Chapter II
Darcy’s guests arrived fifteen minutes after he returned from Lambton.
As he watched the carriage approach along the drive and enter the courtyard, he could not but reflect on how unwelcome this visit now was.
Had he not invited Bingley to Pemberley, he and Georgiana could have enjoyed Miss Bennet’s company without needing to concern themselves with other guests.
The carriage stopped in front of him, allowing no more time to consider it. As the passengers disembarked, he reflected that the party itself was not unwelcome; only one member of it was. Georgiana seemed to agree with him, as her small smile and glance at Miss Bingley suggested exasperation.
“Oh, Mr. Darcy!” exclaimed Miss Bingley the moment her feet touched the ground. “What a wonderful sight Pemberley is! Why, every time I see your venerable estate, I grow more attached to it. You have a most beauteous home, sir.”
Bingley, hearing his sister’s verbose effusions, looked away, and Darcy thought his friend’s jaw had tightened.
Though they had not spoken of it, Bingley knew Darcy did not favor his sister.
Good fellow that he was, Bingley had never attempted to promote a connection between them—that was fortuitous, for Darcy might have ended the friendship if his friend had ever so much as suggested such an alliance.
“That is curious, Caroline,” said Hurst, regarding his sister with his usual satirical eye. “So far as I can recall, this is only the second time you have visited Pemberley.”
Miss Bingley, in the true fashion of one who hears only what she wishes, ignored him.
Darcy decided it was politic to avoid any further nonsense, and he invited them into the house, hoping to dispense with their company at once.
Miss Bingley, however, was determined to praise, and did so at every opportunity.
Then she pushed flattery aside in favor of more direct measures.
“Tell me, Mr. Darcy,” said she, a coy note in her voice, “what amusements have you planned for our stay?”
“The area has many fine places of interest, as I recall,” said Bingley in his cheerful manner. Darcy suspected his friend spoke only to prevent another display from his sister. “Dovedale is nearby, is it not? And perhaps some other wonders of which I yet know nothing.”
“Yes, Dovedale sounds delightful,” said Miss Bingley, sounding distinctly not delighted. “Perhaps we should stay closer to home? There is much to enjoy at Pemberley itself.”
The smile she directed at Darcy was full of innuendo and invitation. “I should welcome the opportunity to see more of your excellent estate, Mr. Darcy, for I am certain no one knows it so well as you do.”
It was time to close this line of conversation. “Then we shall see how the visit proceeds.”
Turning to Mrs. Reynolds, he said: “Please show our guests to their rooms, Mrs. Reynolds.”
“Of course,” said his housekeeper, her expression revealing nothing of her thoughts. “If you will follow me, you may settle into your chambers.”
If Darcy’s failure to respond as she wished displeased her, Miss Bingley gave no sign, though Darcy noted how reluctantly she departed. When the family reached the top of the stairs, Darcy turned to Georgiana.
“I know they are your friends, Brother,” said Georgiana, “but I must say that I anticipate little pleasure in the coming days.”
“To the best of my knowledge, you esteem Bingley,” replied Darcy, amused that his sister would say as much.
“Mr. Bingley is an excellent man,” agreed Georgiana. “But Mr. Hurst is taciturn, and Mrs. Hurst is too interested in agreeing with everything her sister says. Miss Bingley will be nigh unendurable.”
“Did anything of significance occur in the carriage?” asked Darcy.
Georgiana turned the full weight of her displeasure on him, then ruined it with a wry grin.
“Nothing at all, unless you count Miss Bingley’s continuous comments—then again, you are not unfamiliar with her, so I must suppose you understand the subject on which she dwelt at length.
I am displeased with you, William. You took the chance to escape and left me in Miss Bingley’s clutches. ”
Darcy’s laughter came unbidden. “Let me guess. Miss Bingley expects an engagement by the end of the stay, and offered you up to her brother without the slightest attempt to disguise her purpose.”
“Yes, you understand her well indeed.” Georgiana sighed. “I was sorry for Mr. Bingley. Though he attempted to interrupt her, she proved impervious to his attempts. He was most embarrassed by her display.”
“And she takes advantage of his unwillingness to oppose her without the slightest shame,” said Darcy, shaking his head.
“Thus, you understand my disquiet.”
“Then perhaps I can give you something more to anticipate.”
Georgiana regarded him with suspicion. “Do you mean to cut the visit short? If Miss Bingley were to depart on the morrow, that would be agreeable to me.”
“No, unfortunately I believe good manners dictate we endure her for the agreed upon length of their stay. Rather, there is another to whom I should like to introduce you.”
“Oh?” asked Georgiana, interest piqued.
“When I arrived at Pemberley, I came across an acquaintance touring the estate,” replied Darcy. “A lady from Hertfordshire who is also known to the Bingleys.”
“A lady?” echoed his sister, appearing interested. “Is she elderly? Does she have a mole on the tip of her nose? Otherwise, I cannot imagine she will be welcome at all to Miss Bingley.”
Darcy chuckled, taking his sister’s elbow and leading her up the stairs, knowing their guests must be in their rooms by now.
“You do not know the half, Georgiana. In fact, Miss Bingley does not like this lady at all. Do you recall a letter I sent you in November in which I described a testy exchange between Miss Bingley and a guest staying at Netherfield for a few days?”
Georgiana considered this, and offered a slow nod. “Yes, I recall something of that. Was she not staying to nurse an ill sister?”
“She was,” agreed Darcy. “It is that young lady who is in Lambton, touring the countryside with her aunt and uncle. They are to remain for a few days. If you are amenable, I should like to introduce you to her.”
Georgiana regarded him. “You have never proposed to introduce me to a young lady before.”
“That is because I avoid most young ladies,” replied Darcy. “Miss Bennet is unlike most ladies of my acquaintance. I should think that you will find her agreeable, for she is a witty, lively young woman whom no one can find displeasing.”
“Except for Miss Bingley,” said Georgiana, suppressing laughter.
“Indeed,” said Darcy.
“I have no objection.” Georgiana regarded him with a knowing expression he had not expected. “Might I assume you intend this introduction to take place soon?”
“Now, if you are of a mind.”
“That is precipitous.”
“Not at all,” replied Darcy. “You will understand when you make her acquaintance.”
“Then allow me a few moments to refresh myself,” said Georgiana.
“I shall call the carriage.”
CAROLINE BINGLEY WAS annoyed. No, she was seriously displeased.
After returning to Pemberley at last, she felt that everything was as it should be.
When everything had seemed so bleak the previous year, she had extracted her brother from the clutches of that odious family, the Bennets, and pulled Mr. Darcy away from his fascination with Miss Eliza Bennet, of all women.
Now that they were to be at Pemberley for three full weeks, she was certain all her plans would come to fruition.
Or perhaps not all. Caroline did not suppose that any alliance between Charles and Georgiana Darcy was imminent, but that did not matter anyway.
So long as Caroline married Mr. Darcy, the connection between their families would be secure.
Caroline could then guide Charles to some suitable lady of society, thereby cementing the Bingley family’s position in society forever.
This visit to Pemberley was to be her crowning achievement—Caroline’s acceptance of Mr. Darcy’s proposal of marriage.
Why, then, had she descended the stairs only to see Mr. Darcy’s carriage depart, two figures ensconced within?
She could distinguish neither occupant before the carriage disappeared from view.
Mr. Darcy was so proper and attentive that the notion he would leave his house less than half an hour after his guests arrived was entirely at odds with her understanding of him. Caroline did not mean to tolerate it.
“Mrs. Reynolds,” said she when she spied the housekeeper making her way toward the sitting-room.
“Miss Bingley,” said the woman, curtseying before her betters as was proper. “How may I assist you?”
“You may tell me why Mr. Darcy has departed from the estate and where he has gone.”
It may just have been a trick of her heightened emotional state, but Caroline thought she caught just a whiff of satisfaction from the matron. “The where is Lambton, Miss Bingley,” replied Mrs. Reynolds before Caroline could consider it. “The why is unknown to me.”
Caroline regarded her with no little suspicion. “Mr. Darcy did not state his reasons for leaving so soon after my family arrived?”
“The master is not in the habit of explaining himself,” replied the housekeeper. “If he feels it is necessary, he will inform me, but he keeps his own counsel more often than not.”
“Did he say when he would return?” asked Caroline after considering this for a moment.
“No, Miss Bingley, he did not. Given the recent arrival of your family, I suspect he will not be long, but he made no mention of how long he expected to be absent.”
In fact, Caroline was certain that Mrs. Reynolds knew what had taken Mr. Darcy from Pemberley.
Whether he had instructed her to remain silent, Caroline could not say.
For a moment, she considered pressing her further.
What deterred her was the certainty that her questions would make their way to Mr. Darcy’s ears.
“Very well,” said Caroline. “When Mr. Darcy returns, I shall speak to him.”