Page 31 of Darcy in Distress (Pride and Prejudice Variation #17)
“Miss Bennet, good morning,” Charles Bingley said.
Jane looked up from the breakfast room table and smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Bingley. I hope you slept well?”
“I did,” Bingley answered as he wandered over to the sideboard to collect coffee, ham, and eggs. “I hope you slept well too?” he asked as he took his seat across from the most gracious, beautiful lady he had ever known.
“I did,” Jane said with a chuckle. “I confess to some surprise as it was an adventurous day yesterday, and I thought I might have difficulty sleeping. I did, however, wake up with the sun and the roosters, so I must not have been sleeping as soundly as usual.”
Bingley grinned and said, “That, or the roosters of Netherfield are particularly noisy! I quite agree about yesterday; it was both a joyful and bizarre day. I am ecstatic for my closest friend and your sister, but I hope I am never called upon again to interact with an enraged relation of Darcy’s. I find such interactions exhausting.”
Jane took a sip of hot chocolate and said wryly, “I agree entirely. Elizabeth’s character is robust, and she has remarkable courage and even tranquility when confronted with angry individuals. I confess I merely wish to hide in a corner during such times!”
“I understand completely. I hope that this day will prove far more relaxing for us all. Perhaps you and I can plan to play a game of Fox and Geese together? Your sister tells me that you are an excellent competitor.”
Jane sighed and shook her head. “I do enjoy that game, Mr. Bingley, but I must return home soon. Would you be kind enough to send a message to Longbourn and ask my father to send his carriage?”
Bingley’s cheer evaporated, leaving dismay in its wake.
“ Leave , Miss Bennet?” he asked. “I am certain your sister would appreciate your presence. Surely you could stay at least another day? Yesterday was frenetic and we had almost no time to converse, which was a great disappointment to me.”
Jane blushed but said, “My mother is not well, and while Mary and several of the servants are diligent and competent, I do not think it right to stay away any longer. Lizzy understands that.”
“Your father told me of your mother’s ... malady. It is a blessing, but I am sorry she is feeling so poorly. ”
“Did he? He trusts you very much then. Yes, my poor mother is very unwell, and there are only a few people able to soothe her. I am one of them.”
“I am certain you do an excellent job,” Bingley said ardently.
He glanced at the clock and saw it was still before nine in the morning.
It was unlikely that his family and friends would rise in the next minutes, and if a maidservant should happen to pass through, she would flee in horror when she realized what she was interrupting.
“Miss Bennet,” he said, climbing to his feet and walking over to where the lady sat with a piece of toast in her hand, “in the midst of all the excitement and upheaval of these last day, I have come to be certain of my own heart. You are beautiful, kind, honorable, and intelligent. I love and adore you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Jane dropped her toast onto her plate and leaped to her feet, her handsome countenance radiant with delight. “Yes, Mr. Bingley, yes! I will marry you!”
Bingley’s face lit up, and she was suddenly in his arms. He was kissing her, and she was responding with shy enthusiasm, and…
A hapless maid stepped into the room at this point, shrieked softly, and retreated.
When the couple separated, rather reluctantly, Bingley said breathlessly, “Miss Bennet, I know the weather is rather chilly, but would you care to accompany me outside and, erm...”
He paused, trying to think of something they could do together outside without entirely crossing the lines of propriety. He wished for at least some time to speak alone with his gorgeous, glorious Jane.
“Perhaps we could go to the stables, Charles?” Jane said and smiled at the delight in Bingley’s face at her use of his Christian name. “I do love horses.”
“That is a wonderful idea, Jane.”
/
Drawing Room
Netherfield Hall
Two hours later
“Oh Jane, I am so happy for you!” Elizabeth exclaimed, wrapping her elder sister in a warm embrace. “I am certain you and Mr. Bingley will be happy together.”
“Yes, Bingley,” Darcy agreed heartily. “You and Jane are, I believe, perfectly suited for one another. ”
“Thank you, and I agree completely,” Bingley said with a broad smile. “Now, I need to escort Jane back to Longbourn and formally ask for Mr. Bennet’s blessing on the marriage, but I thought perhaps we should have a brief discussion about your future plans.”
Darcy held out his hand to Elizabeth, who moved to his side and clasped his fingers in her own. The Darcys turned toward the various individuals in the room: Lady Anne, Georgiana, Cecil Fitzwilliam, the Wickhams, the Hursts, and Richard Fitzwilliam.
“An hour ago, Elizabeth and I met with Cecil, Richard, my mother, and the Wickhams. Given Matlock’s outrageous decision to abduct Lady Anne, I am no longer willing to attempt a diplomatic solution to our family quarrel. This no doubt sounds overly dramatic, but this means war.”
Bingley, who was holding Jane’s hand in his own, tightened it and asked worriedly, “Surely you do not mean actual violence, Darcy?”
“No,” Richard assured him.
“Perhaps,” Darcy countered, brow furrowed with anger. “I have no intention of shooting or stabbing my uncle, of course, but if he insults my mother again, I may well punch him in the jaw. ”
“He deserves it,” Georgiana declared, her usually soft eyes flashing with outrage. “He could have harmed Mother so much by forcing her to take laudanum again!”
“I do hope this has not set you back, Lady Anne?” Jane asked in a worried tone.
“Not at all, Miss Bennet, I assure you. I managed to secretly dispose of almost all the drugged lemonade. Mrs. Lockwood is watching over me with her usual care, but I feel well today.”
“That is excellent news,” Bingley said warmly.
“It is,” Darcy agreed, and for a moment found himself unable to speak.
Two days ago, his mother was in the clutches of the Earl of Matlock, and he was overwhelmed with anxiety over her fate, along with uncertainty about how to proceed.
Today, his mother was with him, alive and well, and he had acquired a beautiful, vigorous, intelligent, wonderful, passionate bride in his precious Elizabeth.
“It is,” Darcy repeated. “But I must explain the rest of our plans so that you can escort Jane to Longbourn, Bingley. We have agreed that tomorrow morning we will all travel to London and stay at Darcy House. Wickham will begin the legal process of taking control of Rosings, Anne will be examined by Sir William Knighton, one of the Prince Regent’s physicians, and I will see my man of business and order him to buy up as many of the Matlocks’ debts as possible. ”
Cecil, caught between fear at the thought of being in the same city as his father and pleasure that the earl might finally be brought to account for his overbearing, bullying ways, said timidly, “Do you truly have the funds for such an endeavor, Darcy?”
“I do,” Darcy assured him.
“Cecil,” Richard said, “one of the many differences between Darcy and our father is that Darcy is exceptionally careful with money, and our father is a spendthrift, along with being a negligent master of the family estates.”
“I have money as well, Nephew,” Lady Anne added. “I assure you that given how I suffered at my brother’s hands, I have every intention of bringing him to his financial knees. I will also pay you the three thousand pounds for helping me escape.”
“That is my responsibility,” Darcy argued, turning to scowl at his mother.
“Do not be absurd,” his mother said, rising to her feet and glaring at Darcy. “I am responsible as much as...”
The door opened at this moment and Bingley’s butler stepped in, his usually impassive countenance twisted in distress. “Mr. Bingley, six men on horseback have arrived, and I recognize the Earl of Matlock among them.”
To her credit, Lady Anne reacted within a few seconds of this ominous announcement. “Ladies, we should retreat upstairs, where we will be safer.”
Elizabeth turned a questioning gaze on her husband, and he nodded. “My mother is correct, Elizabeth. I think Lady Anne’s sitting room is the best place to secure yourselves as it has only one door. Lock the door behind you, please.”
“We could hide in the basement again,” Georgiana pointed out, her face pale with worry.
“That is unnecessary, dear sister,” Darcy said firmly. “My uncle will not be able to raid the house stealthily as he did a few days ago. We are ready for him.”
“Pray be careful, Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth said, rising up on her toes and kissing him. “Indeed, I beg you all to be cautious. Lord Matlock must be desperate at this juncture, which makes him all the more dangerous.”
“We will be well, Mrs. Darcy,” the colonel promised. “Bingley, we should send several footmen upstairs to guard the ladies, and all the doors should be locked from the inside. ”
“It will be done,” Bingley agreed, his brow furrowed with determination, “and I will have one of my lads race to the stables and call all the outdoor servants to the house.”
“Excellent,” Richard said, then turned to his youngest brother. “Cecil?”
“Yes?”
“You should stay here in the house. I fear your presence would exacerbate an already difficult situation.”
Cecil Fitzwilliam felt every muscle in his body relax at these very welcome words. “Of course, Richard. That is completely reasonable.”
/
Lord Matlock glanced at his pocket watch and gnashed his teeth. He and his retinue, all on horseback, had been waiting at the front of Netherfield Hall for seven minutes now, and thus far no one had come out to either greet or confront him.