“Then I should like to make her acquaintance, Brother.”
“As I recall,” said Fitzwilliam, “she has sisters, does she not?”
“Four sisters,” replied Darcy. There was little choice but to suppress a shudder when he considered the ill-mannered hoydens that were her younger sisters. “Her sisters are not herequal. The youngest are far too lively for their own good, though the eldest is quiet and beautiful.”
“Then you must ask Mr. Bingley if we might go to his estate,” replied Georgiana.
“I cannot request an invitation, Georgiana,” said Darcy, his tone reproving. “That would not be proper.”
“Yet it would seem likely Bingley would go back there for the winter,” observed Fitzwilliam. “If he does, there is little doubt he would be happy to have you.”
Darcy offered a tepid agreement, hoping they would allow the subject to rest. It appeared Fitzwilliam had not yet said all he wished to say.
“Darcy, I know you do not wish for my advice, but I shall offer it all the same. As I conversed extensively with Miss Bennet, I have some knowledge of her situation. Few men possess the means to marry where they like without at least some attention to more pecuniary matters. You are one of them. If you allow Miss Elizabeth to slip through your fingers you are a fool, any drawbacks to her situation notwithstanding.”
“Given your speech,” said Darcy, eyeing his cousin with some suspicion, “you have no little admiration for her yourself.”
“She is a woman easy to admire,” said Fitzwilliam. “Had I the means to do as I wish, I might pursue her myself.”
“As you so often declare, you must take care to wed a woman of great fortune.”
“I declare that Miss Bennet would not care a jot for great riches if I could convince her of my regard and provide a comfortable life for her, at the very least.”
As it happened, Darcy had firsthand knowledge of Miss Bennet’s quality in this respect. Darcy did not think there were five women in all the kingdom outside the nobility who would not accept with alacrity should he offer his hand, and yet she had not considered it against her concerns for his character.
“No, I cannot imagine she would give much consideration to such things,” murmured Darcy, his mind firmly on the lovely and vivacious Miss Elizabeth Bennet yet again.
“Then you mean to do something about it?” asked Fitzwilliam.
“Yes, Brother,” exclaimed an excited Georgiana. “Let us go to Hertfordshire, for I should like to meet this young lady who has provoked your approval.”
“Bingley mentioned something about possibly returning to Hertfordshire in the autumn,” said Darcy, leaving out any mention of how he had prompted his friend. “We shall revisit it then.”
Georgiana nodded, almost bouncing with excitement. His sister, Darcy knew, had few friends near her age, which must be why she was so eager to make Miss Bennet’s acquaintance. Seeing her this animated set Darcy’s heart at ease, for his concerns for her had never abated after Wickham’s actions in Ramsgate the previous summer. Perhaps it would be beneficial to introduce his sister to the Bennets, for even the younger girls’ boisterous nature would assist his sister in overcoming her shyness.
For the rest of the evening, Fitzwilliam said something of Miss Bennet to an interested Georgiana. When they asked, Darcy told some anecdotes of his own of their interactions in Hertfordshire. His relations laughed in all the appropriate places, Georgiana appreciating how often Miss Bennet had confounded Miss Bingley. That alone was worth the teasing his cousin still directed at him. Perhaps they would go to Hertfordshire after all.
Chapter IV
Charles Bingley felt himself at something of a crossroads.
It was odd, to be certain, for the preparations in which he was engaged were of the mundane variety, a visit to his family in the north, a journey he had undertaken many times. To use the term “preparation” was a rather glorified overstatement in Bingley’s opinion, for he had done little more than consider the last months of his life that morning while picking aimlessly at his belongings. Granger, his valet, the good man that he was, would prepare all Bingley’s clothes and other effects for their departure on the morrow. It was Bingley’s task to gather whatever other possessions he wished to take, and in that task, he was failing miserably.
It was all Darcy’s fault, though Bingley could not blame the man. What he had said about Netherfield was the truth, after all—gentlemen returned to their estates after the season, many remaining there until the events of the next season beckoned. Bingley had seen nothing of the place he had leased since the previous November. As the lease was only a single year, there was not much financial risk attached to it, but if he knew Darcy at all, he understood his friend would do everything in his power to ensure any investment made a profit. The autumn’s harvest would affect the profitability of the estate, even if his income depended on the rents—should he not do everything in his power to ensure the estate’s profitability? Even if it did not affect him, he had taken the lease to learn something of estate management, and in that, he thought he had failed, given his long absence.
To Caroline, of course, avoiding the place was far more important than any nebulous concerns of education or duty.Bingley was not blind—his sister had no wish to suffer Miss Bennet as a sister, nor did she wish to acknowledge the Bennets as family. In this, she consulted her own feelings, for she had ever aspired to join the heights of society; she considered the Bennets and any like them an impediment to her ambitions. Her common argument in favor of this was specious, though she would not recognize this; their father had only wished for the Bingley family to become landed, not to mingle with dukes. Had Bingley not known of Miss Bennet’s indifference to him, he would not have considered Caroline’s ambitions for even a single moment.
Which made Darcy’s comments about Netherfield all that much more curious. His friend’s public demeanor did not fool Bingley; Darcy was not a man who enjoyed much society, but he was not nearly so much of a misanthrope as he liked to portray. Even so, he had thought Darcy agreed with Caroline’s assessment of the Bennets, of the unsuitability of Miss Bennet to become his bride. Had Darcy’s opinion of them softened? There was no reason for Darcy to disapprove of Miss Bennet other than his contention that she did not care for Bingley—at least none that he could conceive. Did Darcy have some reason to doubt his convictions now, after six months had passed?
Doubt beset Bingley, and he wondered if he had behaved as he ought. All Caroline’s arguments about the unsuitability of the Bennets notwithstanding, it was Darcy’s assurance of Miss Bennet’s indifference that had prevented him from returning. In his usual manner, Darcy had spoken with confidence, assuring Bingley that Miss Bennetwouldaccept his suit should he offer, but for no more reason than her mother’s insistence.
The question now plaguing Bingley was how Darcy had any comprehension of Miss Bennet’s mind. To his remembrance, Darcy had spent little time speaking with her—he had spoken with Miss Elizabeth far more frequently. Bingley did not thinkMiss Elizabeth would have spoken of her sister’s feelings for him, unless, of course, Bingley was making her uncomfortable with his attention.
Yet Bingley had seen nothing of such discomfort from Miss Bennet. Far from it, he had thought Miss Bennet had received him with as much pleasure as he had offered. Was Darcy’s opinion of Miss Bennet’s indifference to Bingley superior to his own? It was no exaggeration to suggest that Bingley had spent every moment in her company that he could contrive—was that experience not superior to Darcy’s observation, no matter how discerning he was?
Confused, Bingley had little attention for anything else. No matter how long he considered it, however, there was little chance of attaining clarity. The only way he would know with no shade of doubt was to ask Darcy to account for himself or, better yet, to return to Hertfordshire and put himself in Miss Bennet’s company again. To do so would no doubt invite heartache if Darcy was correct, but at least then he would not remain in suspense.
The thought firmed Bingley’s resolve. He would return in the autumn as Darcy had suggested, and when he did, he would learn of Miss Bennet’s sentiments. The benefits of having her as a wife far outweighed any risk of suffering further misery.
