Page 53 of Till Death Us Do Part: Book 2
Bartlet sat back for quite some time, looking at Darcy. They had known each other for many years, but distantly. Darcy bought books and talked about what was available, but for both men, much like Mrs Darcy, it was all about the books. There was no need for idle chatter, or discussions of this or that, when the whole world of the written word was laid out for their entertainment.
At some length, Bartlet asked, “What will you do if you find Mrs Darcy?”
Everyone knew it was not an idle question, and the answer would determine how much the ageing bookseller happened to recall.
“I will do my best toearnher respect and her trust, maybe even her love someday.”
Bartlet could not help snuffling a bit. “A tall order, young man.”
Darcy momentarily lost his temper, and snapped, “What should I do? Give up? Move on? Find another? Force her acquiescence?”
Breathing hard again, he did not notice he was balling his fists, but his companions did.
Longman said, “I suspect Bartlet is going to tell you your passion for the task is admirable, but you may need to work on your—”
He could not think of the right word, but Bartlet helpfully provided, “Subtlety?”
Longman laughed. “Yes, that one. That is why I keep you around, Bartlet, so I do not have to learn so many hard words.”
The two men chuckled, which had the intended effect of calming Darcy.
Darcy said, “I would beg on my knees if I thought it would help.”
“Hurt, more likely. I do not think your wife has much affection for weakness.”
“Understood, but you get my meaning.”
Bartlet paused a moment and forced Darcy to endure an agonising further two minutes while he got his pipe going again. “You will respect her if you ever find her? Treat her kindly? Let her make her own choices?”
“Of course!” Darcy exclaimed, but then looked abashed when Bartlet stared him down, and finally said sheepishly, “I suppose with my past behaviour to her, there is no ‘of course’ about anything. I give you my word, and I will givehermy word, that I will be the consummate gentleman, and if she finds me lacking, I will release her—somehow.”
Longman asked, “How can that be done?”
“I have no idea, but I am a wealthy man. I have resources, and I will dedicate whatever it costs to make up for my mistakes.”
Bartlet said, “Be careful not to overdo it. A marriage is a partnership. You must approach her with the proper amount of humility, which is somewhere between crawling on hands andknees and asserting your lawful rights. You will need to find the right spot on the continuum, though if I were you, I would err on the side of hands and knees.”
“It will all be academic if I cannot find her.”
Bartlet nodded. “Well then, there are two things you should know.”
“Go on.”
“Based on the coaching schedules, I believe she was headed to Manchester in December. Perhaps beyond, but that town has all the mills and more trade than you can shake a stick at. A woman of some sense could do well there, assuming she is ready to forego the privileges of her station.”
“She obviously considered that an improvement over marrying me, so I will assume that was her plan, unless she had some relatives or friends to help her.”
“All are possible. I cannot say more. She never mentioned anyone close enough to do that. She has an uncle in town who is apparently a very successful tradesman. I always thought she might go to him if she got desperate, but I suspect she would worry abouthisreputation, as he routinely does business with the upper gentry. Of course, that is all supposition. She only mentioned him in passing once or twice. Of course, there is her family, but she never mentioned them, even in passing, even once.”
“Do you know the uncle’s name?”
“No, I assume you would have to get it from her father or hire someone in London to track him down.”
Darcy grimaced, but there had never been any doubt he would have to meet the Bennets again, and that meeting was bound to be even worse than the last one.
“I thank you. It seems likely that, since she was here on the fifth, but returned to marry on the twenty-third, she either had a change of heart, or she was brought back by force.”
Longman said, “The latter, I think. That might explain how she knew Molly. Any good thief-taker would want to preserve her reputation. He would have engaged a maid to return with her, but he would not likely have taken the maid all the way to her father’s house. Minimal exposure, and all that. Mrs Darcy sought out Molly on her first day in the house and took her along when she left. I suspect Miss Hatcher could tell you a great deal, which is probably why she left with Mrs Darcy. Of course, that begs the question of how she paid for all that, since she obviously had very little money.”
