Chapter 14
Elizabeth
William returned to Longbourn in time for tea and agreed to remain for dinner. Elizabeth’s mother was exceptionally pleased to have the Darcys as guests again, and even her father looked happy.
After plying William with tea and honey cakes, Elizabeth invited him to take a walk with her, and they swiftly walked the familiar path to the top of Oakham Mount.
“Tell me everything,” Elizabeth requested. She hoped she did not sound as if she was begging.
Hanging his head, he said, “It is very sorrowful for me. Should I not just summarise?”
Elizabeth knew very well how to get what she wished.
She embraced him, kissed him, stroked his back, ran her fingers through his hair, and said, “I am so sorry that your friend turned out to be even less worthy than you had thought before you left for London. It must be painful to consider all the time and effort, all the expertise and generosity spent on behalf of Mr Bingley—and much of it for naught since he turned out not to be a gentleman, after all.”
William took possession of the kisses, then, and Elizabeth had no further chance to utter words.
As a matter of fact, she imagined that her skin might be blistering under his warm lips, so passionate was he.
The two clung together for a timeless period, and William used his knowledge of the movements that would create favourable responses in Elizabeth to make her feel very well indeed.
Eventually Elizabeth’s breathing slowed, and her heart steadied. She said, “Please let me know what Mr Bingley said. I feel that I cannot rest until I know what he said about me.” She sat on the log and patted it in invitation.
He sat and answered, “I suppose you have every right to know. But first allow me to tell you something I have kept from you, in a desire to surprise and please you. I purchased Netherfield Park more than a fortnight ago. I wished to surprise you with a home for your mother and sisters, if their fears are realised and they lose Longbourn someday; I wished to surprise you and your sister with a generous lease arrangement for Bingley, if he did marry Jane; and I wished to have control of the estate if Caroline Bingley became even worse in her machinations than I feared.”
Elizabeth was so shocked, she just sat there, blinking.
William smiled a bit at her expression, but she saw the flicker of anxiety in his eyes. “Are you angry I took such a step without consulting you?” he asked.
“Oh, you are far too perfect, William. How could I be angry with you when you had such foresight and such generous motivations?”
Of course, he deserved several more kisses for that revelation. But then Elizabeth said, “I still wish to know what Mr Bingley said.”
“Yes, I am truly not attempting to stall—but I need to take a moment to attempt to remember what I had honestly wished to forget.”
He became still and raised his eyes up and to one side. She had seen that expression before, and she waited silently.
William related the entire conversation between him and Mr Bingley, with a few mentions of Rogers, Mrs Hurst, and Carter—and by the end she felt she had never been so proud of William, but also she had never been so ashamed to have thought well of Mr Bingley.
Her anger towards Mr Bingley was great, but she was also confused at what it was that the man had thought she wished for.
It was so uncomfortable to feel so many varied-yet-intense feelings at one time, and she decided that further clarification of what Mr Bingley had assumed could only cause more intense negative emotions.
She breathed deeply, attempting to let those emotions go. She answered William’s concerned gaze with a wobbly smile and a reassuring squeeze of his fingers.
“Now, you must tell me,” William said. “How is Jane? I have been feeling terribly guilty for foisting Bingley on the neighbourhood, but especially on her.”
“She is angry, sad, and relieved. She kept feeling that something was just a bit off, but everyone else thought Mr Bingley was a wonderful example of a gentleman. I myself did, and though I kept in mind your several statements of uncertainty, I still managed to always think the best of him.”
William gave her a quick embrace. “I think you are very realistic about people, generally. Why do you suppose you were so ready to believe well of Bingley?” he asked.
“Because he smiles constantly and is willing to dance at balls and assemblies?”
William smiled. He seemed to recognise her sarcasm, even though she had deliberately kept her tone even.
She shook her head. “I was introduced to him by you; you considered him a friend. He had immediate standing from that. You tried to remind me how little you knew of him, really, over and over again, but by that time Jane really seemed to like him, and I felt so hopeful that your anxieties about his behaviour were incorrect.”
“Well, I have to admit that my anxieties were not nearly high enough for the scoundrel he apparently was!”
“I know…. I am sorry he was so disloyal to you.”
“Your father never seemed to like him much,” William said, musing. “We should ask him why.”
“What did you write to Papa in the note you sent with Rogers and Stanley?”
“I wrote that I had been given a warning about Bingley’s behaviour towards you, and that Rogers and Stanley were former soldiers who had proved their loyalty to my family many times over, that I trusted them with my life without question, and what was even more important, I trusted them with your life.
I asked him to allow them to shelter in your home and guard you at least until I could come myself. ”
Elizabeth nodded. She was impressed at how calmly her father had taken the surprising news that Mr Bingley was not to be trusted and that her intended had sent two body-guards.
She was so intent on keeping the circle of people who knew about Mr Bingley’s attack small, she had never even spoken to her father about the situation.
She asked William’s advice about what would be best said to their friends and neighbours, about Mr Bingley’s departure, reminding him that her mother should probably know only what was being told generally.
“But my father can be trusted to know the truth,” she said.
“And whatever we think is best to be said, generally, we must discuss the whole of it with your sister, because her feelings and reputation are even more enmeshed with Bingley than yours or mine.”
“Absolutely,” Elizabeth agreed.
“Before we lose our privacy—before we walk back to Longbourn to consult with your sister and your father—we should catch up on everything else that happened while I was away. You wrote to me of the day-to-day activities, and I wrote to you of Richard’s recovery and his determination to marry Miss Garrett.
But there must be some things we left out.
And, of course, one thing I have to say is that I regretted not having you by my side as we made arrangements for Richard to receive one of our landholdings. ”
“Well, I have not seen any of our landholdings, other than Darcy House in London, so I would not have had much on which to base an opinion.”
“And still, I would wish to have you by my side for anything that important.”
They opened their hearts to one another, filling in the gaps, talking far longer than they had expected given the length and fervency of their letters.
After all of that chatter, they simply had to refresh themselves with more kissing.
But the angle of the sun eventually coaxed them to brush themselves off and walk back to Longbourn.
After dinner, Elizabeth asked Jane if she wished to join William and their father in the library. “We need to discuss…certain matters.”
She was so proud of Jane, who lifted her head proudly. “I would,” she said simply.
When the four gathered in the most comfortable chairs in the library, William began by thanking Elizabeth’s father for his practical response to his note. “Rogers and Stanley have reported being welcomed with courtesy and without intrusive curiosity. We all appreciate that.”
Elizabeth said, “Papa, we spoke about the situation, and William, Jane, and I all felt it was best for you to know the truth of what has transpired, and we wish to consult you as to what should be said to Mama and thus the world at large.”
She saw that her father looked very concerned, and she briefly informed him of Hurst’s letter of warning to William and the couple’s attempts to ensure she was never alone with Mr Bingley.
Then she related the attempted kiss and her own defensive move.
Even more briefly, she stated that Mr Bingley agreed to leave the area and drop all acquaintance with the Bennets and the Darcys.
At their father’s careful questioning, Jane reported feeling confusion and sorrow but also a surprising amount of relief.
“I suppose I noticed something lacking in Mr Bingley. I feel certain that my heart is bruised but not broken—the anxiety I felt, at times, because I sensed something slightly ‘off’ in either Mr Bingley or in our relationship—that worry prevented me from fully offering my heart.”
“You are a good girl,” their father said, and Elizabeth tensed up, waiting for an ironic or teasing addition. However, he said nothing further on the topic.
William said, “I feel very apologetic that I never saw the flaw in Bingley’s character, and that I brought him here to your neighbourhood and family.
Elizabeth and I had long noted that you did not seem to like Bingley, even though virtually every one of your neighbours sang his praises.
We were wondering what you noted that I and so many others missed. ”
“I cannot claim any great perspicacity. I thought the man smiled too much. He liked every food without discernment, and he seemed to like everything and everyone with the same fervour. I did not fully believe such an indiscriminate nature; however, if it was genuine, I still felt it lacked intelligence and morality.”
Jane said, “I cannot believe your criticism of Mr Bingley was that he smiled too much.”
Elizabeth said, “I admired that he seemed predisposed to approve of people.”
Her father shrugged. “I prefer Mr Darcy’s attitude. He is everything polite, but he waits to know someone before offering genuine warmth.”
Elizabeth saw William startle and then blush.
He chose his words carefully. “I appreciate your approval, sir, but I feel that it is your daughters who exemplify the best type of sociability. Miss Bennet has perfect manners and, as you have heard, is careful before offering her whole heart. And of course Elizabeth has the loveliest of manners, as well, and is genuinely warm and welcoming; she makes others feel included in a way I have never come close to mastering. And yet, Elizabeth makes intelligent decisions about who to trust and is able to stand her ground when people level an attack with words. I did not know until recently that she is also well equipped to defend herself from an attack on her person. I commend you on raising two daughters with such valuable social skills.”
Elizabeth felt overwhelmed with the praise and said, “You are giving me far too much credit for intelligence the day after I found out just how undiscerning I have been about a particular man.”
The conversation became awkward when the four attempted to decide what to tell people about Mr Bingley leaving the area forever.
Finally, after several minutes of each one offering ideas that the group almost as quickly discarded, William said, “We could just say that Bingley had business in London, for now. Then, after the wedding, we could tell one piece of truth—that there is a new owner of Netherfield.”
“A new owner?” Mr Bennet asked. “Not a new lease holder?”
William blushed again, “Well, yes, actually, there is a new owner. I purchased Netherfield.” He hesitated, then rushed to say, “I felt it was a safeguard for your family to have an estate that is not entailed away.”
Elizabeth was able to see on the faces of her sister and father the expression she must have worn earlier that day: utter astonishment.
Jane was quick to accept the news. “Thank you,” she said.
She had no trace of her usual serenity in her expression or voice; instead, she seemed more fervent than she had ever been, and she leant forward as she said, “Thank you for taking a step that will relieve my mother of her crippling fear, that will relieve me of having to save my family by somehow marrying well, that will give us all some assurance for the future. I could not be more grateful to anyone as I am right now to you.”
William reached out to squeeze her fingers. “You are part of my family now. Or…will be very soon.”
When Elizabeth said goodbye to Georgiana and William, not long after, she hugged Georgiana and then, sheltered from her soon-to-be-sister’s sight by the bulk of the carriage, she gave her own thanks to William. And her thanks were even more fervent than Jane’s had been.