Chapter 15 Jitters
“Bingley, are you certain you want to participate in this debacle?”
The two gentlemen were sitting at an early breakfast with Anne on Darcy’s wedding day. The question had been asked and answered several times, but Darcy wanted to offer his friend one last chance to avoid it. He could always find another witness.
“Yes, my friend, I am certain. The Bennets may or may not have read about my wedding announcement, and they most likely think I was just toying with Miss Bennet’s affections, but we cannot be certain.
This is the easiest way to show the lay of the land.
I am also responsible for Netherfield for the duration of the lease, so it will not be my last trip to Hertfordshire.
There is good sport, and I still need to see to the tenants and so forth. ”
“I am happy to see you taking the responsibility seriously. I put out the word with my uncle’s associates and friends about Netherfield.
It is conveniently close to town for any gentleman who does not also own one in Kent, so I will not be surprised if another lessor comes along.
It was empty for a couple of years, but I suspect that is just because the owner has poor connexions. ”
“If someone shows up who is suitable, that would be best. Until then, I am not going to hide from the neighbourhood, nor be ashamed of what happened. I am not the one who acted improperly, nor had I made anything even vaguely like a promise to Miss Bennet. Anne and I will stay a week or two after your departure and try to do what we can to restore our local reputations, and that of the Bennets, though I suspect both are lost causes.”
Darcy chuckled grimly. “As the unofficial King of Lost Causes, I can appreciate the effort.”
“You really think this marriage a lost cause?”
“I do not know. I imagine time will tell, but the signs are not auspicious. I did nothing wrong, so it will be up to Miss Elizabeth to earn my approbation, not the other way around.”
“Do not be too pessimistic, my friend. There may be more to her than you give her credit for. In fact, three weeks ago, I would have given good odds that you and Miss Elizabeth would get along well if you ever unbent just a little. I could never quite work out her interactions with you. I know you eventually came to believe she was flirting, but I never got that impression. Of course, I am not the most astute observer in the world, so you should not read too much into my musings.”
“To be honest, I think Miss Elizabeth could have lit your sister’s dress afire, and you would hardly have noticed.”
“There is that, and you must admit that, should that event come to pass, Caroline would well deserve it.”
Anne chuckled but asked nervously. “Are you certain you are over Miss Bennet? Will it pain you to see her again?”
Bingley took her hand gently. “Yes, I am well over her. You can ask Darcy. I have survived such disappointments before, and I am extremely happy to never have to do so again. I made the right choice.”
Anne smiled weakly but still looked nervous. “Darcy, I for one want to be at this wedding. I will feel better about the ghost of Miss Bennet once I have seen her.”
“Before the ball, I would have considered the two eldest Miss Bennets rather elegant and well mannered, aside from the appalling lack of sense the eldest showed in riding to Netherfield in the rain. I always wondered if that was a deliberate strategy, and if so, whether it was the mother’s scheme or a family affair. ”
Bingley said, “Mr Bennet was on the indolent side, but it seems unlikely his daughter would ride out to such an important dinner without his knowledge or consent. I would wager it was Mrs Bennet’s design, and her husband went along.
Whether the daughters were in on the scheme or not, I could not say. ”
Darcy grumbled. “There is a saying the teachers use with children in America: ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’ Mrs Bennet applied that to good effect.”
“It would seem so,” Bingley replied, then chuckled. “Would it be unseemly to celebrate you entering the arena rather than myself.”
“I suppose not. Shall we?”
“Lizzy, I know I am in your brown books, but is there anything I can do to make today better, or even less bad?”
Elizabeth stared at her sister for a minute, feeling like her life was on a precipice. She had spent the bulk of the last fortnight doing what amounted to either deep reflection or sulking.
Her Aunt Gardiner had, true to form, selected a lovely trousseau, and delivered it complete with a new trunk.
She looked at some of the gifts, including some scandalous nightclothes that she thought she might as well burn or give to the kitchen for rags since she would never wear them, as a last hurrah from her life as a Bennet.
Her future husband was well known to be high on the instep, and she was not certain if or when she would be able to see her aunt and uncle again.
She was not at all concerned with the inconsistency of thinking her betrothed would disdain her connexions in trade, when his good friend Bingley was the son of a tradesman.
She had spent some time choosing which dresses and things to take with her and which to leave for her sisters.
Nobody had a word from her groom since the altercation in the hallway three weeks earlier, but she assumed he would either show up or not—probably based on whether he learned of her attempted flights or not.
In the end, she decided to err on the side of generosity.
She imagined Mr Darcy would want his wife dressed better than the daughter of an insignificant country squire, so most of her clothing would not see very much use in future.
If he expected her to dress better, he would pay for it, would he not?
In the end, she only took a few favourite walking dresses, enough to get her by for a month or two and left the bulk of her clothing for her sisters.
Her father insisted she at least take breakfast and supper with the family each day, and on her wedding day they started earlier than usual so she would have time to prepare for the upcoming ordeal.
While the young lady was still angry with Jane, she found she did not have it in her heart to hold onto the feeling with such vigour.
She imagined she would have enough vexation to suit anybody with her new husband if he turned out to be disagreeable, and she saw little point in litigating the past. She would never again be what she was with her sisters.
Most likely, she would be an indifferent correspondent at best.
It seemed unlikely she would ever return to Hertfordshire.
Her neighbours, whom she had known all her life, had not been the worst gossips they could possibly be, but they had not been supportive either.
In the end, she could not, at that moment, feel like she needed to see anybody from her family or her home for a very long while, if ever.
“You can fix my hair if you like.”
It was not a full rapprochement, nor was there likely to be one anytime soon, but it was more than Jane expected given the level of their disagreement, and she was happy to take what she could get.
In an emotional sense, she missed the connexion she had once had with her sister but doubted it would ever be repaired.
In a practical sense, she thought she might be depending on Mrs Darcy’s connexions sooner than later, but she also felt somewhat guilty about her role in Elizabeth’s current state.
She still felt that Elizabeth was being stubborn and not especially bright, but she did not hold the animosity she would if her sister remained recalcitrant enough to sabotage the eldest’s own prospects.
She at least understood she was two years closer to a spinster’s cap than Lizzy had been, and the compromise had ended the only promising acquaintance she had seen in years.
After breakfast, they retired to the guest room. Lydia asked if she could join them, and Elizabeth agreed to the scheme. There was little chance her youngest sister would not revert to form during the day, but it would not be on Elizabeth’s head if it happened.
Elizabeth had taken a bath the previous day and did not feel any need for another. It was a small and petty sort of victory, but not the worst.
Jane said, “Lizzy, your gown is… interesting.”
“La, it may be the most boring dress ever made” Lydia added with a giggle, which Kitty echoed.
Elizabeth endured their teasing with ease. “I think it marks the occasion perfectly, and I doubt Mr Darcy will care one whit what I wear… if he even notices.”
Her improvements to the dress mostly amounted to remaking it as plain as she could without going overboard into vulgarity or looking like a pauper.
Elizabeth had approached the Netherfield Ball with high hopes that she might dance with Mr Wickham and a few other gentlemen, so she had made the dress her best estimate of festive, happy, and ornamental.
On the other hand, her attitude towards her nuptials could best be described as cautiously optimistic it might not be a total disaster, so the dress reflected that sentiment.
Most of the modifications amounted to removing expensive lace, and replacing it with either simple ribbons, or nothing at all.
The dress was white, an unusual choice for a bride, but otherwise unremarkable.
She did not look poor, but she did not look rich or even very well off either.