‘Caroline said that she saw Miss Bennet yesterday… unchaperoned in the company of a rich man.’
‘Surely the man would have been her uncle. Please forgive me if I point out that your sister will use anything to denigrate a lady unless that lady is from a titled family. And I vividly remember that day I spent in Hertfordshire when Miss Bingley abused Miss Bennet quite thoroughly.’
Bingley sighed. ‘While Caroline likes to present things in the worst possible light in these situations, she does not actually lie. And according to her, the man was quite young as well as handsome and not in the least avuncular. I was hoping to see Miss Bennet and reassure myself that Caroline misunderstood. But with the lady not being here…’
‘Since I am hoping to hear from Mr Gardiner soon, I am certain that we will be able to clear up the mystery of the un-avuncular gentleman,’ Darcy tried to cheer his friend. In an effort to distract Bingley he asked, ‘what have you been doing since our return to London?’
‘Not much. I was in the doldrums because of what happened in Hertfordshire. To be honest, in the beginning I was quite angry with you and Caroline for behaving in such a way that the people of Meryton asked us to leave.’
‘I am sorry for my behaviour at that assembly. I just…’ Darcy trailed off, unwilling to make excuses for his behaviour.
‘I suppose I am to blame for that fiasco,’ Bingley declared dispiritedly. ‘I know you hate dancing with ladies whom you do not know. If I had not pushed you, you would not have had the need to push back. I just…’ Now it was Bingley’s turn to trail off.
‘You were having a pleasing evening and wanted everyone else to be equally pleased. We all made mistakes.’
‘Indeed. I must say though that I was surprised that I have not heard from you in all the time we have been back in town. I was grateful to have the time to work things out in my own mind, but still somewhat surprised.’
As close a friend as Bingley was, Darcy was reluctant to confess his epiphany after Richard’s lesson in manners and humility when he had learnt to swallow his overweening pride. For his own amusement he answered, ‘I swallowed something which had disagreed with me, and it took me some time to recover.’
Having cleared the air between them, they chatted comfortably until they arrived at Darcy House.
~T~
As it happened, the same day a snippet appeared in the gossip section of the evening newspaper.
While visiting the country recently, Miss CB, an intrepid mountaineer who while attempting to scale dizzying heights from her roots in trade, slid into a crevasse of her own making due to her overinflated sense of importance. She was ably assisted by Mr FD of P in D who toppled into the same abyss due to his barely tolerable oratory expertise. Calling a young lady’s looks merely tolerable to her face at a public ball, has set a new standard of civility, one to which we hope no other gentleman will aspire. As a consequence, the whole party was shown the door… not of the assembly but the county.
~T~
The reaction to the rumour was mixed as far as Darcy was concerned.
Some people were delighted that someone had the courage of their convictions and put that arrogant man in his place.
Others were outraged on Darcy’s behalf. After all, it would not do to upset the gentleman. His wealth could be needed at some time in the future. Only a fool would burn such a potentially lucrative bridge.
About Miss Bingley on the other hand, opinions were unanimous. Everyone agreed that she deserved the set-down she had received. She was the laughingstock of London society.
~T~
17Convergence
As soon as Darcy and Bingley entered Darcy House, the butler handed a note to his master.
Recognising the handwriting as that of his aunt, Lady Matlock, Darcy excused himself to read it immediately, fearing there was some news about his sister. Instead, it was a coldly formal invitation to dinner that evening.
Bingley noticed the grimace of distaste and asked, ‘Is it bad news?’
Darcy raised his eyes to his friend and sighed. ‘It is an invitation to dinner but the way it is phrased I fear the worst. The angrier Aunt Matlock is, the more polite she becomes.’ He waved the missive. ‘This is so icily polite, it would freeze the Thames solid, were I to drop it into the river.’
‘Perhaps in this case I should leave you to get ready. It would not do to be tardy or present yourself in a less than perfect appearance,’ suggested Bingley with a sympathetic grin. He too had an aunt… ‘Shall I stop by tomorrow to see if you have heard from Mr Gardiner?’
‘Yes, thank you, Bingley. I will see you tomorrow.’
~T~
In the meantime, Darcy’s note was delivered to Mr Gardiner who was at work but planned to return early to ready himself for the dinner at Matlock House.
He read Darcy’s letter explaining the situation and the enclosure which made him chuckle. As soon as he arrived at Gardiner House, he found Elizabeth who was finishing tea with her aunt and sisters.
