Chapter 26
“You look extremely happy, Jane. Was the museum so very diverting?” Mrs. Gardiner teased her niece who had just returned from an outing with Mr. Bingley.
“Oh, Aunt! The museum was very informative and I enjoyed it well enough, but it was later when we stopped for some ices at Gunter’s that something unexpected happened.”
“Did Mr. Bingley declare himself, dear?” Mrs. Gardiner asked excitedly.
“No, no, I do not think he will do so in London. He seems to be waiting for us to return to Hertfordshire. I do not mind the wait, especially after today’s incident. It gave me greater hope than anything else.”
“Then do not keep me in suspense any longer. Tell me what this momentous event was?”
“We were at Gunter’s when we ran into Miss Bingley. She was there with a suitor, I think by the way she held the gentleman’s arm.”
“Suitor! Was it not Mr. Darcy whom she had intimated would be her future husband?”
“Yes, among other things, but that was not the most surprising aspect of the meeting. She was shocked to see me in the company of her brother and was quick to convey her surprise. I was for a minute worried that she would drag Mr. Bingley away, but you should have seen him, Aunt. He was marvellous. He introduced me to the gentleman accompanying his sister, and proudly proclaimed that I was a dear friend to him and that the Bennets were the most valued of his neighbours in Hertfordshire. He was so firm in his discourse that Miss Bingley could not utter a word. Then he gently admonished her for not conveying to him her knowledge of my presence in town.”
“This does speak well of him, for I know you were worried about his sister’s reaction to your reunion. I hope you are now satisfied that he means to remain steadfast.”
“Yes, Aunt. He said something to the gentleman accompanying Miss Bingley about Mr. Darcy being much more concerned for his happiness than his own family, but I did not follow the whole of it, and they seemed to have been in a hurry.”
“Perhaps the gentleman was acquainted with Mr. Darcy. The ton is a small group with most people knowing each other.”
“I think I will write to Lizzy; she has spent a good deal of time in Mr. Darcy’s company, and may know about the gentleman, but it hardly signifies. All I care about is the way Mr. Bingley stood firm in the face of his sister’s disapproval.”
Mrs. Gardiner kissed her niece on her forehead and assured her that she very much deserved her happiness, and from all accounts it was quite clear that Mr. Bingley had learned from his mistakes and did not wish to repeat them.
While Jane was basking in her new—found confidence, Bingley was pacing with uncontrolled fury in his study.
It had been a nuisance to run into his sister at Gunter’s, though he was in no way concerned for her reactions, he had always avoided unpleasant confrontations.
Darcy had called him too easily persuaded, but he knew the real reason was this uncontrolled fury that consumed him.
He was generally a cheerful person and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life, but there were times when he lost his temper over things that he considered completely unjustified, and then his fury knew no bounds.
His sister had, after a long time, been on the receiving end of his wrath.
The only other time he had been this angry with Caroline was during her first season when she had ordered jewellery and clothes worth more than double her annual allowance.
Since then she had understood the limits of his patience, and while she still spent more than she ought, it was never so outrageous.
Today Caroline had been close to tears when he had finally expressed his full displeasure and threatened to sever all connections with her if she continued on her selfish path.
She had at last understood the futility of her desires to keep him away from Miss Bennet and had withdrawn from his presence to sulk in the privacy of her chambers.
Pouring a generous amount of brandy, Bingley finally sat down and took a large gulp, trying to calm himself.
He could not forget the look of amusement on Colonel Fitzwilliam’s face when Jane had been introduced to him.
Darcy was sure to have related the events of Hertfordshire to his cousin, and Caroline was making a fool of the whole Bingley family in the presence of those whose good opinion she courted more than most. Unlike Darcy, the Colonel never shied away from Caroline’s presence; instead he seemed to find her pretensions amusing.
Bingley felt embarrassed by such a spectacle made of his family’s good name by his sister.
He thanked the Lord that Miss Darcy, who had accompanied them, was already in the carriage preventing the Colonel from lingering.
How his sister had attached herself to an outing with Miss Darcy and her guardian was anybody’s guess, but the Colonel must have acquiesced to her presence only for his amusement.
If his sister continued on this path, the Bingleys may soon become the laughing—stock of high society.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was having an extraordinarily pleasant day; he did not have much responsibility with the War Office today and had decided to spend some time with his ward.
He understood that Darcy would reside in Hampshire for some time, and thought that Georgiana would appreciate society and hence had planned to take her to an art exhibition and to Gunter’s.
Miss Bingley had called on Georgiana just after he had arrived and had attached herself to their outing.
Unlike Darcy, he saw this as an opportunity for Georgiana to learn the social skills of manoeuvring unwanted company and thus had agreed to the lady’s presence with alacrity.
Georgiana had done better than he had expected, deflecting all the lady’s questions about her brother with vague answers and receiving her fawning with a demure smile.
By the time they were leaving Gunter’s, the young girl was exhausted and he had no wish to prolong her discomfort; thus, when they had spotted Bingley, he had asked her to wait in the carriage while he and Miss Bingley greeted her brother.
Fitzwilliam smiled to himself as he thought back to the meeting with Bingley.
The young man was resolute in his admonishment of his sister but the biggest surprise had been the lady in his company.
He had finally puzzled out all that was confounding him since his visit to Rosings Park.
The lady with whom Bingley was enamoured and had been persuaded to stay away from was Miss Elizabeth’s older sister.
He had baulked at the introduction but had maintained his silence for he preferred to understand the situation before he said anything.
That Darcy was attracted to Miss Elizabeth had been apparent to him from the beginning, but now he understood his pretentious cousin’s dilemma.
He had always been confused as to Miss Elizabeth’s animosity towards his rich and handsome cousin, but everything now made sense.
Then Bingley had mentioned something about Darcy writing to him regarding Miss Bennet’s direction in London.
Fitzwilliam knew, from a letter Darcy had sent, that Miss Elizabeth was related to Mrs. Hardwicke and was currently in Hampshire, but his cousin had been otherwise irritatingly vague.
It appeared that his cousin was intent on wooing the lady and was being made to work for her regard.
He thought that this would be good for Darcy, who had become quite disdainful of society as of late.
He decided to call on this angelic Miss Bennet in Cheapside and see what more information he could gain about his cousin’s tight-lipped courtship and perhaps give Bingley a reason to be jealous.
The man had the most beautiful and gentle creature within his power and was dithering like a fool on the advice of Darcy, who had never once wooed a lady.