Miss Bennet & Mr Bingley (38 page)

The butler snapped his fingers and
a waiting footman hastily removed the cutlery put out for Jane. Charles ate what
was set in front of him but tasted none of it.

 
* * * *

‘Madam, your bedchamber is warm
enough. Cook has sent up a tray, I placed it on the table by fire.’

‘I do not require anything to eat,
thank you, Martha. Kindly have the food removed. I am going to go to bed I fear
I have a megrim coming.’

This was not a fabrication. As she
had been huddling in front of the fire in the dressing room the
all-too-familiar throb over her right eye, the strange distortion of her
vision, heralded the arrival of the dreaded sick headache. Solicitously her
maid assisted her to bed, checking there was a suitable receptacle for when she
cast up her accounts, and a jug of lemonade on the bedside table. She much
preferred to be left alone at these times, only complete quiet and darkness
gave her a modicum of relief.

It was a full forty eight hours
before she was sufficiently recovered to take notice of her surroundings. Jane
belatedly recalled this was the first time she had been so afflicted since her
marriage, indeed her husband had no inkling that she suffered in this way.

 
* * * *

When Charles was informed that his
wife was unwell he thought it a ruse to keep him away from her. This was not
like his Jane, was he seeing a side of her she had kept hidden until now? When,
after a miserable day, his beloved wife still did not come to him but remained
behind closed doors, heart was near to breaking. How could things have come to
this pass? A man had to be ruler in his own house. He would not discuss the
matter of the visits with her but deal with it himself. When she deigned to
leave her chambers Jane would have to accept that Mrs Bennet was no longer
welcome at Netherfield.

 
* * * *

Jane was well enough to dress the
next day and the first thing she did was look for evidence that Charles had
worried about her sickness. She was shocked to see there had been no note, no
hothouse flowers, in fact no enquiries of any kind.

Surely he was not unwell himself?
It was mid-morning, he must be in the library or the study but she couldn’t
find him. Jane he did not wish to be estranged from him, she had been foolish
in the extreme to run away as she had. It was unlike her to behave in such a
missish way.

Dressed in a simple, buttercup
yellow morning gown, the high neck and long sleeves exactly right for a chilly
day. It’s only ornamentation a pretty pleated bodice. Her head was still too
painful to allow for her usual hairstyle; for once it was simply done in a
loose arrangement at the base of the neck. Gathering her cashmere shawl closely
around her shoulders against the wind that whistled along the draughty
corridors, she hastened downstairs. Peterson was on duty in the vestibule.
‘Tell me, where is Mr Bingley?’

‘The master is in the library,
madam. He asked you to join him there. Shall I have your tea sent there this
morning?’

She shook her head. ‘No, thank you,
I shall eat and breakfast as usual after I have spoken to Mr Bingley.’

She knocked on the door and without
waiting for an answer, stepped in. Charles was standing his back to her, staring
out over the sodden fields.

‘Charles, have you been unwell?’

He saw his shoulders stiffen and
his hands clench. He swung round to face her. What was wrong? Why was he
looking at her in that strange fashion?

‘Please be seated, Jane, there are
things we need to discuss.’ Why was he sounding so cross? It was hardly her
fault she had had a headache, it was not like him not to be compassionate. She
settled in the chair on the left of the fireplace. With her hands folded neatly
on her lap, she waited expectantly. What she had to say could wait until he had
spoken. It must be something portentous for him to look so serious.

‘I am sorry you chose not to come
and see me until now. I would much rather have discussed the matter with you
first, but you left me no option. I have been obliged to take matters into my
own hands.’

Her eyes widened. She had no idea
to what he was referring. ‘What matters, Charles? I am afraid I do not
understand to what you refer.’

‘The matter of your mother
appearing on our doorstep every single day since we returned from London last
year. I have asked you several times to do something about this and you chose
to ignore my wishes. I went to Longbourn and spoke to Mr Bennet. In future Mrs
Bennet is not welcome here. Kitty and Mary can come twice a week, if you wish
to see your mother you must go to Longbourn in order to do so.’

Jane could not believe what she was
hearing. Charles had banned her mother from visiting? How could he be so cruel?
She would be devastated, she had lost Lydia and Elizabeth, visiting Netherfield
was her only solace and now that had been taken too.

She stared at him. She could not
known his true character until now. The memory of her unfortunate experience
with the hateful Mr Fox returned. Was Charles another such gentleman, had he
been dissembling until this moment?

There was nothing she could do. She
was his wife, his word was law, she could not go against his wishes. She raised
her head, almost too distressed to speak. ‘Very well, sir, it shall be as you
command. I would not dream of gainsaying your instructions. Is there any
restriction to the amount of times
I
may visit Longbourn or is that also
to be limited in future?’

He looked disconcerted. He cleared
his throat and then his finger around his neckcloth as if it had become
unaccountably tight. ‘You may visit as often as you please, but I would like to
know when you are going to be absent, if that is not too much trouble.’

‘Of course. If I have your
permission, I would like to take the chaise and go right now.’ He nodded.
‘Thank you, if you’ll excuse me, I have not eaten and am still feeling unwell.’

 
* * * *

Charles felt as if he was living in
a nightmare. What could have possessed him to behave like such a complete ass?
The shock on her face when he had told her pierced his heart. He wished the
words unsaid, but it was too late. He had permanently alienated Mrs Bennet,
caused his mother-in-law untold distress and now his darling wife was looking
at him as if she did not know him. He did not know himself. He was a
nincompoop. He stopped berating himself as he recalled something Jane had said.
She hadn’t eaten for two days? Her face had been pale, her expression unhappy.
He was a brute to have treated his beloved so callously.

He jerked the bell and waited for
Peterson to answer the summons. ‘Peterson, was no food sent up to Mrs Bingley
while she remained in her room?’

The man looked puzzled. ‘Madam was
too unwell to partake, sir. Mrs Bingley has only just recovered from her megrim
this morning.’

Charles collapsed into an armchair,
burying his head in his hands. Jane had been unwell and he had not known. He
was so taken up with his own concerns she had languished, believing herself
ignored. She would never forgive them, no wonder she had gazed at him in that
way. He had destroyed their marriage before it had hardly begun.

 
* * * *

Jane tried to compose herself on
the journey to Longbourn, it would not do to arrive with her eyes blotchy and
red. She had to be strong, accept that she might have made a grave error of
judgement and married a man she did not understand.

Her carriage rolled to a halt; she
waited for the coachman to climb down and lower the steps. She arrived at the
front door where Kitty was waiting to greet her.

‘Oh, Jane, you cannot imagine the
fuss and botheration that has been going on here. Our mama is beside herself.
Come in, I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life.’

 
‘Kitty, I have been unwell these past two days
or would have come before. Charles should not have said what he did, it was
unkind of him.’

Her sister drew into the small
anteroom to the right the front door. ‘It is not that
that
has upset
Mama, she took your husband’s dictum with good grace. She would forgive Charles
anything, he is by far her favourite son-in-law.’

Jane removed her cloak and bonnet
and dropped them absentmindedly across the back of a convenient chair. ‘Then
what is it that has upset her?’

‘It is Papa. When he discovered she
had been going every day to visit you he was furious. She is to remain in the
house, not venture forth without his permission even to go to Meryton.’

 
‘Oh dear! So she cannot even go to see Aunt
Philips?’

Kitty shook her head. ‘She’s not to
go anywhere, he issued this command and then locked himself in his study. The
house is in uproar, Mama is suffering from her nerves and refusing to leave her
dressing-room. I am at my wits end to know what to do. I had not thought to see
such a commotion; she is as distraught as when Lydia ran off with Wickham.’

‘And Mary, how is she coping with
all this stress?’

‘She has risen to the occasion
admirably, Jane. You shall not recognize her. I had no idea she could be so
kind and loving.’ Kitty halted in mid sentence staring closely at her sister.
‘Jane, you have been crying. Pray tell me at once what is wrong.’

 
Jane found herself pouring out her heart to
the younger sister in the same way she had once told Lizzy. When she finished
the sorry tale Kitty patted her hands.

 
‘I am sure it is no more than a misunderstanding.
You are famous for misunderstanding each other. Have you spoken to him? Have
you asked why he has behaved this way?’

 
‘I cannot do that, he’s made it quite clear by
his actions these past few days he has changed his mind about me. That he
regrets having married; he hates my family and is in a fair way to feeling the
same about me.’ Jane mopped her eyes, why was she such a watering pot today?

‘Stuff and nonsense! Now, dry your
eyes, Jane, and go and see Papa. You must tell him to make his peace with our mother,
tell him that you invited her to visit so often, put things right between them,
I beg you.’

Jane felt ashamed. She was allowing
her own distress to colour her judgement, this was at the expense of those she
loved. ‘You are right to chide me, Kitty. I cannot believe the change in you
these past few months. You are a good girl, and I love you dearly. I shall go
at once to smooth things over between our parents.’

 
* * * *

Charles felt wretched. He had
treated his darling Jane abominably and wouldn’t blame her if she decided to
stay at Longbourn permanently. He did not deserve to have her at his side. How
he longed for Darcy, if he were here he would give him sound advice.

Was that the carriage returning so
soon? He hovered in the doorway, then retreated to lurk behind the drawing-room
door, not wishing Jane to see him there in case she had no wish to speak to
him.

A footman opened the door and
instead of his wife, Kitty Bennet rushed in. The girl spotted him instantly.

‘Charles, Jane is at Longbourn
breaking her heart believing that you have changed towards her. What is it
about you two that you cannot put matters right for yourselves?’

He was dumbfounded. When had this
young lady turned into such a
 
forthright
young lady? ‘Kitty, do not stand here berating me, come in to the drawing-room
and explain what you mean.’

Her words lifted the weight from
his chest. The whole thing was a storm in a tea cup, they had blown it into
something else entirely. He grinned sheepishly at his sister-in-law. 'We owe
you a huge debt of gratitude. What should I do? Shall I wait for Jane to
return, or ride pell-mell to Longbourn?’

‘What you should do, Charles, is
buy yourself a property in Derbyshire. Why do not you move to Pemberley? I am
sure that Lizzy and Mr Darcy will be delighted to have you take care of their
home in their absence. From what I hear that place is big enough to house a
dozen families and not be crowded.’

 
‘You have a wise head on young shoulders, Miss
Kitty. Return to Longhorn, beg my Jane to return as I have something most
important to tell her.’

‘I shall do so immediately, you
will not stop my mama from visiting, she has little else to do’

‘I am sure you have the right of
it. I feel a little like King Canute in front of the waves where Mrs Bennet is
concerned.’

He walked his sister-in-law to the
door, and on impulse he embraced her fondly. ‘Would you consider coming with
us, when we leave for Pemberley? With Elizabeth and Darcy away on their wedding
trip until the summer, Jane would be grateful of the company.’

‘I should love to come, Charles,
but only if Jane is happy with the arrangement. Now, I must get back, your
horses have been standing long enough.’

 
* * * *

That night he and Jane discussed
the future and found they were in complete accord. Harmony was restored,
misunderstandings put right, and the move to Derbyshire to take place as soon
as it could be arranged. When Jane was unwell the next morning she understood
what had been causing her unusual behaviour. She was increasing.

She and Charles decided to keep the
news to themselves, if Mrs Bennet should get wind of it she would never let
them depart for Pemberley. It was only Mr Bennet’s promise to bring his wife to
visit in the spring that reconciled the poor lady to the loss of the company of
her fourth daughter. Mary was finally the only Miss Bennet in residence and her
interest in her studies and music was soon to be replaced by occupying the role
of oldest daughter.

Kitty and Georgiana Darcy were
immediately bosom bows and vowed never to be parted from each other unless one
of them should wish to marry.