Mr. Charles Bingley sat back in his chair. Despite the long and involved harangue of his sister, he was quite at his ease. He had long practice with listening to complaints from Caroline. While he often seemed to go along with her to avoid conflict, appearances weren't always as they seemed. And Charles had long gotten over any distress he felt at being underestimated by family and friends.
At that thought, his gaze shifted slightly to his friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy. Darcy appeared almost as displeased as Caroline sounded. To give him credit, he often appeared displeased when forced into Caroline's company. In addition, when he had voiced his own concerns about Charles' interest in Miss Jane Bennett, he had focused more on his opinion that she did not care for him as well as her family's vulgar behavior and less on the social standing of the Bennett family. Charles hoped that when he explained a few things to him, he would withdraw his objections. He cared for Miss Bennett but would hate to lose Darcy's friendship over his possible choice of a wife.
His eyes and his thoughts returned to his sister as he became aware that she was winding down. If he did not speak up soon, she would most likely assume she had convinced him of her point of view. If she thought he was not yet convinced, she would simply begin repeating herself - again. Charles knew he wanted to step in before his other sister, Louisa, gave her opinion, which would simply be a regurgitation of everything that Caroline had already said more than once herself.
"I appreciate you taking the time to speak to me of your concerns. I have listened to all of you quite patiently. I am hoping you will do me the same courtesy. It appears to me there is much about our acquaintances in Hertforshire that you are unaware of."
"What are you talking about, Charles. There is nothing about those country mushrooms that is worth knowing."
"Please, Caroline. As I said, I'd appreciate you giving me a chance to speak." He looked at her more sternly than was his wont and she appeared surprised. Before she could recover, he started to speak. "Firstly, I believe that one of your concerns was that Miss Bennett did not care for me and she would accept any proposal I made merely for my fortune – whether on her own behalf or at the behest of her mother. I wanted to assure this is unlikely as Miss Bennett received a very eligible offer from a gentleman and turned him down. Her mother was displeased but Mr. Bennett fully supported her."
"Really Charles, did she tell you that? I'm sure it is just an exaggeration -"
"No, Caroline," Charles interrupted before Caroline could say anything too disparaging. "I did not hear that from Miss Bennett. Do you truly think so little of me and Miss Bennett?"
"After rescuing you from more than one inappropriate young lady vying for your fortune, I have, perhaps, become a bit overprotective."
Charles could not help himself and chuckled aloud. "Truly Caroline, who exactly is it you feel you rescued you from?"
"You have a new infatuation every few months. Did you really think the young ladies simply lost interest?"
"Are you alleging that you rescued me all of the young ladies I have admired over my years in society?"
"Perhaps not all of them."
"Just most of them. I see." He paused to collect his thoughts. "Do you agree with her, Darcy?"
"Truly I had not given any thought to why your previous…ah…interests waned."
"Let me tell you a bit of a story then. When I was a young man still at university, you were still in school, and Louis was still in the North with family." He took a moment to take a sip of his tea. "I met a young lady and thought myself in love for the very first time. Truly I barely knew the young lady, but I was infatuated as only a callow youth can be such a short acquaintance. Shortly thereafter, her head was turned by a man of great fortune, and I was devastated and drown my sorrows in a bit too much brandy."
"The next morning, my valet was surprised to find me a bit worse for wear as I was not usually one for overindulging. I told him about my great disappointment and was surprised to see a fleeting look of relief on his face. After some persuasion, I came to learn that Jenkins had learned that my lady love was quite fickle with her attentions and had been trying to determine how to tell me – or even if he should do so."
"The next time I found myself especially attracted to a young lady, I jokingly asked Jenkins if he had heard anything unpleasant about her. He admitted that he hadn't, but offered to ask discreetly to see what he could find. I was more than happy to stop seeing Miss Foster after learning from Jenkins that in the privacy of her own home, she was quite a harridan. She was so demanding and unreasonable with the servants, for instance, that she had three ladies' maids leave her service voluntarily in the previous twelvemonth."
"Surely, Charles, you haven't been taking your servant's advice on who to spend time with?"
"First of all, Caroline, Jenkins isn't just a servant. There is no one in the world that knows a man better than his valet. In addition, I asked him to find out what he could about various people I had dealings with – and not just about young ladies I was courting. It is thanks to his advice that I met and befriended Darcy, so I believe he has more than proven his worth."
He took another sip of tea as he let that surprising information settle. Darcy, himself, was not aware of what led Charles to approach him that day at Oxford. Bingley had known by his second month at university that he was unlikely to be accepted by most of the men from the first circles and so had not attempted to push himself forward. It was only his valet's advice that Darcy was not nearly as high in the instep as he appeared that led to him offering his assistance with a mathematics course Darcy appeared to be struggling with.
"As to my romantic entanglements, not all have stalled because of his advice. I decided against Miss Grant simply because you and she were so close. The very last thing I want once I marry is a wife whose loyalty is more to my sister than myself. In addition, I personally overhead Miss Shaw speaking to her friend about how she only was willing to put up with my ties to trade because her father insisted they needed an infusion of cash. But more than one other romantic interest waned after Jenkins shared his information with me. He is truly invaluable."
Caroline appeared to having difficulty keeping up her sneer of distaste while listening to the surprising information Charles had shared. Before she had a chance to recover, Darcy admitted that he often consulted with his valet and other servants for their opinions on any number of matters.
"As to the information about Miss Bennett' previous proposal, I heard that from the elder Mr. Long. According to him, the man in question was a visitor to the area and a gentleman of good fortune. As the grandfather of two eligible young women in the area, he had every reason to try to turn my attention to them. But instead, he was advising me on how best to woo the young lady that I seemed to favor and warning me that I should not take for granted that she would accept me just because I was agreeable and had a fortune."
"I'll admit that I am surprised to hear that," Darcy admitted. "It does reassure me that she is unlikely to accept you only to please her mother."
"Truly, it is not that surprising that someone so lovely would have had prior suitors." Darcy merely nodded his agreement to this statement. Charles directed his next statement to his friend as well. "As to her feelings for me, I am quite certain you barely spoke to Miss Bennett. It seemed to me you spent most of your time in company avoiding any interactions with my neighbors in Hertfordshire. I must beg you to agree that my understanding of Miss Bennett is therefore better informed than your own." He raised his hand to stall Darcy from what he was about to say. "I am not saying I am certain she is in love with me. I am uncertain of my own feelings for her and have not yet decided if I wish to ask her to marry me or not. What I am saying is that I plan to make that determination for myself."
"Very wise."
"Thank you. Whatever I decide, I hope you will support me."
"Yes, of course, Bingley. I merely wished to voice my doubts. If you decide your happiness lies with Miss Bennett, I will be happy for you."
"Thank you, my friend." Darcy and he exchanged solemn head bows at this reinforcement of their friendship. Truly, he was a good man and he let so few people know him well enough to see that. "As to your concerns about the behavior of the rest of the Bennett family, I see it quite differently than you do."
Now his moved to take in his sisters as well as Darcy. "I will admit that Mrs. Bennett, Miss Lydia, and Miss Kitty sometimes behave in an inappropriate manner. But I have not seen anything in their behavior that is worse than I see in London. After all, Lady Featherstone and her daughters are all still accepted in the best drawing rooms in London despite all the truly vulgar behavior they showed in their attempts to secure Amsworth and his fortune. Even after they attempted to publish a marriage announcement without his consent, none of them have been shunned or even had their vouchers for Almacks rescinded.
"Yes, Charles, but Lady Featherstone is the daughter of an earl. Certain allowances are made." Caroling looks especially exasperated as she said this as if her brother was too stupid to understand this basic rule of society.
"You are saying that if Mrs. Bennett or Lady Lucas had better connections, you would have been willing to overlook the behavior you've been complaining of for the past hour?"
"You may not like it, but it is the way of the world, Charles."
"I will agree that is the way of the world if you will admit that you are subject to the same harsh judgement. Any minor infraction of yours, such as spending years throwing yourself at a man that is clearly not interested at you, would be seen as you being characterized as a grasping social-climbing, fortune hunter. After, you and I are only children of tradesmen."
"How dare you!"
"I dare because it is the truth, Caroline. In any case, we were not discussing your behavior but that of our neighbors in Hertfordshire, especially the Bennetts." He paused for a moment to get his thoughts back in order. "Yes, Mrs. Bennett wishes to see her daughters well married. But I defy you to find a mother who does not. If she was that much of a fortune hunter, why did she not direct Miss Bennett or one of her other daughters at Darcy? His fortune and connections are considerably better than my own."
Bingley was gratified to see the flummoxed looks on his sisters' and Darcy's faces. Apparently, this had not occurred to any of them. He was a bit too hasty with his gratification as he was taken by surprise in turn when Hurst spoke up.
"Well, of course, she didn't angle at Darcy. Miss Elizabeth may not be her favorite daughter but unlike the shameless mamas in London, she has no interest in a man that insults her daughter before really meeting her. To speak nothing of following it up by being universally rude to all and sundry."
"What are you talking about, Hurst? Louisa, what is he saying?" Caroline's previous upset at her brothers none-too-subtle set down of her own behavior and now this overt set-down of Darcy's behavior combined to almost overset her. Her voice reached a strident pitch as she protested the idea that anyone would accuse the perfect Mr. Darcy of such a breach of decorum. Bingley was too surprised by the small nod of support Hurst gave him to take much notice. Based on the look on Hurst's face, Bingley suddenly remembered a conversation with a surprisingly clear-eyed Hurst from months ago as he encouraged Bingley to stand up to his sisters and promised to support him if he did.
"I certainly didn't insult Miss Elizabeth."
"Don't be ridiculous, Darcy, it is common knowledge around Meryton. You didn't say it to her face, but it had the same effect."
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Hurst."
"Really? So you don't remember the young pup here encouraging you to dance at that first assembly as he often does at balls? Apparently, you were even less in the mood to put up with his enthusiasm than usual as you spouted some faradiddle about Miss Elizabeth being tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt you to dance. Then you followed it up with a remark about giving consequence to girls who were overlooked by other men – as if it wasn't obvious that there were about twice as many ladies as gentleman in attendance." Hurst snorted into his brandy glass. "As I understand it, she heard the whole thing herself and passed it off as a great lark to her friends — not that she had much of a choice as she wasn't the only one that overhead you. After all, you were in a crowded ballroom during a break in the dancing and made no effort to lower your voice. Better to be seen to be laughing at your opinion than be the object of pity. Surely you noticed the cold reception you always got from Mrs. Bennett?"
Somewhere in the middle of Hurst's speech, Darcy had closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth. Now he said absently, "I had no notion she heard our conversation." Before Hurst could defend her, he raised his hand to stop him. "That was not an accusation. You are correct; I made no effort to not be heard and know better than to utter such a statement at all – let alone in a roomful of strangers who may or may not have some connection to the person being discussed." He paused to take a deep breath. "I will have to think about this. I appreciate you telling me, even if it may be too late to make things right with Miss Elizabeth and her family."
Hurst merely nodded and took another sip of his brandy. He knew Darcy was more socially awkward and thoughtless than he was cruel. This was a good opportunity to point out the latter as he knew from experience than Darcy had few people willing to tell him the hard truths of life.
"Honestly, Darce, I had no idea either. I'm sorry I pushed you so hard." The two gentlemen exchanged looks that included much more than was said out loud conveying their regrets over the entire incident on both sides. This was not the time to discuss that in more detail.
"Again, we were discussing our neighbors in Hertfordshire." Bingley refocused on what he wanted to say. "Caroline, you said on more than one occasion that there was no one in Hertfortshire worthy of your attention. Putting aside for a moment that you seem to feel gentleman and ladies who are landed — some for generations — are somehow beneath you despite our own origins, I believe you might be misinformed about a number of the people you met whilst in Hertfordshire.
For example, it is true that Sir William was only elevated to his knighthood about 15 years ago and was in trade previous to that. What you have never mentioned in your diatribes against a man I saw as kind, friendly and welcoming was that his grandfather was a Earl and his uncle currently is. His father was the third son and had to make his own way. After a military career that was ended abruptly because of an injury, he decided to use his international contacts to start an import/export business to support his young family. His father and siblings cut him off for being in trade and even now, they refuse to acknowledge that branch of their family. That is why Sir William is so pleased at his knighthood and speaks of it so often."
Before anyone had a chance to recover from that surprising information, Bingley continued on. "On the other hand, the Longs are taking care of their nieces because their parents are both deceased. I'm sure you are aware of this. What you appear to have missed is that their father died on a battlefield protecting a comrade-in-arms. This was not the first time he had protected this particular comrade. The first time was before the girls had been born and the men formed a close friendship as a result. It was not surprising when the fellow soldier and his wife were appointed as godparents to both girls. The only reason the Longs are raising the girls rather than he and his wife is because he is still often away due to the war with the French. But he still is quite involved in their lives — coming to visit a few times a year. I believe his wife will be sponsoring both young ladies for a season in town once they are old enough. You may have heard of his comrade; his name is General Wellesley."
Charles didn't like to admit it, but he smirked quite meanly at the shocked looks on the faces of his audience. Truly, they all underestimated him.
"As to the Bennett's themselves, I believe your most frequent complaints were they were uneducated and penniless. It is true they did not attend a formal seminary or employ a governess. What you appear to have missed is that until a few years ago, Mr. Bennett's mother was alive. She gave all the girls a gentlewomen's education, including the duties of a mistress of an estate, modern languages, drawing, music, etc. At their grandmother's death, the girls were 16, 15, 13, 11, and 10 respectively. Thus, the younger girls had the least amount of time under their grandmother's tutelage and are least affected by it. Despite that, I have heard all of them practicing their French together and seen more than one example of their accomplishments such as the sketches or samplers that are framed on the walls of the drawing room."
"As to their fortunes, the truth is that Mr. Bennett has saved modest doweries for each of his girls. The exact amount depends on when the girls marry and the status of various investments. But it is a respectable amount. And it is more than enough to provide them with an annuity sufficient to give them a respectable, if modest, living should Mr. Bennett die unexpectedly. I imagine you wonder why this is not more widely known and why Mrs. Bennett spends so much time worrying about the hedgerows she is certain she will be thrown into when Mr. Collins inherits Longborne. According to her sister, Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Bennett feels keenly her status as the leading lady of the neighborhood and so laments the anticipated loss of Longborne and the attendant loss of status. She is very aware that she and the girls will be able to afford to rent a small house in Meryton. However, they will have to live with the new mistress of Longborne taking her place in the local society. They are also unlikely to be able to afford as many luxuries as they enjoy currently."
"Why this is not better known is very simple. Mr. Bennett had an elder sister, who had a very generous dowry. She had any number of fortune hunters vying for her hand. One of them did not take no for an answer. He compromised her forcibly and her parents felt they had no choice but to marry her to him. They had a younger daughter, and her reputation was at stake. The husband was not a kind man. Within 3 years, he had spent her fortune and she had died after he pushed her down the stairs while she was pregnant. It is believed that was not the first child she lost due to his cruelty. Mr. Bennett apparently is determined that none of his daughters would be targeted by fortune hunters. Therefore, he is extremely reticent about the existence of the funds. The girls are aware they each have a modest dowry but no details of the exact amounts. I only know this whole story as my man of business uncovered the details after I had him investigate the family shortly after that first assembly."
"I see that you are shocked to hear I had my man investigate the family. I started employing him for my personal connections rather than just my business ones after the Smith-Smyth's attempted to compromise me because they were desperate for funds. Atkinson is worth the money I spend to employ him as he has not only warned me away from a few swindlers looking to talk me into bad investments but also fortune hunters of the romantic kind."
"I can see that I've surprised you all. While you take time to digest these revelations, I hope you will excuse me as I have an appointment with my lawyer that I do not wish to be late for." With that parting remark, he placed his cup and saucer down, pushed his chair out and was out of the room before anyone other than Hurst had so much as grunted in acknowledgment.
