Follies and Nonsense Page 25
“My correspondence reports that all of Mr. Wickham’s stories hold a grain of truth but he twists the tales to make himself the victim and you the purveyor of his misfortunes. The young ladies he has disgraced and deserted caused great heartache in Derbyshire. While he has a wholesome countenance, there is no goodness in him.”
Darcy gazed upon Elizabeth with such relief in his eyes that she thought he might begin to cry. She reached out a hand and almost touched his cheek but pulled back as Darcy’s breath caught in his chest.
A frown on her face, Elizabeth said, “Sir, I must tell you that I would not have come or allowed my sister to attend this supper if I had known Mr. Wickham was to be here. You show very poor judgment to include him in our party tonight. Your friend Mr. Bingley does not look pleased that Mr. Wickham is a guest in his house this evening. It was very wrong to bring him among your friends.”
Darcy nodded, “I shall apologize to Bingley once he is gone as I apologize to you now. But it was done to secure the man’s attentions and to remove him from the neighbourhood.”
“Secure his attentions? Mr. Darcy, you should have considered Mr. Bingley’s feelings in this matter,” Elizabeth replied. “I am very uncomfortable to be at table with him as would any of the guests if they knew his past.”
“It is only for one evening and does not signify,” Darcy said, ignoring her discomfort. “Shall we go into supper? They will wonder where we are.”
When they entered the dining room, everyone else was already seated.
“Darcy! We were about to send the footman to rescue Mrs. Hamilton,” Wickham said as he leaned closer to Miss Bingley seated at his left. Miss Lincoln at his right giggled and turned to Colonel Foster.
After seating Elizabeth next to Mr. Hurst, Darcy took his seat on her other side next to Mrs. Hurst and the servants brought the first course.
During the meal, Wickham flirted with the ladies on either side and Darcy noted that Charles kept Miss Bennet’s attentions to himself alone.
Elizabeth was polite but not the usual talkative dinner partner and matters took a turn for the worse when Mr. Wickham addressed the gentlemen seated at the opposite end of the table that everyone could hear.
“I say Darcy, have the ladies from Longbourn explained their connection to your aunt, Lady Catherine?” Darcy glanced at Elizabeth and Jane Bennet who stopped eating to attend to Mr. Wickham’s words.
“Of what connection do you speak, sir?” Jane asked from her place closer to Mr. Wickham.
“I mean your cousin, Mr. Collins.”
“How is Mr. Collins connected to my aunt?” asked Darcy; Mr. Wickham grinned in amusement, egged along by Miss Bingley’s comments.
“Our father’s cousin, Mr. William Collins, has been made rector of the living at Hunsford in Kent by Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” Elizabeth explained from Mr. Darcy’s side. “He has returned to Kent now and we hope he remains there for a considerable length of time before returning for another visit.”
“But Mrs. Hamilton,” Caroline said most eagerly, “Mr. Wickham reports that Mr. Collins spread the tale around the inn that he came into Hertfordshire in search of a wife from among his cousins as the particular wish of his patroness.”
She looked across the table to Jane. “And Mr. Collins particularly mentioned Miss Bennet as the loveliest of his many cousins to many people in Meryton. When are we to wish you joy, Miss Bennet?”
Elizabeth sat forward, preparing to come to Jane’s defence when her sister spoke up, clearly and loudly. “Miss Bingley, are you daft? What woman with any sense would attach her future to a man such as Mr. Collins? He is nothing but a fool.”
“But he offers a secure future for his wife,” Caroline argued. “She would be mistress of Longbourn.”
“Then I shall write to him tomorrow by express and tell him of your interest Miss Bingley,” Jane said coldly. “He will return and marry you within a fortnight of receipt of the letter. But I warn you, he will ruin Longbourn within three seasons when he inherits the estate!”
Turning bright red, Caroline said, “Marry Mr. Collins? Miss Bennet you are his cousin. By marrying him, you would maintain your position in society while remaining within the familiar sphere of society.”
Jane’s eyes narrowed and her lips grew thin as she restrained herself from saying more. Charles cleared his throat and Mrs. Hurst as hostess summoned the servants to remove the dishes and serve the dessert. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Hurst looked disappointed because they had not completed the current course and they enjoyed the exchange between the ladies seated on either side of Charles Bingley.
During the dessert, Wickham flirted with Caroline; Jane silently kept her attention on her plate and did not speak further with Mr. Bingley. Darcy turned toward Elizabeth but she was angry as well and turned her head away from him when he attempted to renew their conversation. At the head of the table, Mrs. Hurst attempted to guide the conversation toward the upcoming wedding of Miss Lincoln and Colonel Foster while Caroline and Wickham made light of the tense atmosphere at the table.
++**++
“You seem quite taken with Miss Bingley,” Fitzwilliam said when the gentlemen retired from the dining room for brandy and cigars in the library.
“Not so sir, I am merely congenial with the sister of my host. The lady is entirely too old for my taste,” Wickham confided to Colonel Fitzwilliam. “I have found that as a spinster slides onto the shelf, she leaps at any chance to fall off rather than be left there permanently.”
“Do all ladies succumb to your smile, Wickham?” the colonel asked.
“Come colonel, let us not speak of the ladies tonight,” Wickham said to change the subject. “I would rather hear of the next battles with Napoleon. When do we fight the French next year?”
From the windows overlooking the gardens on the west side of the house, Darcy listened to the banter between his cousin and Wickham. He caught the expression on Charles Bingley’s face – the man was not happy to have Wickham in his house.
“I don’t like him near Elizabeth either,” Darcy admitted to himself. “But this one night will close the trap and he will be under Fitzwilliam’s command within the week.”
Hurst engaged Bingley in discussion of horses and when Fitzwilliam joined that conversation, Wickham moved closer to Darcy.
“Well Darcy, I have come to dinner as requested,” Wickham began. “Will you follow through with the commission so I may join the regulars?”
Glancing toward the speaker only momentarily, Darcy turned his face back toward the mirrored surface of the window before he said, “It is a certainty once you affix your signature to the enlistment papers Wickham. My draft will purchase the commission and raise your position much higher than your current prospects will ever offer.”
“Thank you,” Wickham replied with sincerity in his tone that would have convinced most other men that he possessed an honest character. He waited a moment longer before beginning. “There are certain matters of debt that have to be settled also.”
Darcy turned to face Wickham, his scowl darkening appropriately. “None in Meryton – I have been here too short a time. But in town, a matter of a thousand pounds should satisfy my debtors.”
“Not more than two hundred,” Darcy replied. “For eight hundred more, I can buy…”
“Buy what Darcy?” Wickham asked. “A good name for your sister?”
Fitzwilliam joined the conversation and pushed between the two men before Darcy lost his temper. “Supper with the gentry is not a good time to make deals, Lt. Wickham. Your captaincy is not yet bought and paid for so do not antagonize your patron.”
“Of course, Colonel Fitzwilliam,” Wickham said with a sneer. “We mustn’t inconvenience Mr. Darcy, but you know this for you have been at his beck and call for many a year.”
Fitzwilliam only smiled as Bingley, Mr. Hurst and Colonel Foster joined them with small glasses of brandy.
“Gentlemen, let us toast Colonel Foster and Miss Lincoln,”
Bingley called, as the footman offered a tray with glasses for the last three gentlemen. Once the toast was complete, Mr. Bingley said, “Now we return to the ladies for we have been separated long enough.”
++**++
At the door to the parlour, the gentlemen found Mrs. Hurst waiting with Mrs. Hamilton and Miss Bennet.
“Forgive us Mr. Bingley,” Jane said. “My sister has developed a headache and we must return home.”
Charles looked crushed to be losing Jane’s company so early in the evening but he remained a pleasing host. “Of course, Miss Bennet; allow me to summon your carriage.”
“I have already sent to the stables,” Mrs. Hurst replied. “The ladies did not retire to the parlour.”
“Then please allow me to escort you to the carriage.”
Jane looked up and her eyes threatened to fill with tears as she said, “I would appreciate the kindness Mr. Bingley.”
When Darcy stepped forward to offer Elizabeth his arm, she stepped away from him and took Mr. Bingley’s other arm. Darcy compressed his lips but said nothing and returned to the parlour to continue dealing with Wickham.
“How very odd for the ladies from Longbourn to desert us; I do hope Mrs. Hamilton’s headache is not too severe,” Caroline remarked with false concern. When none of the gentlemen responded to her comment, she turned to the remaining guests. “Miss Lincoln, do you play the pianoforte?”
“No, Miss Bingley, I have no such accomplishments. But if you would play, I am certain the colonel and I would be pleased to hear you.”
During the performance, Caroline noticed that Mr. Wickham moved to sit beside Mrs. Lincoln and remained by her side the rest of the evening.
++**++
Once Colonel Foster and his party departed; Caroline and Mr. and Mrs. Hurst removed to their apartments for the evening. When they had disappeared above stairs, Bingley did not hesitate before saying, “Darcy, Fitzwilliam, I shall speak with you in the library now.”
“Tonight, Mr. Bingley?” Fitzwilliam asked, surprised to be summoned for an interview this late in the evening.
“As your host, I insist that you attend me for a few moments. It is imperative that you hear my opinion of you both.” Not waiting for the gentlemen nor caring that the servants had overheard the statement, Bingley walked away, leaving the two cousins to follow him into the library. Once the door was closed, Charles turned on the two men.
“How dare you bring that man into my house! Into any house where ladies of good reputation were to dine! And to do so without any notice – I open my door and find the vile man upon my stoop at your invitation!” Charles roared. “You tell me the bastard attempted to seduce Miss Darcy and left her on the streets in Brighton but you bring him to dine with Miss Bennet and the other ladies at the table!”
“Bingley, we knew what we were about,” Darcy replied. “He will enlist in the regulars and then fall under Colonel Fitzwilliam’s command.”
“And I shall take him into battle with the French,” Fitzwilliam explained.
Charles took several deep breaths to cool his anger but when he saw the complete lack of understanding in Darcy’s eyes, he said, “You do not understand, do you Darcy. This is my home. How would you have reacted if without so much as a ‘by your leave’, I brought Wickham to dinner at Pemberley or your house in town with Miss Darcy at the table?”
Drawing back at the notion of Wickham dining at Pemberley or the house in Mayfair with Georgiana, Darcy cried, “Charles, it is not the same thing!”
“It is exactly the same thing! You are my guest and yet you fail to consult me before bringing him into my home!” Charles retorted. “And Wickham affronted both Miss Bennet and Mrs. Hamilton at dinner!”
“With the assistance of your sister!” Darcy noted.
Charles grew even angrier now, “And I have to regulate Caroline constantly without you bringing that black-hearted scoundrel into my home and allowing him to stir the pot.”
“Mr. Bingley, we shall apologize to the ladies tomorrow,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said.
“I care little for your willingness to apologize to the ladies or to me after such ill-use of a friendship,” Charles said. “I believe – I insist – that you both leave my house in the morning.”
Darcy stared at Charles for a long moment and the colonel blushed with shame to be dismissed from the home of an acquaintance.
“Charles, surely you are not serious!” Darcy asked.
“I want you gone before my family breaks their fast in the morning. Your lack of consideration for a friend’s feelings reveals a side of you that I have ignored or chosen not to see before Darcy.”
“I hope to win Miss Bennet’s hand for she already possesses my heart and you bring such a man to my table where she is insulted!” Bingley shook his head, “I cannot allow such lack of consideration for the feelings of others in my home!”
“This treatment will create a break!” Darcy said, his anger threatening to rise.
“Darcy, do you really think that breaking with you would end my life? Is your company so valuable that the loss is equal to invasion by the French?” Charles shook his head. “We have been friends for ten years and I have long known that you do not consider the feelings or wishes of others, but such disregard within my own home is not to be born.”
Blinking in surprise, Darcy glanced at his cousin who refused to meet his eye.
“Our agents know each other and our business ventures will continue through them until we can untangle them. But as of tonight, our friendship is finished,” Bingley said before he walked to the door and opened it, ushering the two men from the library.
++**++
Chapter 30.
Mr. Darcy Apologises
In the morning, Netherfield’s servants were busy as Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam departed with the rising sun. When Mr. and Mrs. Hurst came downstairs, the gentlemen had been gone two hours complete. Louisa and Geoffrey found a silent Charles drinking his coffee and reading the previous day’s paper that had been delivered with the post from London. When the morning post arrived, Charles looked through the letters and separated the stack for Mr. Darcy.
“Simmons, have these sent to Mr. Darcy at his Mayfair address in London,” he told the butler.
“Forgive me sir, but I believe the two gentlemen were going to the White Pig in Meryton,” the butler replied.
“Send them to Meryton today with a note that all future letters will be sent to Mayfair in London,” Charles replied as Louisa and Geoffrey exchanged glances. When they remained silent, Charles looked up and informed them, “I insisted that Darcy and Fitzwilliam leave. They brought that Mr. Wickham into my house without any notice.”
“What did Wickham do that was so bad?” asked Geoffrey.
Now Charles frowned and said, “I cannot relate the particulars but he should never be allowed to be in company with any ladies!”
“Surely Darcy and Fitzwilliam did not know this,” Louisa said. “I knew you were upset last night Charles, but Mr. Darcy has been your friend these many years.”
“The gentlemen knew! They are the ones who told me of his evilness. But they have some scheme to remove him from Meryton and their plan included bringing him into my house without any consideration for my opinion. I have never been so ill-used by a friend in my life,” he replied. “I have broken with Darcy and will not speak of him again.”
++**++
Later when Caroline swept into the dining room, she found it deserted. The footman reported that he did not know the location of Mr. Bingley and then surprised her by telling her that Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam had both departed before breakfast that morning.
“Have they gone on a ride?” she asked, but when the footman turned toward Mr. Simmons, the butler, Caroline approached the man and insisted that he explain.
“Very early this morning, Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam left Netherfield with their trunks, their horses and their valets. They have departed the house, miss.”
“Did Mr. Darcy say when he would return?” she asked.
Mr. Simmons replied, “I believe that Mr. Bingley insisted the gentlemen leave and not return, Miss Bingley.”
“Insisted they leave? Not return?” Caroline cried. “Where is my sister? Where is Mrs. Hurst? We are ruined!”
“Mrs. Hurst is sewing in the small parlour, miss.”
For once Caroline managed to open and close the doors of the rooms herself as she fled to her sister for consolation.
++**++
Elizabeth was walking in the rose garden outside of her father’s library, the bare canes of the bushes poking through the heavy mulch that the gardener had piled around each plant to help them through the winter. The rose hips had been gathered and they were stored in the still room, and the last of the leaves were gone to the fires that burned away any disease that might otherwise linger, waiting for new growth in the spring.
“I should plan a rose garden for Mount Pleasant,” she thought but nothing interested her this morning. She continued wandering around the garden, when she heard the sounds of a rider approaching the house.
Wondering if it could be Mr. Darcy, she walked around the house to find Mr. Bingley dismounting and handing the reigns to one of the stable boys. Pushing down her disappointment, she continued forward and when Bingley saw Elizabeth approaching him, he removed his hat and bowed.
“Mrs. Hamilton, I have come this morning to offer my sincere apologies for any unpleasantness that you may have experienced at Netherfield last night.”
“Mr. Bingley, you owe no one an apology but I am glad to see you this morning,” she replied reaching out a hand in greeting. “Will you come inside? I am certain that my sister will be pleased to see you.”
“Truly, Mrs. Hamilton? I feared that Caroline and Mr. Wickham might have offended Miss Bennet and cost me her kind regard.”
“No, Mr. Bingley, my sister is capable of withstanding the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. She fears that she might have offended you with her words to Miss Bingley.”