Page 25 of Aunt Felicity

“W hat is this temerity? First that insipid Miss Bennet refuses to join us for dinner! Now my Mr Darcy is telling us that she and some family members will arrive without an invitation!” Miss Bingley sneered. “Who do they think they are? You must refuse the Bennets and their low born relatives when they call.”

“We will do no such thing!” Bingley slapped his hand down on the table. “It is obvious to me that our late father’s money was entirely wasted on sending you to that exclusive lady’s seminary in London. You know nothing of decorum, hospitality, or social order.”

“Of what do you speak? I am a refined lady,” Miss Bingley sniffed.

“Only in your own mind,” Bingley shot back. “Unless you want to find yourself on the first post north to Aunt Hildebrand, you will behave when the Bennets and their family come to call.”

Caroline did not like the look of determination in her brother’s eye, so she receded for now. She knew not what black magic had been cast on her Mr Darcy that he had joined the damned Bennets for their morning meal. How she wished her brother had never taken this estate, and she had never heard the name Bennet. Now she had to endure them and some of their tradesmen relatives while acting as if they deserved her condescension. She knew how to be subtle, so she would let these Bennets and their family know just how superior she was to them. She was positive she would be able to manipulate Charles into never banishing her to the north.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

The three coaches had to be held before they turned onto the main street in Meryton as the militia regiment had arrived, and the soldiers and officers were marching towards their new encampment on the southern edge of the town.

Watching with many of the town’s residents were Mr A and Miss B, who, based on the request Mr Strike had received, had returned to Meryton while the Fitzwilliams were in the area. Miss B tugged Mr A’s sleeve. So that only he could hear her, and without drawing attention to themselves, she said one word: “Look.”

Mr A followed his partner’s eyes, and immediately saw who she had noticed. Bold as brass, in the uniform of a lieutenant, riding alongside a platoon of soldiers was the man who, according to their employer, it was imperative to capture. They had seen his likeness too many times not to recognise the smug looking man who was surveying the town and its citizens with a predatory look in his eyes.

As soon as the regiment had passed them, the two investigators saw the three conveyances which had been waiting, turn onto the street and begin travelling in the opposite direction to the soldiers. They were aware that Mr Strike’s clients were in one of the carriages. Without a word between themselves, the two knew what they must do.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Wickham was pleased with what he had seen so far. This town was full of young flowers which would be his for the picking, and he was confident in his ability to establish credit accounts with every merchant in the town—well perhaps not the bookseller. What need had he for books.

He had duty for two days, but afterwards he would begin to explore and establish himself in the town. He ignored the fact that his looks were no longer an asset. If only he could have afforded to be fitted with ivory teeth. Damn that bloody William Darcy. Not only had he cost Wickham the money from his former employer, but also the greater amount he would have extracted for his silence.

His mind returned to more pleasant thoughts as he dismounted from the regiment’s horse in the encampment with its neat rows of tents for the soldiers. He was very grateful that, as an officer, the regiment had arranged for him to be billeted in a rented bedchamber at a local home.

If he had to hide himself from the insane old bat, the Darcys, and Fitzwilliams, this was as good a place as any.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

At about five minutes before eleven, carriages were heard in the drive at Netherfield Park.

William led his father and sister through a side door, so he could show them into the house without being seen by those in the drawing room as they were the only ones Miss Bingley would recognise.

The Bennets and Fitzwilliams used the stone steps to the veranda before the double front doors. “Mr Bennet and family members to see the master of the estate,” Bennet told the butler.

Mr Nichols and footmen removed the guests’ outerwear and he led them towards the drawing room. The butler announced them as Mr Bennet had stated who they were and stood back and allowed the guests to enter the drawing room where Mr Bingley and Mr and Mrs Hurst were standing to greet them. The butler was not surprised that the master’s younger sister remained seated. He shook his head as he withdrew from the room.

“Welcome Mr and Mrs Bennet, and the Miss Bennets. I see that one daughter, Miss Lydia, did not join you. I pray she is well,” Bingley said in greeting.

“Thank you, Mr Bingley, may I introduce our family?” Bennet requested.

Before Bingley could respond, his younger sister interjected rudely. “Why should we meet these tradesmen? There is no reason for us to descend to their level,” Miss Bingley sneered.

“Excuse me, but I am confused. Are you not the daughter of a tradesman?” Felicity asked innocently. “Is not that dowry you like to flaunt earned from trade?”

Caroline Bingley had never learnt that one should not speak when angered because angry people are seldom wise. “How dare you speak to your betters? Judging by your out-of-fashion clothing, you have no class or sense of what is acceptable to members of the Ton !”

Bingley was mortified. His sister was doing exactly what he had commanded her not to do. He was about to stop his sister’s diatribe when movement caught his eye. He had not seen him when they first arrived, but there stood Fitzwilliam shaking his head, telling him to hold his peace. Wait, they were introduced as family of the Bennets. Surely not, if the Bennets were connected to the Fitzwilliams, would Darcy not have said so? Thinking of Darcy, where was he? Bingley should have expected his sister to explode in this way. She was set off as soon as Darce’s note had arrived, announcing he was breaking his fast at Longbourn.

He looked at Fitzwilliam’s eyes prior to noticing the older lady, who looked very much like Miss Elizabeth with the same coloured and shaped eyes. It struck him like the hooves of a stampeding horse. Caroline was busy ruining herself in front of the Countess of Matlock. To Bingley, it was akin to watching a cart hurtling down a hill with nothing to stop it. He could see the coming accident but could do nothing to avert it. Had Darcy not warned him that Caroline would be the architect of her own ruin one day?

“Caroline,” Mrs Hurst attempted to temper her sister’s vitriol, “this is not how we treat guests in our house.”

“These are not guests, they are nobodies!” Miss Bingley screeched. She had already been enraged that Mr Darcy had joined the Bennets for a meal and then the lady, who must be an aunt of Eliza given how much they looked alike, dared to remind her of her roots. “I am sure this young lady,” she pointed at a young lady who looked similar to Eliza in her facial features, “is as much of a lightskirt as that hoyden Eliza is!”

“Now you accuse my daughter of the same disgusting things of which you accused my niece when you wrote me this revolting letter,” Felicity held up the pages the shrew had posted to her, “filled with innuendo and lies.”

All of the colour drained from Miss Bingley’s face. She had posted that letter to the Countess of Matlock, not this woman. How did she have it? She refused to listen to her brain as it was screaming at her that she knew why this lady had her letter and who the lady was.

“Brother, will you introduce us? As much as we never wanted to know that , it cannot be avoided now,” Felicity requested.

“Mr Bingley, Mr and Mrs Hurst, and vile liar, it is my pleasure to introduce my sister and brother-in-law, the Countess and Earl of Matlock. My nephew and niece, Viscount and Viscountess Hilldale, my other nephew, and the heir to Longbourn, the Honourable Mr Richard Fitzwilliam, and last but certainly not least, Lady Bethanne Fitzwilliam, my niece.”

“ No, no, no, no ! This cannot be. You have no connections of note! You cannot be related to the Fitzwilliams because that would make Mr Darcy…” Caroline blustered as she began to feel sick to her stomach.

“Cousin to the Bennets,” William completed as he strode into the drawing room accompanied by his father and sister. “My father is uncle to the Bennet sisters, and my sister their cousin as well. What was it you were saying about the Bennets’ connections, Miss Bingley?”

As much as she wanted to reject the information, Caroline knew she could not. All she could do was salvage as much as she could, which meant compromising the younger Mr Darcy. She flung herself towards the man. William saw the calculation being made by Miss Bingley, he simply stepped back as the woman flew through the air and landed in the arms of a footman. “I am compromised, Mr Darcy must marry me,” she crowed.

“Actually, Miss Bingley, you have entrapped a footman. I doubt even he would want to be shackled to you,” Felicity drawled.

Seeing that she had been caught by a footman, Miss Bingley jumped back. Before she could make another ill-fated attempt, Bingley nodded and two footmen lifted her by her arms and sat her in a chair away from everyone.

“Are you so delusional that you rejected your brother’s words when he told you I would never marry you for any reason, not even a compromise?” William shook his head. He turned to his friend. “Bingley, we all know you tried to control her and passed on all of our warnings. She chose to ignore your words, so we will not hold you responsible for her actions.”

“How dare you write those vile lies about me?” Elizabeth demanded. As much as she wanted to slap the woman, she restrained herself.

“What did she write?” Bingley asked. While he needed to know, he had a feeling he did not want to read his sister’s words. A letter found its way into his hands. There was no mistaking the paper, the scent, or the script. The more he read, the more horror he felt. “How could you write this?” he demanded as he handed the slander to his older sister.

“My Mr Darcy said Eliza had fine eyes!” Miss Bingley screeched.

“My son is not now, nor has he ever been your anything!” Darcy thundered. “Not one of us wants you as a member of our family.” Darcy turned to William’s friend. “Your sister is entirely insane. You need to have her committed to an asylum.”

“It will be done, but if she is in Bedlam will it not create a scandal?” Bingley responded.

“It would, but there are many private asylums which are used by the well to do. I would send her to one of those,” Felicity related. “The treatment in those institutions is humane, and the patients are kept safe from themselves while removing their ability to hurt others.”

“ I am not INSANE !” Miss Bingley screamed.

In the interim Mrs Hurst had ordered some special tea for her sister. As soon as Mrs Nichols delivered it to her, she handed it to her younger sister. “Here Caro, you have had a trying time. Have some restorative tea, you will feel much better.”

Caroline accepted the tea without argument and gulped it down. She was unconscious before she was able to return the cup to the saucer. Mrs Hurst nodded to the housekeeper who supervised two footmen who carried her out of the room, after Mrs Nichols had placed a blanket over her legs to preserve the lady’s modesty.

With no more Miss Bingley to interrupt them, an edited version of the estrangement and the reunion between the Countess and her family was told.

“Had Caroline had an inkling of the truth of your connections, she would have done everything in her power to ingratiate herself to you,” Bingley opined once the telling was completed.

“Which makes me thankful she was not aware,” Elizabeth responded. “For myself, I do not need false friends.”

“Lady Bethanne, Miss Elizabeth, please allow me to apologise for my sister’s atrocious words.” He saw the rising protests. “I know, I cannot apologise for her actions, however as the head of the Bingley family I will, as what she did, said, and wrote was in the Bingley name. As much as I have attempted to take her in hand, I know I was not successful, and now it is obvious my sister is soft in the head. We finally know why she could never accept reality.” Bingley looked at his friend and something struck him, causing him to grin. “That means you insulted your own family member at the assembly.”

“Do not remind me of what I said then, at this point a good memory is unpardonable. For the record though, before I knew she was my cousin, I apologised to Cousin Elizabeth this morning. Had I not, I would have been as surprised as your sister when your callers arrived,” William explained.

“Are you telling me that you could not see your aunt’s face in Miss Elizabeth’s?” Bingley asked in wonder.

“There are none so blind as those who will not see,” William recited.

“That can be applied to my sister as well,” Mrs Hurst opined. “It is sad she has come to this end, but it is clear this is the only way for Caroline. She used to be such a sweet girl until our late mother put all of the dreams of rising in society into her head.”

Bingley nodded in agreement, his eyes watching his angel. With her newly discovered connections, Bingley wondered if Miss Jane Bennet was out of his reach. He decided that he would proceed as before, until—or unless—she sent him away.

“It is time to return to Longbourn,” Bennet stated as he stood.

“You are welcome to join us for a family dinner on the morrow,” Fanny invited. She looked at Mrs Hurst and waited for a reply. The latter looked to her brother who nodded.

“Thank you, Mrs Bennet, we will be happy to join you,” Mrs Hurst accepted.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

“This note arrived for you, your Lordship.” Hill bowed as he offered the Earl the salver.

Reggie took the folded paper and turned it over. He immediately recognised the ‘S’ in the wax. “It is from Strike or some of his investigators,” he revealed. He sat down on a settee with Felicity next to him and broke the seal, and unfolded the single page.

5 November 1811

Meryton

Lord Matlock,

This could not wait until we communicated with Mr Strike and then he with you.

As you may or may not know, a regiment of the Derbyshire Militia marched into the town this morning. In fact, they passed through town just before you and your party turned onto the main street.

We were among the crowd watching when we saw a lieutenant astride a horse. From seeing the likeness we have of the reprobate, we immediately recognised George Wickham. If you order it, we will apprehend the man. If possible, it would be very helpful if you had a few men available that he would not recognise who could assist us.

Yours etc,

A and B

“George Wickham, here!” Felicity exclaimed.

All conversation in the drawing room ceased as everyone’s attention was on the Fitzwilliam parents. Richard crossed the room and took the missive from his father’s hand. He returned to his seat between William and Uncle Robert. They read the short note.

“They are correct. If that libertine gets wind of our presence, he will be long gone before we get to him,” Richard agreed with the investigators.

“We will send Biggs, Johns, and a few of their men,” Reggie decided.

Less than a half hour later, six men, dressed as labourers, and walking independently of each other, were on their way to Meryton.