Chapter 8

Bingley made his sister's excuses all the next day, vaguely hinting that she did not feel well. Darcy was relieved to not have to deal with the lady; he was not sure he could be civil to her just yet.

No one seemed to hear the crash of the figurines thrown across the room by the hostess of the house when her maid informed her that she was unable to find anything unsavory about the Bennets. There were no illegitimate children, no gambling debts, no unsavory relatives, other than her Uncle in trade and the other Uncle, the local attorney, no scandal of any sort that she could uncover. Their estate was entailed to a distant relative, but there was no scandal in that.

"Then we will have to make our own!" screamed Caroline. "There must be something we can use to hasten her downfall; to remove her from polite company!"

Her maid was afraid to say anything to her mistress. She had been the fourth maid hired in a year to attend Miss Bingley. Since she actually worked for Mr. Bingley; he was the one who gave her her pay each quarter, she was unsure to whom she owed her allegiance. She had been raised to be an honest woman, but she did not want to lose her place as Miss Bingley threatened anytime she did not immediately do what was asked of her.

"Let me ask a few more of the local servants, Miss Bingley. There must be something known by them; you know how servants are want to talk about their betters," she said as a way to placate her mistress.

"Well, see that you do! I am very disappointed in you. If you wish to keep your position, do not disappoint me further!" With that, her maid curtsied and skittered from the room. As she hurried through the halls towards the servant's stairs, nearly crying, she was being inattentive and ran directly into Mr. Bingley.

"Beggin' your pardon sir," the nervous maid said with a quick curtsy.

"Sarah, whatever is the matter? Are you alright? Is my sister well?" Mr. Bingley politely asked her.

"I, I, I am fine sir. Your sister… Please excuse me," and she turned to leave.

"No, something has disturbed you. Did my sister say something to you? I will not allow her to bully you. What did she say?" He waited patiently for her reply. When she would not talk, but only look at the floor, he continued. "Do not fear for your position; Caroline can not dismiss you, you work for me. What did she say?"

When she looked around as if someone might be listening, he understood her reticence and asked her to come to his study. As she followed him, they ran into Mr. Darcy and Bingley asked him, "Darcy, do you have a moment? I could use some help with a sticky matter," and he glanced at the maid following him.

"Of course Bingley, that is what I am here for after all." They entered the study and Darcy closed the door after him and waited for an explanation.

Bingley began, "Sarah is Caroline's maid. I ran into her in the hall outside her room and she looked like she was about to start crying. She has not told me what it is about, but I suspect Caroline must have said something to her."

The young lady stood with her head down, wringing her hands and looking very nervous. Darcy had had to deal with employees for ten years and he thought he had an idea about what was happening here.

"Sarah, please have a seat," Mr. Darcy said kindly as he motioned to a chair in front of the desk. She sat on the very edge of the chair with her hands in her lap, looking at the floor. "Sarah, you are not in trouble here and you are not at risk of losing your position," he said kindly to her. She nodded. "We need you to tell us what has happened. If Miss Bingley said something to you that she should not have, Mr. Bingley will address it with his sister." He looked up at his friend and he nodded. She said nothing. Darcy continued, "If she has asked you to do something you feel that you ought not do, please tell us. You will not be in trouble for telling us the truth."

After a long pause and a deep breath, the young lady felt strong enough to tell her tale. "A few days ago, after she came home early from the musical evening, she tasked me with finding out any type of scandal that might affect the Bennet family."

"The Bennets!" both gentlemen said with a start. Mr. Bingley continued "Whyever did she want to know that?"

She paused and took a deep breath, "Sirs, Miss Bingley was upset that Mr. Darcy was paying attention to some other young lady, a Miss Eliza Bennet, and wanted to taint her with a scandal so you sir," she nodded at Mr. Darcy, "would decide she could not be your wife and therefore you would marry Miss Bingley. She said she would not care if she ruined all the Bennet sisters, including the eldest, whom she titled a fortune hunter."

"What?" Mr. Darcy exclaimed. "There is no way I ever would offer for Miss Bingley, regardless of my feelings for Miss Elizabeth. Bingley, I have told you this before."

"Yes, I know Darcy. I have told her that myself, multiple times."

"She does not believe you sir," the maid interrupted. Both the gentlemen looked at her. "She has been ranting that she just needed to get rid of Miss Eliza and that would clear the way for you to propose once you were over your little infatuation, as she called it. I am sorry sir, to bring you this news, but she was so very adamant about finding a scandal, or creating one, she said."

Neither gentleman knew where to go from here. Finally Bingley addressed the maid, "Thank you Sarah for telling us all you know. I wish I could excuse you from dealing with Miss Bingley, but I am afraid if I replace you, we will have no one I can trust in her confidence. I will make it worth your while to stay the course. Tell her that you are waiting to hear back from one of Longbourn's grooms. That should buy us some time."

"I understand sir. I will do my best."

"It should not be for long. We appreciate your loyalty." With that, Sarah left for the servant's hall.

"Now what do I do, Darcy? She has become unhinged. I can not allow her to ruin Jane." He stopped when he realized how he had referred to Miss Bennet. He looked at his friend who had a broad smile on his face.

"You too, friend?" his friend chided him. "I thought I was the only fool enamoured with a Miss Bennet. Welcome to the club." Darcy had poured two generous measures of his friend's best brandy and handed one to Bingley. They toasted their favorite lady and took a long drink.

"You need to make sure she can do the Bennets no harm until you can get her someplace secluded. Make sure she can not send notes or letters to anyone and post a footman outside her room so she cannot leave nor have visitors. I would not normally advocate use of laudanum, but you may find it necessary. I do not envy you friend."

"I am lucky you still consider me your friend after this. I truly did not expect her to be serious in her rantings, but there is no doubt of it now. I have an aunt in Scarborough, I wonder if that would be secluded enough?"

"Not unless you are able to send staff to monitor her every move and guarantee that she can do no harm to your intended."

"She is not my intended. Well, at least not yet. If my sister has her way, she never will be. I can not allow my sister to destroy my chances with Miss Bennet; nor I imagine would you wish your chances with Miss Elizabeth to be set aside." He raised his eyebrow in question towards his friend. Darcy merely nodded. "I appreciate all your help, my friend," and the gentlemen raised their glasses and finished their brandies.