“You know, our aunt was very taken aback that you had sent Dr Kendall over to Mrs Turner. She had quite a bit of a fit when she found out. After all she was already of the opinion that you had been too kind to send your physician over to have a look at Miss Elizabeth and then to send him on to that poor woman was something she declared as something never been heard of before.”
“That might very well be, and had someone thought of sending the apothecary some months ago, like Mrs Collins had suggested I might add, it would have been unnecessary in the first place,” Darcy remarked matter of factly before putting down his brandy and picking up his queue.
“I agree, but you know how our aunt can be. And in the end it indeed is nothing serious after all, just as she had said.”
“Yes, but that does not mean that Mrs Turner was not in need of any medical attention.”
“How was it, that Miss Elizabeth fell so seriously ill?” Bingley interjected, as if sensing the growing irritation of his friend.
“We had the great misfortune to get caught in icy rain and quite far from the house. We both got wet through and by the time we had gotten here, Miss Bennet was shivering violently and barely able to stand. The rain alone would have been bad enough but the wind was making it ten times worse.”
“Oh?”
The question in this simple remark was unmistakeable. Not that Darcy would answer it at this point. And anyway, one could almost say it was all Miss Bingley's fault to begin with. Had she not been scheming as she had and let things go their natural way, there would have been no need for them to meet and consequently get drenched. But that way of thinking was perhaps a bit simplistic. After all, Darcy himself had initially sought to separate his friend from Miss Bennet likewise, though he would never have kept her being in town a secret on purpose. It was more that he had hoped that a separation would make Bingley himself see that he had been wrong. Had he indeed insisted on going back to Netherfield, he would not have held him back. And anyway, it had been himself who had been at fault in his judgement.
“As you can see, Bingley,” the Colonel picked up on the unasked question though, “my cousin is quite taken by Miss Bennet and she indeed is a very fine young woman.”
“Indeed,” Bingley answered tersely.
“And with a little bit of luck, he will win her over,” Fitzwilliam added with a grin. “I have to say, over the last few days he has made quite some progress.”
“So by your estimation, Miss Bennet is reciprocating his feelings?” Bingley asked calmly, his eyes fixed on the balls on the table before him calculating his next shot.
“Slowly but surely, I would say that yes she does.”
Darcy felt a blush creep over his cheeks, though why exactly he did not know. It was not as if he was a silly schoolboy.
When Bingley finally attempted his shot, it failed. Spectacularly so. And with the force with which he had played, he not only missed his target by more than an inch but catapulted the white ball over the brim of the table and right into Darcy's gut.
“Sorry,” Bingley muttered, but did not sound much apologetic at all.
It was almost as if he had intended to hit him purposely. If so, then he had done a brilliant job, for there was nothing to it, Darcy had to sit down before he doubled over. What on earth was going on?
“Are you alright, Darcy?” Fitzwilliam inquired, adding jokingly: “Damn, Bingley what a shot! Have you ever considered joining the army?”
“No, I have not. And I already apologised. Now if you would please excuse me, it seems as if I am in need of a bit of fresh air before I have set off again.”
Something was definitely not right. What the deuce had gotten into his friend all of a sudden.
“I thought you were to stay,” he all but stammered just before Charles Bingley could close the door behind himself.
Turning around he merely shrugged before leaving. Now even the Colonel was puzzled by the man's behaviour.
“What has gotten into him? He looks positively upset. Is it possible that he himself has taken a liking to Miss Bennet?”
Miss Bennet... - Of course!
Hastening after his friend, Darcy just about managed to catch him as he turned into the stable yard.
“Bingley?”
“What? What is it you want, Darcy?”
Goodness, he had never heard Bingley's voice grow so cold and reproachful.
“Explain myself.”
“What is there to explain? When were you going to tell me that you intend to marry Miss Bennet? And that after you advised me against such an alliance. Well, now I know exactly why you did it. I never would have thought to stoop so low.”
“Will you just listen to me? Please,” Darcy pleaded with some urgency. “You appear to have misunderstood me.”
“Oh, did I?” Bingley shot back.
“Yes. Utterly and completely. Besides, I was wrong about Miss Jane Bennet. By all accounts, she loves you very much and...”
“As if that matters in any shape or form, does it not? You managed to make her fall in love with you instead. Congratulations!” he was harshly interrupted.
“Bingley, for Heaven's sake, my cousin was speaking about my affection for Miss Elizabeth Bennet. - I made an error of judgement, that much is true, but I never betrayed our friendship. What kind of man do you take me to be? Now will you please let me explain.”
It was still pretty fresh outside and Darcy, wearing only his frock coat was feeling pretty cold already again, while Bingley, all angry and upset dragged his horse out of its stall.
“Your affection for Miss Elizabeth?” Bingley merely stammered now, letting go of his poor and confused gelding before his face turned a violent shade of crimson in his apparent shame.
“Yes.”
“Not Jane?”
“Of course not!”
“Oh dear! I think you indeed have to explain a few things to me. When on earth did that come to pass then?”
“Could we please go back inside? With a little bit of luck we will manage to find a private spot to talk. The library is usually deserted,”Darcy suggested dryly but also relieved that his friend slowly but surely came back to his senses.
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
Now it was his friend who in his confusion barely managed to speak coherently. And unsurprisingly so.
They indeed managed to sneak into the library undetected by his aunt and perhaps even Colonel Fitzwilliam, seeing that on occasion he, too, could be a rather inconveniently nosy fellow.
“Brandy?” Darcy asked, as he turned to pour himself a glass to get warm again seeing that there was no fire in the grate.
“Please. And please let me tell you how sorry I am for assuming that... - Well you know what I mean.”
“Do not worry, my friend. I will not hold it against you. Quite the contrary actually. But perhaps I should start at the beginning. As I have said, I was very wrong about Miss Jane Bennet. She was, and by the looks of it, is still very much in love with you as you obviously are with her. I should never have interfered and for that I have to apologise. Please forgive me.”
Bingley's forgiving smile was more than he deserved but enough of an answer for him to continue.
“As it is, I myself have harboured some feelings for her sister for quite a while and with removing myself likewise, had hoped to overcome them. But it did not work either. Meeting her here again, rather showed me that with time and distance they had increased and seeing her so often made me realise that I would be a fool if I did not at least attempt to win her heart.”
“Fool indeed, for I can hardly imagine a woman better suited for you,” his friend remarked dryly.
“No, neither can I. We spoke a lot over the last few weeks, ever since I came to Kent and that was how I found out about her sister's true feelings for you.”
“And decided to meddle again?”
“Yes. Do you mean to complain about my interference this time around? After all, the least I could do was to rectify
my mistake and at any rate, the rest is not completely up to you.”
“Oh, I am not complaining at all. To our happy futures then,” Bingley toasted all cheerfulness again.
If only Darcy could be equally hopeful as his friend. Bingley had every reason to think the battle to be all but won, but for himself, it would still be an uphill struggle. While his cousin had claimed that Elizabeth's feelings for him seemed to have softened, they were still far from love, of that he was certain. But he would persevere and with a little bit of good fortune, he would some day be able to call himself the happiest of men.
Chapter 16
The return to Hertfordshire was welcome on one hand, and somewhat sad on the other. Knowing that it would be a while until she saw Charlotte again was one thing, but at least Mr Collins seemed to have improved somewhat over the past two or three weeks. So much so that even her father had remarked on it on their journey home.
“You know, Lizzy, I would never have thought that Mr Collins was capable to speak two words of sense together, let alone a couple of sentences, but as it is, I dare say, Mrs Collins does him good,” he had chuckled as they drove towards Longbourn after having dropped off Maria Lucas at Lucas Lodge.
“Yes, and she appears to be very happy, indeed,” Jane added thoughtfully. “Well, I never thought him to be such a bad choice in the first place.”
“Do you suggest I should have accepted him?” Elizabeth laughed, still feeling slightly weakened after her illness, but much better already.
“Goodness, no! He would have been a most unsuitable match for you, Lizzy. But then again, you have a completely different disposition from Charlotte and so I dare say they have every chance of happiness in marriage. Do you not agree?”
“As much happiness as one can expect to find in marriage,” Mr Bennet replied wryly.
“Oh Papa, how can you talk so?” Jane exclaimed with some mild indignation.
“From experience, my child. Merely from experience. But do not let me dishearten you, you have every reason to think that one day soon, you will be a very happy woman. When was it, Mr Bingley said he would return to Netherfield?”
“By the end of this week, Papa,” Elizabeth answered while Jane blushed most becomingly. “Right after he has taken care of some important business.”
“Ah, and I can easily imagine what this important business will be.”
So could Elizabeth. After some initial awkwardness, Jane and Mr Bingley had quickly returned to being perfectly comfortable with each other and the last day he had spent in Hertfordshire, which had been the day before they themselves were due to leave, Bingley, Jane, Darcy, and herself had gone on a comfortable long walk through the park, arranging themselves so naturally two by two, that it had made her laugh startling Mr Darcy. That was until she had explained herself and he started chuckling likewise. Such a wonderful sound, actually. Warm and heartfelt and without the slightest hint of pretence. Like this he could easily be considered one of the most amiable men of her acquaintance. Even walking by his side in complete silence was nothing but pleasant.
If she was completely honest with herself, she would miss his company. But no, that would be silly. And then Miss de Bourgh's words surfaced once again: 'There is but one problem, he is almost painfully shy, you know?'
A flicker of hope sparked within her, surprising her with all its sincerity and vigour and leaving her thoroughly confused. But if she though about it, there was but one conclusion she could come to and that was, that she had fallen in love with Mr Darcy. Now if only she could be certain that it had been him Anne de Bourgh had spoken about. But alas, she was not certain of anything anymore except for one thing...
However, before she could ponder on her feelings or what had come to pass the day before any longer they had turned into the driveway of Longbourn and before she knew it, her mother had stormed out of the house closely followed by her younger daughters and complaining, unsurprisingly, about her poor nerves at her thoughtless daughter having fallen ill, and in Kent of all places. Yes, it had been very inconsiderate of her, indeed.
“But anyway, you are back and alive,” Mrs Bennet finished her tirade, at long last pulling her daughter into an embrace.
Though only a short one for Jane was next.
“And look at you, Jane, all smiles and happiness. It was such a good plan of mine to send you to London with your aunt and uncle, was it not?”
If Elizabeth remembered it correctly her mother had done no such thing. The suggestion had very clearly come from their Aunt Gardiner, but there was little use of pointing out things as irrelevant as that.
“Have you met a nice young gentleman?” Lydia inquired curiously, while Mary only huffed in disapproval.
“Well...” Jane blushed but trailed off in some embarrassment.
“Well?” Lydia dug deeper. “La, you did! Is he handsome? And rich? He surely must be for no man without fortune can ever be called handsome.”
“Oh, did you really? I always said that Mr Bingley was very undeserving. Not calling on you even though you stayed in town for so many months together! And now he will have to see you happy with another man. Serves him quite right!” their mother chimed in again.
“Mama!” Jane cried out in some shock at Mrs Bennet's rather harsh and unjust words.
“Oh no, do not protect such a man, my dear, he is not worth your time nor goodwill.”
“Is that so, Mrs Bennet?” her husband threw in. “Well then, Jane I fear your mother will not be happy about the news then.”
“What news?” their mother promptly asked, suspiciously glancing at her husband from underneath her bonnet.
“Oh, only that Mr Bingley intends to return to Netherfield and has asked me for my daughter's hand in marriage just before he was leaving Kent together with his friend. Now I realise that I should have held counsel with you, my dear, but I had no notion at all that you would be so very opposed to his marrying Jane...”
Yes, that had been the outcome of their afternoon walk. A most joyous outcome at that.
“Mr Bingley was in Kent? Well no wonder you did not see him in London!” Mrs Bennet exclaimed before the full force of what her husband had just told her hit her.
“You are to be married?” she gasped in complete shock.
“I am, Mama,” Jane smiled, looking so angelic that it would have taken anybody's breath away. “Oh, Mama, I am so happy. He still loves me so dearly and it appears that there must have been a misunderstanding, though what exactly it was, I cannot say. But he most certainly did not know that I was in London. He never slighted me purposely and he really is the most amiable man I have ever met and so dear to my heart that I have hardly any words for it.”
At least now that Jane could be certain to hold Mr Bingley's heart, she was finally willing to show all her affection for him openly. Well, almost all of it, for Elizabeth was certain that her sister felt deeper still.
“Oh what brilliant news! Just think of how rich you will be. And how amiable Mr Bingley is. You are such a lucky woman, my dear. But as I have always said, you could not be so beautiful for nothing, Jane,” their mother promptly started to exclaim, all her previous words forgotten.
“And, how are the Collinses?” Mrs Bennet asked when they had finally sat down in the parlour, and when finally her praise of Bingley had run out for the time being. “I dare say they live very comfortably. But still, to think that one day soon Charlotte Lucas will be mistress of this house, is hard to bear. You Lizzy, should have accepted him. But now you will be forever a burden on poor Mr Bingley. Not that I think he will complain about it, but nevertheless, you should have married Mr Collins. Yes, I still am of that opinion, so do not roll your eyes at me, child. It is too vexing for words that I will be forced to make way for Charlotte Lucas instead of being allowed to stay with my own daughter.”
“I dearly hope you have outdone yourself in organising my funeral, my dear, for it would not do to disappoint our neighbours, would it?” their father asked with
a pointed undertone.
“Why would I organise your funeral, seeing that you are very well, Mr Bennet?”
“Well, it was you who stated that one day soon, Mrs Collins would be mistress of this house, so I thought I was expected to drop dead at any moment now.”
“Oh, Mr Bennet! You know exactly what I mean. How can you talk such nonsense? And at any rate, Jane will be married by then and all will be well. Oh, how happy I am!”
As his wife's exclamations of joy and woe at irregular intervals became a bit too tedious for her husband to bear, Mr Bennet retreated to his bookroom and truth be told, Elizabeth wished for nothing more than to retire herself. It was lucky that she remembered that only recently she had been ill and with exactly that excuse Elizabeth made her way upstairs and to her chamber.
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