"Darcy, you do not mind stopping at Longbourn tomorrow morning to collect Elizabeth, I hope?" Bingley asked his friend.
Darcy, whose eyes were naturally enough fixed on Elizabeth's face, promptly said, "That will be no problem at all. Miss Bennet, would it be possible for you to be ready to begin our journey by ten o'clock, or is that too early?"
"No, that is no difficulty at all," Elizabeth said, smiling warmly into the gentleman's face. "I am always an early riser. Indeed, if it would be more convenient, I could probably come over by carriage an hour earlier so you do not need to stop at Longbourn."
"That is hardly necessary," Darcy protested, "and I would not care for you to go to such extra effort."
"Thank you, sir," Elizabeth said gratefully. "Jane, Charles, I will see you when we return in a few weeks. Caroline, I hope you have a lovely time in London. Jane, do give my regards to Louis and Mr. Hurst."
"Come along, Lizzy!" Lydia exclaimed through the open front door. "Father wishes to return home before it is too dark."
Elizabeth, with a last smile, rushed out the front door of Netherfield to cries of farewell from Jane and Charles Bingley. Darcy watched until the door closed behind the object of his admiration and turned toward the stairwell, only to stop at the sight of Caroline Bingley, whose brown eyes were a mixture of shock and fury.
"What is this all about?" she gasped, quite heedless of normal etiquette. "You cannot … surely Elizabeth is not…"
"She is joining us for our trip to Ramsgate," Darcy said simply and turned toward his host. "Bingley, I hope you do not mind if I follow Georgiana and Fitzwilliam upstairs? We will need to make an early start tomorrow morning."
"Of course," Charles said, gazing at Caroline menacingly. He waited until Darcy had disappeared upstairs before turning to his unwed sister. "Caroline, my study. Now."
/
"How could you not tell me that the Darcys were going to Ramsgate and that Elizabeth is going with them?" Caroline snarled as soon as the office door closed behind her brother. "Did you want me to look like a complete fool?"
Charles regarded his sister with exasperation. "How do you feel about Elizabeth accompanying the Darcys to the seaside, Caroline?"
"Feel about it? Feel about it?" his sister retorted, her angry hands pulling at her carefully coifed hair. "I am irate. No, I am furious! And …. and I am completely and utterly bewildered. Elizabeth Bennet, of all people! Why on earth would Mr. Darcy choose to bring her over me. She is impertinent and not even very pretty, and …"
"Ten pounds," Charles interpolated, reaching into his desk to pull out a ledger. "Do go on, Sister. I have plenty of space in my ledger for your additional insults towards our mutual sister-in-law."
Caroline stared at her brother for an outraged minute and then, to the astonishment of both of them, burst into noisy tears. Charles watched in silence, and, when the storm showed no signs of abating, walked over to push her gently into a nearby chair. He pulled out his handkerchief, fortunately clean, and handed it to her. She took it and held it to her face, her pent up misery exhibiting itself in wrenching sobs, while her brother patted her clumsily on the shoulder. He found his younger sister thoroughly infuriating much of the time, but he also pitied her. For reasons he had never quite understood, his sister had decided at an early age that she was destined for the first circles of society, in spite of her position as the daughter of a tradesmen. When she had met Darcy some seven years previously, Caroline had resolved that the master of Pemberley was her ticket to her societal dreams and had set her sights on him with the rapacious enthusiasm of a boa constrictor for a hapless rat. Unfortunately, she had misread Darcy quite profoundly, and in spite of various warnings, had refused to give up.
"He is never going to marry me, is he?" Caroline sobbed, sitting up and mopping her face.
"No, he is not," Bingley said gently. "It is no particular reflection on you, Sister. He merely wishes for a different bride."
"Like Elizabeth Bennet?" Caroline asked, rubbing her forehead with trembling fingers. "Unbelievable. And do not dare take ten more pounds away, Charles; I am only saying what everyone will think. He can reach very high for a bride, and while Elizabeth is intelligent, lively, and even beautiful, she is not wealthy, nor is her family part of the ton."
"It is Miss Darcy who specifically invited Elizabeth to Ramsgate," Charles said, rising to his feet and pouring his sister a cup of water, which he then handed to her. "At Pemberley, they discovered a shared interest in birds, and Miss Darcy is eager to show off some of the feathered creatures which make their homes along the shores and marshes of Ramsgate."
"Birds," Caroline said bitterly, drinking the water and setting the empty cup down so that it clanked loudly against her brother's wooden desk. "I did everything in my power to make Miss Darcy like me, and it turns out that she wanted me to talk about birds."
Bingley lowered himself onto his chair and said gently, "Caroline, I have a suggestion. Instead of trying to make someone like you, why do you not search for friends with similar interests to your own? You and Darcy are not well suited; he does not enjoy society and is happiest in the country, whereas you are a social butterfly. Surely you will enjoy your marriage more if you have something in common with your husband?"
Caroline stared at him, her eyes blank with misery, and she shrugged. "I do not know what I truly enjoy, Charles. All I ever wanted was to rise above my circumstances as the daughter of a tradesman."
She passed her hand over her face and stood up and shook out her skirts. "I am going to bed, Charles, and will stay in my bedchamber until after our guests leave. Then I will arrange to go to London as soon as possible to stay with Miss Fawnthorpe. Perhaps I cannot capture Mr. Darcy, but I am determined to wed a gentleman with good connections."
"As you wish," Charles said sadly.
She took a few steps toward the door and then turned around suddenly, her expression anxious. "Charles?"
"Yes?" he returned warily.
"I will need to purchase some new gowns and hats and I am a little short of money because of ... well, you know why. Charles, surely you care about me and my future? I will need you to write letters to my milliner and dressmaker assuring them that you will cover any extra costs for my wardrobe."
Bingley gazed back at his sister and felt his heart waver within him. He did care about Caroline, and more than that, he wanted her married, and the sooner the better. If a few extra gowns would smooth the way toward her wedding, perhaps...
A moment later, reason asserted itself. His sister had countless gowns and hats and scarves and pelisses and even a riding habit, in spite of the fact that she rarely rode horses.
"No, Caroline," he said, assuming a stern face. "You lost considerable money from your allowance because you repeatedly insulted my wife and sister and their family. You have plenty of dresses and other accessories, and if you can no longer afford additional items due to your behavior, you will not suffer."
Caroline stared at him and her eyes flashed with fury. "Everyone is against me, everyone!"
"I am sorry you think that, Sister."
/
"Tell me about Miss Elizabeth Bennet," Colonel Fitzwilliam suggested.
Darcy glanced at his cousin, who was riding beside him. He had not been prepared for such a blunt question and said, "Erm, what do you mean?"
"Come now, Darcy," Richard said, gesturing toward the carriage in front of him, which carried Elizabeth, Georgiana, Mrs. Annesley, and a maid. "I have known you for nearly thirty years, and I have never seen you behave in such a way toward a beautiful young lady. Am I correct that Miss Bennet is the 'third point' of the letter you sent me some weeks ago?"
Darcy patted his stallion's neck and his mouth widened into a besotted grin. "You are correct indeed, Richard. I think … I think perhaps I am in love."
"In love?" the colonel responded. "It is truly as serious as that?"
"Without a doubt, it is," Darcy said, his gaze now fixed in a lovelorn way on the carriage rolling ahead of them on the road. "I … I need to talk to you, Richard, desperately. She is a marvelous person, Miss Bennet. She is intelligent, kind, honorable, and Georgiana adores her. But you met her family last night, and you now know that Mrs. Bennet and at least the youngest Miss Bennet are rather loud and vulgar. They have relations in trade. Can I truly marry into a family with poor connections? Though truly I do not think it matters, but I am responsible for Georgiana, and…"
"Wait, wait, wait just a minute," the military man ordered, struggling to suppress his amusement over the frantic mutterings of his usually stoic cousin. "Start at the beginning. When did you first meet her?"
"At Pemberley," Darcy said, his mind shifting back to the day when he first laid eyes on Elizabeth Bennet. "She was with Bingley and her sister, Bingley's bride, you know, and…"
/
Elizabeth felt the carriage begin to turn on the road and leaned over to stare eagerly out the window. She was sitting on the rear facing squabs of the vehicle and thus enjoyed occasional glimpses of Mr. Darcy perched atop the great stallion Phoenix. Yes, there he was now, his posture both easy and elegant, his face turned toward Colonel Fitzwilliam. She leaned back as the road straightened out and felt her face stretch into a smile. There could be no question about Mr. Darcy's meaning only yesterday; he was interested in her as a possible wife, and she … she found herself looking forward to spending more time with the tall, fascinating master of Pemberley.
/
"You should marry Miss Bennet," Richard Fitzwilliam said decidedly.
Although he was somewhat taken aback by the straight forward statement, Darcy's expression transformed from anxious to joyful. "You truly think so?"
"I do," Richard answered in obvious amusement. "Really, Cousin, it is so patently obvious that I cannot imagine why you are even asking! She is charming, beautiful, lively, honorable, intelligent, and obviously not a fortune hunter. She and Georgiana are on the very best of terms. She is a woman in a million, and if I were wealthy, I might try to cut you out!"
"You met her mother and youngest sister last night," Darcy reminded him anxiously. "Mrs. Bennet is rather vulgar and Miss Lydia is overly noisy…"
Richard waved an impatient hand, cutting him off. "It matters not, Darcy, not in the least. They will not be living with you, after all."
"What of Georgiana's coming out into society? Elizabeth does not have connections among the haut ton. Will Lady Matlock still sponsor my sister if I marry the daughter of a country gentleman?"
Fitzwilliam cast his eyes forward at the carriage and then looked over at his cousin. "Darcy?"
"Yes?"
"How is Georgiana? She seems happy, but has she changed substantially in the last year in terms of her … more unusual character traits?"
Darcy also looked ahead and then turned back toward his sister's other guardian. "She … she is, I think, a bit easier in company, at least when Miss Bennet or I is with her. She is also able to bear tight clothing more often, though there are days when she still insists on baggy garments. She still adores her music and her peacocks, but she struggles to understand the conventions of society."
The two men rode silently for a full five minutes, and then Richard said, "Darcy, I know this is difficult for you to accept, but I think it quite likely that Georgiana will never be able to enter society in a traditional manner."
Darcy swallowed hard and felt his eyes grow wet. "That is what I am afraid of."
Another silence fell, a shorter one, before the colonel said, "Why does that distress you so much? You have never had much use for high society, after all."
Darcy sighed heavily and said, "It is true I do not, but Georgiana is a Darcy, and if she is never presented and never does her bow to the queen, people will talk about her. I hate the thought of that. She is already fragile; how will she bear it if people gossip about her in such a way. I also wonder..."
He trailed off and Richard, after waiting a minute, prompted, "Wonder what?"
Darcy turned a sorrowful countenance toward his cousin. "I wonder if this is all my fault. Georgiana was only nine years old when our father died, leaving me as her primary guardian. Your parents urged me to send her away to school, but I refused; I thought that after such a grievous experience, she would have been absolutely miserable away from Pemberley and me."
"If you remember, I agreed with you entirely," the military man said. "More than that, as her other guardian, I argued that she absolutely should not be sent away. You know that boarding school can be a difficult transition for even a typical child. But Georgiana, with her love of birds and her hatred of tight clothing – Darcy, she would have been entirely wretched!"
"I agreed then and I agree now, but when she was twelve, you were away on the Continent and your parents urged me again to send her away to boarding school. Again I refused, as Georgiana was devastated at the thought of leaving me and Pemberley, but now I wonder if she would have grown more able to manage society if I had forced her to face up to her fears in that area by sending her away."
"I do not think so," Richard said without hesitation. "You were very unhappy in boarding school, were you not?"
Darcy grimaced and nodded. "I was, but I did feel better able to manage societal expectations after my years at Eton."
"And perhaps if you had been privately educated at Pemberley, with periodic trips to London, you would have learned similar lessons entirely due to maturity," his cousin retorted. "You know that I have no great love of boarding schools, Darcy."
Darcy winced and nodded. "I know, but what happened to Anthony might have happened anywhere."
Richard Fitzwilliam gritted his teeth and said, "Boarding schools are notorious for just the kind of epidemic which nearly killed my older brother, not to mention the often foul interactions amongst the children. You know that even now, Anthony is somewhat delicate after his bout with smallpox. If I ever marry, I assure you that I will not send my children into such an environment. No Darcy, Georgiana would never have thrived at boarding school. She is a delightful, gifted, very unusual young woman who may well never marry, and if she does not, the best thing in the world is for you to wed a woman whom she loves, like Miss Elizabeth Bennet."
/
London
"You must be mad!" Mrs. Younge declared, jerking to a sitting position. She had been delighted to welcome George Wickham into her house and into her bed, but this plan of his was insane!
Wickham reached out a long arm and pulled her down to nestle in his embrace. She resisted briefly before succumbing and curling up next to him. Her companion, with his handsome figure and charming face, was quite the most remarkable man to ever enter her life, and she could no more resist him than a compass needle could resist turning to the north.
"Henrietta," Wickham murmured into her ear. "Do you not understand? Georgiana Darcy is a naïve soul, and in spite of last year's … difficulties, she is certainly still attached to me from all those hours I spent amusing her when she was young. I will not pretend that it will be easy, but we do have this in our favor; we know the usual haunts where she likes to look for her ridiculous birds. If we can find her alone, we can…"
"She will scream the moment she catches sight of you, or me for that matter," Mrs. Younge said irritably. "Darcy is no fool. He will have warned her against us both."
"Warned her, yes, but he will not expect us at Ramsgate, nor will she. As for screaming – I am confident she will be too stunned by my sudden appearance to so much as squeak, or at least not before I can cover her mouth with my hand."
Mrs. Younge rolled over and stared at her lover incredulously. "Are you speaking of abduction?"
"And if I am?" Wickham asked, running an affectionate hand through her blond ringlets. "The Darcys owe me, and they owe you. I will not physically harm Georgiana, but I intend to obtain her dowry by fair means or foul."
"Abduction is a hanging matter, George! If we are caught…"
"If we are caught, Darcy will do everything in his power to hush it up, and you know it! Do you imagine he will allow polite society to know his dear sister nearly ran off with a steward's son and then was supposedly abducted by the same man when she returned to Ramsgate a year later? Everyone in society will assume that she deliberately arranged to meet me at Ramsgate. It is quite safe, my dear. Either I will marry the girl and gain control over her dowry, or I will blackmail Darcy into paying us off so that we do not spread rumors about Miss Darcy throughout society. Either way, you and I can finally be happy."
Mrs. Younge stared intently into Wickham's winsome face, her heart thumping wildly within her. He was so attractive, and her life here, as mistress of a boarding house, was so very dull and difficult. She would, of course, need to ask her cousin Martha to take over her duties for a few days, but if they succeeded at Ramsgate, she could run away with Wickham and leave this foul existence forever.
"Very well," she said.
/
/
Author Note: Two chapter Tuesday! :-)