Miss Bennet & Mr Bingley (34 page)

‘Jane, I congratulate you. You will
be very happy woman.’

This was exactly what she wished to
hear, she went to him instantly, kissed him and thanked him for his goodness.

‘You are a good girl, and I have
great pleasure in thinking you will be so happily settled. I have not a doubt
of your doing very well together. Your tempers are by no means unalike. You are
each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that
every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your
income.’

She smiled at his jest. ‘I hope not
so, sir, imprudence or thoughtlessness in money matters would be unpardonable
in
me
.’

Mrs Bennet took the matter
seriously. ‘Exceed their income! My dear Mr Bennet, what are you talking of?
Why, he has four or five thousand a year and very likely more.’ She beamed at
Jane. ‘Oh! My dear, dear, Jane, I am so happy! I am sure I shall not get a wink
of sleep all night. I knew how it would be. I always said it must be so at
last. I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing! I remember, as soon
as I ever saw him, when he first came into Hertfordshire last year, I thought
how likely it was that you should come together. Oh! He is as handsome a young
man as ever was seen!’

Mary immediately joined in the
conversation. ‘I do hope, Jane, that you shall allow me the use of the library
at Netherfield? I am sure there must be hundreds of books that I have not read
before.’

Jane nodded. ‘You may all come as
often as you wish, after all we are only three miles away from Longbourn. I am
not going far.’ She had been about to mention Lydia’s departure with Wickham to
Newcastle, but thought it better not.

Kitty, not to be outdone by her
sister, immediately demanded that there should be several balls held at
Netherfield during the winter and Jane said she would discuss it with Charles
once they were married.

Longbourn was a home filled with
excitement and anticipation. Jane had little time to spend with Elizabeth that
evening and they had so much to make up for after their long separation. After
everybody else had retired, she finally had time to share what she had learnt
from him.

‘Lizzy, he has made me so happy, he
was totally ignorant of my being in town last spring. I had not believed it
possible.’

‘I suspected as much, but how did
he account for it?’

‘It was his sister's doing. They
were certainly no friends of his acquaintance with me, which I cannot wonder,
since he might have chosen so much more advantageously in many respects. When
they see, as I trust they will, that their brother is happy with me, they will
learn to be contented, and we shall be on good terms again; but we can never be
what we once were to each other.’

‘That is the most unforgiving
speech that I have ever heard you utter. Good girl! It would vex me, indeed, to
see you again the dupe of Miss Bingley’s pretended regard.’

‘Would you believe it, Lizzy, when
we went to town last November, he really loved me, and nothing but a persuasion
of my being indifferent, would have prevented his coming down again!’

‘He made a little mistake to be
sure; but it is to the credit of his modesty.’

‘Charles is a not a proud man; he
is everything that is good and amiable and is constantly telling me he cannot
believe his good fortune in having
me
love
him
.’

‘I suppose it will not be long
before news of your engagement will be all over the neighbourhood. You must
brace yourself for visits and congratulations.’

‘I shall not mind at all, Lizzy. I
am in good humour with the whole world. I am certainly the most fortunate
creature that ever existed. Why am I thus singled from my family, and blessed
above them all! If I could see
you
as happy, if there were but such
another man for you.’

‘If you were to give me forty such
men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your
goodness, I never can have your happiness. No, no, let me shift for myself; and
perhaps, if I have very good luck, I may meet another Mr Collins in time.’

 
* * * *

Charles was tempted to disturb
Nicholls when he returned that evening, but restrained himself. He would gather
the staff on the morrow and make a formal announcement. After all Jane would be
their mistress now, it was to her they must defer on all domestic matters.

Darcy would be returning that
afternoon as well, he could not wait to share his news with his dearest friend.
He smiled in the darkness of his bedchamber, maybe it would not be so long
before he was congratulating Darcy on
his
engagement.

At eight o’clock he was in the hall
with his servants assembled, he had also summoned the outdoor staff to hear his
announcement. He stood on the stairs and surveyed them, they were shifting
uncomfortably, especially those not used to being inside. He noticed the
outside men had been obliged to remove their footwear, Nicholls would not allow
mud on her pristine floors.

He smiled and cleared his throat,
every eye swivelled to stare at him. ‘Thank you for coming in so promptly. I
have important news that I wish to share with you. Yesterday I became engaged
to Miss Jane Bennet, who is known to all of you, and she will be mistress of
Longbourn before Christmas.’

His announcement was greeted by a
second of silence and then the hall erupted in a roar of congratulation. Caps
were hurled into the air and several of the girls embraced each other. He could
not have hoped for a better reception, Jane was obviously much loved by all who
resided at Netherfield.

The butler waved his hand and
instantly there was order. ‘Mr Bingley, sir, may I offer you, on behalf of the
entire staff our sincere congratulations. Miss Bennet will find us all eager to
work with her.’ He snapped his fingers in the air and there was a rousing
cheer, rapidly followed by two more.

‘Thank you, Miss Bennet and I shall
make this our principal home, and I am sure that we shall entertain all our
neighbours when we return from our wedding trip.’ He nodded to the butler and
like magic the crowd of people vanished about their business. ‘Nicholls, I
should like to speak to you after I have had my breakfast.’

He intended to discuss the
possibility of holding an engagement ball or some such celebratory event. He
did not wish to do anything that might offend his future mother-in-law, and his
housekeeper would know what would be appropriate in the circumstances.

* * * *

That afternoon Darcy arrived and
Charles was waiting in the hall to greet his friend. ‘You are to congratulate
me, Darcy, on my good fortune. Jane has made me the happiest of men.’

‘I am delighted and wish you every
happiness with your lovely bride. I am hoping that you will be able to offer
me
congratulations of a similar sort very shortly.’

‘I knew it! You are going to offer
for Elizabeth; I know you have been interested in Jane’s sister almost as long
as I have been in love with Jane. Does your arrival here have anything to do
your aunt’s visit to Longbourne three days ago? ‘

Darcy grinned and slapped Charles
vigorously on the back. ‘It does indeed, Bingley. I shall tell you the whole. I
proposed to Elizabeth when she was at Hunsford but she turned me down. But when
she came to Pemberley I thought I could persuade her to reconsider.’

‘Let us repair to the library, we
can be private there. I am astounded that she should have turned you down.’

‘It was a salutary lesson, well
learned I can assure you. My damnable pride got in the way, as usual, and I
made a complete mull of the whole business. I am surprised she is still
speaking to me.’

Charles walked over to the table
and poured them both a generous measure of brandy. He offered one to his friend
who took it gratefully. ‘Here, Darcy, drink this. You are in need of a
restorative.’

He sat and his friend followed his
lead. ‘I was able to be of some assistance to the Bennet family and this, I
believe, stood me in good stead with Elizabeth. However, I was not brave enough
to consider trying my luck a second time until Lady Catherine’s visit.’ He
sipped his brandy lost in thought and Charles waited patiently him to continue
his extraordinary story.

‘My aunt tried to persuade
Elizabeth to renounce me totally; when she refused to do this I knew it was
probable that she had changed her mind and would receive my second proposal
favourably.’

Charles was puzzled. ‘I do not see
how this would make you think she had reconsidered.’

‘I know her so well; if she had no
interest she would not have hesitated in agreeing to renounce me. The fact that
she refused to do so has given me hope. Wish me luck, my friend, tomorrow I
hope to have the opportunity to speak to her alone.’

‘I shall propose that we all go for
a walk and then Jane and I shall lag behind and you can walk on with Elizabeth.
Hopefully, Mary shall not wish to join us on the excursion, and Kitty can be persuaded
to visit her friend Maria Lucas. I suggest we walk in that direction.’

This scheme was declared by Darcy
to be exactly what was needed; Charles arranged to meet his friend first thing
next morning to ride to Longbourn.

It was a fine morning ideally
suited for taking a long country walk, Charles thought happily. ‘Darcy, I wish
you good fortune this morning. I want you to be as happy as I am.’

‘I think that an impossibility. I
am more reserved than you, cannot show my feelings as easily.’

He smiled and Charles could see the
difference in Darcy, his friend no longer had an austere look, his expression
was relaxed, there was a definite spring in his step. ‘That does not mean you
do not feel as deeply. Come, the horses are outside and I cannot wait to see my
betrothed this morning.’ He loved being able to use that phrase; Jane was going
to marry him, he was the luckiest man on the planet.

This time it was Darcy who looked
nervous, it was a new experience for him to see his friend discommoded in this
way. As soon as he saw his darling girl waiting on the steps of Longbourn he
forgot about anything else, other than how much he loved her and how soon he
could persuade her to set a wedding date.

Vaulting from the saddle he tossed
the reins to a waiting groom and, risking the displeasure of his future
relatives, stepped forward and took her hands in his. ‘My dearest, I cannot
tell you how long the night has been without you. I have Darcy with me this
morning.’

She giggled and peeped over his
shoulder to nod to his friend. ‘I had noticed that, my love. Mr Darcy is not a
gentleman one could easily miss.’

He wanted to pull her into his arms
and kiss her smiling mouth, she was adorable, but somehow he restrained
himself. ‘Jane, sweetheart, I am going to propose that we all go out walking; I
shall need your support in this scheme.’

She nodded; whatever he demanded of
her he knew she was willing to give without question.

The sun was out and the weather
pleasant so a walk would be no hardship at all even so early in the day. His
suggestion was eagerly seized upon and soon afterwards Elizabeth and Darcy,
accompanied by Kitty, (Mary was too busy with her books), set off towards Lucas
Lodge with Jane and Charles. The party had not walked far when he spoke quietly
to Jane.

‘Let us allow the others to
outstrip us, you and I can walk slowly together.’

This ploy suited Jane exactly; the
more time she spent alone with him the happier she was. She watched Elizabeth,
Darcy and Kitty forge ahead and soon they were out of sight. They strolled
hand-in-hand for a while in silence.

‘Jane, my darling, do you wish me
to buy Netherfield for you? I shall do so at once if that is what you want.’

‘It is a lovely house, and it is
where we first fell in love, but it
is
very close to Longbourn.’ She
hesitated and then continued earnestly. ‘I love my family dearly, and I know
that my mama is so looking forward to being able to see me regularly.’

Mrs Bennet and her younger sisters
would be forever visiting, they would have no time to themselves, perhaps she
would grow tired of seeing them so often and might consider moving later. ‘I
have the lease for another year, that should give us ample time to decide if we
wish to stay at Netherfield permanently.’

The look of gratitude she gave him
made him feel a giant among men, he wanted to sweep her
 
up in his arms and show her how much she
meant to him. Instead he contented himself with squeezing her hand and dropping
a feather light kiss upon her parted lips. For a moment he thought he had
offended her, she dropped his hand and turned away from him.

‘My darling, I must beg your pardon
most humbly. I promise you I shall not take such liberties again until we are
married.’

Instantly she spun round. ‘Oh no!
You misunderstood me, my love. It is exactly the opposite, I know we must
not... must not be intimate, but when you touch me it makes me feel warm all
over. I really think it best we do no more than hold hands for both our sakes.’

‘In which case I think we must set
the date of our wedding. How soon do you think you can prepare your trousseau?’

Trustingly she slipped her hand
back in his and they continued their walk. ‘We shall have to go to the
warehouses in London, then everything has to be made.’ She glanced at him
mischievously from under her bonnet brim. ‘I do not think that could be
achieved in less than six months.’

‘Baggage! Do not tease me, I could
not wait that long. Six weeks will seem like an eternity, but I can just manage
that.’

‘Then six weeks it shall be. I do
not require that many new gowns, my love, I am perfectly content to wear what I
have. However, if I do not have bride clothes my mother would think me not
properly married.’