As Charles Bingley's study was doing an admirable job of shrinking in size every five minutes or so, Mr. Darcy abruptly stood and announced that he would return presently. He had almost attained the front door and freedom when he noticed Miss Elizabeth opening the door to Bingley's library, if such a paltry offering could be called thus.
'Miss Elizabeth,' called Mr. Darcy, 'I was preparing to take a brief stroll in the gardens. Would you be good enough to join me?'
Elizabeth had come to the library in search of fresh reading material with which to distract her mind from the extraordinary circumstances and her incessant reflections on these happenings. She had concluded that there might be a slim chance for both she and Jane to escape with their reputations intact but it would require significant maneuvering and deception. Mr. Darcy was precisely the person with whom Elizabeth had hoped to speak because he actually understood her arguments and appeared to be the only person in residence who was prepared to undertake the actions necessary to extricate all parties, whether involved or not in Caroline Bingley's infamy, from catastrophe. She smiled for a moment at this fortuitous meeting - if anything in Netherfield at this moment could conceivably be called fortuitous - before answering, 'I am quite ready to enjoy some sunshine, Mr. Darcy. The atmosphere has indeed seemed rather close indoors.'
Upon gaining the outside, the oppressive feeling of imminent doom lifted temporarily from upon their heads and dissipated into the open sky. Elizabeth was determined to not squander the presented opportunity and began to speak somewhat quickly.
'Pardon sir, but have Mrs. Whitford and Mr. Browns yet left for Meryton? I would ask that they have an additional duty there: namely, to spread some information which would be of benefit to ourselves, as selfish as that may sound.'
Mr. Darcy was assuredly glad to have seen Miss Elizabeth by the library and smiled ever so slightly at their fortuitous meeting - if anything in Netherfield at this moment could conceivably be called fortuitous - before answering. 'And what form of rumor, Miss Elizabeth, would you care for them to spread?'
She replied, 'Colonel Forster is with Mr. Bingley in conference and was called from his headquarters to attend. Mr. Wickham has not been seen within the militia camp since yesterday and there are those who would wonder at his absence. Why should Colonel Forster not admit to the man's death, while informing any who care to know of Mr. Wickham's end? Perhaps, however, the case would not be murder but rather merely a misfortune.'
Her response was intriguing and so Fitzwilliam Darcy could not but retort, 'An accident? One that allows Wickham to shoot himself?'
Elizabeth nodded. 'Of a certainty. Let us imagine that a person was to be cleaning their gun and a slip occurred.'
Thoughtful, Darcy said, 'A gun cleaning mistake – this is a quite common occurrence. Many men accrue severe injuries and there are not a few who die from such a thing. Miss Elizabeth, may we continue our stroll within clear sight of the entire front of the house? I should like to intercept Browns before he has left the property, as there are further instructions for him to carry out.' At Elizabeth's decided assent, they lingered for several minutes longer when Mr. Darcy spied two figures exiting the servant's level and, as they proceeded closer, the more obvious it became that the purpose for Elizabeth and her walking companion in remaining out of doors was answered. Mr. Darcy excused himself and called loudly to Browns, who halted and awaited his master's orders. After the men spoke for several minutes, Mr. Darcy returned to Elizabeth's side and Browns and his companion – presumably Mrs. Whitford – continued upon their travels toward Meryton.
Elizabeth felt unsettled about the thoroughness of their strategy and asked, 'How will you cause Colonel Forster to approve of this proposal? What arguments will you bring to bear to convince him of the necessity of disguise?'
Mr. Darcy disliked deception and far preferred to prevail in his endeavors by honest means; however, on occasion, there would come a time that required subterfuge to attain the truth within a situation. He believed that this was such a position and fleetingly contemplated the coordination needed to ensure success before answering, 'It should not present too much trouble, as Wickham has perpetually had a nasty habit of accumulating debts of many kinds. He had the talent to make friends easily but was not equally able to keep them. Therefore, I am convinced that the Colonel should be made aware of Wickham's history and, in combination with his actions of last night and what information Browns can accumulate regarding unpaid merchant debts, then the good Colonel would likely agree to advertise the somewhat embarrassing manner of Wickham's expiration. At the risk of redundancy, Browns has several directives to fulfill and amongst them, he has been instructed to inquire about and compensate any and all of Wickham's debts to Meryton's merchants.'
Elizabeth supposed this reasonable and questioned further, 'What of the man's possessions? To whom should they be sent and, if he was indeed as much a miscreant as you relate, should they not first be checked for stolen items?'
Mr. Darcy allowed the question to be sensible and concurred with the lady's thoughts. He resolved to speak with Colonel Forster and settle the matter of Wickham's property, as Darcy could claim long acquaintance and knowledge of Wickham's relations. Thus, when they two returned to Netherfield – Darcy to the study and Elizabeth to her sister – much was accomplished within a relatively short period of time.
Mr. Collins had arrived at the home of his distant cousin on Saturday but was greatly disappointed to find that only three of the daughters were presently in residence. It was a pity, for he had been sent by Lady Catherine for the express purpose of making amends with the family whose home would, at some distant future, become his and, most important, to find a wife from amongst their blessed abundance of female offspring. The two eldest were absent to Mr. Collins' chagrin, as he had determined that it was his duty to meet and impress his young cousins with their obvious desire to become Mrs. Collins. Mrs. Bennet had been quite put out at first by his apparent cataloguing of every item within the walls of Longbourn, but upon the clergyman's announcement of his intention to preserve the Bennet's lineage as owners of Longbourn by his marrying one of its occupants, the matron was happily enticed to plan with her former enemy.
It had come to Mr. Collins' attention that Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the nephew to Lady Catherine whose beneficence he was so humbled to receive, was currently residing with a larger party at Netherfield and thus, to Netherfield Mr. Collins was to go. He felt every bit the significance of relaying his well wishes and making himself known to Mr. Darcy, as a logical extension of his service to Lady Catherine, to be of any help required by the great man while they both were in the locale. If the two eldest Bennet daughters were also to be found in that same house, so much the better.
Mr. Bingley, his attorney and Colonel Forster listened carefully to Mr. Darcy's plans and they wholeheartedly approved of the proposed actions. As the four men were leaving to perform their respective duties, Mr. Collins was announced to the concern of all attendants, save himself. Having done most appropriate introductions for Mr. Bingley, the parson of Hunsford parish then proceeded to make himself known to Mr. Darcy, couching his assurances of cooperation and kindness in the most generous and humble terms possible. A man of so little sense and so great self-consequence was difficult to find but, as the assembled gentlemen were finding, even more difficult to listen to without impolitely laughing to his face.
Mr. Darcy comprehended completely the motivations of his aunt, Lady Catherine, when she had assigned the preferment to Mr. Collins, a fellow who would pander exceedingly to her vanity and defer his opinions to her own. Much as a woman is forced to do in marriage, he mused, regardless of her intelligence or erudition. Of course, that thought called forth the immense assistance provided by Miss Elizabeth and a sense of profound relief at not having to shoulder alone the burden of disentangling Charles Bingley from yet another unpleasant situation. To his surprise, Mr. Darcy found it vastly satisfying to share the weight of responsibility with another after the many long years of solitarily bearing the worry of decisions and obligation. Georgiana, who had been entrusted to the care of himself and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, was both a duty and a balm. She was not yet of either a mind or an age where she could with any confidence participate in significant choices but her existence and company were a great comfort to her brother. However, a partner with whom ideas could be discussed and concerns equitably debated seemed to be a necessity not hitherto recognized by the master of Pemberley.
He was also given to wonder if Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth would care to know of their cousin's presence, for that was how Mr. Collins explained his absence from his parish. He had mentioned an entail on Longbourn and how he was the sole remaining male relation; thus, after Mr. Bennet's passing, Miss Elizabeth's family home would belong to her cousin, Mr. Collins. Apparently, Lady Catherine had sent Mr. Collins to Hertfordshire for a wife and she had specifically instructed him to offer an olive branch by marrying one of his cousins, which should soothe any feelings injured by the entail. The question of which of Mrs. Bennet's daughters was intended for the cleric did not bear thinking upon, as it was truly not his affair and most assuredly the matron would not consider Miss Elizabeth best suited as a matrimonial prospect for Lady Catherine's sycophantic parson.
I apologize but I am about to take a bit of a liberty with the timeline of P&P. It is a minor tweak but is obviously a change. Mr. Collins had, in the book, arrived on the Monday immediately following Jane and Elizabeth's return home from Netherfield. In this story (for my own selfish purposes), he will have arrived on the Saturday while the girls were still Bingley's guests. A two day difference, true, so I hope you will forgive me ignoring the whole scene with Mr. Bennet laughing at Collin's letter with Elizabeth. (But will Lady Catherine forgive me for removing her brown-noser before an extra Sunday service?)