Chapter 7 #2
He had at least earmarked a portion of the money for improving the dower cottage intended for Collins and Elizabeth, but he had done only enough to make it livable.
He had assumed that once Elizabeth moved in, she would find the funds from the estate to make it a true home.
That, he had thought, would be a problem for another time.
Bennet had not wanted to squander his unexpected windfall on anything beyond ensuring the cottage was habitable.
Now, as Elizabeth was wreaking havoc on all his carefully laid plans, he felt the weight of all these concerns pressing upon him, a knot of anxiety tightening in his chest.
After spending the remainder of the afternoon in his study considering his dilemma from every angle, he emerged from his room to join the family for supper. He might have wished to ignore the subject of Elizabeth all together, but her three younger sisters and mother would not let the matter lie.
“Mr. Bennet, where is Lizzy? I thought perhaps she was out on the estate somewhere, but it seems that no one has seen her all day. She returned early from the dance last night, but I have checked in her room, and she is not there,” Mrs. Bennet cried when she saw her husband enter the room. “Has she not been with you all day?”
Bennet sighed heavily, still unsure of how to break the news to his wife. His gaze shifted to Jane, who was glaring at him fiercely—something that reminded him strongly of Elizabeth. Realising he could not lie, he resigned himself to the truth.
"She is gone, Mrs. Bennet," he said, his voice thick with irony and resignation. "She absconded in the night with one of our neighbours and is, as we speak, headed towards Gretna Green."
“One of our neighbours?” she cried noisily. “Why would she elope? Certainly any of the gentlemen from our neighbourhood would have presented himself to you and asked for her hand. What cause could she have had for eloping? Oh, our poor girls, what will this do to them?”
“The gentleman is only temporarily in our neighbourhood—it was Mr. Darcy, whom I believe you all met last night. The two of them decided to forgo the formalities and simply break out on their own. Why Mr. Darcy did not approach me directly today I do not know,” Bennet said.
Jane huffed. “Lizzy wrote to me, as well as to you, Father. She and Mr. Darcy did not wish to give you the chance to separate them—yet again.”
“Again?” Mrs. Bennet cried. “What do you mean, Jane? Had Lizzy and Mr. Darcy met before? He was rather cold last night, but he seemed to think that one of my daughters had been married already. Did he know something I did not?”
“Lizzy and Mr. Darcy met four years ago when she was in Derbyshire. I do not know all the details, but they became engaged then, but when Mr. Darcy came to ask for her hand, Father refused his request. I do not know all the particulars, but Lizzy was determined that she would not be separated from the man she loves ever again, so they decided eloping was the only solution,” Jane informed her mother and younger sister.
“How do you know all of this, Jane?” Mr. Bennet asked coldly.
“As I mentioned, Lizzy wrote to me too. I knew she was upset last night, but I did not learn the reason until I found her note at noon.
For hours, I debated whether to give it to you or let you suffer, wondering where she had gone.
But considering how indifferent you are towards your family, I doubted whether you would have even noticed her absence. "
Bennet was surprised by the harsh rebuke from his eldest daughter.
He had never before heard her speak so forcibly to anyone and was surprised to be on the receiving end of it.
Standing abruptly from the table, he walked away from his family and back into his bookroom where he considered what his daughter had said.
NETHERFIELD, SAME DAY
Caroline Bingley was thoroughly displeased with how the previous evening had concluded.
A month earlier, when her brother had informed her that Fitzwilliam Darcy would be staying at his leased estate, Netherfield, she had seen it as her chance to win him over.
Although she hoped he would be inclined to marry her, she was not willing to leave anything to chance; thus, she devised a plan to ensure that she could press the issue if necessary.
However, Mr. Darcy had arrived only hours before the assembly that her brother had obliged them to attend.
She took extra time in dressing for the evening, wearing a gown that would put these country bumpkins to shame.
Though she had not met any of the locals yet, she knew enough from what she heard in town to expect little from her new neighbours.
They always complained about the so-called gentry who lived in these small villages throughout England, and Caroline had firmly formed an idea of what they would be in her head and was certain there would be no competition for Mr. Darcy’s attention while they were there.
Instead of being entranced by her beauty as she expected, Mr. Darcy had scarcely paid attention to her new gown and appeared aggravated at their delayed departure for the assembly.
She could not understand why he cared about making a good impression by arriving on time or why the opinions of these country mushrooms even mattered.
That evening, Caroline had closely observed her target as he fixated on another young lady.
She overheard his pointed inquiries to Mrs. Bennet about the daughters’ marital statuses and watched his private conversation with the young woman in the ballroom.
When both left the room separately, Caroline attempted to follow but lost track of them.
Her frustration mounted as neither Mr. Darcy nor the young lady returned to the gathering, leaving her stewing over their absence for the remainder of the evening.
When they arrived back at Netherfield, the servants reported that Darcy had returned earlier, but said little else.
Caroline thought to sneak into his room and put her plan into action, but she wanted more information first. After Mr. Darcy’s set down earlier that evening, she was not sure he was in the best of mindsets for her plan to work either, so she knew she would have to wait.
To her greater frustration, when she arrived to break her fast at noon the following day, it was to the news that Mr. Darcy had departed.
According to the note he left her brother, he received word from Pemberley requiring his immediate presence there, and he left early that morning.
While Caroline had her suspicions that all was not as it seemed, her brother believed his friend’s story and, though he was disappointed to lose his company, could not begrudge his friend’s sudden need to return home.
Convinced that Elizabeth Bennet was behind Mr. Darcy’s sudden departure, Caroline Bingley decided to gather more information.
At the assembly the previous evening, she learned Elizabeth’s name and gained insight into the Bennet family by ingratiating herself with Jane Bennet, Elizabeth’s elder sister.
This strategy served a dual purpose: understanding her perceived competition while also uncovering details about the Bennet household.
It was obvious her brother, Charles Bingley, was infatuated with Miss Bennet.
Charles was prone to falling in love quickly and often, but these infatuations rarely lasted long—his attention span was no better than that of a puppy.
Still, Caroline worried that if they remained in the area too long, without the presence of other suitable women to distract him, he might do something truly catastrophic, like propose to the girl.
She peppered her brother with additional questions about his friend’s intentions, rarely leaving him enough time to answer, not that he would have been able to.
Bingley repeated that Darcy had said only that “urgent business” called him away and he would write when he could.
Regardless of how many times she asked, the few lines Darcy wrote did not give Caroline the information she sought.
Finally, Bingley had had enough and retreated to his study.
Although he was new to estate management, he was familiar with business and had already begun to review the books for Netherfield.
He would write to his friend with any additional questions, as well as speak to the steward, and perhaps a few of the other estate owners nearby, when he needed help.