Chapter 24
Seeing that he was keen to speak to Miss Louisa Bingley, Bennet took his carriage and had the coachman drive him to Netherfield Park on Tuesday morning before accepted calling hours.
This was one day he did not want to smell of horse and possibly sweat from riding, which was why he was in the conveyance and not on Jupiter.
Since his discussion with his daughters the previous afternoon, Bennet had been rehearsing what he wanted to say to Miss Bingley—Louisa—but he had stopped himself.
He needed to speak from the heart and, above all to make sure he was honest with her.
He suspected that she would welcome his declaration, but until he heard from her, Bennet knew it was all speculation on his part.
He did his best to stop worrying about being rejected.
To make sure he was thinking positive thoughts, Bennet thought of his daughters and how supportive they had been when they had come to send him off on his mission to gain a Mrs Bennet.
He could not have wished for better daughters than he had; they were the light of his life.
Of one thing he was certain: if Miss Bingley accepted him, for either an engagement or a courtship, she would never want him to love his daughters less.
What a fool he had been! The perfect woman had been before him all this time, and he had allowed his stubborn adherence to his determination not to marry again to stand in his way of opening his heart to her fully.
That was no longer an issue. Once he had permitted his eyes to be opened, Bennet had realised he had been falling in love with Louisa Bingley almost from the day they had met. All he had to do was permit the scales of his stubbornness to fall from his eyes and see what was right before him.
Bennet did not realise he had arrived until the coachman slowed the equipage and had the horses halt in the drive opposite the stairs leading up to the veranda before the double front doors of Netherfield Park.
By the time a footman opened the door, Bennet sprang out feeling like a young man in his twenties again. He was buoyed by the new love in his heart.
Prior to his reaching the front doors, the butler had already opened one.
“Mr Bennet.” Nichols bowed. “How may I be of service, Sir?”
“Is the family yet breaking their fasts?” Bennet enquired. He saw the butler nod his head. “Will you announce me please?”
Knowing that Mr Bennet was always welcome, Nichols led the way to the breakfast parlour where he announced the caller. His job done, the butler withdrew to return to his post.
He bowed to the three men who had stood and bowed to him, and before making a second one to the ladies. All the time he was doing so, Bennet’s eyes had not left Louisa Bingley’s face. He cared not what anyone else thought; he was here for one purpose and one purpose only.
Louisa’s eyebrows were raised in question. With the intense, smouldering way Mr Bennet was looking at her, she felt warm all over, hoping against hope it meant what she prayed it did.
Hildebrand Bingley could tell that something had changed for Mr Bennet. She lifted her eyes and begged God to allow her girl happiness.
“Miss Louisa Bingley, if you have the time, may I have a private interview with you?” Bennet requested. He turned to Bingley. “Do I need your permission to address your sister?”
“No, Bennet, you do not. Lulu has been of age for a few years,” Bingley responded.
“I find I have time now and would be interested to hear what you have to say, Mr Bennet,” Louisa stated as she felt her heart beating at a high rate of speed in her chest. “We will use the study, Charles.”
“I will allow Lulu to determine how much time she needs to hear what you have to say, Bennet, but the door will remain partially open, and I will send a maid to sit outside in the hallway,” Bingley stated.
He too prayed this meant that his most deserving sister was finally going to get her heart’s desire of having her own family.
Bingley nodded to a footman who positioned himself behind the younger Miss Bingley and pulled her chair back as she stood.
“Shall we?” Bennet offered her his arm. He felt delight at her gentle touch.
They arrived at the study at the same time as one of the maids.
She bobbed a curtsy to them and sat down in a chair not too close to the study door.
On entering, Bennet closed the door three-quarters of the way.
He helped Miss Bingley to the settee, and once she was seated, he paced back and forth a few times.
Knowing that Mr Bennet—Thomas—had to order his thoughts, Louisa sat on the settee as she waited for him to speak. Her hands were folded in her lap.
Bennet stopped and faced the lady he loved. “I have been a fool! I have been so insistent on following that nonsensical pledge I made to myself that I was too blind to see that my happiness was right before my eyes,” he began.
“Yes, you were. But I knew that if I or any other person had pointed that out to you, that you would not see it until you came to the realisation by yourself. May I ask what changed?”
“It is the Collins effect,” Bennet stated sardonically.
“What is that?” Louisa enquired.
“You are aware of my distant cousin, the one who is the heir presumptive and was to arrive yester-afternoon?” Bennet saw a nod from the lady he loved.
“Let me tell you about his very short sojourn at Longbourn…” He related all, including the way the man leered at his daughters and the conversation they had in the study which led to the corpulent halfwit’s eviction.
He did not leave out how odiferous the man was.
“When he left, I came to realise how I had ignored that which was plain to all who have seen us together, including my daughters.”
“I was worried you would not be able to get past your resolve never to marry again. I suppose in a perverse way, I should thank this cousin of yours for being who he is.” Louisa paused.
“I know my birthmark does not bother you or your daughters, but what if others in the neighbourhood make derogatory comments? Oh, but wait, I am presuming too much…” She stopped speaking when Mr Bennet placed a finger on her lips.
“Louisa Bingley, once I allowed myself to see it, I owned that I had fallen in love with you.
I swore that if I were to marry again it would be for mutual respect, compatibility, and love.
At first, when I found what I was looking for, I was too blinded to see it, thanks to my prejudices caused by my first marriage.
When the lady I used to love died, it firmed my resolve to never marry again.
“Never did I think I would meet a woman like you who is my equal in every way.
I could never imagine finding someone who shares my intellectual interests and is almost as good at chess as I am.
I did, and you are that lady. Not only are you my equal, but I dare say you are my better in many ways.
I am only sorry it took me so long to see that which was in front of my face.
“Before I proceed, allow me to address your question. No one who I value will make any negative or derogatory comments about your port-wine stain birthmark. Anyone who does will be cut from my life. That being said, am I presumptuous to think that you love me too? As soon as I was willing to open my eyes, I realised that I love you with all that I am.” Bennet looked at Louisa, waiting for her to respond.
“Mr Bennet…”
“Thomas, please call me Thomas, Louisa.”
“Thomas, no, you did not make a wrong assumption.
I have been falling in love with you from the first day you called on us and treated me like anyone else.
I, too, respect you completely. I can tell you that if you are debating which of two questions to ask me, that a courtship is completely unnecessary.
“Before you ask me what I suspect you want to ask, I have two questions.”
“Ask what you will; I will have no secrets between us.”
“The first one is about your daughters. Did you speak to them before coming to see me, and will they accept me as your wife…if that is what I will be?”
Bennet allowed a laugh to escape. “They asked me why it took me so long to realise you are perfect for me.”
Smiling at Bennet’s response, Louisa asked her second question.
“The other thing I need to know is this: are you only thinking of marriage now because you need a son to break the entail? I understand that you cannot countenance that ridiculous man ever getting, what did you call them, his grubby hands on Longbourn. If that is the case, I would understand, but it is better to be open with one another from the start.”
“If we never have any children, or only daughters, I will be just as happy to marry you. If that is the case, I will just have to outlive Collins. Given how obese he is, that may not be too difficult.” Bennet paused as he ordered his thoughts.
“I am here because, thanks to his visit my eyes were opened. I respect you too much to have you become a broodmare for me. As much as I would love to have a son, without the deep and abiding love I feel for you, I would not want to marry you. Do you have more questions?”
“No, Thomas, I do not. I am ready to hear your question now.”
“Louisa, will you make my heart whole once again and agree to become my wife?” Bennet requested. He had thought about lowering himself onto one knee, but he was no longer a young buck.
“Yes, Thomas, I will most certainly marry you,” Louisa replied. Some tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
Taking his betrothed’s hands, Bennet sat down on the settee next to her.
He leaned forward, and rather than kiss her lips, he first kissed her cheek, all over her birthmark.
“It is part of you and to me you are a very beautiful lady, so on you, the birthmark is part of your beauty.” Next, Bennet placed his hands on either of her cheeks and bent forward to kiss her lips.