“Of course,” he agreed, and immediately the conversation resumed, more loud and animated than before.
The two gentlemen returned to Netherfield close to midnight, due to propriety’s demands, against their desire to stay longer.
Once home, they shared another drink, discussing the extraordinary events of the day, and they eventually fell asleep almost at dawn.
Before abandoning himself to tiredness, and induced by another glass of brandy, Darcy eventually wrote to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. In the letter, he expressed his disappointment at her lack of consideration for Georgiana’s well being, reinforced his decision—so many times discussed in person—to take care of Anne for the rest of his life but not marry her, as well as his upset against Mr Collins, who he considered responsible ‘for spreading false reports and for all the consequences that might result from his actions.’
At Longbourn, the Bennets welcomed their first peaceful night in almost two weeks. They returned to their chambers, some of them with great hopes for the future of the two eldest daughters, some with joyful thoughts about attending parties again, some with distressing yet pleasant reflections about a certain gentleman.
Chapter 10
Over the following two days, aside from the preparations for the dinner party that kept the entire staff of Netherfield busy, some other exceptional happenstances occurred.
The Gardiners arrived as expected and, as soon as they entered the house, Mrs Bennet related to them in great detail the ‘terror they had to face due to a horrible officer named Wickham, who everybody liked against her warnings,’ and the ‘outstanding manner in which Mr Darcy had dismissed the entire fabrication.’
Later on, their introduction to Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy was a very happy one.
Both gentlemen showed nothing but amiability and Mr Darcy had the greatest surprise when he discovered that Mrs Gardiner had grown up in Lambton—only five miles from Pemberley. For the chief part of the evening, he spoke to her about the places so dear to both of them and he was pleased to hear her speaking highly of his estate.
“I must say, I have seen many places in my life, but none of them can compare with the beauty of Pemberley. And even as a child, I remember how loved and admired Lady Anne and Mr George Darcy were in the county.”
“I am grateful for your words, Mrs Gardiner, and for the wonderful chance of speaking about my parents with somebodywho knew them. These moments are worthy of being treasured by me,” Darcy said with so much emotion everyone could feel it.
“I did not have the honour of meeting either Lady Anne or Mr Darcy, but as for Pemberley, I can testify myself. I am overwhelmed with its beauty every time I am there.”
In the afternoon, further significant news reached Longbourn, brought by Lydia and Kitty: Mr Wickham had left his regiment overnight.
As they prepared to go to Longbourn for the second dinner in a row, Darcy was surprised to receive a visit from a devastated Colonel Forster, begging for a private meeting.
“Mr Darcy, I apologise for disturbing you, I am ready to throw myself at your feet and beg you to help if you can. I have been a thoughtless fool, and I do not deserve your compassion. But I cannot think of anyone who can help me...My wife…it seems she has left with Wickham. I cannot be sure but this is what I suspect. She also took a large amount of money and several jewels and left me a note that she needs some time far away, to reflect on her happiness. What woman would write such a letter to her husband? I do not know what to do. I worry for her, I am full of shame, dishonoured… what am I to do?”
The sight of such a powerful man, until recently indifferent to the Bennets’ distress and now ruined in the blink of an eye, was disturbing.
Darcy knew too well that Mrs Forster would return only after Wickham had spent her savings and sold her jewels, wasting the money on parties and extravagant expenses. To the colonel, he offered his compassion and all the knowledge he possessed about Wickham’s habits, old friends and places where he used to stay. The chances of finding the fugitives were quitesmall, though, and both men were aware of that when they finally separated with a strong handshake.
The news of Mrs Forster's betrayal was the subject of conversation at Longbourn during dinner for only a little while, as Mr Bennet severely forbade it.
“We are still struggling to escape from a net of gossip ourselves! I shall not allow any gossip in my house ever again!” he stated.
In Meryton, however, the new report was on everyone’s lips. If the Bennet case had been all talk, this time there was clear evidence. The news was strong proof that Darcy had been right in accusing them of foolishness for believing Wickham—but that, the people of Meryton chose to forget.
∞∞∞
The following day, as he was reading another angry letter received from Lady Catherine, Darcy was startled by Bingley yelling from the door.
“Darcy, come out! Now, this very moment! You will never guess who is here! Come, come now!”
Slightly convinced that Lady Catherine had decided to come in person, Darcy followed Bingley outside, trying to hold his temper.
On the stairs, he froze, stunned, torn between upset, worry and joy, as he saw Georgiana and Mrs Annesley coming out of the carriage with the help of Colonel Fitzwilliam.
He remained still for a moment, then hurried to them.
“What happened? What are you doing here? What is wrong?” he asked Georgiana.
She embraced him tenderly.
“Nothing is wrong, brother. I received your letter two days ago and I decided to come and see Netherfield, of which Charles spoke so highly. Since Charles is alone in Hertfordshire, I thought that we might as well spend Christmas here with him.”
