Defending Elizabeth Page 13

  Elizabeth laughed. "Beautiful as always, and any man who does not realize that is truly a fool."

  They heard the door open, and then close. Footsteps, and then Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley were announced in the sitting room. There were murmured words, and then their mother called up the stairs.

  "Jane! Come down this instant! We have visitors."

  Elizabeth followed her sister, in spite of the fact she had not been invited. She had no intention of missing what was to happen next.

  The girls stepped into the sitting room, and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy both made deep bows. Jane and Elizabeth responded with curtsies. Mr. Darcy stared directly at Elizabeth, and she let herself hold his gaze. She saw no disapproval in his eyes and her heart dared to hope.

  "We are so very glad for your visit," said Mrs. Bennet. "It has been ever so long since we have seen you, Mr. Bingley."

  "Yes, I was called away to London very urgently," he responded.

  "How lovely you have returned. Do you plan to stay for long?"

  "I hope to," said Bingley.

  "How wonderful. My Jane looks well, does she not?"

  Jane dropped her eyes and blushed at her mother's forwardness. Mr. Bingley did not seem to mind.

  "Indeed she does. Even lovelier than when I last beheld her, if that is possible."

  "Will you stay for tea?" Mrs. Bennet pressed.

  "Tea?" Bingley looked startled. "Oh, no, we could not impose. We did not want to intrude, only to stop by to let you know we will be staying at Netherfield. Thank you for your courtesy. Good day, ladies."

  Bingley bowed again and rushed out of the room. Darcy moved his eyes from Elizabeth for the first time, and turned to see his friend going out the door.

  "Mrs. Bennet. Ladies," he said, and hurried after Bingley.

  "How strange! For them to travel all the way here for such a short visit. Although it was very good of Mr. Bingley to let us know he has returned, was it not? And he seemed well pleased with you, Jane. Not like that dreadful Mr. Darcy, who could not spare so much as a glance for Jane." Mrs. Bennet shook her head at the audacity.

  Elizabeth was relieved her mother did not notice where Mr. Darcy's gaze had been directed. She did not know that she could properly answer questions about Mr. Darcy, especially from a questioner as persistent as her mother.

  Mrs. Bennet and her daughters, including Mary, who quietly observed from the corner, stared at one another for a moment, trying to determine what to do next.

  "Well, since we are all here, and none of us are at a task, perhaps some embroidery?"

  No one seemed willing to return to what she had been doing before the intrusion, so the Bennet girls agreed embroidery seemed as acceptable a task as any. They settled around the sitting room, each with her own project. The air in the room was still, as if everyone waited for something to happen.

  The wait was not long. Within a half an hour, there was a knock on the front door, and Mr. Bingley was ushered, once again, into the sitting room.

  Bingley looked noticeably nervous. Elizabeth fancied she could see him trembling, just a bit. But when he spoke, his voice was strong.

  "Mrs. Bennet, I wondered if I might speak with Miss Bennet for a moment?"

  "With Jane? Why, yes, of course, certainly! Come, girls, for I am in need of your assistance... in the other room. Hurry, now, hurry!"

  Their mother rushed them out of the room, closed the door, and did not move a step further. She pressed her ear against the door. Elizabeth would have normally refused to participate in such spying, but she was almost as excited as Mrs. Bennet about what might be happening in the sitting room.

  "I cannot hear what they are saying!" Mrs. Bennet whispered. "Oh, why did we not exit the door closest to them?"

  Elizabeth smiled. Jane knew their mother well enough to move the conversation as far from the door as possible. Fortunately for their curiosity, they did not need to wait long. After only a few minutes, Mr. Bingley opened the door and showed them a dazzling smile. The Bennet women rushed into the room to find Jane with tears on her cheeks and a smile just as large as Mr. Bingley's on her face.

  "We are to be wed," she said, and her eyes welled up with tears once again.

  "Please excuse me, ladies," Mr. Bingley said. "I must speak to Mr. Bennet right away."

  He hurried off and Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth, and Mary huddled around Jane, hugging her and wiping the tears from her cheeks.

  "It is a miracle," said Jane.

  "He came to his senses," said Elizabeth, with a smile. "And why should he not? You are a prize, Jane, just as I always told you."

  "Oh, Lizzy. Mary. If only I could see the two of you as happy as I am."

  "It is enough to share in your happiness," Mary said. Even she wore a bright smile for the occasion.

  They all embraced once again, and stayed that way until Mr. Bennet and Mr. Bingley walked through the door to join in the celebration.

  * * *

  "Oh, Darcy, you ought to have come back with me!" Bingley said, unable to sit still. "What a joyous occasion."

  "I am certain of it, but I would have been superfluous at best, and unwanted at worst. It is best that I returned to Netherfield."

  "They were all so very agreeable. What a lovely family I am to join!"

  Darcy was unsure he agreed with that statement, but he smiled for his friend's sake.

  "I knew she was not lost to you."

  "But Darcy, this is all thanks to you. If you had not spoken to me about Jane..."

  "If I had not allowed your sisters to convince you away, I should never have had to convince you to come back. I appreciate your thanks, but I will not accept them. I was only correcting an error on my part."

  "Let us not talk of who is at fault. All I want is to plan for our future."

  "When have you set the wedding?"

  "As soon as the banns are read. We do not want to wait to begin our lives together."

  "And when will you tell your sisters?"

  "I will write to them immediately. They may come when they wish, as long as they are here prior to the wedding."

  Darcy suspected Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst would arrive as close to the ceremony as possible. He dearly wished he could be in the room to watch the sisters' reactions to the news that Bingley and Miss Bennet were to be wed. He believed some very unladylike language might be used.

  * * *

  Mr. Darcy was quite incorrect in his suspected timing. Miss Bingley and Mr. and Mrs. Hurst arrived within days of Bingley dispatching the letter.

  Caroline Bingley's first words by way of welcome were, "Charles, you cannot be serious about marrying this country girl."

  A steely look came into Bingley's eyes. Darcy did not believe he had ever seen his friend look so resolved.

  "I am serious, Caroline. I asked her, and she accepted. You are not required to be happy about the situation, but you will not behave in a way that is disrespectful or rude towards Miss Bennet--or towards any member of her family, for that matter."

  Caroline threw herself dramatically into a chair. "Listen to how you are speaking to me! Look what she has done to you!"

  "Did I not make myself clear? I am honor-bound to support you until your marriage, but that does not mean I must tolerate any rudeness. I have no concern about setting you up in your own household--a modest one, to be sure, but one that will suit your needs--and about cutting your allowance. I will no longer allow you to interfere in my happiness for your own ends."

  Miss Bingley and the Hursts stared, open-mouthed, at Bingley. As far as Darcy knew, he had never spoken that way to anyone in the family. Darcy silently applauded Bingley for taking such a firm stand.

  "Well," Bingley said, with the light coming back into his eyes and a smile returning to his lips, "with that unpleasantry resolved, I am certain you will be delighted to hear Miss Bennet will be joining us for dinner. I extended the invitation to Miss Elizabeth, as well. It will be an exemplary opportunity to practice what we just s
poke of."

  Caroline Bingley narrowed her eyes at her brother, but did not speak.

  "You made yourself clear, Brother," Mrs. Hurst said. "Now, please pardon us. We need to rest before the... festivities of this evening."

  With that, the three of them retired to their rooms. As soon as they had left the entrance hall, Bingley's hands began to shake.

  "I cannot believe I spoke to my sisters in that way."

  "Come now, Bingley." Darcy laid a hand on the other man's shoulder. "You said what needed to be said, and I will not have you regretting it. You stood up for your fiancée, and that is how it should be. She is, perhaps, the only person who is blameless in this situation."

  Darcy was relieved he sounded much more confident than he felt. His trepidation about seeing Elizabeth Bennet again was intense. However, when Bingley had proposed inviting Elizabeth and Mary Bennet to make Jane more comfortable, Darcy could hardly disagree. When Jane had written that Mary would not be able to attend, Darcy had hoped Elizabeth would also have previous plans, but it was not to be. Elizabeth would be attending with her sister, and Darcy was at a loss as to how he would make it through what was bound to be a very uncomfortable dinner for nearly everyone involved.

  * * *

  Elizabeth was, if anything, more nervous than Darcy about the dinner. Only her unwavering devotion to Jane compelled her to dine with the Bingleys, the Hursts, and Mr. Darcy. She was the most concerned about the latter.

  Her success in putting Mr. Darcy from her mind after Kent was greatly exacerbated by his arrival, with Mr. Bingley, on the day of the proposal. Elizabeth recalled how Darcy openly watched her, and how she, hungry to know where his mind was after the Wickham incident, had stared back.

  When she closed her eyes, she saw him, and she chastised herself for what felt like the hundredth time. She did not even like the man! It was true he had been polite to her in Kent, but there was quite a difference between polite and the scenarios which played out behind her eyelids. This man had shown he was not predisposed to passion, so all Elizabeth could imagine was she created feelings where there were none, and fell in love with an imaginary Darcy rather than the real one.

  No good could come of a fondness for Mr. Darcy. He was gentlemanly towards her (which was a great deal better than his behavior upon their first meeting), but that was all. He had made it clear he would never consider someone like her a suitable partner, so the best thing for her to do would be to forget about him entirely--which was much more difficult to do, now Bingley and Jane were engaged. Whereas Elizabeth had previously been upset she might never see Darcy again, upon reflection, it seemed a much safer state of affairs than what had transpired.

  Regardless, she had given Jane her word, and she would keep it. Although she knew the upcoming evening would be a trial, she would endure it out of love for her sister.

  As time tends to do when one dreads something, the day went by quickly, and soon Jane and Elizabeth were dressed and in the carriage to Longbourn.

  "It is good Mr. Bingley proposed. Otherwise Mama might have decided to send both of us on horseback."

  Jane laughed, and allowed it was much more pleasant to ride in a carriage than to ride on horseback, at least if it was raining.

  "I really am so happy for you, my dearest Jane." Elizabeth had expressed the same sentiment frequently over the previous days. She knew how repetitive she must have sounded, but the engagement between Jane and Mr. Bingley came so close to not happening that Elizabeth felt the need to periodically reassert her joy.

  "Thank you for coming with me, Lizzy. I did not relish the idea of dining with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst without you at my side."

  "I would not feed you to those wolves alone. Although it does seem that your Mr. Bingley must have worked to ensure their behavior."

  "We certainly cannot know until after the dinner is over. We must be ever vigilant."

  "Indeed we must. Your love for Mr. Bingley must be great for you to wish yourself allied with that family."

  Jane smiled sweetly. "It is so great I would endure dozens of nasty sisters."

  "Well then, perhaps it is good you shall only have to endure the two."

  They laughed the rest of the way to Netherfield.

  Chapter 22

  Darcy adjusted his cravat in the hallway mirror.

  "There is no need to put on airs for this dinner, Mr. Darcy," said Caroline Bingley, coming up behind him. "However, I would be more than happy to assist..."

  She reached towards him to straighten his cravat, and Darcy deftly took a step backwards.

  "No need, Miss Bingley. It is already quite straight."

  "Do you think there will be some sort of barnyard animal in the carriage with them when they arrive? Perhaps there shall be a cow following behind."

  "I see no reason for them to do that. They are, after all, the daughters of a gentleman."

  His meaning was not lost on Miss Bingley, and she paled. However, she was not yet willing to give up Darcy as an ally.

  "I know Charles is set on marrying Miss Bennet. It would be a shame if something were to happen at dinner tonight that made him realize what an error that is."

  This time, Darcy was the one who understood the allusion.

  "I cannot imagine anything that might dissuade Bingley from marrying Miss Bennet. Any disturbances during dinner would reflect very poorly on the cause of them, and, even though your brother appears to be in a charitable mood when it comes to forgiving, I suspect his tolerance will not stretch much further."

  Miss Bingley raised an eyebrow at Mr. Darcy, turned on her heel, and went to find Mrs. Hurst, whom Miss Bingley knew would be much more receptive to her repartee.

  * * *

  Elizabeth took a deep breath as she exited the carriage, bracing herself for what was to come. However, the first face she saw was a friendly one.

  "Welcome!" Mr. Bingley called. "Miss Elizabeth, thank you so much for accepting my invitation! I could not be more delighted."

  Elizabeth curtsied. "Well, I shall soon call you my brother. Accepting your invitation was not at all a difficult choice."

  "Come inside," Bingley said to his guests. "Everyone is in a gay mood, and I think we shall have a most agreeable evening!"

  Elizabeth did not entirely believe him, but she committed herself to trying her best, for Jane's sake.

  They went inside and met the rest of the party in one of the sitting rooms.

  Darcy arose upon their entrance, and after a moment, Mr. Hurst did as well.

  "Good evening, ladies. I hope you are well."

  "Indeed we are, Mr. Darcy," said Jane, giving Bingley a smile. "I daresay I have never been happier."

  Mrs. Hurst whispered something in Miss Bingley's ear, and Miss Bingley smirked. This was not lost on Elizabeth, but she did not say anything. She would not be the one to make a scene and disturb Jane and Bingley's happy night.

  Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst behaved somewhat better as everyone sat down and made light conversation. Their expensive schooling shined through, and they initially gave Elizabeth no additional reason to dislike them. However, Caroline Bingley could only bear so much; if she had to be civil to the Bennets, she could not resist needling Mr. Darcy in that unpleasant way she intended to be flirtatious.

  "Mr. Darcy, they are getting married all about us! Perhaps we are the next to be wed."

  All heads swiveled to stare at her. This was much more direct a path than her flirtations normally took. Miss Bingley blushed as she realized the implications of what she had said.

  "I did not mean we should wed each other! That is not to say we ought not wed each other..." She realized she did not improve the situation and closed her mouth, finally realizing silence would not serve her any worse than continuing to talk.

  "Oh, no one would misunderstand you, Caroline, dear," Mrs. Hurst said quickly. "We all understood entirely that you were saying you and Mr. Darcy would be the next ones to find your respective spouses."

 
Miss Bingley nodded, relieved for her sister's help.

  "But what of Miss Elizabeth? She is also unattached, unless things changed since we last spoke in Kent." He looked at her, waiting for her confirmation he was correct.

  "No, things have not changed. I am so very full of joy for Jane and Mr. Bingley, I do not know that I would have any room in my heart for additional felicitation right now."

  Miss Bingley opened her mouth to speak, and then thought better of it. Elizabeth was relieved for her silence.

  The party remained silent for a moment, with no one certain what to say next.

  "Perhaps we should go through," Mr. Bingley said. "Dinner must be almost ready."

  They agreed, relieved for the diversion from a conversation that had not gone well for any of them.

  Soon, they were seated. Elizabeth found herself seated between Mr. Darcy and Mrs. Hurst, with Miss Bingley across the table from her. It did not serve to make her more comfortable with the evening.

  The first course was served, and they all ate silently for a moment. Finally, Mr. Darcy broke the silence.

  "Your family, Miss Elizabeth, are they well?"

  "Indeed they are. One might think my mother had never attended a wedding before, based on the excitement she is evincing."

  She realized as soon as she had spoken that she had only given Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst additional ammunition. The sisters shared a knowing glance across the table.

  "And how is your sister Mrs. Collins?"

  "She is quite well, based on the last letter she sent."

  "You must give her my regards."

  "I shall, although you may give them to her yourself. She and Mr. Collins will be coming for the wedding."

  "Ah, of course. Will Mr. and Mrs. Wickham attend?"

  Elizabeth glanced at him sharply, looking to see if he mocked her. Their last conversation in Kent had been about Lydia and Wickham; did he bring it up now to humiliate her? She saw no malice in his face, and she softened the scathing reply she had been contemplating.