Chapter 93: Daily Life of a Lady 7: Looking for Someone in London
Mr. Gardner hurried in. "There's news. Mr. Lancaster sent word that he and Mr. Darcy have found Wickham near the home of one of Wickham's friends, or perhaps his creditor."
"He still has creditors in London?" Mr. Bennett almost laughed out loud. "It seems this Mr. Wickham is truly charming. Not only have he swindled the foolish people in small towns like Brighton and Meryton, but even the shrewd Londoners can't escape his clutches."
Heather asked puzzledly, "But why is he at the creditor's house? Is Lydia there too?"
Mr. Gardner handed over the letter. "It was written rather hastily. It was probably because Wickham had thought he could get away with it because of the many eyes and ears of Londoners, but he was caught by his creditor. They tangled in the street for a long time before entering the house. Many people saw them, and someone even reported them to the patrol in that neighborhood, which is why they were able to find him so quickly. Now Wickham has been taken to Mr. Lancaster's house on the same street."
Heather stood up and said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go now. I hope we can get Lydia's whereabouts from him today."
Mr. Gardner agreed with his sister, and Mr. Bennett stood up and walked out without saying a word. The others stayed at home and waited for news.
They followed the address to Clapham, a bustling middle-class community with convenient transportation and affordable housing prices.
Heather walked into the minimalist house, which had a completely different decoration style from Park Lane, and was very confused as to how this could also be Lancaster's house.
Lancaster was waiting at the door to lead them in. He expected Heather to arrive in London this morning based on the route, so he was not surprised by her appearance.
"I bought the house casually a few years ago for less than a thousand pounds. There's reliable news that the house price here will increase fivefold within ten years."
Heather understood, and Mr. Gardner and Mr. Bennett, who were walking ahead, also heard the news.
Mr. Bennett loathed London and longed to return to the tranquility of Longbourn. Mr. Gardner, on the other hand, was thoughtfully considering using his extra earnings this year to invest in a new venture. He also planned to persuade Mr. Bennett to consider the matter when he got home. After all, if Lydia's case required financial support, the Bennetts' financial situation would be even more precarious.
They soon arrived at the empty living room, where Wickham was tied to a chair in the middle, and Mr. Darcy stood beside him with a frown on his face.
Mr. Gardner was greatly surprised. He did not expect that a gentleman like Mr. Darcy, who had received a strict aristocratic education, would choose to use such violent means to deal with Wickham.
Mr. Darcy bowed hesitantly under the puzzled gazes of the two old gentlemen.
Lancaster took the initiative to explain: "I tied him up here. This Wickham insisted that he had an affair with Miss Bennett, and that Miss Bennett had come to London voluntarily with him. He even produced a shopping list full of errors and omissions, claiming that he had spent money on Miss Bennett. To further prove his story, I had all his pockets searched, and the only valuable thing he found was a ship ticket to America. As for Miss Bennett's whereabouts, he insisted on waiting for Mr. Bennett to arrive.
Wickham took the initiative to speak at this time. He did not dare to look in Mr. Darcy's direction, but only looked at Mr. Bennet and said, "Sir, I know I am not worthy of your daughter, but Lydia and I are truly in love. I cannot tell you her address before you agree to our marriage. I cannot let her become a bird without freedom from now on."
Wickham was secretly uneasy after he finished speaking. He didn't want to marry Lydia, and he also thought that now was not a good time to threaten her father. However, the creditors had already come to his door, and the gentleman next to Darcy actually had someone attack him. In order to save his life, he had to resort to this last resort.
Mr. Bennett sneered: "No, it is an honor for a foolish daughter of mine to be favored by a wise man like you. Tell me, Mr. Wickham, how much money do you need to have a good son-in-law like you?"
Wickham was sweating profusely, but he said with a stiff upper lip, "My only wish is to pay off my debts before I get married and have a decent job again. Besides that, if I can have a place to live, I will never let Lydia suffer again."
Mr. Bennett turned and walked downstairs, and the others followed him, leaving Wickham waiting anxiously for the result.
Mr. Gardner spoke first. "This is no small sum. If Wickham still has debts in London, it will be more than the previously estimated 1,000 pounds. Add to that his other demands, and I think at least 10,000 pounds will satisfy his appetite."
"I can never get ten thousand pounds," said Mr. Bennett, "unless I sell my house; but my dear Mr. Collins will never allow me to do that."
At this moment, Mr. Darcy, who had been silent until then, stood up and said, "I can get someone to help him find a position." There was some resentment in his eyes when he said this, but he still held it in. "As for the money, I'll go up and talk to him alone later. I think we can get it down to a reasonable level."
Darcy reminds Bennett and Mr. Gardiner: "The wedding of Miss Bingley and Miss Bennet is about to take place, and the reputations of the other Miss Bennets are also crucial to their future lives. London is so big that it would take too long to find a hidden lady."
Mr. Bennett really wanted to smoke a cigar to relieve his depressed mood. He didn't think that Wickham would be so kind as to lower the price after going to so much trouble. Unless someone offered to help their family pay, it would be impossible to solve the problem before the wedding.
Heather thought Mr. Darcy was trying to be generous, but she had a different opinion: "As long as we can find Lydia as soon as possible, no one in Longbourn or London has definite evidence to prove that Lydia eloped. We can just deny Wickham's story and throw him to a place where he can never return after this is over."
Her thoughts coincided with Lancaster's violent thoughts.
Lancaster was the first to support: "Although it is difficult to find, there are still clues."
Heather looked at him with bright eyes: "You mean..."
Lancaster was a little dazed by her frank look. "Well, it's this ticket to America. I guess he planned to move to another country to avoid debt if the blackmail failed. But this ticket is not an official ticket traded at the shipping company office. It's a temporary ticket for an unknown private merchant ship, often traded privately in taverns or docks. This kind of private ship is not cheap, and this morning the creditor told us that he has paid off most of his debts. But what valuable things can a man like Wickham offer?"
"I see!" Heather suddenly realized: "Maybe it was the money from selling Lydia's jewelry. I gave Lydia a diamond shoe chain before, and she disappeared after the ball. Maybe the shoe chain was on her foot at that time."
Lancaster smiled and agreed with her idea. "Most merchant ships bound for America stop at St. Catherine's Dock, and it's easy to sell jewelry of unknown origin in that mixed crowd. Perhaps we can follow the clues of the ship ticket and the jewelry to find a key figure near St. Catherine's Dock."
St. Katharine's Dock...scalping jewelry ferry tickets...
Heather felt that these clues were very familiar and could be easily connected.
"Ah, I thought of someone. It's the information dealer I knew before who worked in a pub near St. Catherine's Dock. I can go and ask him."
Lancaster felt very awkward as he recalled the intelligence dealer who had once stolen his business.
However, he was the first to respond to Heather's point of view: "I will go with you, and Mr. Darcy will continue to negotiate with Wickham. If we don't make a breakthrough within two days, let's solve it with money first." After all, even if you give money, you can find a way to get it back in the future.
The Hummingbird Tavern was not far away, and Heather was familiar with its location, so they arrived at the door of the Hummingbird Tavern in less than half an hour.
Lancaster felt a little complicated as he looked at the various vendors coming and going on the street, as well as the inconspicuous taverns hidden among them.
He whispered, "I didn't expect you to know such a place. I haven't been to this street in many years."
Heather glanced at him, leaned over to his ear and said, "Well, now I believe you didn't send anyone to follow me."
She didn't wait for him to react and walked into the tavern first. Lancaster didn't know whether to be happy or depressed. He was stunned for a long time before following her.
When he came in, Heather had already found out everything: "The boss said that the man is not here now, so let's go look for him near the merchant ship at the dock."
Lancaster exchanged a glance with her. "It seems the information dealer you're talking about might have handled some private merchant ship ticket transactions."
Heather nodded and walked side by side with him out of the back door of the tavern towards the dock.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the Port of London was the world's largest port, with a dazzling array of shipping routes carrying people of varying purposes to every corner of the world.
St. Catherine's Docks is home to many large ships sailing out to sea, making it look much more impressive than the inland canal. Even the workers on the ships are dressed more respectably than the coal miners on the canal, demonstrating that the sea routes are a golden opportunity.
There were too many ships at the dock. The decks of those parked far away were impossible to see, and the midday sun was scorching.
Lancaster pulled Heather to the side of his shadow and raised his hand to block out some of the sunlight: "Why don't we go back to the tavern and wait, or spend some money to send someone to look for him?"
Heather stood on tiptoe and looked around for a while unwillingly, but found that it would be difficult to find the person she had only met a few times in this crowd of people who were all dressed similarly, so she agreed reluctantly.
Just as she was about to turn around, she suddenly discovered that the young man with a unique temperament like a down-and-out playboy was walking towards her surrounded by several people.
"Wait." Heather grabbed the person next to her: "I saw him."
She raised her right hand high, squeezed forward and shouted, "Theodore, Theodore Westin! Over here!"
She didn't even notice that Lancaster beside her had frozen in place.
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