Chapter 17
Charles Bingley placed the most recent letter from Darcy in the drawer with the others, then leaned back in his chair to think.
His old friend wanted to meet him tomorrow at the club.
Darcy had sent him a short letter to announce his engagement a few weeks ago and had kindly given him warning when he informed his family, knowing the gossip would circulate town in a matter of hours.
Charles had been able to keep it hidden from his sister Caroline for a day or two, then told her after she had a proper meal and the servants were in another part of the house so as not to hear her tantrum.
He’d never seen a person’s face become that particular shade of purple before.
She trembled with rage and finally threw a small china teacup, watching it shatter on the marble mantelpiece.
He stopped her before she threw a figurine in the same direction.
After sending her off to be tended by her maid, he had a serious conversation with his brother Hurst. Neither man wanted the responsibility of taking care of Caroline for the long term, and now that her plans to wed Darcy had been thwarted, they agreed it was time to look elsewhere.
The season was dwindling to a close and every week there were reports of friends removing to their country estates.
There were still some activities and many would not leave town until the middle or end of the month, but they certainly were not spoiled for choice.
Louisa Hurst had an old school friend who had married a distant cousin of her husband’s.
They were hosting a house party in the summer and the Hursts had been invited.
There would be a great variety of guests, including a few single men, and the neighborhood was known to be prosperous.
The two men agreed Caroline would make what she could of the remaining weeks in town before accompanying her sister and brother-in-law to the house party in the hopes of finding a man willing to marry her.
Charles Bingley was pleased with his decision and hoped he was one step closer to gaining Jane Bennet’s favor.
Mr. Darcy left for London early Monday morning and Elizabeth spent the next two days at the shore with her sisters.
There was a dinner party to attend but otherwise, the Bennet family was alone.
A sense of nostalgia had settled over them as they all recognized that soon, their numbers would be diminished.
Elizabeth would marry in a little over a week and Jane was sure not to be too far behind her.
The Bennet family as it had always been would end, and the sisters would move away, adding brothers and distance to their family.
Tuesday, the girls took one last picnic down to the shore.
The five of them sat scattered across two blankets in a sheltered cove not too far from their cottage.
Kitty was sketching Jane and Mary where they sat side by side, the sea at their backs, while Lydia braided long grasses and made crowns for each of her sisters.
“Do you think you will have many children, Lizzy?” asked Lydia suddenly.
“Lydia!” exclaimed Jane. “That is not an appropriate question.”
“Why not?” Lydia responded, looking genuinely confused. “We are all sisters here. It is not as if Mr. Darcy were sitting beside us.”
Jane acknowledged her point and four sets of eyes turned to Elizabeth.
“I hardly know!” Elizabeth declared, her cheeks slightly red. “One cannot always predict these things.”
“Maybe you will have five daughters like Mama!” said Lydia.
“Oh, name one after me!” cried Kitty.
Elizabeth had to laugh at this absurdity, but inside she was worried. How many children did Mr. Darcy desire? How many did he expect? What if she had daughters; would he insist on continuing until there was a son? What if the effort killed her?
Jane placed a warm hand on her arm. “You will have a son, Lizzy, I’m sure of it.”
Elizabeth smiled at her sister. “How do you know, Jane?”
“I just know. You will.”
“Shall I name him after you?” Elizabeth teased.
“I think a boy called Jane would seem a little odd, but John would not be inappropriate.”
“Oh, yes, call him John! Then I shall call him Jack and teach him how to dance!” declared Lydia.
She pulled Kitty up and twirled her about, the two of them giggling and laughing.
Lydia then picked up the crowns she had made and skipped about her sisters, laughing as she placed the crowns haphazardly on their heads.
Mary was still wearing a bonnet and they all laughed at the picture of her braided grass crown atop her straw bonnet.
Elizabeth sighed. She would miss this, miss them, these sisters.
Jane’s companionship and comfort she would miss the most, but in the six months since her father’s change, as she had come to think of it, she had grown closer to them all.
She had bonded with Mary over music and singing and had come to appreciate and value her sister in a way she never could have imagined prior to the change.
Kitty had become a dear, innocent companion, one that she would miss after she married.
Kitty was still a follower at heart and would likely never be an overwhelming presence, or even a strong one, but there was a sweetness, an honesty about her that Elizabeth could appreciate and knew she would miss dearly.
Lydia, quite surprisingly, had become a great source of entertainment and joy, much like she had been as a young child before she had been spoiled so dreadfully.
She was still exuberant and likely always would be, but she could curb her tongue in public now, a feat neither of her eldest sisters thought she would ever accomplish, and her need to have her way all the time had greatly diminished.
Elizabeth thought it due largely to her no longer being out.
As angry as Lydia had been, the change had done her good.
She was now in a category of her own, almost, and the lack of competition had calmed her.
Kitty was not out either, but only Lydia wore the dresses and hairstyles of a young girl and as much as she had balked against it in the beginning, the change suited her.
That evening, the family prepared for their last dinner together before leaving for London in the morning.
The following week would be spent at their Uncle Gardiner’s home.
Elizabeth would have fittings most days for her trousseau and there would be dinners with Mr. Darcy’s family in addition to the usual entertainments.
Dinner was filled with laughter and old family stories.
Each sister told a tale of how Lizzy had wronged her as a child by stealing her toy, pushing her into a puddle, or talking her into something they both got into trouble for.
Elizabeth blushed and defended herself weakly, all the while laughing until her sides ached.
“You always were an unusual girl,” said Mr. Bennet with a wink. He squeezed her hand where it rested next to his on the table.
Elizabeth smiled as she turned to listen to her mother at the other end of the table.
“Well, Lizzy, you have done better than I ever thought you would. Well done, dear. Mr. Darcy is a fine catch.”
She smiled proudly at her daughter and sipped another glass of wine, and Elizabeth was not sure if she should feel happy or embarrassed. Her sisters sniggered quietly behind their hands and she decided not to let her mother’s words offend her.
“When you were a little girl,” Mrs. Bennet continued, “you had the most beautiful hair. It curled all around your face and everyone exclaimed about it. Mrs. Goulding was so jealous! I told her not to worry, her daughter’s hair would grow in eventually.
” Lydia spluttered and nearly choked on her wine.
“You were such a pretty child. And now your hair is prettier than ever.”
Elizabeth stared at her mother, having never heard her speak in such a way about herself before.
“Of course, you so rarely wear it to your advantage. Why you never listen to me, I don’t know,” Mrs. Bennet continued.
There is the mother I know, Elizabeth thought.
She laughed quietly to herself and looked across the table to see that Mary and Jane were doing the same, and soon the entire table was laughing.
“What? What is so funny?” asked Mrs. Bennet. This made Lydia laugh louder and soon Mrs. Bennet joined in, not knowing why, but not wishing to be left out of what was clearly a good joke.