Page 34 of Brighton Rescue (Pride and Prejudice Variation #23)
Jane laughed and said, “You can thank my mother for that. She has a remarkable eye for designing a pleasing layout of flowers and shrubs and trees. It is surprising as she is not particularly fond of the outdoors.”
“It is far more beautiful than Netherfield’s gardens, which are, in my opinion, overly formal. ”
“Did you and Mr. Darcy stay at Netherfield last night, then?”
“I did,” he said, glancing anxiously down at her.
“I hope you were comfortable?”
“I was very comfortable, yes, but I accepted Mr. Bingley’s invitation to stay at Netherfield so that I could better know the man.
Our acquaintance is a nascent one, of course, but he does seem a fine individual, and Mr. Darcy values him as a friend.
I am well aware that he is wealthier than I am, and whole in body.
I merely wish to say that if you ever have any doubts about our courtship, you must tell me without hesitation. ”
Jane shook a reproving finger at her admirer. “Now, Mr. Hartford, I insist that you stop worrying about Mr. Bingley! He is a pleasant gentleman, but I no longer care for him in the least. Were either of his sisters at Netherfield?”
“No,” Gabriel answered, his entire body relaxing at the lady’s words. “I have not had the pleasure of meeting any other member of his family.”
Jane grimaced adorably and said, “I fear it would be no great pleasure. His younger sister, Miss Bingley, can be pleasant enough if she wishes, but she is a gossip and a termagant. One of the many things I appreciate about you, sir, is that you are able to make decisions without bending to the will of those around you. Mr. Bingley is so easygoing that he permits his sisters to pressure him into actions that are not in his best interests.”
Gabriel began strolling toward the stables, Jane’s hand tucked in his arm. “A good officer in the army must learn to make decisions or his men will suffer. My mother would say that I knew my own mind as a young man, but my military service honed my ability to rapidly select a course of action.”
“I suppose that when an enemy army is bearing down upon you, there is little time for indecision.”
Gabriel’s gaze grew faraway and for a brief moment, he could hear once again the sound of musket fire, and the screams of injured men. “You are entirely correct, Miss Bennet.”
/
“Are you well, Jane?” Elizabeth asked as she entered her elder sister’s bedroom that night.
Jane looked up from her dressing table, where she had been combing out her blonde locks. “I am more than well, Lizzy. I like Mr. Hartford so very much! ”
“He is a wonderful man,” Elizabeth concurred, before adding, “not as wonderful as Mr. Darcy, of course, but I grant him my approval as your suitor.”
To her astonished amusement, Jane grabbed a moistened rag and threw it at Elizabeth’s head, which she dodged with some difficulty.
“Jane,” she said in mock reproof, “you are growing quite saucy in your old age.”
Her sister chuckled and said, “That is your fault, is it not? You have been telling me for years that I am too inclined to think well of everyone, as well as foolishly forgiving.”
“I do believe that we have both made needed corrections to our characters,” Elizabeth said, suddenly serious. “I was too inclined to judge hastily, with far too much pride in my own discernment.”
“And I was a fool to think that men and women are always well meaning. Mr. Wickham taught me that.”
“Yes, Wickham was a truly foul wretch,” Elizabeth concurred.
“Even now. I shiver at the thought of all of us ruined, which would almost certainly have prevented me from marrying my dear Fitzwilliam. I feel blessed by God indeed that we escaped without a horrific scandal. It also seems that Lydia has truly learned something from her frightening experience. ”
Jane put down her comb at this. “I have not made time to speak to Lydia yet. I see her bruise is fading, but I hope that she is not too dreadfully affected in a spiritual sense.”
“If it had been Kitty, the experience might well have been devastating,” Elizabeth mused, “but I think for Lydia it has merely dampened her excessive ebullience. I spoke to her this evening at some length while Mother was berating you again about Mr. Bingley and Mr. Hartford; I do wish she would stop that.”
Her elder sister waved a casual hand, “I am not perturbed by it, Lizzy. Mr. Hartford and I will continue our courtship, though we may choose to meet at Lucas Lodge or at our aunt Philips’s home some days in order to avoid Mama. But please, do go on.”
“Lydia told me that she has realized that Mama’s desire that she marry at sixteen is foolish, and she is content to stay home for the time being.
Apparently, she has also decided to amuse herself by working on Mary’s appearance; hence, the new hairstyle and clothing.
She and Kitty are sneaking into Mary’s closet when Mary is away and adding ribbons and lace and the like to her overly severe dresses. ”
“I wondered about that!” Jane exclaimed. “It seemed quite extraordinary that Mary would bother with such things. ”
“Lydia says, and I believe she is correct, that Mary pretends not to care about her appearance because Mother is always denigrating how she looks. So she…”
“Toils away to show herself accomplished instead,” Jane finished. “That is insightful of Lydia. I am startled that Mary is going along with it, though she does look far prettier than she did.”
Elizabeth laughed and said, “Lydia is being very clever! She keeps telling stories about beautiful women in the Bible whose beauty was a blessing, like Rebekah and Esther and Rachel.”
“That is dexterous indeed!”
“Yes, it is. I wonder if this near disaster at Brighton will be the making of our youngest sister.”
/
“Oh!” Charlotte Collins cried out.
Mr. Collins, who had been gazing adoringly out the window towards the grand edifice of Rosings in the distance, turned to gaze in surprise at his wife. The lady, usually so placid, was staring down at a letter in her hand with a startled expression on her face .
“What is it, my dear Charlotte?” he asked. “Is that a letter from Lady Lucas?”
She looked up and beamed at him. “Yes, and with such incredible news! Mr. Darcy is engaged to my friend, Elizabeth Bennet!”
Mr. William Collins, rector at Hunsford, looked foolish most of the time; with his mouth hanging open, and his small eyes wide in horror, he looked entirely ridiculous.
“You must be mistaken, my dear,” he finally squeaked. “Mr. Darcy is engaged to the most beautiful flower in all of Kent, Miss de Bourgh!”
Charlotte suppressed a sigh of impatience and said, with practiced gentleness, “My mother says that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are to be married in Meryton soon, so I can only presume that Mr. Darcy does not consider himself affianced to his cousin.”
Mr. Collins spent another minute gaping like a lake trout before leaping to his feet in a frenzy. “I must tell Lady Catherine of this immediately! She will not permit this travesty!”
Charlotte Collins opened her mouth in protest and then closed it. There was no point in arguing with her husband; he considered his patroness as much, or more, an authority than God Himself.
She waited until she could see her husband running awkwardly down the road towards Rosings and then said aloud, “I am sorry, Elizabeth.”