Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Soon, the Darcys received word that Mr. and Mrs. Bingley had arrived in town. An invitation for dinner at Darcy House was sent, and an immediate acceptance was issued in return.
Elizabeth was anxious to see her sister and hoped their previous closeness would be restored.
Ever since Elizabeth had become engaged, Jane had been distant and holding tightly to her idealised vision of her home and family.
Elizabeth hoped that marriage had alleviated some of Jane’s concerns, and she was beginning to see Longbourn, and especially the behaviour of their parents, through clearer eyes.
The next night, Jane and Charles arrived early for dinner accompanied by none other than the Hursts and Miss Bingley.
Elizabeth expressed her surprise in her greeting.
“Jane, Charles, welcome. Mr. and Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley, we did not expect you to accompany Jane and Charles on their honeymoon trip.”
Miss Bingley sniffed and peered down at Elizabeth disdainfully. “Miss Eliza, of course, my brother would want his sisters to help his wife as she learns what is expected of her.”
Darcy, who had stiffened considerably when the interlopers had entered, joined the fray, glaring harshly at the speaker.
“You mean Mrs. Darcy, madam, as that is the correct appellation for my wife,” he told her.
“And I am afraid we only ordered dinner for four tonight as we only invited Mr. and Mrs. Bingley to attend tonight. I hope there will still be enough for our extra … company.”
Elizabeth placed her hand on his husband’s arm, calming his ire immediately, which was noticed by everyone.
“I am sure our staff has prepared enough for an army, as your cousin frequently drops by unexpectedly, dearest. I will step out and speak to the housekeeper about adding additional place settings to accommodate everyone at the table if you will escort everyone to the drawing room.”
He drew in a deep breath as if bracing himself and nodded.
“I will, my love. You have quite taken the house in hand this last month since we have been married.” Turning to the rest of the party, “If you will all join me, I will regale you with stories of the changes my lovely wife has implemented here at Darcy House. She is an admirable hostess, and I cannot wait until we return to Pemberley to see what she will do there. I have never been more proud, and my aunt and uncle Matlock are also very pleased with my bride. Just the other night, she and several other ladies were discussing how I could not have chosen better.”
At this, Charles and Jane smiled, Mrs. Hurst frowned, and Miss Bingley scowled, while Mr. Hurst was only concerned about there being enough food and drink for their party so he could eat his fill.
The ladies of the party had just seated themselves around the room when Elizabeth entered.
She quickly sat on a settee near her sister and new brother, and her husband joined her.
Miss Bingley scowled yet again when her prey did not sit nearer to her as she had expected.
“Jane, my dear,” Elizabeth began. “How are you?”
Jane smiled and blushed lightly. “I am very well, Lizzy. The wedding was exceptionally lovely, and the arrangements you made were perfect. Everything went off without a hitch with Mrs. Gardiner’s assistance.”
“Yes, we missed you and Mr. Darcy at the wedding,” Miss Bingley inserted acidly.
“We had heard you were in Hertfordshire but left before the wedding. I am surprised that sisters as close as the two of you would not want to be together on such a … remarkable day.” This was said in a tone that communicated the wedding day was anything but remarkable.
“We were called back to town unexpectedly,” Mr. Darcy said, again showing his displeasure with the lady.
“The bride and groom were aware of this and understood our absence. We plan to invite my friend and his wife,” this said in a tone that made it clear to all that only those two were included in whatever invitation he was about to issue, “to visit us at Pemberley before the end of the year. We will celebrate both marriages then and are looking forward to many more visits between the four of us over the years. I am extraordinarily pleased to be able to call Bingley my brother by marriage, especially since marriage has brought me such a lovely and exceptional wife. I could not be more pleased with my choice.”
Miss Bingley was becoming angrier by the minute and was ready to spew more of her venom in the direction of the two former Miss Bennets, but her sister put her hand on her arm to stop her from speaking.
“Mrs. Darcy, allow me to congratulate you on your recent marriage to our dear friend Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Hurst said quickly, attempting to act conciliatory to defuse the atmosphere in the room.
“Yes, we were amazed to learn of it, especially as it all happened so suddenly,” Miss Bingley could not help but say. “We all assumed there was an excellent reason, given your sudden appearance at Pemberley.”
“Not so suddenly,” Elizabeth inserted. “We were engaged the day I arrived at Pemberley, as unexpected as that occurrence was, and were married a month later. It seemed a surprise to some in society because we chose to only tell our dearest friends and family about it before the wedding. My new aunt, Lady Matlock, was the one who suggested we not announce it publicly before the wedding because she knew how much my husband hates it when people fawn over him.”
Miss Bingley did not seem to recognise the statement’s implication or ignored it. “But my dear Mr. Darcy, if you were engaged at Pemberley, why did you not tell me the happy news? I would have enjoyed celebrating with you.”
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy both stared at her for a moment.
“Miss Bingley, first of all, I am not, nor have I ever been your ‘dear’ anything,” Darcy finally said after a moment.
“For what it is worth, I am your brother’s friend; I have never been yours.
And, as I recall, you were aware of our engagement, as you were at Pemberley the night was announced, the same night that you attempted to enter my private rooms in the hope of affecting a compromise.
Quite frankly, I am shocked that you would have the audacity to enter my home again and make these insinuations about my beloved wife after what you attempted then. ”
He stood and, reaching down to his wife, helped her to rise and linked their arms before speaking again, “My dear, I had hoped not to cause a scene, but I cannot in good conscience allow this to continue. Miss Bingley, you are not welcome in my company or that of my wife or sister. From now on, I will inform my staff they are not to admit you into any of my homes, and if you attempt to speak to me, my wife, or my sister in public, I will cut you.”
As he began to walk toward the door, he turned and spoke once again.
“Charles, you and Jane are, of course, welcome to stay, and Mr. and Mrs. Hurst, while I am certain you knew you were not invited this evening, you are welcome to stay as well, but when I return to this room in five minutes with my wife, I hope that at least one person is gone from this room, and she understands she is decidedly unwelcome here.”
So said, he escorted his wife to the study, where he pulled her into a passionate embrace.
She snuggled into his chest and held him in return as he attempted to calm.
“I am sorry, Elizabeth, for losing my temper as I did. I could not stand to be in her presence any longer, hearing her barely veiled insults against you and recalling her actions at Pemberley. I am stunned she was brazen enough to force her way into my home yet again.”
“She is angry and miserable,” Elizabeth said in a soothing voice, pulling away slightly to look at him.
“And angry people are rarely wise. She has pursued you for years and has always looked down on my family. Losing you to someone she viewed as inferior to her, because despite our relative statuses, she has always looked down her nose at me in particular, has unsettled her and made her act out. I do hope she will eventually get over it, but she seems determined to be miserable. Perhaps with you out of the running, she will find someone new to fix upon.” The last was said in a teasing voice and drew a small smile to his lips.
“At the very least, one would hope she has finally gotten the message and will not seek us out again,” Darcy said, pulling her tightly to him again.
“She is intelligent enough to know I will do as I said and give her the cut direct if she attempts to approach me again. I will also inform my aunt about what has happened tonight and what occurred at Pemberley so she can deflect any gossip Miss Bingley may attempt to start following tonight’s set down. We should call on her tomorrow.”
Nodding, Elizabeth leaned back, silently requesting a kiss from her husband. He complied, and they were lost for several moments before a light knock sounded on the door. The couple pulled apart slightly, and Darcy’s voice called for the person to enter.
“I am incredibly sorry for Caroline, Darcy,” Bingley said as he entered the study.
The embraced couple could see Jane standing just outside the open door, uncertain of her welcome into this particular room.
“The others have gone, and Louisa was very apologetic as well. She had not wanted to come, but nothing we did would stop Caroline, so Louisa came to keep her from acting as she did. Obviously, that failed.”
Darcy sighed and released his wife. “Come, let us return to the drawing room to sit and speak until dinner is ready.”
Jane interjected. “We saw the butler in the hall as he came to announce dinner. It is ready,” she informed them.