Page 31 of Brighton Rescue (Pride and Prejudice Variation #23)
“Mr. Bingley, Madam.”
Mrs. Bennet, who had been drowsing on the couch in the Longbourn parlor, leaped to her feet with a mixture of dismay and delight.
Dismay because her husband still refused to call Jane home, but delight that Mr. Bingley was still interested in the Bennet family.
Maybe Kitty would do for him if Jane stayed stubbornly away?
“Good morning, Mr. Bingley,” she exclaimed. “I hope you are well?”
“I am very well, Mrs. Bennet. I was hoping that I could speak to Mr. Bennet?”
The lady’s rather shallow brain whirled at this. Why would he wish to speak to Mr. Bennet? Was he wishing to speak about Jane and his pursuit of her? It could not be Mary, of course.
“Yes, of course, of course, Mr. Bingley! Do come this way. Mr. Bennet is in the library!”
/
“Mr. Bingley,” Bennet said, lifting his eyebrows curiously. “Please do sit down. I am honored by your visit. I understand from my wife that you only returned to Netherfield yesterday?”
“That is correct, sir,” Bingley answered, taking the chair across from the desk.
“I fear you find our family circle much diminished as my daughters Jane and Elizabeth are currently in Brighton visiting friends.”
“I am aware of that, Mr. Bennet. I was in Brighton only three days ago and met both Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth there.”
The older man, who had been in the act of pouring brandy for his guest, halted in surprise. “Were you indeed? Excellent! How are Mr. Darcy and my Lizzy getting on?”
Bingley grimaced. It would be poor form to share the engagement before Miss Elizabeth’s father had been officially informed. “They, erm, are getting along very well, sir,” he prevaricated.
Bennet tilted his head, his eyes narrowed and murmured, “So Darcy actually proposed, did he? I confess to amazement; my daughter Elizabeth is a prize, but the gentleman has not always appreciated her beauty and wit.”
“I did not say that they were engaged,” Bingley said hastily .
“I can read it in your open, honest countenance. But I apologize for embarrassing you. Since you know that my Jane is in Brighton, I presume you are not here with the intention of pursuing her further?”
The younger man gulped and lifted a hand to loosen his collar. “In truth, I journeyed to Brighton with the intention of renewing our acquaintance, but Miss Bennet made it quite clear that any attachment between us is at an end.”
Bennet stared at his guest with surprised pleasure. Jane had always been far too inclined to excuse the poor behavior of her fellow man; it seemed that his eldest daughter was developing some discernment.
“Did she indeed? Well, I daresay she has reason enough for that decision, Mr. Bingley.”
“I assure you that I am well aware of my own culpability. I was a fool to abandon Netherfield last December. I listened to my friends and relations, who assured me ... well, it matters not what they said. I acted the boy instead of the man, and have reaped the consequences. That is why I returned to Netherfield; I am determined to learn to manage the estate well. It was very poor form for me to be an absentee landlord for nearly a full year. ”
Bennet shrugged and took a sip of brandy. “The tenants are used to it; Netherfield sat empty for two years before you took the lease.”
“But surely it would be better for them to have a diligent landlord?”
“It would, of course,” Bennet agreed, aware of an uncomfortable stab of compunction. In addition to being an indolent father, he was a lazy overseer of Longbourn.
“Miss Mary informed me that one of my tenants, a Mr. Audley, broke his leg, and that his family is having difficulty managing the needs of their land.”
“Mary told you this? When?”
“She informed me last night at the assembly when we danced together. She told me of a tenant family of yours, the Simpsons, blessed with strong sons, who might be willing to assist the Audleys if I paid them. I wished to consult with you as to whether that is permissible, since you are the master of Longbourn.”
“Yes, that would be entirely acceptable. Mary is quite right; the Simpsons have six sons, and the four older ones are hardworking and strong. That is an excellent plan.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bennet. Can you direct me to their home? ”
“It would be easier if you had a guide with you, and no doubt my daughter, Mary, would be pleased to introduce you to both the Simpsons and the Audleys.”
Bingley’s eyes grew rather wide at this and he said, uncomfortably, “I presume you or a servant will accompany us?”
“Yes,” his host replied a trifle haughtily. Unlike her younger sisters, Mary could be trusted to hold the line with gentlemen. A maid could accompany the couple.
Except, wait, after the near disaster at Brighton, he was determined to turn over a new leaf. He had already made changes in overseeing the actions of his younger two daughters, but that did not address his shortcomings as master of Longbourn.
He cast a piteous glance at a pile of new books and then smiled gamely at his guest. “I will be accompanying you, of course, but Mary knows the Audleys better than I do.”
“Excellent!” Bingley answered, his good humor restored. “I am busy with my steward this afternoon, but perhaps we could drive out together tomorrow or the next day?”
“I believe we are free tomorrow morning, sir.”
/
“Elizabeth!Jane!”
“Aunt Gardiner!”
Elizabeth and Jane embraced their aunt heartily, and then both girls knelt down, the better to wrap their arms around their young cousins, who were cavorting about in the drawing room.
“Mr. Darcy, Mr. Hartford,” Mrs. Gardiner said warmly. “It is good to see you again.”
“It is delightful to see you as well, Mrs. Gardiner,” Gabriel answered with a slight bow. “I hope your journey back to London was a pleasant one?”
“It was pleasant enough, though I am all too ready to stay home for a time. We journeyed to Hertfordshire, you know, to collect our children from Longbourn, and after staying two days, returned to London. Our holiday proved both exciting and enjoyable, but it is always good to return home.”
“I agree with you entirely,” Darcy said fervently. “It has been too long since I have seen Pemberley, and I am looking forward to carrying Elizabeth there within a few weeks. ”
This provoked a cry of delight from Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth, who had gently disengaged from her cousins, embraced her again and said, “We are to be married, Aunt! Is that not wonderful?”
“It is absolutely glorious! Congratulations, Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth. I believe you will suit one another very well!”
“I am certain you are correct,” Darcy answered, bending an adoring look on his beloved.
“We are to travel onward to Longbourn tomorrow, Aunt, but I hope that Jane and I can spend the night here? We fled Brighton in some haste, or we would have sent a message.”
“What were you fleeing from?” Mrs. Gardiner asked in concern.
Jane grimaced and Gabriel said, “We came across the Prince Regent on the Steyne, and he obviously admired Miss Bennet and spoke of inviting her to the Marine Pavilion for a party in the near future. As a gentleman’s daughter under our protection, she would come to no harm there, but of course Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth are eager to seek Mr. Bennet’s blessing on their engagement. ”
“I quite understand.”
/
“Kitty?”
Kitty Bennet, who had been preparing to go to bed, looked up at the open door to her bedchamber to observe Lydia standing in her nightgown. “Yes?”
“Kitty, would you mind terribly if I stayed with you tonight?”
The fourth Miss Bennet blinked but nodded. “Of course, do come in! But why? You have not wanted to share a bed since you were ten years of age.”
Lydia’s eyes filled with tears and her head bowed. “I am having bad dreams.”
“Oh, Lydia, I am so sorry. Are they about what happened in Brighton?”
Lydia threw herself onto the bed and nodded miserably. “Yes, I keep having nightmares of being in that carriage, and Wickham hitting me, but then the carriage keeps going, and going, and he looks at me with such hatred and disgust, and I know he intends to ... to...”
She shivered and continued, “When I wake up, I am quite terrified. I know if you are with me when I awake, I will be comforted. ”
“I understand,” Kitty said with genuine sympathy. “The bed is big enough for both of us, but do try not to put your cold feet on my legs!”
“Oh, and why not?” Lydia returned with a hint of her old spirit. “You always have such warm legs, and I have such cold feet!”
Kitty laughed and pulled back the covers, allowing both girls to crawl under the sheet.
For a few minutes all was silence, and then Lydia whispered, “Kitty, I have been thinking about Mary.”
“What about Mary?”
“You know that Mama is always saying she is plain. I think that she would not be so very plain if she dressed her hair differently and if she wore clothes that better suited her coloring.”
Kitty turned over to face her sister, whose countenance was barely visible in the moonlit room. “Do you believe Mary truly wishes to be pretty?”
“Why ever would she wish to be ugly, Kitty?”
“Mary is always talking about the Bible, and how it says that a woman’s beauty should not come from outward adornment. I am not certain that she cares about her lack of beauty. ”
“I suspect she pretends not to care,” Lydia said slowly, “because Mama is always harping on how beautiful all of us are except for Mary. It must hurt her very much to be disdained for her face, and she is…”
“Protecting herself by quoting Bible verses?” Kitty mused. “That sounds quite possible.”
Silence fell for another two minutes.
“Lydia?”
“Yes?”
“Why do you care about Mary’s feelings? You never did before.”
Lydia turned onto her back and stared at the dim ceiling above her. “I care because … because Mama … Kitty, Mama is, I think, not very wise.”
“Not wise?”
“No. You know she has talked incessantly for years about how we need to be married as soon as possible because of the entail. When I was in Brighton, I was so very happy when Wickham asked me to marry him. I would have gone to the ends of the earth with him, secure that I was the most fortunate of us all because I had attracted the notice of such a charming, good looking man. Then it turned out that his handsome countenance concealed a monster. I doubt he would have married me, Kitty, ever. He would have … have used me for his own pleasure and then thrown me into the ditch. I could have died, and he would not have cared in the least.”
“Do you really think so?’
“I do. Mama is so upset about the entail that she thinks any husband is better than no husband. She is wrong; can you imagine being married to a man like Wickham? As for Mary, she is not as pretty as we are, but that is hardly her fault. She is hardworking and diligent and would make a good wife, but more than that, I want her to be happy as she is, not constantly feeling that she is less important than we are because of her face.”
Kitty reached out an impulsive hand to touch Lydia’s arm. “I would like that too.”
/
“Fitzwilliam!” Georgiana Darcy shrieked, throwing herself into her brother’s arms.
“Georgiana!” Darcy exclaimed, pulling his little sister closer to his own broad chest. “I am so happy to see you! I apologize for being so late to return to Darcy House, but… ”
“But,” Georgiana said, pulling away and smiling roguishly, “I understand from Richard that you were quite busy visiting Miss Elizabeth Bennet, shortly to be Mrs. Darcy!”
“I was,” he agreed, his face alight with joy. “Georgiana, you will adore her!”
“Richard has already told me a fair amount about her,” his sister said, looking at Colonel Fitzwilliam, “but I wish to hear more. Oh, Brother, I am so excited. I am to have a sister at last!”