Second Glances: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Continues (Tales of Less Pride and Prejudice) (12 page)

“No!” she cried. “It is just that I am so unprepared to be a great lady! I have none of the accomplishments I ought, let alone having the slightest notion of how to run a large household! You do not know what it was like at Mrs. Rivers – more than one girl was apt to tease me for my lack of education! And then Sir James is so very brilliant, is he not?”

Elizabeth hid a smile. “He seems very intelligent.”

“I never knew anyone who spoke of such things as he does – art and travel and science – or at least they never spoke of them to me! He even makes politics interesting, and never did I believe that to be possible!”

She could not contain her laughter, “That is a good thing, my dear Kitty! You should be happy to have met someone whom you can so admire!”

“Oh, no! You see, he seems to think I understand the things he does, or that I will with a bit of assistance, but I am sure that I will not, Lizzy! If I were intelligent, like you, would I not know it?”

“According to a very famous philosopher of ancient Greece –”

“Plato?” asked Kitty eagerly.

“No!” answered a surprised Elizabeth. “His teacher, Socrates.”

“Oh yes! Sir James told me of him after finding I knew nothing of the Classics.”

“Well it was Socrates,” persisted an impressed Elizabeth, “who said that true wisdom could only be gained through acknowledging one’s own ignorance, or something along those lines. Perhaps you are the most astute Bennet sister, for you are not misled into believing yourself more knowing than you really are. I’m sure to suffer for my own arrogance someday, I have no doubt.”

“Oh, no!” Kitty protested again, but the notion provided some comfort. She had discussed it with Sir James that evening, and both delighted in the fact that it was she who initiated such a discussion as ancient philosophy. She was feeling more and more at ease with him – more easy with him, in fact, than she had ever felt with anyone but Georgiana. In a few days the party would leave London to spend the Easter holiday at Rosings, and the girls shared hopes that they would be engaged before their departure.

At present she missed Georgiana, who was attending an exhibition with her brother while Elizabeth played host to Mrs. Wickham. When together, the young ladies could bask in their mutual condition, acutely aware of each reference, scent, or subject that reminded the other of her fine gentlemen. Yet as she listened to Mrs. Wickham, who was attempting to ingratiate Elizabeth, she could be thankful Georgiana was spared the experience.

“It must be so gratifying to you, Mrs. Darcy, excellent reader that you are, to have such a delightful library at Pemberley. Such a fine collection, and Mr. Darcy always adding to it!”

“In days such as these, with so many volumes in print, neglect of a family library is incomprehensible,” came the cool reply.

“Neglect! I am sure you neglect nothing that can add to the beauties of that noble place. I urged Charles to purchase in the neighborhood and build with Pemberley as a kind of model – did I not, Jane? – but he was so taken with Valeside that he bought it before seeking my advice.”

Jane smiled, “Charles might be spontaneous at times, but we are so very happy there that I cannot fault him for it.”

“Certainly not!” declared Elizabeth. “It is just the place for you, though nothing at all like Pemberley.”

Mrs. Wickham looked as if she had more to share on the subject, but just then a maid brought in several missives, only just arrived. Two of these were addressed to Miss Bennet.

“Why, they are from Lydia!” she exclaimed, studying the direction.

“Two letters from Lydia! Our sister never wrote so much in her life.”

“It looks as though one was misdirected, not surprising as her handwriting is most illegible,” she said while breaking the seal. “It is a wonder any of her letters arrive.” As she read its contents, her countenance dropped its bloom, replaced by a nervous pallor.

“What is it, my dear Kitty?” asked Jane in concern.

“Maria Lucas wrote to Lydia to tell of a strange man of fashionable appearance who had been visiting with my parents for some few days. He was seen in church, and rumor had it that it was me who brought him there. Lydia demands to know who it was … Lizzy?” she pleaded with her sister. “It could not have been Sir James, could it?”

Stonily she replied, “Perhaps you better read your second letter.”

Proceeding as directed, Kitty quickly perused the missive, growing shock clearly registered on her face. She stood still a moment before glancing around at the ladies about her, all of whose attention was entirely focused upon her. “Excuse me,” she said softly, hastily making her way to the door as tears began to fall.

“I must go to her!” declared Jane, following her younger sister out of the room, leaving a most uncomfortable silence in her wake.

Though highly conscious of the presence of a woman with whom she had no desire to share familial business, Elizabeth could not wait to see her gone before possessing herself of Kitty’s abandoned letter and making the contents her own. Scanning it quickly, she found her suspicions confirmed:

My Dear Kitty,

I wish you joy. If you love your baronet well enough to marry him, you will be very happy, I’m sure. Cornwall is a devilishly lonely place. I’d vastly prefer the excitement of Bath, but I am not one to marry for titles and riches alone. You will enjoy your precedence over your sisters, though you may have to walk behind me yet. You are not the only one to have secret lovers, you know.

Yrs, &c.

Over her shoulder, Caroline could just make enough sense out of the last two lines to draw her own conclusions. When Elizabeth spun around to find her guest so nearby, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You must excuse us, Mrs. Wickham,” she said rather more coldly than she truly intended, “but it looks as though this sisterly convergence must come to an end for the day. Miss Bennet has received some upsetting news, though it is not of great consequence. As you must know, she is in excitable circumstances.”

Caroline curtseyed demurely. “Of course you will join us, Mrs. Darcy, in a fortnight, when we meet again at the Hurst’s, will you not? It is so nice to have this quiet time together? Family ties are so important to maintain, as I was saying just the other day to my friend, Miss Beaumont. She, of course, agrees entirely. Do you know the Beaumonts, Mrs. Darcy? I am sure you and my dear Eustacia would be quite to each others liking. You must allow me to make the introductions!”

“I am afraid, Mrs. Wickham, that I have little thought to extending my acquaintance at this moment, as my time is already overly engaged. Indeed, I am afraid that Miss Darcy and I are already expected elsewhere on the morning in question, making it impossible for us to enjoy your hospitality. Perhaps another time.”

“I will anticipate the pleasure, Mrs. Darcy. My regards to Jane and Miss Bennet – I hope dear Catherine is feeling better soon!” and she departed with grace, her bruised feelings at Elizabeth’s snub held well in check.

Having disposed of the unwanted visitor, Elizabeth repaired upstairs to Kitty’s room, where one distraught sister wept on the sympathetic shoulder of the other. Upon noticing her arrival, Kitty abandoned Jane’s arms in order to renew her sobs in Elizabeth’s. “Oh Lizzy!” she cried. “And I finally thought I could trust him! What does this mean? Why would he go to Longbourn and not say a word to me about it?”

“Calm down, Kitty. Sir James had very good reasons, I am sure, but his actions were most misguided. I should let him explain himself, as I know he always intended to.”

Kitty drew back and starred at her sister in surprise. “You knew this all the time and said not a word?”

“Sir James confided in Fitzwilliam, and when questioned, he told me. No one intended to deceive you, my dear, but Sir James did not know the kind of excitement his presence would rouse in my mother. Upon learning the truth, he was guided by my father in keeping the entire journey a secret. Mama was sworn to not tell a soul, but apparently she did not feel that included writing to Lydia on the subject,” Elizabeth sighed. “I am sorry for my role in keeping this information from you, Kitty, but it truly seemed the best thing to be done. We did not want you to feel coerced.”

“So you all conspired against me?” She looked to Jane and saw her innocence, but this knowledge did little to quell her ire. While Kitty had been known to sulk and pout in younger days, she had never displayed signs of a temper to her family, yet now she lashed out fiercely. “How could you, Lizzy? How could Mr. Darcy!” she cried. “You both allowed me think he was someone he was not! I knew how dangerous it was to trust him, but you all thought so highly of him, and he seemed so sincere! Why did I ever let down my guard?” She threw herself upon her bed and cried afresh into the pillow.

“I am so sorry, my dear! I knew it was wrong, as did Mr. Darcy, but it seemed worse not to give a man so passionately in love the opportunity to prove himself. And he is a very good man, Kitty, if impetuous. He will explain himself, but he really did believe that going to Longbourn was the best thing to be done, as he was unsure of how else to prove to you the unfeigned nature of his feelings!”

“I do not even know him,” she responded in distress. “I have fallen in love with a man who doesn’t exist!”

“Fiddlesticks!” replied Elizabeth, who, if already in disgrace with her sister, saw no reason to beat about the bush. “He is exactly what you know him to be, Kitty! Sir James is not one to present himself as anything less than his full blown self! You know how hard it has been for him to contain his ardor for you – do not throw such love away. It is far too precious!”

“Lizzy is right, my dear,” seconded Jane in a placating tone of voice. “I do not think there is anything Mr. Bingley could have done during our courtship, no matter how much it hurt me, for which I would not forgive him. Sir James had a very good reason for behaving as he did, I am sure, and holding grudges for past actions does nothing but lead to future unhappiness.”

Elizabeth looked a bit shameful at these last words, as they reminded her rather too strongly of the dismissive manner with which she had just treated Mrs. Wickham, who deserved some attention, if not for her own merits, then as the sister of Mr. Bingley. Storing such notions away for future consideration, she avidly supported Jane’s sentiments, pleading passionately for Kitty to give Sir James the opportunity to explain himself at the soonest opportunity. “You expect him tomorrow morning, do you not?”

Kitty sniffed, somewhat calmer, “We were to go riding,” but this thought brought about a return of her distress, as she remembered how much progress she had been making in equestrian pursuits under Sir James’ tutelage, just as he predicted. All three sisters spent an unknown amount of time closeted together, the two eldest persistently urging Kitty to do nothing rash until she spoke with Sir James. By the time she had composed herself and agreed to their demands, Georgiana and Mr. Darcy had long been home, each alive with curiosity as to what happened to cause such uproar while they were gone. Elizabeth sought him as soon as she saw Kitty reasonably composed, and shared with him the contents of her sister’s letter.

“I do not know what is to be done for Kitty and Sir James,” she lamented, “but we must hope she sees reason and gives him another chance. A man like Sir James, especially when he is in love, should not be refused, but I think we must consider Lydia and what her words portend. Ought we take this business of ‘secret lovers’ seriously?”

Darcy studied the missive, possession of which Elizabeth had retained. “I cannot imagine her to be in earnest,” he concluded. “The entire composition smacks of spleen. If she does have some flirtation or another, as even without her boasting of it we may reasonably suppose she does, Mrs. Rivers surely knows. Besides, what sort of gentleman would snatch a girl away from her school? It is impossible!”

Elizabeth looked dubious. “You assume she refers to a gentleman.”

“Your sister surely knows better than to entertain anything less, that much we can credit her sense. Still, I will write to Mrs. Rivers a warning, especially if it will insure your peace of mind, only I do not see when I have a moment to do so before our departure. Sir James will be here in the morning, and he surely comes with the intention of securing a bride. If the outcome continues to look so very bleak for him, I must be there for support.”

“Certainly! I would expect you to do no less for your friend. I am sure the letter can be sent from Rosings to as much affect as it can from here,” and there they let the matter stand.

Is it not unfortunate that reality only bears that resemblance to melodrama which adherents of the genre force upon it? Not everything, including the collapse of a great romance, need evoke excessive passion, even when the participants are persons of deep feeling, like our hero and heroine. Yet considering that neither were disinclined towards the sensational, and given the perfection of this opportunity to enact a tidy duodrama, I fear that mundane truth will prove disappointing.

When Sir James and Mr. Brooks set off for Curzon Street Tuesday morning, the latter little expected the reception he would receive. As the ladies had divined (the gentleman, in their defense, had not striven for strict secrecy), they both intended to make their formal proposals prior to their beloved’s departure the following day. As they had done almost everything together all their lives, it was natural to plot and plan their respective declarations, and both hoped to convince the ladies to make it a double wedding in the very chapel where they had been baptized. Sir James was more confident in the outcome than Mr. Brooks, though he was concerned about having to explain how he had already obtained her father’s permission. She would be angry, that he knew, but he was certain that she would forgive him. “There is simply nothing I have ever been more thoroughly convinced of, Simon, than that Miss Bennet will be my partner in this life,” he explained when questioned.