Blood or Rearing?

Life and circumstances decree that Caroline E. Bingley and Elizabeth C. Bennet have much different childhoods than in cannon... with unexpected results for one and all

AN: I'm attempting this story in answer to a request from "Guest." Three important notes: First, this will not be a switched-at-birth story like "Incident at the Royal Rest Inn." Second, somewhere out there there is a truly well-written and enjoyable story where Miss Elizabeth Bingley serves as her brother's host and ends up with Darcy. I really enjoyed the story, but have not been able to find it since that first reading. This will not be a summary of that story. Third, if the beginning sounds remarkably like the Nature v. Nurture argument in "Trading Places," that is because it gave me the idea for how to approach this story.

If you do not have an open mind where D&E HEA is concerned, I suggest that you NOT read this tale. I may write another where Darcy is a total cad later. We shall see. If you do read on, then you should probably keep your rotten fruit handy to throw at me. In my defense, I was trying my best to fulfill this request.

The great social debate

"It is blood that defines who we are and what we shall become, Robert! A person is born to be who they will become." One scholarly friend demanded quite energetically.

"You are wrong, Fulton. It is rearing. While it is true that intelligence may pass down through the blood, the ultimate character of a person still depends entirely upon how a child is treated from birth on... what opportunities are provided... who they interact with... and all such details." The second man responded in a much calmer manner. After all, he was right... at least in his own mind.

"It all sounds good, Robert, but it does not hold true. Take a look at my friends the Fitzwilliams." He said this more quietly, fully aware that disparaging the children of a future earl was never wise. "The eldest is a girl of five and twenty. I knew her from the moment she was born. I was her mother's physician. I swear to you, the babe tried to bite me with evil intent only moments after her delivery! Now she is full grown and nothing that her fine parents have done has had one smidgen of mitigation. She was born a termagant, she shall live as a termagant, and she shall go to her grave just the same as the moment she was born.

"Now take her lovely younger sister. Now there is an angel both in beauty and character. She lived in the same house as her sister, attended the same schools, had the same masters, and yet she will make Mr. Darcy the finest of wives. I only just attended their ceremony three days ago and she treated me, who is nothing more than the family doctor, as an honored guest! So what do you say to that?"

"I will concede, Fulton, that there are those who will be who they will be regardless of what life does to affect them, but you forget that I know both daughters. The friends of the eldest and the friends of the younger made a difference, as did the Viscount's remarriage when the eldest was already too old to be impacted positively or negatively. Perhaps we might agree that both blood and circumstances play their part, and leave it at that for now?"

The friends agreed and went their separate ways. Fulton returned to his practice while Robert, also known as Mr. Weatherly, boarded his carriage to give a lesson to the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant. Robert did not need to give lessons, but after the untimely death of his dear wife, he appreciated the chance to get out of his house and circulate. And since they had no children, he saw his lessons as his chance to enrich the lives of other young people.

Fourteen years later...

Robert arrived at the leased home of Roland Bingley ten minutes early, as was his habit, and immediately made his way to the music room. There was a great tumult in the main part of the house between Mr. Bingley and Mrs. Bingley. Robert Weatherly happened to know from overhearing that the mother wanted to put the younger daughter in the same finishing school as her older sister. He also knew that Mr. Bingley was not best pleased with the changes and attitudes that he saw in his eldest. The debate had been ongoing for a week.

It was no surprise, therefore, when Robert found young Miss Caroline hunched over the pianoforte, hoping to avoid her parents. "Hello Miss Caroline. How has your practicing come along?" He did not ask how she was because that much was obvious. As a ten year old child she had already heard too many of her parent's arguments.

Caroline E. Bingley found her parents frustrating, but she found that she loved the grandfatherly Mr. Weatherly. He was not only a kind and skilled music master, but he seemed to be able to help her forget the problems in her life with music. For the moment the noise from the other part of the house was forgotten as she beamed at the man who had been teaching her the pianoforte and singing since she was six. "Hello, Mr. Weatherly! I practiced all of the pieces that you gave me, just like I promised..." she frowned slightly, "But I not so good at the aria you gave me. I tried to sing in Italian just as you showed me, but without you to correct my pronunciation it all sounds wrong."

Robert laid a fatherly hand on the girl's soft auburn hair and gave her his best smile, "One cannot learn a language in a day, a week, or even months, child. Do not despair. By the time you are called upon to perform before others you shall be a most accomplished singer. You only have to determine that it will be so and then work hard to achieve it. You have a beautiful voice already and a sound grasp of music."

Caroline beamed, then slumped, "But Mother wants to send me away to join Louisa at her school. My sister has told me how unkind some of the girls are towards daughters of trade, Mr. Weatherly... and then how shall you teach me?"

Robert had been thinking about this for the three days since he last taught the child and first became aware of the issue, "I can make you no promises... but will you give me permission to speak to your father about a different sort of school... one devoted to music with a truly kind headmistress? I teach the advanced students there already, so it would be no problem adding you to my schedule?"

Caroline spontaneously hugged the man and answered, "Oh! Would you please? That would be soooo much better!"

If Robert Weatherly exaggerated little Miss Caroline's accomplishments in music somewhat while he spoke with her parents, we must excuse him. It was for a good cause and he truly did believe that she could become a wonderful musician.

One month after that day, Caroline was installed at Mrs. Mumford's School for Musicality. Mrs. Mumford turned out to be all that Mr. Weatherly had promised, and while she was as soft in many ways, she was very strict about enforcing a no-bullying policy. With that in place, Caroline was able to make truly good friends from several circles, all of whom loved music and all of which would be friends for many years to come.

At the same time, at Longbourn...

Elizabeth C. Bennet, though only six, was tired of hearing her mother speak down to her and praise her older sister. Who cared about that boring girl anyway?! And to make matters worse, her father, who had essentially ignored her and Jane all their lives, was now spending time with that plain Mary, just because Mary already knew her alphabet! Lizzie would have known it too if anyone had bothered to try and teach her at that age! She was just as smart or smarter than Mary! She was certainly smarter than Jane! But did anyone care? NO!

It was a warm day, so she donned her walking dress and boots and stomped out of the house to find her own entertainment. Two hours later she returned to the house with a dress full of frogs with which to frighten her sisters. I'll hide them in Jane and Mary's rooms. Boy will they scream when they go to bed tonight!

That night Mr. Bennet was treated to a harangue by his wife about his second eldest daughter and her hoydenish ways. He had been terribly sick at the time of her birth, an ailment which almost carried him away and which lasted for more than a year. In truth he barely knew his second daughter. Truth was, he just didn't wish to spend the time to correct her. The obvious answer presented itself in the form of Mrs. Phillips, who had lost three children to miscarriage and who would appreciate having a daughter to dote on.

Yes... I will send her there. Edward is courting a young woman, so he cannot help. Let us see how Emeline does in raising a difficult child.

Longbourn, 1811

Elizabeth Bennet listened as her mother droned on endlessly about the impending residence of a Mr. Bingley and entourage at Netherfield Park. She happened to know that Mr. Bingley, who was nothing but a jumped-up tradesman's son, would be accompanied by Mr. Darcy, a man of great property from the north with no less than ten-thousand a year to his name! She had seen the man with Mr. Bingley when the man signed the lease and she was determined that she, and not one of her sisters, would be the next Mrs. Darcy!

By her own careful coaching, Mrs. Phillips, the woman who was her mother in all but blood, kept mum on the matter of Mr. Darcy. Let Mrs. Bennet scheme all that she wanted to to wed Jane to the tradesman! When she became Mrs. Darcy, she would insist that her husband break the connection! After all, hadn't she managed to convince (through constant scheming) her uncle Phillips to buy a small estate, thus making himself a true gentleman? It irked her that the man insisted upon continuing his practice as a solicitor, but at least she and her aunt could stay away at the former Purvis Lodge!

Sometimes Elizabeth longed for her family, but then the bitterness would set in again. Her father and mother had set her aside for no better reason than a harmless little prank! And her sisters! Had they even ever attempted to spend time with her since? Oh certainly, perfect Jane had reached out to her, but Elizabeth was certain that her sister hadn't been sincere.

Elizabeth felt a trace of moisture in her eyes, but she refused to show weakness. She would show them.

~oOo~

Caroline Bingley struggled not to beg for silence as her bitter sister Louisa complained endlessly about leaving London and taking up residence in their brother's leased estate. Caroline knew how bitterly her sister regretted allowing her mother to set up her marriage with Mr. Hurst for the sole purpose of entering the gentry. Mr. Hurst was not a bad man, just a slovenly drunkard with no interests or ambitions. Certainly, Louisa was now gentry, but the same girls who persecuted her at school were now women who continued the practice and laughed behind their hands at Louisa's husband and pretenses toward gentrification.

What will they think, then, of my own engagement? Doing her best to conceal her affection, she looked up at Fitzwilliam Darcy's eyes. He, on the other hand, was doing little to hide his own appreciation of her. She shot sparks at him in warning, but it was useless since he had told her that she was just as beautiful when she was angry! He even had a nickname for her, calling her "My Beth" since he wasn't that fond of the name Caroline. She could not take offense since she did not care that much for the name herself.

Caroline had met the arrogant Mr. Darcy four years prior, when he had come to dinner at her father's home. Though he was very wealthy and from a highly prestigious family, he had befriended her brother Charles and had acted as his protector at Cambridge. For that alone Caroline was grateful, but when he visited their home he had acted like he was afraid that she would throw herself on him! The self-importance of the man! It had irritated her to the point where she very clearly avoided the man whenever he visited their home.

Oddly enough, her own reticence won his grudging respect and their relationship gradually became amicable. But it was when Caroline befriended the terribly shy Georgiana Darcy that matters took a turn for the worse, and then for the better. First, he resumed his arrogant disdain, assuming that she had only befriended his sister to get to him! The nerve of the man! Her answer was to only visit dear Georgie when the brute was away. Together the two ladies spent countless hours playing music and singing.

But when the terrible situation in Ramsgate happened, Georgiana turned to her friend instead of her brother. When she saw the deep hurt in his eyes, she softened towards the man and did all that she could to bring the siblings together. Mr. Darcy finally forgot his suspicions and finally saw her... at which point Caroline could no longer deny the strong attraction she felt for the frustrating, confusing man. For the past few months conversations had led to a better understanding and a better understanding led to a confession: "I've always found you attractive, Miss Bingley, but I've spent so long avoiding attachments that my reactions were automatic. If I hurt you because of my assumptions, I can only beg your forgiveness. For your part you have always been every bit a lady."

Nothing was ever simple, however, and the fact that her brother was not yet a gentleman was a large wall blocking Caroline's own happiness. Darcy wisely counseled that they should wait to reveal their true feelings and intentions until that matter was settled. He would help Charles to earn the title of "gentleman" while she worked to prove that she could be a proper mistress to an estate. Georgiana was the only other person who knew of their true feelings, since she had worked so diligently to forward the match.

There was another obstacle as well: Mr. Darcy had promised his cousin, Anne deBourgh, to remain silent on any other marital possibilities until she turned five and twenty. Her mother and Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine deBourgh, was insistent on pushing a match between her daughter and Mr. Darcy. If he spoke too soon, she might try to force a different match. If they waited until February, when Anne would turn five and twenty and fulfill the requirements for her inheritance, then all could proceed as hoped for the younger generation. Until then, it was essential that they keep their love a secret... which would not be possible if Fitzwilliam Darcy kept looking at her that way!

Meryton Assembly, Michaelmas, 1811

"You need to dance with at least two local ladies, William!" Caroline said as quietly and insistently as possible while in a crowd on the dance floor. "It looks wrong for you to ignore them... and besides, you're helping my brother to settle into this community."

Darcy let his mask slip as he met her eyes. Then he sighed. "As you wish, but you seem to have a better feeling for them then I do, so you'll have to point me towards safe partners." It was a mark of his true respect and affection that he made such a plea and it warmed "his Beth's" heart.

By the end of the evening Darcy had danced with Miss Lucas, Miss Bennet, and Miss Mary. Caroline had a bad feeling about Miss Elizabeth, so she carefully steered the man away from her and kept herself close to intercept whenever the girl was around. There was something very predatory about the young woman.

She did like Miss Jane Bennet, however, and hoped that her brother would not play with the young woman's feelings. He did tend to fall in and out of love with alarming regularity.

~oOo~

"I can guess what you are thinking, Mr. Darcy," Caroline said softly, coming up beside the man as he stood with his back to the wall in a corner of Lucas Lodge.

"I certainly hope not, Beth," he answered softly. "Then we would both be blushing and that would not serve us well in this setting."

Of course Caroline blushed as she caught the meaning of her betrothed. To distract them both from such thoughts, she inserted, "I saw Sir William attempting to pair you with Miss Elizabeth for a dance. Funny, I was not aware that you injured your foot this morning?"

"Stop teasing, Beth. You know perfectly well that my foot is fine. I may not always get it right, but I feel strongly that I need to avoid any opportunity for that young woman to put me in a compromising position. One can see the calculation in her eyes. She behaves much like her Aunt Phillips, but with more intelligence and more cunning."

Caroline sighed, "Then I suggest that you put a little more limp into your step, because she seems quite persistent. At least she is done playing. One can catch the feeling in her playing, but that feeling seems rather bitter. She does have fine eyes, though."

"Unfortunately that bitterness is evident in her eyes as well. It does make one wonder what caused such feelings, but I personally feel no need to explore the matter."

"Understood and agreed. I shall play bodyguard, Sir."

Netherfield Park, 13th of November

"How do you suppose that she learned of her sister's ailment so quickly, William? She doesn't even live in the same house."

"Perhaps she has spies at Longbourn... or worse, she may have spies here?"

"Goodness, I had not thought of that... may I strongly recommend that you have your valet sleep in your room while she is here? I wish that my trusting brother had not extended the invitation before consulting me. Dear Jane doesn't even seem to trust the girl, and she trusts everybody too much."

"Barker has already installed a cot in my room at my request. He also has a clever device that will keep a door shut even when one has the key."

"That is well then. I have hostess duties to perform, so I shall leave you to the library, such as it is and what little there is of it."

"Thank you, Beth. I am working diligently to train your brother to his duties so that I can return to Georgiana. Once that happens, we will find the way to send for you."

"Until then..." Caroline shot him a look that could not be misunderstood and left the room.

It was a trying week, with Miss Elizabeth complimenting Darcy and showing herself off at every turn, but Jane was finally pronounced sound and healthy. The only downside of that was that her brother had now promised the Bennets a ball."

Barker told of at least three incidents in which Darcy's door rattled in the middle of the night.

Netherfield Park, 19th November, 1811

"He is here! In Meryton! How dare the man show his face! And you should have seen the man's smirk!"

"Calm yourself, my love. Please explain in rational sentences." Ten minutes later Darcy and Caroline were planning out the best way to deal with George Wickham while protecting Georgiana and Meryton at the same time. Their swift actions removed the blight within a five-day, but he had already worked to spread his poison against Darcy throughout the community. This required more planning and a great effort on Darcy's part to improve his image. After much discussion between the pair, it was decided that Mr. Darcy would remove himself before the ball to avoid certain entanglements.

Meanwhile Caroline carefully probed her brother about his feelings for Jane Bennet. When it was clear that his feelings were deeper than any he had felt before, she encouraged him to make their courtship official. "I shall be returning to London after the ball, Charles. You will have to pay court to Jane at Longbourn, which is for the best anyway. I know that Louisa is unhappy here and Hurst will simply eat and drink you out of house and home. Play the bachelor here and pay court there."

As planned, Darcy departed on the day before the ball, much to the chagrin of on scheming Bennet daughter. When her Aunt Phillips learned that the man was not expected to return, Elizabeth immediately schemed to visit her Uncle and Aunt Gardiner. She was far from their favorite niece, but they tried to be fair to all, so they extended an invitation for a week.

Darcy was shocked to learn that the young woman actually tried to present herself at Darcy House. Since he was currently residing with his sister at Matlock House, the town home of his uncle and aunt, the young woman made no headway. He chose to remain the week full before opening his house, unaware that he had just missed the harridan.

Elizabeth Caroline Bennet returned to Meryton deeply disappointed and bitter. The only benefit to her sojourn was that she absented herself from Mr. Collins, her father's cousin who had come seeking a wife. In the following spring she took a vacation in Bath with her aunt/mother figure, where she met a recently rejected suitor named James Rushworth. After a brief courtship she became the mistress of Sotherton Court. It is noteworthy that, although she never loved her husband, his unceasing affection for her served to soften her bitterness over time. In later decades she ended better than she had begun.

Anne deBourgh turned five and twenty in February of 1812 and immediately invoked her inheritance, much to the chagrin and protestations of her mother. On the very next day Fitzwilliam Darcy announced his engagement to Caroline Elizabeth Bingley, his "Beth." Although the Ton was vocal against the match, they stayed contentedly at Pemberley until they had several children and were mostly forgotten. Since Georgiana had already fallen in love with a local wealthy landowner there was no real need for her to have a coming out or a season.

As this story is only peripherally about the Bennets, we will leave it by saying that Charles did in fact marry Jane and the pair were always welcome at Pemberley.

AN: There, I did it. You can all hate me now... except for whoever "Guest" actually is. I will admit that I had difficulty in writing and presenting this story, but I just couldn't pass up the challenge. You may throw your rotten fruit now. And yes, I cheated a little with their middle names.