Chapter Eleven #2
“We heard from them just this morning,” Marianne said triumphantly. “They have seen your cousin Mr. Darcy twice already, and I believe they think better of him than they did while he was at Netherfield. Perhaps their opinions were too hastily formed in the autumn.”
“I hope Mr. Darcy has not slighted my Lizzy again,” Mrs. Bennet cried. “But of course he will not, not now that she has a fine wardrobe and a splendid sum – and she is staying in such a fine house in Mayfair!”
“My cousin does not judge on such merits as these,” the colonel said with a laugh.
“But he always improves upon further acquaintance. I understand Miss Elizabeth gave him the business on a certain matter, and her rebuke was well-deserved; there is always hope that some good can follow.” He looked pointedly at Mr. Bingley, who grimaced and turned pink.
Mr. Bingley warily glanced at Marianne. “I hope your cousins are enjoying their time in London.”
“They are,” Marianne said. “I understand Jane is already very popular there. She has several admirers already, including Viscount Bellamy.”
“My brother? How fascinating,” Lady Rebecca cried.
Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands. “Oh, what a fine thing for my Jane – she is so beautiful! The men in London certainly know what they are about! I daresay she is so vastly contented that she will never want to return to Longbourn.”
Marianne grinned at Mr. Bingley. “And our friend Colonel Brandon has been to visit them. He is such a man of honor; so steady and wise in his judgement.”
Elinor turned to gape at this, for it was the most Marianne had ever praised the man, and she knew it was excessive – but the jab was effective enough, for Mr. Bingley actually shuddered.
Lady Rebecca smiled encouragingly at Mr. Bingley. “And we are very happy for Miss Bennet, are we not? My brother Charles means to be equally content at Netherfield, and surely has no wish to leave his current situation, either.”
Mr. Bingley perked up a little. “I mean to devote myself to the business of Netherfield; I may perhaps even purchase the place, if I find myself capable of managing it well. I intend to learn a vast deal, and Lady Rebecca insists upon entertaining our neighbors very often.”
“Well, that is a very fine plan, indeed it is, sir!” Mrs. Bennet smiled brightly at him and then looked at her daughters as if deciding which of them to offer up now that Jane had cast off the eligible beau for a better prospect.
“My Kitty has always said that it would be good to have a family settled at Netherfield, is that not so, my dear?”
Mary and Kitty rather looked as if they could never set eyes on Mr. Bingley again without recollecting the events of the ball, and Lydia was openly laughing, for she and her mother had been apprised of all they had missed.
Ere long, Mrs. Bennet was urging them all to take advantage of the fine weather, for the sun was out and it was warm enough to be walking in the garden.
Mary and Kitty were obliged to accompany Mr. Bingley, engaging in what appeared to be an exceedingly tepid conversation.
Lydia clearly had her sights set on the colonel, but Mrs. Dashwood set Margaret and Julia upon her, and the colonel was all smiles for Elinor as he led her away from the others.
Marianne wished to speak only with Lady Rebecca, and the sentiment was evidently mutual. The two strolled together arm-in-arm at a sedate pace, allowing the others to move along at greater remove.
“Shall I begin by telling you of the buckets of tears my brother-in-law has shed, Miss Marianne? Or ought I to commend you for tormenting him with admirable moderation? Perhaps I shall tell you that my brother and I gave him a very stern lecture this morning.”
Marianne grinned. “I am glad to hear all of those things. My cousins would have me be kinder to him, as Jane no longer feels what she did in the autumn; but she is incapable of bearing any ill will toward anyone.”
“Except his sisters, I hope.”
“Are they truly so horrid? You must be very well acquainted with them.”
“They are selfish and supercilious,” Lady Rebecca said with an impish smile.
“As convenient as my marriage to their late brother was, I was sorry to gratify them in such a connection. One might imagine the daughters of a tradesman would think any connection to the gentry worth some civility, but they act as if their father was a lord. The eldest married a boorish idiot and awaits the day he eats or drinks himself into a permanent stupor, while the youngest thinks to get her claws in my cousin Darcy – or my brother the viscount. If I thought there was any real danger of her succeeding, I would compromise her with a stable boy before I allowed the match!”
Marianne gave a startled laugh at her new friend’s candor; she liked her very well already.
“You are generous to think better of their brother. But you already know what I think of the male species at present, and therefore I cannot repine what I have said to Mr. Bingley. If he has wept for Jane, it is just what he deserves. I can think of other men who should also be made to weep for what they have done.”
“I have no doubt, Miss Marianne; I daresay young ladies who have been treated properly have not your taste for vengeance," Lady Rebecca prompted her.
“If you would not object to hearing two very dismal tragedies, I believe I can trust in your discretion,” Marianne said. She smiled, knowing she had found a companion who would not encourage her to nobler sentiments like patience and forgiveness.
Lady Rebecca’s eyes twinkled with interest. “Good Heavens, have you both been crossed in love? By all means, tell me everything! But I must warn you that I shall very likely try to do something about your troubles.”
“I do not think there is anything to be done – although a measure of vengeance does sound appealing,” Marianne huffed.
She related her history with Willoughby in excruciating detail, and managed to shed nary a tear.
“At least there is some justice in the world, for my cousin Lizzy wrote that when she met with him in London, she gave him such a dressing down that his betrothed called off their engagement. He denied that there ever was an engagement, but how can I believe anything he says, after such wickedness?”
“Good Heavens! To seduce a girl of such a tender age,” Lady Rebecca tutted. “My cousin Georgiana is but a year older than this Miss Williams, and Charles still thinks of her as a child.”
“Do you mean Miss Darcy? Lizzy said that Miss Bingley spoke of her often, hinting that she would make a better bride than Jane, and Mr. Bingley never discouraged her aspirations.”
Lady Rebecca sighed. “Perhaps he does not contradict his sisters as he ought to – I only meant to say that even Charles, whom I suppose you are resolved to despise, is not as depraved and dastardly as your Mr. Willoughby.”
“He is not my Willoughby; I suppose he never was. But if you think him a villain, prepare yourself for something very shocking indeed.” Though Marianne had the discretion to conceal Edward’s name, she related the salient points of her sister’s heartbreak, and did not restrain herself in abusing Lucy Steele.
“My cousins write that even he is quite mortified by the connection. And then, when we read my cousins’ letter… I hardly know what to think.”
Marianne grew sensible of her own indiscretion, for she was on the verge of revealing more than she knew her sister would like.
Of course, Elinor scarcely wished to discuss Edward at all.
Marianne could not see how Lady Rebecca might fully come to know them, to understand their character and their present dejection, if she did not at least illuminate the despair they suffered.
“So your cousins have met with both of your disappointing beaux? I hope they gave this other fellow the same treatment as Willoughby – as you have done for the man who disappointed your cousin.”
“I fear Jane was far too kind to him. She added a postscript to Lizzy’s letter, for he called on them in the interval. Jane said that it was evident he had soured on his sweetheart, but she seems to be under the impression that Elinor has rebuffed Edward in some way. Oh!”
Marianne brought a hand to her mouth, for she had said his name.
Rage boiled in her chest, and she balled her hand into a fist at her side.
Why should she not defame him, when he was proven a deceiver twice over?
“He concealed his engagement from Elinor when they met at Norland, and how he thinks to deny his connection to Elinor.”
“Does your sister cherish some hope that he may free himself of this unpleasant young lady?”
“She does. He visited on Christmas Eve, though he stayed but half an hour. Elinor would not tell me what they spoke of, but this morning when we read the letter, she finally confessed that she had thought to wait for him.”
Lady Rebecca glanced round at Elinor, who was speaking to the colonel with considerable animation, and then she smiled at Marianne.
“So your sister is still attached to this Edward, who means to end his mesalliance with the nasty Miss Steele, and yet he has called on your cousin, a recent heiress, and told her that her cousin refused him! Does he seek to court her now?”
Marianne shuddered. “Jane would never! It is not her nature to do what Lizzy and I have boldly done, but she would never receive any addresses from him!”
“I suppose I must be relieved for the viscount’s sake,” Lady Rebecca said with a smile. “But poor Richard!”
Marianne suppressed a smirk as she looked in the direction of Elinor and the colonel.
She began to think it a very fine thing that her sister, whom Edward was determined to disappoint, should appear so pleasantly engaged with a man who clearly enjoyed her company in return.
Still, she feigned ignorance as she asked, “What do you mean?”