Chapter 13
Elizabeth had been entirely selfish in not wanting Darcy to leave so soon after their understanding, but it had turned out to be a most charitable act for Bingley.
He had been weary of his friend’s quick thinking and purposeful action towards the Bennets.
All he had wanted was to shine as a hero in Miss Bennet's eyes, for her to look at him with the same blushing joy that she used to before he had left Hertfordshire.
He was more than annoyed with Darcy taking charge and the near reverence with which everyone at Longbourn held him.
Darcy was the reason for him and Miss Bennet to have been separated and to Bingley it seemed that there had been no consequence for him.
Rather even Miss Elizabeth who had never favored him seemed all but smitten.
If Jane had given him even half the encouragement that Elizabeth gave Darcy, he would have been engaged by now.
Well, he decided he would go to Brighton and be as useful as he could to Miss Bennet's family and prove to her that he was her perfect partner.
He knew that though Darcy was his intellectual superior he was not deficient and much more amiable, and therefore better suited to please Miss Lydia.
Mr. Bennet had been frantic with worry. His youngest child was now out of mortal danger and while that should have been a cause for celebration, he was hardly in the mood for rejoicing.
He had despaired of Lydia ever maturing and acting with anything resembling propriety but now he wished for his carefree and brash girl to be back.
The Lydia that either complained from sunup to sundown or made her sisters complain about her was replaced by this quiet, introspective personality who just sat and stared by the window.
It had been three days since she woke up, but her vision was still blurry.
Kitty would sit by her trying to cheer her, but she herself was ill prepared to handle her sister's heartache. Mrs. Bennet had been wailing non-stop about them all being ruined as her daughter was now blind, to the extent that he had been forced to confine her to her bedchamber. He had thought of sending her back to Hertfordshire but could not in good conscience make his older daughters suffer in such a way and hence in Brighton she remained. Gardiner had recently left for London at his behest for he was needed at his warehouse. His brother’s presence had provided the clarity of thought that Bennet had lacked but he could not in good conscience be dependent on him any longer.
The doctor overseeing Lydia had been very sympathetic to her plight and had advised him that such changes in personality often happened after life-threatening injuries, and that he should try to connect with his daughter emotionally.
To that end he had sat with Lydia reading to her from her favourite novels, but she had been disinclined to engage in any conversation.
Thus, when Bingley arrived to check on Lydia's progress, Mr. Bennet was more than relieved.
Away from his friend's shadow and his desire to compete for the Bennet ladies' goodwill with him, Bingley was back to his charming self.
He had known Lydia for only a few months and had never paid much attention to her being distracted by her charming eldest sister.
That meant he did not have the burden of expectation when he spoke to her.
Slowly he was able to coax her to talk to him and to share her grief and disappointment.
Lydia, who had only ever flirted with any man she met from the time she came out, was finding it a novel experience to talk to one without any desire to impress.
Bingley was safe as he was always meant for Jane.
That and his cheerful disposition and brotherly comfort provided Lydia with a perfect companion to unburden her sorrows.
She would sit listening to him as he read to her from the frivolous books he had found in a lending library and suddenly she would be in tears confessing all her insecurities and her desire to upstage her sisters.
How she had just wanted to be the best among all her sisters by marrying first and with the attention from the militia officers had become quite confident in her ambitions.
Wickham's perfidy had torn her fantasies, but it was the awareness of her own insignificance, as her father would say, that had changed her personality. She had thought herself special, lively, and irresistible but in the end, it had been the lady with a good dowry that had turned Wickham’s head.
She knew from Kitty that none of the militia officers except for Colonel Forster had visited them to check on her.
Wickham had faced no consequence for his actions and was now engaged to the lady he was pursuing.
This more than anything had disillusioned her.
Mr. Bingley had become a light of hope to her.
Her vision had improved since she had woken but was still blurry.
Bingley with his engaging manners hardly ever made her feel the loss for he would sit with her reading the most awful stories with such fun comments and drama that she could not help laughing.
It was during one such evening that she blurted.
“Mr. Bingley, I am so happy that you will be marrying Jane. You will be the best of husbands for her and such a good brother to have.”
Bingley was touched by the honest comment from the young girl and could not let her believe what he himself was not sure of and ended up confessing more than he had planned.
“Miss Lydia, I will be very happy to become your brother, but I am not sure your sister will be marrying me.”
“Whatever do you mean? Jane has always loved you.”
“Has she? I have not been the best of suitors. I abandoned her. There is no reason for her to love me now.”
“Well, yes, we were all mad at you when you abandoned her, but you're back now; you do mean to marry Jane, do you not?”
“Yes, of course I want to marry her. That is why I came back to Netherfield. But I'm unsure whether she will forgive my perfidy.”
“Why would she not? You are so rich and amiable.”
“I wish things were that simple. Miss Bennet has not given me any encouragement from the time I came back. I despair of ever gaining her affections. The only time I saw any emotion in her eyes similar to what she had before I left Hertfordshire was when I told her that I would come here and check on you.”
“Well then you do not have to worry at all. I will write to Jane and tell her that you have been the best of friends to me and that you took good care of me and then she will forgive you for everything and then you both can get married.”
Misinterpreting Bingley's silence she continued, “Of course, I cannot write with my vision blurry, but I will make Kitty write the letter. Do not worry about it.”
“I am most thankful for your support, Miss Lydia, and now would like to take your leave.” So saying, Bingley left the upstairs parlour while he still had control of his emotions.
The easy way in which Miss Lydia had considered his reunion with Miss Bennet had brought back all his misgivings.
It was in this state of unease that he encountered Mr. Bennet in the front parlour.
“Mr. Bingley, I was about to retire to the library for a glass brandy, do accompany me,” Mr. Bennet said as soon as he saw Bingley. The invitation was quickly accepted and both gentlemen made their way to the library.
The ease of Miss Lydia’s manners had rattled Bingley.
She was still an immature girl and did not understand the complexities of life.
It was not her simple comments that bothered him but the awareness that he himself had on some level expected the same.
Was not his frustration at Jane’s reserved manner born of the belief that she should have accepted him with the same charming smile as before, as if the heartache she suffered had not mattered because he was now back.
When Lydia had said the same thing, it had brought forth the absurdness of it and made him realise how irrational he had been.
He could not believe that he who had himself suffered from the separation had failed to give Jane’s feelings the significance it deserved.
Mr. Bennet noticed the preoccupation of his normally cheerful guest and commented casually that Brighton seemed to be losing its charm for him.
“Mr. Bennet, I will not lie and say that I do not wish to be in Hertfordshire, for I do, but if I can stay a bit longer and return with detailed news of Miss Lydia’s recovery the residents of Longbourn would appreciate it.”
“I am sure you are right, I have myself thought to call the girls here as Lydia is now out of any mortal danger but then I hate to cause such upheaval in their lives and to presume even more on Mr. Darcy’s housekeeper.”
“I am sure if the ladies came here Darcy himself would not be far behind. He seems incapable of staying away from Miss Elizabeth’s company these days.” Bingley responded with a touch of annoyance, all his petulance at Darcy again resurfacing.
Mr. Bennet, who had himself reached the same conclusion about Darcy’s affection, was quick to pick up on this.
“I was surprised when he did not accompany you to Brighton, given that this is his house. You will agree with me that it is unconventional that his friend arrives at his house as a guest while he himself remains a guest of the said friend in his absence.”
“Darcy has always done what has been most convenient for him. There was no cause for him to come here and inconvenience himself with the company he did not much prefer.” Bingley took a perverse sense of pleasure in criticizing Darcy, for he may have had a revelation on his unfair expectation of Jane, but he still blamed Darcy for their initial separation.
“You mean to tell me that he only prefers the Bennet ladies that reside at Longbourn?” Mr. Bennet questioned as he took a sip of his brandy.
“Had you asked me a month back I would have confidently said that he does not prefer the company of anyone named Bennet, but the past few days have made me realise that he holds Miss Elizabeth in the utmost esteem.” Bingley responded absently as he swirled his drink and took a gulp.
“I am more and more flummoxed with the whole situation. A year ago, two single men came to Netherfield and if anyone had asked me if they had any impact on my daughters, it was Jane I would have thought of.”
“You would have been correct; I made a grave error when I trusted Darcy’s judgement that Miss Bennet does not care for me. Had I relied on my own counsel I would have been back at Netherfield within days as I had promised. I hope that in time she will forgive me.” Bingley dejectedly responded.
“My Jane is the most forgiving person I know sir, take heart all is not lost.” Mr. Bennet said as he excused himself.
The revelations that Bingley had made regarding Darcy were exactly in line with how Mr. Bennet had perceived the man’s character.
It had not bothered him earlier but now his favourite daughter's happiness was at stake.
Lizzy was intelligent but still young and he worried that Mr. Darcy, with his thoughtfulness in solving all her problems by way of his fortune, may have turned her head and convinced her of his love, but he knew better.
She would never be happy with such an arrogant, high-handed man who had no respect for her family, and he could not bear to see her suffer in matrimony as he himself had.