“You asked to see us?” Fanny queried.
“Please, if you will take a seat on the sofa. Janie and Lizzy take a seat on either side of your mama. I have the report on the possible new tenant of Netherfield Park, and I would like your opinions before we make a final decision,” Bennet stated.
The three sat, Jane to her mother’s left and Elizabeth on her right. Bennet handed Fanny the report. He sat in one of the wingback chairs facing the sofa, which was situated between the two floor to ceiling windows. The windows offered a clear view of part of the park. Since the books had been moved into the library, there had been far more room for furniture in thestudy.
“This man will be very changeable, will he not, Thomas?” Fanny observed.
Bennet told his wife and eldest daughters what Phillips had shared about the men who would help guide Mr Bingley.
“That is not a man in whom I could ever be interested,” Jane observed as she read further. “You know how much I dislike being judged purely on my physical looks. Also, I could never esteem a man who raises and then dashes expectations as Mr Bingley seems to do. The fact he does so because of callowness does not make his actions more palatable. I would rather remain single than marry a man such as that, regardless of the size of his fortune.”
“Brava, Janie,” Fanny said. “This is not a man I would like to see any of you tied to in marriage. He could have ten thousand a year and that would not change my mind. We cannot let the sisters, especially the younger one know that we own Netherfield Park. We need no false friends.”
“She seems like a lady who would not be worth knowing,” Elizabeth remarked. “Goodness knows, we do not disdain those in trade: after all, we love our uncles no matter how they earn their money. How hypocritical of her to deride anyone in trade when her much vaunted dowry and her brother’s fortune are the result of her late father’s sweat and blood in commerce.”
“If you want to allow Mr Bingley the lease, I will not oppose you, Thomas,” Fanny stated. “However, I want a few additional clauses added to cover the shrew’s tendency to destroy things. I think five times the cost will be an apt punishment. Also, have Frank add something about rake-like behaviour voiding the lease with no option of a refund. I will not tolerate Mr Bingley trying his behaviour on Jane, or any other in the area, no matter the reason for the way he acts.”
Bennet agreed and wrote out the additional terms andthe agreement to accept Mr Bingley before having one of his grooms ride it over to Phillips’s office.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Per the reply he had received from Darcy, Bingley arrived at Darcy House on his own, without his sister in tow.
Bingley would have hidden the fact he was going to his friend’s house from his sister, as he needed Darcy and Fitzwilliam’s advice more than he needed to appease Caroline at that moment. Thankfully, his sisters had decided to leave the house to call on Miss Grantly, so the Darcy House messenger and his departure from the house on Curzon Street had not been noted by Caroline Bingley.
Killion showed Mr Bingley into the study, as the master had left two sets of instructions. If his friend arrived with his sister, they were not to be admitted; if he arrived alone, then Mr Bingley was to be allowed to enter the house.
“Darcy and Fitzwilliam, thank you for seeing me,” Bingley said as he walked into the study. “Would it have been so bad had Caroline joined me?”
“Yes, it would have. We,” Darcy inclined his head to his cousin, “will tolerate Miss Bingley if you take that estate, but as you have been told, not a few times before, the way your sister behaves does you no favours. You do not make things better by never standing up to her.”
“Before we broach the subject of the request to see us,” Richard added, “I will repeat something I know William has told you and which I am sure you have not told your younger sister yet. If she attempts to compromise either of us when we are your guests, if and when you take the lease, she will ruin herself only. Neither of us will gratify an attempt to entrap us, and if you support her in her claim, it will cause an irrevocable break between us. Unlike William here,” Richard inclined his head towards his cousin, who was nodding his agreement, “I do not claim implacable resentment against one who offendsme, but if, after all the times we have both told you that we will never offer for your sister, you dare try and demand we marry her because you were not able to check her, my refusal to know you again will be as definite as William’s.”
After all the times either or both cousins had told him this, Bingley had always been sure they would not allow his sister to ruin herself. For the first time, he was not so certain any longer. Like he did with most difficult decisions, he deferred thinking about it.
“Mr Phillips said I was accepted, and I have an option for six months or a year complete. Also, some additional clauses have been added, and this one here, clause eleven point three, I find rather offensive in general and personally insulting,” Bingley related as he extracted the unsigned lease from his portfolio. He laid it down on the desktop and opened it to the third page and pointed to the clause which was giving him pause. “Read it and tell me if I should object or refuse to take the lease.”
The cousins gave themselves a meaningful look. As they suspected he would, Bingley ignored the words about his sister and her behaviour. They both shrugged. What would be, would be.
Richard picked up the document first, and once he had read the new clauses, he handed it to William with a knowing smile.
Darcy read the additional clauses; they had checked the proposed lease after Bingley decided to take the estate, and these stipulations had not been contained within. He handed it back to Richard.
“Well, Bingley, it seems that they have been informed of your tendency to engage a lady’s affections and then move on. Also, from what I can see, they have discovered that your younger sister has a rathervolatiletemper. As long as you control yourself in your interactions with local ladies, do notabandon the house before the end of the lease, and hope Miss Bingley does not destroy any of their property, there is nothing concerning in the additional clauses.”
“But no one has ever complained about how I comport myself with ladies in London, have they?” Bingley enquired.
“Perhaps not, but you do have a reputation, which I am sure is what the landlord’s investigator discovered.” Darcy did not say the same was true of his friend’s social-climbing sister. “Even in the absence of complaints, you have to understand that the country and London are vastly different. You are one of many men here: in the country everything you do is magnified and seen by a much larger percentage of the population. There, if you raise hopes the way you are wont to do in London, a proposal will be expected. There are not great big crowds to lose yourself in there.”
“If you are worried, take the option for six months,” Richard suggested. “It is a good way for you to see if land ownership is for you and to begin to learn about estate management. Do not forget that William and I will be with you until a fortnight or so before Christmastide.”
“I agree with Richard,” Darcy added.
“In that case, I will accept the lease for six months,” Bingley decided. “Caroline will want to know if Miss Darcy will join us? You know how she dotes on her.”
It was all the cousins could do not to roll their eyes. Both were aware Miss Bingley cared not a whit for Giana but saw her as an avenue to impress her guardians. Added to that, their ward did not like the Bingley sisters, especially the younger one.
“We will discuss the invitation with Miss Darcy. If she does join us, it will be with our aunt and her companion,” Richard responded.
