Chapter 14
“Why do I need to restrain myself?” Miss Bingley demanded once she and her sister were in the private sitting room attached to the former’s chamber.
Mrs Hurst had advised that her sister temper her reaction to Miss Elizabeth, or she would end up lowering herself in Mr Darcy’s eyes. Knowing it was the last thing Caroline wanted to hear did not stop Mrs Hurst from saying it. Unlike her brother, she was not afraid of Caroline and her reactions.
“Caro, I just explained it. You can make her look bad, but you have to do it in a way that does not anger Mr Darcy. You do want him as your husband, do you not?” Mrs Hurst replied.
“Of course, I do. It is what we both want,” Miss Bingley returned.
“I have a plan. We need to get Charles, which will be easy, and Mr Darcy, which will be much harder to do, to agree to depart this backwater and return to London, where there will be no distractions. It is as much to protect Charles from Miss Bennet as it is to keep Mr Darcy away from Miss Eliza’s presence.
I am afraid it will take some weeks to achieve the aim of leaving here. ”
“Why should that be? If we order Charles to leave, he will,” Miss Bingley insisted.
“Yes, that is true. You were too angry to hear our brother in the coach. He has promised to hold a ball here at Netherfield Park. If we urge Charles to leave before the ball, we will look dishonourable to Mr Darcy, and that will not aid you in the quest to become the mistress of Pemberley and Darcy House.”
“You make good points, Sister. What are we to do to kill Charles’s infatuation with the insipid Jane Bennet?”
“That will be easier. However, we need to learn as much negative information regarding Miss Bennet and her family as possible. We will use that to convince Charles she is unsuitable, and if all else fails, we can employ a strategy we have used before.”
“Which one?”
“Caro, you remember that Miss Johnstone who looked similar to Miss Jane Bennet, do you not? Do you recall what we told Charles?”
“Yes, I do! She was too low for Charles, without any useful connections for us, and only had a dowry of five thousand pounds. It was very clever of you to suggest that we tell him as women we could tell when another of our sex was in love with him, and Miss Betty Johnstone was not. He never questioned us and dropped her like a hot, warming brick.”
”If all else fails, it will be easy to employ that against Miss Bennet.
I can already see the signs that she has tender feelings for our brother, but she adheres to propriety and will not show any outward signs of her affection.
If we need him, Mr Darcy will be easy to conscript to our side.
We will point out her lack of outward signs and not mention propriety.
” Mrs Hurst knew that her sister did not behave within the bounds of propriety in her chase of Mr Darcy, but she was not about to tell Caroline that.
“Then I suppose we will have to have this ball. That is, if Charles remembers it. You know how often he says things and then forgets. It will be a good opportunity for me to show my Mr Darcy how well I am able to organise such an event if it is to occur. It will be far more than these bumpkins hereabouts deserve, but as you and I will make the arrangements, it will be perfect.”
Some weeks later, thanks to the arrival of the regiment and a dinner being given for all of the men in the area, the Bingley sisters invited Jane Bennet to have dinner with them at Netherfield Park while the men were away.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Since the letter the Gardiners wrote to Lizzy, her letters had said little or nothing about her interactions with Mr Darcy.
Hence, Maddie was interested to open a longer-than-normal letter from said niece.
She waited until she and Edward were comfortably seated on the sofa in their private sitting room before breaking the seal.
“You prefer that I read Lizzy’s epistle aloud, do you not?” Maddie questioned.
“Indeed, I do. You know how much I enjoy hearing you read, whether it be books or letters,” Gardiner replied lazily.
Maddie kissed her husband and then opened and smoothed the pages.
18 November 1811
Longbourn
Aunt Maddie and Uncle Edward,
Allow me to begin by apologising for the sparseness of my missives, as well as the brevity of the ones I have posted. Because you did not agree with my feelings about Mr Darcy, I admit that it was churlishness on my side.
Although I like him no more than I did when I wrote that letter to you, I will own that it is possible that I did not know everything about him and his motivations.
“I am sure that was not easy for Lizzy to admit, as little as she did,” Gardiner opined.
“That is my thought as well,” Maddie agreed. “At some point, I hope Lizzy will understand that although hers is for different reasons, she shows as much pride as she accuses Mr Darcy of having.” She took up the letter again.
On to this letter. It is, I am afraid, much longer than most I wrote even before the assembly as there is much which has happened, so there is a considerable amount of news to impart. I will attempt to tell all chronologically.
On the 1st Tuesday of this month, the day all of the men of the area were invited to dine with the officers, an invitation for Jane to dine with the supercilious sisters at Netherfield Park was received. (The regiment arrived some days before that day.)
Mama was in raptures about this being Mr Bingley’s influence that his sisters would invite Janey. Jane too, although with decorum as is her way, was well pleased by the invitation.
Unlike Mama, I did not judge the invite as a compliment to Jane, rather that the sisters, who I suspect do not want Jane as their sister-in-law, invited her on a day they knew she would not see their brother.
I am sure their aim was to discover anything they will be able to use to show the Bennets in a negative light and then have Janey returned to Longbourn long before Mr Bingley came home.
In this they did not take my mother’s determination into account.
“What did my sister do this time? I can only imagine. Sorry, Maddie, I am sure you were about to read that part.” Gardiner prepared himself to hear about his sister’s inappropriateness.
As you know, Mama is very good at predicting rain. When Janey requested the carriage, my mother looked outside and decreed that the horses were needed on the farm and that Jane was to ride to Netherfield Park on Nellie.
I am sure you are not surprised that Papa did not gainsay Mama even when I begged him to overrule her.
Not ten minutes after my sister rode out from Longbourn, the heavens opened up and released a deluge.
Mama was very pleased with herself as now Jane would have to remain at Netherfield Park and would surely see Mr Bingley.
The next morning a note arrived telling us that my sister was ill. As is her wont, she tried to downplay her malady, but knowing her as I do, I did not wait for the coach and set off at a fast walk as soon as I was able.
“Does Fanny not realise that if Jane is ill, she will not see Mr Bingley at all? How many suitors has your sister run off? Her machinations are so transparent, no one will be fooled by them. Poor Jane.” Maddie shook her head and kept reading.
I had to leave the house as soon as possible. Papa, other than making a sarcastic comment to Mama did nothing, and Mama was congratulating herself by saying that ‘no one dies from a trifling cold.’
The walk was not a problem for me, even with the puddles and mud.
I attempted to miss most of it, not too successfully, mind.
I cared not, my only interest was in seeing my sister.
I arrived at Netherfield Park in a little under 40 minutes.
My hems and petticoats were all covered in some 6 inches of mud.
Of course, Mr Darcy was walking outside and hailed me.
At least he did not comment on the state of my dress and was, for him, rather pleasant and assumed correctly I was there to see Janey.
Unfortunately, manners dictated I greet the Bingleys and Hursts. I could see the looks of disgust from the sisters. At least, Mr Bingley showed genuine concern for my sister. A maid was called to show me to the suite where Jane was convalescing.
As I suspected, she was far worse off than she told in her note.
Her fever was high and her throat so scratchy that she could barely talk.
I had the maid see Mr Bingley and request that Mr Jones be summoned.
(For all the refined manners the supercilious sisters claim, they had not thought to send for Mr Jones.)
After Mr Jones called and left some poultices and tinctures, I was preparing to return home when my sister begged me to stay.
Miss Bingley was present, and her brother was in the sitting room with the door open so he could hear, so as much as I could see it cost her to issue the invitation, she allowed me to remain with Jane.
A footman, one of the largest I have ever seen, was sent to Longbourn with a note asking for clothes and other essentials for both of us.
Included with the trunk, the enormous man delivered, John Biggs, I believe he is named, was a note from Mama commanding that we remain at Netherfield Park for a sennight at a minimum and longer if possible.
“Oh, Fanny,” Gardiner lamented. “Bennet does nothing to check her, and she does not understand what harm she does. I thank God that we got Bennet to agree to keep the girls in until seventeen and now eighteen in Lydia’s case.
Based on what Mary and Kitty wrote, that girl will ruin herself at her first opportunity.
” He saw his wife nod her agreement. Maddie began to read again.
I will not insult your intelligence and tell you in detail of the interactions with the sisters and Mr Darcy, other than to say that man is very confounding.