Chapter 4
A few days after the Derbyshire Militia arrived, Miss Bingley sent a note inviting Jane to dine with her and Mrs. Hurst, as the men were dining with the officers and the two ladies disliked being alone.
“Should I ask Papa if the carriage horses are available?” Elizabeth asked.
“Thank you for your consideration, Lizzy,” Jane replied.
As soon as Elizabeth exited the drawing room, Jane turned to her mother. “It looks like rain today does it not, Mama?”
“Yes, it does. What are you thinking, Jane?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
“No matter what Papa says, when Lizzy comes back you must order me to ride Nellie to Netherfield Park. Hopefully, I will either get a little wet or it will begin to rain after I arrive so I will have to remain there overnight. That will allow me to convince Mr. Darcy, one way or the other, we are to be married,” Jane schemed.
“You clever girl, you must feign illness so you can stay there for some days and you will be in Mr. Darcy’s company,” Fanny Bennet enthused.
Just then Elizabeth returned. “As far as Papa knows the horses are available.”
“What do you know, you wilful girl,” Fanny barked. “Jane will ride Nellie as your father forgot the horses are needed on the farm today.”
“But Mama,” Jane responded dramatically placing her hand over her heart, “how can I go on Nellie when it looks like rain?”
“If you like I will verify with Papa so Jane will not chance getting wet,” Elizabeth volunteered.
“It will be as I said. Do not attempt to gainsay me, Miss Lizzy,” Fanny stated with asperity.
“If you are sure, Mama, I will ride Nellie,” Jane sighed with put-on resignation.
“You will see, all will be well,” Fanny decreed.
“Mayhap you will see Mr. Bingley, Jane,” Elizabeth surmised as the two made their way to the still room. “As long as you do not have to suffer the company of that arrogant, insufferable Mr. Darcy.”
“Hopefully, providence will allow me to see the man I wish to,” Jane returned ambiguously. She congratulated herself that her sister’s dislike of Mr. Darcy increased each day.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
To prove the old adage, ‘be careful what you wish for,’ Jane had not ridden even one of the three miles to Netherfield Park when the heavens opened and she was pelted with hard, heavy rain during the remainder of her ride.
By the time she arrived at Netherfield Park, there was no part of herself or her outfit which was not soaked.
She looked more like a drowned rat than—according to her mother—the jewel of the neighbourhood.
Many in the neighbourhood considered her younger sister, and not her, to hold that particular title, so that became another wrong she held against Lizzy.
When Jane arrived, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst stared in disdain at the dripping woman. Unfortunately, good manners dictated Miss Bennet be sent to a bedchamber to dry off. As Caroline and Jane were of similar height, she sent her oldest and plainest dress for the chit to wear.
Miss Bingley was not the most intelligent woman in the realm, but where someone paying attention to Mr. Darcy was concerned she was very observant. She had not missed the way Miss Bennet looked at her Mr. Darcy. Even after the talk she had with her brother, he was still ‘hers.’
Her brother had spouted some drivel about Mr. Darcy not liking her and said he would never offer for her, even if she compromised him. The poor man had been forced to listen to her brother’s nonsense and his good manners dictated that he could not but agree in front of his friend.
Miss Bingley had not missed the look of disgust on Mr. Darcy’s face and had misinterpreted it as being directed at her brother and not at the real target for the man’s distaste—herself.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Mama, Jane is riding Nellie in this downpour. What will we do if she gets sick?” Elizabeth asked worriedly as she watched the sheets of rain falling.
“Hush, Miss Lizzy. Jane has a strong constitution as well as beauty,” Fanny responded nonsensically.
Elizabeth bit her tongue. Of the two eldest sisters, it was she who had the strong constitution; she had been sick but once or twice in the whole of her life.
On the other hand, Jane did not do well when wet and chilled as she would surely be while riding Nellie in this cloudburst—which occasioned her worry.
The truth was Fanny Bennet was beginning to question Jane’s wisdom in this case. Regardless of what she said to Elizabeth, the Bennet matron was well aware of Jane’s propensity to take ill.
Fanny did not want Elizabeth to know she was worried. She was certain Jane would be most unhappy if Lizzy learned that she was. She was worried because Jane was her future. She promised to catch a rich man to secure her own future, and her mother’s as well.
Bennet looked out the window as he stuck his head into the drawing room. “If Jane dies, at least it will be in service of catching a husband.” Before his wife could have an attack of her nerves, he beat a hasty retreat to his study, where his latest book and a glass of port were calling to him.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Things were not working out as Jane thought they would.
Rather than starting to rain after she arrived at Netherfield so she would have to stay the night and then be ‘sick’ the next day—or just before she arrived at Netherfield—she had been caught in an overwhelming downpour.
At times, the rain had been so hard her visibility had been reduced to practically nothing.
What should have been a short ride took two to three times longer than normal. By the time she arrived, she was chilled to the bone and thoroughly soaked, not to mention what the rain had done to her hair.
As she sat in the bedchamber, Jane was colder than she could ever remember being.
The shivering had already begun. The fact that Miss Bingley had not ordered a fire to warm the room spoke volumes as to the nature of her welcome her dear friend accorded her.
Jane began to shake all over and she felt like she was freezing.
It seemed she had tempted fate one time too many.
Her intention had been to feign illness, and now it seemed she would be truly sick.
The shivering was getting worse and Jane was beginning to sweat, and her body felt weak all over.
Looking in the mirror, Jane could see one of the sure signs of illness.
She was not her normal colour—she was decidedly wan.
It mortified Jane to admit it to herself, but Lizzy had been correct; she should have taken the carriage. To make matters worse, Miss Bingley had lent her an ill-fitting dress that looked drab on her, being the wrong colour to suit her complexion and of a fashion from many seasons past.
Jane tried to stand, but she collapsed back onto the bed. The maid wisely called Mrs. Nichols, not Miss Bingley, who told the maid to build a fire in the grate as soon as she could. Feeling Miss Bennet’s forehead, the housekeeper determined the young lady was warm even while her body was shivering.
‘For all of her pretentions, that so called mistress has no clue what hospitality is. If I had not been called, Miss Bingley would have ignored Miss Bennet’s plight. As much as I would love to tell her off, I cannot as she is the mistress here,’ Mrs. Nichols told herself.
“Miss Bingley, Mrs. Hurst,” Mrs. Nichols curtsied as she entered the dining parlour where the two women had begun their meal without waiting for their guest to join them—another sign of either their lack of feeling or decorum, most likely both.
“Miss Bennet is ill; we should summon Mr. Jones, the apothecary.”
“She is not sick. She is just trying to ensure she remains here until the gentlemen return,” Miss Bingley sniffed dismissively.
“Madam, I assure you, I checked her myself; she is, in fact, sick.” Mrs. Nichols remembered how the mistress was always trying to impress Mr. Darcy. “If you do not do everything that would be expected, I am sure the master and the other gentlemen would not be impressed.”
Miss Bingley grudgingly ordered a footman be sent to summon the apothecary and a maid assigned to sit with Miss Bennet. Mrs. Nichols curtsied again as she exited the dining parlour without revealing she had taken all of these steps already.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When the gentlemen returned, water dripping from their hats and greatcoats as the rain, still falling, had soaked them during their short trip from their coach to Netherfield’s door.
“Mr. Darcy, you will catch your death of cold,” Miss Bingley stated with contrived concern as she advanced on her prey, grabbing a towel from one of the maids who had brought them for the gentlemen.
Before she could start to dry him off, Darcy took a step back.
“A little water never made me sick before,” he stated as he gave her a look which brought her up short.
‘Will this woman ever learn? It seems she has chosen to ignore every word her brother and I said to her. I am afraid she will only learn the hard way.’ Darcy thought to himself.
He loved Bingley almost like a brother, but his patience with Miss Bingley was evaporating quickly.
All three men removed their hats and coats, revealing dry clothes underneath. Darcy did not miss the look of disappointment on Miss Bingley’s mien when she learned she would have no excuse to assist him as she had intended.
“It seems you gentlemen fared better than that insipid Miss Bennet,” Miss Bingley stated, forgetting she had purposefully not informed the men of her invitation to the eldest Bennet sister.
“Miss Bennet is here? Why did you not mention you invited her before we departed?” Bingley asked in an accusatory tone.
“Would you believe the woman arrived on horseback, soaked through,” Miss Bingley conveyed, pointedly ignoring her brother’s question. “Now the poor dear is sick and will be imposing on us until I can send her on her way safely.”