Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Afortnight after they had married, Darcy and Elizabeth received a note letting them know that Bingley and Jane would wed on the following Tuesday.
Bingley asked Darcy once again to stand up with him, and since they had decided to host the wedding breakfast at Netherfield, he said the Darcys would be welcome to attend.
Lying in bed that night, the couple seriously discussed this invitation. Darcy would like to stand up with his friend, but he would not attend without her and was determined to do nothing that would make Elizabeth uncomfortable.
Likewise, Elizabeth would like to be there for her sister, but both were very worried about what Mr. and Mrs. Bennet would do if they were to attend.
Neither of Jane’s letters, secreted inside of Bingley’s, had mentioned what was going on at Longbourn, leaving them uncertain about what, if anything, Mrs. Bennet may know about their marriage.
Mr. Bennet’s attitude they knew but did not understand, and they worried how Elizabeth’s attendance would be received.
Before the wedding, and based mainly on the information from Mary’s letter, William had begun to deal with the rumours about him in Meryton.
He had, to some degree, addressed and corrected most of the rumours and misconceptions of him in Meryton.
His agent had spoken to the girls he was supposed to have ruined; the description given more closely resembled Wickham, and both girls had adamantly declared him to be a soldier, making the lie even more apparent.
Darcy had plenty of witnesses to his being in London, or at least not in Meryton, at the time, which had also supported his claims. Likewise, the debts had been settled by his man of business, and in speaking to the merchants, several admitted that it was Mr. Wickham who had made the purchases supposedly on behalf of Mr. Darcy.
On several occasions, the merchants still had the letters authorising Mr. Wickham to make these purchases on his behalf, which were easily judged as forgeries.
As these stories had begun to circulate Meryton, it had primarily corrected the perception of him in the neighbourhood, making it less likely that forks and pitchforks would be raised when and if they arrived.
“Elizabeth, we can do whatever you like. If you prefer to wait for Jane to come to London to see her, we can. Bingley does understand,” William told her.
She sighed deeply. “I would like to go to the wedding. However, I fear my father’s reaction, not for me, but for the possibility of it somehow interfering with Jane’s wedding.
I still have no idea what Mama may say or do, which is in many ways more worrisome than Papa’s reaction,” she said in a rush before leaning into her husband’s chest.
“We could visit Meryton in a day or two and visit until the wedding,” William suggested. “Perhaps we could attempt to meet with them privately to see if things can be reconciled ahead of the wedding.”
“Papa will never admit that he was wrong,” Elizabeth stated. “But, perhaps, it cannot hurt to try. If Papa will not meet with us, we can return to London, but we will have at least attempted. Regardless, we can leave after the wedding breakfast, if not sooner.”
Their plans made, the couple kissed each other, and eventually, much later, they found sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
When they finally rose from their bed the next morning, the couple separated briefly to write several notes and arrange their trip to Netherfield the following day.
They would return to London for another fortnight after Jane and Bingley’s wedding to attend several more events that Lady Matlock had decreed necessary.
Then, finally, they would be permitted to return to Pemberley.
At breakfast, they spoke to Georgiana about their plans to attend the wedding. She chose to stay in London with her companion and asked if she could continue in London with her aunt and uncle when her brother returned to Pemberley.
“Brother, Aunt Rebecca said they would join us at Pemberley for Christmas, and I thought I could come with them then. That way, I can stay in London to continue working with my music master for another month or two,” Georgiana told them.
William eyed her warily, “Are you sure, Georgiana?” he asked. “I will gladly ask Aunt and Uncle to let you stay with them at Matlock House until they depart London, but you know you are welcome to come with us, do you not?”
“I do, brother, but I do want to continue my studies,” she said, then added. “I also want to give you and Elizabeth some time to yourselves, as you are still newly married. I do not want to be in your way.”
“You will not be in our way, Georgiana,” Elizabeth interjected.
“Both William and I will miss you. Pemberley is your home, and you will always be welcome with us.” She reached over to squeeze William’s hand while he smiled widely.
He recognised that many women he could have married would have encouraged Georgiana to stay away.
Not his Elizabeth, though. He knew Elizabeth loved and cared for his sister nearly as much as he did.
Georgiana shook her head. “I do know that, Lizzy, and I am glad you want me with you. But I do want to give you time to yourself if I can, and I think it will be easier on Lizzy if I am not there as she learns her duties as the mistress. Although I do a few of the tasks, the staff might have an easier time of it if they are not worried about offending me.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Thank you, Georgie,” she told her new sister. “I had not considered that aspect, and while I still say you are welcome with us, you may be correct. You are very wise, sister.” She winked, and Georgiana laughed.
“Have you already spoken to our aunt about this?” William asked.
“I may have mentioned it in passing,” she told him shyly. “In fact, I may have to attribute at least part of the idea to her.”
William and Elizabeth looked at each other and laughed.
The rest of the day was spent overseeing the packing of trunks and making arrangements for travel, which meant notes flew back and forth between Darcy House and Matlock House, as well as the Gardiners.
The Darcy carriage would transport Mrs. Gardiner as well—Mr. Gardiner would follow in three days, arriving at Longbourn on Saturday.
It had been determined that Mrs. Gardiner would serve as the ambassador for the Darcys and to get an idea of how welcome overtures might be between Mr. Bennet and his daughter, as well as to get an idea of what, if anything, Mrs. Bennet knew.
Despite the original decree that the Gardiners were not welcome at Longbourn, apparently that had been revoked in light of Jane’s coming wedding, which gave the Darcys hope that perhaps their reception would not be as cool as they might have anticipated.
Mrs. Gardiner’s presence would also allow the couple to get an unbiased perspective of what was going on at Longbourn, as well as to report on Lydia’s situation.
They all arrived at Netherfield just before lunch on Wednesday morning.
Netherfield had no hostess, so Mrs. Darcy’s arrival also meant that Mr. Bingley could host his fiancée for tea, and she was scheduled to arrive shortly after the Darcy carriage.
That she was permitted to attend at all surprised all three travellers, that is, until Mr. Bingley revealed that he had implied his sister, Mrs. Hurst, had arrived to be his hostess until after the wedding.
For the wedding breakfast, Mrs. Bennet was to have been the hostess, but apparently, Lydia’s situation made that less likely.
“It has been confirmed, Darcy, that Miss Lydia is with child,” Bingley told him as they gathered in the study.
“Jane will not admit it, but Miss Mary said that her sister has been sick nearly every morning for the last week, which is one of the symptoms of her condition. There were some others that she refused to mention.”
Darcy grimaced. “What is to be done about her?”
“I do not know,” Bingley admitted. “Mr. Bennet rarely leaves his study, and Mrs. Bennet spends much of her time above stairs with Miss Lydia or in her room. She calls for salts incessantly and, for the last week, appears to have nearly forgotten about the wedding.”
“I have a small estate in Scotland,” Darcy suggested. “Perhaps Mrs. Bennet could stay there with her until she gives birth. If she has been keeping to her rooms, perhaps we could suggest Lydia will assist her mother as she recovers from some ailment.”
“How will you make the offer to Mr. Bennet,” Bingley asked.
“I do not know yet,” he said. “Perhaps you could merely say that it is a friend’s estate.
It may be best not to mention my name; however, it is hoped that with my reputation recovered in the neighbourhood, he will be more accepting of our marriage.
We intend to try to speak to him while we are here. ”
“Jane is not very forthcoming,” Bingley said. “It is difficult for her to accept the break in her family.”
“She struggles to see the world realistically, it would seem,” Darcy replied. “You would do well to remember that and try to help her overcome it. This situation with Miss Lydia only emphasises that need.”
Bingley’s head dropped to his chest. “I know, Darcy. However, at the moment, I am uncertain of how to force her to see the reality of it. And we are to marry in mere days, and I hesitate to do anything that would ruin this time for her.”
“I do understand, Bingley, but at some point, she is going to have to face reality sooner or later,” Darcy told him. He watched the younger man for a few minutes before changing the topic to another difficult one. “What does Mrs. Bennet know or think about Elizabeth?”