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A Quest for Mr Darcy – Chapter Forty
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Hello!
I'm Cass, and I write the sort of stories I love to read - heart-warming, character driven and strong on location. I lean heavily towards the upbeat in both my reading and my writing.
As one of my favourite authors, Jane Austen, once wrote, ‘let other pens dwell on guilt and misery’.
Cass Grafton - Writer 
Lydia?
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There’s not really a lot I can say to that, Peggy! 😉
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Lydia is alive!!! O.o
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It looks like it, doesn’t it? 😉
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Cass, do you not have a neighbor or someone who can postnext week’s installments while you’re out of the country? My poor little heart is going pittypat and we still have this Thursday’s installment to go! I don’t mean to sound greedy … excessively curious is more like it. You are quite a story teller!7
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It’s not about being able to post physically, Katherine. I’m sorry; it’s about having time to write the chapters!
I will be working on it next week though, in the hope I can get a week ahead of myself!
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It’s Lydia!!! I would never think that would be possible! I mean, I thought she might be alive after Wickham’s letter. But I never thought she would be at Pemberley! Oh my, poor her! I need more!
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You will get more, Daniela!!!
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You are such a tease. Of course we all suspect it is Lydia, but why couldn’t you just break down and tell us? Wringing hands in anticipation. Biting nails even.) Thank goodness you are coming back on Thursday. Oh … I suspect Latimer and daughter will not be very receptive about an apology. Yikes!! The poor woman was in shock. And I don’t think the twins have learned a lesson at all. Remorse doesn’t seem to be in their nature. Bingley had better set some boundaries with those two, but then they are practically off to school. Now … if that was Lydia … Where did Darcy leave her and why?
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Yes, I was wondering that too. Where is she now?
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Find out soon!!! 😉
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Well, you want people to keep turning the page to the next chapter, Jenn! LOL 😉
No, those twins aren’t into remorse, are they? 😉
Yes, where is this ‘dead’ woman now?!
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Yes, I guess I’m kind of a nag when it comes to a good story. I have no choice but to bide my time. (lying on floor kicking feet … wait … maybe a glass of wine or Mrs. B’s smelling salts to calm my poor nerves. What am I saying! Just give me CHOCOLATE!)
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LOL
Hey, if you email me your address (mine is on the Contact Me tab), I will send chocolate straight away! 😉
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Wow — Lydia is the ghost? I thought, based on Wickham’s letter that she was still alive, but I never thought she was in Derbyshire. ( I thought maybe a bawdy house.)
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LOL re the bawdy house, Denise. A logical assumption, but not in this case.
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Oh Teasing Author, must you vex me so? 🙂 So many issues have yet to be resolved and now you introduce one more! Darcy has so much on his plate with the twins, the Latimers, Wickham, and now the poacher girl. How will he find time to speak with Elizabeth?
By the way – during the chase scene, I suspected that the cloaked figure was Wentworth! Ha! Wouldn’t that have been a crazy outcome?
Thank you for another great chapter!
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Sorry to vex you, Carol! 😉
This may seem like something new, but please trust me. There are lots of interconnections!
LOL re Wentworth. That could have been a real shocker!
Don’t worry about Darcy. He’s free of his supposed commitment to Miss Latimer and he’s not going to let anything stop him speaking to Elizabeth if he can help it!
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Cass, Cass, the suspense is getting too much, I thought the cloaked figure would be Wickham, it’s got to be Lydia. But where is Wickham, is he holding Mr Bennett to ransom?! The plot thickens!
I feel so sorry for Darcy, he’s got so much on his plate, perhaps Elizabeth will come and sooth his wounds for him – then what?!
Enjoy your time in England.
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There have been clues as to where Wickham is, in recent chapters too, so it’s not too hard to work out! 😉
You may well get your wish re Darcy’s wound!
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You wretch ( as my granny would say) leaving us like this to wait until Thursday. It must be Lydia, as who else is dead?? Poor Miss Latimer, do we think they leave or will Daddy demand satisfaction!! I hope Lizzy can break through the frozen face of Miss Eleanor
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Moi? A wretch? LOL
Lizzy’s meeting with Miss Latimer is in the next chapter, so you’ll find out!
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Oh, My, Gosh! Many of us were suspecting that Lydia was not dead. As I said previously, if Wickham is talking about “a daughter” in his blackmail letters to Bennet – who else does he possibly have access to? And also mentioned before by me – it would be difficult in those times to identify a burned body! So the body they buried could have been a servant girl or another of Wickham’s victims…or even Mrs. Younge.
I pity Miss Latimer – not her fault that the twins’ target was her father and she got the deluge instead. Nice cover up, Lizzy, but Latimer is out for blood. He will twist this and have an outrageous solution – marry my daughter, Darcy, as you allowed this to happen on your estate or something to that effect.
So Lydia has been the poacher along with W….and Wickham has used her being alive to attempt to wring money out of Bennet. What does he want to use as leverage?….”I will ruin your family further in this county also by showing everyone I have Lydia as my paramour and she is living in disgrace with me all this time”? Wickham is just twisting the knife further in Bennet’s gut. Hang Wickham, Please.
Thanks for this chapter.
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Loving the speculation, Sheila. All will be revealed soon!
Hang Wickham? Tempting, but I have another plan! 😉
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Nefarious intent indeed! It boggles my mind to think if it is Lydia and Mr. Bennet has known for all this time that she is alive. How cruel that he would let her family believe she is dead. Or maybe he is subscribing to Mr. Collins’ canon belief that the “death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this” and decided to sustain the story of her death rather than have his daughters suffer the continued shame of her ruin. Or maybe he has just learned that she was alive when Wickham started with his blackmail. Or maybe I should quit trying to guess and should just patiently wait for the whole story to unfold. (Have I mentioned before that patience is not my long suit?)
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Or maybe… lol, Jan.
The answers are going to begin to unfold over the coming chapters, I promise. 🙂
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This does not seem to have posted, so I’m trying again. Please forgive if this is a duplicate.
Oh Cass, too many mysteries taking too long to resolve. Every time you post a new episode I have to re-read the previous episode to keep the story straight, and then there is no satisfaction at the end of the new episode. Please relieve us with answers to some of our questions soon.
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I deleted the original comment, Janis. 😀
Perhaps it would be best to stop reading by the chapter? If you feel like coming back to the story one day, then perhaps when it’s all done? There are connections between the plot strands, as will become clear.
I’m sorry you are finding no satisfaction, and I’m also sorry you find it difficult to keep track of from chapter to chapter. As I say, perhaps better to read in one hit if that’s the case, or not at all.
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Good chapter. Can’t wait for Thursday. Thanks.
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Thank you, Fran! Glad you enjoyed!
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Great cliffhanger–darn you! I think I know who it will be, but I cannot yet fathom the why of it. I am sure it will be Lydia and it has been long enough that I do not remember why/how she died. I remember that she ran away with Wickham, something about a fire, and Mrs. Bennet died from the shock. The disgrace caused the move. But if Lydia is alive, is she perhaps the person Wickham is threatening. I cannot wait for Thursday to see where you go with this. I am also sure Mr. Lattimer plans to make trouble for Elizabeth after what happened at the stables. Is it next week you are gone and there will be no postings? What a terrible place to leave us. Can you schedule your chapters to post in your absence? I often do that with my blog.
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You remember correctly about what the characters have been told in relation to Lydia’s demise, Lizzybel.
Yes, I’m away next week (party in Derbyshire!) I’d love to be able to schedule the chapters, and if I had written them already, I would, I promise! It’s because I’m writing each day to produce the chapters that I can’t. I can’t control when this holiday fell either, as we’re going this weekend for my father in law’s 90th. So sorry! 😦
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Actually, you are doing remarkably well. It’s a lot of pressure to put out a WIP when you are only a week ahead, even if you do know where you want the story to go and writing it comes fairly easy (Hopefully). Hang in there dear author! You have our support! Jen
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Thank you, Jen. I just wish I had been far enough ahead of myself to a) let others proof read each chapter and b) have spare chapters for when I’m away! Best laid plans and all that! 😉
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I had not realized you were writing this as you go. I must say I am impressed that you can write two chapters a week like this. Enjoy your father-in-laws 90th! I will try not to bite my nails to the numb as I wait for the 21st!! Safe travels.
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Slowly things are coming together…but not Darcy and Elizabeth yet. I know it will happen. First, I am sure Mrs. Latimer will be attending to her daughter and when Elizabeth comes to check on her, will allow her in to explain. Now I wonder if she will take the blame regarding what she did to Darcy when he was considered the fox! I would think that would cause some level of merriment for Miss Latimer! She must think he would be the worst husband for her! Can’t wait to see what delightful conversation you will have there!
As for Darcy seeing this young woman (Lydia I’m sure), I speculate that Wickham has threatened her with violence and/or the rest of her family to keep her in line. Even while away, he could harm her father. I really can’t see Lydia allowing herself to be living like this. She must realize what a mistake she has made! I also wonder if she stole the locket in order to have a picture of her mother. She must be heartbroken over what has happened. Yes, she is/was a selfish child but I hope some redemption has happened over the course of the year as she sees Wickham for what he really is!
I must say, I absolutely love this story and can’t wait to have the whole book in my hands to read. Thank goodness you are posting more Thursday!!!! May the Muse Be With You!
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Yes, have faith, Carole. Darcy and Elizabeth may have only made small steps so far, but it is only two weeks they began their ‘new’ acquaintance and they’ve had a few things to work through too. 😀
All will become clear regarding the girl in the cloak, I promise, as will Wickham’s presence in the story.
Thank you for sticking with me!!!
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I believe that I had wondered last time whether the daughter mentioned in Wickham’s letter was Lydia rather than Elizabeth. Now my wonderings seem to have been confirmed.
If she was near the church, I wonder if Wentworth had been giving her succor, either knowing but likely not knowing who she was.
I can’t wait to see what happens next!!
Thank you for writing and posting for us, Cass!! I am sooooooo enjoying this story!!
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
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I’m so happy you continue to enjoy, Susanne! It’s support from you lovely readers that keeps me going with it! ❤
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I am reading the comments and laughing because no one wants you to travel, Cass! lol. Poor you! And it is only your fault for giving us this wonderful story! But really, I hope you have a great time traveling to England (I am sure you will) and I will be very anxious to read the new chapters once you return.
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I know, Daniela! I feel so bad about being away. I do wish I had spare chapters up my sleeve, I really do! 😉
Catch up with you after Thursday’s chapter!
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So I think like the others above that this is Lydia, she may not be in her right mind though, which is what Wickham is holding over Mr. Bennet. Ugh I just want to read the whole story straight through 🙂
Julie R
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We’re getting there, Julie.
As I’ve said to others, if it’s becoming more frustrating than fun, then I’d suggest not reading any more until it’s done! 😀
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Cass…. *burries head in hands* not again!!! 🙄😤But I know who the mystery girl is, let’s just say that a certain youngest sister is ‘ghosting’ around Derbyshire…
I do wonder what the hell Wickham and Bennet is up to about this deal?!
And the colonel and his gallantly to Miss Latimer could that lead to his future I wonder?
And Darcy’s resolve to ask Elizabeth a certain question would be a very very very good idea 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎉
Can’t wait for more!!!
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LOL, Sophia! I would do a loud ‘mwhahahaha’, but as I’ve said before, being British it doesn’t come out quite right! 😉
Ah the gallant Colonel. I do love him. ❤
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Oh, Cass, I enjoyed the chapter so much that I read it twice before commenting. I am really loving reading everyone’s comments too. I think Lydia is perhaps with Wickham against her will, wants to leave him but he is threatening her and Mr Bennett with the ruin of the other daughters/ sisters. She must be looking very ill for Darcy to be so shocked. But I have another theory… perhaps it is another of Wickham’ s victims from when he lived in the area…
I hope Whickham gets his comeuppance soon. Can’t stand the poor excuse of a man he is!
Bring Mr Bennet back, or is he also being held against his will?
Why has Mr Wentworth disappeared from the story? Will he be in any way relevant to the story again or was his purpose just to be a rival to Bingley?
Of course Lizzy wants to comfort Darcy? Who wouldn’t? LOL
Thursday cannot come soon enough.
Cristina
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I think it’s about time Darcy was offered some comfort too! Poor thing. It’s just one thing after another (like real life!) 😉
The comments are so much fun and so entertaining!
Ah, Mr Bennet, wherefore art thou? And why? 😉 As for Mr Wentworth, he has a purpose, yes. Jane staying at Pemberley since Saturday (when he proposed on Friday) hasn’t helped that situation to move on in any direction, so far.
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I think I’ve read this chapter through three times now! Lydiaaaaaa! It just has to be. But is she in cahoots with Wickham, is she “the daughter” in the letter and is she the reason W. is blackmailing Mr. Bennet? Does her father even know she’s still alive? Aagh, I’m in question mode again.
Hope you all have a wonderful time at you father-in-law’s 90th. Afterwards, when you’re in Derbyshire, you’re going to have to get all of the Bungley clan together and have a serious word with them. I hate to think what “gift” Olivia and Viola might be thinking up for Miss Latimer! Bungley really needs to get a grip on their antics. If I eventually hear about “goings on” at the exclusive school for young ladies not from from us, I’ll have a pretty good idea who the culprits are, won’t I?
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Did I raise more questions again, Anji? Whoops! lol Sorry about that!
I do hope to track down the twins whilst I am in Derbyshire, and you are right, I am sure, that once they are established at their Harrogate school, you will hear of their antics!
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What a great chapter! Colonel Fitzwilliam is the best. I loved his comment that Pemberley’s stables would not have fleas.
I look forward to Elizabeth’s meeting with Miss Latimer and Elizabeth soothing Darcy after his crazy day.
I, too, wonder where Lydia is, and how she came to be there.
Hope you have a great trip. As much as I am enjoying this story, I am glad you have this upcoming trip. What a great opportunity!
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I know! How dare Latimer imply such a thing about the stables! Horrid man! 😉
Thank you for the good wishes; I’ll be back before you know it! 😀
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Tweeted and shared how much I’m hooked by this story. Every episode is pure pleasure. Thanks, Cass!
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Thank you so much Suzan! That means a great deal to me! ❤
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You sly thing! 😉
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LOL!
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What a fun chapter! I look forward to any more surprises that you have in store for us…
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New chapter up now, Claudine! 😉
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Thank you!
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