He had not told Caroline yet because it would not make any difference to her, but a few days past, his man of business had passed a note from Mr Phillips in Meryton to Mr Bingley. It was nothing too important, but Mr Phillips had reminded him that the dower house was not part of his lease, and he and his guests were forbidden access to the house and land around unless invited by the residents of the house.
There was no reason to tell her, as she would never venture out and roam around the estate. If he said something, of course his younger sister would want nothing more than to see the house.
Other than Caroline’s complaining that Mr Darcy was not with them, the journey into Hertfordshire went rather smoothly.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Although he was disappointed that Richard and de Bourgh would travel on their own and not with him due tosome business of which the two needed to take care, Darcy was more than pleased that he would be leaving early Thursday morning and not stuck in a coach with Miss Caroline Bingley.
If Darcy was correct, then Bingley and his family should be arriving at Netherfield Park at this time. As far as he was aware, Richard and de Bourgh would arrive at the estate in Hertfordshire today. Darcy envied the fact that although Richard was the son of an earl, owner of an estate, and reasonably wealthy, Miss Bingley was not interested in him as part of her marital aspirations.
He hoped that Richard’s estimation was correct, that she may be attracted to de Bourgh, as he was wealthier than Richard, with a larger estate, and a house in London. That fact might give Darcy some respite from the shrewish harpy when he was living in the same house with her.
His thoughts wandered to his sister, whom he had not seen for a while because he was assisting de Bourgh. He had written to Anna promising that he would attend Christmas with the Fitzwilliams, so he would be in her company for certain. Just a few days previously, Darcy had received a cryptic reply in which his sister said something to the effect of never knowing if they would see one another sooner.
Notwithstanding his initial anger that he had not been appointed Anna’s primary guardian, over the years as he had watched his baby sister blossom under his aunt and uncle, it had proved the rectitude of Father’s choice over, over, and over again.
Anna was a friendly, outgoing girl. Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie had chased her shyness and reticence away. Miss Younge, now Mrs Younge as Anna’s companion, had been a steady force for good in his sister’s life through growing up without a mother and then the loss of Father. Darcy was aware that Anna had some very good friends, but he had never met them and knew nothing about them. As long as his aunt and uncle approved of them, he could have no complaints.
He was pleased that his attitudes about those he felt below him had changed over the last few years. It had been slower than his cousins would have preferred, but change he had. He had owned the truth of Andrew and Richard’s words regarding the hypocrisy of his attitude about Mr Bennet. The death knell of that attitude had been his Aunt Catherine’s actions. It was she who had convinced Mother to become prejudiced, and he had held onto that for far too long. In doing so, he had dishonoured his father’s memory. No more. If he ever met Mr Henry Bennet again, he would have much humble pie to eat.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Who are they?” Miss Bingley asked when she saw two gentlemen standing and waiting for the Bingley coach to come to a halt at their leased estate.
“That is Fitzwilliam, and the man with him, I assume, is Mr Albert de Bourgh,” Bingley related. “He told me they would be arriving today, possibly before us, so I wrote to the housekeeper and told her to assign them to suites on a guest floor.”
“Is Mr de Bourgh related to that hussy Anne de Bourgh, whose mother wants her to steal my Mr Darcy?” Miss Bingley demanded.
“Darcy will never marry someone he does not want to,” Hurst interjected.
Miss Bingley took that to mean what she wanted it to. Bingley jumped out as soon as the step was extended. Hurst followed him, then the former assisted his sister out while the latter did so for his wife.
It was then the arriving party saw the coach being unloaded ahead of theirs. “Those are the biggest footmen I have ever seen,” Bingley stated when he saw the huge men carrying trunks from the conveyance as if they weighed nought. He watched in awe as they disappeared into a servants’entrance.
Bingley was not aware that the two men had in fact arrived a few days previously, and what he was seeing was to give him the impression they had only now arrived. He had no way of knowing they had been in the area earlier because of the letter from Richard’s father asking them to go see and assist Mr Bennet. The reason the trunks looked like they weighed nought to the huge men was because they were, in fact, empty,
As he had met all four in the Bingley party previously, Richard made the introductions to de Bourgh. He did not miss the predatory way Miss Bingley was evaluating the new master of Rosings Park. The woman would never learn, but if de Bourgh drew some of her attention from William, it would be a boon to his slightly younger cousin.
She had heard that the de Bourghs were very wealthy. If Mr Darcy would not step forward, then mayhap Mr de Bourgh would do. Miss Bingley needed to learn more about him first.
With her nose in the air, Miss Bingley led the way into the house where the butler and housekeeper waited to welcome them.
Chapter 26
Aday after the note from her sister was received, Hattie Phillips was visiting her husband’s office. He had requested that she come speak to him on some subject or another.
On entering the office, Hattie noticed that the door to her husband’s private office was almost closed, only open a crack. As Frank had asked her to come, she did not think it would be wrong to enter his office. To that end she walked towards the door, fully intending to open it and go in.
“Pardon me, Mrs Phillips. Your husband apologises for the delay, but he has an urgent meeting at this moment,” the head clerk stated with a bow. “He would appreciate it greatly if you would sit in this comfortable chair and wait for him.”
Hattie was about to object until she noted the chair was close to her husband’s door. It had been far too long since she had gleaned gossip from the office, so perhaps this would be her chance. “If my husband asked it of me, I will wait for him,” she allowed. She sat down on the chair and leaned forward towards the door. It was perfect; she could clearly hear what the men inside were discussing.
“This is grave indeed,” her husband said. “Can this William Collins be so very bad?”
“Indeed, he is,” the man who was unknown to Hattie responded. Hattie could not know that the man in question was Richard Fitzwilliam. “Not only did he attempt to conduct his own marriage ceremony to an unwilling heiress, but he was aware that his appointment to the living in the HunsfordParish was made by one who had not the authority to make it.”
“The man sounds extremely dishonourable. Why are you telling me all of this?” Her husband asked.
