Page 30 of Ever After End

CHAPTER 29

T wo weeks after arriving in Glastonbury, leaving aside his confusing ruminations about Elizabeth Bennet, Darcy was in a foul mood for other reasons. He had expected his aunt’s tenants to lay down immediately once a powerful man turned up to end their shenanigans. Some of them had given her trouble before, shortly after her husband died ten years ago. His father sent him to manage the problem, and though he was not yet out of university, the farmers immediately ceased their nonsense once they learned that Mrs Darlington was not without protection.

This time, the farmers held their ground. Over the years, Mrs Darlington had taken on a number of new tenants, so these were not the same men who had been loyal to Mr Darlington. Some of them were the sons of those men, others were new families entirely, but what mattered was that the rents were overdue, and the men knew that their landlady needed the funds, hence them attempting to get their way before they paid her anything. Darcy had warned them that they were in danger of losing their leases and in breach of their contracts. He reminded them they had families to feed and attempting to squeeze the landowner that owned their land was a dangerous gamble .

The men were willing to risk it, uncaring that there were six of them creating trouble over boundaries and the best fields, and that there was simply no way to please them all. They seemed to believe that just because their landowner was a woman, they could demand the best fields or refuse to pay. Fences were ripped down, crops had been damaged by loose cattle, and fights had broken out between families over the damages. Mrs Darlington acted as her own steward for years, but unfortunately, these men refused to be cowed by a woman and were disrespectful in the extreme, expecting that if they held out long enough on the rents, that she would be weak and desperate to negotiate with them.

One of the tenants was actually attempting to take over land that Mrs Darlington did not even own. The field in question was over the border, belonging to Folly Farm. The magistrate had never forgiven Mrs Darlington for changing the name of her estate to something so silly and whimsical, and so the man was no help. Darcy sent for a group of land surveyors to confirm what they already knew, and if the men had not paid their rents by the time the surveyor report was ready, they would be evicted for breach of their leases. When they were removed from their houses, the bailiffs would be present, for the men had not paid last quarter’s rents either, and if they did not pay what they owed before leaving, the men would be taken in for debt. Then labourers would have to be brought in from local villages to harvest the crops that were left behind.

It seemed extreme and cruel, but in truth, Darcy felt no sympathy for the farmers. He had no doubt they could all afford to pay. There had been no hardship on the estate that was not caused by the farmers themselves. The greedy men all wanted more than their share of the fields, and because there was no man in the house and no steward, they felt empowered to manipulate an older woman that they believed was unprotected. They would pay what was owed to avoid being arrested, and they would have to move on with their families. It was unfortunate for the innocent wives and children, but sadly unavoidable. Darcy had sent for a great number of men from his estate. Mrs. Reynolds sent footmen who could be spared, grooms, even the strapping sons of some tenant farmers, to help keep matters from getting out of hand. He was going to have to speak to his godmother about finally hiring a steward. It was an expense, but far easier than finding new tenants, which Darcy was already in the process of doing.

Bingley tended to ride out with him each morning to ensure that the tenants were not causing any further damage, but the rest of his time was spent in pursuit of Miss Bennet. Darcy had made his sentiments known on the subject several times. The lady was quiet, although she seemed pleased by Bingley’s company. In the evenings after dinner when the men were sharing port and cigars, Darcy learned from the other gentlemen that Miss Bennet had been polite to the others before Bingley came, but that she had not singled any man out with such pleasure at their society. Darcy could not but presume that her attraction to his friend might be sincere. Darcy wished he could paint her as a fortune hunter, but the lady stood to inherit an estate herself, even if it was only two thousand a year, it was a generous portion for a woman.

“I have no particular objection to the lady, Bingley, but it is not why we came here,” said Darcy to his friend. “You came to learn about estate disputes, and she is here to find a husband.”

“Darcy, I know you do not think I am serious, but Miss Bennet is an angel,” insisted Bingley. “I have never met anyone like her before.”

“Bingley, you have met an angel every season in town, sometimes two, and on every visit to every village that we have made since we met.” Darcy rolled his eyes as their horses picked their way down the lane. “Each time, you swear it is different.”

“Your aunt does not seem to mind.” Bingley grinned at him.

“My aunt is too generous,” said Darcy. “You are throwing off her numbers. Now there are too many gentlemen and not enough ladies. You are stealing a potential wife from a man who paid to come here to meet one.”

“Well they do not all leave married, your aunt said so,” reasoned Bingley. “Even if I had never come, it does not stand to reason that Miss Bennet would have chosen one of these men. She may have still gone home unmarried. Do you think I should pay your aunt her fee if I am to court one of her guests? I do not wish to be unfair to her.”

“No, I do not think you should lower yourself to pay an exorbitant fee to court a woman. And Miss Bennet is going home unmarried anyway, Bingley,” sighed Darcy.

“Why is that?” asked Bingley, pulling up his horse.

Darcy reined in his horse and stopped next to his friend on the lane, and continued. “Because I have never seen you actually serious about any lady. You meet an angel, you follow her assiduously, you create expectations, and then you lose interest and abandon her. I have watched you do it countless times. This time it is different. Miss Bennet has no desire to continue her unwed state, and has paid a great sum of money to meet men who are equally as serious in their desire to wed. You will lose interest in her, as you do all the others, and she will have wasted her money and her time here. It will be a cruelty, whether you realise what you are doing or not.”

“Darcy!” exclaimed his friend, surprised at his sudden disapproval.

“I have never spoken like this to you before, Bingley, but this is my godmother’s home, and whatever disdain I may feel for ladies who pay to line themselves up to be inspected like cattle, Miss Bennet does not deserve your usual behaviour, and it might reflect poorly on my aunt’s parties, as well,” Darcy said firmly.

Bingley, riled beyond his usual composure, wheeled his horse around and rode away in the other direction.

Darcy watched his friend gallop away in a huff, then after a moment turned his horse back towards the path, his heart leaping into his throat in surprise to find Miss Elizabeth Bennet standing in front of his mount, her hands on her hips, and her gaze stern. She looked radiant with anger. Darcy found it strangely attractive.

“Whatever disdain you may feel for ladies who pay to line themselves up to be inspected like cattle, Mr Darcy, I will know what you meant about Mr Bingley’s usual behaviour, whether your words were meant for me or not. Have you brought a rake amongst a group of respectable gentlewomen who only wish to be married?” she demanded.

“Miss Elizabeth, you startled me,” said Darcy in reply, wondering where she had come from and grateful he had not run her down with his horse. “You must have come from the woods, and only heard my last words.” The lady only crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Darcy sighed and dismounted his horse.

“Miss Elizabeth, I apologize for my unkind words, that was uncharitable of me,” he began.

“I have no need for charity, Mr Darcy, I only wish to know what you meant about that man who is chasing my sister so assiduously.”

Darcy sighed again. “I will be entirely truthful with you, Miss Elizabeth. You have been nothing but kind to my sister, and you are fiercely loyal to your own. I respect that. You deserve to know all.” He offered her his arm, and turned her back to the path, his horse following behind them. Miss Elizabeth barely laid her fingers upon his arm as she turned with him, and he could feel her rage simmering within her. The woman was nearly vibrating with it.

“Mr Bingley has been my friend since my third year of university. He was in his first year. I am a reserved sort of person, and I do not mix well in company. Like my father, I tend to seek out the company of lively, pleasant people who ease my way in society.” Mr Darcy paused, wondering how to proceed.

“We have been friends for more than eight years, and I have always valued his friendship. He is a good man. He does not drink to excess or carouse. He does not gamble any more than what is polite at a party, and he is exceedingly loyal and trustworthy. His only flaw is that he falls quickly for statuesque blonde angels, and just as quickly moves on when his attention to them has been disrupted.”

“Does he harm them?” Elizabeth demanded.

“I do not understand your question, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said in surprise. “I would never spend my time with a man who hurt women.”

“But has he harmed them, Mr Darcy, and a man with a young sister knows precisely what I mean.” Elizabeth stopped and turned to face him. “Does he create expectations, make them fall in love with him and then leave them to the mercies of their local gossips? Does he leave them heartbroken? Or, God forbid, does he leave them ruined ?” she asked meaningfully.

“Miss Elizabeth, it is not for me to know a lady’s heart,” Darcy answered honestly. “I can truthfully say that there have been times when my friend has created expectations, and then moved on. Whether the feelings of the ladies in question were hurt, I could not say, although I will maintain to my grave that the major portion of them have been shameless fortune hunters. I know your sister is not one of those,” He turned back to the path and continued to walk again. “I can safely say that he has never left a woman ruined . He is not a cad, nor a rake. Just a lighthearted young man who is easily turned by a pretty face. I would never have him in the company of my own sister if this were not true.”

“I thank you for speaking candidly with me, Mr Darcy,” she said as they approached the house. “I will leave you to your morning, I must attend to my toilette , so that I may line up with the other ladies for inspection at breakfast.”

Darcy’s heart sank. “Miss Bennet,” he said plaintively. When she turned back to him in anger, he said sincerely, “I am truly very sorry that I said that. I did not mean it.”

“Mr Darcy, why would you expect me to believe that you said it but did not mean it? You do not look to me like a man that says things he does not mean.”

“I will amend my claim to say that I did not realise that I did not mean it until I heard myself say it,” Darcy tried again. “Have you never said anything in your life that you regretted the moment that it passed your lips?”

Miss Elizabeth stood and continued to glare at him for a moment, then gathered her skirts and rushed towards the house.