Page 8 of Obligation and Redemption
All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.
Sophocles , Antigone
“Papa! Thank God you are here,” Elizabeth exclaimed as she turned to the opening that revealed her father.
She quickly moved towards the door, bringing on a slight dizzy spell.
“And Mr. Bingley, hello. Your friend, Mr Darcy, is within.” With a look of profound relief, Mr. Bingley entered the cabin behind her father, along with two servants.
“Elizabeth, you will forgive my intrusion, but your mother insisted I look for you. I have not had a moment’s peace since you were discovered missing this morning at breakfast. But, I knew how it would be.
You are safe and no doubt, used your wits to make that so.
” Her father kissed her cheek then surveyed the room.
“I do believe you have found your way here before, if I am not mistaken.”
Relieved at his teasing tone, Elizabeth smiled.
“I do believe you are correct, Papa.” She turned to see that Mr. Darcy’s friend had found him.
“Mr. Bingley, he struck his head when he fell from his horse. He may benefit from a doctor, as I believe he has a concussion. For now, he really must be kept still.”
“Darcy, you look awful!” Mr. Bingley exclaimed as he looked down to his friend who still wore Elizabeth’s handkerchief upon the side of his head.
“For God’s sake, Bingley. Can you lower your voice?” Darcy responded, then added quietly and with meaning, “Are any servants with you?”
“Of course, I brought two footmen. We have been looking for you for hours. When the stable hands notified me of your horse’s return without you, I gathered a group of men to begin the search.
The others must still be on the east side of the estate.
I confess that I was quite losing hope when I happened upon Mr. Bennet here in search of Miss Elizabeth.
Apparently, she too has been missing all day.
When we heard about her disappearance, we hoped that you might have found her, keeping her safe. ”
Mr. Bennet smirked. “Yes, well, we can now see that they are safe and secure. Mr. Darcy has done a remarkable job keeping my Lizzy out of harm’s way.
I believe that with a meal and some hot tea, she will be as good as new.
” He regarded his daughter and noticed that she looked quite unlike her usual self.
Her weary eyes betrayed her worry and encroaching illness.
Mr. Bennet had a quick mind, and upon finding Mr. Bingley along the path, he realised the possible implications of the events of the day.
If his daughter and Mr. Darcy happened to be found together, there could be trouble.
News of their being alone together for the better part of the day would spread like a wildfire, especially if his wife or youngest daughters were to find out.
He believed that he could keep the whole business quiet, but with servants involved, that task would be near impossible.
He had left his own servants at home, feeling quite certain he would find his daughter safe somewhere without their help.
He had many memories of searching for his second eldest, who would find herself lost when quite young, and up to some trouble as an older child, and more recently, caught outside when losing track of time.
Therefore, before he ventured out of his study to look for her, he truly did not consider this to be an occasion to worry over, until he witnessed the disturbing remnants of the storm.
There were razed trees that blocked the main pathways, and some of the more shallow ditches were overflowing.
But even the possibility of her having come to harm did not enter his mind, until he happened upon Mr. Bingley.
He was not familiar enough with these gentlemen from London to trust either, should one of them find himself alone with any of his daughters.
As they searched, at least he reasoned that Elizabeth was his most capable daughter of getting out of a scrape, but unfortunately, also the most likely of getting into one.
When Mr. Bennet had found Mr. Bingley, they were about half of a mile from their current location.
Apparently, the younger man had been searching all over the grounds of Netherfield with no success and had ventured onto the property of Longbourn, hoping that perhaps Mr. Darcy had found his way there and would soon be found.
As Mr. Bennet was more familiar with the landscape, Mr. Bingley had been relieved to find him and was soon rewarded for his trust in the older gentleman when he directed their path to his hunting cabin upon noticing the small amount of smoke coming from the chimney.
When entering the cabin, Mr. Bennet had been relieved; however, his relief was lessened when he saw that his suspicions were confirmed and Elizabeth did indeed find herself alone with a single man.
Discovering that gentleman ill and incapable of causing any physical harm consoled Mr. Bennet somewhat; nonetheless, he knew the implications of her being found companionless with this gentleman, and with witnesses, even if his daughter did not.
Of course with a loyal staff, there was a reasonably good chance nothing would come of the situation, but Mr. Bingley’s servants were recently hired and likely local men, who would relish nothing better than to be in possession of such provocative gossip.
Perhaps Mr. Bennet could persuade Mr. Darcy to pay for silence.
Mr. Darcy had already expressed his feelings on Mr. Bennet’s favourite daughter, so he knew that Mr. Darcy did not wish for an engagement any more than Elizabeth did.
Of course, financially speaking, the match would be brilliant, but he knew his daughter could never be happy with the man, one whom she could not like or respect.
He would not push the attachment if a scandal could be avoided.
“Bingley, I need to speak with you in private, if you can ask your staff to wait outside the door.”
“Of course, Darcy,” said Bingley, sending his men outside to await his summons.
Mr. Darcy glanced over to where Miss Elizabeth and her father were in conference on the other side of the room and then began speaking quietly to his friend, “Bingley, you have found me in a rather precarious situation. You must know that nothing untoward has happened that could justify Mr. Bennet in forcing an attachment with his family. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that he will try. My worth has been bandied about Meryton for the past week, and her father will most assuredly want to take advantage. If there is a way we could silence your staff, perhaps with a payoff, we may be able to avoid a scandal. I am not concerned about local gossip, but if the slander were to reach London, the results could negatively affect my plans and those of others totally unrelated to the Bennets. Bingley, it is imperative that we resolve this before anyone leaves the cabin.”
“I see your point, although I am not certain that your assessment of Mr. Bennet is accurate. He seems a reasonable chap to me. Obviously, you have been unable to impose yourself on his daughter, even if it were within your nature.”
“We will soon see. Please, Bingley, ask Mr. Bennet to join us.”
Elizabeth and her father had been in quiet conversation.
“Papa, I know our circumstances look rather dreadful, but I can assure you that nothing improper has occurred. I was on our property running along the path in an attempt to reach home before the worse part of the storm hit, when I was almost run down by Mr. Darcy’s horse.
When I screamed, the horse reared and so caused Mr. Darcy to fall.
I had to get him out of the storm, so I brought him here, and he has been unable to do anything but lie there ever since.
I have been seeing to his needs, but I promise, Papa, that nothing inappropriate has happened. ”
“I will own that I was worried when I considered you might be alone with a man. I trust you implicitly of course, but I am a man, and therefore know that men may have unsuitable thoughts, but many also choose to act on them, and with your being alone, you made yourself quite vulnerable.”
The father and daughter had had this conversation before; she knew that she should never be alone with a gentleman unprotected.
He allowed her walks, appreciating how important they were and also knowing that no one else at Longbourn could keep up with her to provide escort.
But neither was of a nature to dwell on what could not be changed, so they determined to work on a solution to the problem.
Just then Mr. Bingley invited Mr. Bennet to join his conversation with his friend.
Elizabeth came with her father as they crossed the room. “Sir, if you do not mind, I prefer speaking with you in private,“ Mr. Darcy stated calmly.
Mr. Bennet looked archly at the young man and emitted a soft chuckle. “I am afraid that your seemingly routine request will not be acceptable in this instance. Lizzy has every right to be included in the discussion that you wish to have.”
Now I see where her impudence comes from . “Sir, I wish to have an unbiased discussion with you on the events of the day.”
“Are you suggesting that my Lizzy would be anything but forthright?”
“I do not mean to offend, but surely you can see that Miss Bennet should not be included.”
“I see no such thing. Lizzy, please join us.” Mr. Bennet highly respected his daughter’s intelligence, but also her discernment.
She had remarkable insight and could likely contribute greatly to the topic at hand, especially in light of her being the only one who apparently had been fully cognisant of the entirety of the events of the day.
Her future was at stake; he would not exclude her.