~~H~~

Surprising revelations

In the morning it was still raining, and the sky was grey, which perfectly reflected the mood of Miss Bingley as she came down for breakfast.

She had considered staying in her room as her right eye was swollen and had turned black but in the end she decided it was not worth the bother, since almost everyone had seen her indignity last night. At least seeing her injury might garner her some sympathy.

In the dining room, only her brother was at the table.

'Where is everyone?' Caroline asked and endured her brother's scrutiny.

'Darcy and the Bennets have already finished their breakfast and are in the drawing room, the others have not yet put in an appearance. I am surprised to see you this early.'

Caroline helped herself to a plate of food and sat at the table, next to her brother. 'Charles about last night…' she started to say to defuse the situation before her brother could follow through on his threats, but he held up his hand, making her stop mid-sentence.

'There is nothing to discuss. I have already sent an express to Aunt Mathilda, asking her if she would be willing to take you in.'

'You want me to return to Scarborough? But who will be your hostess?'

'Louisa will be able to perform this function and I dare say better than you.'

Miss Bingley gritted her teeth and asked, 'is there nothing I can say which will change your mind?'

'I am sorry, Caroline, but I have made up my mind.'

Before Caroline could argue for leniency, the door opened to admit another guest.

~~H~~

Since Edith had gone to bed much later than was her wont, she slept correspondingly later and did not rise until the ninth hour.

When a maid entered her room with a cup of tea, Edith was delighted to find that someone had ridden to her home and collected clean clothes for her. She suspected that the considerate culprit might have been Blake.

As she entered the corridor, suitably clad in an elegant day dress, her faithful shadow was waiting for her. 'Do I have you to thank for my clean finery?'

'It was nothing. I also stopped at Longbourn, and Mrs Hill sent some things for the Bennets as well.' He shrugged in a deprecating manner. 'The horses had no problem at a slow walk.'

'Well, I thank you for your consideration.'

'As I said, it was no trouble. I also have a message for you from Master James. He will be a faithful defender of your home and you need not risk life and limb to hurry home.' Blake grinned. 'I believe the scamp likes to be in charge of the house.'

Edith laughed at the manner in which Blake delivered the message, very reminiscent of her son. She thanked the man again and sent him to get some sleep, since he had obviously missed several hours to carry out his self-imposed errands.

She was reminded of a comment by the Colonel, sergeants can and usually will organise anything.

~~H~~

Edith entered the dining room and greeted her host with warmth, whereas she was icily civil to her hostess.

Miss Bingley seeing the woman who had been instrumental in her failure the night before, forgot her resolution to pacify her brother and immediately went on the attack. 'For a guest you take remarkable liberties, ordering your man to lay his hands on me.'

Mrs Farrington fixed herself a plate of food and a cup of tea, which she took to the table as she considered her answer. 'You were distraught, and your screams were upsetting Colonel Fitzwilliam. I simply took care of the problem.'

'Just because my brother permitted you to stay the night in his house, does not make it yours. Or perhaps you think to come between him and your cousin, thinking to snatch such a prize for yourself?'

Edith gave her a pitying look. 'I have no need of additional wealth. I am quite comfortably set up.' She smiled at Bingley. 'While you are a charming young man, I believe that you and my cousin are much better suited.'

'A likely story,' snarled Caroline. 'I wonder how you came on the scene in such a convenient manner. What were you doing, roaming the halls of Netherfield in the middle of the night?'

'I had gone to the kitchen for a cup of tea.' Edith smiled blandly as she picked up her cup for a sip.

'You make very free with the facilities as a guest of my house,' Caroline accused Edith, getting more furious by the minute as the lady remained completely unruffled by any accusations.

'Caroline, please stop this. I told you that you are no longer mistress of the house,' Bingley tried to defuse the situation and, in the process, only making it worse.

'I was still the mistress of the house when this… person was supposedly having tea in the kitchen. Perhaps we should check the silver to ensure everything is still where it ought to be.'

Edith was slowly getting annoyed and on the verge of losing her temper. 'Perhaps you should consider your own conduct. At least I was fully dressed and not sneaking into a gentleman's bedroom, which is not considered to be ladylike behaviour in my circles.'

'How would you know how a lady behaves. You are nothing but a country mushroom with insignificant relations.'

Mrs Farrington briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath while counting to ten. She came to a decision and opening her eyes she turned to a footman, who had proved he had excellent training as he had maintained a straight face during this discussion. 'Would you please ask my cousin, Mr Bennet to join us for a minute?' she asked politely.

A minute later, Bennet stepped into the room and took in the tense tableau at a glance. 'What can I do for you, cousin?' he asked politely although his eyes were starting to twinkle.

'I believe that Miss Bingley and I have never been properly introduced. I was hoping that you would do the honours.'

Bennet shot her a questioning glance to which Edith responded with a nod and a rueful smile, which caused her cousin to smile broadly. 'As you wish,' he said before turning to Caroline.

'Miss Bingley, I would like you to meet Mrs Farrington, the Dowager Countess of Wentworth,' Bennet said with a malicious grin as Caroline's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

'Who?' Miss Bingley croaked as her brother looked on in confusion.

'You know, the poor, old dear who has to struggle along in genteel poverty and can only make ends meet by leasing out her estate.' Edith gave Caroline a cold smile. 'Which of course means that this estate is my property and so is the silver you accused me of stealing.'

~~H~~

Colonel Fitzwilliam also slept uncommonly late. The pleasant dreams enticed him to continue his slumber every time he started to surface.

Corporal Bennings checked on him from time to time and each time returned to the dressing room in excellent spirits after seeing the smile on the Colonel's face.

Eventually, the necessities of nature could no longer be denied, and forced Fitzwilliam to wake up and face reality.

After his morning ablutions and getting dressed, the Colonel sat by the window with a cup of coffee and considered the events of the previous night.

While he thought that his response to Miss Bingley was up to a point justified, he now knew rather than suspected, that his temper was too uncertain to entertain any thought other than friendship with any lady. Particularly Mrs Fitzwilliam, no Mrs Farrington he corrected his mental slip, was too wonderful a lady to be saddled with a broken wreck of a man. She only deserved the best.

Having reached this conclusion, he steeled himself to endure another day.

~~H~~

His day improved significantly as he quietly opened the door to the dining room dreading the pitying looks which he was likely to receive, until he heard the introduction of Mrs Farrington to Miss Bingley.

Fitzwilliam's mood lifted immediately. He stepped into the room with a broad smile and a general 'good morning' to all before turning to Edith. 'And how are you this morning you poor, old dear? I had not thought you to be in such dire straits that you had to steal your own silver.'

Edith returned his grin while Caroline spluttered, Bingley looked confused, and Bennet laughed. 'It is not so bad as all that,' she replied. 'Miss Bingley just became confused. It must have been all the excitement last night which overset her delicate constitution.'

'How dare you make fun of me and humiliate me.'

'Miss Bingley, if you had at all times behaved like a lady should, no one would have the opportunity to humiliate you. I am afraid that you are simply not the right kind of woman for polite society.' Edith added the last sentence in the haughtiest and most dismissive tone of voice.

When Miss Bingley opened her mouth to protest, Bingley cut her off. 'Shut up, Caroline. For once in your life watch what you are saying.'

As his startled sister followed his order, Bingley asked, 'are you truly the owner of this estate?'

'I am. I inherited Netherfield from my grandmother.'

'May I ask why you go by the name of Mrs Farrington?'

'It is my name and I dislike the fuss people make when they know that I am a member of the nobility. People are much more genuine if they do not realise that I have a title.' She shot a quick glance at Miss Bingley, who was blushing scarlet as she realised that she had been denigrating a countess.

'The Bennets are related to a countess, and I could have benefitted from the relationship,' Caroline whispered as the full impact of the error of her ways became clear to her.

'Indeed,' said Edith and nodded.

'Is there any way…'

Edith shook her head and focused on eating.

'Why did you not tell me? If only I had known, I would have acted differently.'

'You would have acted the sycophant.' Edit gave her a grim smile. 'As I said before, a lady acts with graciousness and decorum to all and at all times.'

Her smiled turned sardonic. 'You should demand your money back from that expensive seminary you attended. What they taught you is completely the reverse. A lady is always gracious and condescending towards those of lower station as they cannot fight back. Sniping at them is cowardly and displays your bad manners. You can snipe to your hearts content at all those people who outrank you. After all, they are used to it, as do it themselves.

'You acted with disdain to all whom you considered beneath you. But wealth alone does not confer status, as even the poorest landowner ranks above you. And fawning at those who outrank you only confirms that you are a sycophant, which makes them despise you.'

During the time which Edith spent explaining the realities of society to Caroline, Fitzwilliam had helped himself to a substantial breakfast and coffee. He was enjoying both as he listened with fascination to the explanation.

When Mrs Farrington stopped speaking, he commented, 'that was a most excellent and the most cynical analysis of society which I have ever heard. It was also completely accurate.'

Miss Bingley also listened avidly. For years she had followed the principles she had learned at the seminary and all she had to show for it was years of humiliation and a black eye.

Now she was angry, and she wanted revenge.

She sat up straight and looked the Countess in they eye. 'My lady, I wholeheartedly apologise for my atrocious behaviour.' Her lips twitched into an impish smile. 'You spoke well about being condescending and gracious to the lower classes. Will you prove your principles and teach me?'

Now it was everyone else's turn to stare in open-mouthed astonishment at Miss Bingley.

Eventually there were several slightly hysterical chuckles from her companions as Mr Bennet quipped, 'even I did not see this coming.'

~~H~~

~~H~~

The Colonel and the Heiress (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2022