Page 62 of Heiress of Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variations)

“This seems a very pleasant mansion, Miss Bingley,” Anne de Bourgh mused, looking out over the rather neglected flower gardens. The two women had freshened up after their journey and were now standing at a large window in the drawing room at Netherfield.

“It is well enough, I suppose,” Miss Bingley conceded, “though I daresay it is nothing compared to Rosings, which I understand is entirely magnificent.”

“Rosings is splendid,” Anne concurred, “but it is almost too large. It was meant for a family of a dozen children but it has only been my mother and me for many years, along with our companions and servants, of course. Tell me about the town of Meryton, please, Miss Bingley.”

Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes. “It is a small market town, like so many little villages and hamlets. The people are provincial and the society wearisome and unvarying. I quite despise it.”

“I assume you prefer London to the country then?”

“Yes, exactly. I do not see how anyone could compare the delights of Town to the pastoral regions of England. It is so dull here!”

“I understand your feelings,” Anne replied solemnly. “My mother has asked me to make a list of your preferences, and I will be certain to mention that you would not care for a husband who prefers to live in the country the majority of the time. It is just as well that my cousin Darcy did not find himself drawn to you; I daresay you would have been miserable trapped at Pemberley much of the year.”

Caroline’s eyes bugged out in horror and she shook her head frantically. “No, no, that is not true! I have had the honor of staying at Pemberley, you know, and it is quite one of the most magnificent mansions in all of England, and of course Mr. Darcy spends much of the year in London!”

“I suspect once he marries, and once Georgiana is launched into society and married, he will spend very little time in London. Darcy relishes the country, and farming, and raising horses and hunting dogs, and caring for his tenants and his lands. He is not a man who enjoys crowds and crushes at balls.”

Caroline fought back angry tears. She was entirely perfect for the role of Mrs. Darcy! “I assure you, Miss de Bourgh, that I would be a far better wife for your cousin than Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I am well educated, an excellent hostess, and wealthy.”

Anne was tempted to giggle, but managed to suppress such a rude response in favor of a nominally sympathetic gaze. “I must disagree with you, Miss Bingley. I spent considerable time with Miss Elizabeth in Hunsford. She is handsome, intelligent, has significant knowledge of estate affairs, and is enthusiastic about the outdoors. In any case, there is no particular reason to speak of this. As my mother warned you, any attempt at compromising Darcy will end in your ruin, and you are an intelligent woman. Now, can we speak of the ball?”

Caroline fought an alarmed wobble at these words and managed to ask in a moderately steady voice. “What ball?”

“The one you will be hosting for Meryton and the militia officers, of course!”

***

“Mr. Darcy,” Mr. Bennet said gravely, rising to his feet as Pemberley’s master walked through the door of his library.

“Mr. Bennet,” Darcy replied, reaching out his hand to shake that of his love’s father. “I hope you are well this evening?”

Bennet attempted a smile that turned into more of a grimace. “Please do sit down, Mr. Darcy. In truth, I am well in body though sore in spirit. Elizabeth informs me that you and she have entered a courtship?”

Darcy blinked at the man in astonishment as he lowered himself into a comfortable chair across from his host’s desk, which was piled high with various books. On a normal day, he would find himself peeking at the titles, as he was an ardent bibliophile, but at the moment he was too flummoxed by his host’s tone to think about books. “Yes sir, we are. Are you ... opposed to such a thing?”

Mr. Bennet moaned softly and reached up a hand to scrub his forehead. “No, of course not, sir. You are an intelligent man with a good reputation, and you are master of a fine estate. It is merely that Elizabeth is my most precious daughter, and I am downhearted at the thought of losing her to the wilds of Derbyshire. Of course, I am cognizant that there are no guarantees in this matter; you may well decide she will not suit to be Mrs. Darcy.”

The taller, younger man hesitated and then decided to be honest with Mr. Bennet. “I suspect Miss Elizabeth did not tellyou this, but I offered for her hand in Kent and was refused. After some discussion, she permitted a courtship. I know that she is the best woman in the world for me. My hope and prayer is that I can convince Miss Elizabeth that I am the best man for her.”

Bennet’s jaw was slack, but he recovered quickly. “You already offered for Lizzy? No, sir, she did not tell me that. Well, I can only say, good luck, young man. A wealthy gentleman like yourself might well have the pick of the wealthy beauties of London; it says much of your character that you are willing to pursue my Lizzy.”

“Thank you, sir,” Darcy responded, oddly relieved. He was, he reflected ruefully, certainly garnering his share of shocks from the Bennet family. He had assumed any father of any daughter in England would welcome him with ecstatic delight as a potential son by marriage, but no, Mr. Bennet was, like his daughter, an original character and quite unwilling to push a marriage for money and connections alone.

“I did wish to mention one thing more, Mr. Bennet.”

“Yes?”

“I am sure you aware that a Mr. George Wickham is currently a lieutenant in a militia regiment in Meryton?”

Mr. Bennet leaned forward quizzically. “That is true, and I am aware of bad blood between you. It seems, based on Elizabeth’s description of the matter, that Wickham is not a particularly honest or noble man.”

“He is not,” Darcy agreed. “His malicious and spendthrift ways are hardly your concern, but he is not always honorable in his dealings with women. I would advise that all your daughters exercise some care in his presence, though I suppose with his pursuit of the local heiress, Miss King, he is focused on her.”

“As to that, I understand from the gabble of my younger daughters that Miss King was swept away to Liverpool by her uncle, and the courtship has come to an end. But come, sir, please speak clearly. My daughters are not heiresses and surely Wickham has no desire to bind himself to a poor woman.”

“Not in any permanent fashion, certainly,” Darcy replied, “but he has been known to engage in short-term liaisons for his own pleasure and to the ruin of the women involved.”

Bennet reached out to fiddle with his pen, his brow darkened. “Surely the lieutenant would not ... well, that is quite heinous, though sadly there are men like that, who treat women cruelly. Were any of the women gentlemen’s daughters?”

“No, they were all servants and tradesman’s daughters, but I would not ... I would be cautious, Mr. Bennet, especially since it will be known that I am courting Miss Elizabeth, and Mr. Wickham would be pleased to destroy my hope for happiness.”

The master of Longbourn eyed his guest cynically. Young men could be so dramatic at times. “It seems quite impossible that Wickham could even conceive of interfering in such a way with the Bennets of Longbourn, but I will keep your warnings in mind.”

***

Elizabeth glanced at the window where Kitty and Lydia were staring raptly out into the garden and smiled up at Mr. Darcy. “It seems that my younger sisters are willing to be chaperones, Mr. Darcy.”

Darcy glanced at the girls and smiled in genuine amusement. “It is a blessing to have younger sisters, it seems.”

“Indeed! But come, sir, how was your interview with my father?”

“It went well enough, I suppose. He has given me his blessing to court you, but he expressed dismay that we might make a match of it and that you would disappear into the far reaches of Derbyshire.”

“Dear Father,” Elizabeth reflected, taking Darcy’s arm and beginning to stroll toward the beds of tulips. “I have always been his favorite daughter, I suppose because we share a similar personality and interests. But I believe he has no real cause to lament; I remember you telling me that the library at Pemberley is magnificent.”

“Yes, it has been the work of many generations, and we have many rare and valuable manuscripts. I noted that your father seems an enthusiastic reader.”

“Yes, much of the wealth of Longbourn has gone to buy books. In any case, I will not permit my love for my father to interfere with my determination of whether you and I will be happy together. I wish to marry someday, after all.”

Darcy repressed a longing sigh as he looked down on her beautiful face, her dancing brown eyes, her riotous curls carefully tucked up in an elegant knot, but with a few strands curled enticingly around her ears…

“Miss Elizabeth, I do have a request,” he said huskily.

“Yes?”

“Please do not walk alone until Wickham has been dealt with. Your father informs me that his pursuit of Miss King is at an end, and I do not trust the man at all.”

To his relief, Elizabeth nodded immediately. “I will indeed be cautious. Anne warned me of the same thing and while I intend to learn from Miss Colby how to protect myself, I am a small woman. I assure you that I will be careful.”

***

“Lizzy,” Mrs. Bennet said anxiously as the family sat down for dinner in the drawing room, “we have arranged to have some of the officers to dine tomorrow, but Mr. Wickham is among their number. I do not know how to deny him entrance here at Longbourn, but I would not wish to disturb Mr. Darcy. Have you a suggestion, my dear?”

Elizabeth sighed inwardly at this statement. It was obvious that her mother had no serious concerns about Wickham’s character, but she did not care to risk offending Elizabeth’s suitor.

“That is entirely not fair, Mama!” Lydia whined. “Mr. Wickham was our friend first, and merely because Lizzy is now courting that disagreeable…”

“Mr. Wickham is welcome to come,” Elizabeth interrupted hastily. “Indeed, Mr. Darcy would not wish to interfere with our normal entertainment, Mama, I assure you.”

“It is not as if Mr. Wickham will be here much longer anyway,” Kitty pouted. “The militia is removing to Brighton in Sussex in a little more than three weeks.”

Elizabeth quivered in surprise and shot an anxious glance at Jane, who was silently chewing on a piece of bread. “Is it? I had not heard that!”

“Well, when you appeared so suddenly telling us that Mr. Darcy is courting you, naturally the militia seemed of no particular concern,” her mother pointed out. “But yes, they are leaving soon, which is good; it is quite unlikely Mr. Wickham will even meet Mr. Darcy unless – oh, Lizzy, should we invite your suitor tomorrow?”

Elizabeth’s mind was racing and thus she did not answer her mother immediately. If the regiment was leaving soon, Anne and Miss Colby would need to work quickly to find Georgiana’s letters and retrieve them from Wickham.

“Lizzy? Lizzy?”

“I apologize, Mother, I was quite distracted. No, Mr. Darcy is planning to spend tomorrow working with Mr. Bingley to check on the tenants and accounts at Netherfield. They have been sadly neglected these last months.”

“Well, I am sure I hope Mr. Bingley will do his duty for his dependents, even if he will not do his duty to Jane. That reminds me, my dear Jane, that we must see Mrs. Shelton tomorrow and order you a new dress! With Mr. Darcy courting Lizzy, it is inevitable that you and Mr. Bingley will often be in company! If I could see you pursued by, and then married to, Mr. Bingley, and Lizzy to Mr. Darcy, I will have nothing more to wish for.”

Jane’s slender hands formed fists, and she turned to stare boldly into her mother’s eyes. “I have no wish to be pursued by Mr. Bingley, Mama.”

Mrs. Bennet had been smiling rapturously at the thought of two well-married daughters, but this affected her much as a bucket of snow down her back would. She stared at Jane as if she had suddenly sprouted a second, and maybe a third, head. “Jane, what ... what are you speaking of? You love Mr. Bingley!”

“I do not anymore,” her eldest daughter said coolly. “Why should I? He told me he would return a few days after the ball at Netherfield last November, but he did not. He left me without a word of farewell. He broke my heart and left me to endure the vicious gossip of those around me; his attentions were such that most of Meryton assumed we would marry, and he disdained his responsibilities both to me and to the estate. He allowed his sisters to treat me like rubbish. No, Mama, I have no use for Mr. Bingley at all.”

Her mother turned to Mr. Bennet, who was also staring at his eldest as if he had never seen her before. “Mr. Bennet, speak to your daughter! You must insist that she pursue Mr. Bingley!”

“I will not, Mrs. Bennet,” the man said, and reached out a hand, gently stroking his eldest daughter’s rigid arm. “My dear Jane, you have suffered greatly, it seems. I admit that with your serenity of character, I was unaware that you were so distressed.”

“I was distressed,” Jane replied bitterly, “and now I am angry.”

“But ... but Jane!” squealed her mother. “You cannot throw away such a valuable suitor merely because…”

Jane Bennet gritted her teeth, carefully folded her napkin, rose to her feet, and marched out of the dining room. Elizabeth made as if to rise as well, but her father held out a restraining hand. “I will talk to her, Lizzy. Finish your meal.”

Mr. Bennet found Jane upstairs in her bedroom and, with an odd sense of uncertainty, hesitated in the doorway as he stared at his eldest. She was seated on a chair near the unlit fireplace, her face cold and her eyes distant.

“May I come in, Jane?” he asked quietly.

Jane nodded without a word, and Mr. Bennet trod carefully over to another chair and sat down across from her.

“Were you aware that Mr. Darcy advised Mr. Bingley to leave me behind, Father?” Jane asked abruptly.

Her father jerked slightly and shook his head. “I was not aware, no.”

“He is repentant now, of course, since he is pursuing Lizzy, but the truth is that it was not merely our lack of fortune and connections which made us so ineligible in the eyes of Mr. Bingley’s friend and relations, but the behavior of my mother and younger sisters. You have contented yourself with merely laughing at them for many years, Father, and Lydia is an unrepentant flirt, Kitty follows her like a fool, Mary shows off her accomplishments incessantly, and Mother is garrulous, vulgar, and often rude in company. You are an intelligent man, and yet you have hidden in your library and ignored the poor behavior of your wife and daughters. It seems unlikely I will ever marry a good man; there are not too many men like Mr. Darcy in the world, with the strength of will and the passion to pursue an ineligible woman. I hope that Elizabeth does fall in love with Mr. Darcy, or we may truly starve in the hedgerows when you die.”

Mr. Bennet was aware of a sensation of moisture on his chin and lifted up a vague hand to discover that his mouth was hanging open and he was drooling. Was he in some kind of nightmare to have Jane; gentle, sweet Jane; taking him to task?

“I am tired and in need of rest,” Jane announced abruptly.

Her father rose to his feet and staggered out of the room, thoughts whirling.