Chapter Fifteen
London
Jane was grateful for the several days of heavy snow that prevented any visitors from calling on them.
Since their picnic in the park, Jane had not been obliged to endure the disconcerting attentions of Edward Ferrars, nor the spurious overtures of Caroline Bingley.
Even those she wished to meet with had not called in Berkeley Street, which was perhaps a blessing.
Jane still hoped she might see enough of the viscount to learn to care for him, and she could not repress her longing to see Mr. Willoughby again, and bask in their easy camaraderie.
She ought to have missed the viscount more, and Mr. Willoughby less, but the quiet days at Mrs. Jennings’ house did little to clarify her feelings.
Perhaps she ought not to have spent so much of her idle time consumed by the volumes of poetry Mr. Willoughby had gifted her, but it was the best respite she could attain when their household admitted one more.
Lucy Steele had quit Mrs. Palmer’s house and come to stay with Mrs. Jennings; it had been arranged on the day of their picnic, for Miss Steele called just after they returned home, and she was mortified at her exclusion from the outing.
Why Mrs. Jennings had indulged Miss Steele’s tantrum, Jane could not account for.
Their familial connection was a distant one, and Miss Steele’s presence had obliged Jane and Elizabeth to share a bed chamber; perhaps their hostess knew of no other way to subdue the chit’s histrionics.
“It is amusing to see her scheme come to naught,” Elizabeth observed.
The two sisters had been invited to their aunt’s more spacious suite to dress for the dinner party Mrs. Jennings was hosting that evening.
“She only wished to see more of Edward Ferrars, who is perversely determined to call on you more often than his odious betrothed. He has not called since she has been with us, so it would seem that we have benefitted the most from her presence here, as it seems to repel him.”
“I am sure it has only been the weather,” Jane replied. “Mr. Ferrars will be in attendance tonight, along with the rest of our friends whom we have not seen in a week.”
Elizabeth screwed up her face in the mirror as their aunt brushed out her hair. “Your phrasing implies that he is amongst our friends.”
But then Elizabeth’s expression turned serious, and she stared down at the dressing table, fidgeting with her pearl hairpins. Mrs. Gardiner frowned at her. “Whatever is the matter, Lizzy? You have been sulking for the last week, and I know it is not only because you have been kept indoors so long.”
“I suppose we have all been dreary,” Jane sighed.
“Exactly,” Elizabeth agreed, though she averted her gaze. “We have not enjoyed the company of the friends we most wish to see and have instead been forced to endure the presence of a rather false friend.”
“The pair of you have scarcely said ten words together to her,” Mrs. Gardiner cried.
She momentarily halted her efforts at arranging Elizabeth’s unruly hair and rested a hand on her hip.
“Mrs. Jennings asked me yesterday if there was some quarrel between you girls, and I did not know what account to give for your coldness!”
“She is secretly engaged to Edward Ferrars, whom Elinor admires,” Elizabeth said bluntly.
“Mr. Ferrars concealed his betrothal and willfully made Elinor attached to him when he visited his ghastly sister at Norland. And Miss Steele visited Devonshire, undoubtedly by design – likely for the express purpose of taunting Elinor with this revelation.”
“Lizzy,” Jane gasped. “It is meant to be a secret!”
Elizabeth turned her gaze upward and shook her head.
“Elinor promised her secrecy, but Marianne made no such promise when she overheard the Miss Steeles speaking of it, and neither did I. Perhaps I might practice some discretion on their behalf if I found their company more pleasant, but given their artful behavior, I owe Miss Steele and Mr. Ferrars no such courtesy.”
Mrs. Gardiner looked horrified. “Mr. Ferrars is secretly engaged to Miss Steele? And he has given your cousin false hope? Good Heavens! It is shocking that he can even look you in the eye, Jane, much less attempt to recommend himself.”
“That is just what I think,” Elizabeth agreed.
“I cannot fathom why Mr. Darcy is friends with such an odious man. He is, in every other respect, perfectly agreeable and irrefutably intelligent, but Mr. Darcy’s choice of friends is abysmal!
He cheated Mr. Wickham and forced him into a life of military service, but thinks well enough of foolish cads like Mr. Bingley and Mr. Ferrars.
And though he had no qualms about advising the former to abandon you, Jane, he will not do so for the latter. ”
Mrs. Gardiner resumed her handiwork, piling Elizabeth’s thick, dark curls into an elegant arrangement and placing the pearl pins throughout.
She furrowed her brows as she considered Elizabth’s impassioned outburst. “I cannot think it right – Mr. Ferrars’s behavior toward you, Jane.
I had thought him a dismal suitor compared to the charming viscount, and I did presume he was pressured by his rapacious mother to pay such attentions to you, but I never imagined him so duplicitous.
He is actually engaged! Well, I can understand your dislike of Miss Steele, now.
It is clear that he regrets the alliance, but I doubt she will let him off the hook now that she has caught him. ”
“They deserve one another,” Elizabeth said with a smirk before she turned to admire Mrs. Gardiner’s efforts with her hair.
Jane silently helped Elizabeth into her green silk gown; her mind was awhirl with frustration and dread, but she knew not what to say. Her aunt looked askance at her and asked, “Jane, are you unwell?”
“I am only anxious,” Jane said, fumbling the buttons on Elizabeth’s gown. “I do find Mr. Ferrars’s addresses to be uncomfortable. I had rather pitied him, for I am aware that he only seeks me out to appease his mother, and perhaps to allay any suspicions about his other connections.”
“Which is entirely selfish and not at all the behavior of a gentleman,” Elizabeth cried, whirling around to face her sister.
“If he seeks only to placate his mother and has no real intentions toward you – and he cannot possibly think you would betray your own beloved cousin – his self-perseveration is at the expense of your prospects. Unfeeling cad!”
Jane felt a surge of anger in her chest; Elizabeth was absolutely right. “What must I do to remedy this plight?”
“If I were the viscount, I would call him out,” Elizabeth grumbled.
“There is little you can do, without exposing him – which may be tempting,” Mrs. Gardiner mused.
Elizabeth grinned broadly and waggled her eyebrows at Jane. “A happy thought, indeed.”
Mrs. Gardiner shook her head. “But I do not understand why you hoped Mr. Darcy would intervene, Lizzy. You cannot fault him for wishing not to repeat the mistake he made in meddling with Mr. Bingley, for which you thoroughly admonished him.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth as if to make some retort, but she swiftly pressed her lips together and scowled, earning a look of affectionate triumph from Mrs. Gardiner.
Jane knew there was nothing that could be done, or at least nothing that she was willing to do, for she could not imagine summoning the temerity to tell Mrs. Ferrars what her son was really about.
And yet, Jane found herself eager to confide in Mr. Willoughby, who arrived with his mother and sisters a few minutes after the ladies of the house assembled themselves downstairs in the parlor.
Miss Bingley and the Hursts, who had been invited at Miss Steele’s insistence, arrived a few minutes later; Miss Bingley immediately set about her theatrical admiration of Miss Steele, while markedly snubbing the Bennet sisters.
Elizabeth appeared gleefully diverted by the absurd snobbery, while Jane was merely content to relish this chance to speak to Mr. Willoughby and his sister.
Jane happily listened to Sophie’s warm effusions – until she observed Miss Steele snuck out of the parlor, into the dining room. Jane was instantly suspicious, and at her side, Elizabeth began to laugh.
“I daresay she has gone to switch the place cards around to suit her own purposes.” Though Elizabeth leaned in to whisper, she made no attempt to lower her voice, and Sophie’s eyes widened.
“What purposes? I believe you do not like her – tell me, please, for you are already keeping secrets.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but before she knew what she was about, it was Jane who answered her. “Miss Steele is secretly engaged to Mr. Edward Ferrars and hopes to curry favor with his relations, who desire him to make a more favorable alliance.”
She had moderated her own voice, but nonetheless Jane cast a guilty glance around the room.
It appeared that nobody had heard her scandalous declaration, and she felt a strange rush at having shared the secret with Mr. Willoughby.
Elizabeth nodded approvingly, and Sophie brought her hands to her mouth as she gasped.
Mr. Willoughby’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Does he know that you are aware of this, Miss Bennet?”
“He does,” Elizabeth swiftly supplied. “He also knows of our connection to a certain lady whom he made love to while already pledged to Miss Steele. Hateful man!”
Elizabeth’s countenance suddenly altered, for Mr. Darcy had arrived with Georgiana, Viscount Bellamy, and the countess, Lady Matilda.
Jane suspected that her sister had quarreled with Mr. Darcy when last they were together, and the wary look on Elizabeth’s face as she watched him was nearly a confirmation.