Chapter 5 #2
The ladies spent several hours with the twins, conversing and enjoying one another’s company.
Caroline joined them for a few minutes but when her attempts to speak of the London gossip received a frown from Lady Matlock, she took herself off to pout and write to her friends of the stimulating conversation that she had just had with Lady Matlock and how close they were becoming, as well as how ill Mrs. Darcy looked and the growing distance between the couple.
She cared little that it was all lies as it made her feel better.
∞∞∞
When they all had retired to dress for dinner, Jane took special care with her appearance before knocking softly on her husband’s door.
When there was no answer for several minutes, she turned the handle and peeked inside.
The room was empty, which surprised her, as Bingley always waited to escort her to dinner.
She blushed brightly when his man appeared from the connecting dressing room.
“May I help you, Madam?” Mr. Doorman asked in his pompous manner.
“I was looking for my husband to go down,” she replied softly.
“He finished dressing a quarter of an hour passed,” he replied, his face carefully blank though she pushed away the thought that there was a certain disparaging look in his eye. “I am sure he will present himself promptly in the drawing room.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you, Doorman. Have a good evening.”
He bent his head slightly in reply and returned to his work as Jane slunk away from the room after softly closing the door.
What on earth could be the matter with her husband?
She had not seen hide nor hair of him all day, and when she did catch a glimpse, he was always hurrying off somewhere as quickly as politely possible.
It did not help that Caroline’s face was twisted in a smug smile whenever she thought that no one was looking.
She berated herself silently for the uncharitable characterization as she descended the stairs.
Surely it was just the unfortunate look which often settled upon Caroline’s face when it was at rest.
She was greeted by Lady Matlock and Georgiana and joined their conversation.
The Darcys appeared soon after with her skittish husband in tow and she grew even more anxious when he refused to meet her eye or even greet her with more than a mumble.
What had happened since last evening? The sound of a throat clearing from the doorway drew her attention from her morose musings.
Caroline stood in the doorway, posing strangely with one arm extended slightly while the other gripped the frame which supported her shoulder.
She seemed to be eyeing Darcy, who was speaking with his wife and aunt and completely oblivious to her appearance.
Jane blushed on her behalf as the scarlet dress she wore would have only been appropriate in London, perhaps at a ciprean ball as it was cut scandalously low in the front.
It gaped unfortunately as well, as she was quite lacking in that area and even the tight lacing of a lifted corset could not produce the cleavage she was attempting to display.
She cleared her throat again, a bit louder, but still was ignored by her quarry.
Her face grew nearly purple with affront, and she stomped her foot only to gain the attention of the room when the butler loudly asked to be able to enter and announce dinner.
The laughter on Elizabeth’s face was easily seen, which only fed Caroline’s anger and she flounced to Bingley’s side with a fearsome scowl.
“Dinner is served, Mrs. Darcy,” Mr. Forbush announced sonorously.
“Thank you, Forbush,” she replied with winsome smile for her husband as he offered one arm to his wife and the other to his aunt.
Caroline snatched her brother’s arm, holding it tight, and called out to Georgiana. “Come dear Georgiana, take Charles’ arm and let us go in.”
Bingley mumblingly attempted to point out that Caroline was the lowest person in the room, but Caroline glared him into silence and pulled him from the room leaving Jane and Georgiana, who refused to offend Jane, to walk in together.
Bingley blushed at the looks of disgust he received from the Darcys and Lady Matlock and sank low into the seat that Caroline demanded he take beside her.
Jane too fought a blush as she settled beside Georgiana on the opposite side of the table. When Elizabeth signaled for the butler to pass around flutes of champagne, Jane attempted to signal to her that she wished to wait but Elizabeth was glaring down at the Bingleys and did not see.
Darcy stood and held out his glass. “We wished to offer our congratulations to my dear sister and brother on the addition to their family coming in the new year! We are so pleased that our twins will have a cousin so close in age!”
“Oh Jane!” Lady Matlock cried. “I should have known! You are absolutely blooming and are even more glowingly beautiful than usual!”
Jane’s blush flashed brightly across her cheeks as she accepted the exuberant congratulations from the table with pleasure all the while Caroline attempted to bend a fork with her glare and Bingley’s eyes remained firmly fixed upon the bubbles slowly rising in his glass.
The silence of the siblings became obvious, and the rest of the family looked at them in confusion.
“Are— are you not pleased, Charles?” Jane asked, worrying her lip between her teeth.
“Yes, yes. It will be good to move on to this next stage in our lives,” he replied, his voice almost monotone to the point of careless.
Jane gasped in hurt and stood, “excuse me, I— I—"
She could not finish the words as she hurried from the room before her tears could fall. Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed at the smirk of satisfaction on Caroline’s face and stood, forcing the men to do so as well.
“I believe that we shall all take dinner on trays,” She declared and led Lady Matlock and Georgiana from the room after pausing to quietly instruct the butler to deliver their trays to the mistress’s chamber which she and Darcy used as a private sitting/dining room.
In the dining room, Caroline was stubbornly still seated beside Bingley notwithstanding several pointed looks from Darcy.
The butler was quick to see his master’s desire and stepped behind her chair and pulled it, and she along with it, away from the table.
She gasped in outrage and sputtered a complaint at the gentlemen.
“Your tray will be delivered to your room directly, miss. Jonah will escort you.” He declared in his usual monotone manner with a hint of steel.
Caroline frowned but rose as directed as neither her brother, nor Darcy, the only one who’s opinion about whom she cared, offered a word in opposition. The tension in the room immediately dissipated with her exit but the silence and Darcy’s glare soon built it back again.
“I, er—” Bingley pulled at his cravat which was slowly strangling him.
Darcy leaned back in his chair and let him flounder. Bingley gulped his wine down and reached for Caroline’s glass to chase it before he dropped his head to the table with a groan.
“Can I do nothing right?” he whined.
“I do not know how to answer that,” Darcy replied, the sarcasm thick in his voice.
“I do not understand! I did what she wished! The thought of how our babe came to be was mortifying to her and she did not wish for me to make a great deal of the news and mortify her with my effusions! Why then was she hurt by our reaction. Oh! Perhaps she was uncomfortable with the notice of the company—” he trailed off with a hopeful look.
Darcy shook his head in disgust. “Your reply to your wife was rude and dismissive you nodcock! The woman who condescended to join her life with yours and provide you with an heir… I have no words, Bingley.”
“But she asked that I temper my response out of respect to her sensibilities!”
“I do not believe you understood her request, man.”
“But Caroline was quite clear—”
“What has your sister to do with it?”
“Jane was too demure to discuss such things of course, and asked Caroline to relay her wishes,” Bingley answered with conviction. “It was mortifying in the extreme so I understand Jane’s reluctance.”
“I cannot imagine your wife discussing such things with a maiden, let alone your viper of a sister.”
“Well, I— Are they not close? Caroline is always assisting any way she can. And what would be her purpose?”
“Do you truly have to ask?”
“What do you mean?”
Bingley’s blank, bovine visage made Darcy roll his eyes.
“Your sister hates our wives with the heat of a thousand suns. Elizabeth cares little for her opinion but Jane is soft-hearted and meek. It is your responsibility to call your sister to heel. Have you not noticed how she belittles and mocks Jane at every opportunity?”
“No, she is only— I mean, Jane has never complained and Caroline is only being helpful. Isn’t she?”
“If there is anything I have learned of Miss Bingley in the many years of our friendship, it is that she is only interested in benefiting herself. If she is being “helpful” then she has some scheme afoot. Jane should not have to battle your sister for control of her own household.”
“But Caroline said that Jane had confided in her that she felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities,” Bingley muttered.
“It sounds as if you have any number of conversations about your wife, have you ever tried speaking with her directly?”
“But Caroline said— oh.”
“Let me guess, Miss Bingley informed you that your wife did not wish to discuss things with you as she did not wish to appear lacking in your eyes.”
“Essentially.”
“Bingley, you will both be miserable if you remain so naively malleable. Ignore the discomfort and have the difficult discussions with your wife not your sister.”
Bingley rose slowly and slunk from the room with a hangdog look.
∞∞∞
Jane buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.
Her whole world had felt off kilter ever since her marriage and she was beginning to believe that had less to do with herself and more to do with Caroline, for surely if Elizabeth saw her actions as purposefully vindictive then her own feelings of distress were valid.
If only it were not so difficult to stand up for oneself.
For so many years Elizabeth had done the office, and Jane began to worry that she was completely incapable of doing so herself.
She heard Elizabeth knocking but ignored her as she was in no humor to discuss things and likely Elizabeth would attempt to make her feel better by blaming Charles which would only hurt her more. The knocking ceased and she settled in for a good cry.
Sometime later, she was surprised by a masculine hand on her shoulder, making her jump.
The doors at Pemberley daren’t do something so plebeian as squeak of course, and the plush rug hid footsteps well.
She turned over, revealing her swollen eyes and reddened nose to her husband.
Despite all of her beauty, Jane had never been a pretty crier, and she pushed the strands of hair which had worked their way free from her bun away from her face.
“Oh, my darling Jane!” Bingley exclaimed. “I am an absolute beast! I never meant to hurt you so! You deserve better than me! I shall never be good enough!”
“No, no, Charles,” Jane exclaimed, reaching for his hands her immediate reaction being to comfort him. “I am sure I overreacted or perhaps misunderstood.”
“Misunderstood!” Bingley latched on to the excuse. “Yes, indeed. You are everything perfect and you simply misunderstood the situation. I am over the moon about our son or daughter, truly.”
Rug sweeping complete, Jane beamed back at him, ignoring once again that tiny twinge that told her he ought to apologize despite her assurances, but she could not stand to see him upset, especially at himself, even when he deserved it.
“And I promise that I shall not impose upon you again. Had I any idea that you found our marital intimacy so disgusting I should have never—” he trailed off looking a bit green. “Just know that I would never force you to— well, you know.”
Jane was so shocked by his exclamation that she could not reply for several moments, and the topic brought a fierce blush to her cheeks which only confirmed to her husband that she was indeed mortified by such discussions.
“Charles, I would never deny you—”
“No! You are perfect in all things; it is me that has been beastly. You need never do so, for I shall not importune you.”
“But I enjoy our— intimacy,” Jane attempted to assure him but her discomfort at the topic took all conviction from her statement.
“Dearest girl,” Bingley patted her hand. “Rest now and I shall ensure that you receive a dinner tray as you must surely be starving.”
Jane watched, wide-eyed as he strode from the room. What on earth, she wondered, had just happened?