Chapter 39
Bennets’ Hired House
Norfolk Street
The Next Morning
Darcy’s heart hammered in his chest as he climbed the half-flight of steps to the front door of the Bennets’ hired house. He had received a note from Mrs. Bennet this very morning, asking him to stop by at his convenience, and in his eagerness, he was in his carriage a scant fifteen minutes later.
He knocked on the front door briskly and was pleased when it opened immediately to reveal the Bennets’ butler. It was not quite raining, but it was misty, and he was eager to get under a roof as quickly as possible.
A maid took his hat and gloves and stick, and the butler guided him to the drawing room and announced him.
The three Bennet ladies were within, but as soon as Mr. Darcy was announced, Miss Bennet left with a soft apology and a knowing smile, leaving Darcy with the lady he adored and her mother.
“Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Bennet said, rising to her feet. “I will let you and Elizabeth speak, but then I would like to talk with you privately.”
Darcy felt almost sick with hopeful trepidation, but he managed to say, calmly, “Certainly, Mrs. Bennet.”
The lady nodded and left on brisk steps, and when the door closed behind her, he turned his attention to Elizabeth, who was standing by the window, dressed in a soft green which brought out the green in her eyes.
“Mr. Darcy,” she said, stepping forward with outstretched hands. “I accept your offer of marriage.”
The breath escaped his lungs with a whoosh, and he grasped her hands in his own and lifted them to his lips to press a fervent kiss on each one.
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” he breathed. “Thank you. You have made me the happiest man on earth.”
***
Drawing Room
Darcy House
Two Hours Later
“Oh, Brother!” Serena squealed and bounced lightly on her toes. “You are engaged to Elizabeth Bennet! How absolutely wonderful!”
“It is wonderful, Fitzwilliam,” Georgiana exclaimed, her blue eyes alight with joy.
Darcy beamed at his sisters and said, “Thank you, my dears. I am indeed overjoyed!”
Serena was, he noticed in surprise, actually weeping with joy, and a moment later, she hurried over and threw her arms around him. “Oh Brother, Elizabeth is wonderful and the perfect woman for you. I could not be more pleased!”
He returned the embrace with fervor and then stretched out a long arm to pull Georgiana into the huddle.
It had just been the three of them for so long, but soon there would be another member of the family, a bright, intelligent, cheerful woman who would love his sisters, who would bring joy to Pemberley, who would be mother to his children…
Georgiana was the first to break away, and she said, with surprising practicality, “Will you be riding to Longbourn to ask for Mr. Bennet’s blessing today, Brother?”
He shook his head and said, “No, I will wait until tomorrow. Mrs. Bennet and I spoke at some length, and she suggested that I attend the Hampshire ball tonight with Elizabeth. The sooner everyone learns of our engagement, the sooner Elizabeth will no longer be pursued by avaricious young men in want of a fortune.”
***
Ballroom
Hampshire House
London
That Evening
Caroline looked around herself with critical approval.
The ballroom at Hampshire House was not as lavishly decorated as some balls Caroline had attended this Season, but the room itself was both imposing and elegant.
This was the first time the Bingleys had been invited to Hampshire House, and Caroline could not help but be pleased.
Her position in Society continued to improve, and she was being invited to more and more houses of note.
She shared a glance with Louisa, standing beside her and waving her best ivory fan.
For all that Mrs. Hurst wore a languid air, Caroline knew that she was equally pleased by the invitation.
Lord Langdon was a viscount, and to form an acquaintance with his family could only be good for their standing.
Doubtless, they had Mr. Darcy to thank for bringing them, or more specifically Charles, to the Viscount’s notice.
It was one of the best decisions Charles had ever made when he had befriended Mr. Darcy at Cambridge.
Much of the Bingleys’ subsequent good fortune could be attributed back to this relationship with the wealthy, well-connected master of Pemberley.
How much better their fortune would be when Caroline finally induced Mr. Darcy to offer for her!
Then she would be Mistress of Pemberley and would share all her husband’s connections.
She had been so close to achieving her objective the previous autumn when the Darcys were staying at Netherfield.
She had been, she was sure, mere days from an offer from Mr. Darcy when that catastrophic letter had arrived from Pemberley , calling him away from her attentions.
Caroline still did not understand why the death of a mere steward had sent the Darcys rushing off home in such precipitous haste, but there was nothing she could do to prevent it.
Her plans had of necessity been delayed and even set back, but her determination remained as strong as ever.
Here, now, during the Season, with its many balls and routs and parties and morning calls, was her chance to shine anew.
The Bingleys and the Darcys regularly encountered each other at parties, and visits between the two houses were not at all uncommon.
Caroline would flirt, and flatter, and show off her accomplishments and womanly charms, and so win an offer from Mr. Darcy.
She acknowledged that Mr. Darcy was ridiculously eligible, and many other ladies wished to be his bride, but her brother was Darcy’s closest friend, and it was, she earnestly believed, merely a matter of time before he recognized her incomparable superiority to the other women vying for his attention.
Surely, she thought smugly, he would offer for her soon.
“Mrs. Bennet, Miss Bennet!” Charles cried out, and Caroline turned toward the door as Jane Bennet and her mother entered the ballroom side by side. Miss Bennet was dressed charmingly, in a white satin bodice with a lacy pink overdress.
Caroline glanced at her brother and compressed her lips.
She wished Charles would stop staring at Jane Bennet as if he were sunstruck, but she no longer worried a great deal that the eldest Miss Bennet would be her sister-in-law.
Based on her popularity, she could reach higher than the son of a tradesman for a husband.
“I hope you are both well,” Charles said with a bow toward the two Bennet ladies.
“We are, Mr. Bingley, Miss Bingley,” Mrs. Bennet said calmly. “Indeed, we have wonderful news tonight.”
Caroline’s nostrils quivered, feeling disdainful already. “Indeed. What news?”
Mrs. Bennet smiled sweetly and turned to face the door, just as Fitzwilliam Darcy, Caroline’s Darcy, stepped through the door with Elizabeth Bennet, who was dressed in a lovely figured muslin dress, on his arm.
“Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are engaged to be married,” Mrs. Bennet announced cheerfully.
Caroline swayed slightly, her eyes grew large, and her vision blurred. No! No!!!
“Are they indeed!” Charles exclaimed with traitorous enthusiasm. “Darcy, Miss Elizabeth, many congratulations on your engagement!”
“Thank you, Mr. Bingley,” Elizabeth Bennet said with enraging cheer. “We are very happy.”
This could not be happening. It could not.
“Did I hear that you are engaged to be married?” a new voice inquired.
Caroline turned bulging eyes toward the young gentleman she had met previously at a ball at Harrington House, Mr. Rutherford, eldest son of Viscount Langdon.
“We are, Cousin Zachary,” Miss Elizabeth said cheerfully.
“Many congratulations…”
Caroline felt a strong hand grasp her right arm, and she directed her wet eyes toward her sister, who whispered, “Come along to the retiring room, Caroline. Now.”
She was too horrified, and disappointed, and enraged, to protest, and she soon found herself in the ladies’ retiring room, whereupon she began sobbing great, heart-wrenching sobs, while Louisa patted her firmly on the shoulder.
Mr. Darcy was engaged to Elizabeth Bennet. It was not fair!
***
Ballroom
Hampshire House
A Few Minutes Later
The opening strains of a reel had begun.
Mrs. Bennet sat in a chair against the wall, fanning herself slowly and watching Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy as they danced together.
Their faces shone like the sun, their mutual joy radiating off of them.
Like a light morning dew, any misgivings Mrs. Bennet might have harbored faded away in their light.
Zachary Rutherford was a fine young man, and Mrs. Bennet would not have been sorry to have seen Elizabeth develop a tendre for him, but he was entirely capable of finding himself a suitable wife.
Mr. Darcy was likewise a wonderful gentleman and would treasure Elizabeth as she deserved.
Mrs. Bennet would not trade Elizabeth's current incandescence for anything.
Of course, Elizabeth was not the only one of her daughters whom she wished to see happy.
Mrs. Bennet allowed her eyes to follow the line of the dance to another couple further down.
Jane was visibly enjoying herself, and her partner, Colonel Fitzwilliam, was a very skilled dancer.
Mrs. Bennet watched a moment, assessing.
That the colonel was attracted to Jane, she had no doubt, but she could detect in the girl no similar sign of interest. As far as she had been able to discern, Jane had shown no preference for any of her many suitors but treated them all with a charming but impartial graciousness.
Mrs. Bennet wondered what was in Jane's mind.
Mr. Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed to be Jane's most assiduous suitors, and both were fine young men, kind and honorable. Both were also very eligible, with Mr. Bingley’s excellent manners and wealth, while Colonel Fitzwilliam was not only congenial and intelligent but also the son of an earl.
Still and all, they were not Jane's most eligible suitors, even if they were among the most familiar.
Gentlemen and knights and baronets and even a baron or two were all vying for Jane's favor and her hand.
Yet to her mamma's observant eye, she showed little interest in any of them.
Miss Priscilla Rutherford, charming in a white dress over a salmon pink slip, spun across Mrs. Bennet's vision, her smile almost as bright as that of Elizabeth’s.
Viscount Radway's own expression was more indulgent; he was some years the girl's senior, and married besides, but he was of equal rank with her father, and his birth gave him high seniority.
As the most eminent guest present, the honor of dancing the first dance with the debutante was his.
Mrs. Bennet smiled, glad that young Priscilla was enjoying herself.
The last couple of the set was Priscilla's brother Zachary, across from Serena Darcy.
Mrs. Bennet watched them a moment too, well aware that Serena was shy and did not much care for balls.
Tonight, however, to her surprise, Serena looked perfectly content as young Mr. Rutherford led her through the steps.
“Annabelle.”
She turned her head and smiled up at her cousin, Lord Langdon.
“Sit down, Stanley, please,” she said, gesturing at an open chair beside him.
He did so, and for a moment the cousins were silent, their eyes on their respective children.
“I understand that congratulations are in order, that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are engaged,” Lord Langdon said finally.
Annabelle turned an apologetic look on him. “Yes. I am happy for them, very much so, but sorry that she and Zachary did not suit.”
Her cousin sighed and said, “I ought not to have encouraged my son to pursue your daughter so vigorously. I have been blessed with a happy marriage, and want the same for my own children. As for Wrayburn, it may take decades to repair what has fallen apart, but with hard work and thrift, it can be done.”
“Indeed,” Annabelle agreed, repressing her own sigh. Wrayburn was from the past, from her childhood, and her responsibility was to her husband, her children, and Longbourn.