Page 92 of Master of Himself

Despite this lacklustre endorsement, Jane breathed a sigh of relief.

Darcy supposed that if he kissed Elizabeth in the middle of Meryton Road he might be permitted to marry her, but upon further reflection, he discarded the idea. Two compromised daughters wouldn’t recommend Mary and Kitty to future beaux.

“What treatment did you receive in church?” Charles inquired.

Mrs Bennet wailed in misery and fled from the room, followed by her three daughters.

Charles cringed while Mr Bennet and Darcy explained the snubs orchestrated by Sir William and repeated by mostly everyone in the community.

“Why would our neighbours do such a thing?”

“Before I evicted Mr Collins, he advised me to cast my daughter out and never allow her to return home,” Mr Bennet said in grim tones. “I believe my pious cousin persuaded Sir William that no God-fearing man should condone such immorality.”

Darcy abhorred men like Collins, a pompous, social climbing toad, posing as a steward of the church. “Unfortunately, that’s the usual outcome in cases like this. The woman is reviled for submitting to her seducer, while he suffers no consequences.”

“But Lydia’s a mere child,” Charles said in an incredulous tone, to which Mr Bennet readily agreed. “This can’t be allowed to stand. What’s to be done to reverse this injustice?”

“I’ve already spoken to the merchants, with some limited success, and I intend to call on Sir William in the morning to try and convince him to reverse his position on the matter,” Darcy said, hopeful that he would have better success at that meeting.

“What can I do to help?” Charles inquired.

“Perhaps if you were seen in the village with Mr Bennet’s daughters, everyone would see that you’ve also maintained the connection,” Darcy said, suspecting that Charles would easily charm the merchants.

Mr Bennet nodded his agreement. “And if you intend to remain in the neighbourhood, all the better.”

“I have no plans to leave Netherfield, that is…unless the neighbourhood remains inhospitable, then I won’t hesitate to find a home elsewhere.”

Although Darcy agreed with his friend’s opinion, he was glad that Elizabeth wouldn’t be subjected to the whims of this community. Once they were married, he would take her away from here, and she would receive every civility due to the mistress of Pemberley.

***

Later that night, Charles shared a nightcap with his friend in the comfort of the Netherfield sitting parlour. Yet, he was still uneasy. Despite their best efforts to salvage Lydia’s reputation, the Bennets had suffered unimaginable hardship.

“What a fool I was to believe all would be well at Longbourn once Lydia and Wickham had been set to rights.”

Darcy shook his head in annoyance. “It would have been if not for Collins, a sanctimonious sycophant, willing to ruin his only family to make a name for himself.”

“Thinking back, I should have predicted something like this, since he didn’t hesitate to insert himself into my affairs, or rather your affairs,” Charles said with the greatest regret. “The moment we met him at Longbourn, he boasted of his connection to your aunt. Then he sought me out at the assembly to congratulate himself on being the officiant at your highly anticipated nuptials with your cousin.”

“How can he suppose that my match is any of his business?”

In Charles’s opinion, that was the heart of the problem. “It seems that he considers everything as his business.”

Darcy paused to sip his brandy. “I’m partially responsible for the scene in church yesterday.”

“Nonsense.” Charles couldn’t fathom the possibility.

“Do you remember when you said that I never took the trouble to become acquainted with anyone in the community?” he said, to which Charles nodded. “I thought my mere presence in church yesterday would protect the Bennets from their neighbours’ snubs, but I couldn’t have been more mistaken. They didn’t value the connection, because I never bothered to connect with them, just as you said that night at the brook.”

While Charles couldn’t disagree with his friend’s observation, he could place no blame on Darcy. “They probably would have been much worse if you hadn’t been there. I can scarcely believe they would treat their friends so coldly, especially Sir William.”

Darcy nodded. “The rest of the community relies on his judgement. I meant to call on him today, but I’ll do so tomorrow and persuade him to reconsider,” he said, then sipped from his glass. “The Bennet sisters and I called on the shopkeepers this morning, hoping to meet them on equal ground, but they weren’t precisely welcoming. I believe we need a bit of your magic, Charles,” Darcy said, grinning.

This made no sense to Charles. “I have none.”

“On the contrary, you have an abundance of joie de vivre. If you call on the merchants and share your news, I suspect you’ll have little trouble bringing them around, especially since you intend to reside in the neighbourhood. If they want your continued business, they can’t snub you and your future wife.”

On Darcy’s latter subject, Charles was of the same mind. “No, should think not, but what’s to be done about Mr Collins? He can’t continue to spread his spiteful venom.”