Chapter 15 #2
They were informed of Wickham’s intent and his plan had been most unceremoniously interrupted at the point of Richard and William’s swords.
Father and son were exceptionally proud of the courage Georgie had displayed when facing him and expressed their true regrets for having missed the now infamous slap, and more importantly the look on his face after, which was reported as shocked beyond belief.
The wastrel who had attempted to leech off Darcy for years was now safely ensconced at Marshalsea, and he would never be able to hurt anyone again. Both men were relieved. A blight on all levels of society had been at last excised.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The men from Bedlam, accompanied by Biggs and some of his fellow footman, were tasked with the unpleasant chore of retrieving Lady Catherine from her temporary housing in the coal cellar so they could transfer her to the conveyance that would take her to her new home.
When they opened the door, the expected stream of expletives and vitriol burst from the lady’s mouth. A moment of lucidity occurred when she saw the men in the white suits, and she suddenly realised Bedlam was not an idol threat; it was to be her reality.
She struck out with all she had, but her rebellion was quickly quelled and the great Lady Catherine, in a filthy gown, was gagged and trussed up like a chicken being made ready for roasting.
She watched helplessly as she was picked up by two of the orderlies and was taken out the servant’s entry at the rear of the manor to the waiting equipage.
She, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, daughter of an Earl and widow of a Baronet, was taken out of the servant’s portal!
This was the final humiliation she would endure, and she intended to make sure everyone knew she was most seriously displeased.
On the road, the orderlies were relieved she sank back into her fantasy world. In Lady Catherine’s mind, she was sitting in her grand carriage on her way to give the monarch an audience she had but the day before condescended to grant.
Her realisation she was being taken to Bedlam was, unfortunately for those that loved her but possibly most fortunate for herself, her last lucid moment. This truth may have, in fact, been what had broken her last tenuous ties with reality.
She sat in the carriage, not grasping why she was restrained so she could not move or order any of her subjects to do what she desired. It was the last trip she would ever take in a carriage while still on the mortal coil.
As the carriage passed by the front of the house on its way up the drive, the occupants of the house watched it sadly but without remorse. This was the only way to save her life, and she had quite demonstrated she was completely insane when she attacked her own daughter with a knife.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next day it was decided that by the end of the week, the whole party would decamp to London so Lizzy could start acquiring her trousseau.
Bennet was well pleased he had not leased out their townhouse he had purchased from the down on his luck Lord who had more in common with Wickham’s gambling habits than he would have liked to know.
Bennet sent an express to let the Gardiners know they were coming to London, and another to Mrs. Kerry O’Grady, and Mr. Humphrey Thatcher, the housekeeper and butler at the house on Grosvenor Square, to inform them of their plans and with the instructions to employ whatever staff was needed for their upcoming stay.
In the same express, Bennet instructed his butler that the house would be henceforth named Bennet House, thereby removing the last vestiges of the previous owner who had lost his way.
The Bennets would bring some servants with them, to include the head cook, maids, and some footmen to supplement the staff until the new servants and staff were added and the house was fully staffed.
Also travelling with the party, as always when the Bennets journeyed away from Longbourn, was Biggs and his group of very large footmen that doubled as bodyguards, as well as a good number of well-armed outriders.
The Bennets personal mounts were being led by some of the outriders so they would have them available in town.
Both Darcy and the Earl sent similar expresses to their housekeepers and butlers to open their townhouses. In his express, Darcy instructed Mrs. Killion, his housekeeper, to make sure the house sparkled and to air out and clean the mistress’s suite.
He stated with no improper pride he would be bringing the future Mrs. Darcy to tour the house and he wanted her to inspect the suite and have her request whatever changes she desired made.
His mother, Lady Anne Darcy, had decorated that set of rooms over thirty years prior not long after she had married George Darcy. The rooms had been closed by his father right after his mother passed almost fourteen years ago and had not been used since.
Members of the Ton who were still in town would see the obvious signs of the wealth of the Bennets when the convoy of carriages arrived as the family moved into their grand townhouse, now proclaimed as Bennet House thanks to the new brass plaque which replaced the previous one.
Even before they arrived, the close association with the houses of Matlock and Darcy was noted, and the Ton would soon understand the Bennets were a family with the best of connections and they looked to be wealthy in the extreme.
Once word of the massive dowries for each daughter and the extent of the Bennet land holdings began to be whispered about, the matchmaking mamas who were still in Town salivated with the news the family would arrive any day now.
These fortune hunting mothers thought that they would have an advantage over those already in the country, only to find out two daughters were being formally courted, and another was the Elizabeth Bennet mentioned in the betrothal announcement to Fitzwilliam Darcy.
The Bennets were only known by a select few close friends of the Fitzwilliams, mostly members of the peerage, so members of polite society had been abuzz trying to find out who would have the gall to take Mr. Darcy away from their daughters.
As information about the Bennets filtered through the gossips of the Ton and was passed onto those in the country, it was realised that to disparage any Bennet was to disparage some very powerful members of the peerage and a number of extremely influential members in the first circles.
The example of what had befallen Caroline Bingley had a chilling effect on anyone who considered doing so.
Much to Thomas Bennet’s chagrin, the anonymity he had once revelled in was no more and it was clear the Ton expected the Bennets to be seen as they were members of the top tier of the first circles.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Before requesting a courtship with Jane Bennet, Bingley had not considered the need to purchase a townhouse.
After he received permission to court his angel, he sent word to his solicitor to keep his eyes and ears open for eligible properties that came up for sale.
He had given up the lease on the rented home just a month previously.
There were enough irresolute members of the Ton who gambled too much, so his solicitor was sure Bingley would not have to wait too long before something became available.
Darcy invited Bingley and the Hursts to stay with him, Georgiana, and his cousin Anne de Bourgh at Darcy house, and the invitation was gratefully accepted.
More than ever, Louisa thanked her lucky stars she had broken with Caroline. Had she made the monumental mistake of not doing so, she would have committed social suicide, just as her sister had.
She had no doubt if she had not, her husband would have consigned her to his family’s country estate and left her there alone if he had not left her altogether.
She loved her sister, she always would, and was sorry for the straights Caroline was in, however she would not reach out to her because it was clear the happiness of many would be sacrificed for the happiness of one, to include her own.
Louisa was truly enjoying the changes that her decisions had wrought on her marriage. Even though hers was arranged and was at the time considered a marriage of convenience, she had never felt closer to her husband.
Mrs. Hurst had been far too oblivious regarding him in the past but now knew her husband had never over imbibed. As he had stated that fateful day, he only feigned sleep to avoid any trouble his social climbing sister-in-law wrought.
There was genuine felicity in her marriage now, and for the first time she felt like she may be on her way to falling in love, that it was with her husband was a blessing beyond measure.
To her humiliation, she admitted she had before dreaded the marriage bed, but now she craved it.
Not only for all the obvious reasons, but the time they shared there was just for her and her husband, and she was learning she not only was falling in love with the man she had agreed to marry, but she liked him, and if they were so blessed, then maybe God would soon grant them a child.
The invitation to be guests at Darcy house, coupled with the fact Louisa was invited to join all of the Bennet, Fitzwilliam, Darcy, and Gardiner ladies, who also included Anne de Bourgh, when they went on their shopping expeditions had even more positive effects than her decision to not let her sister continue to rule her life.
Seeing the genuine affection between the sisters and soon to be sisters, and the fact that she was shown as much affection as she was willing to give, proved what joy having true sisters of the heart could be.
Bingley and Hurst would often accompany the men to White’s or Boodle’s which was a clear signal to the members of the Ton still in Town that very influential members of the first circles fully accepted and supported Bingley and the Hursts.
As vowed weeks previously, it was made quite clear by Ladies Matlock and Hilldale that Caroline Bingley was persona non grata.
While there were not a great number of members of the Ton in Town, there were always more than enough gossips and the writers of the society pages to provide the news so that all members of society, no matter their class, would know not only that Bingley and the Hursts were accepted and welcome, but that Miss Bingley was not.
Louisa knew her sister still tortured herself with the society pages and did not have to stretch her imagination to know when she read about all of them, she would be mortified and green with jealousy.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On reading about the betrothal of Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley to Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn, Miss Caroline Bingley had very nearly had an apoplexy.
The woman had used some of her limited on-hand funds to travel to Town, believing her brother would soon see the error of his ways and recall her to his side with an apology and as much money as she wanted.
With such an expectation, Caroline had not drawn from what was left of her dowry. She was still certain she would be the next mistress of Pemberley and so had suffered the degradation of riding post to Town to make sure she was available for her summons to Charles’s side.
Her plan was to tell her friends all about that chit Eliza Bennet and her grasping family. She was most confused when none of her friends had responded to her many letters but convinced herself they must be too busy for correspondence as they were preparing for travel.
The truth was very far from Caroline’s current understanding of things.
Ladies Matlock and Hilldale even before they returned to Town, had let it be known that they would not know anyone who was associated with Miss Caroline Bingley, so every single one of her letters had been unceremoniously consigned to the fire without being opened.
When she at last arrived in town without any funds needed to stay at a hotel or return to Scarborough, it was not a concern for her. Miss Bingley was sure her friends would receive her and expected invitations to stay at a townhouse within a few scant hours after it was known she had come.
To her horror, she received a very different response and a most rude awakening. At every townhouse she attempted to gain admittance to, so she could call on one of those friends she had informed she would be arriving; she was told no one was at home to her and she was not welcome to return.
Already in shock over this treatment, her folly was highlighted for her in the starkest of terms when she came across two of her erstwhile friends walking and talking together in Hyde Park.
When she approached them, she saw on them the same pinched, disgusted look she often employed, and she was very publicly given the cut direct. It was indisputable, witnessed proof of her error in her treatment of the Bennets, and that the Ladies Matlock and Hilldale had not made empty threats.
Caroline Bingley was beyond humiliated, she was mortified, and knew without a doubt she could never show her face in Town again or for that matter, anywhere in society. She went to the bank where her dowry was kept and withdrew all of her funds.
She then made her way to Gracechurch Street where she hoped no one would recognise her. It had been years since she had walked the streets there with her family to and from her father’s businesses. She began to purchase what she thought she would need for a long voyage.
Next, she rented a coach to take her to Liverpool and when she arrived, she purchased a ticket on the first ship to America.
And so, Caroline Bingley left England’s shores in absolute shame, dejection, mortification, and worst of all for her, obscurity.
She finally was forced to face the truth of her own insignificance.