September 7, 1812 - London
Bingley looked at his two sisters and his brother-in-law, Randolph Hurst, and gave a soft sigh. He realized he could not put things off any longer and spoke, "Can I see you all in the library, please. There is something I have to discuss with you all."
He got up from the dinner table, and moved quickly towards the library, not giving anyone the opportunity to complain or raise questions. He went immediately to the sideboard and poured a glass of wine for his sisters and port for himself and Hurst. Handing Louisa and Hurst their glasses, he noticed that Caroline had not entered the room.
"Where is Caroline?" he asked Loiusa.
"I thought I saw her going upstairs."
Bingley immediately went to the door, summoned the first maid he saw and told her to inform his sister that he was requesting her presence in the library Immediately. After several minutes of desultory conversation the maid returned with the message that Miss Caroline would be down later. At this Bingley strode from the room and ran up the stairs, knocked firmly on Caroline's door. Upon acknowledgement, he opened the door and saw his sister sitting calmly on a settee looking at a magazine. Keeping a very tight control on his temper and voice, he said "I believe I asked you to attend me in the library. You have ignored me. I am not interested in your reasons for doing so. You will accompany me downstairs now or decisions will be made that affect you and your concerns will not be heard at all and ignored thereafter. Are you coming?"
Caroline looked affronted and replied "I am not in ..."
Bingley interrupted. "Very well. So be it." and closed the door before she could finish. Shaking his head he walked briskly downstairs. Before he had reached the bottom, he heard a door open and close and footsteps quickly following him down the stairs. He could sense Caroline behind him - her perfume was quite distinct. Not unpleasant, but also not one he found particularly attractive.
Turning he watch Caroline pass and sit beside Louisa. After carefully closing the door, he moved to the side table and he picked up her glass, passed it to her and then sat himself in his own chair facing them all. Taking a sip of his port, he considered his two sisters carefully. His uncle had spoken with him about this meeting and had made some suggestions as to how to present his decisions and their options to them. He had made a few notes and had worked out a basic approach. Now to see if he could get their compliance with a minimum of conflict. Caroline would be the most difficult one to convince. He could sense a touch of uneasiness in Louisa and Caroline as his silence continued. That did not bother him particularly and, in fact, he took some small enjoyment from their uncertainty. No matter! It was time to begin.
"I am sure that you are all wondering why I asked to talk to you tonight. There are a number of things that I want to bring up. First, I had a long talk with Darcy while at Pemberley. It was most revealing, particularly in respect of your behaviour towards Miss Jane Bennet last winter."
He watched the shock on the faces of his sisters, followed by a flush of anger on Caroline's face and possibly embarrassment on Louisa's face. He cut off a sputtering comment from Caroline by raising up his hand.
"Do not bother to deny it. Darcy told me the whole thing and you both have embarrassed me quite a bit. I would add that, upon recollection, your behaviour while at Netherfield was disgraceful from the moment we arrived to when we left. Your incivility and thinly disguised contempt for our neighbours during our residence there convinced me that I cannot trusted either of my sisters to act as a hostess in the future."
"During my stay in the north I was reconsidering my future. I have decided to move to York to be closer to the companies that our father built. I will be working more closely with my uncles and relatives in the north and, while I will still visit London, it probably will be for only short periods of time. I will be buying a residence in York and selling this house. When I visit London, Darcy has graciously offered to let me stay at his residence."
He could see the shock on Caroline's face and a growing anger. Determined to finish what he wanted to say before commencing the argument he knew would follow, he raised his voice a notch.
"Caroline, be quiet! You will have a chance to speak when I am done." pausing for only a second or two, he continued."What I have said so far is not open to discussion. I am not interested in your views on my activities. However, I am prepared to discuss your choices for the future."
"Caroline, you are now over three and twenty. Your dowry can be placed in your control in two years and that is what I plan to do. I am prepared to instruct my solicitor to make such arrangements as are necessary to accomplish this. I am assuming that there is no desire on the part of you or Louisa to move to York and that you would much prefer to reside in London. The question I would ask is whether you wish to live with the Hursts, should they be agreeable to that, or whether you prefer to set up your own establishment. If the latter, my solicitor can arrange to lease an apartment for you. If you have your own establishment, a companion will be required but Louisa and I can surely hire someone suitable. I am prepared to provide some modest assistance in the matter of acquiring an apartment. "
Bingley looked at his sisters. "Should I leave you to discuss this between yourselves?"
"But brother, what about our father's wish that you buy an estate? Surely you are not going to ignore that! And who will host for you in York if Caroline and I are in London?
"I plan to buy an estate close to York and I have asked Aunt Julia to acted as my hostess in York. She is a fine, sociable woman, well connected in that city and was delighted at the opportunity. She is a widow whose children are all married and the situation appears to satisfy her quite well. "
"I must also tell you both that Darcy has told me in no uncertain terms that he will no longer tolerate your using his name to get invitations to dinners or parties or balls. And, to emphasize something I have told you repeatedly, he has no intention, and has never had an intention, of offering for you Caroline. You must look elsewhere for a husband."
Caroline finally found her voice and the pitch was, if anything, higher than normal even for her. Bingley winced. She was so incoherent that he was not actually sure what concerned her most; his departure from London, his move to York or the diminution of the Darcy connection.
As he listened, he remembered the words of his uncle "When you think your resolve is weakening or your are losing patience or control, change your position. Get up, walk around, leave the room, get a drink … but do something different!" He abruptly got up and prepared to leave the room, saying. "I am going out for a bit of fresh air. I suggest you talk this over and we can discuss what you want to do when I return in an hour or so."
With that he collected his coat, hat and walking stick from a footman and headed in the direction of the nearest park. Fortunately, there was still enough light remaining in the day for him to enjoy the evening colours. Quite a few people had been attracted to the outdoors given the comfortable temperatures and mild breeze. He met and chatted with several acquaintances on his walk and by the time he entered his house once again, almost two hours had passed.
Divesting himself of his outerwear, he inquired as to the presence of his sisters and, upon being told that they were in the library, he asked to have coffee delivered there. He then entered the library to find both sisters obviously waiting for him. Randolph was stretched out in a chair, dozing to all appearances. He wondered if he was even aware of the discussion, until he saw him wink at him surreptitiously. Caroline was the first to speak as he sat in his usual chair. She was obviously making every attempt to appear reasonable.
"You cannot be serious about leaving London. My chances of meeting and attaching a suitor will be much, much poorer if you are not here."
"Caroline, how many years have you been 'out', four? five? I have been there for all of them. During that time you have had multiple opportunities to acquire friends and acquaintances to provide access to such events as you need. I warned you repeatedly that fixating on Darcy was going to be unsuccessful. You chose to ignore me. Now you will have to manage on your own. If you have failed to acquire the connections you need, the fault lies with you, not me. However, I can attempt to arrange a marriage for you in the north. I am sure there are several eligible men in need of a wife with a sizeable dowry. Shall I do so?"
"Of course not!"
"Do you plan to set up your own establishment?"
"No, I will live with the Hursts. Why can we not live here?"
"I plan to buy a house in York and will need the funds from selling this house. Unless the Hursts plan to buy it, they will have to find other accommodations. I plan to move to York by the the start of the new year. The house will be sold as soon as possible thereafter. I suggest you start making arrangements."
Bingley paused for a few minutes and added, "You may dispose of the furniture in your rooms as you wish, I will be making arrangements to have the rest carted to York when I return to London."
"You are leaving?"
"Yes, I leave for York in two days. I will keep you informed of my plans and expect to return at the start of the new year."
Caroline continued to press Bingley to change his mind with a repetition of those arguments which had already proved unsuccessful. After about half an hour she resorted to tears, sobbing onto Louisa's shoulder who looked reproachfully at Bingley.
Bingley stood and stated "And yet I am unmoved. Good-night." And as he moved up to his rooms, his immediate thought was "My, that felt good. For once Caroline did not get her own way."
