Chapter 26
The Bingleys and Hursts arrived at Netherfield Park on the Monday before Michaelmas. One of the party was rather disappointed at the time they had departed Hurst House, which had been as the sun rose, at a quarter before six.
Miss Bingley had fought not to issue the set-down she so much wanted to when her brother told her the time of departure; amazingly, she restrained herself.
She was too close to Mr and Miss Darcy joining them—she had dismissed what her drunken sot of a brother-in-law had said about Miss Darcy being hosted at the Bennets’ estate—for her to vent her spleen yet.
As soon as she was Mrs Darcy, she would finally be free to let her brother and the Hursts know how she felt about them.
Even if the former Miss Bennet was a viscountess, Caroline Maleficent Bingley did not intend to give the Bennets consequence by noticing them. It had been enough to tolerate their company for the weeks they had been hosted at Hurst House when she had begun her campaign to fool everyone.
Even better, once Caroline married Mr Darcy, the man she deserved to—more accurately his wealth, connections, and properties—she would never be in company with the Hurst brats again.
What cared she for a boy of seven, the girl of four, or the newest male whelp who would be one in a few months?
Since she had begun her campaign to pull the wool over her family’s eyes, she had needed to refrain from showing the brats they were not welcome.
How unfashionable of her sister to pay her children so much attention and spend time with them when she employed nurses and a governess.
Children were to be seen only briefly each day when they were needed to be shown off to callers.
At least, she was only riding with her brother in the Bingley coach.
Unknown to Miss Bingley, the manner in which everyone was seated and the carriage they would travel in had been decided with the purpose that none of the Hursts would be subjected to the youngest Bingley’s pinched and sour looks—the ones she thought she hid—or generally be in her company more than they absolutely needed to.
The first Hurst conveyance—the one which had been the wedding present— contained Leticia, Hurst, Louisa, Arthur, and Tisha.
Ignatius was in the one following—the old Hurst conveyance—with his wetnurse, two nursemaids, and the governess.
The final Hurst carriage conveyed Holcomb, Leticia’s and Louisa’s maids, and one more nursemaid.
Bringing up the rear of the convoy was a horse-drawn cart with the bulk of the trunks.
Johns was on the backbench of the lead Hurst equipage, while Biggs manned the one on the conveyance which contained little Master Ignatius.
To a certain degree, Hurst felt bad that Bingley was stuck in his own carriage with the shrill shrew, but he had the comfort of being sure that she would not attempt anything yet.
He had told Louisa, and she had agreed, that whatever Caroline intended to do would not happen until Mr Darcy was in residence.
He grinned to himself when he imagined how his sister-in-law would react as soon as she realised that he had been serious about Miss Darcy not being hosted at Netherfield Park.
Of one thing Hurst was certain: Caroline would have to be watched at all times, especially once Darcy was in residence.
“Louisa,” Hurst called his wife’s attention to himself. She had just completed reading to Arthur and Tisha. “I had a thought. You know a certain someone will attempt to take charge at some point, do you not?”
The Hursts had agreed they would not speak negatively about Caroline in their children’s hearing, no matter how much the talk was warranted.
“Yes, I am. What of it?” Louisa responded.
Leticia, who had begun to entertain her namesake once Louisa finished the story, looked up to see what Harold was about.
“I think you should give her the impression you agree with her, like you did after your father’s funeral in Scarborough. The person will be more forthcoming with you if there is a belief you are sympathetic to the expressed views,” Hurst suggested.
After cogitating on her husband’s words and seeing the sense in them, Louisa nodded and then went back to helping Arthur with a book he was reading.
Although she did not say so in her grandchildren’s presence, Leticia wholeheartedly applauded any steps Harold took to hobble Miss Bingley. The harpy was the highest in the instep person Leticia had ever met. In her mind, it was not if Miss Bingley ruined herself, but rather when.
On arriving at Netherfield Park, Miss Bingley took one look at it and decided it was nothing to Pemberley. That she had never set eyes on that estate was an inconvenient fact she ignored. She refrained from saying that aloud.
When her brother introduced Louisa to the butler and housekeeper and named her the mistress of the estate, Caroline Bingley almost allowed her careful facade to crumble and berate her brother like he richly deserved.
As inconvenient as it was that Charles had meant what he said in this case, it did not change her plans.
When Mr and Miss Darcy arrived, she would simply act as the hostess, and she was certain Louisa would not gainsay her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next day the gentlemen of the neighbourhood began to call to welcome Mr Bingley and his party to the area. Thanks to the Hursts being well known from the times they had previously been in residence, Bingley was the only one who needed to be introduced.
Thankfully, as she was not the hostess, the youngest Bingley had refused to sit and greet the country mushrooms, as she called them. Hence, she had withdrawn before she could meet any of the nobodies, and was ensconced in her chamber.
When she had made that comment, without being self-aware enough to realise it, she had slipped.
She had shown a glimmer of her true self to the other four adults in residence.
If Bingley had been harbouring any hopes that their suppositions about his younger sister were incorrect, her haughty pronouncement washed any hope away.
As Bingley had met some of the Bennets at Hurst House, there was no need for introductions when the Bennets called.
It did not take long before Bennet was chatting with Hurst and Bingley; Leticia, Fanny, and Louisa were in one group.
Tommy, who had been included in the call to continue his friendship with Arthur, was sitting with said friend on the rug arranging metal soldiers so that the British would be able to rout the French, as it should be.
Elizabeth had been cajoled into telling Tisha a short story. The latter was happily sitting on Mary’s lap. The two youngest Bennet sisters were at home in lessons with Miss Firth and Mrs Annesley.
It was into this friendly atmosphere that Caroline Bingley sailed.
As soon as she saw not only the Bennets but also young children, her face showed a very marked moue of distaste.
“Who brings children on a call, and why are they all not upstairs in the nursery where they will be in no one’s way? ” She demanded.
“Caroline! That was abominably rude. Apologise to my guests, or you will be on your way to Aunt Hildebrand and Uncle John,” Bingley admonished.
The realisation that she had begun to show her true feelings too soon hit Miss Bingley.
How was she to secure a proposal from Mr Darcy if Charles banished her from his estate?
She needed to repair the damage quickly.
“Please pardon me; a bad headache has come on, which made me say things that are not true.” With that Miss Bingley left the drawing room with a swish of skirts.
“Well, that was interesting,” Elizabeth commented. Thankfully Tisha’s story was over. “Miss Bingley never said it when we were in London, but I could feel that she saw us as interlopers.”
“Which is something you were not. If she wanted to see one, Caroline should have looked in the mirror,” Leticia stated firmly. She looked at her son and daughter-in-law, pointedly telling them of an impending conversation once their friends had departed.
Bingley could not but be caught up by the picture Miss Mary made with his niece on her lap, allowing Tisha to examine the cross worn around the third Bennet sister’s neck. Miss Mary seemed to have unlimited patience with Tisha.
After tea, the Bennets, much to the chagrin of Arthur and Tommy, took their leave.
The boys were mollified when promised the former would be at Longbourn with his parents, grandmamma, and sister on the morrow.
All the boys needed to know was that Eddy and Peter Gardiner were soon to be present, and the circle of very good friends would be complete.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Just like St Claire had told him he would, Wickham found the regiment of the Derbyshire Militia—his benefactor said Wickham was most suited to this particular regiment, as he had a Derbyshire accent—encamped in the market town of Bedford in Bedfordshire.
His instructions were to purchase the rank of lieutenant, use his charm to become popular among the officers and recommend himself to the commander of the regiment.
That was Wickham’s role: to investigate the colonel and report anything of interest back to St Claire, who would evaluate the information to see if it contravened any orders.
Rather than a post coach, Wickham had been conveyed into Bedfordshire in one of St Claire’s nondescript carriages.
He was dropped off on the edge of the town, so none of the members of the militia would see how he arrived.
Wickham asked the first man he met to direct him to the regiment’s offices. The man did so with a smile.
As he walked, Wickham remembered St Claire’s stipulation about no girls, no debts, and careful gambling without debts of honour. As much as it irked him to refrain from the things which gave him so much pleasure, he was not willing to risk his reward at the end of his assisting the rich man.