Miss Bennet & Mr Bingley (37 page)

‘Dearest Lizzy, if I look half as
lovely as you do at this moment, then I shall be happy indeed.’

‘Jane, you look twice as beautiful,
and it is our husbands who shall be happy. I do not believe there can be two
such accomplished and delightful brides anywhere in the country.’

Mr Bennet smiled at Jane. ‘Well, my
dears, are you ready?’ He beamed in pride. ‘I must own that today I shall gain
two of the best son-in-law’s any man could hope to have. I wish I did not have
to lose my favourite daughters in order to do so.’

He held out his right arm and Jane
placed her hand upon it. Her heart was full. It was the moment she had been
dreaming of for so long, but although it was the beginning of her life with the
person she loved most in the world, it was the end of her life as Miss Jane
Bennet.

 
* * * *

Inside the church Charles turned as
the congregation stood. His heart filled and his eyes glistened as he watched
the woman he loved more than life itself glide towards him down the aisle. He
heard Darcy move to the left of the aisle; but he saw only
his
bride, he
scarcely noticed Elizabeth on the left arm of Mr Bennet. Jane looked so lovely
in her wedding finery he could see nothing else.

The ceremony passed in a haze, they
repeated their vows in turn and before he knew it he was staring into the eyes
of his wife. The congregation broke into a round of spontaneous applause much
to the annoyance of the vicar. As Jane was the eldest she was to leave the
church first, her sister to follow behind with Darcy.

‘Mrs Bingley, would you care to
take my arm?’

Her eyes were sparkling as she
gazed up at him. ‘I believe that I would, Mr Bingley.’

They paraded down the aisle nodding
and smiling at the assembled guests until they were outside, the bells were
ringing, the sun was shining and the villagers were cheering and tossing their
caps in the air.

He turned to Jane, he could not
help himself, knew it was unseemly, but she was his wife now, and her actions
his responsibility. In front of the gawping crowd of spectators he gathered her
into his arms, holding her tight to him for the first time. He did not need to
tilt her head she did it for him and he lowered his mouth to cover hers in a
kiss of such sweetness he thought his heart would burst with happiness.

His action was greeted by a second
roar of delighted appreciation, reluctantly he loosened his hold, but kept his
arm firmly around her waist. As they turned together he saw Darcy not just kiss
his bride, but lift her from her feet in order to do so. Oblivious to the third
cheer they continued their embrace until Mrs Bennet emerged from the church.

‘Darling Jane, I love you so much,
I am going to make you the happiest bride in England.’

Darcy overheard his comment. ‘I
wager that Lizzy shall be the happiest, if I have anything to say on the
matter.’

‘We shall all be happy, when two
couples marry for love how could there be any other outcome?’

‘Lizzy, as always, you have said
exactly the right thing.’

* * * *

Jane and Charles returned after
their wedding trip to London eager to settle into their married life at
Netherfield. In the flurry of morning calls and invitations they scarcely had a
moment to themselves. Then it was Christmas and it behoved them to hold dinner
parties and a dance for Jane’s family and their neighbours. Mrs Bennet treated
Netherfield as her own

The sound of carriage wheels on the
gravel alerted Jane. She took a deep breath and tried not to wish it was anyone
other than her mama and her younger sisters.

Charles looked up from his
newspaper and frowned. ‘If that is Mrs Bennet, Jane, I’m retiring to my library
until she has departed.’

‘I have no idea who it is, dearest,
and you must go wherever you please. I’m sure that no one expects you to be
present at a morning call.’

She had sounded more acerbic than
she’d intended. He tossed his newspaper aside and stood. ‘No doubt I shall see
you at dinner, my dear.’

Without a further word he strode
from the room. Jane wrung her hands. Things had not been as easy between them
since they had returned from their wedding trip. It was so difficult to balance
the demands of her family and her obligations to Charles.

The door opened and the butler
announced formally. ‘Mrs Bennet, Miss Bennet and Miss Kitty to see you madam’

‘Thank you, Peterson, kindly ask
Nicholls to have refreshments sent to the drawing-room directly. There will be
no need for a cup for Mr Bingley.’

She braced herself and her mother
bustled in all smiles, her happiness writ plainly on her face. ‘My dearest
girl, I have such news for you, I could not wait another moment to come over
and tell you in person.’

‘Come in, Mama, Kitty, Mary, I am
pleased to see you. What can possibly have happened since you came yesterday?’
Her visitors had already dispensed with their outer garments and, as always,
took the seats closest to the roaring fire.

‘It is Charlotte Collins, my love,
she has been brought to bed with a daughter.’ Her mother looked pointedly at
her own slim shape and pursed her lips in disappointment. ‘I imagine she will
wish to produce a son next time. I do hope you and Bingley are not going to
keep me waiting for grandchildren too long?’

Jane flushed, she had no wish to
discuss such a delicate subject with anyone, and especially not with her
garrulous mother and her two unmarried sisters.

‘I must write at once to Charlotte
and give her my congratulations. No doubt Lady Lucas will be going up to visit
them as soon as the weather is more clement.’ The windows rattled and a swirl
of hail hit the glass making them all jump.

Kitty came to sit next to her, she
had come to like her sister a great deal better. Now she was without the
pernicious influence of Lydia the girl was turning into a mature and obliging
young lady.

‘I am so sorry to be here again,
Jane, I tried to dissuade Mama, but you know how it is, she will not budge once
she has an idea in her head. I fear she considers this her second home.’

Jane squeezed her sister’s hand.
‘It is not your fault, my love, but I do think that the frequency of her visits
a trifle excessive.’ It would not do to discuss the strain it was putting on
her relationship, that was no one else’s concern.

It was for an hour and a half
before she was alone again. Charles had made it quite clear he had no wish to
speak to her so she could not go and search him out in the library. She
wandered restlessly around the drawing-room, the house was so well run by
Nicholls and Peterson, and the army of staff they employed, she had few duties
to perform.

They had foregone the usual wedding
trip, deciding they would prefer to spend their first festive season together.
With hindsight it was plain that had been a grave error of judgement on her
part. Charles had wished to stay away longer, it was she that had insisted on
returning to Netherfield.

Perhaps it was time to consider
further travelling in the spring. Jane had never been overseas, and had no wish
to do so now. The original plan had been to travel to Scotland and admire the Highlands,
then spend several weeks with Lizzy and Darcy at Pemberley before returning. It
was too late to write to Lizzy and suggest this. The last time she had had a
note from her sister she had been somewhere in Italy, no doubt they had moved
on since then.

 
It had been a mistake to remain here, she and
Charles should have followed Lizzy’s example and travelled together. It would
have been so much easier adjusting to each other’s needs away from the constant
demands of her family. She would not dwell on what might have been but make an
effort to restore harmony between them.

* * * *

That evening she took special care
with her appearance. Although they dined informally unless they had company,
tonight she would make a special effort to show Charles she was unhappy about
the constraint coming between them because of her mother’s too frequent visits.
The more time she spent in
his
company the more she loved him, and she
too hoped it would not be long before she was able to tell him she was adding
to their family. She glowed at the thought of holding their child in her arms.
They had not discussed the matter, but she knew he would be as happy as she to
be a parent.

They did not dine in the grand
dining room but in the smaller room that was used for breakfast. It seemed
ridiculous to be positioned at either end of a vast table with a dozen servants
in attendance when they could be sitting side by side with a single footmen to
wait.

She left her chamber hoping to meet
Charles in the spacious corridor. Either he was still dressing or was ahead of
her and waiting in the drawing-room. She was wearing her newest gown, it was in
leaf green silk with emerald green bugle beads around the hem and neckline. Her
gloves and slippers were a perfect match. Her hair was piled up in an elaborate
arrangement, and neck enclosed in the fabulous emerald necklace she had been
given by her husband as a wedding gift.

She glided across the entrance
hall, her eyes alight and a tender smile upon her lips. She froze at the open
doors of the drawing-room. He had not bothered to change. He was wearing mud
spattered boots and britches. Charles could not have made it more clear,
she
no longer mattered. If he still loved her he would have made the effort and not
treated her with such disrespect.

Not waiting for him to comment she
spun; gathering up her skirts she raced up the stairs, tears rolling unchecked
down her cheeks. For the first time since they had been married she ran into
our own bedchamber, slamming the door behind her and turning the key in the
lock.

Her abigail, Martha, rushed from
the dressing room and without comment helped her to disrobe. The room was icy,
the fire not burning, the bed no doubt would be damp as well.

Jane had no wish to be comfortable;
her heart was broke and she would not rest easy ever again. Oh, how she wished
her Lizzy was here now to comfort her.

 
‘Madam, please come into the dressing room,
there is a fine fire in there. I’ll get the fire lit in this chamber and a
warming pan passed through the sheets on your bed.’

Jane allowed herself to be guided
into the dressing room. She glanced nervously at the communicating door and was
relieved to see the bolt pushed across. She had no wish to speak to Charles
tonight, she was too angry, too humiliated to converse without distress.

 
* * * *

Charles decided he would feel
better for a gallop around the estate. The weather was foul, it suited his
mood. Good God! How many days of his life was he to be obliged to endure the
company of Mrs Bennet? Darcy had warned him about living so close to Jane’s
family but he had ignored him. His Jane wished to be close to Longbourn, and he
wished to please her on every count.

 
He had never anticipated the wretched woman
would arrive with monotonous regularity on the doorstep every single day of the
week. It would be bearable if she came but twice and stayed only for a quarter
of an hour. He had hinted to Jane that she
 
get her mother to limit these visits but nothing had come of it. She had
told him she had no wish to upset her parents, that her mother had a good heart
and meant well and that the novelty of having free access to their home would
soon wane.

This had not been proved erroneous,
indeed she had taken to bringing cronies with her. They would wander in and out
of every room regardless of his privacy as if they had every right to be there.
He could not call his home his own.

Each day he spent with his beloved
is love increased, he would do anything for her apart from allow Mrs Bennet to
trample where she will in Netherfield. He was prepared to put a stop to these
unwelcome visits unless Jane did something herself. He had no wish to be
considered an autocratic husband, but enough was enough.

Charles returned from his excursion
with his mind made up. He would discuss the matter at dinner tonight, make sure
Jane understood how strongly he felt. He glanced at the tall clock in the
entrance hall. Good grief, it was too late to change for dinner. He should
never have dallied at Lucas Lodge so long. He smiled, Jane would forgive him
his disarray when she saw what he had in his pocket. He had purchased a
charming locket she had admired last time they had been to Meryton.

The discussion about Mrs Bennet
could wait until they were private in his apartment. He waited impatiently in
the drawing-room, Jane was normally ready before him. What could be keeping her
tonight?

Her light footsteps were
approaching he stopped pacing the carpet. She paused, framed in the doorway, a
vision of loveliness in a gown he had not seen before. She looked like a
princess, he raised his hand, his eyes filled with love. To his consternation
her expression changed. She stared at him as if seeing him for the first time
and found him wanting. Turning in a swirl of green silk she vanished from
sight. What had he done? Why had she reacted in this extraordinary fashion?

Surely she could not have taken his
lack of evening attire to be a deliberate insult? He was about to rush after
her when Peterson opened the door to the dining room and announced that dinner
was served. They could not both absent themselves, Cook went to so much trouble
to prepare them food they both enjoyed. He would put matters right after he had
eaten, with luck she would have recovered her composure and they could laugh
together about their misunderstanding.

‘Peterson, Mrs Bingley is feeling
unwell and would like a tray sent up to her. I shall dine as usual.’