“I looked out of my window and saw the carts were gone. Where is my furniture?” Miss Bingley demanded when she entered the sitting room, before she greeted her brother.
“On the way back to London,” Bingley admitted without lifting his head to look at his younger sister.
“WHAT!” Miss Bingley screamed. “You, Charles Arthur Bingley, ride after it and have them return here,NOW! You know I want everything to be perfect for Mr Darcy; how dare you allow the cart to depart?”
“Caroline, I may not. I read the contract I signed. We are forbidden from changing furniture or décor, all at the pain of eviction.”
“I care not if we are evicted once Mr Darcy does his duty to me, but Iwillmake the rooms presentable before he arrives. You will go to the agent immediately and tell him so!”
“There is no flexibility. If we are evicted, there is no refund. It is a significant sum which will leave me unable to pay your allowance; no new gowns for a year, none of it.” Bingley waited while his sister weighed the information he had given her. He was sure she would live with the house as it was rather than forgo money. He had not pointed out the obvious to her: she had not seen any of the rooms in question yet, so they may, in fact, not need any updating.
“I am seriously displeased,” Miss Bingley hissed. “If my Mr Darcy does not offer for me because of this, woe betide you!” She swept out of the sitting room, slamming the door behind her.
Bingley was relieved. It could have gone far worse.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Is that from Mr and Mrs Nichols?” Becca queried seeing the note in her husband’s hand.
“It is. Mr Bingley, his two sisters, and the older sister’s husband have arrived. All are remarkably similar to the way they were described in the report. Miss Bingley had some of her gaudy, tasteless furniture brought from London; Nichols says itis on its way back. Evidently, Mr Bingley does not want to forfeit all of the money he paid on the lease,” Bennet reported.
“When will you call on them?” Becca enquired.
“Not before the morrow. I will not impose on them on the day they are moving in. I do not believe that Sir William and some others will wait until then.”
“I am sure you are correct. I received a letter from Mama and Papa. They will arrive at Longbourn in a little less than a sennight. Marie and Will, and Connie and Harry will be with them. Aunt Elaine, Uncle Reggie, and Richard will arrive a few days after them, so they too will be here when ourinterestingguest reaches us.”
“It is a surprise our cousin has been able to stay away since Mary turned eighteen. I suppose to London we will go in November. At least we will be able to visit Hatchard’s and other book sellers.”
“There is that, but as much as we both love to get lost looking for new tomes, it will be secondary to the reason we will be in Town; Mary.”
“It is a good thing Ellie is almost five years younger. That way we will have a good rest before we need to plan the next coming out for a daughter.” Bennet got a wistful look in his eyes. “Even our youngest is growing up.”
“It is the way of things, Thomas. On a different subject, this Miss Bingley will bear watching based on the Nichols’ first impressions of her.”
“I agree, Becca, my love. If there is to be an eviction, I suspect she will be the reason for it. All I can do is thank goodness none of our children are vaguely like her in character.”
“Amen to that,” Becca agreed.
Chapter 15
Darcy knew he could not renege on his offer to teach Bingley how to manage an estate, but he came close to sending one of his couriers to Hertfordshire to do just that.
The last thing he wanted was to have Miss Caroline Bingley’s cloying attentions directed at him in the close quarters of a house in which they were both residents. As much as he wanted to tell himself otherwise, Darcy was fully cognisant that Bingley would do nothing to check his sister. He was also relatively certain his friend had not told his younger sister there were no circumstances under which Darcy would marry her, not even a compromise.
As much as he enjoyed having Charles Bingley as a friend, Darcy was fully aware of his faults and foibles, the same ones which caused Richard to keep his distance from Bingley.
Thoughts of Richard reminded Darcy why he had come so close to breaking his word to Bingley. As he wrestled with his feelings of shame and guilt at almost having failed his precious sister, he was gutted at the recurring thought that his bruised ego over the conditional guardianship had so severely clouded his judgement. He had failed her; it was all his fault. Only Richard’s clear thinking and actions had saved her.
In recognition of his massive error, Darcy had willingly signed a document that gave his Uncle Reggie the power toremove him as one of Giana’s guardians with immediacy and irrevocably if such an error—or anything close to it—occurred ever again. He had had his solicitor draw up the papers as part of his commitment not to fight if he ever did anything that would necessitate his removal as Giana’s co-guardian.
His dark thoughts were interrupted when the dinner gong sounded. Giana and her new companion, Mrs Annesley, were at Darcy House for another two days until he departed for Hertfordshire; afterwards they would go across the street to Matlock House. Aunt Elaine had recommended Mrs Annesley along with two other possibilities.BothRichard and he had interviewed her and the others; all characters were vigorously verified, and in the end, they had selected Mrs Annesleytogether.His aunt, uncle, and Richard would arrive back in London on the morrow.
He schooled his features, as the last thing he wanted was for Giana to think his moods were in any way her fault.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Well?” Becca asked when Bennet returned from Netherfield Park.
