Chapter 27 #2
“Why is it taking so long for Mr and Miss Darcy to enter the house?” Miss Bingley whinged. She knew how to act; she would perform as the hostess and no one would gainsay her.
Hurst and Bingley arrived at the base of the stairs just as the Darcy travelling coach came to a halt. Neither missed the grin and faraway look on Darcy’s face.
“Is it me, or do you have some good news to share with us?” Hurst queried.
“Before you reply, no matter what we have said, my younger sister still believes Miss Darcy is with you. I apologise in advance for her behaviour. On top of that I made Louisa the mistress, and Caroline is not sanguine with that,” Bingley warned.
“Bingley, she is a woman fully grown. It is her responsibility to apologise for her misbehaviour, not yours,” Darcy allowed. “And yes, I have almost the best news. Elizabeth, Miss Bennet, agreed to an official courtship, and Bennet sanctioned it.”
“If Caroline was going to be upset by your sister not being with you, it will be nothing compared to when she hears you are courting one who is not her,” Bingley opined.
“That will be her problem, not mine,” Darcy stated. “Bingley, I want to make sure Miss Bingley understands where she stands with me, so with your permission, I would like to speak plainly to her.”
“Say what you need to say,” Bingley agreed.
“As much as I did not want to be correct, my sister-in-law is about to attempt to ensnare you, which she has been planning for the last few years. That she could maintain her act, at least to a certain extent, is surprising. My estimate is that her facade will soon crumble, and we will see the true Caroline Bingley in all of her glory,” Hurst predicted.
“Well, should we go and beard the dragon?” Bingley suggested.
“I will come and greet the ladies before I wash and change. I may as well get this over with.” Darcy stiffened his spine.
In the drawing room, Miss Bingley was getting upset. She was standing at a window that overlooked the drive. She had seen Mr Darcy alight and a manservant as well, but no Miss Darcy! Miss Darcy had to be here so she could make sure that Charles married her. How could this be?
As she fumed, she ignored the fact that she had been told, many times, that Miss Darcy would not be resident at Netherfield Park.
While Miss Bingley was fighting to maintain her equanimity, the three men entered the drawing room. Seeing Mr Darcy made her forget her current pique, at least for the moment. “As your hostess, I welcome you…” she began to say as she approached Mr Darcy.
“How can you be the hostess when your brother informed me that Mrs Hurst is the mistress here?” Darcy enquired evenly.
“That was simply an error on Charles’s part; he is mistaken.” Miss Bingley was banking on her brother not being willing to gainsay her in front of Mr Darcy. Surely that would be too embarrassing?
“Caroline, is your brain addled?” Bingley demanded. “You know that Louisa is the mistress here, so what is your game?”
As she was the one who was being embarrassed, Miss Bingley turned on her heel and, without taking her leave of anyone, made her way out of the drawing room with speed.
She rushed up the stairs and into her bedchamber.
She cared not that she slammed the door.
Why was nothing going according to her well-thought-out plan?
She could no longer hold her temper and picked up a porcelain figurine on the mantel and threw it with all of her might.
It made a very satisfying sound when it smashed against the wall.
It felt so good to be able to vent her spleen in this way, she did not stop until there were no more figurines or vases left in one piece.
“Ah, there is the Caroline who has been attempting to hide away,” Hurst stated when the sounds of smashing items were heard from one floor below.
He then turned to his brother-in-law. “Bingley, are you aware you are responsible for all breakages here? If they are maliciously broken, then you pay double the value.”
“I am aware of that as I read my lease very carefully,” Bingley responded. “How is it you know about the clauses in the lease?”
Hurst realised he had slipped. He thought quickly. “I was in the study the other day, and the lease was on your desk. In my role as your late father’s executor, I read it to assure myself no one had taken advantage of your youth,” he explained.
Bingley remembered the lease had been where Hurst said he had found it, so he accepted the explanation. “Let us speak of some far more pleasant subjects.”
“Mother, Louisa, Darcy has some news he would like to share,” Hurst said, grasping the chance to change the subject. “Darcy, would you like to tell them or should I?”
“Mesdames Hurst and Hurst, as you are aware, I took my sister to Longbourn before coming here. While I was there I requested and was granted a courtship by Elizabeth. Bennet agreed as well. Hence, I find myself to be a very lucky man to have been granted an opportunity to win Elizabeth’s heart,” Darcy revealed.
“That is wonderful news,” Louisa responded. “I wish you and Lizzy every felicity.” Then she thought of something. “When Caroline hears this, she will explode with rage.”
“If she misbehaves again, she will be on the next post coach north. I was not making an idle threat when I said I would send her away,” Bingley stated.
“It is not if, but when,” Hurst opined. “There is something very wrong with her.”
“If I may be excused, I believe Carstens has a bath ready for me. Once I have changed, I will rejoin you here,” Darcy stated as he bowed to the occupants in the drawing room and then made his way out of the room and up to the guest floor.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Not that any of them were complaining, but by the time the residents of Netherfield Park departed for Longbourn the next morning, no one had seen hide nor hair of Miss Bingley.
The previous night, she had taken dinner and supper on a tray in her private sitting room, and this morning, she had not been down to break her fast with the rest of them.
Notwithstanding Caroline’s aversion to her nephews and niece, Louisa was very happy that the children were with them, as she did not trust her sister to be alone with them in the house.
At about twenty minutes before eleven, as they were preparing to depart, Bingley had not thought he needed to inform his sister that they were making a call.
Hence, the Hursts, Darcy, and Bingley were soon on their way to Longbourn, planning to arrive at the start of calling hours at eleven.
As they travelled the less than three miles, Arthur was fairly bouncing on the seat in anticipation of seeing Tommy.
Tisha was no less excited because she wanted Lizzy to tell her a story.
Louisa planned to distract her daughter, understanding that Darcy would like some time alone with Lizzy and not with her four-year-old daughter in-between them.
They were greeted warmly on arriving at the Bennets’ estate.
Arthur and Tommy made for the nursery. It was an attempt to allow Lizzy time with William when Louisa signalled to Nurse to take Tisha upstairs as well.
Ignatius and his wetnurse were already in the nursery.
He would be brought down after his next feeding and his nap.
Once the children were no longer an impediment, Elizabeth and Darcy took a seat a little away from the rest. Mary led Catherine, Gigi, and Lydia to the music room.
Leticia and Louisa went to sit with Fanny while Hurst made his way to the study to join Bennet, who he had been informed was doing some work.
“Have you ridden Phoebe this morning?” Darcy asked.
“Yes, I had a good gallop, and we ended up at Oakham Mount, where I had the pleasure of watching the sunrise,” Elizabeth shared.
“I had intended to take Zeus to the same place, but I must have been tired because I slept longer than is my wont. Carstens, my valet, had to wake me so I would not miss the morning meal.” Darcy paused.
“I am very pleased I was ready to leave with everyone. Had I not, I would have been in the house alone with Miss Bingley, not something I would enjoy. Seeing you this morning is a pleasure, as it always is.”
“Having shared a house with that lady for a short time, I am aware of how supercilious she can be. Let us forget her and speak of more pleasurable subjects.” Elizabeth smiled widely at her suitor.
Any thoughts of the harridan flew from Darcy’s head. Yes, it was far too pleasant here to think about Miss Caroline Bingley.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Back at Netherfield Park, Caroline could not understand why none of the maids would agree to clean up the mess she had created when she had unleashed her anger the previous night.
Well, she would not be distracted from the path she was on.
She would either win Mr Darcy’s hand by fair means, or she would use unfair tactics.
Whichever way it needed to be, she would be Mrs Darcy before she departed this benighted estate in this insignificant backwater.
She supposed she had to accept that Miss Darcy was residing at the Bennets’ hovel. Cousins to Mr Darcy just because the one sister had compromised Lord Hilldale? Not at all!
Now all she needed to do was to plan a way to sow discord between the Bennets and the Darcys.