Louisa followed Caroline’s gaze, and could guess what she was thinking. It was the same complaints. Although there had not been much money, through the housekeeper, Mr. Hur--Harold, Louisa thought with a small blush, had intimated that he had provided a small budget for her to make changes to the townhouse, if she so wished. Louisa, filled with righteous indignation that he had been so generous as to use her own dowry to allow her to make changes to her new home, as well as factoring in Caroline’s sneers at the simplicity of the townhouse, had elected to not make any changes for that very reason. After several years of living there, Louisa found that she had grown to enjoy it for its stark beauty.
“It is not a matter of weakness, Dear Sister, but a matter of practicality. But you have always done as you wished,” Louisa added, “and that is why Mr. Darcy is in the situation that he is in now.” Louisa could not help herself. She was tired of Caroline’s sneers and snide remarks about herself, her marriage, and now Miss Elizabeth’s situation. Caroline wished to hear that Mr. Darcy was not at fault for his engagement to Miss Elizabeth? Well, she would get her wish.
Caroline’s eyes narrowed into slits. “What do you mean, Louisa?”
“I mean,” Louisa stated nonchalantly, “that it is entirely your fault that Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are engaged, and do not try to tell me otherwise, Caroline!” Her voice rose on the last part of her sentence, as she saw Caroline open her mouth in an attempt to refute Louisa’s words. “You knew perfectly well that Miss Elizabeth was only at Netherfield to visit her sister, especially given that she spent the majority of her stay at her sister’s sickbed! Yet you insisted, with a maid right outside the door, that Miss Elizabeth had seduced Mr. Darcy! You honestly cannot have been so stupid as to have not considered that the maid, who looked as though she were barely into her teens, would not spread the information you so graciously provided?” Louisa finished sarcastically. “If anything, sister dear, you should be glad that maid did not state where she had heard such a ridiculous rumour, else-wise Mr. Darcy would slam every available open door in your face.”
Caroline gaped at her, like a fish. Louisa rolled her eyes.
“Please spare me the dramatics, Caroline. You have had more than enough time to process this information. And now I will give you the other news,” Caroline, who had still been gaping at Louisa as though she had been speaking a foreign language, snapped out of it, and considered Louisa’s words with interest. Of course, when Caroline could not refute an argument or factoid that Louisa had revealed to her, she chose to ignore the information. It was just as well. As long as she kept her sharp tongue to herself, and did not cause Miss Elizabeth or Miss Bennet any more grief, Louisa could bear it. “Charles has asked me for Mother’s ring and bracelet set.”
When Louisa had gotten married and moved into Harold’s home, she had taken with her an emerald ring with a matching bracelet. It had been the first set of fine jewellry that their father had bought their mother, on their first anniversary of marriage. Father had intended it to stay within the family, so he had included it in the estate holdings. It would be worn by each Bingley bride, for all the generations to come. Charles had allowed Louisa to bring it with her, as despite the fact that he fell in love almost monthly, he was no closer to finding a wife. A few days before, he had asked for the set back, and Louisa had obliged.
Caroline did not respond. Louisa remained steadfast.
“Charles plans to propose to Miss Bennet shortly after we arrive back at Netherfield. You will, of course, congratulate our brother and his fiancee, and keep your opinions to yourself.”
That awoke Caroline from her stupor. She opened her mouth to retort, but Louisa spoke over her.
“Socially, Miss Bennet may not have been what I wished for our brother, but she is a gentleman’s daughter, and he could do worse. Socially, she could do better.” Louisa reasoned. “As much as you would like to forget, Dear Sister, we are only three generations removed from trade, and given that our brother does not have an estate purchased yet, some would still consider the stink of trade upon us. So I beg of you, please attempt to be happy for Charles. He wishes it.”
“Now I know you must be joking, Louisa!” Caroline exclaimed. “I cannot believe you wish to have that Bennet chit in our family!”
Louisa raised a brow. “We are not speaking of Miss Elizabeth, Caroline.”
“Of course not,” Caroline sneered, “but we cannot believe that Jane Bennet is not the same! She has entrapped our brother!”
Louisa rolled her eyes. She would not continue to feed Caroline’s delusions, nor her need to hear herself disparage Miss Elizabeth or Miss Bennet in the presence of others. She had said what she wished to say, and now it was up to Caroline to either heed her warnings, or face the consequences. Caroline tended to conveniently forget that she was of age and in control of her own fortune, although Charles supplied her with a rather generous personal allowance. If she caused Mr. Darcy to cut the connection between them, tenuous though it may be, suffice it to say, she might end up angering Charles enough to do the same. If so, then she would have to find her own lodgings, at her own expense, and Louisa knew that Caroline would not take it well, or even quietly.
Which reminded Louisa of the discussion she needed to have with her sister.
“I need to speak with you about something, Caroline.” she began nervously, although it did not stop her from noting that Caroline sat up obediently, most likely because she scented blood in the water. “Mr. Hurst and I have been speaking,” here she ignored Caroline’s quiet snort of amusement, “and we have decided that after Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s wedding, that we will be returning to Seville, alone.”
That got Caroline’s attention even more.
“What do you mean, alone?” When Louisa had first married Harold, they had gone to Seville immediately after the wedding. The six months she spent there had been among the most lonely she had ever felt, as it became abundantly clear that her husband, and what little remained of his family, despised her existence.
It was then that she had began to practice the pianoforte rigorously, and had begun writing Caroline and Charles three times a week, each. Her society friends, if they had been friends at all, had not deigned to return her letters for months after her marriage. When they finally did write back, Louisa had been so angry, that she had immediately burned them, and had never dipped her pen into an inkwell for them ever again. Her non-effort was well rewarded, for she had never received another letter from any of her acquaintances.
Once the six months had been finished, Louisa had demanded that Caroline come on an extended visit, and Harold had obliged. Since then, wherever they had traveled, Caroline was right there with them, unless Mr. Darcy was in town or with Charles, and Harold had not been in the mood to transport his work.
“I mean, sister, that Mr. Hurst and I had a serious discussion last night. We have decided that we will start working to build a foundation of our marriage, and so after Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth’s wedding, we will be returning to Seville alone. The both of us have projects awaiting us there, as well as some much needed personal time.” Although she knew it was futile, Louisa willed Caroline to understand that it was a positive step that they were taking.
She did not expect Caroline to laugh heartily, as though Louisa had told her a particularly humourous joke.
Louisa did not respond, but stared dumbly at her sister, waiting for her to finish laughing. After what seemed to be an exorbitant amount of time, Caroline righted herself.
A few moments after that, she seemed to take note of Louisa’s serious expression.
“Oh, I apologise Louisa, were you serious?” she asked, with a faux expression of confusion dominating her features. “You could not have been, and if you had been listening to your tirade from my view, then you would understand why I laughed.”
Louisa was on her feet before she knew it. “Unfortunately Dear Sister, I understand completely. And now I must ask you to leave.”
Shock morphed into anger within a few moments, as Caroline jumped to her feet in a rather unladylike fashion. “I beg your pardon, Louisa, I must have misunderstood you.” she challenged, daring her sister to order her out of the house again.
Louisa obliged.
“You heard me, Caroline. I want you to leave. Please do so, before I call Jamison to escort you out.” she added, referring to their head footman, knowing it would gall Caroline that Louisa would not even call upon the butler, if she was to be escorted out.
“You cannot be serious, Louisa!” Caroline was aghast.
At that moment, the side door opened, and in stepped Harold. They had had a rather long discussion the night before they went to bed, separately. Their discussion had lasted long into the night, not only discussing their mutual desire for a family, but also had agreed to start spending time with one another, every single day. Afternoon tea time had been their starting point.
Caroline stared at him in derision, as though she was seeing him for the first time. Which may have been true. Louisa doubted very much if Caroline had done so much as look at Harold for more than a few glances at a time, generally in order to make some cruel remark. Louisa could have forgiven her for it, if it had been based in comforting Louisa. Instead, it had been Caroline’s intent to embarrass Louisa for her own amusement. When she spoke, scorn laced every single one of the words that flew from her lips. She could not even attempt to hide how she felt, how she truly felt.
“I wish you every bit of luck, Louisa. When your beloved husband begins to ignore you again for the bottle and sleeping on chaises in the middle of the day, I shall not hear any of your complaints!
With those words, Caroline drew herself up, staring down the both of them, imperiously, as she marched from the room, as though it had been entirely her idea to leave.
Louisa released the long breath she had not realised she had been holding. At least it would only be a few more weeks before she had to deal with her sister, and then could be free of her, for a short time. She hoped that the time apart would give Caroline some boundaries. For the first time she realised how tired she was.
Beside her, Harold approached, and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Louisa did not know what say, and she supposed neither did he. They had both spent their married life dealing with Caroline, he ignoring and avoiding her as much as possible, while she had clung to Caroline even tighter. They both knew the reason why.
“I have had Clark set the tea upstairs, in my sitting room.” Harold said rather awkwardly. He felt as though he were speaking to dead air, and in a way he was. For a very long time, he had regarded her as slightly more than that, and a great amount of irritation he garnered from her presence had been in reaction to her insistence that her sister follow them everywhere.
At first, it was easier not to have a discussion. Over time, he had realised that had been a mistake on his part, and had resented his wife for it. It had been easy, easier than admitting he had set the parameters of their relationship, with his refusal to participate in any activity that was not absolutely necessary.
In the end, the loneliness had gotten to him. However other men did it, he could not continue to pretend, day in, and day out, that he was not living with another human being. It was as selfish as it was necessary and just, that he had approached his wife.
This time, they would try.
He would try.
***
Edward glanced disinterestedly at his plate. Dinner, as always, was excellent. Mrs. Higgins had been with their family since before he had been born, and every meal she had served had been nothing but perfect. A perfectly sliced piece of roast beef, still pink in the middle, along with mashed, roasted potatoes and turnips with gravy, should have been his main focus. Especially as he had elected to skip breakfast and lunch, in his quest to to finish the first phase of research.
“You seem out of sorts today, big brother.” Edward smiled in response to his brother’s fuss, knowing that it was an attempt to rile him into giving away the source of his mood.
“I am the same, Richard. Merely hungry.” was his response. “You are going to have to work a little harder than that, if you wish to expose me. Unless your enemy cracks under the weight of one observation.” he teased, referencing his brother’s position as not only a Colonel, but also an interrogator, if needed.
Richard laughed through his nose, nearly causing wine to snort through his nose. “I must find the source of this new attitude, Edward. You are not usually so forward with me.”
Edward tipped his wine glass forward. “You may try.” He turned to his father. “When will you be traveling to Meryton for Cousin William’s wedding?”
His father frowned, perhaps trying to remember the exact date.
“I do not know the exact date, but the banns shall be finished within two weeks. I imagine Darcy and Miss Elizabeth will marry directly after.” Richard supplied helpfully.
Edward considered it for a moment. “I think after dinner, I will send a note to Darcy, asking if he can spare another for his party.”
“We shall have to mark this event on the calendar, so that we may celebrate it next year.” Richard teased, “Edward Fitzwilliam, the Viscount of Abbington, willingly abandoning his research!”
Edward shrugged. “I am in need of a break, brother. And I have not spent time with Cousin William or Cousin Georgiana in quite some time.”
Yes, that was exactly what he would do.
Christmas would be arriving in nearly a week and a half, and she would be married soon after.
Chapter Nineteen
Surprisingly, the carriage ride from Gracechurch Street to Longbourn did not feel as cramped and long as it did from Longbourn to Gracechurch Street. Elizabeth supposed it was because she had several, surprising revelations to digest, and a few more acquaintances to distract her through the long hours on the road. It had been decided that the young ladies, that is Elizabeth, Jane, Mary, and Georgiana would procure a carriage for themselves. Mr. Darcy had, of course, offered his own carriage for their use, and was accepted. Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle, and, surprisingly, Georgiana and Mr. Darcy’s cousin, the Viscount of Abbington, were left to ride in the Gardiner’s carriage. Mr. Darcy had elected to ride, at least part way, to Longbourn. Some part of Elizabeth wished she were a horsewoman. Although it must have been tiring, Mr. Darcy at least had the advantage of being in open air, and not tucked away inside a carriage with three other people. Even in the most comfortable of carriages, there was bound to be jutting ankles and elbows.
“What is your mother like?” was Georgiana’s quiet inquiry, some hours into the ride. Elizabeth had just informed her that it would be only a short time before they reached Meryton, in response to Georgiana attempting to stretch out her legs within the confined space.
“What do you mean?” While Georgiana got along well with Mary, and was very friendly and sweet towards Elizabeth and Jane, especially, Elizabeth had sensed some hesitation in her manner. It had been almost shocking for her to see, Georgiana Darcy wanting to impress Elizabeth, and not the other way around. The closer they had reached their end date to return to Longbourn, Georgiana had begun to ask several questions regarding Lydia and Kitty; their likes and dislikes, and so on. Elizabeth had thought it was normal. Georgiana had only been in school for a year, and it appeared she had not made very many friends, if any, as Mr. Darcy had elected to bring her back to Pemberley to be privately tutored, after Wickham’s foiled seduction attempt.
She had been somewhat disappointed that their interests did not include music, as Georgiana did not play cards or embroider very well. It seemed that under her brother’s direction, her education had been less focused on the exclusively female arts, and more on languages, music, literature, and geography. Through the numerous letters she, Jane, and even Mary had received from Lydia and Kitty during their short time in London, Elizabeth wondered who would be more shocked at the other--Georgiana or her two youngest sisters. Lydia and
Kitty were uninterested in anything that did not involve gossip, gowns, or the militia, while Georgiana focused on her music and reading as her hobbies.
Well, Elizabeth decided, this visit would certain broaden the horizons of at least three young ladies in Meryton.
Georgiana timidly repeated her question.
Elizabeth felt slightly at a loss. “Well, she is my mama.” she began, already deciding that honesty, as with describing Lydia and Kitty’s character, “She will be glad to see you, and make a fuss over you. I would not be surprised if she did not insist that you spend the night at Longbourn. You do not have to,” Elizabeth hastened to add, “but you will find that Mama is quite stubborn when she sets her mind to it.” Elizabeth grinned mischievously. “Just be sure that you do not allow her to catch you unawares, that is all.”
Beside her, Mary snorted softly. “She shall have to contend with Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, Lizzie. Georgiana may well be lost in the shuffle.” she stated, referencing the fact that Mr. Bingley had all but declared his intentions towards Jane, and Mr. Darcy’s status as Elizabeth’s betrothed.
Consequence of Jealousy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 21
