Miss Bingley knew she was defeated…for now. She stood to go to her bedchamber.
“You will have two footmen with you who will make sure you do not abscond along the way. Also, your allowance will be paid directly to Uncle John for your upkeep. That way, if you have thoughts of renting a carriage or taking the post back to London, you will not have any funds to do so,” Bingley told his furious sister.
With that, Caroline Bingley stormed out of the drawing room.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“It is done. My younger sister is on her way north,” Bingley reported. He had come to call on Hadlock to inform him of what the consequences for his sister were.
“You could have told me this at White’s or Boodle’s, or even in a note. Well, I suppose not the latter, as I would have had a devil of a time deciphering your writing,” Hadlock ribbed. “I wonder, could there be a blonde, recently out in society reason for the delivery of the news in person? You are lucky you found me here as I am about to move back to Hadlock House.” The latter was found on Portman Square, two doors down from Hilldale House.
Bingley’s ears burnt red when Hadlock hit the nail on the head. He had learnt his lesson already: that a pretty face does not mean a good character. However, from what he had observed at the ball, Lady Jane’s character and kindness matched her outward beauty.
Both men turned at the sounds of female voices.
In an instant Bingley understood that Lady Jane was not the only very pretty lady in the family. Three of the four unknown females who entered the room with Miss Darcy following them were beauties.
“Lizzy, is Jane up yet?” Hadlock asked.
“No, Jane is being very wise and resting from all of the exercise on the dance floor as well as reaching her bed with the sunrise,” Elizabeth responded. “Jamey, will you introduce your friend?”
“Lizzy, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, this is Mr Bingley, a friend of mine from our days at Cambridge. He is also a good friend to Richard and William; the latter is why Anna knows who he is. Bingley, my middle and youngest sisters, Ladies Elizabeth and Mary Carrington-Bennet, their sisters, and my surrogate sisters, Miss Catherine Phillips and Miss Lydia.”
After making sure to bow to the newly met ladies, Bingley greeted Miss Darcy. It was easy to see how much more lively the latter was in the company of Hadlock’s sisters.
In the past, Bingley had called at Pemberley once and Darcy House a few times, which is where he met Darcy’s parents and his much younger sister. Because he was consistent in refusing to allow his younger sister to attach herself to his invitations, he was welcome at both the Darcys’ and Fitzwilliams’ homes. This was his first call at Holder House thanks to visiting Hadlock at his own home in Portman Square most of the time.
“Why are you up so early when Mamma and Papa are yet abed?” Elizabeth enquired of her brother.
“I am like William in this. I rise at the same time regardless of the time I climb into my bed. Surely with your memory you did not forget that I am moving back to my own house today?” Hadlock replied. “Lizzy, will you ring for tea?”
Elizabeth pulled a cord, and soon, Mrs Fenster appeared at the drawing room door. Once tea was requested, she bobbed a curtsy and said the tea service would arrive shortly.
True to her word, it was not long before the housekeeper was supervising a maid and footman to place the trays where Miss Lizzy directed them. Even though the little misses were titled, to Mrs Fenster they would always be Misses Jane, Lizzy, and Mary.
Tea was very pleasant, and Bingley quickly learnt that Lady Elizabeth was extremely intelligent, and when she could quote whole pages from books she had read at some point, he understood what Hadlock meant when he referenced her memory. Lady Mary was also very intelligent and a lover of music. Miss Phillips, although not nearly as handsome as her sisters—he understood now that the Phillips girls were half-sisters to the Carington-Bennet sisters—had a quick wit and was a good conversationalist. The youngest, Miss Lydia, looked a lot like Lady Jane from what Bingley remembered of that lady from the previous night. She was a little stouter and looked like she may end up being the tallest of the five sisters.
It was not hard to tell that Miss Darcy was considered another sister by the four sisters present in the drawing room, so Bingley assumed that Lady Jane felt the same way about Darcy’s little sister.
He smiled to himself when Bingley remembered how Caroline, without ever meeting her, told him that he needed to pursue Miss Darcy when she was old enough. She was a child, just like Lady Mary, Miss Phillips, and Miss Lydia, so Bingley could not think of her as anything more than the sister of a friend.
Unfortunately, by the time tea was finished, Lady Jane had not made an appearance, and Bingley had no more excuses to remain at the house. Expressing how sorry he was not to see the rest of the residents; he took his leave.
Jane and Charlotte entered the drawing room not five minutes after the caller departed. Neither understood the guffaws from Jamey nor the giggles from the girls until Jamey explained what was so amusing.
The previous evening, Jane had found Mr Bingley very amiable, just what a gentleman should be. However, she could never see him as more than an acquaintance because Richard already resided in her heart, and no matter how long it took him to declare himself, Jane intended to wait for him. She was impressed when later Lizzy told her that Mr Bingley had spent time speaking to Kitty, ignoring the fact that many of the opposite sex who saw her judged her too plain to pay attention to. It seemed that Mr Bingley was not one of those callow and shallow men who never looked beyond a lady’s outward looks.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Karen, my dearest, you will be helping me to right a grievous wrong perpetrated against me as well as giving us more than enough money to leave the class system in England behind us and to seek our fortunes in the New World. You know how badly I was wronged, and this so-calledLadyElizabeth was the one who single-handedly changed the trajectory of my life for the worse,” Wickham pleaded. He had laid out his plan for Karen, and so far she did not seem too keen to assist him. He knew he could not achieve his revenge and a large fortune, none of which he would share, without her help.
“You know I will do anything to help you, George, but I must be certain we will not be lumbered[6]if I assist you in this. Tell me again how it will work?” Karen Younge asked.
“I showed you the advert Lord Holder placed looking for a companion for his daughters, did I not?”
Miss Younge nodded; agreeing it was so.
“You will become Mrs Karen Younge and apply for the position. To make sure you are the best candidate, I know a man who is an excellent forger, and he will make up some glowing characters for you from some of the leading toffs in theTon.”
