“Yes, I have,” agreed Darcy. “I will no more bow to anything your sister tries than I did to those previous attempts. Miss Bingley will not corner me into acting against my conscience.”
“Very well, Darcy,” replied Bingley. “We shall watch my sister. Should she take any devious action to force your hand, we shall deal with her.”
The way Hurst regarded them both, Darcy knew he considered Miss Bingley’s misbehavior inevitable, but he said nothing more. As Darcy had a healthy respect for Miss Bingley’s self-interest, he determined to remain watchful, though Darcy did not relax his guard aroundanyyoung lady. To have Miss Caroline Bingley as a wife would be a disaster—not only for his future happiness, but for his very sanity. Nothing would induce him to throw his wishes out the window to save the reputation of a woman who little deserved it. Should she compromise him and he refuse to marry her, it would affect him but little—Bingley would suffer more, yet Darcy knew his friend would understand.
Of more importance, Darcy needed to find a way to inform Miss Elizabeth of what was occurring, though he knew shewould understand Miss Bingley the moment she saw her. Darcy had given her enough clues for her to apprehend his interest. Perhaps it was now time to state the matter plainly, so there could be no misunderstanding.
Chapter XIV
Morning visits were meant to be cordial affairs, a chance for neighbors to exchange pleasantries and engage in social intercourse designed to foster good relations. They could also be mere performances, especially among those who feigned cordiality while secretly loathing their hosts. Caroline Bingley, however, fit neither of these categories.
While Caroline detested the Bennets and wished to have nothing to do with them, there was nothing of hidden disdain in her manner—rather, she appeared ready to display it for all to see. Hurst saw this long before the carriage reached Longbourn, and he knew the rest of the party did as well. The question was what Caroline hoped to accomplish by offending the Bennets.
She was a curious woman, to be certain, Hurst mused as he kept an ear attuned to Caroline’s continued ranting as the carriage approached Longbourn. There was nothing new in her denunciation of the family, so Hurst did not feel obligated to pay attention to her. Most women would have desisted when they did not receive the response they wished, but Caroline seemed to believe she could wear them down with ceaseless comments about how dull, provincial, and improper they were.
If Hurst were to guess, he thought it likely that Caroline hoped to offend the Bennets enough that Miss Bennet would send Bingley away. Given Miss Bennet possessed the patience of a saint and an angelic disposition, Hurst gave her one chance in ten of success if that was indeed her aim. There was no other explanation for her behavior that he could think of, though Caroline’s mind was even more of a mystery than most women.
Hurst did not dwell on it. That day would see the end of any pretense of friendship and any misunderstanding regarding Caroline’s true opinions. Today, the Bennets would see what sortof woman his wife’s sister was. With Mrs. Bennet’s penchant for gossip, Hurst suspected that Caroline’s behavior would spread to the entire neighborhood within days. Caroline would brush it off as unimportant, but she would learn by experience that it was hard to live in a society when others look on you with pity, judgment, or derision. That last would be the worst for Caroline, for she abhorred others laughing at her.
“Oh, leave off, Caroline,” said Bingley as they were approaching Longbourn’s gates. Bingley had clung to his patience longer than expected.
Caroline eyed him, her manner all displeasure. “It seems I must persist, since you are intent upon treating these people as if they matter.”
That provoked Bingley’s anger. “They are people, Caroline, so that makes them ‘matter’ to anyone of decency. Furthermore, they are our closest neighbors, and I enjoy their company. I do not care for your opinion, so I suggest you be silent if you do not wish to provoke me.”
Rage flared in Caroline’s eyes, but she swallowed her retort. If Hurst were to guess, he thought her brother’s displeasure was beyond anything she had yet experienced. That would come later. For Hurst’s part, he was on the verge of confining her to the carriage and sending it back to Netherfield with her still inside—he and Bingley could ride back to Netherfield with Darcy and his sister if necessary.
The Darcys were already waiting by the time Bingley’s carriage pulled to a stop on the drive. Hurst and Bingley stepped down, then Bingley turned in an almost perfunctory manner to assist his sister, a detail the woman did not miss. Then they applied to the housekeeper and entered, greeting a surprised Bennet family within.
“Mr. Bingley,” said Mrs. Bennet in her usual flighty tone, “we did not know your dear sister had joined you at Netherfield.”
“Caroline appeared without warning yesterday,” said Bingley. Caroline’s eyes shot to him in instant displeasure.
Mrs. Bennet saw nothing of this, instead welcoming them all and calling for tea. Bingley took up his position next to Miss Bennet while Georgiana joined the younger girls. Darcy, in a brazen act designed, Hurst thought, to challenge Caroline, went at once to Miss Elizabeth and began to speak to her; Miss Elizabeth understood his actions at once but did not object to them, if her grin was any indication. For Caroline’s part, she remained a little separate, studying the company, ignoring Darcy’s interest in Miss Elizabeth.
“It appears the cat is now among the pigeons,” said Bennet when Hurst joined him.
“Perhaps,” replied Hurst. “If you consider Caroline to be the cat.”
Bennet turned to him, not bothering to hide his amusement. “Do you?”
“No. I consider her a squawking hen, to own the truth.”
“Might I assume discovering you were all here displeased her?”
Hurst’s snort confirmed Bennet’s conjecture. “Considering her schemes to keep Bingley from your eldest daughter, you cannot expect otherwise. Caroline has always thought she controlled her brother—discovering she was mistaken was not at all palatable.”
The comment got Bennet’s attention as Hurst knew it would. He turned his attention to Bingley and Miss Bennet, watching as Bingley was as animated as ever, but he noticed, as Hurst did, that Bingley continued to observe his sister. Caroline, having chosen her target, had moved to speak with Mrs. Bennet, the innocence in her features a window into her intentions.
“Is she?”
“If you had seen Bingley yesterday, you would not doubt it.” Hurst shrugged. “Bingley will never be an authoritarian, but he is beyond tolerating his sister’s excesses. I hope she will provoke Bingley to act against her if I am honest.”
“She is of age, is she not?”
Hurst bared his teeth, though he supposed his response was more feral than a mere grin. “She is. But Caroline looks only to the short term, ignoring the potential consequences of her actions.”
Bennet nodded but did not look away from Caroline. “Then he has options. If I read your sister-in-law, she believes there is only one option.”
