Chapter 20
ENTIRELY PERSUADED
Elizabeth awakened early and was moments away from quitting her room for a morning walk when her maid entered the room.
“A letter for you, madam,” said the young woman.
Recognizing the handwriting even from where she stood, Elizabeth seized it and tore it open. Not intending to come across as being rude despite her heightened curiosity, she looked at the servant apologetically. “Thank you, Hannah.”
“It is my pleasure. Is there anything that I might do for you?”
Eager to attend her missive, Elizabeth hastily replied, “No!” Remembering herself, she said, “Pardon, that will be all I require this morning.”
Finally, the young girl quit the room, allowing Elizabeth some much-desired privacy. She commenced reading in silence.
My dearest Lizzy,
How odd you must think it is to be receiving this letter.
At present, I can think of no other way to convey my news to you.
I have no doubt that what I am writing to tell you will surely be the means of you suffering a host of conflicting emotions—sentiments ranging from surprise sprinkled with skepticism to anguish amplified by astonishment.
Of all the sentiments that immediately come to mind, I pray the least of them will be anything akin to disappointment and the greatest of them will be heartfelt joy.
You see, my dearest of all sisters, I am on my way to Gretna Green. I am to be married to Mr. Charles Bingley.
Will you forgive me for suffering but this one regret—that being that you cannot be with me as I embark upon this, the most important journey of my life?
You know me too well to suspect that I have made this decision rashly despite how it must appear to the outside world.
Mr. Bingley and I are very much in love. I suspect I fell in love with him the moment I first laid eyes on him. His every look, his every word and dare I confess, his every touch, have taught me that his feelings for me are equally as enduring.
Upon recently learning of the true purpose of my being in Pemberley, Mr. Bingley’s ensuing disappointment was more than I could stand.
That he had inadvertently betrayed his friend’s trust was unconscionable to him.
He planned to go away from Pemberley immediately.
How could I allow him to do so? How could I say goodbye forever to an honorable gentleman who had touched my heart, and whose heart I had similarly affected, for an equally honorable gentleman whose heart, I suspect, will never ever be touched? At least not by me.
As for our decision to elope, how could either of us chance being persuaded against our purpose by confiding in anyone? We could not.
Oh, Lizzy, is this not what you have always wanted for me?
To be loved, cherished and adored by a decent, respectable man.
I journeyed to Pemberley not entirely persuaded of what I was about, yet willing to fulfill my role as a dutiful daughter in whatever manner it might entail.
As I commit these words to paper, I suffer not a shadow of a doubt that my true destiny is unfolding.
Mrs. Charles Bingley is who I was always meant to be, and I could not be happier.
While I have left you with the task of conveying my joyful news to our dear father, as well as facing the derision of many of those who remain at Pemberley, I have no doubt that your courage will rise to whatever occasion that results as it always does during those times that matter most.
As I write this letter to you, my dear Charles is likewise writing to Mr. Darcy, whose counsel he has always sought—except in this, the most important decision of his life.
I confess to being more confident than my future husband that his friend will not only understand what we have done, but he will be happy for him—for both of us.
Assured that my happiness is complete and my future promises to be even more so, my greatest wish is that yours will be, too, dearest Lizzy, even as I suspect such a joyous prospect is closer than you know.
I shall close this letter for now with the sincerest hope that, once we are reunited in Hertfordshire, our mutual admiration and esteem for each other will be as endearing and heartfelt as ever.
Your loving sister forever and all times,
JB
Elizabeth paced the floor. Having by now read her sister’s letter several times, she was in a fair way of committing Jane’s every heartfelt word to memory.
Although distressed that her sister had not confided her plans before taking her leave of Pemberley, how could she possibly be disappointed, knowing that her dearest sister was loved and cherished—adored by a man as decent and kind as Mr. Charles Bingley?
She could not. She was, however, deeply astounded that the two of them had eloped under cover of darkness as though they were doing something wrong.
Jane said that they did not want to risk being persuaded against their purposes.
I cannot fault them for their prudence in that regard.
Surely Bingley’s sisters would have put forth every conceivable argument against a union between their brother, whose ties to society were tenuous at best, save his connection with his good friend Mr. Darcy, and the daughter of a country gentleman whose position in society was less than their own.
Then, too, Jane said that Mr. Bingley felt that in falling in love with her, he had inadvertently wounded his friend—had betrayed him.
What would Mr. Darcy have said had Mr. Bingley gone to him with the truth?
Would he have indeed felt aggrieved, betrayed, wounded by someone whom he thought he could trust?
Would he have likened Charles Bingley’s behavior in a similar vein as he regards George Wickham’s?
Would he indeed have attempted to change his friend’s mind?
By now, Mr. Darcy will have received Mr. Bingley’s letter. Has he informed Mr. Bingley’s family? Truth be told, the answer to the latter question did not truly matter to her. Only the matter of how Mr. Darcy was digesting the news was of any particular concern to her.
“I must go to him.”
Folding Jane’s letter, she tucked it inside her pocket and proceeded to quit the room. She was almost at the door when she halted her steps.
What on Earth will I say to him given my sister’s behavior?
In an attempt to ward off her indecisiveness, she shook her head. Placing her hand on the door handle, she avowed aloud, “I dare not risk delaying this meeting until I know the exact words to speak just now. I ought to go about making a start. I will know what to say when I see him.”