Chapter 27
“Darcy, do you not mind stopping at Longbourn tomorrow morning to collect Elizabeth?” Bingley asked his friend.
Darcy, whose eyes were naturally enough fixed on Elizabeth’s face, promptly said, “That will be no problem at all. Miss Bennet, would it be possible for you to be ready to begin our journey by ten o’clock, or is that too early?”
“No, that is no difficulty at all,” Elizabeth said, smiling warmly up into the gentleman’s face. “I am always an early riser. Indeed, if it would be more convenient, I could probably come over by carriage an hour earlier so you do not need to stop at Longbourn.”
“That is hardly necessary,” Darcy protested, “and I would not care for you to go to such extra effort.”
“Thank you, sir,” Elizabeth said gratefully. “Jane, Charles, I will see you when we return in a few weeks. Caroline, I hope you have a lovely time in London. Jane, do give my regards to Louisa and Mr. Hurst.”
“Come along, Lizzy!” Lydia exclaimed through the open front door. “Father wishes to return home before it is too dark.”
Elizabeth obediently rushed out the front door of Netherfield accompanied by cries of farewell from Jane and Charles Bingley.
Darcy watched until the door closed behind the object of his admiration and turned toward the stairwell, only to stop at the sight of Caroline Bingley, whose brown eyes were a mixture of shock and fury.
“What is this all about?” she gasped, quite heedless of normal etiquette. “You cannot … surely Elizabeth is not…”
“She is joining us for our trip to Ramsgate,” Darcy said simply and turned toward his host. “Bingley, I hope you do not mind if I follow Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam upstairs? We will need to make an early start tomorrow morning.”
“Certainly,” Charles said, glowering at Caroline menacingly. He waited until Darcy had disappeared upstairs before turning to his unwed sister. “Caroline, my study. Now.”
/
“How could you not tell me that the Darcys are going to Ramsgate and Elizabeth with them?” Caroline snarled as soon as the office door closed behind her brother. “Did you want me to look like a complete fool?”
Charles regarded his sister with exasperation. “How do you feel about Elizabeth accompanying the Darcys to the seaside, Caroline?”
“Feel about it? Feel about it?” his sister retorted, her angry hands pulling at her carefully coiffed hair.
“I am irate. No, I am furious! And …. and I am completely and utterly bewildered. Elizabeth Bennet, of all people! Why on earth would Mr. Darcy choose to bring her over me. She is impertinent and not even very pretty, and …”
“Ten pounds,” Charles interrupted, reaching into his desk to pull out a ledger. “Do go on, Sister. I have plenty of space in my ledger for your additional insults towards our mutual sister-in-law.”
Caroline stared at her brother for an outraged minute and then, to the astonishment of both of them, burst into noisy tears.
Charles watched in silence and, when the storm showed no signs of abating, walked over to push her gently into a nearby chair.
He pulled out his handkerchief, fortunately clean, and handed it to her.
She took it and held it to her face, her pent up misery exhibiting itself in wrenching sobs, while her brother patted her clumsily on the shoulder.
Bingley found his younger sister thoroughly infuriating much of the time, but he also pitied her.
For reasons he had never quite understood, his sister had decided at an early age that she was destined for the first circles of society, in spite of her position as the daughter of a tradesmen.
When she had met Darcy some seven years previously, Caroline had resolved that the master of Pemberley was her ticket to her societal dreams and had set her sights on him with the rapacious enthusiasm of a boa constrictor for a hapless rat.
Unfortunately, she had misread Darcy quite profoundly, and in spite of various warnings, had refused to give up.
“Mr. Darcy is never going to marry me, is he?” Caroline sobbed, sitting up and mopping her face.
“No, he is not,” Bingley said gently. “It is no particular reflection on you, Caroline. He merely wishes for a different bride.”
“Like Elizabeth Bennet?” Caroline asked, rubbing her forehead with trembling fingers.
“Unbelievable. And do not dare take ten more pounds away, Charles; I am only saying what everyone will think. He can reach very high for a bride, and while Elizabeth is intelligent, lively, and even beautiful, she is not wealthy, nor is her family part of the ton.”
“It is Miss Darcy who specifically invited Elizabeth to Ramsgate,” Charles said, standing up and pouring his sister a cup of water, which he then handed to her.
“At Pemberley, they discovered a shared interest in birds, and Miss Darcy is eager to show off some of the feathered creatures which make their homes along the shores and marshes of Ramsgate.”
“Birds,” Caroline said bitterly, drinking the water and setting the empty cup down such that it clanked loudly against her brother’s wooden desk. “I did everything in my power to make Miss Darcy like me, and it turns out that she wanted me to talk about birds.”
Bingley lowered himself onto his chair and said gently, “Caroline, I have a suggestion. Instead of trying to make someone like you, why do you not search for friends with similar interests to your own? You and Darcy are not well suited, you know. He does not enjoy society and is happiest in the country, whereas you thoroughly enjoy the pleasures of Town. Surely you will enjoy your marriage more if you have something in common with your husband?”
Caroline stared at him, her eyes blank with misery, and she shrugged. “I do not know what I truly enjoy. All I ever wanted was to rise above my circumstances as the daughter of a tradesman.”
She passed her hand over her face, stood up, and shook out her skirts.
“I am going to bed, Charles, and will stay in my bedchamber until after our guests leave. Then I will arrange to go to London as soon as possible to stay with Miss Fawnthorpe. Perhaps I cannot capture Mr. Darcy, but I am determined to wed a gentleman with good connections.”
“As you wish,” Charles said sadly, feeling a pang in his heart. Caroline was often annoying, but he loved her and wished that she could find joy and contentment as he had.
She took a few steps toward the door and then turned around suddenly, her expression anxious. “Charles?”
“Yes?” he returned warily.
“I will need to purchase some new gowns and hats and I am a little short of money because of … well, you know why. I know you care about me and my future. I will need you to write letters to my milliner and dressmaker assuring them that you will cover any extra costs for my wardrobe.”
Bingley gazed back at his sister and felt his heart waver within him. He did care about Caroline and he wanted her happily married, and the sooner the better. If a few extra gowns would smooth the way toward her wedding, perhaps...
A moment later, reason asserted itself. His sister had countless gowns and hats and scarves and pelisses and even a riding habit, in spite of the fact that she rarely rode horses.
“No, Caroline,” he said, assuming a stern face.
“You lost considerable money from your allowance because you repeatedly insulted my wife and sister and their family. You have plenty of dresses and other accessories. If you cannot afford additional items due to your behavior, you will not suffer unduly.”
Caroline stared at him and her eyes flashed with fury. “Everyone is against me, everyone!”
“I am sorry you think that, Sister.”
/
“Tell me about Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” Colonel Fitzwilliam suggested.
Darcy glanced at his cousin, who was riding beside him. He had not been prepared for such a blunt question and said, “Erm, what do you mean?”
“Come now, Darcy,” Richard said, gesturing toward the carriage in front of him, which carried Elizabeth, Georgiana, Mrs. Annesley, and a maid.
“I have known you for nearly thirty years, and I have never seen you behave in such a way toward a beautiful young lady. Am I correct that Miss Bennet is the ‘third point’ of the letter you sent me some weeks ago?”
Darcy patted his stallion’s neck and his mouth widened into a besotted grin. “You are correct indeed, Richard. I think … I think perhaps I am in love.”
“In love?” the colonel responded. “It is truly as serious as that?”
“Without a doubt, it is,” Darcy said, his gaze now fixed in a lovelorn way on the carriage rolling ahead of them on the road.
“I … I need to talk to you, Richard, desperately. She is a marvelous person, Miss Bennet. She is intelligent, kind, honorable, and Georgiana adores her. But you met her family last night, and you now know that Mrs. Bennet and at least the youngest Miss Bennet are rather loud and vulgar. They have relations in trade. Can I truly marry into a family with poor connections? Though truly I do not think it matters, but I am responsible for Georgiana, and…”
“Wait, wait, wait just a minute,” the military man ordered, struggling to suppress his amusement over the frantic mutterings of his usually stoic cousin. “Start at the beginning. When did you first meet her?”
“At Pemberley,” Darcy said, his mind shifting back to the day when he first laid eyes on Elizabeth. “She was with Bingley and her sister, Bingley’s bride, you know, and…”
/