“You have my permission to replace what they need; I care not the cost. I know there are some things which cannot be purchased, such as family heirlooms, but what we can do, we will do. Where are they being housed?” Darcy asked.
“The families have been split up among some of their neighbours. You know the size of the cottages; none have enough space to take one whole family,” Chalmers replied.
“That will not do. To suffer the losses they have, especially the Havershams, being separated now will only add to their suffering. Put them in the dower house. As it was the old manor house before this one was constructed, there are three floors of bedchambers. Each family can occupy one floor,” Darcy decided. “Give me an hour, and I will ride with you to inform the families and to see the damage with my own eyes.”
Chalmers knew that Mr Darcy was doing far more than the average landlord would do for his tenants. It was a reason Mr Darcy, like his father before him, was considered the bestkind of landlord and master.
To say that the three families were beyond grateful when they were told where their temporary housing would be, not to mention that Mr Darcy would replace all the replaceable furniture, clothing, and other possessions, was a huge understatement. They were well aware that their master was doing far more than would be expected of him. He even pledged to pay for old Mrs Haversham’s funeral.
The tenants, not just the three affected by the fire, were all loyal to Mr Darcy, but his response to the fire made that loyalty fierce and undying.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
A few days after Miss Bingley had been excised from society, Maddie Gardiner and the Bennet sisters were somewhat shocked when the butler informed them that Mr Bingley and Mrs Hurst were asking to see the residents of the house.
“I will defer to you,” Maddie stated as she looked at her eldest niece.
“If you agree, Aunt Maddie, I have no objections to hearing why they have called,” Jane responded.
“Jane, are you sure you are ready to see Mr Bingley?” Elizabeth verified.
“My dear Lizzy, you cannot think me so weak as to be in danger now.” Jane confirmed. “You know, I see Mr Bingley for what he is, a rather immature and, in a certain light, a selfish man. Hearing what he has to say will not change the fact I am completely indifferent to him now.”
The speech assured both Maddie and her second eldest niece that Jane’s equanimity would not be disturbed by being in the siblings’ company. “Showthem in,” Maddie ordered.
Bingley and Mrs Hurst were nervous about the reception they would receive after the way Caroline, and to a lesser extent, Mrs Hurst, had treated Miss Bennet. They had gone to Netherfield Park to make their amends only to be informed when they called at Longbourn that the Bennet sisters were in London with their aunt and uncle. That knowledge had led to brother and sister arriving on this day.
Bingley bowed, and Mrs Hurst curtsied to the five ladies who had stood and curtsied in return.
“Please be seated.” Maddie indicated an open settee.
After first sitting, Bingley sprang up. “My older sister and… I have come hither… today to express our heartfelt… apologies to all of you,” he stated haltingly.
“For what, Mr Bingley?” Jane asked pointedly. “Surely you are not responsible for Miss Bingley’s lies, rudeness, and viciousness? If you think that an apology will reverse Miss Bingley’s expulsion from society, you are mistaken. That was not done by us or at our behest, so we have no power to change the punishment she received.”
“Miss Bennet, that is most certainlynotthe aim of our call,” Bingley responded. Darcy had mentioned something about Miss Bennet no longer wanting to see only the good in the world, but that had not prepared Bingley for the avenging angel before him. “The repercussions my younger sister is living with were all of her own making, and after everything she did, it is no less than she deserves. She is reaping only what she sowed. My purpose here is to beg your pardon on my own behalf. Louisa is present for the same reason for herself.”
“In that case, please proceed,” Jane allowed as she relaxed a little.
Mrs Hurst stood. “Miss Bennet and Mrs Gardiner, I was very wrong to placate my sister by allowing herblatant prevarications and manipulations. Never should I have confirmed her falsehoods, and the only thing I can do is apologise most profusely.”
Maddie looked at Jane, who nodded. “On mine and Miss Bennet’s behalf, you are forgiven,” she said evenly.
“My amends are also due to you, Miss Bennet. Although I have never thought myself a rake, I now see that the way I behaved with you and other ladies was rake-like. I raised expectations, all based on physical looks without ever being interested in the lady’s character. Then, as soon as a new, pretty, and shiny object was before me, I moved on without a thought to the lady I had been paying attention to, or for that matter, her reputation. Often, it was my younger sister who would direct me to a newangelbecause she deemed the current one insufficient to her social climbing aims.
“Miss Bennet, IthoughtI loved you more than any other, but I am able to see now it was because you are more beautiful than the ladies I had been interested in before you. At long last, I can differentiate between love and infatuation. I suspect I knew this deep down, which was why I used the excuse Darcy provided to abandon you. This I did knowing that Darcy is not good at discerning a woman’s emotions. I should never have requested the three significant sets at my ball and, in such a public way, raised expectations. Hence, I beg your pardon for my capriciousness and immaturity. I am aware that I need to grow up and know myself before I think of looking for a wife. That being said, if it is required for your reputation, I would offer for you now.”
“Rest easy, Mr Bingley, my reputation is intact, and we would not suit. It pleases me for the ladies you would have called angels after me that you will not toy with their affections. For my part, I pardon you and wish you well in becoming the man you would like to be,” Jane granted. She did not ask what was being done withMiss Bingley because she cared not about that woman in the least.
‘So much for Caroline’s assertion Miss Bennet is a fortune hunter. She disproved that in her refusal to accept Charles’s hand,’ Mrs Hurst thought. She admitted to herself she had known that all along.
Their purpose fulfilled, after a cup of tea, Mrs Hurst and Bingley took their leave.
“Charles, could you believe how much decorum was displayed by Miss Mary and Miss Kitty?” Mrs Hurst asked as the coach was pulled into motion. “It seems like Miss Bennet is not the only Bennet I misjudged.”
“I wonder how Caroline will do in the new world,” Bingley mused.
Miss Caroline Bingley, realising that there was nothing for her in England any longer, had elected to take her remaining dowry and sail to New York City in the former colonies. She was hopeful she would be able to start anew there, where no one knew of her ruin in England.
