The Whiskey Wedding Chapter 3
In London, after nearly a week of searching for Lydia Bennet, there was no trace. In fact, it had been Edward Gardiner who had gone out the last two days, as long as he could reasonably stay away from his business. Thomas Bennet, on the other hand, had helped himself to a book and brandy, sparring intermittently with his host about more or less waiting for Lydia to find herself.
“What if she has turned to the streets?” Mr. Gardiner began a fresh assault on his sister’s husband for some decency regarding his youngest child.
“The foolish girl turned away from her family the moment she boarded the carriage with that man. I came to London to satisfy Fanny, but even I know when there is nothing to be done.”
“But Elizabeth and my wife are searching the road from here to Scotland! The least we could do is search town.”
Mr. Bennet sipped his drink and considered the frustrated man chastising him for inaction. He had already declared his favorite daughter’s flight to Scotland with a chaperone a fool’s errand, but Mr. Bennet did not wish to insult Gardiner’s wife. So he began his own line of questioning.
“You think I should search for my daughter?”
“Yes!” Edward Gardiner exclaimed in exasperation and looked to the heavens for a divine dose of patience.
“And you suspect she has been sold, or cast off, and now warms the bed of men who pay by the penny?”
Gardiner nodded, feeling relieved that his line of thought finally matched Bennet’s slower uptake.
“And you are prepared to run all over London, visiting the houses of ill repute with your wife on holiday, even on this street as it’s more likely what that lowlife could afford had they picked lodgings first?”
Mr. Gardiner’s mouth opened and closed in a poor imitation of a fish gulping for water to pass through its gills. “I–that is–I had not thought about how it would appear . . .”
“I see.” Thomas Bennet returned to his book. Appearing to be at a stalemate, he licked his thumb and forefinger to turn the page. “My daughter has sullied her name and ruined her family. Do not drag yours down into the muck with mine. Tend your business.”
Feeling broken, Mr. Gardiner poured himself a drink and without his favorite chair available due to Bennet’s claim, he settled upon the bench running along his bookshelf. He had devoured a good half of the glass before he wondered if his brother Bennet knew even more he was not sharing.
“And what explanation do you plan to give Fanny?” Edward’s older sister was prone to high theatrics and taking to her bed at the slightest provocation. He worried what might happen when the truth of her favorite daughter being lost to the capriciousness of the London streets finally made its way to her ears.
Mr. Bennet sighed. “Jane and I shall remain here until Elizabeth returns and then say our farewells. You will not be able to send for her or Jane for some time, if ever again.”
“And Lydia?”
“A year of quiet living in the country with no mention of her will go a long way to vindicate my family. Perhaps in time, we shall see a way back to the good graces of our friends. If not, then I hold little hope for my remaining daughters and may live to see them regret me forever as their father.”
“You mean we cannot shield . . .” Edward gulped more drink as Thomas Bennet shook his head.
“I would not ask you and Madeline to take such a burden. You have your own children to worry about. And worry about them you should, I am learning too late for my own sake.”
Regret and helplessness permeated the office as the two men came to an understanding. They would wait for the ladies to return from Scotland, and then endure the aftermath of Lydia’s fall in their own ways.
Outside the study, silent tears fell down Jane Bennet’s face as she heard the men inside speak so crassly of her youngest sister, her reputation, and her future. When it appeared nothing more would be said, Jane wiped her tears and went upstairs to fetch the maid, Sarah. Her father had said it was likely Lydia and Mr. Wickham took lodgings somewhere affordable, and so she would renew the search by asking at every inn and boarding house she could find. For good measure, she enlisted the aid of the Gardiner footman Nat, who was tall and burly. Over the years Nat developed an affinity to looking over Miss Bennet as her stories always entertained him as a lad.
When Jane knocked on the door of her uncle’s study and announced she would be taking a walk in the park for fresh air, her father asked perfunctorily if she was taking a chaperone.
“Yes Papa, a maid and a footman, if you do not mind, Uncle?”
Edward Gardiner shook his head and looked at his niece with great pity.
“Enjoy the city as much as you can, child. We will see you at supper.”
Jane did not lie, she did begin her search for Lydia with a walk in the nearest park. Then she, Sarah, and Nat began the walk down the lane and stopped at any place with a sign for lodgings. Jane told herself she would have to come up with better ideas for excursions so she could borrow the carriage. She would not be able to search very far on foot. But it was a start.
You have been reading The Whiskey Wedding...
Some love stories are worth forgetting—and remembering all over again…
Elizabeth Bennet had made many impulsive decisions in her life, but marrying Mr. Darcy while concussed might have been the most reckless. If only she could remember doing it.
Her mission had been simple: travel to Scotland, intercept her foolish sister before she eloped with a scoundrel, and save her family from ruin. The carriage accident wasn’t part of the plan. Neither was waking up married to the man whose proposal she’d rejected with scathing words only months before.
Darcy insisted their marriage was real, legal, and—most shocking of all—her idea. He had witnesses, a marriage certificate, and even her own letters explaining everything she couldn’t recall. What he didn’t have was her memory of falling in love with him.
Trapped at Darcy’s Scottish estate while her memory played hide-and-seek with the truth, Elizabeth discovered a man entirely different from the proud gentleman she’d once despised. But as her sister’s fate hung in the balance, Elizabeth had to fall in love with her own husband all over again—this time, knowing exactly what she was choosing.
A whiskey wedding, an amnesia bride, and a husband worth trusting—it’s a story of adventure and love for Our Dear Couple.
