Chapter IV
Enjoy London though she did, Caroline Bingley could not help but feel unease, and this had happened when it all had been proceeding so well.
At the end of November, after hosting the ball for those ridiculous people in Hertfordshire, they had followed him to London, eager to prevent his return—and the near-disastrous temptation that Miss Jane Bennet represented.
The success of that endeavor should have set her mind at ease; somehow, it did not.
It started with Charles. Caroline was well acquainted with her brother’s character, and she knew how to manage him subtly so that he moved in whatever direction best served their family’s rise in society.
Charles was not shallow, but he had so often had his head turned by a pretty face that Caroline had never considered his distraction with Miss Bennet to be anything out of the ordinary.
When Caroline had convinced him to remain in London, she had been certain he would forget about Miss Bennet and look forward to the next pretty face.
Yet now, more than a month after departing from Hertfordshire, he remained in depressed spirits, his demeanor that of a man filled with regret.
This, of course, made it even more imperative that they keep him away, for Jane Bennet, though a good sort of girl, was not a woman who would raise the Bingleys’ consequence in society.
Her connections alone might be the death of their ambitions toward high society, for Mrs. Bennet would make them a laughingstock, and her daughters were little better.
Charles might regret the loss of Miss Bennet, but when he found a more suitable woman to marry, Caroline knew he would thank her for helping him see the truth.
The problem with Charles was vexing, but not insurmountable, so long as they kept him in London.
The issue with Mr. Darcy was far more perplexing, but Caroline knew she could afford to practice patience for the moment.
That the Darcys had not returned to Pemberley was a surprise, for Caroline knew he preferred his country estate, and she could not blame him, having seen the place herself.
As he had stayed for the Christmas season in London, she had hoped he would be more in evidence so she could continue her campaign to capture his attention.
Mr. Darcy, however, had not seen fit to oblige—his silence was deafening, though not to Charles, with whom he remained in frequent contact.
The last problem was not a problem so much as a mystery.
It too involved a gentleman, though one for whom Caroline had little respect.
The truth of that matter was beyond her ability to fathom, and after a significant amount of time trying to puzzle through it, she turned to Louisa, though she had already asked this question several times.
“Are you certain you do not know where Hurst is?”
It was clear that her repeated questions on the subject were beginning to irk her sister. “As I have already told you, Caroline,” replied Louisa, her exaggerated patience provoking Caroline’s vexation in response, “he left the city without saying where he was going.”
“That is extraordinary, Louisa. What man goes away and says nothing to his wife of his destination, or when he means to return?”
The way Louisa looked at her made Caroline’s hair stand on end, though her reply was the same as it had been a dozen times since Hurst had gone away. “I do not think men tell their wives about everything they do. Hurst told Charles where he was going—that was all he thought necessary.”
Vexing though it was, the whereabouts of her sister’s husband was not a matter of supreme importance, so Caroline let the subject drop in favor of other matters more pressing.
“What do you suppose we should do about Charles?”
“I cannot say,” replied Louisa. “This preference for Miss Bennet has survived more than a month apart.”
“Well do I know it.” Caroline shook her head. “Charles has never carried his infatuations beyond a few weeks. It is most vexing that he persists in this unseemly fascination.”
“Caroline,” replied Louisa, her tone chiding, “it is not ‘unseemly’ regardless of our opinion of the woman in question. Miss Bennet is the daughter of a gentleman, which makes her suitable.”
Indignation welled up in Caroline’s breast as she looked at her sister with censure. “She is unsuitable to a family of our position, Louisa—you know this. If we are to have any chance of rising in society, we cannot have our brother tie himself to a woman of no fortune and little standing.”
Louisa regarded her, pausing for a moment as if considering her words.
“That is all well and good, Caroline, but our opinion may not matter. If Charles decides the benefits of rising in society are nothing compared to the benefits he will gain from having Miss Bennet as a wife, I wonder if we can, in good conscience, seek to prevent him from pursuing her.”
“Do not be absurd, Louisa!” snapped Caroline. “We cannot allow it. It does not matter as Charles is in London and Miss Bennet is in Hertfordshire—there is little chance of their meeting again. We must continue to encourage him until he relinquishes his infatuation.”
Louisa offered a shrug, but Caroline was not paying attention to her sister anymore.
The matter with Charles was well in hand so long as they remained in London.
Though not knowing Hurst’s whereabouts was annoying, it was not a matter of concern.
Eventually, he would return, likely soused from his host’s brandy.
As always, Caroline’s thoughts returned to Mr. Darcy, his failure to offer for her in Hertfordshire, when Caroline had thought hosting him would turn into her greatest triumph.
“Perhaps we should visit Georgiana tomorrow,” mused Caroline, though she had not been intending to speak.
“We can, if you wish,” said Louisa, her tone indifferent.
Caroline regarded her sister, but a few moments’ consideration prevented her from commenting.
If Caroline were honest with herself, she had noticed a difference in Louisa of late, particularly about her efforts to induce Mr. Darcy to propose to her.
It was like Louisa had lost all hope, that the matter had become one of indifference to her.
Though she did not like to confess it, insidious doubt had crept into Caroline’s heart, too, though she was anything but indifferent.
The man had known her for three years and had yet to get any serious sign of offering for her, and when they had stayed at Netherfield, he had given more attention to Miss Elizabeth Bennet than to her.
What that presaged was something Caroline did not wish to contemplate, even if it suggested a taste that was not so refined as she had always thought.
The important point was her having Mr. Darcy for a husband, and Caroline was not about to accept failure.
Her success was far too important for her family’s rise in society to allow Mr. Darcy to slip from her grasp.
Charles might wed an heiress, but Caroline did not think he was assertive enough to catch the eye of a woman high enough in society to raise their consequence.
Mr. Darcy was the only man of her acquaintance with whom she boasted sufficient intimacy to make a match possible.
Thus, inducing him to accept her was the only option.
If Mr. Darcy was reluctant, then Caroline would need to resort to more pointed measures to engage his interest and, more importantly, his honor.
The best time to have enacted such plans was when he was staying with them at Netherfield, but Caroline remained confident of success in persuading him.
There were always ways to accomplish what she wished; all she needed to do was stay patient and strike when the opportunity arose.
Later that day, another matter of vexation arose when Charles joined them. Knowing her brother as she did, Caroline could always understand his moods, and the face he presented to them was tightly controlled anger.
“Caroline, Louisa,” greeted he in a neutral voice, one Caroline would not have thought him capable of using.
“What is it, Charles?” asked Caroline, wary about this side of her brother she had rarely seen.
“I am leaving town for a time.”
Caroline gaped at him, and Louisa was no better. “Leaving town? Whatever can you mean?”
“Just what I said.” It was little more than a retort in a tone foreign to her brother’s usual cheer. “I received a letter from Hurst this morning suggesting that I join him.”
“Where is he?” demanded Caroline while Louisa said: “You know where my husband is?”
“I do,” said Charles to Louisa. Then he turned to Caroline. “Hurst has asked me not to say where he is. All you need to know is that he is staying with friends, and I will join him there for a few weeks.”
“Then we should all go,” reasoned Caroline.
The look with which Charles fixed her was unfriendly to say the least. “You are not invited, Caroline. I am included in Hurst’s invitation, but it omitted you.”
“That is ridiculous, Charles!” exclaimed Caroline. “What shall Louisa and I do while you and Hurst are staying with friends?”
“You may stay in London. It is where you are happiest, is it not?”
“Except that there is no one in town at this time of year worth visiting,” snapped Caroline, by now becoming cross.
“Then you will have each other’s company, and there is much to do in London, I dare say. Regardless, I am leaving, and you are not invited.”
“When will you return, Brother?” asked Louisa.
“I cannot say. Once our plans become clear, I shall write to inform you. Until then, I bid you good day.”