Saint Elizabeth and the Dragon
Jeff Bigler
Longbourn
Jane Bennet was devastated. Mr. Bingley and his party had closed up Netherfield Park and left for London without taking leave the day after the ball.
Mr. Bingley had been in Hertfordshire for two months and had called upon her frequently.
She never had reason to doubt his affections. Until yesterday.
Her sister Elizabeth tapped quietly on the door of the bedroom they shared at their home of Longbourn. “Jane?” she called through the closed door.
“Please leave me alone, Lizzy,” she replied haltingly. “I know you mean well, but I need to be alone.”
“You have been alone since yesterday, except when I crept in last night to sleep. I think talking will do you good.” Elizabeth pushed open the door just far enough to enter and closed it behind her. She sat on the bed and put an arm around her sister.
Jane turned toward Elizabeth and buried her face in her sister’s shoulder. “Oh, Lizzy! I cannot bear it! I truly thought Mr. Bingley cared for me. How could he leave without even a word of goodbye?”
“I do not believe Mr. Bingley is entirely to blame.”
Jane unburied her face and met Elizabeth’s gaze. “Oh, Lizzy, I so wish I could believe that!”
“When I went down for breakfast this morning, I overheard Molly speaking with Emily. When Molly was in Meryton purchasing supplies yesterday, she spoke with Sally, one of the servants at Netherfield. It seems that Miss Bingley had convinced her brother that you did not care for him, and that he and the rest of their party should return to London for Christmas.”
“How could he believe such a thing,” Jane sobbed. “My heart could not possibly have been more fully engaged.”
“Evidently, Mr. Bingley asked Mr. Darcy that same question. Mr. Darcy replied that he had seen no more evidence of your regard for him than you might have had for any other gentleman.”
“But Mr. Darcy saw us together several times. How could our mutual regard not be clear to him?”
“Jane,” Elizabeth said in the gentlest voice she could muster, “it would seem that your peaceful and serene nature enabled Miss Bingley to sow the seeds of doubt, and Mr. Darcy’s reply was enough to cause those seeds to grow.”
Jane collapsed into fresh sobs of anguish. “If only I were more like you, Lizzy! If only I could wear my feelings like a brooch where they might be noticed by anyone who was close enough to see.”
“If only.” her sister replied soothingly. She cradled Jane’s head in her arms while her sister continued to weep.
***
11th December 1811
London
Darcy had finished meeting with his solicitor and stopped by his club. His friend Bingley came over to join him. “Darcy! What brings you here this afternoon?”
“I was conducting some business with my solicitor and decided to stop here before returning to Darcy House. And you?”
Bingley sighed. “I do not have much business to attend to at the moment. I am here attempting, rather unsuccessfully, to distract myself from my thoughts of Miss Bennet.”
“You have been out of sorts since we left Hertfordshire. For your sake, I truly wish she returned your feelings.”
“Are you certain that she does not?”
“No, I am not. I said only that I saw no evidence of her particular regard for you. Truthfully, I have never seen Miss Bennet express strong feelings about anything. However, I was not privy to most of your conversations with her, so it is entirely possible that her feelings were too subtle for me to observe.”
“But Caroline convinced me that if something were beyond your powers of observation, it must not exist at all.”
“Bingley, your sister thinks the sun shines out of my arse!”
“Darcy! I have not heard you swear since we were at Cambridge!”
“Indeed, I reserve such language for those occasions when my feelings are strong enough to warrant it, and then only when I am in the company of those whom I am confident will not take offense.”
Bingley smiled. “No offence taken, Darcy. But do you really think it possible that Miss Bennet might return my affections?”
“It is certainly possible. But asking my opinion on the matter is like asking a smith how to address a letter to an earl.”
“Point taken.” He changed the subject. “Have you heard from your sister lately?”
“I received a letter from her just yesterday. She is starting to prepare Christmas baskets for our servants and Pemberley’s tenants.”
“Then she is in better spirits since the summer?”
“So, it would seem. The Christmas season always improves her mood.”
Bingley thought for a moment.
“Darcy, do you think I should arrange for Christmas baskets for the servants and tenants at Netherfield? I abandoned the estate rather abruptly, and it would grieve me to think that they might not receive anything to brighten their spirits.”
“Such a gesture would not go amiss. There are all kinds of landlords in England; I endeavour to be the sort that everyone can look up to and be proud to know.”
“Even I, with my own good fortune, consider myself proud to know you. But it now seems that I must return to Netherfield for Christmas! Would you come with me? The responsibilities of a landlord are new to me, and I truly appreciate your guidance.”
“That would put me in the company of Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
“Do you really dislike her so much?”
“No, Bingley. That is the problem. I do not dislike her at all -quite the opposite, in fact. It is my regard for her that gives me pause.”
“What is the problem with your regard for Miss Elizabeth?”
“Her family are unsuitable, particularly her mother and younger sisters, and she has no connexions or dowry to speak of.”
“Darcy, you hardly need to marry for connexions or dowry, and her family are hardly more embarrassing than your Aunt Catherine and her daughter Anne.”
“I concede those points, but Miss Elizabeth also despises me.”
“Recall that I despised you when I first met you at Cambridge. Once I was able to see past your haughty and aloof exterior and I got to know who you truly are, you quickly earned my respect and my regard. You have since come to be my closest friend. I am sure that Miss Elizabeth is clever enough to see you in the same light, if you were to give her the opportunity to do so.”
Darcy pondered for a moment.
“Then yes, Bingley, I shall return to Netherfield with you.”
“Would you assist me in choosing gifts for my staff and my tenants? I can purchase everything here in London, and we shall return to Netherfield in time to distribute the gifts at Christmas.”
“Send word to your staff immediately. Ask them to open the house for your arrival, and to plan a feast for Boxing Day. Have your steward send invitations to all of your tenants.”
“Excellent, Darcy! I shall do it at once!”
***
16th December 1811
Longbourn
Mrs. Bennet dashed into the sitting room. “I have just heard that Netherfield Park is to be reopened! Mr. Bingley is returning in time for Christmas! Oh, Jane, is that not the most wonderful news?”
Jane and Elizabeth looked up at their mother. “I suppose I shall be glad to see them,” replied Jane.
“Jane,” her mother said excitedly, “you shall be more than glad. I am sure that Mr. Bingley has returned to court you. He could hardly stay away!”
“Mr. Bingley and his party left after the ball, without taking leave of us,” Jane said. “Surely, he must be returning for some other reason. I do not know whether he will even call on me.”
“Mrs. Long said that Netherfield’s cook placed a large order for supplies. Mr. Bingley must be planning a feast! I am sure we shall be invited.”
Elizabeth, seeing Jane’s discomfort, said to their mother, “Indeed, we shall find out soon enough.” She turned to Jane. “Would you come upstairs with me?”
When they were safely ensconced in their bedroom, Jane turned to her sister. “Do you really think Mr. Bingley will renew his addresses to me? Oh, Lizzy, I do not know what to believe!”
“We need to make sure he is confident that you will welcome them.”
“How can we do that? It is not as if I can just tell him outright.”
Both girls were quiet for a moment, and then Elizabeth’s face brightened.
“I have an idea -the mummers! When they call on Christmas, we invite them in, they perform a play, and then we invite them to share our food and drink.”
“What does this have to do with me and Mr. Bingley?”
“We could be the mummers! We can write our own play. The usual plot involves someone being killed and then brought back from the dead. The person playing you could die from a broken heart, and the person playing Mr. Bingley would revive her. He could not possibly fail to see the connection.”
“Lizzy, that is the most terrible idea I have heard! You cannot just throw my feelings around so blatantly! I would surely die, but from embarrassment!”
Elizabeth pondered for a moment.
“We could have you kidnapped. Mr. Bingley would be your rescuer. As the real Mr. Bingley watches the play, he cannot help but be moved by seeing himself in that role.”
“That would be less objectionable, but I still do not like it.”
“Very well, Jane. I shall not press you further.”
***
Later that afternoon, Elizabeth approached her youngest sister.
“Lydia, I have just had an idea that I think you will like.”
Lydia’s eyes lit up. “Pray tell me what it is.”
“I remember that you always enjoy the mummer’s plays at Christmas, do you not?”
“Yes -they are so ridiculously funny! I wish I were one of the players.”
“Indeed, would you enjoy writing and performing one?”
“La, yes! That would be such fun!”
“That is my idea. Mr. Bingley is reopening Netherfield Park for Christmas. I thought we might write a play and perform it there for their Boxing Day feast. I have an added motive, however. I want our play to bring Jane and Mr. Bingley together.”
“Ooh. Romance, matchmaking, and a mummer’s play combined? Yes, that shall be splendid!”
“It will take a lot of work. We have but ten days to write the script, cast the play, and act it out.”