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“Bingley, I need to at least remove these boots. If you happened to have a healthy measure of brandy in a glass when I return I will be very much obliged.”
Ten minutes later he was back in the drawing room, the other four all waiting expectantly for him. He savoured the first mouthful of excellent brandy. Before he could say anything Miss Bingley, what a surprise, started.
“I cannot believe that Eliza Bennet is allowed out in polite society. How dare she speak to you in that manner. I will ensure that she can never show her face in town after this performance.”
Darcy was tired, and did not need the verbal drivel of Caroline Bingley right at that moment. As usual, her brother was allowing her mouth to run wild.
“Enough! Before I say anything else you will understand this, and understand it well. You will not talk of my affairs be it here in Hertfordshire, in Scarborough or in London. If there is talk of this matter then I will know who to hold responsible. Do you understand?”
“I say Darcy, steady on old man.”
“No Bingley, I will have my say. Did you hear your sister? She will ensure. How will she do such a thing other than spreading gossip? I am happy to offer an apology if you can answer me that.”
This was a different Darcy to the one they normally encountered. Even Miss Bingley had the sense to stay silent. He finished his brandy in one large gulp.
“I would ask that you favour me with a morning ride round the estate Bingley. Shall we say the stables at 7.00?”
Bingley looked aghast at the proposed time but nodded anyway. Darcy bowed to the company and retired for the night.
--
Bingley looked two cups of coffee short of wakefulness but 10 minutes of the fresh air had him ready to listen.
“Thank you for agreeing to this early morning ride. First of all, I apologise for the rudeness when I finally returned to Netherfield Park. Unfortunately it seemed the only way to get through to your sister. I am serious when I say I do not word of this week to be spread in London.”
Bingley waved away the apology. Even he realised that his sister only responded to blunt words.
“I did not feel the need to share this conversation with the others which is why the two of us are out and about so early. You heard the words last night. The first half was identical to my own that I threw in the face of, I think, Miss Mary Bennet.”
“It was Miss Mary.”
“Thank you. I could have requested you to desist with your demands that I dance without being such an obnoxious boor. It was not the act of a gentleman. A word incidentally that was not used with regard to me last night. Let me be blunt. I would have not acted that way at any event in London, for exactly the reason I find myself in, an unknown connection that could hurt the family. The accusations thrown at me are valid and accurate. I did think myself above my company and I was, as was so memorably explained, skulking round the edge of the room. An accusation that could apply to either evening. It also came to me in my walk home that I was doing you no favours.”
“In what way, and why did it take you so long to return? We saw no sign of you on our journey back.”
“In amongst all the other problems of the evening, you can add a poor sense of direction. You did not pass me because I am not sure where I was. I eventually discovered that I was not going in the direction of Netherfield Park. Frankly, that is the lesser of my stupidities. You are working to establish yourself as a gentleman and invited me here as your guest to assist you in that process. And eight days after my arrival I have done nothing to assist you, and a lot to make life here more difficult.”
Darcy stopped and thought.
“Miss Bennet said her sister was married to a relative of the Duke of Buccleuch, but she did not mention the name. Did you perchance learn it?”
Bingley nodded.
“I did. It is Captain Sir David Carruthers. Incidentally, he has another connection, being distantly related to the owners of this estate.”
Darcy groaned out loud.
“A decorated naval hero with connections going in all directions. It just gets better and better.”
They rode in silence for a while.
“I am going to ride to the Bennet estate once everyone there has broken their fast. I think it best if you are not present, so as to escape the taint. I suspect my apology will be accepted, the matter forgiven but not forgotten.”
“That seems the most appropriate course. On a different but related note, do you think my sisters are helping me get established?”
Darcy had to fight a smile.
“You wish me to be honest, give you my blunt reply?”
“Yes, although with that as your first response I can guess the rest.”
“They are not helping at all. They are equating a fashionable education and a relatively large dowry as being as good as, if not better, than generations of living on an estate. You know as well as I do that is simply not the case. Your father, an excellent and diligent man, was in trade. His brother, your uncle still runs the business bearing the family name. There is no shame in that. What is a problem is if your two sisters act like the older sisters of Princess Charlotte.”
“What do you recommend?”
“Send the three of them back to London. Let Hurst host them all at his townhouse, rather than allowing them to live off your generosity. If you wish to make a success of this lease then accompany them, get your sister married off as soon as possible. I will remain here and attempt to remember that I am a gentleman. And I will do my penance so that when you return after Twelfth Night you will be gladly welcomed into the neighbourhood. I will stay until Easter and then leave you to see out the lease on your own. We will correspond over the summer and you can decide if you wish to see if this estate is available for purchase. You will have three options. Decide that this was your father’s dream not yours and let the lease lapse. You find the lifestyle suits you and you prefer an estate such as this, close to the capital, in some ways the best of both worlds. The final option will be to give this estate up, but in the meantime look for another one. A different county, a different mix of crops and animals, a different size, they are all possibilities.”
Bingley had been taken aback at the start but by the time Darcy finished talking he understood that what was being proposed made sense. Even a week of Caroline as his hostess was enough to realise that he needed to be his own man.
There was a plan.
