Pride And Prejudice, The Sequel

Chapter 11

"Fil will be nursing for the next five years if I don't take it upon myself to wean him. I made a vow before God and men to stand by his side at all times, I have not been doing it off late, I need to start it now. "

"You made no such vow, you only vowed to honour and obey him. "

"And to love and cherish, but he is not here for me to do all that, is he? I need to find him first. "

"Listen Lizzy, you are in no condition to travel... "

"Let me be the judge of that. Pemberly cannot remain without a Darcy, I am leaving you in charge Georgiana, I trust you would take good care of your nieces and nephew, I am going to find my husband."

Georgiana knew better than to argue with Elizabeth once she had had set her mind set to do something. Elizabeth sent her back to London, to inform Edward that they will be leaving the next day for Fishland, and she will be bringing her own carriage.

Jane came by, to try and convince her not to leave, but Elizabeth had already packed enough gowns for four days and a knife to protect herself. Jane shuddered when Elizabeth showed her the small sharp weapon, appalled by the fact that any lady in the world should endeavour to carry a weapon.

"Do you need that Lizzy? "Jane asked in open astonishment.

"Yes. Have you not heard Jane? In Scotland people are not as civilized as we are, that is why people who elope usually go there to get married," Elizabeth said, struggling maintain a serious facade. She knew nothing of civilization in Scotland, but she had to assuage Jane's fears somehow.

Jane nodded her understanding,"Okay, you may carry it then, I shall go get Charles' things ready, he too is determined to leave with you."

Elizabeth had known all along that Bingley would insist on being part of the journey. She was not opposed to the idea either, traveling with two gentlemen was better than one, especially if one of them was a lawyer with tendencies bordering to the annoying side and another a very pleasant well spoken man.

The following day saw Elizabeth and Bingley depart from Pemberly at a very early hour. Elizabeth placed a small kiss on the head of her still sleeping son, kissed both Anne and Ella on the cheek and promised to come back to them very soon, repeated her instructions on how to feed the baby to Marianne and Mrs Tompkins and left with a heavy heart.

They met Edward and Georgiana at their home in London, it was the first time Elizabeth had been there, and she was glad to see that they were well settled, in a lovely home located at a very respectable street. They did not linger long, they set off at the same time, with Georgiana headed to Derbyshire and the other three on their way to the Scotland border.

They travelled all day, and Elizabeth found the journey quite enjoyable. Unlike most men she had met, Edward Woodland had a well read and improved mind, and he knew exactly when to tease and when to pull back, when to provoke her to speak her mind and when to let her stew in her own thoughts. With Mr Bingley's general good humour and Elizabeth's liveliness, it was decided without saying among the three of them that they shall always be traveling together in future.

They spent the night in an inn that was recommended to them by a certain gentleman on the way, and thanks to Mr Woodland's knowledge of the country and the road they were taking, they were able to feed and water their horses and groom them for the next day's journey. The following day saw them almost reach Fishland, this time round, at midnight, they were able to find a hotel and not just an inn.

The hotel servant assured them that Fishland was about an hour's journey with a carriage from the town they were staying in when Elizabeth ventured to ask.

"Do you receive a lot of guests from out of town? " Mr Woodland inquired from the servant.

"Yes sir, a lot of people who want to cross the border stay here."

Elizabeth saw no need to start asking of Wickham this early, it will only spread a report of alarm and he might escape before they could reach him. He must have no information of their coming, she decided.

"If the fellow did not kill Darcy, what do you think he did with him? "Mr Woodland asked in the easy joking manner he was used to.

Elizabeth looked at him vehemently, "He is not dead, "she said with finality.

"But what did he do to him to keep him from coming back to you? The man would have climbed mountains and swam oceans for you," Edward said thoughtfully.

"Maybe he is still climbing mountains and swimming oceans for her, Darcy was a little not well in the head if you ask me,"Bingley said with a fond smile.

Despite herself, Elizabeth had to smile, Mr Bingley's comment sounded like something straight from her father's head, which meant she found it quite funny.

"Could he have locked him in a wardrobe? Or perhaps he just tied him up and threw him in a hole somewhere? " Edward continued stubbornly.

Irritated, Elizabeth replied, "Or perhaps we could tell him to tie you up and throw you in a hole somewhere? No, that would not do at all, he should perhaps just tie your mouth, you are a really good fellow when you are not talking. "

Her words seemed to shut him down for the night and they went to bed soon, anticipating the next day with both dread and excitement in equal measure.