by Nicky Roth
It was more out of common courtesy than compassion that Elizabeth suggested for the lady to be brought upstairs and into one of the guest rooms to recover from her shock and humiliation, though that Miss Bingley would recover from the latter any time soon, could be rightfully doubted. One thing, however, was for certain, never would she say a word about what had come to pass, not if it meant that at the same time she had to admit to spreading rumours that were perfectly false and had been duly rejected in the process. Mr Darcy could consider himself safe, Elizabeth dared say. All for the better and yet, what now?
Chapter 44
Everything is funny, as long as it's happening to somebody else.
- Will Rogers
'Dear me, dear me, what are we to do?' Mrs Bennet lamented over and over again for the past five minutes, ever since seeing the chaos into which her dining room had dissolved.
Calmly Darcy took a decanter of wine, poured a generous amount of it into a glass and handed it to the hysterical woman. What else was he to do in the face of a situation he himself had created? By the time she had finally managed to take the first sip, Jane and Mary had woken from their stupor and were by their mother's side.
Elizabeth was still upstairs seeing that Caroline Bingley was taken care of alongside John and Hill who had carried the unconscious lady into one of the guest rooms. Not that she deserved it in his opinion with the way she had behaved. Did he regret anything? No. Well yes, but not in regards to Miss Bingley, it was more the fact that he had upset everybody else with the exception of his master who was still chuckling at present and which made Darcy feel ill at ease for some reason or other.
'You!' Mrs Bennet, suddenly flared up after having calmed down sufficiently, staring incredulously and angry at her “footman”. 'How could you?! How dare you! Have you any idea what you have just done? You have ruined the chance of...'
'I would say, Mr Darcy, that you are dismissed,' Mr Bennet threw in, interrupting his wife, his face still one of immense amusement.
'Mr Darcy? Mr Darcy! Really, Mr Bennet, I think you have lost your mind,' his wife shot back, as yet unable to connect the dots.
'By no means, my dear, I assure you that I am perfectly sane. As for everybody else, I cannot possibly say, but you have to admit, that this dinner has turned out to be a rather interesting one.'
'Interesting? It is a catastrophe! Oh, what are we going to do? This will cause such a scandal!'
'And there I quite disagree, Mrs Bennet. Not if we simply keep it to ourselves. Though I doubt there is much of a chance of that, seeing Kitty and Lydia already with their heads stuck together. I will have a word with them. But just think about it, Dear, it would serve as an anecdote for years to come. What more could one possibly want? Had it been a normal dinner, it would have merely served for a little bit of gossip, that much is certain, but after a week, other topics would have replaced it and it soon would have been forgotten, but like this...'
'Papa, please,' Jane Bennet pleaded, her hand on her enraged mother's shoulder. 'Mr Bingley, I must make our apologies.'
'No, Miss Bennet, it is I who must make apologies, after all, I caused all this,' Darcy objected.
'Yes, you did!' the lady of the house quite vehemently agreed before taking another sip of wine.
'And I too have to apologise for my sister's intolerable behaviour. I should have paid more attention and should have said something instead of just letting her talk on so discourteously, but I must admit I was... - preoccupied,' Bingley blushed furiously.
Yes, that he had been completely engrossed in a conversation with Miss Bennet and quite oblivious up until it had been too late to do much about Miss Bingley's thinly veiled and spiteful comments, was hard to deny. It would appear as if she had gotten worse without her sister's company. Darcy would not have thought that possible before he left London to go on his adventure.
It was at this moment that a loud wail sounded through Longbourn House. It appeared that Miss Bingley had regained consciousness. The wail did not last long, however, as it was replaced with rather angry yells and screams. With a sigh, Bingley got up.
'I think it might be best to bring my sister back to Netherfield, seeing that she - we - have caused enough distress for one evening. Would you like to come as well, Darcy?'
All eyes were now on him.
'I will call for your carriage, Bingley and then... - Well, I quite honestly do not know.'
Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, Mary Bennet started chortling. Who would have thought that she of all of her sisters saw the funny side of all this mess? Certainly not he. But then again, looking at her more closely, she seemed to have changed since he had arrived; gone was the stern bun and had been replaced with more flattering soft curls around her high forehead. The pink dress she wore also complemented her much more than the previous grey, brown or green attire had done and brought some colour to her pale cheeks.
'I would say it is the little sins that are punished immediately,' she stated at last in a matter of fact tone of voice, just when Darcy had been about to step out of the room in quest of informing his friend's coachman that the chaise was required as soon as possible.
Had he thought that the kitchen had been spared by what was going on upstairs, he would have been wrong. Everybody was chattering, the food was all but forgotten, getting cold on the table, while the dirty dishes piled up next to the sink without being tended to.
'Your master requires his carriage,' Darcy informed the coachman, who was gossiping just as much as the rest of them.
'Oh, already?'
'Yes.'
'Fair enough. I'm on my way. Hope the master isn't too upset. But damn, I would have given a month's salary if only I could’ve been there when Miss Bingley got her just desserts.'
It would appear that while Bingley's servants were unshakably loyal to their master, this loyalty did not extend to the man's sister. Not that this was much of a surprise, but it did make Darcy wonder how his own servants talked about him and his family. And thinking of it, it was a good sign that the Bennet's servants had nothing but praise for the family they worked for.
'It was the most hilarious thing I have ever witnessed,' John threw in. 'I myself was tempted to “accidentally” spill some soup on that ghastly dress of hers.'
'John!' Mrs Hill scolded, but only half-heartedly.
Funnily enough, as scandalous as his own presence here might have been, it appeared to him that it was all forgiven and forgotten, while slighting the Bennets was not.
Eventually, Bingley left and everything quieted down and the kitchen was finally tidied up with the usual efficiency, everybody lending a helping hand. Darcy carried in buckets of water for the scullery, John polished the cutlery, Smith stored away the untouched food of the second course and when Mr Bennet stepped into the kitchen to speak to him, all was clean and in order once again.
'May I have a word with you, Mr Darcy?'
'Yes, of course.'
'I think we both can agree that you can no longer stay here, but seeing that you have no means of transport to get you back into town, I thought it would be best to offer you my horse.'
'But...'
'Oh, I expect it to be returned to me,' Mr Bennet smiled, 'and I am very sure that it will and not before long. There is a guest room prepared for you, by the way.'
'I thank you, Sir, but I will not require it. I am perfectly happy to sleep in my usual chamber for one last night.'
'Very well, then good night to you all. Oh, and I know I will not hear that any of you have gone about spreading rumours about tonight, is that understood?'
Since everybody nodded, it apparently was and knowing his work-fellows well enough, Darcy was certain that they also meant it.
Chapter 45
Nothing always stays the same. You don't stay happy forever. You don't stay sad forever.
- Cat Zingano
He was leaving.
Yes, Elizabeth had known that it would be inevitable at some point, but
she still could not help feeling desolate as she watched on from her window as Mr Darcy was mounting her father's horse, but not before saying one last good-bye to his little prickly friend. What would become of the little creature now? He was bound to miss his friend, looking for him but without avail.
William Hawthorn had been with them but a few weeks and yet, his leaving left so much sadness amongst them. The only consolation was that his friend Mr Bingley was now their neighbour, but with what had come to pass the night before, would Mr Darcy be at all welcome at Netherfield? Then again, Mr Bingley had been kind enough to send a change of his own clothes over for his friend to wear, so there was reason to assume that Mr Bingley was not all that angry. But then there was his sister... - No, as long as she would stay at Netherfield, Mr Darcy would certainly not be welcomed there, and having met the lady, that presumably was for the better.
Yet there Elizabeth stood, missing William already and he was just now mounting his horse. Yes, William, for to her he would always be William, the kind and gentle man she had come to know, like, and love.
'Lizzy?' Jane interrupted her, and wiping away a tear or two, Elizabeth turned to face her sister. 'Oh Lizzy, I am so sorry!'
'I will be alright, Jane. It was bound to come to an end, you know? I have always known it and I was foolish to not guard myself better. It was silly to begin with when I did not know who he was and also later when I did.'
'No, Lizzy, it was not! It was only natural that you should like him so very much.'
'As natural as it might have been, it was foolish nonetheless.'
Putting her arms around her younger sister, Jane Bennet pulled her close and just held her. It was comforting, but it also led to Elizabeth feeling even more lost than she had before and her tears started to run freely.
'You know what?' Jane asked after a while. 'Go get your pelisse and I get mine and we shall venture outside.'
'But...'
'No buts, Lizzy! Let us go on a ramble.'
That it was meant to cheer her up was obvious seeing that Jane hardly ever went for a walk just for the sake of it. But she had had a point, the sun shone brightly, the flowers blossomed more beautifully than in the past few weeks, bees were buzzing everywhere and the birds were singing their lovely tune, a concerto of the most beautiful kind. It was only when they returned that Elizabeth spotted Prickler wandering around the garden as if he was looking for someone, and he certainly did.
'No, little one, your friend is not here anymore,' she whispered reaching out her hand while trying her best not to start crying again.
Surprisingly enough the little hedgehog scattered towards her and sniffed her hand before looking up at her curiously.
'You know, Prickler, one can really consider oneself happy to have a friend such as you. If you were not so very prickly and deserving of your name I would be tempted to give you a hug, but I fear all I can do is stay here for a while longer and keep you company. It is a sad day for both of us, you know? I miss him, too.'
Standing to the side, Jane smiled before quietly retreating and only the slight rustle of her dress told Elizabeth that she had left while she herself stayed out of doors just a little longer. Eventually, however, she had to return and join her family for lunch, put on a smile and try to forget her broken heart for the time being.
'I still do not understand how you could tolerate this man staying here with us!' was the first thing she heard when stepping back into the house.
'Why would I not? He worked hard and did not meddle about which is more than can be said of many a servant. As it is, not one of the servants has anything but praise for him and it will be a struggle to find another gardener only half as hard working as Mr Darcy has been. The situation is quite a curious one no matter from which angle one looks at it, is it not, Mrs Bennet?'
'A curious one? I beg to differ, Mr Bennet, it is an impossible one! And now Mr Bingley will never return here and what about Jane? It was very poorly done, Mr Bennet!'
'So you think? Well, I quite disagree, seeing that I have already received a letter from Mr Bingley apologising for his sister once again and inviting us to dinner at Netherfield by the end of this week; as soon as his sister has gone on to stay with some relatives up north. I dare say they will be thrilled at the prospect...'
'Mr Bingley invited us to dinner? Oh, why did you not say so immediately?!'
'Perhaps mainly because you would not let me.'
'Oh, never mind. Jane? Jane where are you? Jane have you heard...' and with that the door to the parlour closed behind their mother as she had obviously found her eldest daughter within.
'You look pale, Lizzy. Is something the matter?' her father asked, all of a sudden turning around towards her.
'No, I am quite fine, Papa.'
'Good, I thought so. Well then my dear, let us go about our business as usual, shall we?'
'Yes, Papa.'
'Oh, and put out some watered down milk for your new little friend and perhaps a bit of the ragout from last night.'
Leaving her completely bewildered Elizabeth stood rooted to the spot for a moment or two before heeding her father's advice.
Chapter 46
Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit to them.
- Bruce Lee
The ride back to London was a difficult one. While on one hand, Darcy was quite happy to return and eager to take care of things he should have seen to a long time ago such as bringing his sister back home, on the other he also and undeniably left a part of himself behind in Hertfordshire. The better one, if he was any judge.
Then there was Prickler. He would dearly missed the little creature and only hoped that he would not miss him too much in turn. And last but not least, he had left Miss Elizabeth behind and that, perhaps was the hardest part of all. Whether Bingley would invite him anytime soon could be rightfully questioned, especially with his sister staying at Netherfield as well. It would be decidedly foolish of Bingley to ask him to come and stay after all that had happened.
On the other hand, there was Mr Bennet's horse. Unwittingly, or perhaps wittingly, the man had given him a lifeline. With Mr Bennet, one could never be too certain as to his true intentions. He was an intelligent man, there could be no doubt about that, and also full of surprises as he himself had found out first hand. But then again, whether his wife would accept his return with as much cordiality and good-will was yet another question.
Thus mulling things over and over in his head, Darcy had reached London before he was even aware of it. But now that the streets got busier and busier, he needed to take care where he was going and that was just as well. There was no use pondering over things that were out of his hand, especially not when there were other things he very well could and should take care of. For the time being.
That his servants were surprised by his sudden arrival would have been an understatement. They were positively shocked seeing that they had thought he was somewhere abroad, so that was actually understandable. But it was some relief to see that they were quite happy to have their master back. It would appear as if he indeed was a fairly decent master judging by their reaction.
Brutus, on the other hand, seemingly could not decide whether he was angry for having been left behind for so long or happy to have his master back and the result was a curious mix of a grumpy dog wagging his tail all the while attempting to very pointedly not look at Darcy yet as inconspicuous as was possible squinting in his direction. As it was his dog failed miserably in his attempt to punish his master by ignoring him and before he knew it Darcy was thrown to the ground as his good old friend jumped at him out of the blue and his face was licked with gusto. Such behaviour was not something he would normally tolerate, but alas, he was just as happy to be back home, as bittersweet the feeling was. But Darcy rightly presumed that it would very likely be taken the wrong way if he showed his joy as enthusiastically as his dog.
It took some time until Darcy managed to get back onto his feet and
after cleaning himself up and a quick late luncheon there was business to attend to. The stack of correspondence thankfully comprised of invitations to various parties he had missed, there was one from his Aunt Catherine that could also be neglected for the time being and after that only two that needed taking care of were left. One was a note informing him of an old acquaintance's passing that required a letter of condolence, the other was the more cheerful announcement of one of his neighbours up in Derbyshire that they had been blessed with a son and heir and which in turn required congratulations.
Next was the letter he had to write to Georgiana's school informing them that his sister would return to his care as soon as possible and then to assemble an advertisement for a companion to guide her. Oh, and he also needed to inform his cousin and steward that he had returned.
