Miss Bingley shut Mr Darcy’s words out of her consciousness. She had decided Charles would marry Miss Bennet. She would not only be their friend but related to them as well, not only through Charles. Although he was certainly younger than herself, she had set her cap at the Bennet heir. The fact he was younger was an advantage, as it would make it much easier for her to get her way and have him obey her.
Caroline had made sure to see what conveyance the Bennets used, and it was a coach and four, which was better than the one either her brother or even Mr Darcy owned. That told Caroline that they were acceptably wealthy. Now she had to convince her brother to call at Longbourn so that she could see for herself.
Charles had given a glowing report of the estate and mansion from his one call there, so it was promising. In her mind, she would not fail. The Bennets may have stellar connections and a decent level of wealth, but they were still unsophisticated country folk. Caroline was sure it would be easy for her to work on them. She had already put what the Bennet heir had said to her out of her mind.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“I said I would not prejudge the Bingleys, and I did not; however, based on their behaviour tonight, they are not people I want to know any more than I do,” Jane related shortly after their coachman departed the assembly hall.
“How on earth was it that no one told Miss Bingley how ridiculous she looked before they departed Netherfield Park?” Mary wondered. “Did she not notice all of the laughing behindher back at that hideous colour she was wearing? It seems she does not understand how one dresses for a country assembly.”
“I will wager she thought she would impress all of uscountry bumpkins. If that was her intention, she failed miserably,” Beth stated.
“At least the Hursts did nothing objectionable,” Henry observed.
“Other than Mr Hurst being soused and, according to Phillips, falling asleep at one of the tables in the card room,” Bennet revealed, “Henry has the right of it. Compared to their Bingley family members, the Hursts were paragons of good behaviour.”
“How long do you think it will be before you have Mr Phillips evict them?” Mary enquired.
“We shall see if Mr and Miss Bingley heed CousinLiam’swarnings,” Becca decided. “Like we did with that Mr Willoughby, if the tenant forfeits the balance of the lease, the money will be turned over to the two local clergymen for use as they see fit among the needy of their parishes.”
“On a more pleasant note, I am excited to welcome the family members arriving tomorrow,” Elizabeth added.
“If Miss Bingley tries to impose her company on Devonshire or Mother Anna, she will not be pleased,” Bennet shook his head. “One word from my Becca’s mother and Miss Bingley will be irrevocably ruined in polite society.”
“We are almost home; let us leave the subject of the Bingleys for another day,” Becca suggested. No one disagreed.
Chapter 19
There were many hugs and kisses given and received when the Cavendishes and Smythes arrived at Longbourn. It had been since the summer when they last had all been together. For a family who was as close as this one, that was a long time to be apart.
After the noisy greetings, the Cavendishes and Smythes went to their chambers to wash and change from the road, even though it had only been a four hour journey from London.
Henry and Tommy joined their cousins William—Uncle Will and Aunt Marie’s son—and Ian—Uncle Harry and Aunt Connie’s heir—to walk with them to the suite the two were sharing. William the younger was a little more than a year older than Henry. Due to the fact the latter had begun at Cambridge a year earlier than most, the cousins had been together for their three years at the university. They had been good friends before, but during their time at the school, they had forged an unbreakable bond. Ian Smythe, who was Viscount Braverton, was two years younger than Tommy. As he was not yet fourteen, his parents had yet to decide whether he would begin at Eton at the start of the 1811 or 1812 school year. If it was the latter, Tommy would commence his studies at Cambridge before Ian’s time at Eton. The age difference notwithstanding, the cousins were all very close.
Rosemarie Cavendish, Felicity, and Harriet Smythe, and Mary all loved spending time together and claimed each otheras best friends. Lady Rosemarie had come out during the Little Season of 1810, while Ladies Felicity and Harriet still had two years before it would be their turn to be presented to society. Even though Ellie was a little less than three years younger than the Smythe twins, the group of older girls always included her whenever she was not busy with her lessons.
It was less than an hour before the adults all met in the main drawing room, which included Jane and Lizzy. The rest of the younger cousins decided to go for a ride.
“Well, Becca dear, I can see you have something to report to us,” Lady Anna guessed. “If I were a soothsayer, I would presume it has something to do with your tenants at Netherfield Park.”
“You are as astute as ever, Mama,” Becca agreed. “Unfortunately, and thanks to Miss Bingley’s study of the society pages…” She reported all regarding the assembly ball, including Mr Bingley’s unrelenting chase of Jane and finally meeting Fitzwilliam Darcy and how well he behaved at the assembly.
“He was about to insult me, but he stopped himself,” Elizabeth revealed. “Even though he never said what he intended to say, he made a very sincere apology for even thinking the words he would have spoken.”
“Good, it seems that Richard’s setdown of Fitz has had some positive consequences,” the Marquess observed.
“Uncle Will, he does not like the name Fitz, so we have decided, with his approval, to call him Liam, as it is also included in his given name,” Elizabeth reported.
“We never knew Darcy objected to that name,” Granville stated. “Why did he not say anything?”
Elizabeth related what Liam had told her. “The hardest one to convince to use Liam and not Fitz will be Rich. However,if he refuses, we will give Mary the task of convincing him,” Elizabeth smiled.
“As besotted as he is with my niece, that will not be hard for her,” Connie opined.
“Mama, Marie, and Connie, I assume if Miss Bingley does not behave as she should, you will end her aspirations in society?” Becca questioned. “We will do all we are able to keep her away from you, but when she discovers you are here, it will be like a fly attracted to honey. We may have to be very direct with her, and even then, the woman may not get the message.”
“We are well versed with ways of swatting annoying gnats buzzing around our heads,” Lady Anna insisted. “Now Thomas, what about this delusional cousin of yours who will arrive in what, about ten days from now?”
