Mr Collins,
It is with great sadness that I inform you that the illness I referred to in my last has claimed the life of my eldest daughter. Her name was Jane Lydia Bennet, and she was two and twenty summers old.
As a clergyman I am sure you will understand the Bennets will be in mourning, and therefore I must defer your visit here indefinitely.
I appreciate your intention to heal the breach in our family; it is an honourable and laudable one. That being said, please allow us the time we need to recover from this tragedy of immeasurable proportions. My prayer for you is that you never know the pain of watching one of your children being consigned to their place of eternal slumber. Before we can have a reconciliation with one not of our intimate family circle, we have much to repair within it first.
Trusting you will accept my words in the spirit they were meant.
Sincerely,
Thomas Bennet
Bennet reread his words and was satisfied. He folded thepage, sealed it, and then wrote the direction. It would go out with the post on the morrow, there was no reason to send this one express.
He sat with his elbows on the desk, his head in his hands as he felt the crushing guilt for what he had not done. There was nothing Lizzy would be able to say to him which would make him feel worse than he already did.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Bingley’s solicitor raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure about this, Mr Bingley?” the man verified.
“Yes, Mr Marchant. I am as sure as I could ever be,” Bingley confirmed. “Is there something in my father’s will which would disallow what I am doing? In my reading of it, I did not see anything, but that is why you are the solicitor, and I am not.”
“No Mr Bingley, you have not misread the terms of the will. Are you prepared that as soon as you sign this document, and I witness it, it will become irrevocable?” the solicitor asked.
“Yes, I am aware.” Bingley read over the new dispensation of his sister’s dowry one more time. He was happy with what he read, so he signed all four copies of the document and then slid them across the desk to Mr Marchant. The solicitor signed the document, and then for good measure had his clerk sign as a witness as well.
It was done. The youngest Bingley’s future was set. It was just as well he had sent instructions ahead a few days before he and Darcy travelled to London. That way, he had to spend only a minimum amount of time with the solicitor. From there, Bingley went to Bond Street to visit the shops where his younger sister was wont to spend money like water. His man of business had paid off each amount owing, but now Bingley had a document for the proprietors of each shop to sign. Boiled down, it said he would not pay another pennyof expense incurred by Miss Caroline Bingley, and if they extended her credit, it had to be collected from her.
Once he had completed that part of his self-imposed task, it was time to return to Darcy House and change for dinner.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Did you achieve all you intended to today?” Darcy asked after the first remove.
“I did…” Bingley related what had been done. “Did you speak to your aunt?”
“Indeed,” Darcy responded. “If your sister dares to show her face in society, she will not be well pleased with the results. It could not have been better. Ladies Cowper and Jersey were visiting when I passed the information to my aunt, and the Duchess of Bedford arrived in the middle of the telling. I am not sure which of the ladies were more outraged. Hence it will not only be Aunt Elaine who makes sure your sister will have every door in society slammed shut in her face.”
“It is no less than she deserves,” Bingley barked. “How does Miss Darcy?”
“She is a little better than when I travelled to Netherfield Park,” Darcy reported. “The new companion, Mrs Annesley, has assisted Giana greatly, as have my family.” Knowing he could trust Bingley with his life, on the ride into Town, Darcy had revealed to his friend why his sister was suffering.
“You should have allowed Fitzwilliam to run that bloody libertine through,” Bingley opined.
“As much as I would like to see Wickham punished one day, I do not want Richard to hang for it. Could you imagine my sister’s guilt if that occurred? We have seen enough suffering of late without needing more.”
“Now that the funeral is past us, what do you think Miss Bennet will do?”
“I know not, Bingley, but I cannot blame her for the anger she feels at her parents. Unlike she did with Miss Bingley, slapping her parents is not an option. From what I can tell Miss Elizabeth…” Darcy noted Bingley’s raised eyebrows, “MissBennetwould be a fearsome foe. I will be forever grateful to your late fiancée for softening her sister’s attitude towards me which made her willing to accept my apologies.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Wickham was greatly frustrated. If he had known before he enlisted in the regiment what he knew now, he would have never signed the documents. He could not resign for two years. If he deserted during a time of war, even in the damned militia, he would face a firing squad. The only option would be to purchase his way out, and that cost five hundred pounds.
That he was not able to gain credit was at the root of Wickham’s vexation. Only once it was too late, he found out the Colonel had forbade the merchants to issue credit to any of his soldiers or officers, without his in person permission. If that was not bad enough, the man had warned all the parents of young girls and advised them to guard their virtue, and to be very sceptical about promises made without a visit to their father.
As soon as he was in uniform, Wickham had been on the lookout for the two Bennet flirts Denny had told him about. If he could not have credit, he would console himself with a tumble with the unsuspecting lightskirts. Just his luck, Denny had informed him later the day after joining the regiment, that one of the Bennet sisters had passed away, so the family was in deep mourning, and even worse, the two Wickham would have liked to meet were no longer out .
