Page 156 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

BY THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Bingley had spoken with both servants. He closed the morning-room door behind him and faced Darcy, Georgiana, Louisa, and Hurst. The false note lay on the table, its crease worn from repeated handling. No one had asked Caroline to join them.

“I spoke with the maid,” Bingley said. “Caroline instructed her to direct Miss Darcy toward the summerhouse and promised to answer for the message.”

“And the note?” Louisa asked.

“We do not know who delivered it,” Darcy said. “Whoever carried it may have believed it genuine.”

Bingley looked at the paper. “I will not punish a servant for being deceived when Caroline’s purpose is clear.”

Louisa looked at the paper. “Then there is nothing left to interpret.”

“There was little yesterday.” Bingley kept his voice level, though anger sharpened each word. “I wanted the servants’ accounts before I decided what to do.”

Hurst rested one ankle across the other. “You wished to know whether she had corrupted the household or only borrowed it.”

“She used it,” Bingley said. “That is enough.”

Darcy moved from the window. “The decision belongs to you. I shall answer any question you have, but I will not direct the consequence.”

Bingley returned his gaze. “Did you understand the note might be false before you entered the summerhouse?”

“I doubted it. The steward had no reason to ask for me there, but the work concerned a crack I had discussed with him that morning. I found the explanation weak, not impossible.”

“And once Caroline closed the door?”

“I understood that the message had not come from him.”

Georgiana’s hands tightened around one another, then relaxed. “Caroline knew he would enter because the request concerned your house. She used his willingness to assist you.”

The quiet statement carried more force than accusation. Bingley glanced toward her and saw no uncertainty in her face.

Louisa said, “Do not call it confusion when you speak to Caroline. She arranged each part of it, and she will use any softer word as a path back into the house.”

“I have no intention of softening it.”

“She will say she meant to protect Mr. Darcy’s reputation,” Louisa continued. “Then she will claim that Elizabeth misunderstood what she saw, that the dog created disorder, and that we chose the worst explanation.”

Hurst looked toward the ceiling. “A difficult defense, since she supplied the explanation before anyone asked.”

Bingley picked up the note. “Caroline will leave Netherfield today. She may stay with you until I make other arrangements.”

Louisa’s expression tightened, but she nodded. “I will take her.”

“You need not accept responsibility for her conduct.”

“I do not. All I am accepting is the responsibility for removing her from your house.”

Bingley crossed to the bell and stopped before he pulled it. “She will no longer direct my servants, my invitations, or any part of my household. I should have made that plain months ago.”

“You trusted your sister,” Darcy said. “The fault lies in what she did.”

“I also allowed convenience to disguise dependence. She decided whom I invited, how long they stayed, and what my house should communicate to them. I told myself she understood such matters better than I did.” Bingley looked at the note again. “What she understood was how to use them.”

Georgiana came forward. “You stopped her.”

“Sarah stopped her.”

“Sarah exposed her timing,” Darcy said. “You stopped what followed.”