Chapter 2 #2
And recently, another barrier had been built by her apparent friendliness towards Wickham.
That scoundrel had crossed his path again, in a most annoying way, and he seemed to have already gained everyone’s favour in Meryton, as he had always done.
To his disappointment, Elizabeth was among those who had quickly fallen for Wickham’s charms; Darcy had heard reports about the growing friendship between the two, despite being barely acquainted.
But then again, that was Wickham. Very few women resisted his charms, and the second daughter of a country gentleman, probably lacking in any experience with men, could not be an exception.
He briefly considered it was his duty to warn Mr Bennet about the danger Wickham might pose to his daughters.
But he had to be cautious. Any argument with Wickham would mean the threat of revealing his past, and consequently, Georgiana’s indiscretion.
He could not afford to put his sister’s reputation in such peril.
Not even for Elizabeth. The idea remained, as he could not possibly allow Wickham to deceive more innocent people.
But what was the best way of exposing him? He still needed to decide.
“Darcy, did you not hear me? Are you ill?”
He startled at the sound of an insistent voice and rose to his feet to face Admiral Howard, who was staring at him.
“What happened, my boy?”
“Nothing… Forgive me, sir, I was mulling over some business matters. I thought you were already asleep. Is there something I can do for you?”
“No, all is well. I wanted to speak to you, and Percy told me you had not arrived in your chamber yet. He led me here. I hope I am not disturbing you.”
“Not at all. Would you like another drink?”
“Yes. A brandy, please. We did not have time to talk much today.”
“Indeed. Bingley and his sisters were too enraptured by your presence.”
“Much too enraptured. For a man who has rarely eaten more than one course at any meal his entire life, dinner nearly killed me.”
“Well, they meant well.”
“I know, and I am grateful for their attentiveness.”
“I am glad to see you, sir. It is a great pleasure that you decided to visit us.”
“When Richard told me you were in Hertfordshire, and knowing I would be so near the county, I could not help but come to see you. I have not seen you in almost two years now. How is sweet Georgiana? You look well, I must say.”
“I am as well as can be expected, and so is Georgiana. We have spoken of you often.”
“I know. I receive regular reports about you from my sister and brother-in-law. But I know they see you rather rarely too. You are not often in town.”
“True. Georgiana is not yet out, and neither of us is too fond of parties and balls. For me, the Season is rather tiresome.”
“I remember. I am surprised that nothing has changed in that regard. I had thought you would be less restrained as time passed after your father’s death.”
“Little will change in that regard. It is simply a matter of preference.”
“Well, you have Bingley to balance your lack of social skills.” The admiral laughed, and Darcy smiled in approval.
“Were you talking about me?” the master of the house asked from the doorway, looking rather puzzled. The other two laughed again.
“It seems we have a late-night party,” the admiral said.
“Is everything well? Are you troubled by something, Admiral?”
“Everything is well. Do not worry. I went looking for Darcy, and I found him here, so we thought we would talk and drink for a while.”
“May I join you? I do not want to intrude. I wished to talk to Darcy too, and since he was not in his chamber, I imagined he must be here. But it can wait until tomorrow.”
“Of course you may join us,” the admiral answered. “Besides, it is your house.”
“Thank you. Did you find the brandy? Can I fetch you something else to drink? Or to eat?” Bingley offered.
“Calm down and sit with us,” the admiral invited him. “We have everything we need at this late hour.”
“Is there anything urgent you wished to talk to me about?” Darcy asked his friend.
“No, it is just…I have been invited to dine at Longbourn the day after tomorrow, but since the admiral is here, I shall decline. I should call on Mr Bennet tomorrow and inform him about the change of plans. And then I shall pass on the invitation to the ball to Colonel Forster. I had hoped you would come with me, but you had better remain with the admiral.”
“I would rather stay at Netherfield. I have no desire to meet the officers — at least not some of them. As for the Bennets, I am sure your visit will be a brief one. You do not need my assistance,” Darcy said.
Admiral Howard stared at them, sipping from his glass.
“I shall not accept you changing any plans because of me. I have taken the opportunity to see you since I happened to be travelling through Hertfordshire, but I would be upset if I interfered in your other engagements.”
“Do not worry, sir. I am sure I can dine at Longbourn another evening, after the ball,” Bingley offered.
“Longbourn is Miss Bennet’s estate, is it not? I remember her mentioning it.”
“Yes.”
“And only you were invited? Not the others in your party? I would say that is rather impolite.”
“Oh no, sir! The invitation was for all of us. But my sisters do not support my friendship with the Bennets, so they declined the invitation.”
The admiral raised an eyebrow. “Would it be fair to assume they do not support your friendship with Miss Bennet?”
Bingley’s face coloured. “They are also friends with Miss Bennet, but they believe we should not visit so much. Everybody who knows Miss Bennet can see she has nothing wanting. She is not responsible for her family’s situation in life and lack of connections.”
“Again, I would dare to assume Miss Bennet lacks in dowry too. That might be a proper reason for your sisters’ disapproval.”
“I am not interested in Miss Bennet’s dowry. She is a remarkable lady, with the sweetest nature, and the most beautiful I have seen.”
“She is beautiful, and she does lack in dowry. But there is much more than that to be considered,” Darcy interjected. “And in a small town like Meryton, any gesture or action could raise certain expectations.”
Bingley rolled his eyes and said, “Darcy is not very fond of their company either, so he has also decided not to join me. And I decided not to insist, even more so since I know they also have a cousin visiting. A certain Mr Collins to whom Longbourn is entailed and who seems to be a pompous fool. Spending an evening with him would be insupportable to Darcy.”
The admiral glanced at the two with a frown. “The pompous cousin sounds unappealing. But may I ask what is so condemnable about the Bennets as to refuse a dinner invitation?” he asked Darcy.
“Mrs Bennet and her youngest daughters are not company one would want to encourage. They are ill-mannered, ill-educated, and the matron would do anything to secure husbands for her daughters,” Darcy stated severely.
The admiral’s frown increased, then he sipped some more brandy before speaking.
“Really? Does not any mother — including the royals’ — search for husbands for her daughters?
How else could a small country gentleman’s wife, the mother of five daughters with no dowry and few connections, secure their future?
Can one blame her for that? Did your grandparents not do the same for your mother?
Is not your aunt Lady Catherine doing the same? ”
The unexpected reply and the rebuke in it surprised Darcy.
“This is different,” he said. “Mrs Bennet is too obvious, too loud, too…improper. One must see her in order to understand.”
“Now I easily understand why Miss Bennet was so generous in praising Bingley and so restrained when she spoke of the others from Netherfield. I can see the feeling is mutual. Well, Bingley, I congratulate you on your excellent taste in women. I, for one, fully approve of your friendship with her. I agree that she seems to be remarkable.”
Bingley’s eyes and mouth opened in astonishment. He blinked a few times, then finally comprehended the man’s words.
“Oh, you mean Miss Elizabeth? No, no, I meant her elder sister, Miss Jane Bennet! Miss Elizabeth is remarkable too. And I do consider her a friend. She is very clever. And very direct. In a good way! Miss Bennet is very gentle and kind-hearted and sweet. They are very close to each other, very loyal, but very different in nature.”
It was the admiral’s turn to be dumbfounded. “So, there are two remarkable Miss Bennets in the family?”
“Yes,” Bingley replied hastily.
“Miss Bennet is beautiful and gentle in manners. She smiles too much. I would say all the time. Miss Elizabeth is witty, well-read, sometimes too opinionated, and tends to misjudge people. But she is remarkably different from most ladies of her age,” Darcy declared.
“You forgot to mention Miss Elizabeth is very pretty too. And yet, you still refused their dinner invitation,” the admiral mocked him.
“Darcy and Miss Elizabeth have never been friends. Actually, he offended her the first time they met, at an assembly. He refused to dance with her, as he thought she was not handsome enough to interest him,” Bingley said.
“That is nonsense!” Darcy cried. “The circumstances were of a peculiar kind.”
“Well, well… This evening has proved to be more entertaining than I anticipated. Bingley, I am thinking of joining you when you call at Longbourn tomorrow. I would like to thank Miss Elizabeth for helping me today, and it would be a good opportunity to meet the family.”
Both Darcy and Bingley looked at him in disbelief, while the admiral’s face wore nothing but a large grin of contentment.