Page 67 of Elizabeth and Caroline
The servant nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
And then they were off, without any interference from Caroline’s sister or brother-in-law.
When they instructed the driver where they wished to be taken, he was alarmed. But Caroline spoke up again in that same imperious tone, and the driver took them to that part of London.
In the carriage, they discussed how exactly they were going to find this exact boarding house when they only knew Mrs. Younge’s name, and they determined they would simply have to go into these establishments and ask questions. Someone must know of Mrs. Younge and would give them the address of the place.
When the carriage stopped, the footman opened the door and stuck his head in. “Begging your pardon, Mrs. Darcy, and I mean no disrespect, but I think, if the master hears of us having brought you here, he won’t be pleased.”
“You will allow Mrs. Darcy to deal with her own husband,” said Caroline haughtily. “Now, help us down, sir, and stay close. We are going to make some inquiries, and it is likely we shall be back inside in moments with the address of the place we seek.”
But Elizabeth realized something. “You have been employed by the family for some time, have you not? You may have known the woman we are looking for, because she was in the Darcy employ. She was Miss Darcy’s companion before she was dismissed.”
“You are speaking of Mrs. Younge, ma’am?” said the footman.
“Indeed,” said Elizabeth. “We are. You did know her.”
“Well, she did not spend a great deal of time downstairs, of course. She was not a servant in the way we are servants, you understand, but yes, we knew of her. You wish to find her?”
“We do,” said Elizabeth. “My understanding is that she is running a boarding house somewhere in this part of town. You wouldn’t happen to know where that boarding house might be?”
“I don’t,” said the footman. “But one moment. I think Mr. Simmons might know.” Mr. Simmons was the driver. The footman shut the door.
For several moments, Elizabeth and Caroline could hear a muffled conversation between the two men. Then, it ended, and the footman opened the door again. The driver was standing with him. They both poked their heads in.
Mr. Simmons said, “He tells me you’re trying to go to Virginia’s boarding house, is that the way of it? That’s smart, I say. This is to do with Miss Darcy, I assume. I have to say, I wonder that Mr. Darcy didn’t go there himself this morning. It’s the first place to look, really, I think.”
Elizabeth decided not to explain that they didn’t think that Georgiana was there anymore. “Yes, exactly,” she said. “Do you know where it is? Can you take us there?”
“I do know,” said Mr. Simmons. “And I suppose I could, but I wonder if we shouldn’t simply send someone to ride off after Mr. Darcy and tell him to go. Myself and Timothy here—” He nodded at the footman. “We can take you home and go ourselves, make some inquiries. No need for the two of you to set foot in such a place.”
Elizabeth was frustrated. She could see that the servantswere trying to protect her, but she could not simply sit at home, pacing, worrying, not when she must try to do this herself!
Caroline spoke up again, her voice icy. “Your concern is noted, but what Mrs. Darcy would chiefly like in this situation is to be obeyed. Take us to Mrs. Younge’s boarding house immediately.”
Mr. Simmons turned to look at Elizabeth for conformation.
She nodded. “Please, Mr. Simmons.”
He hesitated.
“I do appreciate your concern, of course,” said Elizabeth.
“Do as your mistress commands,” said Caroline severely.
“As you wish, ma’am,” said Mr. Simmons.
The door shut.
The carriage took off again in a moment. They did not travel very long before the door opened again.
The footman was there. “I’m staying with the carriage and the horses, and Mr. Simmons says he insists on accompanying you inside.”
“That’s acceptable,” said Elizabeth. She hoped it would not be too complicated, however, for she had not made the servant aware of the situation with Lydia.
The footman helped them down from the carriage, and Elizabeth looked up at the boarding house, which looked just like any other house, she thought. Not a grand town house like the part of London where she currently lived, but something respectable and clean, unassuming as it sat there on the street.
She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, she supposed. Squalor? Dilapidation?
