Chapter 11 #2
Bennet had the decency to look embarrassed.
“Yes, in my indolence, I did that so Lizzy would do the work I preferred not to do,” he admitted.
“I suppose by rights it should be Jane as my eldest, but as you said, Lizzy is the only one who knows how to run the estate. This is something I need to discuss with my family, as I will not make a unilateral decision. Perhaps there is time for Lizzy and me to educate Jane about the workings of the estate as well.”
Seeing his brother-in-law’s new positive attitude impressed Phillips. He needed to write to Gardiner about the changes he was seeing. Neither man had ever thought Bennet would drag himself from his study to do his duty to his family.
It was only sad that it took Lydia losing her virtue to motivate Bennet to act.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Not long after the Bennets broke their fasts, Colonel Fitzwilliam called on them. He joined the parents and three eldest in the drawing room. The two youngest Bennets were in the schoolroom.
“Hannah and Emma will join Miss Lydia in travelling to the convent. Mrs Jackson informed Lady Lucas that Miss Paulette was blessed with her female indisposition this morning,” Fitzwilliam reported. “They feel that she has learnt her lesson and does not need to be sent away for five months.”
“Paulette is the only daughter among a bevy of sons, so I understand why Mrs Jackson does not want to send her away,” Elizabeth stated.
“I am happy for them that Paulette is able to remain at home and that her family did not abandon her because she was manipulated by that terrible seducer. I know we should never wish anyone dead, other than the Corsican Tyrant, but I will not mourn that libertine’s death. ”
“I know that my cousin takes the responsibility for the damage Wicky left in his wake on his own shoulders, but he is wrong,” Fitzwilliam stated.
“The only Darcy who bears some of the blame is my late Uncle Robert. He would not listen to William or to any of us who told him what a monster he had created. As long as I live, I will never understand why my uncle was so blind when it came to his godson.”
Changing the subject, Bennet queried, “When are the girls to travel north?”
“On the morrow. The carriage my cousin rented will collect Miss Lydia at sunup. There will be a maid to act as companion as well as two footmen. Colonel Forster has given me five men. They and I will act as outriders to make sure the young ladies arrive safely. Hannah and Emma will take the post coach to Hatfield with one of their fathers. The rest of us with Miss Lydia will meet them there and continue north once they and their trunks are secured. At that point, Hannah’s father will return to Meryton,” Fitzwilliam explained.
“My poor Lyddie; she is to leave so soon,” Fanny lamented. “I know there is no choice, but that does not make it easier. As I taught the youngest girls the wrong thing, it should be me being sent away.”
“As I said when we first spoke about this, I am more to blame than any other. All we can do is move forward together and pray that Lydia is not carrying that demon’s spawn,” Bennet stated.
“If she is not with child, and once she has gained some sort of education, she will be welcome to return to Longbourn. If she is in the family way, we will make the relevant decisions once we know that.”
“I must see Hill and have Lydia’s things packed,” Fanny stated as she stood.
“Do not forget that most of Lydia’s gowns will not be acceptable to the Sisters,” Jane pointed out. “We will all have to help to alter the ones she is taking with her to make them more modest.”
“There is nothing wrong with how my Lydia dresses…” Fanny caught herself as she reacted in the way she would have before all of the revelations.
“You have the right of it,” she responded calmly.
“Help from you girls will be appreciated. I will have Hill spare me any maid who is good with a needle and thread as well.”
Lydia accepted her fate without complaint, knowing that she could have been turned out of the house. With her mother, sisters, and some of the maids, she worked to make her clothing more appropriate for a convent.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
After he watched the rector of Kympton conduct the interment of George Wickham’s remains next to the graves of his parents, Darcy mounted Zeus and rode back to the manor house.
A sadness had settled in over his person.
Some of the servants mistook what they were seeing for the master’s feeling low after watching his former childhood friend being laid to rest.
The only one who knew the truth was Mrs Reynolds, the current housekeeper. She had come to work at Pemberley when the young master was but four and had risen through the ranks of the female servants until Lady Anne had appointed her housekeeper when Master William was eleven.
The housekeeper had been a comfort to Darcy when he lost, first, his mother before he turned thirteen, and a little more than five years past, his father had been called home to God.
She was his employee, while at the same time Darcy felt he could speak to her about anything, like he had after Ramsgate.
He knew she would never repeat a word he told her.
Mrs Reynolds had known that other than mourning the death of another human, her master would not be sad about Wickham’s passing.
When he had bathed and changed the day he arrived home, Mrs Reynolds knocked on the study door where Darcy was about to gulp down a second two-finger snifter of brandy. The conversation was still fresh in his mind.
“Master William, what is ailing you? I know you are not mourning that man who turned out so wild and caused you so much heartache, not to mention, almost ruining Miss Gigi. So, what has caused this low mood?” Mrs Reynolds had asked.
“You are too well known to me for me not to see that it is something else.”
“You have always been perspicacious regarding me and my sister. You are right. I have no reason to mourn George Wickham. Rather, I mourn all the victims of his behaviour who are left behind and who have to live with the consequences of his cheating, lies, and seductions,” Darcy had lamented.
“And this time, because I thought it below me to warn a whole community about him, it has cost me the hand of the only woman I shall ever love.”
Rather than speak, Mrs Reynolds had waited, knowing that Master William would say more when he was ready, for there was definitely more to the story.
“It began the first day I arrived in Hertfordshire to assist Bingley, which, as you know, was less than two months after Wickham almost carried Gigi off to Gretna Green. The day I arrived…” Darcy related everything up to and including the escape after the ball and his wrongheaded advice to Bingley.
“None of that was well done, Master William,” the housekeeper had stated firmly. “Your parents taught you better than that. Tell me more before I give my opinion. One thing I will say is that if Mr Bingley truly wanted to return to Miss Bennet, no one was forcing him to stay away.”
“That is what the lady herself concluded. However, I am getting ahead of myself. As you know, Colonel Fitzwilliam and I went to visit our aunt. Miss Elizabeth was there…” Darcy had told all which occurred at Rosings Park, right up to and including his horrendous proposal and the letter he had written to explain his side of the story.
“You know I am far more articulate in writing than when I speak.”
“Master William, why would you expect any self-respecting lady to accept you after the insults you flung at her and her family? As far as Miss Bingley and her scandalous claims about you and Miss Gigi go, did I not tell you that the woman would go too far one day?” Mrs Reynolds had shaken her head.
“You are correct though. How could you tell what her sister felt when you were blind to Miss Elizabeth’s dislike of you?
How did the lady react to your letter? Did she read it, and if so, did she believe your words?
It seems to me that she would not have been well disposed to think any better of your words than she did of you. ”
“You are not telling me anything I have not already realised as far as my interactions with Miss Elizabeth are concerned. After my family excoriated me for my rudeness, I decided I needed to apologise to Miss Elizabeth, her sister, and their London relatives. I hoped but did not know if the lady I still love was present. She was. It seems…” Darcy had related the mutual apologies and forgiveness with Miss Elizabeth and the pardons granted by Miss Bennet and the Gardiners.
Then he told of the trip to Hertfordshire and what happened once there.
“As soon as I saw the look on her countenance when they realised Wickham had meddled with the youngest Bennet sister, I knew I needed to remove my presence from her company, so I escorted the body here to Derbyshire. That is why I am forlorn.”
“Master William, there are times you can be a dullard.” She had seen the outrage in Darcy’s look. “Were most of the problems you had with Miss Elizabeth caused by misunderstandings?” Mrs Reynolds had demanded.
“I suppose, but I did not miss the look…” Darcy had begun to respond when the housekeeper had raised her hand.
“Are you a soothsayer with abilities to read another’s thoughts? Remember, you did not do so well with Miss Elizabeth’s sister.”
Darcy had shaken his head.
“Master William, then pray tell me, how do you know what she was thinking?” Mrs Reynolds had asked.
As he remembered the conversation, Darcy had to own that he had made an assumption and could not have known what she was thinking. He had urgent work he must complete at Pemberley, and then he needed to make for London to be with Gigi and confront the Bingleys.
Afterwards, he would travel to Hertfordshire to see if there would be a chance to see Miss Elizabeth again and discover if he had been wrong.