Chapter 92 Daily Life of a Noblewoman 6 The Unavoidable Plot
The next morning, Heather woke up to a loud noise.
Below the bedroom that Charlotte arranged was a large lawn, which belonged to the pastor's private territory and almost no one would pass by here.
Heather seemed to hear a dog barking in a daze, so she turned over and covered her ears with a pillow and tried to fall asleep again.
After three minutes, she gave up, got out of bed, walked barefoot to the window, opened the curtains a little, and wanted to see what was going on downstairs.
Heather peeked out from between the heavy velvet curtains and witnessed a hilarious scene.
Lancaster was half-squatting on the ground, confronting the barking puppy in front of him. There were some grass clippings on his coat, and he held a finger in front of his mouth, as if warning the puppy to be quiet.
It was a brown and white Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. A closer look revealed a black glove in its mouth. Its sturdy head, round eyes, and angelic features betrayed a determination to playfully tease humans.
Lancaster gave up the idea of asking the puppy to calm down on its own, and stood up to try to carry the puppy, which had run from somewhere, away from him so as not to disturb the people who were still sleeping.
But he obviously underestimated the other party. When his palm was only a finger's distance away from the puppy, the puppy suddenly rushed past his trouser leg and stopped two steps away, shouting triumphantly.
Lancaster pursed his lips, his eyes showing a serious look. He pounced in that direction without warning before the puppy could react, and grabbed it with his quick eyes and hands.
The puppy made another breakthrough just by one move. It was frightened and quiet for a second, but soon started barking again, its furry tail wagging like a flower.
Heather laughed unrestrainedly at the sight of him being teased by a puppy. Lancaster looked over in the direction of the sound, raised his ungloved hand to block the glaring sunlight, and then saw the woman with disheveled hair by the windowsill.
"The contestant from Lancaster is eliminated!" Heather said in a clear voice with a mischievous smile, and made a referee gesture.
Lancaster was dazzled by the smile, his breathing slowed down and his eyes became dim.
He lowered his head again and reached out to pick up the puppy that had let down its guard and rubbed against people. He laughed heartily amid the puppy's angry roar and the astonishment of the people upstairs.
"The game isn't over yet, sir."
For some reason, Heather felt her ears getting hot. She suddenly retracted her head and pulled the curtains tightly.
Lying back on the bed, she could no longer fall asleep even though the outside world had quieted down. After struggling for ten minutes, she finally got up and started a new day.
"Good morning, Heather. This is a letter for you from Longbourn. I guess Mrs. Bennet heard that you came to Hunsford and asked you to go home early to attend Jane's wedding." Charlotte was the only one in the restaurant. She took the top letter from a pile of letters and handed it to her.
Heather casually asked her when she planned to leave for Jane's wedding. Charlotte said that Mr. Collins had been very busy recently and she might have to leave a few days later.
Heather nodded and opened the envelope in her hand.
The letter was sent from Longbourn, but the writer was not Mrs. Bennett, but Elizabeth. It seemed that Elizabeth had returned to Longbourn with Mrs. Hurst and others.
"My dear aunt, as you expected, I returned to Longbourn with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley on the third day after you left London, and Mary agreed to go with Uncle Gardner and his family in a week.
The first day back home was so wonderful. Everyone gathered together looking forward to the upcoming reunion with relatives and the grand happy event.
But the next day, a bad thing happened that shocked everyone. Lydia did not return home on time after attending the party in Meryton. Someone claimed to have seen her happily riding in the same carriage with an officer, heading out of the city.
Heather's hand slipped, and the water in the teacup splashed onto the coaster. Charlotte looked over in surprise. Heather prayed in her heart that the worst would not happen, and continued to watch without stopping.
"That officer is Wickham."
Heather's heart tightened. Sure enough, it had happened. Jane's wedding had been moved up, and Lydia's elopement had also been moved up, even though they had made preparations in advance. And yet, they couldn't reverse this crucial plot point.
"Wickham's boss received a letter of resignation early in the morning, claiming he was going to another county to seek a job with an old friend. Mrs. Jones also said that at the end of the party, Lydia told her she was going to do something interesting. Although I don't want to jump to conclusions, perhaps the truth is as those in the know have speculated, that Lydia foolishly eloped with such a wicked man as Wickham."
"Hazel? Hazel! What happened?" Charlotte's voice came. Lancaster appeared at the door of the restaurant at some point and was looking over here intently.
Heather pulled her hair in distress: "It's...it's...ah."
She chose not to answer for the time being and continued to look down.
"That's what I thought at first, but I changed my mind before I sent this letter. I don't think Lydia eloped with Wickham. First of all, Kitty, who was her closest friend, knew nothing about it, which means Lydia never expressed such thoughts. If it was really a planned elopement, Lydia would definitely not be able to hide it from Kitty, who was with her every day."
That’s right, that’s right. Heather calmed down quickly, which is obviously different from the plot of the original book.
"Secondly, both Mother and Kitty testified that Lydia's current obsession is with a captain of the Regular Army stationed at the rear mountain pass. She has repeatedly stated that Captain Thomas is more infatuated than any other officer nearby, but she has never treated Wickham differently."
"Finally, the governess, Ms. Fogg, also said that after reading several famous literary works that roamed the world of Vanity Fair, Lydia had lost interest in getting married early. She hoped to gain the governess's approval as soon as possible and be taken to London by her aunt to flirt with aristocratic gentlemen at social balls, rather than starting a family with a rural officer so early."
"To sum up, I personally tend to believe that Wickham used some kind of rhetoric to deceive the simple-minded Lydia's trust, which made her willingly follow him into the carriage."
"Also, Mr. Darcy has already arrived at Netherfield. He was horrified when he heard about this and immediately offered to go to London to investigate. For various reasons, I heard about Mr. Darcy and Wickham's past when I was a guest at Hunsford last time. I was embarrassed to bring it up and lacked precautions. I never expected Lydia to be deceived right under my nose, which makes me deeply regretful. But no matter what, this matter has not been spread yet. We have announced that Lydia has been taken to London. We hope that Mr. Darcy or my uncle can bring her back before Jane's wedding, otherwise everything will be irreversible."
Heather put the letter down, her mind racing, she took a sip of her tea and tried to remain calm.
"Charlotte, this letter is from Longbourn, but it's from Elizabeth, who just returned home from London two days ago. Yesterday I told you that I invested in a mask factory, and now there are some problems there, which may result in a loss of several thousand pounds. Although it's not a serious matter, I think I should leave for London immediately to deal with it."
Charlotte quickly put down what she was holding, stood up, and told the servant to go to the stable to inform the coachman to prepare. She also urged Hazel to go up and pack her things quickly. "A few thousand pounds is not a big deal? I think you really have made a fortune. Jane's wedding is next weekend. Now is more than enough time to go back to London. Don't delay."
Heather wanted Charlotte to help explain to the DeBoer mother and daughter, but Charlotte pushed her towards the stairs and told her to rest assured and set off quickly.
Lancaster looked at the people passing by, moved his fingers, and stepped aside to make way.
Heather packed up her things as quickly as possible, and half an hour later, she was in the newly cleaned carriage. Mr. Collins had not returned yet, and Charlotte handed her a box of cakes.
"Be careful on your journey, and see you next week at Longbourn."
Heather shook her hand and told the driver to start.
By the time the carriage drove out of Hunsford's territory, Heather had reread Elizabeth's letter word for word. She reached out and opened the curtains, and Lancaster's figure on horseback appeared outside the window.
Lena asked anxiously, "Madam, what happened? Why didn't you say a word after getting in the car?" She glanced outside vigilantly, secretly wondering if the big shot outside could not help but wanted to take his master back.
Heather thought about it, opened the car window, and Lancaster immediately rode over.
Heather didn't look outside, but grabbed Lena's hand and explained the whole story in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.
Reina couldn't believe this had happened. "Poor Miss Lydia must be dying to get home right now. Let's hurry back to London to help."
"I'll go first." A low voice came from outside the car window.
Heather turned and looked him in the eye.
Lancaster pulled something that looked like a family crest from his pocket and handed it to him. "I'll change horses at the next post station and return to London first. I can use patrol guards or local sheriffs to assist in the search, which will save time. After I leave, a team of people will follow to protect you. They will disperse on their own once we reach London."
"Please believe me." He lowered his head and looked at me seriously: "I absolutely have no intention of monitoring or controlling you."
Heather blinked, took the badge and exchanged it with him. "See you in London, Lancaster."
They parted at the fork in the road ahead, and Lancaster, holding the reins with one hand, pulled out of his pocket the things he had just quickly stuffed into it.
A funny woolen rabbit was grinning at him.
Heather arrives in London on Monday and Jane's wedding is to take place on Saturday, which means that things have to be resolved within five days.
Instead of going home, she asked the driver to take all her luggage to Gracechurch Street.
Facts proved that her decision was right. Mr. Bennett, who came from Longbourn, was here, and Mary also rushed over from Paddington early in the morning.
"Oh, dear aunt." Mary rushed over crying with joy. "When Aunt Gardner told me the day before yesterday that my father was coming to look for Lydia, I couldn't believe my ears. Fortunately, you are back now. By the way, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Lancaster also came this morning. They didn't stay long before they went out to help look for people."
Heather patted her niece on the head and greeted Mr. Bennett and the Gardners.
Mrs. Gardner pulled her aside with a sad face. Without asking her about her absence a week ago, she told Hazel all the news she knew.
"Mr. Gardner and Mr. Bennett have been searching every hotel for two days, but unfortunately, they haven't found anything. Mr. Darcy seems to know a Mrs. Young who has a good relationship with Mr. Wickham, but she simply said she knows nothing. Mr. Darcy went to see her again this morning."
The Gardner children hadn't been in school for the past few days, and Hazel listened to Mrs. Gardner's whispers as she perfunctorily leaned against the two children who refused to move.
"Forget about Mr. Lancaster. He's on Lydia's aunt's salary, so it's normal for him to help out. But what about Mr. Darcy? He's so proactive. Does he have ulterior motives?"
Mrs. Gardner suspected that Mr. Darcy had fallen in love with one of the girls in the family, perhaps Mary or Elizabeth, who had the most contact with him, but she was not sure which one it was.
Heather silently agreed with her opinion. Not only did Mr. Darcy have ulterior motives, but the other gentleman who was busy looking for someone also had the same idea.
She muddled through it vaguely.
Fortunately, new news came soon.
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