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A Quest for Mr Darcy – Chapter Forty Eight
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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 
So beautiful
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Thank you ❤
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What a wonderful ending to this most amazing chapter–I am smiling so widely that my mouth hurts! 😀
I can’t wait to see what happens next! I don’t suppose that you could possibly slip in a short chapter for Sunday??? 😉 Oh, well, I know it’s impossible, but it’s always worth asking. 😉
Have a lovely weekend, m’dear–and thank you soooooo much for writing and sharing it with us!
Warmly,
~Susanne 🙂
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LOL, Susanne! Sorry about the mouth strain! 😉
Hope you have a lovely weekend too! ❤
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Madam, I am in tears…I will let my heart break for Lydia or I will rage at Mr. Bennet. How could he! That was so poignant and I am so glad Jane and Elizabeth have arrived. Maybe they can make Lydia realize she is so important to them and should stay. Oh the reckoning Mr. Bennet will have to deal with…right now he is on the same level as Wickham!
Thank you…looking forward Tuesday!
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I’m so sorry you cried, Carole, but I will be honest: I did cry a bit myself writing the reunion! ❤
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Oh, I am sobbing!!! But also wondering how Elizabeth and Jane knew to come there. Wentworth now knows the truth. We all know that this development will not harm Darcy’s view of Elizabeth.
BUT OH, HOW TO DEAL WITH MR. BENNET? This is so not what I thought was happening. I am thinking the blackmail is Wickham’s threat to reveal that Lydia is alive. I have a much lowered opinion of Mr. Bennet. Considering that his lack of monitoring his daughters and allowing her the flirt and chase officers lays a great deal of blame on his shoulders…to cast her off so! And not allow her sisters to know and to, at least, correspond with her…and he partly caused his wife’s death with the news she died in the fire! So much to consider here. Wow. Some chapter.
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I’m so sorry, Sheila! I don’t want you to cry!
You will find out how Jane and Elizabeth found them in the barn in the next chapter.
Yes, it was answer overload in some ways, but we have still got Mr Bennet’s version of events to come!
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I’m so happy the sisters came. I don’t think Lydia would have cooperated with Darcy to remain, but now she has her sisters. But Mr. Bennet!!!!! What has he done. Was it really him who sent her away and faked her death. So many questions, as usual and all she gives us is another cliffie. Of course, you may still be writing the next post, so your cruelty is forgiven DA. See you next time. Jen ♫
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It was a gentle cliffie, wasn’t it, Jen? 😉
See you next week!
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Yes, very gentle, and we LOVED it!!!
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OMG! Truly unexpected!
Thank you!!
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So pleased you are happy with it, Jessica!
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As usual, Cass, you leave us hanging by a thread with a dramatic scene!!!! I think that you m at have infected the chapters online as I now have the chest crud!!! 🙂
Am waiting for the next chapter!!! Cheers!
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Oh dear, Hollis! LOL What on earth is chest crud?!?!? :O
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Ahhhhh!!! This was lovely!
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Thank you, Cindy!
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Poor Lydia. I always thought its her parents fault.
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She was a foolish girl in some ways, Revas, but I agree. With an over indulgent mother and neglectful father, it was a disaster waiting to happen. Sadly, Lydia is the one bearing the brunt of it all.
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Oh my!!! Cannot wait for Tuesday!!!
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It’ll be here before you know it, Carmelita!
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I’m a little more forgiving of Mr. Bennet. Although with our modern reasoning and sensibilities his actions seem cruel, in that time period he really had little choice if he wanted to protect his remaining four daughters from the scandal surrounding Lydia. His indolent ways had finally caught up with him when Lydia eloped with Wickham, permanently tainting the Bennet family as long as they remained in Meryton. So, he sent the youngest two daughters off to school to hopefully teach them what they had never learned in his home and he moved the older two to a setting as far from Meryton as he could find. Since Mr. Darcy was out of the country, there would be little possibility that anyone in Derbyshire would know anything about the scandal of the previous year. We don’t know how much time had elapsed from the time of the inn fire (when the family was led to believe that Lydia was dead) to when she finally wrote to her father requesting money and to be allowed to return home. I keep remembering Mr. Collins’ words concerning Lydia’s elopement, “The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this.” Again, this is very harsh to our modern way of thinking, but I can imagine that Mr. Bennet felt that keeping Lydia “dead” was the best situation for the rest of his daughters as they were already in mourning. I wonder whether Mrs. Bennet ever knew the truth about Lydia (there is still something strange about her death, right?). I think that his recent behavior before he left to go north (to where Lydia was supposed to be with Mrs. Wood perhaps) shows that he had been doubting whether his decision was correct or not.
Like some other commenters, I too was in tears when Jane and Elizabeth arrived in the barn. What a wonderful reunion scene! My goodness, this story is amazing!
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I’m sorry you were in tears, Jan, but as I mentioned earlier, I was too! 😉
I agree with you about our modern sensibilities and how things were so different in that time. Lots of interesting thoughts from you, and thank you for taking the time to write such a lovely long comment!
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Me too!
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Awwww….poor Lydia! I am so glad the sisters are reunited now! I can’t wait to read the rest. And Mr Bennet was so cruel! I can’t believe this! Lydia was only 16 and a product of his indolence as a father! And to cast her off like that…I wonder about Mrs Bennet’s death and his insisting to care for her while she was sick. Did she know anything? I’m so curious!
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Hmm, yes, Daniela. Mr Bennet is the one who needs to cough up some answers now, isn’t he?
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Oh Cass that was beautiful!!! The sisters are reunited!! Nearly made me weep 😭 Crikey what a tale! It seems that Mr. Bennet is to blame for most of the troubles for the Bennets! What the heck has he done?! And where is he? And why did he sell the blasted locket?
For once I can’t scold you for leaving us prematurely in a chapter! I was quite happy with the sisters embracing as an end to the chapter! Now what to do with Lydia ahem, Sarah?
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LOL, Sophia! I am missing the usual scolding! 😉
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Hehe Cass 😂 Couldn’t scold you when your chapter was brilliant
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What a beautiful reunion! I am sure they will manage to help Lydia and this a turning point for the better in her life. Mr Bennett has a lot of explaining to do and I cannot imagine he can offer good enough reasons for his actions. Maybe he insisted on caring for Mrs Bennett himself to prevent her from spilling the secret… lots of answers still to come, I feel.
I cannot wait to read the story again, this time in book form! Thank you!
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Yep, Cristina. Mr B has much to share. 😉
Thank you so much for continuing to read along!!! ❤
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What a sweet and moving chapter! I am glad to see that Lydia has learned to think beyond her own selfish desires. I think I might know what you plan for her (or what I would plan for her) and look forward to seeing how she is protected and Wickham thwarted. I do not envy Mr. Bennet though when faced with the knowledge that his eldest daughters know their youngest sister lives. I know he was trying hard to do his best for all of them, but . . . Looking forward to next week.
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I look forward to seeing if we have the same thing in mind for Lydia, Lizzybel! I’ve never been much of a fan of Lydia Bennet, but I must admit writing this story has made me think more carefully about what contributed to her being how she was.
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Good chapter and story. Thanks
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You’re welcome, Fran, and thank you for commenting!
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Lovely chapter. I would have liked to know exactly what Wentworth was thinking as the scene went on. 🙂
Great reunion with the sisters.
Great way to end the work week Thank you!
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I suspect Wentworth’s head is reeling right now, Maureen! 😉
So happy you enjoyed the reunion!
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Oh my. Poor Lydia. She has truly paid for her sins.
I have no words for Mr Bennett’s actions towards his youngest daughter.
The complete lack of parental affection and decent care is horrendous.
Then to have Elizabeth and Jane walk in… brilliant!
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Sorry for the shocks this time, Carol. More answers coming soon!
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Does Darcy have any spare handkerchiefs after lending one to Lydia….oops, “Sarah”? There appear to be quite a few of us in need of one after reading the reunion! At least we now know that it wasn’t Wickham who was giving Elizabeth the prickles on the back of her neck when she felt she was being watched.
Jan’s lovely long comment above hit the nail on the head. Mr. B. really couldn’t have taken Lydia back into his household without damaging the family’s reputation even further, so I guess sending her to a home for young “widows” was his only recourse, especially if he wasn’t sure that she wasn’t pregnant. Oh, but to tell everyone else that Lydia was dead! He’s got an awful lot of explaining to do when he gets back, and will never have the same relationship with his other daughters again. I bet he’ll be surprised as to what’s happened, and what’s been discovered, whilst he was gone.
Now I’m caught up with the story, Tuesday seems soooo far away!
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I did feel bad about the tears after this one, but I was there with everyone too, Anji!
You are right (as is Jan), Mr Bennet had no choice over taking Lydia back. What was he to do? Pass her off as an untouched maiden like his other daughters, even if the stained reputation faded? She could not resume the role of a Miss Bennet of Longbourn, whatever anyone hoped for.
As for what else Mr B has done… there are answers coming soon!
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Enjoying the story. Thank you very much for writing it for us to enjoy. Love it.
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Happy you are enjoying, Mari!
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Wow! I never saw that coming. Oh course it was obvious for a long tome that it was Lydia, I never imagined her really reason for being in Lambton. This was heartbreaking — and beautiful.
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Thank you, Denise. ❤
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You leave me wondering how this will play out with Mr. Bennet and his daughters.
I am in agreement that Mr. Bennet had no choice and truly he did more than a lot of men by setting his daughter up and supplying her with extra funds. So now I’m wondering how Mr. Bennet will react once he returns and what’s to follow for Jane and Elizabeth and their beaux.
This was wonderful but you do always leave us hanging. 😛
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Sorry for the ‘hanging’, Trez! I am hoping it will make it a page-turner one day! 😉
Yes, lots to be considered regarding Mr Bennet, especially as we have yet to hear his side of events!
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