A week after he deigned to smile at her for the first time, Darcy changed entirely.
Caroline could not understand it. What was particularly aggravating was that Bingleycould.There was a secret which she was not privy to. A secret so profound that it (apparently) gave the illustrious Fitzwilliam Darcy permission to be a drunk, uncouth and despicablelout.
This man -this man! -was the one she had wasted her talents and her youth trying to impress!
Seething, Caroline left him to wallow in Netherfield Park while she stayed in the London townhouse. She danced, laughed, and shone amongst the elite. Then, when she returned to awful Meryton, Mr. Darcy was gone.Marriedand gone.
Oh, how she hated him!
Caroline was ready to refuse outright when Darcy wrote to her for assistance. Admittedly, he had not addressed the letter to her, but to Bingley. It was staggeringly rude to be spoken about in the abstract! Still, she thought snidely, it was quite in character for the pathetic creature Darcy had become. It was curiosity which, in the end, convinced her to help. Whatever was happening between the vile Darcy, his opportunistic, scheming wife and poor deluded Bingley, Caroline wanted toknow.
No longer would she suffer any secrets! If they refused to enlighten her, then Caroline gave herself leave to discover the truth by any means possible.
Caroline felt a pang of regret when she saw Pemberley for the first time. If Darcy was so desperate for a wife, why did he go to that grasping little Bennet wench? Why not his loyal, trusted Caroline?
She could have been mistress of this long drive… those green fields… the towering trees… oh! And thehouse…!
Caroline gaped inelegantly out of the carriage window. The mistress of Pemberley would have to put up with a great deal, but it was clearly worth it!
She envied Elizabeth Darcy, then, with a raw and burning passion. No longer could Caroline see her as a pathetic creature, hopeless enough to marry the first drunken sot who asked her. Now, she was the witch who had stolen poor, stricken Mr. Darcy from Caroline’s caring hands. Caroline, so overlooked and underappreciated. Caroline, who by rights should have taken him under her nurturing wingmonthsago.
Putting herself into her role with the unconscious arrogance of a preening cat, Caroline swept into Pemberley like a battleship, determined to make waves. Nothing was beneath her notice. Where Mrs. Darcy failed, she would triumph. Caroline Bingley would show Mr. Darcyexactlywhat he had thrown away.
Her frosty welcome to the house had not made her like Mrs. Darcy any more. Caroline knew that Darcy would never have offered her such discourtesy before. He was truly under another woman’s thumb. Even at his worst, Darcy had always been painfully polite. Mrs. Darcy, on the other hand, did not bother to welcome her guest at all. She did not even thank her for her rolein bringing the milksop Jane out of captivity. The women went in one direction, the men in another, and Caroline was left in the middle.
After that, Caroline could not bring herself to be polite to the servants. One of them had whispered something that made his companion smirk. Caroline was sure that it had been about her and concluded that all of the servants had been directed to make her stay as unpleasant as possible. Concluding that there was some conspiracy against her (no doubt it was Mrs. Darcy’s feeble attempt to discredit her in Darcy’s eyes), Caroline grew cold.
The friendly smile the fat old housekeeper gave her was ignored. The helpful footmen who brought her luggage were not even acknowledged. Caroline shut the door behind them and seethed.
An hour later, she sat elegantly in front of her mirror, running her fingers along the jewellery she had brought with her. Expensive necklaces and earrings, befitting the mistress of a house like this. She thought of rectors and arranged marriages, cow-eyed girls and selfish wives. She thought of brothers keeping secrets from sisters, and a household full of liars.
She would make her mark on Pemberley. Oh yes. She would learn every freckle that defaced its beauty and reveal them to the world.
Was it not the duty of a jilted woman to unmask her duplicitous love?
Chapter 40
Since Darcy had taught her to play billiards as he had promised, Elizabeth was quite at ease in the quiet room (which boasted freshly painted green walls, much to her husband’s distaste). She stepped in without hesitation and only realised how intrusive that might appear when Bingley gave her a surprised look. Remembering herself at once, Elizabeth bobbed down in a graceful curtsey.
“Elizabeth,” Darcy greeted her warmly, “Is you sister settled? Is everything to her comfort?”
“Yes, sir. But…” Lizzie’s eyes flicked to the other man in the room, “I am sorry to interrupt your game, sir, but I need to speak privately to my husband.”
“Of course!” Bingley said cheerfully, putting his cue down with a smirk. “Let’s say that I won, eh Darcy?”
“Won? You were twenty points behind!”
“That signifies nothing. I was about to make a triumphant recovery!”
Darcy sighed. “Very well, but I shall keep my shilling.”
Bingley chuckled and bowed. As soon as the door closed behind him, Elizabeth ran to her husband. In a few hushed sentences she told him what Jane had said.
“The web grows ever more tangled.” Darcy shook his head wearily, “Elizabeth, I know what you would ask… but I cannot refuse my aunt a visit to Pemberley. She has been welcome here since before I was born. Even if I did forbid it, she would force her way in just to demand an explanation.”
“But we can stop her from bringing Mr. Collins with her, surely!”
“We only have your sister’s fears to suggest that he will make the effort. Certainly, we can try to discourage him - but he may come here regardless. My aunt is ever hungry for gossip, and Pemberley is rife with it. She will doubtless urge him to accompany her so that she can impart her judgement on poor Miss Bennet before his adoring eyes.”
