Page 69 of The Riches of a Life Well-Lived

J ane smiled wistfully as Lizzy’s and Mr. Darcy’s energetic strides took them far ahead of her and Mr. Bingley. She would lose her sister to Mr. Darcy soon; in some ways, she already had.

“Are you well, Miss Bennet?” Mr. Bingley asked, glancing down at her earnestly.

She nodded. “I do not think I can keep up with her any longer,” she said with an edge of sorrow. After years of keeping an eye on Lizzy or doing things together, her younger sister would be going where she could not follow.

“They are quite the walkers. I have never seen Darcy so animated.”

“Yes, Lizzy has always walked a great deal, but Mr. Darcy is the first person I have met who has a chance at keeping up with her.” In more than one way.

Mr. Bingley nodded meditatively. He slowed his steps. “It is strange having them suddenly so close, is it not?”

Jane laughed. “More than you know. Lizzy had been so steadfast in disliking Mr. Darcy that I was shocked when she confessed her current feelings for him.”

“I imagine you felt much the same as I did when Darcy said he intended to propose. Him!” Mr. Bingley flung his arms wide. “He has almost never had anything positive to say about a woman, and there he was, waxing eloquent about Miss Elizabeth.”

Jane smiled. “Lizzy told me about Tuesday at the same time that she disclosed her feelings for Mr. Darcy and the truth about Mr. Wickham. I felt so topsy-turvy after that conversation that Lizzy’s changed feelings were the least shocking thing.”

“I am not surprised,” Mr. Bingley said. He hesitated, his face a picture of indecision. “Do you find it difficult to regain your footing with her?”

“How so?”

He took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Darcy has changed so much. He is still himself, but not the same at all. During our conversations, I often feel as though I have missed a step and am falling for an instant. It is—disconcerting to know him and yet to not know him.”

Jane nodded, her eyes fixed on the stream ahead of them. “Lizzy has changed as well. I can no longer predict her responses in the same way. It would be different if she had been away for several months without writing; now though, I require the same adjustment, but it is as though no time has passed.”

Mr. Bingley nodded vigorously. “It makes you question everything, does it not? If time can be repeated, why is everyone not subject to these repetitions? Why not prevent every poor decision? How bad does a decision have to be before someone arrives to give you another opportunity?”

Miss Bennet sank down onto a fallen log as they reached the stream. “One does wonder. Perhaps, though, we ought to merely be grateful to have escaped the repetitions ourselves. Perhaps Mr. Darcy and Lizzy enduring them is enough for us.” She folded her hands in her lap. “Their repetitions have changed me.”

“They have changed me as well,” he said, his conversation with Darcy fresh in his mind. “If you could re-do any day, what day would you choose?”

Miss Bennet fiddled with her handkerchief. “I do not know. Perhaps a day that was entirely uneventful. I would be afraid of changing too much otherwise.”

“I had not considered that. I do not know what day I would change,” Bingley concluded. “Today, though, I would like to initiate a change between us.”

Miss Bennet looked up. “Oh?”

“I have one question first though: when you spoke to my sister the day she left, did Caroline say why she was leaving?”

Miss Bennet’s brow puckered. “We did not speak, per se, but she did send a letter saying that business often takes longer than expected, that she did not wish you to be in London alone, and that there were others you wished to see in London.”

“She did not call on you?”

Miss Bennet shook her head. “No.”

Bingley ran a hand through his artfully tousled locks, the enormity of the situation crashing over him. His sister, his own sister, had lied to him, had worked to separate him from the sweetest creature he had ever met. If she had done so much to him, might she have somehow cast doubt upon his feelings to Miss Bennet? Who were these “others”? Well, Miss Bennet would remain ignorant of his feelings no longer, if she had somehow missed his pointed attentions.

He sat down beside her and took her hands in his. “Miss Bennet, you are one of the kindest women I have ever met—someone who inspires me to be better, who I believe will make an excellent ally, and whom I wish to support as a true ally myself. I—do you think you could ever come to care for me?”

Waves of colour rolled over Jane Bennet’s cheeks. “I do.”

“You do?” he asked, gripping her gloved hands tightly.

She took a deep breath, then gave him a wide smile. “I already care a great deal for you, Mr. Bingley.”

A moment of euphoria flew through him like a phoenix rising in the darkness of a moonless night before it was partially quenched. “What would I need to do?”

She looked at him with bewilderment. “Do? Mr. Bingley, you are already one of the kindest men I have ever met. I feel safe with you, and you have entered into the difficulties with my sister as though she were your own.”

Bingley raised her hands to his lips. “And will you—consent to being my wife? Or do I ask too prematurely? If you are not ready, I will wait.”

Miss Bennet beamed at him. “I would be happy to be your wife.”

“Truly?” he searched her eyes.

She nodded.

“You have made me the happiest man alive! I shall speak to your father as soon as I may.” He chuckled. “Darcy and I shall fight for the right to ask first.” He sobered. “And should your father be unwell, I shall wait as long as it takes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bingley,” Miss Bennet said, her eyes shining.

Elizabeth fidgeted on her customary bench. Talking to William was heaven, but after Jane’s previous suitors’ behaviour, she hesitated to leave her sister alone for long. Mr. Bingley seemed trustworthy, but she could not keep still.

William broke off what he had been saying about Pemberley. “Is something the matter?”

Elizabeth looked back up the path. “Perhaps we should find Jane and Mr. Bingley.”

“Why?”

Elizabeth pursed her lips. “Mr. Bingley, though he seems a worthy gentleman, is still a gentleman. I should not like to leave Jane in any gentleman’s company for too long.”

William raised one eyebrow. “You distrust one or the other of them? Or both?”

“It is not a matter of distrust,” she snapped. “Jane has had some—uncomfortable experiences and she dislikes being left alone for longer than necessary. It has been at least fifteen minutes now.”

William covered her hand with his. “I am not trying to question your motives. I was merely asking about your concerns.”

Elizabeth took a deep breath, reminding herself that he was not at fault. “Thank you. I recently learned that I failed in my duties as a chaperone at least once, and I do not want to repeat the fault. If Jane appears content, we may simply leave them alone again.”

William stood and offered her his hand. “I love that you are such an attentive sister.”

Elizabeth merely smiled and walked quickly back along the path. Not two minutes later, they came upon Mr. Bingley and Jane sitting on a fallen log. She gave Jane a questioning look, and her sister smiled reassuringly.

“I am so glad to see you,” Mr. Bingley said, grinning at them. He stood and offered a hand to help Jane up. “Good news is always better when shared,” he said as Jane stood. He glanced down at her, and she nodded.

Elizabeth broke out into a wide smile and rushed to give Jane a hug.

“As Miss Elizabeth appears to have divined, Miss Bennet has just agreed to be my wife,” Mr. Bingley said.

William smiled and gave the man a hearty handshake. “I shall enjoy having a younger brother, especially as it is you.”

Mr. Bingley scowled at him in mock annoyance. “As though I needed another older sibling.”

“Well, at least Mr. Darcy is the only older sibling you shall acquire from us Bennets—unless one of my other sisters marries someone older than you,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “I believe I shall enjoy having an older brother.”

As Mr. Bingley and Jane both beamed at her, tears pricked Elizabeth’s eyes.

“I am so happy,” Jane said with a little laugh. “It almost feels indecent to be this happy.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Nonsense. We should enjoy our happiness when it comes.”

“After all, if you do not find joy in the little (or big) pleasures in life, you will be a dull person indeed,” William said playfully.

“I have the feeling this is one of those things from Tuesday, do you?” Mr. Bingley said to Jane in a loud whisper.

William laughed. “It is one of the many lessons Miss Elizabeth imparted on a Tuesday. One that has greatly enriched my life.”

In this moment, with the future in front of her brighter than the stars, every single one of those one hundred and nine Tuesdays seemed worth it.

Mr. Bingley nodded seriously. “Someone needed to tell you to have more fun. Heaven knows that I tried.”

“I am sorry I did not listen to you, Bingley.”

Mr. Bingley shrugged. “So you have said.” He smiled down at Jane. “I hope you are marking this down: Darcy apologising is a red-letter event, though it has been occurring with increasing frequency over the past three weeks.”

Elizabeth squeezed William’s hand. “Shall we return to Longbourn? I do not know if my father will see you, but we may as well try.”

“Yes,” Jane said. “Poor Mama has been almost out of her mind with worry. Knowing that we are not doomed for the hedgerows should ease her anxiety.”

“ I shall try to speak to Mr. Bennet first,” William told Mr. Bingley.

Mr. Bingley shook his head. “Miss Bennet is older than Miss Elizabeth. I believe, in this case, I have precedence.” He winked at Elizabeth. “You are not yet my older brother, Darcy.”

William huffed. “If circumstances were more normal, I would, of course, give way. However, my greater familiarity with him should help me ascertain the true state of his health, so in this case, Little Brother, I shall claim precedence.”

Mr. Bingley bowed slightly. “Very well. I relinquish my rights to you for the moment.”

Elizabeth and Jane laughed, and they turned back toward Longbourn.