Mr Darcy's Mail-Order Bride

by J Dawn King

  “Yes, sir.” Jim Thornton finally took a breath. “She seems a fine woman. Seeing she’s Mrs. Darcy’s sister, I imagine she would make a capable wife and I would be happy if you would allow me to come courting before the other men in town spot her.”

  Wiping his hands over his face, Darcy remembered his earlier words. “I told the girls they could not look for a husband until they are at least thirty.”

  “Then I’m hoping Miss Mary is far older than she looks.”

  Darcy had no other option, and he knew it.

  “You can come to call.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Thornton put his hat back on his head. “I’ll be heading up to Pemberley then.”

  “I imagine you will,” Darcy muttered to the closed door, unsurprised at the man’s haste.

  He walked back to the window and watched Thornton run to the stables. Short minutes passed before he whooped and hollered until his horse was running through the streets of town. Shaking his head slowly, he closed his eyes. When had his life become so difficult? How had they gone from the joy of the morning to where he was chasing his nemesis west to Portland? How in the world had Lydia Bennet come from the same parents as Elizabeth and Jane?

  Moving to the bed, he sat and flopped back on the quilt. He wanted Elizabeth. He needed her.

  Weary to his bones, he sighed.

  Early morning sunlight danced across the glistening water as it flowed steadily towards the sea. Where the road followed the river on its right side, the view across the Columbia to the high bluffs of the Washington territory was a sight Darcy normally enjoyed when he traveled to Portland. Not today.

  The pained expression on Elizabeth’s face when Jim told them the news was what drove him on his journey. On his own, he could care less what happened to either Wickham or Lydia. He despised his former friend and confidently discerned that without the youngest Bennet in the home, they would have peace. But Elizabeth loved her sister—for better or for worse. And this was definitely worse.

  He would attempt to move mountains for his wife, so deep was his love for her. The ache he felt in his chest hadn’t left since he rode away from Pemberley, and he sincerely doubted he would find relief until he was back in the arms of Elizabeth.

  Portland was a bustling city with a population of almost ten thousand permanent residents with hundreds arriving to work in the sawmills and the construction trade from every steam and sailing ship coming into port. Though more than twenty churches dotted the streets in both the residential and business sections, it was the wharves where the gamblers and the lowest of humanity gathered together into a cesspool of immorality that contained the majority of the new arrivals. The demand for housing kept the boarding houses and hotels bursting, so Darcy was unsure where the Wickhams would have ended up staying. He was glad he would bunk with the Fitzwilliams.

  “Bingley, what are you doing here?” Darcy was surprised to see him with his cousin.

  “I knew you would come and knew where you would be staying when you got here.”

  “Does Jane know where you are?”

  “She does. I sent a note as soon as I got to Portland last night.” Bingley explained. “I figured with Richard being a criminal attorney, he would know more about the seedier side of life in the city than you and I would ever know.”

  Richard Fitzwilliam nodded his head. “You two have taken on a difficult task. It’s almost impossible to find someone who didn’t want to be found.”

  “But that’s where you are wrong, Rich.” Darcy took a sip of the coffee he had been provided once they were settled in his cousin’s office. “Any money Bingley gave them will be gone in no time. It would not surprise me at all to find out Wickham attached himself to Lydia because of her connection to all three of us. We will hear from him either when he’s broke or when he’s tired of his new wife’s complaining when she can’t have whatever she desires in the shops.”

  Richard looked to Charles. “What can you tell us about the new Mrs. Wickham?”

  Bingley shook his head slowly. “She is as unalike her two eldest sisters as night is to day. I’ve never met a woman with the sweetness of my wife and the sense of Elizabeth. Lydia possesses neither quality, I’m afraid. She has been indulged by her mother and ignored by her father her whole life, and I found her to be demanding and selfish.”

  “Lord, she sounds like Wickham,” Richard said, rubbing his hand over his face. “A match made in heaven.”

  “Or hell,” Darcy muttered.

  “What’s your plan?” Richard looked to his cousin. “There are about thirty hotels and rooming houses we can search, and who knows how many saloons rent rooms to paying customers.”

  Darcy nodded. “I can’t see Wickham wasting his money on a fancy hotel nor can I see him staying any distance from the waterfront. With the bit of money Charles gave them in his pocket, he’ll want to be where he can attempt to pad his stash.”

  “I think you’re right.” Richard rolled his eyes. “I loathe George Wickham. Seeing firsthand how he preys on innocent young ladies, makes me sick.” Richard looked between the two men. “My last question is: What are you going to do when you find them? By now, they have spent the night together so the marriage can’t be annulled. Divorce is possible, though it would take legislation from the state to get it done.”

  Bingley shrugged his shoulders. “I hadn’t thought that far. All I know is that my wife has to be heartsick with her sister running off like that. Jane’s being with child has tested her physical stamina, and I will not have her upset. I’d love to take that young girl by the ear and knock some sense into her. I’ll do whatever it takes or pay however much it costs to see that girl settled.”

  Darcy chuckled. He’d never seen Charles so worked up—not even when Caroline was at her rudest.

  Both men turned in his direction.

  “Lydia is now Mrs. Wickham. There’s nothing that can be done about their marriage, and I suspect she would fight any attempt to separate her from him.” He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. “Where they go and whatever they do will be together. However, it will not be within an easy journey to Oregon City. Having them stay in Portland is not an option.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Richard asked.

  “They will be offered a one-way ticket back to Baltimore. I will pay for their transportation and give them enough for costs on the way. My bank can wire a lump sum by Western Union to a bank in Baltimore. The only way they can access the account will be to present themselves in person.”

  “They can stay with the Bennets in the small rooming house I rented for them,” Charles volunteered. “And help them out at the same time. Their circumstances were quite dire.”

  “That’s mighty positive of you, Bingley. To be honest, I can’t see them helping anyone but themselves.” Even though Richard said it, Darcy agreed.

  Darcy continued. “I’ll put the money in the name of their uncle, Mr. Gardiner, and Lydia so they both need to sign to remove the funds.”

  Bingley nodded, his head bobbing up and down like a cork on water. “Good idea, Darcy. He’s a trustworthy man.”

  Richard, ever the skeptic, commented, “You always think the best of everyone, Bingley.”

  “This time, he’s correct.” Darcy gave his immediate support. “Everything he said about his nieces proved true. His purchase of the Goulding place was handled honestly with little haggling on his part as he was not trying to get something for nothing. Nor was he attempting to gain advantage from the unfavorable circumstances the Gouldings faced with the death of their only child.”

  “He said my Jane was beautiful and kind, and he’s right. My wife is an angel.”

  “We know.” Both Darcy and Richard spoke at the same time.

  “Then let’s do what we need to do to find them.”

  All three stood, gathered their hats, and walked out the front door.

  Their husbands being gone from Pemberley brought a tension to both Jane and Elizabeth that weighed
them down like an anchor. Pears they had harvested and set in the cold to mature were ready to process, as were the last of the apples that had been waiting for the first frost. Game meat and salmon needed cut up and dried. Their day was filled, but the night… That period when it was time to retire to their beds was by far the hardest.

  Receiving Bingley’s note had comforted them in that their husbands were not alone in their search.

  Obstinate, headstrong Lydia!

  “Why are Will and Charles trying to find Lydia? She’s a married woman now. She can make her own way in the world.” Kitty continued to fail to comprehend the seriousness of her sister’s situation.

  Before Elizabeth could speak, Jane did.

  “When we arrived in Baltimore, it was to find there was no food in the house and Mama and Papa were being forced to leave because they had not paid their expenses. How do you think it made me feel to know you were having to do without the basics of life because Mama would rather have a new ribbon for Lydia and Papa chose not to work?”

  “I have never seen you as angry before.” Mary spoke up. “Never. In fact, I didn’t know you could get that angry.”

  “I was livid, Mary, I will not lie.” Jane laid her hand atop Kitty’s. Her tone was kindly. “Kitty, you need to answer my question.”

  “It was not so bad.” She pulled her hand out from under her sister’s and folded her arms across her chest. “Besides, we aren’t talking about our parents. Lydia wed at sixteen. It’s so romantic!”

  “You liked eating oats fed to horses twice a day? You liked wearing our shoes until there was more holes than soles? You liked your belly rumbling night and day because you were hungry all the time?” Mary’s indignation rose with each question. “Well, I did not. I prayed and prayed for help. Daily, I beseeched God for deliverance. He provided it when Jane and Charles arrived to save us.”

  To Elizabeth, each one of Mary’s questions felt like a blow—one after the other. She was weary and pained to the core. Because of the decisions of her family, the Bingleys were not settling in their home, their husbands were on a mission of mercy where the one they sought to help would treat them with disdain, and with a house full of females, she felt alone.

  “Kitty,” Elizabeth decided it was her turn to try. “What would have happened had Jane not stopped by? What if Mr. Bingley was like Wickham—with no money and no inclination to work?”

  “We would have been tossed to the streets.”

  “Are the winters friendly to the homeless in Baltimore?”

  “No,” Kitty whispered.

  “Why? Why were you in that situation?” Elizabeth’s voice was firm and her eyes never left her sister. Mary kept quiet and even Georgiana, who was also sitting at the table, was still.

  “Because Papa wouldn’t work.”

  “And neither will George Wickham. He is lazy and negligent. He will take Lydia’s innocence and throw her away when he’s through with her or leave her in a room somewhere—alone.”

  “But they have to be in love or they never would have married,” Kitty insisted.

  Jane started laughing. The bitter sound filled the room. “How can you believe that to be true?”

  Finally, help came from an unexpected source. Georgiana touched Kitty’s arm and kept her hand there until Kitty looked up.

  “From experience, I can tell you that neither Jane or Elizabeth are expressing clear enough how vile Mr. Wickham is. He preys on innocent girls and will continue to do so until he attaches himself to someone with money. He lies. He cheats. He steals the hearts of girls and then abandons them so they feel less about themselves, as if they have no value.” She sucked in a breath. “He is evil.”

  From the look on her face it was obvious Kitty was horrified. Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes and traced a path to her chin, where they dropped to her lap. “Oh, poor Lydia.”

  “Yes, poor stupid, stupid Lydia,” Elizabeth embellished.

  “What will happen to her?” Kitty gazed directly at her.

  “I do not know, Kitty. With both men looking for her, they are sure to find her. I suppose it will depend on Lydia, won’t it?”

  “But they can give them money to live on. Will and Charles have plenty.”

  “No!” Both Jane and Elizabeth declared.

  “That will not happen, Kitty,” Elizabeth explained. “Neither Wickham or Lydia understand the value of money. It would flow through their fingers like water. I do not know what Will intends, but I am absolutely certain they will not be returning to Pemberley or Netherfield as a couple, and they will not be supported by us either.”

  “She won’t be coming back? At all?” Kitty’s tears fell faster.

  “I cannot begin to imagine Will allowing it. You see, he wants you, Mary, and Georgiana to have wonderful lives. Happy futures. To bring her back would bring turmoil. Plus, Lydia is unrestrained. How do you think she would speak of her adventure if she was to make her home here again?”

  “She would brag that she’s a married woman and that none of us would ever find a husband as handsome.” Bitterness filled Kitty’s voice.

  “Is that true?” Elizabeth pointedly asked. “Could you ever consider a man attractive who callously fails to care for his wife and family? Would he be handsome when his smiles turn into sneers and his tender words to unfair demands and expectations?”

  Elizabeth was pleased to see all three of her single sisters shaking their head ‘no’. “Then we will accept that whatever our husbands decide will be what is best for all of us. Lydia included.”

  It was a sorry end to an even sorrier day. Before retiring, Jane stayed behind when the other girls went upstairs.

  “I feel bad that we had to be harsh with Kitty. And I feel bad that she was so clueless about the consequences Lydia faces.” She raised her hand when Elizabeth started to speak. “However, I do not feel bad enough to want Lydia back. After the trouble she and Caroline caused all of us, I want neither of them within fifty miles of Oregon City.”

  “Why, Jane,” Elizabeth smiled. “How very Lizzy of you.”

  Her sister snorted into the silence. “I have learned much since leaving our home. We were fairly powerless while on the train and ship. However, I’ve seen the extent my husband is willing to go to so we have a good home for our family. He is a good man, Lizzy. Like me, harsh realities have hit us in the face, and we’ve had to open our eyes so we see how to protect ourselves. Lydia will be faced with a much firmer man than she probably ever could have imagined when next she sees Charles.”

  “And you love him for standing firm, don’t you?” Elizabeth chuckled. For the first time since Jim rode in with the news, the frown was off her face.

  “I do.” Jane sighed, a dreamy look filling her eyes. “I love Charles with my whole heart.”

  Elizabeth felt the same about Will. Yet, she was hesitant to share it with even her most beloved sister. Her feelings felt precious, like she needed to hold them close to her for safe keeping.

  “Oh, poor Mary!” Jane blurted. “All of this discussion about marrying the wrong sort of man has to have unsettled her. I hope she doesn’t allow it to keep her from Mr. Thornton.”

  “Well, maybe it’s not such a bad thing. Will said he’s a fine young man, and I have no reason to disbelieve him. However, there’s no need to rush, is there?” Elizabeth patted Jane’s hand. “We have too much to do to plan a wedding, don’t we?”

  “We do.”

  With much lighter hearts, they went upstairs. As soon as the candles were out and night crept in, the fears returned. It would be another long, lonely night.

  Four days of diligence produced nothing. Darcy had been in more bars than he had in his lifetime and he had no desire to enter another. Bingley had the same result. On the fifth morning, they woke to a pounding on the door. Lydia Wickham had arrived.

  Throwing on his clothing, Darcy arrived downstairs at the same time as Richard and Charles. Lydia had been seated in the parlor, and she lifted her nose in a v
ery Caroline Bingley-like manner.

  “I cannot imagine how you can have a large house like this when Wickham and I can’t seem to find a clean room to rent. Might one of your spare rooms be available?”

  The audacity! The men were struck dumb with her inquiry.

  “Poor Wickham. Had he been given what he deserved, we would already have a house larger than Pemberley to live in with servants to cook and clean for us. As it is, I have had to take on tasks below a woman of my stature.” Lydia rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed. “How droll.”

  Richard found his voice first.

  “Mrs. Wickham, your husband will never be welcomed to my home. Never! Since you are attached to him, you will stay only as long as needed to speak with my cousin and then you, too, will be gone from here.”

  “Well, I never!” Lydia huffed.

  “I imagine not,” Richard whispered loud enough for all to hear.

  “What do you want, Lydia?” Darcy stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “We need money to live on and we need enough to set up a house, buy a wedding ring due a woman of my position, and a horse and carriage so I can make social calls. My husband and I both could do with new clothing, and I insist on a woman to cook and clean.” She didn’t bat an eyelash. “I do believe that is all.”

  “You believe so? Hmmm.” Darcy didn’t flinch as she stated her demands. “Well, Lydia, let me tell you how it will be. Neither you nor Wickham will get one cent from any of us. Your husband is now solely responsible for your care. You need to take your desires up with him.”

  “How could you do that to your wife’s little sister? I thought you loved Lizzy. If you did, you would do anything to keep her from knowing how much I suffer.” The tear appearing in the corner of her eye was clearly forced, a move he had seen more than once from Caroline Bingley.

  “My marriage has nothing to do with yours, Mrs. Wickham. Neither does Bingley’s.”

  Bingley nodded without hesitation.