Chapter 17
Elizabeth awoke with the painful sensation that her head was too heavy to be lifted.
She moaned and leaned back against the pillow, momentarily disoriented.
Then, gradually, the memories of past events overwhelmed her.
The light of a sunny day was warming the room, as was the fire—burning steadily—yet she shivered.
Georgiana’s sweet face, clouded with worry, appeared in the doorway.
“Oh, Elizabeth, I just discovered you are still at Netherfield. What happened? I am so sorry I did not come until now! But last evening you seemed fine. I never imagined…And William returned in the middle of the night. I know something must have happened, but nobody told me anything.”
Georgiana’s voice was trembling, her face colourless, and Elizabeth took her hands, struggling for the appropriate words to offer in response.
“Georgiana, there is no need to distress yourself so, dearest. Everything is well now. Please try to calm yourself, and I promise I will tell you everything.”
For the next half hour, nothing remained untold, not even Lady Cassandra’s scheme of pretending she had been the victim of Lord Markham’s attack.
Georgiana’s state became worse in the face of such an extraordinary revelation—the notion that a gentleman, the son of an earl for that matter, could behave in such an outrageous manner.
The sudden revelation that a lady cannot be completely safe, even in the home of a close friend, made her spirits desperately low.
Elizabeth explained in every detail the extraordinary gesture Lady Cassandra had made.
“Yes, Cassandra is wonderful, is she not?” whispered Georgiana.
“Indeed she is; even more, she is generous and courageous. I have never met anyone like her.”
“You are both wonderful; I am so fortunate that I will have you both with me from now on.”
A few minutes later, Jane—pale with dark circles around her eyes, a sign she had slept little—joined them. The elder Miss Bennet’s distress and worry were obvious, and Elizabeth’s sombre expression returned.
At Elizabeth’s insistence, clearly embarrassed by Georgiana’s presence yet incapable of dissimulation, Jane said with a faint voice, “Lizzy, if you are feeling better, we should take our leave. Miss Bingley is quite upset with us.”
∞∞∞
Charles Bingley pushed his chair away and stepped toward his sister who was still sitting at the breakfast table. His face was red with anger, and his eyes narrowed in fury as he looked at Caroline.
“The betrayal of your unworthy friend Lord Markham seems to have affected your senses and reasoning, Caroline, so I will try very hard to forget the grave offense you have just given my intended. But that is the last time you will speak to her in such a way. I shall not accept your rudeness any longer. And do not forget that, in less than a month, Jane will be the mistress of this house, and she will decide if you are allowed to live in our home.”
“I should be angry with you, Charles, not otherwise! I went to bed last night knowing Lord Markham was well and contented. I woke this morning to find he is gone! Instead, I found Jane and Eliza Bennet, who apparently had spent the night here! What reason could possibly induce Lord Markham to leave so suddenly in the middle of the night?”
“That is something you will have to ask the man himself when you meet him again, which I hope will happen in fifty years!” He was furious and could hardly rein in his impulse to blurt out the truth.
“Charles, how can you be so cruel as to say such a thing? You are simply jealous at the prospect of my marrying into such a fine family, so different from that of your future relatives. I am sure that was the reason he left: he was offended by the improper company in which he found himself! What was that scheme with the Bennet sisters remaining overnight? Jane has trapped you already, so maybe Eliza had hoped to accomplish something similar with Lord Markham.”
Lady Cassandra’s cold, impersonal voice brought all eyes to her as she entered the room.
“Miss Bingley, you should not harbour any hopes of ever connecting yourself to Markham as you wish. Mr Bingley had the honour not to tell you the truth, but I have no such scruples, so you can cease accusing the Miss Bennets of nonexistent deeds.” Bingley watched her in shock, suddenly forgetting his previous anger toward his sister; her ladyship looked shockingly different.
Her face was pale, and bruises—now turned blue—were visible on her right cheek; her eyes—black circles around them, red and swollen as though she had been crying—seemed lifeless.
Though Caroline’s face coloured highly with anger against such a statement, she could not gather her senses enough to reply as she would have wished.
“Lady Cassandra, are you well?” Bingley hurried to offer her his arm.
“I am perfectly well, sir. Please do not disturb yourself. I am just tired, as I scarcely slept.”
She sat and then continued, turning to Miss Bingley. “These bruises you see on my face, Miss Bingley, are proof of Lord Markham’s ungentlemanlike behaviour. You should be pleased by his departure and grateful if he appears nowhere near you in the future.”
Caroline’s eyes opened in shock at such a statement. “Lady Cassandra, surely you cannot imply—
“I imply nothing; I am telling you frankly. You should accept that Lord Markham came here not to court you but for mischievous reasons of his own. He took advantage of your credulity.”
“That cannot be,” Caroline cried out, her cheeks suddenly pale, her eyes narrowed in anger.
“It is true.” Bingley’s tone was softened as he was clearly affected by his sister’s distress.
“He is not a man of honour, Caroline. He behaved like a savage and injured not only Lady Cassandra but also Miss Elizabeth. That is why she had to remain overnight; she was simply not well enough to return home. Markham told me he never had any intention of connecting himself with you; he declared as much in the presence of his father and other witnesses.”
“That cannot be…” Caroline’s voice grew lower, as her countenance wrinkled and darkened.
After many minutes during which she seemed unaware of the others in the room and oblivious to her brother and sister’s worried inquiries, Caroline Bingley crept from the room. Charles Bingley felt a cold emptiness in the pit of his stomach. He had never seen Caroline in such a state before.
∞∞∞
Later that afternoon, Elizabeth and Jane departed Netherfield for Longbourn, accompanied by Mr Darcy and Mr Bingley on horseback, and Georgiana sharing the carriage with them.
The colonel behaved strangely all day, only leaving his room for a long ride, and then avoided all company.
As for Lady Cassandra, Darcy was as worried as he could be; she looked far worse than the previous evening and refused to provide any explanation.
She insisted she was well, only not desirous of company.
She also declared she would be her usual self for the ball and demanded he allow her to rest without further disturbance.
Riding on Elizabeth’s side of the carriage, Darcy was far from light-hearted, although he was pleased to see Elizabeth so well recovered, at least physically.
Earlier that day he had insisted on her not attending the ball if she felt poorly, but she had replied—with a mischievous, delicious smile—that she was well enough to dance more than one set with him.
She looked well, no doubt, though from time to time, her face clouded in concern and her eyes lost the liveliness of their usual sparkle.
At times, Elizabeth’s gaze rested on his face, and he hurried to meet her eyes and smile comfortingly.
He was trying to deceive her—in fact, to keep the truth from her—he knew that and felt equally disturbed and guilty for the decision he had made.
Nonetheless, there was no other option; she could not be forced to bear further distress—not for the world.
The party reached Longbourn shortly and barely entered the house when Mrs Bennet hurried toward them, crying so loudly that Darcy was certain she could be heard in Meryton.
“Oh Lizzy, my child, you finally came home! Let me see how badly you have been injured.”
“Mama, do not distress yourself. I am quite well; I am not injured at all!”
“Oh my child, you must be, I am sure, but you are trying to keep everything from me as your father did. You two always find pleasure in vexing me! I had to be told by the servants how brave you have been! Oh, you saved Lady Cassandra from that horrible man, Lord something! Who cares if he is a viscount? Nobody really cares about him! Such a horrible man!”
Her state became more and more agitated, and Elizabeth was pale with mortification.
“Mama, please, I truly did nothing. Please let us forget about this—
“Nothing? How can you say that? You saved poor Lady Cassandra! Oh, I knew you could not have been so wild in your childhood for nothing! You are so brave; you always liked to climb trees and run across fields!”
“Mama!” cried Jane. But Mrs Bennet took Elizabeth’s arm while directing everyone to the drawing room.
“Oh, that poor, beautiful Lady Cassandra. Such a lovely, elegant lady! So pleasant and sophisticated—she always complimented my food and my dishes when she came to dinner. I like her very much—better than any other lady I have ever met! And everybody in town shares the same opinion! The poor dear—and that horrible man! My sister Philips and I are quite sure he attacked her to force her to marry him! As if she would ever have him! He is the most unworthy of men, I am sure of that, and not at all good looking! Hill’s niece works at Netherfield, and she declared that the man was quite ill favoured indeed! The nerve of him!”
“Mrs Bennet, your nerves will not last much longer if you remain so excited,” Mr Bennet intervened, but his wife still had more to say.