Vol 1, Chapter 11
“Mr. Bingley is here to see you, Mr. Darcy,” Killion, Darcy House’s butler announced to his master, who was sitting at his desk in the study working on correspondence.
After Miss Bingley’s attempted compromise, Darcy was not sure he was ready for Bingley’s excuses, but the years of friendship won out. “Show him in please, Killion,” Darcy relented.
“Darcy, it is good to see you,” Bingley was his affable self, trying his best to ignore the problem between them.
“Coffee, Bingley?” Darcy offered.
“No thank you, I partook at Curzon Street before I departed,” Bingley responded.
Even Bingley was not myopic enough to miss the displeasure in his friend’s mien.
“I have spoken to her. It caused a massive tantrum as I feared, but there is no excuse for her sinking to the level of trying to compromise you.”
“It is appreciated that you finally conveyed my message to her. Do you not see that had you done so the first time I asked it of you that we may have avoided the whole unpleasant situation?” Darcy took a deep breath.
“I should not have been such a gentleman and merely hinted at my lack of interest. We have been moving inexorably to the point we arrived at this past Friday night. She is lucky that my man was the only servant aware of her actions. If it were widely known, the talk would have been broadcast abroad and your sister would be ruined!”
“That is what I told her when I spoke to her, Darce. You have the right of it, and I should have spoken to her without delay. You know how I hate confrontations,” Bingley owned.
“Bingley, you are my friend, and it is not easy for me to say this to you. As the head of your family, there will be times when you have to do that which is unpleasant; all men do. If you had been diligent in your care of your sister rather than coddling her, both of your lives would have been far easier. Her behaviour will never gain her entry to the first circles, while at the same time that same behaviour hurts your position in society. Your older sister is not much better, but at least she is not your responsibility any longer.”
“Where does that leave us, Darce?” Bingley’s frown deepened.
“Unless you can check your sister, I will have no choice but to make a public split from you. That is not my choice, but I will not have your sisters use my name to wheedle invites any longer. If she is with you, do not bother coming to my homes as you will not be admitted in her company. When do you plan to return to Netherfield?” Darcy asked.
As soon as he mentioned his friend’s leased estate, he saw a fine pair of green eyes in his mind’s eye.
“I will be returning alone. My sisters and Hurst followed me to Town. They departed Netherfield hours after me and Caroline tells me that she had the house closed. I must return to my angel,” Bingley smiled as he thought about the beautiful Miss Bennet.
“Do you know that my sister lied to me and told me that Miss Bennet does not love me, that she would only accept me for my fortune,” Bingley scoffed.
His face fell as he saw his friend’s serious look and that he did not dismiss his sister’s claims.
“There was a time that I would have agreed with your sister, as loath as I am to own that, on both points. I too would have indicted Miss Bennet of being a fortune hunter who was using her feminine wiles to increase your ardour. I no longer think that…” Bingley perked up, “…however, I am sure that she does not love you. She may not even like you overly much,” Darcy laid out the harsh facts for his friend.
Bingley’s face fell and he looked like a puppy who had been kicked hard in the stomach. “Why do you say that?” Bingley asked quietly.
“Before I elucidate for you, tell me what signs you saw from Miss Bennet that signalled her regard for you?” Darcy asked.
“She smiled at me.” Bingley noted hopefully.
“She smiled at everyone.” Darcy countered.
“She would always sit and talk to me in company,” Bingley insisted.
“Bingley, you would go to her every time that you saw her, would you not?” Bingley allowed it was so. “You were loquacious, but did Miss Bennet ever respond beyond the bare minimum? Did she ever cross the room to talk to you?”
“She was just being modest.” Bingley was defensive.
“Think about it honestly, Bingley. Look at the ball. Miss Bennet was present when you proposed the event, was she not?” Bingley nodded. “Why do you think it was that there was only one set open for you, none of the significant ones?” Darcy highlighted for his younger friend.
“She did not want to dance them with me!” Bingley fell back in his chair, his expression crestfallen. “She was not merely being modest, was she?”
“I am afraid not, Bingley. You saw what you wanted to see in your latest angel. In my opinion, you still have some maturing to do. My hope for you is that you start to see more than the physical attributes of women. Once you do that, mayhap you will find your match, my friend,” Darcy said compassionately.
Shortly after that conversation ended, a dejected Bingley departed his friend’s house.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When Bingley flopped down behind the desk in his town house on Curzon Street, he saw that an express from Mr. Phillips in Meryton had been delivered while he was with Darcy.
He broke the seal, assuming it was about the house being closed up after only two months.
The more he read, the more apoplectic he became.
Bingley’s butler came when his master loudly summoned to him. “Are my sisters here, Tushman?”
“They are in the drawing room with Mr. Hurst, sir,” Tushman replied. Letter in hand, Bingley strode directly toward those he had asked after, relieved they were at least in the house.
The three occupants did not pay attention to his arrival until he slammed the door behind him. “Charles, why would you do such a thing?” Miss Bingley scolded.
Bingley took a deep breath, effectively stopping the eruption of temper that was just below the surface. “When you closed up the house, were you abusive to servants, including the housekeeper and butler, sisters?”
“They were not performing their duties as we directed,” Miss Bingley’s superior air proved the truth of the assertion.
“And you struck one of the maids?” Bingley confirmed.
“She talked back, but how would you know, Charles?” Miss Bingley asked.
“How indeed. Allow me to read this letter for you, it will clear things up,” Bingley growled.
“We are going to see dear Georgiana this afternoon…” Miss Bingley did not complete the sentence.
“You are barred from Darcy House, or have you ignored the truth again as you seem to do far too much? Sit and listen!” Bingley commanded. With her pinched look firmly in place, Miss Bingley sat.
24 November 1810
Meryton
Mr. Bingley:
It is my solemn duty to inform you that pursuant to clause 10.4 of your lease you are evicted as of the above listed date and the ?5,500 for the remaining ten months has been forfeited as you have contravened the abovementioned clause after a final warning was issued.
Offences:
Miss Bingley struck Millie Jackson in the face.
Both Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst were verbally abusive to the servants for not closing the house with enough speed after they were given no notice of the task beforehand.
In addition, you are liable for ?572 due to breakages of art work, mirrors, and furniture.
Clause 15.10 of the lease you signed lists your responsibility for breakages, and the final pages of the lease was a full inventory of furniture, fixtures, and artwork that were present and in good order when you took possession of Netherfield Park.
I direct your attention to your signature on all pages, including the inventory.
It gives the landlord no pleasure to enforce the terms of the lease, but they will also not shy away from protecting their investment.
Sincerely,
Franklin Phillips, Esq
“Every last brass farthing will come out of your dowry!” Bingley yelled.
“You cannot do that to me! That would leave me with less than fourteen thousand pounds!” Miss Bingley screeched.
“The time to consider the consequences was before you caused me to lose over six thousand pounds!” Bingley shot back. “You were WARNED, Caroline!”
“Louisa was there with me!” Miss Bingley tried to shift part of the blame.
“Caroline Bingley!” an outraged Mrs. Hurst exclaimed.
“I think it is time that the Hursts moved back to their own home,” Bingley stated without emotion.
“Now hold on, Bingley,” Hurst attempted to protest.
“NO, Hurst. For too long you and my sister have lived off my largess. That all ends today. You have your own town house, use it!” It seemed that the eviction from Netherfield had been the impetus for Bingley to take a stand and grow a backbone with regards to his family obligations—at least temporarily.
“I will give you a sennight to be gone from my home, and, as of today, my liquor cabinet will be locked!”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“William,” Georgiana Darcy entered her brother’s study. “Did I see Mr. Bingley depart?”
“You did, Gigi. Are you ready to leave for Pemberley by Thursday? That way we will arrive home on Saturday and not have to spend the Sabbath on the road,” Darcy asked his sister.
He was happy to see the stay at Matlock House had helped her immensely.
She was still shy but seemed much stronger and was not prone to bursting into tears spontaneously as she had been for the first month after the near debacle with Wickham.
“William, who are the Bennets?” Georgiana asked as she seated herself opposite her brother.
“How do you know about the Bennets?” Darcy asked, surprised at his sister’s mentioning their name.
“You mentioned Miss Elizabeth in every letter that you wrote me from Hertfordshire, William. Sometimes more than once in a single letter. Do you not remember what you wrote to me? You are not that old,” she teased, a clear indicator of her improvement.