“It would depend upon the alternative I am sure.”
“Letting Netherfield certainly proved fortuitous for us all, but I believe he must give it up, settle properly in his own property. I have instructed Mr. Forster to inform me should he learn of any suitable property, with a house the size of Netherfield’s but the land more in keeping with what your father has at Longbourn. Enough to give Bingley occupation, but not so much as to burden him.”
“What does Bingley think of all this?”
“He will see the logic of it clearly enough, I am sure. His continued reliance on my judgement will make everything easy.”
Elizabeth laughed openly. “He has certainly been guided by your judgement in the past.”
“You would like to have Jane nearer, would you not?”
“Of course, but that it not why I am laughing,” she replied, laying her hand contritely upon his arm. “I am laughing at the foolishness of righteousness and the malleability of indignation. When our interests were not aligned, I thought one of your gravest sins was the ease and presumption with which you directed your friend’s life. Now our interests are aligned I am grateful for your readiness to abuse your power of influence in just the manner I had once so forcefully objected to; it does not seem such an unacceptable alternative now it might bring Jane nearer to me. Just as plainly, had I taken an immediate liking to Lord Enfield I would not object so strongly to your approving his visit. What becomes of the moral if our own caprice defines the measurement of what is good and proper?”
“You are always guided by loyalty and care for those you love; I think the moral is perfectly fair.”
Elizabeth smiled, lifted her hand and caressed his cheek. “You truly are a man of your word, Fitzwilliam. When we were first engaged we agreed that my good qualities were under your protection and you were to exaggerate them as much as possible. You have certainly been true to my dictate.”
Darcy smiled, but made no other reply. Jane and Bingley were making their way up the avenue to claim their attentions. Darcy and Elizabeth rose and walked down the avenue to meet the couple they were conspiring to bring near.
Chapter 26
A Large Party of Friends
A week following the arrival of the Bingleys and Kitty, other summer guests began to arrive and Pemberley was soon filled with a large party of friends.
The congenial and accomplished Mr. and Mrs. Edward Ashton were the first addition to the party. Mr. Darcy’s friendship with Mr. Ashton had been steady since they were first acquainted, but now Darcy was married and Elizabeth had found a friend of her own in Mrs. Ashton, the frequency of their association was markedly increased and they had all been together often in London over the winter. They arrived accompanied by their young daughter.
They were soon followed by Sir Hamish MacCleary, a tall gentleman with a head of soft, strawberry blond hair and intense blue eyes that marked an altogether pleasant countenance; his quiet, deeply resonating voice was soothing and agreeable and when he smiled the corners of his eyes creased with sincere good humour. Sir Hamish spent the majority of his time among the political circles in town, but he and Darcy were on the most intimate of terms and when both were in town had the custom of dining together regularly at Portman Square, a custom which had been happily maintained after Darcy’s marriage. It was a friendship Darcy valued as highly as that he shared with Colonel Fitzwilliam.
The James Thorneys’ arrival followed. Mr. Thorney, like Mr. Darcy, was an eldest son and was to inherit an estate worth some eight thousand pounds a year. Unlike Darcy, he was not yet his own master, his father being of excellent constitution and daily promising to live at the least another five and twenty years. The elder Mr. Thorney, unfortunately, also displayed little talent for management and was so quick tempered as to discharge capable stewards with remarkable frequency and heedlessness, so that the younger Mr. Thorney lived in constant battle with his father regarding the proper management of his legacy and that of his two young boys. He often sought Darcy’s guidance on matters concerning Edgewood Hall. Darcy and Thorney had been friendly since their days as schoolboys and in their association was all the ease of custom and long familiarity. The Thorneys’ two rambunctious boys promised to fill Pemberley’s halls and lawns with sounds of mischievousness not heard in many summers. Their mother doted upon the handsome, sporty boys unapologetically and was endlessly grateful to have no daughter. She knew herself to be entirely incapable of raising a proper, well-mannered young lady.
Elizabeth was delighted to see her husband at his beloved Pemberley surrounded by his most intimate and trusted friends—only Colonel Fitzwilliam was lacking—and to witness his easiness and good cheer in their company. There was nothing to mar his good humour or grate against his sense of propriety and he was as familiar and contented as she had ever seen him in larger company. She credited that certain jocular nature of masculine friendships for the same, as well as the absence of the primping and sycophantisms so seemingly inescapable in London society and which he found so particularly distasteful. Even when they had entertained these same friends at Portman Square over the winter, he had not been so easy as now. She was captivated by his marked charm and regularly caught herself gazing at him fixedly with warm admiration and something like a new infatuation.
It was a well-matched party over all, with only Kitty Bennet feeling that she would have preferred the simple pleasures of Longbourn. She found she could not keep a pace with the conversations, and for the first time was aware of her deficiencies of manner. She began to understand her sisters’ reprimands as something more than tiresome. In the evenings she stayed close to Jane whose familiar serenity gave her courage and she was relieved to see that even Miss Darcy, who was so much more accomplished and educated than she, was not entirely at her ease. Kitty remained quiet and withdrawn, but her sisters were happy to note a new look of interest in her expression replacing the sulky irritability she had maintained since her arrival. Whilst she surely did not impress, she appeared not as the ill-mannered girl that so chaffed at Darcy’s sense of propriety, but rather as a young lady observably ill at ease and intimidated by the company in which she found herself. She watched everything and everyone about her with a determination that had not been customary in her; she began to comprehend that to be more like her elder sisters would not be a fatal choice.
A few days after the rest, Lord Enfield arrived. His presence was regarded with universal surprise. Whilst he was acquainted with more than one gentleman in the party, in town he frequented an entirely different circle that was renowned for its severe exclusivity and opacity. Georgiana was not informed that he had arrived with the intent of knowing her better, but she was no simpleton and understood it clearly enough. Certainly she was flattered by the admiration of so illustrious a gentleman, yet she felt very unequal to the situation and regretted his presence, sure it would make her feel constantly awkward and ill at ease. She wondered at what her brother’s encouragement of such attentions signified.
On the evening of Lord Enfield’s arrival, Sir Hamish approached Darcy and invited him onto the terrace to speak privately. It was a clear, pleasant evening and as they conversed, they walked the length of the terrace in leisurely fellowship. “I am all curiosity,” Sir Hamish began. “What in the devil is Lord Enfield doing at Pemberley? I do not seem to recall that he was any friend of yours.”
“We had a middling acquaintance at university and have recently become reacquainted.”
“You do not generally open your doors to passing acquaintances, Darcy. You value your privacy too greatly.”
“He is travelling north and will be here but a short time,” Darcy offered by way of explanation.
“So much the better. He is a shrewd fellow.”
“Pardon me?”
“He and I do not get on, we have an on-going political point of difference, but I will keep my quarrel with him out of your parlour, I assure you. Let us speak of other things, Darcy, before I create an entirely
avoidable awkwardness. It would not do to mar your wife’s first summer party because of a disagreement of no interest to anyone but ourselves. Do tell me instead about this Miss Bingley. She is a handsome young lady. Much more so than I would have anticipated.”
Darcy raised an eyebrow inquisitively; his friend was not wont to engage in flirtations. “Why should you have anticipated anything at all?”
Sir Hamish laughed openly. “Come now, Darcy, I am sure half of London at least knew she had set her cap at you and executed her chase most persistently. Mr. Darcy ought to spend less time with his young friend, everyone was affirming; for the sister grows in airs daily!”
Darcy stopped walking and adjusted his coat in irritation. “If that was what the chattering sycophants were affirming, it is hardly gentlemanly of you to bring it up now.”
“Very well, what is the gentlemanly stance?” he chuckled.
“Miss Bingley is the sister of my friend, a friend who happens to be married to my wife’s sister, do you expect I shall say anything but that she is charming?”
“Not in your parlour, but between ourselves I certainly expect the truth. We have always spoken forthrightly.”
“You have never been one to flirt and trifle about for amusement, Hamish. What are you about?”
“You are well acquainted with my ambitions, Darcy. Of late I have been considering the advantages a proper hostess would be to achieving my aims. It may be useful and timely to submit to the yoke. Your current disposition makes it appear a not entirely unattractive state. Miss Bingley appears promising upon first acquaintance. She has a certain calculating air about her, which is always an advantage when one is in my line. And she is fine looking. Oblige me.”
“A gentleman should keep his own counsel on such matters. You know how I abhor this sort of thing.”
“Yes, I do. However, you ought to no longer take such umbrage as you were wont to do. After all, you are no longer being chased like the fox by the hounds. What about her was so distasteful when she was so actively in pursuit?”
Grudgingly, Darcy responded. “Distasteful is too strong a word. She is clever, although she can be indiscriminate in the execution of her wit. She is well educated, accomplished and has a fortune of twenty thousand pounds. She would be a good match for many gentlemen of our set; she fulfils many of the standard requirements. In certain circumstances and society I have found her amusing, and yet, she is artful. Her character is ambiguous. I do not mean to imply that she is wilfully duplicitous or ill-intentioned, but that, beyond her ambitions, I am not certain of her intentions, of the quality of her temperament or the depth of her mind.”
“A harsh assessment to be sure, unless one is equally guided by ambition. And her family?”
“You are acquainted with Bingley.”
“Naturally, did you not champion his membership to the club? He attends most assiduously, far more than either you or I could endure. Might I say that before he wed he was a far more engaging chap, now he spends all his time hovering about his handsome wife like a bee to his honeycomb. Thank goodness you and your wife are not so infatuated. It would have done me no good to see you, of all men, fallen a caricature of the besotted lover. If a gentleman will yield to love it should have quite the opposite effect and elevate his character. But I digress. Bingley’s family?”
“Bingley is the best of his family,” Darcy replied succinctly.
“I see,” his friend replied.
They walked on for a time in silence, leaving the terrace and taking a turn about the garden in the cool night air. When they returned to the terrace Sir Hamish observed Miss Bingley through the window as she walked across the room. “Twenty thousand pounds is no small fortune,” he remarked dispassionately.
“I should imagine marriage a very disagreeable business if that is the greatest source of comfort you are to find, my friend. There are far more pleasing comforts to be had from a wife than a fortune and you have no need to marry for the same. Will you find in her a warm companion, a trusted confidant?”
“That is all very true, I am sure, but my fortune is not nearly so large as yours and I cannot be entirely unmindful of the potentially more pecuniary benefits of marriage.”
Recalling how miserably his service to Bingley had turned when he had offered marital guidance in the past, Darcy thought better than to pursue this topic with much dedication, but Elizabeth’s recent words of consternation on the topic surely had the effect of softening his opinions, so that though he was a gentleman who had spent the better part of the last years resentful of every unmarried lady’s attempt to win his attentions, Mr. Darcy felt, as he surely never had before, compassion for their lot.
“I am not inclined to offer direction to any gentleman on such a private decision as to whom they should or should not offer. That sort of counsel is impertinent and ill advised. But do consider for a moment that gentlemen are given the luxury of action. Unmarried ladies are meant to passively wait, entirely subject to the gentleman’s whim. They are given little more than the choice of a reply, and sometimes not even that. Whatever you do is your concern alone; I have no business opining on what you should or should not desire in a wife; but for her sake go about it forthrightly.”
“Fear not, Darcy. I know Miss Bingley is now connected to you through your wife and your friend. Do not be concerned. Here at Pemberley we have been thrown together by chance, but frankly, I am far too occupied for purposeless coquetry. You have reminded me that marriage is a serious business, not to be considered with caprice, and I will act accordingly. Enough has been said. I have had a most interesting bit of news from the Peninsula.”
The subject of Miss Bingley was thus ended, and they continued to converse on other less domestic topics with the ease and the amiability of trusted friends until Georgiana appeared on the terrace. “Brother, we are to have some music,” she offered, coming to his side and slipping her arm through his.
“We can enjoy it from outside, my dear.” It was a lovely evening and Darcy had no wish to return indoors.
Blushing, Georgiana insisted. “Would you not return inside?”
“Is something amiss, Georgiana?”
“Not at all,” she replied timidly. “Elizabeth has encouraged me to play this evening and I would so wish for you to be present when I do. Your presence always gives me courage.”
“Of course, my dear girl.” He smiled and patted her hand affectionately, pleased that she was grown more agreeable to playing before such a large party.
The music proved most satisfying. Elizabeth declined to perform herself and left that task to the more gifted among them. “Do you recall when we danced at Mrs. Bramwell’s ball?” she whispered to her husband when he came and sat at her side. “You were so pleased to no longer be required to demure regarding your intentions. This evening I have been thinking much the same. How pleasant to no longer be required to perform in order to present my charms! You know I have no musical vanity!”
“So much the better,” he replied in equally intimate tones. “I prefer to have your delightful musical accomplishment for my own private pleasure.” He pressed her hand briefly within his own and smiled. If they held one another’s gaze a moment longer than was entirely discreet, those who observed them were delicate enough to turn away.
Miss Bingley was sincerely obliged when her former rival requested that she perform; she was eager to display to both Lord Enfield and Sir Hamish her impressive technique; she had no intention of squandering the opportunity of being in the relatively intimate company of two such immensely eligible gentlemen. Lamentably, she played with a studied pretentiousness that lacked real emotion and her performance impressed but did not move. Mr. and Mrs. Ashton, who sang and played with such a fine hand and good taste that they were always assured of delighting their audience, quickly overshadowed her. It was Georgiana, however, so young and reserved as she was, who left the party most captivated. Although it was always said of her that she was very accomplished, she was rarel
y heard to perform for anyone beyond the family circle. Though her reputation was such, it was always remarkable to comprehend the level of musicality and technique in one still so young. The Ashtons, who were so musical themselves, were particularly approving. They had heard her play in London on the occasion of Elizabeth’s dinner party and were delighted to discover that performance had been no anomaly. Darcy, for his part, could not disguise his pride in his sister’s accomplishment. He was very pleased with her growing confidence—something he credited to Elizabeth’s influence and example.
Lord Enfield sat across the room from the pianoforte. His behaviour since his arrival had been as entirely discreet as Darcy had hoped it would be. He had, in fact, no wish to make his intentions generally known and was intent on spending more energy observing Miss Darcy than speaking with her. He was a gentleman of refined understanding and he was delighted to find in her such a maturity of taste and sensibility. He was captivated and every moment more pleased to have stumbled upon Mr. Darcy at The Pineapple Confectioner. Satisfying his father’s wish that he would settle at last was more appealing than it had yet been. When her performance concluded he approached her.
“Miss Darcy your reputation does you no fairness. You play exquisitely, with true taste and understanding. I have an elder sister who laments that young ladies are taught to play for the sake of exhibition alone and have no understanding that music is not simply notes on a page to be executed with exactitude. I shall be happy to report to her that I have the honour of being acquainted with a young lady who is most certainly the exception.”
He bowed to her, walked away and joined Miss Bingley in conversation across the room. Miss Bingley was plainly just a common London society striver, but he suspected she would be useful in disguising the intended purpose of his visit. He was a rigorously private and opaque gentleman and wished no suspicion of his purpose to be apprehended. There were few things he found more intolerable than a man who allowed his every intention to be exposed to the general scrutiny and judgement of others.
To Teach the Admiring Multitude Page 29
