Chapter 16
The morning after the visit by the Bennet sisters, while Darcy made his way back to town from St Albans and going on to Gracechurch Street, Lady Matlock received an unexpected visit from Lady Sefton.
After perfunctory greetings, Lady Sefton said, ‘My dear Eleanor, please forgive me to barge in on you at such an hour, but last night at dinner I heard the most scurrilous rumour and thought that I needed to inform you at the earliest opportunity.’
‘My dear Maria, you appear to be quite overset. What rumour could have put you into such a state?’ Lady Matlock asked as she guided her friend to a sofa and rang for tea to be brought post haste.
‘It is true. I am quite distraught although not for myself but on your behalf.’
‘Surely I know of nothing which should cause you to be discomfited,’ declared Lady Matlock as she poured the tea which had just arrived.
When Lady Sefton gave a pointed look at the maid, her hostess dismissed the staff.
‘I did not wish to say anything in front of the servants. It is bad enough that such a shocking rumour was brought to my attention…’
‘Please, my friend. We have known each other long enough to speak freely. What is so troublesome as to have brought you to my house this early.’
‘I was told a story last night that your nephew’s friend Bingley leased an estate and that Darcy visited briefly.
The story goes that Bingley was evicted from that estate supposedly due to the ill manners of your nephew,’ Lady Sefton said in a rush, looking anxiously at her hostess.
Reassured that Lady Matlock seemed more amused than upset, she took a much-needed restorative sip of tea.
As soon as Lady Matlock heard the name Bingley, she immediately suspected which rumour her friend had heard. That warning was enough for her to school her features while she was thinking furiously.
She decided that a version of the truth would probably best serve the purpose.
‘Perhaps your sources have their facts slightly muddled. I had heard that my nephew was planning to join his friend several weeks after Mr Bingley taking the lease. Now we all know the personality of Miss Bingley…’ She paused significantly, causing Lady Sefton to smile at last as Lady Matlock finished the sentence, ‘can be difficult to understand by those not used to her ways.’
Seeing the smile, Lady Matlock continued.
‘Now, I have no wish to cast unfounded aspersions, but I think it is much more likely that, if the Bingleys were evicted due to some abrasive personalities, and I am not certain of that fact, my nephew likely arrived just in time to be included in the process without any realising who he was.’
The tension went out of Lady Sefton’s shoulders.
‘Ah, yes. That is a much more likely scenario. But you understand that I wanted to alert you to the fact that this rumour has started to circulate. It would be just like that woman to include your nephew in the story to make it sound more important than it is… and to shift the focus from herself.’
‘I am glad that you think so too,’ Lady Matlock purred. Hoping to have sown the seed to counteract the rumour, the ladies briefly chatted about less controversial topics before Lady Sefton had to take her leave.
After her departure, Colonel Fitzwilliam would have blushed if he had heard the imprecations muttered by Lady Matlock.
~T~
Miss Bingley had spent time considering the intelligence regarding Miss Bennet. Having slept on it, she came to a decision… she was going to inform her brother, even if she had to invade his rooms.
She came down to the dining room ready for a hearty meal to fortify herself in preparation for tackling her brother. Her astonishment was great as she entered the room to find Bingley washing down the last bite of his breakfast with a mouthful of coffee.
‘Good morning, Caroline. How are you on this lovely morning?’
‘Good morning, Charles. Why are you in such a good mood? It is quite a change from your sulks in recent weeks.’
‘I have come to a decision which has improved my temper.’
‘At last. You have decided to forget about that mercenary country nobody,’ said Caroline with a delighted smile.
‘Quite the contrary. I have decided to write to her father and ask him to send her to London so that I may court her. Apart from that, stop calling her mercenary. Miss Bennet has been the only lady whom I have met who has not thrown herself at me.’
‘Well, you can save yourself the letter because she has followed you to town.’
‘How do you know that she is in town?’
‘Because I have seen her.’
‘Were you ever going to tell me about it?’
‘I saw her yesterday afternoon. This is the first time I have seen you since.’
Bingley gave his sister a contrite look before he asked, ‘Do you remember the address of her uncle in Cheapside which you mentioned? I am sure that is where she must be staying. Was it not Gracechurch Street? I must go and see her immediately.’
‘I doubt very much that you would find her in Gracechurch Street. I saw her going into a house at a much more fashionable address with a gentleman but without a chaperone, and they seemed to be very… cosy.’
‘You cannot be implying…’
‘That the little strumpet has found herself a… protector. Is that not the polite euphemism employed for a man who keeps a mistress?’
‘You are making this up. Miss Bennet would never behave in such a way,’ cried Bingley. ‘I am certain there must be some other explanation. Who is to say that the man with whom you saw her is not a relative. I am convinced that he must be Mrs Bennet’s brother.’
‘Mrs Bennet’s brother is near her age, and she has grown up daughters as you well know. The man I saw was handsome, well-built and if he was a day over five and thirty, I will eat my new bonnet.’
Bingley looked a little uncertain as Caroline vehemently argued her case. Could it be? Surely not. But if the lady had felt abandoned by him and something had happened to her father… after all, their estate was entailed, and she might be in dire straits.
No. He would not believe it until he saw it for himself.
Instead, he would go to Gracechurch Street and find Miss Bennet.
~T~
Darcy was grateful to arrive at Gracechurch Street. He had fidgeted all the way wondering about his reception. He hoped that Mr Bennet’s note would smooth the way.
As the carriage pulled to a halt, he adjusted his cuffs yet again before he stepped out of the conveyance.
He became impatient when after knocking on the door it took several minutes for a servant to come and open the door. ‘Can I help you, sir?’
‘I am here to see Miss Bennet. Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I have a note from her father for her.’
‘I am sorry, sir, but the family is away.
‘How can that be? Mr Bennet informed me that his daughters are visiting with Mr Gardiner.’
‘I understand that the Misses Bennet are indeed visiting with the family, but they are not in this house.’
Darcy pulled Bennet’s letter from his pocket and checked the address. ‘This is the residence of Mr Edward Gardiner, is it not?’
‘Indeed, it is, sir.’
‘Very well. If they are not here, can you tell me where I can find them so that I can deliver this letter.’
‘I am not at liberty to say. But if you would care to leave the letter with me, I can see to it that it is forwarded to Mr Gardiner.’
Since it was obvious that he would not get anywhere with the servant, Darcy requested, ‘If I cannot see Mr Gardiner, I would like to add a note of my own.’
Relieved that the gentleman was being reasonable, the footman escorted Darcy to a desk in the front parlour and provided him with the necessary writing materials.
Darcy wrote the note to Gardiner and enclosed Mr Bennet’s letter in his own missive. He handed the sealed and addressed packet to the waiting footman, who assured him it would be delivered forthwith.
~T~
Despite his sister’s protests of, ‘Charles, you cannot be serious. How could you consider linking our name with such a lowborn family,’ Bingley made good his decision and went to Gracechurch Street
Although he did not know at which number the relatives of the Bennets lived, Bingley knew that Gracechurch Street was not very long, and his angel must have been noticed by the other residents who would surely be able to point out the house.
Bingley had his driver stop the carriage at the end of the street and stepped out. As he looked around, he could not believe his luck. Just a few houses up the street he spied the familiar carriage belonging to Darcy.
As Bingley strode up to the carriage, his friend exited the house. ‘Darcy,’ he called out and held out his hand.
After one startled look, Darcy grasped the proffered hand. ‘Bingley, it is good to see you. Have you come to call on Miss Bennet?’
‘I have indeed. How did you know?’
‘Yesterday I discovered that the Misses Bennet are staying in town with their uncle. I wanted to come and apologise to Miss Elizabeth for my abysmal insult at that assembly.’
‘I hope that the lady was suitably impressed that you came all the way to Cheapside to do so.’
‘She was not since the family is not here.’
‘Not here? What do you mean? Where are they?’
‘The footman would not tell me where they are. I just left a note to be forwarded to them. I am hoping that Mr Gardiner will get in touch with me.’
As Bingley was disappointed and confused, Darcy invited him to return to Darcy House in his carriage with Bingley’s carriage following.
~T~
‘While it is disappointing that the ladies are not here, your reaction to the situation is stronger than I would think warranted,’ Darcy probed.
‘I am wondering if there could be some truth to something which Caroline told me.’
‘What malicious gossip would your sister have which could have any bearing on Miss Bennet?’
‘Caroline said that she saw Miss Bennet yesterday… unchaperoned in the company of a rich man.’
‘Surely the man would have been her uncle. Please forgive me if I point out that your sister will use anything to denigrate a lady unless that lady is from a titled family. And I vividly remember that day I spent in Hertfordshire when Miss Bingley abused Miss Bennet quite thoroughly.’
Bingley sighed. ‘While Caroline likes to present things in the worst possible light in these situations, she does not actually lie. And according to her, the man was quite young as well as handsome and not in the least avuncular. I was hoping to see Miss Bennet and reassure myself that Caroline misunderstood. But with the lady not being here…’
‘Since I am hoping to hear from Mr Gardiner soon, I am certain that we will be able to clear up the mystery of the un-avuncular gentleman,’ Darcy tried to cheer his friend. In an effort to distract Bingley he asked, ‘what have you been doing since our return to London?’
‘Not much. I was in the doldrums because of what happened in Hertfordshire. To be honest, in the beginning I was quite angry with you and Caroline for behaving in such a way that the people of Meryton asked us to leave.’
‘I am sorry for my behaviour at that assembly. I just…’ Darcy trailed off, unwilling to make excuses for his behaviour.
‘I suppose I am to blame for that fiasco,’ Bingley declared dispiritedly. ‘I know you hate dancing with ladies whom you do not know. If I had not pushed you, you would not have had the need to push back. I just…’ Now it was Bingley’s turn to trail off.
‘You were having a pleasing evening and wanted everyone else to be equally pleased. We all made mistakes.’
‘Indeed. I must say though that I was surprised that I have not heard from you in all the time we have been back in town. I was grateful to have the time to work things out in my own mind, but still somewhat surprised.’
As close a friend as Bingley was, Darcy was reluctant to confess his epiphany after Richard’s lesson in manners and humility when he had learnt to swallow his overweening pride.
For his own amusement he answered, ‘I swallowed something which had disagreed with me, and it took me some time to recover.’
Having cleared the air between them, they chatted comfortably until they arrived at Darcy House.
~T~
As it happened, the same day a snippet appeared in the gossip section of the evening newspaper.
While visiting the country recently, Miss CB, an intrepid mountaineer who while attempting to scale dizzying heights from her roots in trade, slid into a crevasse of her own making due to her overinflated sense of importance.
She was ably assisted by Mr FD of P in D who toppled into the same abyss due to his barely tolerable oratory expertise.
Calling a young lady’s looks merely tolerable to her face at a public ball, has set a new standard of civility, one to which we hope no other gentleman will aspire.
As a consequence, the whole party was shown the door… not of the assembly but the county.
~T~
The reaction to the rumour was mixed as far as Darcy was concerned.
Some people were delighted that someone had the courage of their convictions and put that arrogant man in his place.
Others were outraged on Darcy’s behalf. After all, it would not do to upset the gentleman. His wealth could be needed at some time in the future. Only a fool would burn such a potentially lucrative bridge.
About Miss Bingley on the other hand, opinions were unanimous. Everyone agreed that she deserved the set-down she had received. She was the laughingstock of London society.
~T~