Chapter 31
In the days after their heart-to-heart talk, their friends could sense something important had happened. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth tried to act nonchalant toward each other, but it was precisely this change in their behavior that betrayed their new understanding.
At the end of the week, Mr. Bingley, his sisters, and brother-in-law arrived at Rosings.
In his letter to Bingley, Mr. Darcy had invited his friend to join the Colonel in his lessons on estate management, since their efforts at Netherfield Park had been curtailed.
He did not ask Bingley explicitly not to bring his family, but stated that the mistress of Rosings, because of her delicate health, could not host even a small house party.
To his chagrin, this stipulation had the opposite effect.
Miss Bingley insisted on coming to carry out the hostess’s duties, and Mr. Darcy would be proud of the elegant and welcoming hospitality she alone could provide for his house guests.
By the time Mr. Darcy received the blotchy reply from Bingley, there was no time to send a letter canceling the visit.
With trepidation, he stood at the front door to receive his friend and his friend’s uninvited family.
He could not help wishing his cousin would be successful in his suit of Lady Jane.
Bingley was simply too immature to be the husband and partner of a young woman who was unsure about herself.
If they married, it would be the blind leading the blind through society, and they would surely get lost and stumble.
Mr. Bingley was the first to emerge from the carriage. He was his same jovial self and heartily shook Mr. Darcy’s hand before handing down his sisters, with Mr. Hurst bringing up the rear.
The party moved into the parlor. Miss Bingley’s eyes grew as wide as saucers when she saw the former Miss Bennets.
She let go of Mr. Darcy and approached the two ducal ladies with open arms, as if to embrace them like long-lost friends.
Mr. Bingley was overjoyed. He turned his head towards Mr. Darcy and smiled conspiratorially.
“Oh, Jane, dearest Jane, I have missed you so! You do not know how much I have suffered in my attempts to see you. Your butler must be at fault. We left at least ten cards for you, but have got no response. No doubt you have been busy replacing your entire wardrobe to suit your new position, and have forgone seeing old friends temporarily. I understand. And please do not worry. I do not bear a grudge.”
The contrast between this effusive greeting and the cold, disdainful one at Gracechurch Street was so stark that Jane became a little disoriented.
Could Miss Bingley have changed so drastically because Jane was now daughter to a duke?
On hearing her say, ‘old friends,’ the mental fog turned into a jolt that made her falter.
The Colonel, standing next to her, reached out his hand to steady her.
Mr. Bingley frowned when he saw this almost intimate gesture.
When he had first noticed Lady Jane in the parlor, he felt certain his friend Darcy had arranged for him to be reunited with his angel. Now his confidence was shaken.
As for Jane, she had finally woken up from the cloud of confusion that had hung over her since becoming Lady Jane.
Her new world was so bewildering and intimidating that she had retreated to the seemingly perfect days of peace and comfort.
Hearing the phrase ‘old friends’ from the one person most responsible for causing Jane’s months-long heartache and turmoil shook her—enough to pull her out of the past and push her to embrace the future with courage.
She stepped back to avoid Miss Bingley’s outstretched arms, smiled politely, and nodded without saying a word. When it was Mr. Bingley’s turn to greet her, she greeted him in the same, exact way.
She heard Miss Bingley greeting Elizabeth.
“My dear Eliza, I am glad that we are reunited. I did not get to know you as I did with dear Jane. I look forward to a beautiful friendship between us.”
“Miss Bingley, you alluded to our new situation, our new house, and even our new butler. You must have heard my father inherited a dukedom, and so you must also know I am now Lady Elizabeth, and my sister is Lady Jane.”
“Oh, of course, Lady Eliza…”
“Lady Elizabeth.”
“Pardon me, Lady Elizabeth. I, of course, know of the elevation of your family and rejoice in the good fortune of such good friends. I do hope the pending lawsuits against your father’s inheritance will be decided in your father’s favor.”
Miss Bingley had a sharp but acerbic wit.
She enjoyed using it to gain an advantage against Elizabeth, who had been a thorn in her side since the first day of their acquaintance.
So long as she could secure a connection to the dukedom through the malleable Jane, she would savor every opportunity to cut the impertinent Eliza down a notch or two.
“My father—His Grace, you mean? Ah, Miss Bingley, please do not worry about things so far out of your sphere. My father has help from his distinguished friends.” Elizabeth looked at Mr. Darcy and the Colonel, alerting Miss Bingley to the fact that the sisters were not here merely to visit their dowdy friend, Charlotte Collins.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bingley tried to engage Jane in conversation, but Jane responded in short, though cordial, answers, and the confounding Colonel did not take the hint to absent himself.
Mr. Bingley dearly wished to monopolize Lady Jane, but he no longer had her undivided attention, as he had in Hertfordshire.
“M’Lady, I regret that I did not have the opportunity to take leave of you before I left Hertfordshire—I had thought I would return after a few days, but urgent family matters detained me in the north for a long time.
I returned to London just three weeks ago, and only then discovered you had been in town for a while. ”
“You should not feel sorry, sir, for prioritizing family above things or people wholly unconnected to you,” said Jane evenly.
Once her mind cleared, she could see plainly that Mr. Bingley had made no effort to contact her after leaving Hertfordshire.
If he had truly loved her, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men would not have kept him away.
“Bingley, what have you been up to since you reappeared in town?” asked the Colonel with interest.
“Not much, Colonel. It was exhausting defending the legacy my aunt left me from my cousins. I have not quite recovered from all the strife. Disagreeing with people has never agreed with me,” said Mr. Bingley, rather pleased with his clever wordplay.
“Mr. Darcy and the Colonel have been working tirelessly to help my father defend the dukedom. I have not properly thanked you, Colonel, for your hard work, especially while you recovered from injuries sustained in battle. Thank you, Colonel, Mr. Darcy,” said Jane to both gentlemen.
“It is my pleasure,” said Mr. Darcy.
“Mine as well. We are very fortunate to be in the position to be of use to His Grace,” said the Colonel.
Mr. Bingley felt ashamed for complaining about his legal troubles, whereas Darcy and the Colonel had assumed the responsibility of helping the Duke, someone wholly unrelated to them, as a matter of course and without complaint.
I have a lot more to learn to be a true gentleman!
◆◆◆
Even with the extra visitors in residence, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy continued their morning strolls in the grove.
No one at Rosings was the wiser about their early rendezvous except for their faithful personal staff, who were required more than once to tell an untruth when asked the whereabouts of their employers.
These stolen hours were pure bliss for the secret lovers.
They met at the grove but would sometimes venture out to other old haunts Mr. Darcy favored as a boy.
Rosings could not compare to Pemberley, but he was proud to show it off to its prospective mistress until the Colonel took over.
Their intimacy never went beyond kisses on the knuckles because Elizabeth was an innocent and knew little about physical love or the initiation of it, and Mr. Darcy, being a gentleman, was determined not to compromise the woman he not only loved but verily worshipped.
As for Jane, she was making two gentlemen feel grossly inadequate. Neither could discern any definite signs of partiality toward themselves.
By evening, the gentlemen were quite tired from a full day of work on the estate.
Spring was an extraordinarily busy time.
To everyone’s surprise, Anne Darcy stayed with the guests for as much as half an hour almost every evening.
Because of her frail appearance, the guests felt they were walking on eggshells around her.
No one except Miss Bingley wished to cause her distress.
Miss Bingley took every opportunity to show Mr. Darcy that she would be an ideal successor to the current and consumption-wracked Mrs. Darcy.
Aside from flattery and obsequiousness, she added to her arsenal of husband-hunting tactics showcasing her physical robustness.
When asked to exhibit, she played pieces that required some physical exertion, like Mozart’s ‘Turkish March.’ She even heaved herself up from the piano bench while pressing harder than necessary on the keys.
She walked with extra vigor, exhibiting her health and elegant posture, passing in front of the sickly mistress as she reclined on a chaise, next to her husband’s chair.
Anne, though weak, was not witless. She could easily see through the scheming nobody from trade and so clung to her husband when they were around their guests, staking her claim on him.
Elizabeth, knowing she was firmly in possession of the master’s heart, showed no sign of outward jealousy.
She did, however, avoid looking at Anne, whom she could not help pitying.
The poor woman was attempting to show the other ladies that Mr. Darcy was hers, even though she knew very well the gentleman would never have belonged to her, even if Elizabeth were not on the scene.
As for her opinion of Miss Bingley, Elizabeth felt not so much pity as disgust. She could not fathom how the harpy could have missed Mr. Darcy’s overt signs of rejection throughout the years. Why did she persist in her futile pursuit?
A week after the Bingleys’ arrival, Elizabeth and Jane had their usual tête-à-tête before bed.
Elizabeth playfully asked, “So, dear sister, do you know your heart better now that you have had a week with both Mr. Bingley and the Colonel? When the Bingleys first arrived, you recognized you had been longing for a past that was not what actually occurred—Mr. Bingley included. Outwardly, you behave exactly as you ever have. However, both Mr. Bingley and the Colonel might each mistake this behavior as a sign of your favor.”
“Oh, Lizzy, have I shown any overt sign of being fond of either gentleman? As you said, I am exactly as I always have been—polite and attentive when a gentleman speaks to me.”
Jane was contemplative before continuing.
“But, inwardly, I feel like an entirely different person. I no longer have the overarching goal of marrying the first wealthy gentleman who seems to favor me. Without this burden, these two gentlemen are simply men I have met. My standards for judging a gentleman’s appearance have also changed.
I used to consider Mr. Bingley handsome.
But now… he seems less so. His youthfulness diminishes his charm, whereas the Colonel, though not precisely handsome, becomes more appealing by the day.
He is also a far more interesting conversationalist. I learn about the world just by talking with him. ”
“Does that mean the Colonel has a better chance of gaining your approbation?”
“If you mean appreciation, then yes, I should think so. However, since marriage is no longer my mind’s focus, there is now room to notice the many facets of any gentleman I meet. As for someone I would wish to marry, I think I shall hold out for another Mr. Darcy.”
Elizabeth was stunned. She had not expected her sister to covet the man who was hers and hers alone.
Seeing Lizzy’s expression of shock and worry, Jane was so amused that she laughed out loud.
“Fear not, my dear Lizzy. I only meant that, having seen how you two seem willing to endure hardship caused by a separation of uncertain duration, you cannot blame me for wanting the same. To those of us who know the secret, it is plain you are entirely devoted to each other.”
Lizzy asked, amazed, “You want to suffer as Mr. Darcy and I are suffering?”
“To me, you are not suffering, or at least not in the usual sense. You are persevering on a long and arduous journey that will lead to your… happily ever after.”
“I see, and I am grateful for your encouragement and insight. I must admit that lately, I have had moments of insecurity. Have you noticed Anne appears stronger every day? To be sure, she is not the picture of health, but she is much better than even a week ago. Fitzwilliam… Mr. Darcy and I reproach ourselves for feeling downhearted at Anne’s improvement, but we cannot help ourselves. ”
“Lizzy, your courage always rises in the face of intimidation. I am not worried about your losing heart.”
Elizabeth hugged her sister tightly for her assurance, something Elizabeth had occasionally been lacking. She went to bed, looking forward to another stroll with her beloved.
This boost of renewed confidence was timely and sorely needed, as Anne seemed to gain strength every day.