October 1811
As they approached their destination, Darcy surreptitiously watched his sister sleep against the carriage window. The last few months were a succession of overwhelming revelations in what, until then, had been his orderly and planned life.
With the help of her family, Lord Hertford and Mrs. Annesley, Georgiana was slowly recovering from her great depression. She thanked God that there were no other dire consequences of her indiscretion.
Frederick, as the Marquess insisted on being called, stayed on at Pemberley for several weeks after revealing the truth about his possible paternity to Georgiana. He told her stories about her mother when Lady Anne was a child and a young lady. Before marrying, Lady Anne had been a cheerful, affectionate, and sweet young lady. Darcy remembered her only as a sad and bitter woman.
On the other hand, his father had been a good master, a just magistrate, an honest businessman, and loved in the region, but he had not been a good husband. In the eyes of society, he did nothing wrong since he did not mistreat his wife and was not vicious. Darcy knew it was widespread for high society men to have a mistress—or several. One of the few exceptions he knew of was his uncle, Lord Matlock. Perhaps the difference is that Lord Matlock loved his wife and vice versa. Questions he had not asked himself before were now constantly on his mind: Was it possible to get married in an arranged marriage and be happy? What would have happened if he had married Lady Isabella and fallen in love with another woman? Would he have been faithful? Would he have been able to not fall into temptation? Would he be happier if he accumulated more money and connections through an arranged marriage than if he married for love? Clearly, his parents were unhappy, and Frederick vehemently claimed that he would have given all his money without blinking an eye to be with the woman he loved.
He had never been in love and doubted very much that one day he would be. But what would he do if he fell in love with someone not socially adequate? Would he follow in his father's footsteps or defy society?
He looked out the window again and saw they were passing through a village similar to Lambton, which must be Meryton. It was only a few more minutes to Netherfield Park.
"Georgiana, we are nearly there." He softly said this to his sister as he lightly touched her arm.
She slowly opened her eyes and smiled, saying, "Forgive me, Brother, I fell fast asleep. Could you please pass me my bonnet?"
Darcy helped her get ready, and a few minutes later, the carriage stopped at the door of a beautiful mansion. At the entrance, Charles and Caroline Bingley were waiting for them.
PPP
In recent months, Charles Bingley had had to make two of the most important decisions of his life on his own. One of them was to lease an estate with the possibility of buying it. He was going to do his best to keep the promises he made to his father shortly before he died. He was afraid of failing, as he was not prepared to be a landowner, but he would make an effort to learn. He trusted that his good friend Darcy would help him during the two months of his stay in Netherfield.
The other was to distance himself entirely from Jane Smith. Unfortunately, as Caroline and Louisa reminded him, Jane Smith was a soldier's daughter and had no dowry to compensate for her lack of connections. He hoped, in time, to meet a more suitable young lady to be his wife. He had not had a chance to meet the young ladies of the region, but he would soon be at Meryton's monthly ball.
Seeing his friend and Miss Darcy get out of the carriage, Bingley greeted them with a big smile.
"Good afternoon, Darcy, Miss Darcy; I am glad you have arrived. I hope you had a good trip."
"Good afternoon, Charles, Miss Bingley; it's nice to see you again," Darcy replied.
After greeting them politely, Caroline took Mr. Darcy by the arm while Charles did the same with Miss Darcy, and they entered the house.
Despite the Darcys being tainted by scandal, Caroline was optimistic that the rumours would eventually die. Besides, if she married Mr. Darcy, she would convince him to send Miss Darcy to live in Scotland or somewhere far from Pemberley.