Jane felt a momentary prick of conscience, which she dismissed as soon as it occurred, as she knew an extremely wealthy man wanted Lizzy. She did not tell her mother of Mr. Darcy’s interest in her younger sister.
She loved that her mother would do anything to help her, but she knew if she informed her mother about Mr. Darcy’s obsession with Lizzy, she would be unable to keep such a secret. Mother and daughter left the suite and made their way to the drawing room.
When they entered Fanny saw what Jane meant. Mr. Darcy did not so much as lift his head to look at Jane. Fanny could not fathom how it was he could ignore one as beautiful as her Jane.
“Mr. Bingley, now that Jane is better you can set a date for your ball,” Lydia demanded rudely.
“I dare say you are correct, Miss Lydia. As far as I know Cook will have enough white soup prepared by Thursday, so what say you to the ball being Friday?” Bingley proposed.
“How wonderful,” Mrs. Bennet exclaimed as she clapped her hands. Her reaction was one that would have been expected from her daughter.
“Kitty, we will dance with all of the officers,” Lydia gushed and Kitty nodded.
Elizabeth could not understand why Jane did not look as mortified as she must feel. Trust her family to show the hateful Mr. Darcy their bad behaviour once again. Elizabeth burned with shame and hoped her mother and younger sisters would depart for Longbourn soon.
Jane knew Mr. Bingley was holding a ball in her honour—in her mind it would become her betrothal ball. After she compromised Mr. Darcy tonight, she would be his betrothed.
Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief when her mother and younger sisters departed. She was about to leave the drawing room when Miss Bingley decided it was time to speak.
“Miss Bennet, Miss Eliza, how proud you must be of your mother and sisters,” Miss Bingley sneered. “I am sure such decorum would be welcomed in our circles.”
“What circles would those be, Miss Bingley?” Darcy asked innocently. He abhorred the vulgar display by the departed Bennets as well but would not allow Miss Bingley to make false claims about her position in society.
Miss Bingley turned almost purple. Without another word, she made an unceremonious exit from the drawing room. Her world had been turned upside down. She was sure Mr. Darcy would agree with her, but instead he alluded to her being the daughter of a tradesman yet again.
How could he not see she would be the perfect wife for him? She must convince her brother to reinstate her as Netherfield’s mistress, as it was imperative that she present herself in the best possible light to her Mr. Darcy.
An hour later, Miss Bingley knocked on the door of her brother’s study. Normally, she would have barged in without an invitation to enter but she did not want to anger him—he might refuse to restore her position as mistress.
Her brother used to be so pliant and easily led. Now he was displaying a spine and resolve she had never seen before. It was one more thing that confused Miss Bingley; her frustration due to being unable to manipulate him as she used to do was great.
“Enter,” Bingley called from within. “What can I do for you, Caroline?”
“Charles, I have learnt my lesson; it is time to reinstate me as your hostess,” Miss Bingley asserted as she sat in front of her brother’s oak desk.
“And what lesson is it you have learnt, Sister?” Bingley asked pointedly.
Miss Bingley sat opposite her brother, her mouth moving but made no sound. Rather than prompt her, Bingley sat back in his chair and waited while his sister spluttered and looked around as if the answer would come to her out of thin air.
“Youmustrestore me to my position! How else is Mr. Darcy to see what an excellent hostess I am?” Miss Bingley finally screeched.
“Are you utterly senseless? Were you not sitting in this room—in that chair—when Darcy and I told you he had no interest in you? I am warning you now, if you persist with this delusion you will ruin yourself and I will not lift a finger to save you. You have been warned more than once now,” Bingley stated sternly. “If you cannot control yourself, I will send you to Aunt Hildebrand in Scarborough!”
Miss Bingley’s first inclination was to argue the point with her brother. However, she saw the steely look in his eyes. She would have to change her tactics and be more subtle, because she believed her brother serious and being sent to their spinster aunt was not part of her plans. Without another word, Miss Bingley stood and left the study without slamming the door.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As she had planned, not too long after the men joined the ladies in the drawing room, Jane claimed fatigue. “No, Lizzy, you remain here. I need to sleep, so when you return just go to your bedchamber. You know how lightly I sleep.” Jane used the same lie which had gotten her sister moved to the small bedchamber at Longbourn. “I need a good night’s sleep before we return home on the morrow.”
“If that is what you prefer, then I will remain and not disturb you,” Elizabeth returned as she squeezed her sister’s hand.
Miss Bingley, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, felt joy at the intelligence the Bennets were to return home on the morrow. Finally, the country mushrooms would leave the house.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Jane changed into her revealing nightgown and a robe. Her slippered feet padded softly down the corridor until she found Mr. Darcy’s door and slipped in as quietly as she could. She removed her robe and climbed into the bed to await her prey.
She failed to notice Mr. Darcy’s valet, Carstens, just inside his master’s dressing room watching her compromise attempt with amusement.
