Today, not one of the shop girls or the modiste herselfapproached Caroline. As soon as she could, Miss Bingley stood in front of the modiste, blocking her way. “I demand you attend to me this instant,” she screeched.
“You brother ‘ave close your account ‘ere. Even ‘ad ‘e not, I would never allow one as ruined in society as you are in my store. Now begone and never darken my store’s doorstep again,” the modiste commanded in her heavy French accent. “If you come back, I ‘ave one of my men eject you.”
When she stepped out of the shop seeking someone she knew so she would be able to complain of her ill-usage, anyone who saw her cut her.
Suddenly, the depth of her ruin in society became evident to her. There had been no exaggeration in the warnings she had received at Darcy House regarding her social death.
As fast as she could, Caroline Bingley hailed the first hackney cab she saw and gave the driver the address of Hurst House.
No sooner had the butler opened the door for her at Hurst House than Miss Bingley flew into the study, where her brother was working at their brother-in-law’s desk. “Charles, we need to depart London as soon as we are able to pack,” she demanded.
“Have you at long last discovered your own insignificance? Did Louisa and I not warn you what would occur if you went out? Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam also informed you what you would find. But no! Caroline always knows best and listens to no one but herself. I am washing my hands of you. Your dowry, or what remains of it, is yours,” Bingley stated evenly.
“What do you mean, the remainder of my dowry?”Miss Bingley queried.
“Because of all your overspending, I have reclaimed just under five thousand pounds you owe me. How many times have I begged you to control your spending?”
“But you cannot! I do not agree that you take from my dowry! You have to care for me!” She had hoped her brother had not been serious in his threat. Evidently, he had been.
“I did, until you reached your majority three years past. And yes, I was legally within my rights to reclaim my money you have wasted. Before you complain, yes, wasted. You have the most horrendous ideas about fashion, and you insist on wearing colours which make you look pallid and do not suit you.”
“How can I make a match…”
“Caroline, you are well and trulypersona non gratain polite society. No one will recognise you, and you will not be invited anywhere. If you invite yourself as you have done in the past, you will be thrown out into the street. Yes, this is harsh, but everything you are reaping now, you have sown with your vicious gossip and unacceptable behaviour. Go back to Scarborough. If you are lucky, a tradesman will take you as his wife.”
“You cannot order me out of this house!” Miss Bingley insisted.
“No, normally Bingley may not be able to order you out of this house, but I can, and I do,” Hurst stated as he stepped into the room. “By this time on the morrow, you will be gone,” he added.
“And no, Caroline, you will not travel in my coach; it will be by post.”
Miss Bingley was shocked to the extent she could not reply. For a woman who had something to say about everyone and everything, it was a very new experience for her. By thetime she reached her bedchamber to begin to supervise her packing, she had not yet fully regained the power of speech.
One thing she did realise was that she could not remain in England any longer.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Two days after her cramps started, Lydia received the best gift she had ever been blessed with in the whole of her young life. Her courses began. She immediately dropped to her knees to give thanks to God on high for the blessing.
Since they had initially begun just before she turned fourteen, Lydia used to think her monthly indisposition was a curse. That was no longer the case. She could not remember ever being so thankful for anything in her short life. Even after she rose after offering up her prayer of gratitude, Lydia kept lifting her eyes to the heavens and giving additional thanks.
Just as she had been instructed, Lydia reported the event to the nun, Sister Etheldreda, who was the one who supervised the dormitory that she and seven other girls shared. The sister took Lydia to the Mother Superior’s office.
“You may be a very lucky young girl,” Sister Agnes stated. “You do know had you followed the rules of society, you would not have been in this situation to begin with, do you not? And yes, I said youmay belucky on purpose. It is not unheard of for a woman in the family way to have something akin to courses in her first month, but, in those cases, it is not that.”
“B-but I-I felt the c-cramping t-two d-days p-previously,” Lydia stammered nervously as all of the joy she had felt receded.
“That is a very good sign that these are in fact your courses,” Sister Agnes responded. “We will pray that is what it is, but I would be remiss if Iallowed you to write to your parents about this now and raise their hopes up only to dash them in a month. For that reason, we will wait until you have one more month’s indisposition. If you do, then you may deliver the good news at that time. In the meanwhile, write your letters about what you will, except for this.”
“Are you telling me that Paulette, who was also seduced by the same man, may be with child even though she had her courses before we departed Meryton?” Lydia worried.
It was a new experience for her that she was very concerned for Paulette’s wellbeing, especially if what the Mother Superior spoke of came to pass. Until she had been shocked with the truth about Mr Wickham and the impropriety of her own actions, Lydia would not have given a fig about anything or anyone else. That knowledge shamed her.
“All I am saying is it is possible, about one chance in one hundred. You need to hope and pray that both you and your friend in Hertfordshire will be part of the nine and ninety, not the one,” Sister Agnes clarified.
As soon as Mother Superior quantified the odds, Lydia felt herself relax. She knew the worst case was possible, but there was a very small chance. Now if only Emma and Hannah would have their courses, Lydia would be incandescently happy. She had accepted that regardless of whether she was with child or not, she would complete the full five months of study and work at St Mary’s Convent. Lydia found that that thought did not trouble her; rather, she was pleased to finally be gaining some education.
As soon as Sisters Agnes and Etheldreda released her, Lydia sought out Emma and Hannah to share her news and discover if they had also been spared carrying the dead miscreant’s child.
