By the time they reached the outskirts of London his frustration had made him physically ill. She would allow him not one point in his argument. When they reached his home he flew from the coach slamming the door behind him. Upon entering his home he directed the servants to pack up his sister's belongings and send them to the Hursts. Caroline was in disbelief. She had never seen this side of her brother so didn't realize that there was still time to salvage the situation. A simple apology and Bingley would have relented. Instead, more arguing ensued until Bingley's temper snapped and he forcibly ejected her from his home. They would not see each other again until the following June nearly a year later.
Joshua returned to Newcastle with Richard and they prepared for their journey to France. On the eve of his departure, Joshua received a letter from his father telling him that his brother always a reckless rider had been thrown and had died instantly. Joshua was released from the army immediately and returned to York to take up the reins as heir apparent to the small family estate.
When Bingley returned to Town for the Christmas holidays he took up residence at his townhouse but spent most of his days with Darcy. One day they ventured over to cheapside to visit the Gardner shop. Upon entering the shop Darcy was confused looking around the room. The shop had seemed larger and neater two years before but now seemed almost cluttered with unopened boxes stacked in the corners and three of the walls. With the heavy traffic of customers it was almost stifling.
Mr Gardner greeted Darcy with an embarrassed smile. "I'm afraid my shop has outgrown itself. Once the holidays are over it will look better."
Darcy laughed, "never apologize for prosperity, Mr. Gardner. But seriously, you do need a larger shop."
"I know that but the banks don't care. I've tried to get a loan but the interest they want to charge is usury and I refuse to take on that kind of debt."
Bingley entered the discussion. "There are other ways to expand, Mr. Gardner," he said. "If you can procure a loan from a private party in exchange for a percentage of your business, that would be another option. That's what my father did and he was able to expand much faster." He turned to Darcy, "Guy's father invested with our company and was delighted with the outcome."
Darcy nodded. "Yes, I remember Guy telling me how you met the Walthams."
Other customers sought Mr. Gardner's attention and the two men moved away searching the wares for that perfect gift. They bought several items and Darcy ordered several cases of the contraband brandy. He also promised Mr. Gardner that he would mention the expansion to his friends. He might find someone who would be willing to make a small investment.
Darcy and Bingley spent a quite evening at Darcy's home discussing the possibilities of investing in Mr. Gardner's business. Since Bingley was the son of a tradesman and had worked along his father's side for many years, Darcy deferred to Bingley's opinion.
Bingley laid out the pros and cons of such an undertaking in a concise manner, adding that of course they would have to consult Darcy's solicitor and Mr. Gardner's books would have to be studied carefully. But, he concluded, that if both shared the investment, the risk would be small and the profit could be high.
Darcy couldn't hide his smile at Bingley's enthusiasm for the subject. "Perhaps," he said, "you aren't cut out to be a country gentleman after all, Bingley."
"There's a downside to owning a business, Darce. You end up working fourteen hours a day and neglect your family. When I was a young child there was a real affection between my parents but by the time I reached my teens, I realized that my mother had turned into a very lonely woman. Father had become obsessive about succeeding and becoming wealthy. He was never around to discipline Caroline or Louisa and mother grew not to care. That isn't the life for me."
"Besides marrying a Norse goddess and having a dozen children, what else do you expect from life?"
"Just to be happy, Darcy. I want to have what my father didn't have. I want to be a good companion to my wife and see my children grow. I would also like to reconcile with Caroline."
"Has she made no overtures?"
"None. I would have thought that by now I'd have gotten at least an insincere apology, but nothing so far."
"She's playing a dangerous game, Bingley," Darcy said. "Word has already spread that we are good friends. As eligible bachelors we will be invited to dinners and balls. Once the ton learns of your estrangement from your sister she will be a persona non grata."
"Well, maybe once I'm in permanent residence she'll come around. I can't back down now. If I did, everything would go back to the way it was and that would be intolerable."
Once Bingley returned to Cambridge Darcy continued on occasionally attending dinners. He showed up once with his cousin Anne at a ball. He managed to dance once with Anne and once with his hostess, a woman in her sixties. He proclaimed the evening a success which sent Anne into gales of laughter at his expense. "Darcy, how can you find a bride if you insist on standing in a corner twisting your pinkie ring? When did you become such a snob?"
Darcy was appalled. "I'm not a snob. How can you say that?"
"I know you're not a snob," Anne replied, "but you come off looking so disdainful of the feelings of others. Beautiful women are presented to you and you don't even try to look interested. You never ask them to dance. You never show your dimples."
"My dimples? What on earth are you talking about, Anne? I do not have dimples!"
Anne rolled her eyes and sighed. "If you say so, Wills."
In April when the London season commenced he opted to ride to Cambridge to procure Bingley's signature on the papers that made them silent partners in the Gardner Enterprise. They spent the evening at the square and Bingley was overjoyed when Darcy produced a list of invitations to dinner and balls which they could enjoy at the end of the season in June.
The day Bingley returned from Cambridge as an educated Englishman, he and Darcy accepted an invitation to dine at the Hursts. The overture had finally come. His reunion with Caroline was stilted but amicable. Sipping port after dinner, Bingley told Hurst that Caroline could come back and play hostess for him if she so desired. Hurst was delighted at this news and promised to relay this invitation to his sister-in-law. A week later she took up residence with him and by silent agreement never discussed their estrangement.
Richard had now been in France for almost a year and a half. His letters were always cheerful, always allaying his cousin's fears. He had been promoted to Major just before his departure for France and he assured them that the higher the rank, the less danger he would have to face. All went well until he was hit by his own artillery crew. The crew had been practicing firing the howitzers then repositioning them, reloading and re-firing. Unfortunately, they forgot the middle step. They were supposed to wait for the smoke and haze to dissipate before re-firing. They fired blindly not realizing that their repositioning of the guns were off by two feet. Those two feet caused an errant musket ball to tear through the fabric of Richard's tent and slam into his shoulder.
For his pains, Richard was made a Colonel and sent back to England to recover. Movement of his shoulder would never be the same and the gnawing pain would be his constant companion for the rest of his life, but he would never go to war again.
By now Darcy had spent almost a year and a half in London and there were times when he thought he'd go mad with the sameness of the dinners and balls. He despised the women and their mothers who vied for his affection with inane prattle and coy flirtation. He entertained the thought of returning to Pemberley but he knew that isolating himself in Derbyshire would not answer his restlessness. He was in no mood to gather his friends at Pemberley. The idea of playing games and drinking too much didn't appeal to him.
Life for Darcy didn't improve when he and Bingley accepted an invitation to visit Guy in Shropshire. It was more of the same thing with a couple of assembly balls thrown in. From there they traveled to York and visited Joshua for a month. After a week Darcy grew restless and only his affection for Joshua kept him smiling and affable when he really wanted to leave. The trouble was, he didn't know where he wanted to leave to.
When their visit ended they boarded their carriage and began their journey back to London. Bingley appeared bored and listless matching Darcy's spirit exactly.
"Perhaps, Bingley, it's time to think seriously about buying, or better still, leasing an estate.
"I suppose," Bingley responded.
"It should be a small estate, one that you can manage easily."
Bingley sighed, "what's happening to us, Darcy? Two years ago I couldn't wait to finish school and start having fun. Now I'm bored stiff and feeling stupid and useless. At Cambridge I had a purpose in life. Now there is no purpose. And you're not much better. You looked like you were in agony these past three months. If our friends weren't so understanding, they would have kicked us out."
In alarm, Darcy asked, "did they say anything? Did I give offense?"
"Guy was sympathetic since he feels the same way. He's in want of a wife and he thinks that's your problem too."
"Did you tell him that I've been looking for the past five years?"
Bingley laughed, "I didn't have to. Don't forget he's almost thirty years old and his father wants a grandson. And Joshua's feeling the pressure too. At least I don't have that problem. I want a wife for companionship."
Darcy smiled slyly, does she still have to be blond?"
Bingley grinned back, "I'll settle for bald if she's affable."
"Alright. I'll contact my agent. It might take a couple of months before he can come up with a list that fills your needs, but he is reliable and discreet. In the meantime, I thinks it's best if we return to Pemberley while we wait. I'll teach you the basics of managing an estate. Then if you find a property to your liking, I'll come with you and help until you settle in. Does that suit you?"
Bingley rubbed his hands together his spirits rising. "Sounds like a plan, Darce. I'm feeling better already."
Darcy was warned by his agent that it would be difficult to find an estate that fulfilled all of Mr. Bingley's requirements especially it's proximity to London. At the moment he had four estates that he could offer but Bingley declined all of them. Lancashire was too far north, Herefordshire, too far west. Dorset was too far south and Suffolk was out of the question.
In March Darcy received another letter from Mr. Albert with what he considered the perfect estate. It was just twenty five miles from Town; it's manor house boasted twelve bedrooms and a large ballroom. There was a small village nearby that offered an assortment of shops and a large inn. There were close to twenty smaller estates within ten miles of the village. Mr. Albert himself had taken the trouble of visiting the village and pronounced the residents very friendly.
On a beautiful day in April Darcy and Bingley rode into the village of Meryton and were pleased with what they saw. It was just as Mr. Albert had described. As they rode across the meadow the Netherfield estate came into view and both men admitted it was a thing of beauty. Bingley's excitement grew as they approached the manor house. Darcy cautioned his friend to look carefully at each room, to listen to all the terms and check the condition of the furniture.
They were met by Mr. Phillips the local solicitor who showed them through the rooms affably answering all Darcy's questions.
Bingley wandered blindly through all the rooms while Darcy looked carefully at the rooms, listened to the terms of leasing, and admired the well-kept furniture. Finally satisfied with everything he saw and heard, Darcy instructed Mr. Phillips to send all the necessary papers to his own London Solicitor. If they met with his approval they had a deal.
Charles Bingley was not the greatest horseman in the country so Darcy had to admonish him not to flail his arms in his excitement as this undoubtedly would send confusing signals to his horse which could be catastrophic.
"I was thinking, Darcy, if everything goes well we should invite Guy and Joshua to join us when I take up residence at Netherfield. And if Richard has recovered his health he would certainly be a welcome sight. What do you think?"
"I think Richard would welcome the diversion. He's been out of spirits since his accident. This might be the very thing for him. And I'm sure Guy and Josh would love to see Richard again."
Bingley made a face, "I suppose it's best if I have a hostess."
"If you invite Caroline, you might as well invite the Hursts. And I think Anne might enjoy a sojourn in the country."
"Yes, so we're agreed. If things go well, a large party of nine will descend upon the residents of Hertfordshire on the first of June."
"They'll never know what hit them," Darcy replied with a wry smile.