. Of course, I had not seen you, so I said so.”
“I see,” Lizzy said. Even after Mary’s revelation that Mr. Darcy had called at Longbourn, she was quite astonished to hear that he had been searching for news about her in Meryton. She realized it gave her a very good, very warm feeling; he must surely like her, at least a little, she decided. She said,“No, I never did see Mr. Darcy, and I certainly did not pick up whatever it was my mother requested.”
