Pride in Meryton, page 8
“I readily admit that I have fallen in love before but no one has ever affected me as Miss Bennet has done. She may not have the fortune that some other ladies do but, in addition to her beauty, she is the most gracious, gentle, amiable, well-mannered woman I have ever known!” he insisted.
Darcy could offer no argument to his friend’s passionate observations; Miss Bennet had indeed conducted herself at all times with the utmost propriety.
They both remained silent as carriage pulled into the coaching station and came to a stop. A footman opened the door. They entered the inn and requested a meal. They sat in silence while the coffee was being served.
Darcy pressed his point: “Does Miss Bennet’s family suit you?” he inquired, hoping at least to persuade Charles of the impropriety of the Bennet family.
“I find her family quite acceptable,” Charles replied. Darcy made no response. “Do you have some objection to the Bennet family?”
“To be honest, I find Mrs. Bennet quite vulgar. And the younger sisters….”
Charles scoffed and interrupted him: “Vulgar? Oh no, not in the least! Mrs. Bennet has been nothing but kind to me and my sisters.” Darcy merely nodded. “And her sisters’ behaviour is no worse than that of my own sisters’,” he insisted. “Believe me, Darcy, if you had lived your whole life with my two sisters, you would find no fault with the Bennets.”
Darcy nodded and they both remained silent.
“I noticed you danced with Miss Elizabeth twice last night,” Charles observed.
“I did,” he replied.
“To my knowledge, you have never danced twice with any woman in the past,”
“No,” he quietly agreed, averting his eyes.
“Is it possible that you have formed an attachment of your own?” Charles suggested.
Darcy averted his eyes: “It was unintentional.”
Charles nodded his understanding: “Is that why you are returning to Town with me?”
“I see no other solution.”
“Because she is beneath your station,” Charles noted to which Darcy merely nodded. “Well, in any event, Caroline shall suffer no regrets,” he joked. “She has every expectation of gaining your favour.”
Darcy saw no levity in his friend’s observation: “I have given her no reason to believe so,” he coolly replied.
Charles laughed heartily: “No, I dare say you have discouraged her every scheme but she is not so easily dissuaded,” he cheerfully replied.
Darcy scowled: “I wish you had better control of your sister; her behaviour is most unbecoming.”
“No, she pays no heed to me, to be sure!”
The waiter returned with their meals as another traveling party entered the dining room. Their discussion would not resume again until they were in the privacy of the carriage.
~~~
Charles knew his friend well and was determined to make his point: “Darcy we are of different minds on this issue. You may wish to deny your feelings but I shall not deny mine,” he insisted.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you mean to discourage me from my feelings for Miss Bennet so that you may console yourself with the loss of Miss Elizabeth?” he inquired, getting to the heart of the matter. Darcy made no reply and Charles allowed the silence to linger for a moment. “Can you deny that you hold Miss Elizabeth in esteem?” he inquired, finally making his point.
Darcy shook his head: “I cannot deny it.”
“But you are willing to put your feelings aside.”
“My family has certain expectations.”
Charles was no stranger to family obligations: “My sisters also have expectations for my match but if I searched all of England, I shall never find a woman more suited to me than Miss Bennet.”
Darcy nodded: “I suspect the same is true of Miss Elizabeth.”
“Then how can you give her up? I find it unfathomable that my Miss Bennet would marry another man!” he insisted. He felt certain that he had finally made his point when Darcy appeared suddenly alarmed.
“You have given me much to think about, Charles,” he quietly replied.
“I hope you will consider your choice carefully, Darcy.”
Darcy nodded: “I shall.”
They rode in silence until they approached the outskirts of London: “I will drop you and your valet at home, then go on to my hotel,” Charles offered.
“You need not go to a hotel, Charles. You are welcome to stay with me during your stay in Town.”
“Only if it is no imposition,” Charles insisted.
“Not in the slightest.”
“Thank you, Darcy.”
~~~
They arrived at Darcy House and entered the front hall. Georgiana ran out to greet them: “Welcome home, Brother! What a lovely surprise!” she exclaimed, brimming with excitement.
Darcy embraced his precious sister: “Hello, my sweet Georgiana,” he told her, thankful to find her in such high spirits. “I have brought Mr. Bingley with me. He will be staying with us for a few days.”
Georgiana greeted Charles warmly, then instructed the butler to have his trunks brought to a guest chamber. He thanked her and followed the butler up the stairs.
“How are you, my sweet?” Darcy asked, kissing her forehead.
“I am well but I have missed you terribly!”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and guided her into the drawing room: “And I have missed you! Tell me, are you able to concentrate on your studies?” he inquired, filled with concern.
She smiled brightly: “Oh yes, Mrs. Annesley has been most helpful. I have a new piece to play for you tonight.”
He was instantly relieved: “I shall look forward to it.”
“Did you enjoy your time in Hertfordshire?” she inquired.
He nodded: “Very much. There was a ball last night,” he told her, knowing she would be intrigued.
Her enthusiastic reaction did not disappoint him: “How exciting! I want to hear all about it!”
“You shall but first I must change my clothes.” He left her to go above stairs but instead of going to his chamber, he diverted to the family gallery where the portraits of his family were displayed. He silently greeted his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, as was his habit when entering the gallery. He smiled as they all gazed at him from their gilded frames. He felt the presence of his family even though he was quite alone.
He would come to the gallery whenever he had a problem to be solved. If his parents were alive, he could simply ask them for their advice but now that they were gone, he could only suppose what they would want him to do.
He had come here often in August, following Georgiana’s heartbreak at Ramsgate, to contemplate what they might have advised him. Now that he was on the brink of his own heartbreak, what would his parents wish for him?
“Are you well, Brother?” Georgiana asked from the doorway.
He smiled at the sound of her voice: “Of course! Why should I not be well?”
“You usually come to the gallery when there is a problem.”
He had no desire to dampen her spirits: “It is not a problem so much as a dilemma.”
“Have you solved the dilemma?” she inquired.
He shook his head: “Not yet but I shall,” he replied, attempting to appear confident.
“Perhaps I may be of assistance,” she suggested, her eyes filled with concern.
He hesitated for a moment, then he told her: “I met a woman.”
Her eyes flew open wide: “Who is she?”
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” he told her, unable to prevent a smile from forming; even the sound of her name made him smile.
“From your letters?”
He had indeed written to his sister about the lady: “The very same.”
She grasped his arm and held it tightly: “Oh William, she sounded so lovely in your letters! I hoped that you would form an attachment to her!”
He averted his eyes: “Yes well, it is all quite undecided.”
She sighed and gazed up at the portraits: “So you came here to talk to Mama and Papa.”
He nodded: “I wish they were here to give us their advice.”
“Yes but we must find our own answers now,” she suggested.
He nodded his agreement.
“I do so hope for a sister,” she told him.
“Yes, I know a girl prefers a sister to a brother,” he teased.
“Not in the least! You are an excellent brother but if you were to marry, I would have my sister!”
“As I am aware,” he replied with a grin.
“Well, I shall not press you,” she told him kissing his cheek. She left him to his privacy but turned at the door: “Of course, you must know that they would advise you to pursue your happiness.”
After his sister had gone, Darcy turned to gaze at his mother’s portrait: “She makes me happy, Mama.”
Chapter 9: Protection
Longbourn was in chaos. Mr. Collins had proposed to Elizabeth after breakfast and she had refused him. She could not imagine a man less suited to her than her cousin; he really was the most ridiculous man of her acquaintance. Of course, he was deterred not in the slightest by her refusal, suggesting that refusal of a suitor’s proposal was a game played by demure young ladies and insisted on pressing his suit. She had refused each of his attempts to persuade her to accept him and finally, she had resorted to running out of the house to avoid him.
Her Mama had run after her, scolding and abusing her, insisting that she be a dutiful daughter and accept Mr. Collins. She had even attempted to have her Papa influence her. But in the end, Papa would not force her to marry where she did not love and the matter was considered quite settled.
Of course, the matter was not in the least settled to Mama; she continued to scold and berate her for hours after the unfortunate incident.
“I tell you what, Miss Lizzy, if you take it into your head to go on refusing every offer of marriage in this way, you will never get a husband at all and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you when your father is dead. I shall not be able to keep you and so I warn you. I have done with you from this very day. I told you in the library, you know, that I should never speak to you again, and you will find me as good as my word. I have no pleasure in talking to undutiful children, -- Not that I have much pleasure indeed in talking to anybody. People who suffer as I do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for talking. Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied.” [4]
Elizabeth remained silent during her Mama’s harangues; she knew perfectly well that any argument would only add fuel to her ire. Mama continued to berate her for her selfish refusal to ensure the future of Longbourn by marrying the heir of the estate. Elizabeth prepared herself for a good deal of misery over the coming days. Of course, her Mama’s tirades were only a small portion of her misery. If only a certain gentleman would reappear, that would most assuredly ease her suffering. When her Mama railed against her, she closed her eyes and recalled the dashing gentleman with the disarming smile.
~~~
George Wickham had completed his mission and was on the way back to Meryton with a full belly and full pockets. He had enjoyed the favours of Lady Luck while in London; his luck had returned and he was five pounds richer. He had played cards both nights he was in Town and relieved a number of gentlemen of their coins. He had stopped at the coaching inn to change horses and break his fast. The proprietor insisted on giving him a full breakfast on the house: “I am honoured to serve a man who serves the King!” he had told George, refusing to accept payment for the meal.
“Yes, I believe I shall enjoy military life, after all,” he mused as he rode towards Meryton, allowing his thoughts to wander to any number of agreeable possibilities.
When he returned to the Meryton encampment, he reported directly to Colonel Forster to deliver the packet from headquarters. The Colonel looked up briefly from his desk, thanked George for the packet and ordered him to immediately join the other men in the daily training exercise.
When the training was over, George greeted his friend Denny.
“Do you have the money you owe me?” Denny angrily inquired.
George was taken aback by Denny’s abrupt greeting: “Yes, of course,” he replied, reaching into his pocket, retrieving a few coins and placing them in Denny’s palm. “I thank you for your generosity.”
Denny quickly dropped the coins into his pocket: “Why did you borrow money from me if you received your inheritance?”
“But I told you my inheritance was denied.”
“Then you were not paid the value of the living from Mr. Darcy’s bequest?” Denny inquired.
George began to panic; his cover story seemed to be coming into question: “Who told you that?”
“The story is all over town. Everyone heard about it at the ball last night.” Denny advised him.
George knew that there was only one other person with knowledge of that payment: Fitzwilliam Darcy.
“Why did you tell me you are penniless?” Denny insisted.
“Because I am penniless.”
“What about your inheritance?” Denny inquired, pressing him further.
George averted his eyes: “I had a run of bad luck.”
“You lost it all?”
George shrugged his shoulders: “My luck will return, I am certain of it.”
~~~
The next day, Jane received a letter from Caroline Bingley:
==o==
My dearest friend Jane,
When my brother left us yesterday, he imagined that the business which took him to London, might be concluded in three or four days, but as we are certain it cannot be so, and at the same time convinced that when Charles gets to town he will be in no hurry to leave it again, we have determined on following him thither, that he may not be obliged to spend his vacant hours in a comfortless hotel. Many of my acquaintance are already there for the winter; I wish I could hear that you, my dearest friend, had any intention of making one in the crowd, but of that I despair. I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire may abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings, and that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your feeling the loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you.
I do not pretend to regret any thing I shall leave in Hertfordshire, except your society, my dearest friend; but we will hope at some future period, to enjoy many returns of the delightful intercourse we have known, and in the meanwhile may lessen the pain of separation by a very frequent and most unreserved correspondence. I depend on you for that.
Mr. Darcy was impatient to see his sister, and to confess the truth, we are scarcely less eager to meet her again. I really do not think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance, and accomplishments; and the affection she inspires in Louisa and myself is heightened into something still more interesting, from the hope we dare to entertain of her being hereafter our sister. I do not know whether I ever before mentioned to you my feelings on this subject, but I will not leave the country without confiding them, and I trust you will not esteem them unreasonable. My brother admires her greatly already, he will have frequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing, her relations all wish the connection as much as his own, and a sister's partiality is not misleading me, I think, when I call Charles most capable of engaging any woman's heart. With all these circumstances to favour an attachment and nothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of an event which will secure the happiness of so many? [5]
Yours ever,
Caroline Bingley
==o==
Elizabeth felt a sense of dread wash over her: “Whatever can Miss Bingley mean by sending such a letter?” she asked her sister.
Jane appeared crestfallen: “Perhaps Mr. Bingley has no regard for me,” she replied, hanging her head.
“That is absurd! You must not believe that!” Elizabeth insisted. “No one who has ever seen you together can doubt Mr. Bingley’s regard!”
“But why would Miss Bingley say that her brother admires Miss Darcy unless it is true?”
“Miss Bingley only wishes her brother to admire Miss Darcy so she may admire Mr. Darcy with greater frequency.”
“I shall be in the greatest despair if he does not return.”
Elizabeth embraced her sister: “You must not even consider it; Mr. Bingley shall return,” she insisted, refusing to believe otherwise.
“What shall we tell Mama?” Jane inquired. “If she were to learn of Miss Bingley’s intention to remain in Town for the winter, we shall hear no end of it.”
Elizabeth could not help but agree: “We shall only tell her that Miss Bingley has returned to town and no more.”
Despite Elizabeth’s fears that she would never see Mr. Darcy again, she had no such fears when it came to Mr. Bingley. She felt certain that he had displayed an unmistakable regard for Jane and would return from Town by the end of the week.
~~~
Charles Bingley stopped at the Hurst townhouse with his valet to retrieve his winter wardrobe. Caroline rushed into his chamber: “Oh Charles, I knew you would come to your senses!” she purred with a self-satisfied smile.
“Why have you come to Town, Caroline?” he inquired.
“We had no wish for you to stay all alone in a cheerless hotel.”
He frowned: “I am neither alone nor staying at a hotel; I am staying with Darcy.”
“Well, now that Louisa and I have come to Town, you may come home with us.”
He shook his head: “No, I think not. I have every intention of returning to Hertfordshire,” he told her.
“But Charles, our friends have already invited us to attend the holiday festivities,” she replied, attempting to dissuade him.
“You may attend, if you wish, but I shall spend the holidays at Netherfield,” he boldly announced.
“You cannot be serious!” Caroline screeched. He made no reply other than to sigh with exasperation and shake his head. “It would be just like you to ruin my plans,” she pouted, stomping her foot.
