Some Explaining
Darcy was getting punch for Jane when he received a note from a servant, read it, and frowned.
“Trouble, Brother?”
He looked around, and Jane said, “Peace, Fitzwilliam. I ensured there are no listening busybodies nearby.”
Darcy smiled, but it lacked his usual zest.
“Funny you should ask. This may or may not be trouble; it is entirely up to you.”
“Oh, dear!”
Darcy drew a deep breath and waved the note. “Bingley is ensconced in a private dining room and begs for five minutes of your time. He specifically asked if you might join him and bring both me and your father.”
Jane frowned. “Why you?”
“To protect your reputation. You cannot have a particular discussion with me in the room.”
“What should I do?”
“You are asking me?” he squeaked.
Jane laughed, though humourlessly. “As angry as I was with you, we must admit that, in the end, you were right. I probably owe you. I will take my chances with your advice.”
Darcy thought a few minutes, not enjoying the exercise in the least. “Put him out of his misery. I hope to keep his friendship, but that will not happen if you are at odds.”
“Why is that?”
“Be sensible. If I have to choose between a Bennet and a Bingley, the former will win every time.”
“You are a besotted fool!” she replied gaily.
“Stating the obvious. What do we do?”
“Let us get it over with.”
“Very well, I see Mr Bennet there with Sir William. I will take him into the room. You can join us in a minute.”
“All right.”
Jane entered the room five minutes later. The tableau she had feared met her eyes, but in the end, it was not nearly as intimidating as it might have been. Mr Bingley looked like he had some hope left, and it was time to, as Fitzwilliam said, ‘put him out of his misery.’
“Miss Bennet, thank you for agreeing to see me.”
Jane curtseyed. “Mr Bingley.”
Bingley seemed to gather his courage, and finally said, “I owe you a most profound apology. The way I treated you last autumn was infamous. I have come to regret it deeply, and I have come to offer my apologies, and ask if any reparations are in order.”
“I happily accept your apology. Rancour hurts the person holding it more than the target. I have let all that go, and I am the better for it.”
“I thank you, Miss Bennet.”
Jane regarded him, wondering what she had seen in the man in the first place.
For certain, she had been more desperate at that time, and more pressured by her mother, but she had truly thought herself in love.
He no longer seemed such a spineless worm, as harbouring that image in her mind cost her more than it was worth; but he was also not someone she could esteem.
In truth, she saw only a boy who might one day be a man… but not today.
Bingley continued, “Miss Bennet—”
Jane detected a glimmer of hope in his eyes, since the forgiving part had gone so well, and decided to quash it.
“A moment, Mr Bingley. I am not finished.”
“My apologies. Pray, continue.”
Jane stared at him, then stepped closer to ensure he understood the message.
“What you did was awful. It was despicable, and you should know I suffered considerably for it. Have you any idea what it is like for a woman to be scorned by idle gossip among the people she has known all her life? Do you have any notion of how vile the words in your sister’s letter were?
I went to London for four months just to escape it, and I would probably still be affected had I not met Anne and Fitzwilliam by chance. ”
“You were in London for four months?” Bingley asked, panic edging his voice.
“I was. I called on your sisters in January. They waited three weeks and made a call that was as close to a direct cut as slapping me in the face publicly.”
Darcy gasped. “My apologies, Jane. I did not know about that.”
“Break the habit of apologising for other people, Fitzwilliam Darcy. You make enough of your own blunders; focus on them.”
Of course, she said it with a small quirk of her mouth that Darcy would know meant she teased, but Bingley would not, and she thought that a fine thing.
She would have been happy to marry Mr Bingley the previous autumn, when he was not even as astute about women as Mr Darcy; but now, she considered it a narrow escape.
Oddly enough, the reformed Mr Darcy had shown her how a man should act, and her standards for manly behaviour had been considerably elevated.
Jane turned back to Bingley, just to get it over with. “You offered reparations. Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
Somewhat put out by the answer's flippancy, she leaned closer and snarled, “Do not answer so glibly. My reparations will either make or break you, so do not agree in advance.”
Bingley looked frightened, which was exactly what Jane wanted.
“If you wish to make reparations sufficient to have an ongoing acquaintance of any kind with myself or my sisters, I have three conditions.”
Darcy muttered, ‘Oh boy, here it comes,’ under his breath.
Bingley said, “Name your conditions.”
Jane saw he still harboured some hope, thin as it was so it was time to kill it.
“Very well Mr Bingley, here are my three reparations:
“First: Admit your fault and learn from it. You act like an overgrown boy, so start acting like a man.
“Second: You are not allowed to court anyone named Bennet—ever. We are indifferent acquaintances at best.
“Third: Do what you must to rein in your pernicious sisters before they destroy the rest of your life.”
With that, Jane turned and walked away, quite satisfied with the interaction.
As Jane walked out the door, Darcy turned with a lopsided grin. “Well, Bingley, we share something.”
“Which is?”
“We have both been exposed to what I call the ‘Jane Bennet Big Three.’ Take my word for it, you do not want another.”
Bingley laughed sheepishly. “No, one of those was enough for me.”
“I owe you an apology. I have treated you like a younger brother for too long, and it is time to stand on your own feet. The only way to improve your lot is to follow her advice. She is practically a genius, you know.”
Bingley nodded and sheepishly agreed. “All hope is lost, I presume.”
“Yes, you burned that bridge, my friend. But do not despair. There are other women, and you will find one that suits you sooner or later. You have time, but here is my very last piece of advice. Pay particular attention to number three, or your sisters will henpeck you the rest of your life.”
“But how do I,” then he stopped and laughed. “Well, that is how I got into trouble in the first place. Any other advice?”
“Netherfield is your estate for eight months. It is your responsibility. Jane has been seeing to your tenants, but—”
“Be a man, I assume is what you are working your way up to?”
“Yes. Treat the Bennets with respect and they will return it. Mr Bennet knows more about your estate than you do. Take advantage of it, but if you want to be a landed gentleman, be a landed gentleman. If you do not, quit pretending and give up the lease to someone who does.”
“And you, my friend. Why are you here?”
“Working on my Number 3. I will tell you another time.”
Bingley shook his head and shook Darcy’s hand. “Be well, my friend.”
Then he turned and walked out the side door, to return to Netherfield and see if he could manage to execute her second request.
“Miss Lydia, that was… interesting.”
Lydia Bennet laughed gaily, walking away from the dance with her hopeful brother-to-be. “My pleasure, Br—”
Darcy thought he had made noteworthy progress, when she became aware of the possibility of gossip when he simply raised his eyebrow at her.
She pretend-pouted. “You know Lizzy does that. You will need a different twitch, or you will not know which of you is vexed at any particular time.”
Darcy laughed and returned her to her sister Jane, when he was approached by his own express rider, and Lydia flounced off to find Kitty.
Darcy looked around to be sure only Jane was within hearing and spoke to the rider.
“Harry, ‘tis good to see you. Have you any news?”
Darcy had debated telling anybody anything at all about Elizabeth, but in the end, he told one trusted express rider at each house to come find him instantly if he heard any news.
He had not mentioned her to Georgiana because he judged the chance of her showing up at Pemberley to be negligible, and he had not told anybody else to protect her reputation.
The rider looked around, and Darcy said, “Speak freely. The Bennets are in my confidence. This is Miss Elizabeth’s sister, and she knows what we are about.”
Darcy was happy to see his rider relax. “Good evening, Miss Bennet, is it? Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
Jane curtseyed, not entirely appropriate but courteous anyway. “Good evening, Mr—”
“Dawes, ma’am. Harry Dawes.”
“What do you have for Mr Darcy?”
Harry turned back to Darcy. “Two notes. The oldest is from Lady Matlock, but she instructed the rider to leave it at Darcy House until another more urgent note came by. It has been there for a week. The second is from Miss Darcy, dated four days ago, and she requests your return to Pemberley. They have a measles outbreak, and it has laid low the housekeeper, though the butler was still well when I left.”
“Blast! And the steward is away for a week as well.”
Darcy had barely suppressed the expletive before his good manners prevailed, but Jane just hushed him. “I have heard worse in my own bedchamber.”
Darcy asked, “Is Georgie distressed?”
“Not particularly. Mrs Reynolds is deathly ill, but she instructed your sister in what she needed to do. Miss Darcy designated the guest wing as a quarantine, summoned the apothecary from Lambton to offer advice, and carried on. She says she is perfectly content with Mrs Annesley as they expect no company. Breton is still there, so nothing terrible is likely, so she felt no panic. She just wanted you to come home as soon as you can, but she also sent a rider to Matlock to ask for help. The earl is away, but Lady Matlock was home, so she is probably already present.”
Darcy chuckled. “Well, well… perhaps Georgiana is growing up, if she is handling this without difficulty.”
“She was certainly in no panic when I left. I had some torrential rain which delayed me for days, but it is not as if she will suddenly receive dozens of visitors. The measles outbreak is worrisome, but I daresay Miss Darcy is doing well enough.”
Darcy nodded. “All the same, measles is a nasty business, and it could worsen or spread, and a death or two must be expected. I am certain my aunt has come to assist her, but I will leave at first light and make all speed. Thank you, Harry.”
Jane said, “Mr Dawes, pray turn left from the front door, then take the fourth drive on the right. A mile will bring you to Longbourn. Tell Mrs Hill that Jane sent you, and she will provide a meal and a bed.”
“Thank you, Jane,” Darcy said. “Harry, I will speak to you in the morning.”
“Yes sir.”
Darcy started to consider his course, and was somewhat startled when Jane said, “Fitzwilliam?”
“Yes.”
“If you are travelling north, there is some small chance you might stumble into Lizzy. Let me send some letters with you for her.”
“Letters?”
“Yes, all the sisters have written pleading your case. Of course, Lydia’s is but a single paragraph with the word ‘bacon-brain’ used three times, but every bit helps.”
Darcy laughed, appreciating the lady. He had to admit that some man was going to be very lucky to win her hand one day, and he dearly hoped to be there to witness it.
Anne joined them and Jane had a whispered conversation to apprise her of events, while Darcy opened the note from Lady Matlock, which he had almost forgotten.
Both heard Darcy gasp when he read the letter, and then he started laughing uproariously.
Both ladies looked at him quizzically. “Well, that is classic. Miss Elizabeth was at Matlock a fortnight ago. She is travelling with a wool broker named Wythe, who is well known to my uncle, and—”
His countenance darkened, and then he gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
Anne asked, “Fitzwilliam?”
“It appears, and I must quote my aunt, ‘I have some explaining to do.’ She would have invited Elizabeth to tea and interrogated her. She cannot help herself.”
Jane regarded him oddly, so he continued.
“Well, the ‘explaining’ part is that my aunt apparently mentioned Richard and myself, and your sister nearly gnashed her teeth in consternation, but would not explain why. All my aunt is certain of is that somehow Elizabeth was injured, and it was obviously Richard’s and my fault. ”
Anne replied smugly. “Astute woman, our aunt! You cannot claim she was wrong.”
“Not at all. She was right, as usual.”
Everyone looked down a bit in consternation, but then Darcy laughed. “I know exactly where Miss Elizabeth was a fortnight ago.”
“A fortnight. How far could she possibly have gone? You must go to Derbyshire and see if you can find her. I doubt this Mr Wythe is invisible and untraceable.”
Darcy nodded, smiling broadly.
Jane wondered why Lizzy had not written to her, but assumed she wanted to keep her trail secret until her birthday, which was both sensible and stupid—typical Lizzy.
Anne said, “Take us with you. If she returns, Mr Bennet will make your case, or at least call for you. Perhaps leave Harry here as a messenger? Leave her that five-page letter you have been working on for a month.”
Darcy nodded thoughtfully. “That is a sound notion. I cannot take everyone, but how about Ellen Taylor, you, and Jane. I am not certain I would survive my next encounter with Breton without Ellen anyway.”
“We will be ready at first light.”