Chapter 21
Caroline Bingley sighed for the thousandth time as the hired carriage stopped in front of the steps leading to the front door at Netherfield Park.
She had endured a week of disquiet and frustration before finally arriving at the decision to abscond to Netherfield Park.
The final nail in her season's coffin had come when she had arrived alone at the Kavanagh’s Ball only to experience the mortification of being returned home by Lady Kavanaugh without two minute’s consideration.
“Miss Bingley!” Lady Kavanagh had said, still standing in the receiving line. The lady frowned and looked past Caroline’s shoulder, as if searching for someone. “Where are your brother and the others of your party?”
Caroline did not expect to be confronted with the fact of her lack of company at a society ball so soon after arriving. She pretended indifference, “they were otherwise occupied my lady, but I would not insult you with my absence, especially after I had already confirmed my presence.”
“Your absence would have been preferable to your coming to an event at night, alone. What were you thinking, Miss Bingley?”
“My lady,” Miss Bingley tried to plead her case, “I had no one to accompany me; I had no other option.”
“You had the option to stay home and behave like a respectable young lady; a maiden does not venture into the night in London, un-chaperoned, Miss Bingley.” The lady was most displeased.
“My lady,”
Lady Kavanagh put her hand up to cease Caroline’s excuses, “you will get back into your carriage and return home this instant. I will not be accused of encouraging young ladies to attend my ball unaccompanied. I have my reputation to maintain, even if you do not see the need to have the same care about yours.”
Caroline gasped and tears rolled down her face, “I did not come here in my own carriage, my lady.”
“How did you get here?” Lady Kavanagh asked confused.
“I hired a hackney my lady.”
Lady Kavanagh gasped in horror, “Miss Bingley, you are a simpleton if I ever saw one.” She said calling one of the footmen nearby. “Eli,” she addressed the footman, who bowed respectfully to her, “please order a carriage to take this young lady home… immediately.”
“Yes, my lady.” The young man bowed again and left with alacrity.
Caroline was pushed to the side and forced to wait on the steps. She was not even allowed inside the house to wait in the warmth.
The footman called Eli arrived back at her side within a few minutes, “this way, miss.” He said with disdain, leading her to the waiting carriage.
Caroline’s disgrace was complete.
When she arrived back to an empty and silent house, her plan for redemption was formed: she would return to Hertfordshire to be Charles’ hostess again.
But this time she would fill the house with her own friends, with house parties and balls of her choosing.
Charles would meet worthy ladies among them and very soon forget insignificant Miss Bennet.
With this resolution firmly made she ordered her maid to pack her trunks, hire a carriage for first thing in the morning and finally shut the house for the rest of the season.
***
“Caroline?” Bingley said looking at his sister in surprise as she descended from her carriage.
“Charles, I have missed you.” She said insincerely.
“I was not expecting you, although Louisa informed me a few days ago that she was retiring to Devonshire with Hurst. I wondered then what you would do.”
“I realised that this season in London would not be to my liking, so I decided to bring it to the country. We shall have fun here, Charles.”
“We?”
“Yes,” Caroline said confidently, “we will have house parties and balls. We will fill this house with friends from London and bring high society to this backwater town. We will not require the local gentry to sustain us with companionship for we will bring our own.”
They went inside the mansion and Bingley directed her into his study bypassing the more formal drawing room.
“Really? Interesting,” Bingley said opening a drawer in his desk and taking a letter from inside it. “I wonder what would drive you from London at the beginning of the season...” He said nonchalantly, “It must have been monumental.”
Caroline sat down and made herself comfortable, “may we have some tea? I am fatigued from travelling.”
Bingley pulled the bell pull and waited for the servant to come. He ordered tea and waited until it arrived to deliver his verdict. Once they were both comfortable drinking the restorative tea, he said,
“I received a rather unpleasant letter from Darcy only yesterday.”
Caroline shrugged her shoulders, “Mr Darcy can have nothing to say that would interest me.”
“Well, well, well,” Bingley said sarcastically, “that would be a complete departure from how you have felt for the last five years.”
Caroline tried to show indifference but her pink colour gave her away. “I realised at last, that I want something different than Mr Darcy. He would not suit me and I fear that Lady Anne would interfere with our happiness.”
Bingley laughed and it did not sound pleasant to Caroline’s ears.
“Well, whether you are interested in the letter or not makes no difference to me. You will hear my terms if you wish to stay here, or you can go to Aunt Agatha in Scarborough, I actually do not care what you choose.”
“Your terms?”
“Yes, Caroline, my terms; you did not think that you could burn every single bridge from here to London, upset every one of our acquaintances and then return here as if nothing happened, did you?”
“What did Mr Darcy tell you? What could he possibly have to say that would give you the impression that I have burned bridges?”
“Well, let us start with your letter to Miss Bennet, shall we? How dare you, Caroline, to use Miss Darcy’s name for some foul machination, your invention to destroy my precious friendship not only with Miss Bennet but also with the Darcys?”
Caroline did suspect that her brother would end up hearing about the unfortunate letter, so she had prepared for it, “I did not use Miss Darcy’s name, Charles.
I mentioned her name with the hope of a future relationship with you, because I truly believe that you two could make a very special alliance.
She is a sweet and unassuming young lady and her character would fit with yours perfectly. ”
Bingley harrumphed, “neatly stated Caroline, you obviously had time to rehearse your lines to perfection.”
“But Charles, Miss Bennet is…”
“Spare me, I beg you.” Bingley shouted angrily taking Caroline by surprise and making her jump in her seat.
He continued, enraged, “I am not interested in what you have to say about Miss Bennet or your crazy, misguided and devilish idea that I would abandon her for a mere child.”
Caroline sunk back in her seat; she had never witnessed so much anger in her brother before. She dug a handkerchief from her reticule and pretended to dry tears.
“She has turned you against me. Next she will advise you to abandon me altogether and I will have nowhere to go.”
“You are such a manipulative woman. And therefore you believe that every other woman is like you. But let me inform you that Miss Bennet has never mentioned your name to me, not even in passing since I returned to Hertfordshire, neither in a good or bad way. Obviously if such a lovely creature has nothing positive to say about another human being she will not say anything at all.”
Instead of replying Caroline looked at him defiantly.
Bingley glared back at her, “here are my terms, Caroline, and you have until tomorrow morning to decide. Not one minute longer.”
“What are they?” She asked, losing her courage.
“If you wish to stay at Netherfield... as my guest, not my hostess, you will visit the Bennets first thing tomorrow morning. There you will beg Miss Bennet for her forgiveness. If you cannot do it in truth I will not accept it. After that you will visit every family in the neighbourhood, all four and twenty of them, to make friends with the ladies, young and old. This is simply because if you do not you will be completely alone, for I will not have a single one of your insincere friends visiting my house… ever!”
Caroline paled to the very root of her hair. “And if I do not agree?”
“You will be shipped to Scarborough tomorrow. After that I will release your dowry to your own care and will wash my hands of any responsibility for you. Then I will have nothing more to do with you from this day forward.”
“You will banish me?”
“If you refuse my terms, you will banish yourself.”
“I will consider it,” she whispered.
“Good,” Bingley said firmly, “in the meantime you will remain in your room, your trunks will not be emptied and your dinner will come to your bedchamber tonight.”
Caroline stood up and walked to the door, and then she turned, “Charles, whatever I did, I did because I care about you.”
“I release you, Caroline, from this weird kind of care; go and care about me no more, please.” He said poking the fire without turning back to look at her.
***
As requested, Caroline stayed in her room and considered her options.
Firstly, asking Miss Bennet for forgiveness and admitting that she, Miss Caroline Bingley, had stooped so low as to try to deceive her, trick her with the most outrageous falsehood would be an intolerable humiliation of the highest degree.
Secondly, making friends with the local gentry would not only be an affront to her position in society, it would be the end of her ambitions.
For in London she was somebody, or so she thought; in Hertfordshire she would be a footnote, at best, married to goodness knows who.
Who would she marry if she stayed in Meryton? The Lucas’ heir? The Goulding’s?
She shivered.
Thirdly, to remain and witness Miss Bennet's triumph would complete her humiliation.
The local chit might marry Charles, leaving Caroline subject to the civility, and, in some measure, the authority, of a sister-in-law she considered infinitely beneath her.
That insipid young woman could contribute nothing of consequence either to herself or to her brother.
Yet Charles seemed determined to pursue her, and so he might.
No, as much as she was aggrieved to lose her brother, she could not stay.
If she stayed in Hertfordshire her life would go from insignificant to non-existent. As pathetic as she might be in London, she still had connections, while if her brother released her dowry she would be an independent woman of means.
No, she would not humiliate herself any further. If Charles did not want her, she would find one who did and had the good sense to appreciate her, or at least appreciate her money.
***
Before Bingley was up for the day the carriage taking Miss Bingley back to London was already on its way.
She left a note:
Dear Charles,
I wish I could conform to your wishes and accept your terms, but I cannot.
After much consideration I have come to the conclusion that my fate is not in Hertfordshire and my happiness lies elsewhere.
I will be staying at Dorant’s Hotel in London until you release my funds. I am of age and do not wish to be managed by a relative. It is time I take my life back and direct it the way I wish it to go.
I wish you all the best,
Yours sincerely,
Caroline