Second Glances: A Tale of Less Pride and Prejudice Continues (Tales of Less Pride and Prejudice) (14 page)

He sat at his desk with his head resting in his hands, but he looked up when the door opened and, perceiving Elizabeth, reached out his arms to her. She hurried into his embrace.

“Oh Fitzwilliam!” she cried. “It is ghastly, is it not?”

“I suppose we should not be entirely surprised. We suspected her condition, remember? When no announcement followed, we might have expected something was wrong.”

“I am so sorry she did not call for me! I should have been there to nurse my dear Jane!”

“It sounds as if Bingley took that responsibility upon himself,” Mr. Darcy said, pride in his friend penetrating his sadness. “Some things, perhaps, are best kept between husband and wife, no matter how close the sister.”

She sighed and hugged herself. “Do you think they left town because it would be too painful for Jane to see me growing amidst their loss?”

“It’s possible,” he replied softly, “but I am sure, if so, that she will feel differently soon. Time, no matter how great the loss, weakens the hurt.”

She knew he thought of his parents’ deaths. “I am so fortunate to never have experienced such tragedy.”

He held her closer. “If such a thing were to happen to you, Elizabeth, I do not know how I should cope. The very thought makes me ill. Poor Bingley!”

“We must not think such thoughts. Let this remind us to never take our blessings for granted. Life is too precious to hold it cheaply, or waste it fearing what may or may not be.”

“You are right, my wise Lizzy. We shall waste it far more profitably in Aunt Catherine’s company. Let us be on our way. You are feeling well enough to travel, are you not?”

She smiled wanly. “My ailments seem trivial indeed. I shall be perfectly fine, and should my nausea return, I will welcome it as a sign that all is well.”

“I will remind you of that, two hours hence.”

He did not. There was no need. Thoughts of Jane had driven off Elizabeth’s physical complaints faster than any elixir. What they could not do was render her traveling companions less tedious. Mr. Darcy either slept or pretended to sleep, Kitty sighed out the window, and Georgiana tore out the same bit of crochet, over and over again. By the time they reached Rosings, all were glad to escape the carriage, but relief did not render them any less dull a party. Miss Anne de Bourgh, who had been waiting excitedly for their arrival, immediately caught the mournful air of the arriving company, their pallor overcoming her at once. Lady Catherine did not perceive it until all were seated in the drawing room, partaking of their tea.

“Well! A fine collection of company you are, letting me ask the same question repeatedly with not an answer amongst you! What has cast you all down so? I quite expected you to arrive in triumph, if all I have heard is true.”

The Darcys exchanged glances, silently deciding that Elizabeth should negotiate their path forward. “I expect you have heard of the very flattering attention Miss Darcy and my sister have been receiving, Aunt Catherine.”

“Very flattering to Miss Bennet, perhaps, but in Miss Darcy’s case I would rather call it suitable. So? What has come of it?”

“Very little, I am afraid. Periods of courtship must not be rushed.”

“Really, Elizabeth! When Sir James is involved, one cannot expect things to proceed according to form! Never have I known a more impetuous man, nor one more likely to wear his heart on his sleeve, once he lost it. Report was that he had,” she stared fixedly at Kitty, who blushed hotly under the inspection, “but I see he must have bestowed his affections elsewhere.”

“Mother!” cried a scandalized Anne, observing their young guest close to tears. “You are upsetting Miss Bennet!”

“It is understandable that she is upset, but you must not show it outside your family, Miss Bennet! Such a match would have been a notable triumph, I grant you, but a girl in your situation really shouldn’t set her sights so high. How about you, Georgiana? Will you accept Simon Brooks?”

“Aunt Catherine,” Mr. Darcy began to interpose, but Georgiana stayed him, speaking in her own defense.

“Mr. Brooks has been so good as to ask me to marry him,” she spoke primly, “and I have told him I cannot at this time.”

“Oh Georgiana!” moaned Kitty, having been so intent on her own sufferings that she had not noticed her friend’s, or at least not long enough to ascertain what sacrifice had been made on her behalf.

“Well, I cannot say I do not understand you, Georgiana,” Lady Catherine said. “While Mr. Brooks would be a perfectly acceptable match, you might meet someone far higher. A lady of your position need not accept the first offer she receives.”

“I could not accept him at this time,” Georgiana continued grandly, “because my dearest friend in the world was suffering terribly, having been forced to reject the man she most admires.”

“What is this?” demanded Lady Catherine. “If I understand you correctly, Georgiana, you young ladies have been enacting the most ridiculous romantic farce I have ever born witness to! Did Sir James Stratton propose to you, Miss Bennet?”

“Yes, ma’am,” responded a cowering Kitty.

“And you rejected him?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Are you a fool, girl?” bellowed the irate lady.

Quivering from head to toe, Kitty looked to her companions, suddenly seeing her decision in a new light. “Yes!” she declared in defeated tones. “There can be no doubt. I must be the stupidest lady in the kingdom!” and she ran from the room, past protesting siblings, and sought solace somewhere in the glorious immensity of the park.

“How could you, Aunt Catherine?” cried an incensed Georgiana before following her friend, leaving a burdened Darcy and Elizabeth to try and rectify such a disastrous arrival.

“How could you allow her to reject him, Fitzwilliam!” their hostess demanded. “She was in your charge, Elizabeth, and I thought you would advise her better! I insist you tell me which of you is most to blame!”

“Aunt Catherine,” Darcy said soothingly, “there was no advising her. We betrayed her trust, all of us, and she sought her own counsel. Let us sit down and I will tell you all.”

By the time the Darcys together had fully detailed the events of the last few weeks, it was well past time to prepare for dinner. The young ladies were found and sent to dress, and Lady Catherine, at the earnest request of her daughter, promised to not mention their respective romances again. As she had seldom ever had so much to say on a subject, Anne absorbed the bulk of her sentiments, sheltering their guests to some degree. Though the evening proceeded peacefully, a decided tension remained in the air throughout. Elizabeth excused herself early, eager to go to sleep and put the horrid day behind her.

While such momentous occurrences were occupying the Darcys, Mrs. Wickham was anxiously waiting to hear from her dear friend, Miss Eustacia Beaumont, who was visiting with friends in Twickenham. When she returned home Tuesday afternoon, it was to discover that Caroline had called no less than twice during her absence, leaving very eager messages insisting she had important news to convey. Such excitability evoked a bored sigh. While Miss Beaumont and Miss Bingley had been fast friends during their school days, the relationship had grown rather tedious. She had almost completely cut all ties to Caroline upon learning of her ill-conceived marriage. She found it more than a little galling that her intimate friend had thrown herself away on a penniless soldier of no family whatsoever, particularly because Caroline’s background was already less than genteel. The Beaumonts, squires to their little piece of England for longer than anyone could trace, valued lineage, and it was already unseemly that Eustacia associated with a tradesman’s daughter, no matter how agreeable her companionship. It was Mr. Bingley’s far more suitable marriage that preserved the friendship, particularly once she heard her brother declaring his love for the new Mrs. Bingley’s sister. Caroline had proved very helpful in ascertaining all the details of the Bennet family, and while she did not like the relationship to the Gardiners, as Mr. Darcy visited Cheapside regularly for the felicity of their companionship, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh was also known to have dined with them more than once, she would not cavil.

Eustacia was the elder child and felt it her duty to protect her rather foolish brother’s interests. He had inherited young, their father’s old friend Mr. Burke administering the estate until he came of age, and their mother, having rekindled a youthful passion for drawing, had little time or interest for tending to the affairs of her children. She found Miss Lydia Bennet a satisfactory match for Hugh – a good thing for the young couple, who would otherwise have found quite an obstacle in their path. She had met her in Bath, at Mr. Burke’s house, and was pleased with what she found, for she was just as silly as Hugh, and as a married couple they were sure to leave the running of Freningham to her, which was just what she wished. Miss Beaumont would remain mistress in all but name. Furthermore, his interest in Lydia kept Hugh away from London, where he had proved rather reckless in his behavior. Miss Bennet’s likely connection to Sir James Stratton was icing on the cake, confirming Eustacia’s very good opinion of Miss Lydia, and in her happiness it was gratifying to gloat with someone sure to be just as pleased with the situation as herself. Still, she little cared if Caroline succeeded in restoring her husband’s place in the Darcys’ affections, and so took little trouble to respond promptly to her inconvenient message. At breakfast the next morning she felt no more inclined to see Mrs. Wickham than she had the day before, and was just considering what sort of excuse might be used to put her off when the mail arrived, bringing a rare letter from Mr. Beaumont. Its contents prompted her to seek her friend with relative haste.

Caroline, rather annoyed to have not seen Miss Beaumont the day before, was gratified by her announcement at an hour earlier than fashionable. Furthermore, she looked harried, quite an uncommon thing for Eustacia, and Caroline relished her discomposure. “My dear, Eustacia! You are not yourself! Do sit down. Have you had your breakfast yet?”

“Yes, I have, Caroline. Let us be left in private. I have received the most alarming tidings from Hugh!”

“He has not eloped, has he?”

Miss Beaumont stared in shock. “Not yet, but how did you know? “

“My dear, that is why I wanted to see you! When I was with Mrs. Darcy on Monday, Miss Bennet received distressing news from Miss Lydia. It seems Sir James traveled to Longbourn against her will, or some such thing, but more important is that Miss Lydia is so desirous to be married before her sister that she threatens to elope with a ‘secret lover’! Of course, she meant your brother! I knew Miss Lydia would be just the sort to bring her family to grief the very first time I met her,” Caroline concluded with apparent glee.

Miss Beaumont looked at her askance. “You might have mentioned so much when we discussed her in the past! I would never have promoted the match had I thought it would come to this. They must be stopped! Indeed, I cannot think but he wrote to me in order to have the thing prevented in time. Miss Bennet thinks Gretna would be romantic, but she couldn’t be more wrong, and Hugh knows it. Beaumonts do not elope! It is unseemly!”

Caroline, having been married over the anvil herself, ignored this slight, asking eagerly, “What do you intend to do?”

“We must go to Mr. Darcy. He will know how to act!”

Caroline shook her head, “He and his entire household leave for Rosings Park this morning.”

“Then we must hurry and catch him before they depart,” she said as she rose.

“It will not do, Stacy,” replied a firm Caroline. “They planned to leave first thing and are surely already gone. We must seek Charles for assistance. He is just as much a brother to Miss Lydia as Mr. Darcy.”

“I have already been to the Bingleys,” Miss Beaumont confessed.

“Stacy! How could you not come to me first?” complained the slighted Caroline.

“I needed to act as fast as possible, but I’m afraid they departed town quite suddenly yesterday. The butler could tell me no more than that some emergency arose.”

Mrs. Wickham looked concerned. “I hope they are alright.”

“If they were traveling, health must not be the issue, but the important thing now is to decide what to do. They must be stopped, Caroline!”

“Then it must be George who will attend to the affair. I will get him ready at once,” she said firmly while ringing the bell.

Miss Beaumont looked suspicious. “How is Mr. Wickham to help? He is not her brother and cannot interfere without calling on the authorities.”

“He will go to Longbourn and tell Mr. Bennet.”

As there were few other options open to her, Miss Beaumont had no choice but to put all her hopes of avoiding unbearable scandal in Mr. Wickham’s already tarnished hands.

--

Sir James rode up to Longbourn Wednesday afternoon with a heavy heart, his feelings dramatically different from what he had felt on the occasion of his previous visit. Then it had been a source of interest – the blessed place from which Miss Bennet had sprung – but now its faded beauty only served as an additional pummeling to his injured hopes, seeming to cast the world in a haze of sadness. Mr. Bennet, who was surveying the shrubbery when he saw the visitor approach, was just the remedy needed for such sunken spirits.