A Companion For Miss Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 22

  Elizabeth and Jane turned their attention to the agreeable topic of a spring wedding as they walked back to the house.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The start of December was fine and bright, but the weather then changed, becoming cold and wet. It was perhaps no bad thing, for the Bennets now had to make preparations to leave Longbourn in earnest and the bad weather meant they did not mind staying indoors. There were lists to be made, packing to start and an inventory to be made of the house contents.

  Mr Collins visited and looked around the house with a proprietorial air.

  ‘What a fine room this is,’ he said as he entered the drawing room. ‘It has a dual aspect with agreeable views over the park. I am sure my dear Charlotte will approve of it. The carpets are good but we will need new furniture. The sofa in here is very battered,’ he said, looking at it with disapproval. Then he cast his eye over the rest of the furniture. ‘The console tables appear to have woodworm.’

  ‘There is no woodworm in this house, unless you brought it yourself,’ said Mrs Philips, glaring at him.

  She was finding it increasingly difficult to be polite to him as the time of leaving drew near. She had delighted in being the lady of the manor and she had come to see the house as her own, even though she knew she must soon leave it. She had enjoyed commanding a house which had a variety of servants, and she had liked inviting people to dinner parties and balls. Her own house seemed very limited by comparison, and in her own house she had to do almost all the work herself.

  ‘I am sure Mr Collins meant no disrespect,’ said Jane soothingly.

  ‘Why, no, dear lady, I meant no disrespect at all. I am sure this furniture was good enough to Mr Bennet, and of course it was good enough for you. I meant only that I will be bringing a new bride to the house, and as my wife she must have the best of everything,’ said Mr Collins, making things worse instead of better.

  ‘If it was good enough for my sister, then I am sure it is good enough for Charlotte Lucas,’ said Mrs Philips, glaring at Mr Collins again.

  ‘But she will not be Charlotte Lucas, dear lady, she will be Mrs Collins. Mrs Collins must have a house worthy of her, and furniture that does not disgrace her. Mrs Collins will be an important lady in the neighbourhood. She will be a leader of the Meryton ladies.’

  ‘She will be a leader of the neighbourhood donkey, more like,’ said Mrs Philips rudely.

  But nothing could shake Mr Collins’s complacency. He continued to make notes in his notebook, and to make insensitive remarks about every room in the house.

  ‘To think that Mr Collins – Mr Collins! – should be the new owner of Longbourn,’ said Mrs Philips, as she watched his carriage depart. ‘Putting on airs and graces when the house is not his at all. It is just as my dear sister said, when she discovered that Mr Collins was to have the house if anything happened to Mr Bennet: Mr Collins should be ashamed to have something that does not belong to him.’

  ‘But it does belong to him, Aunt,’ said Elizabeth reasonably.

  She did not like Mr Collins any more than her aunt did, and she was just as offended by him, but she knew that nothing could be done about it.

  Her aunt, however, was as stubborn on the point as her mother had been.

  ‘I do not see why he should have it, especially as he means to fill it with Charlotte Lucas. Now if he had only married Mary there would have been some sense in it, but Charlotte Lucas went running after him without a thought for her pride or self-respect, and this is the result.’

  Elizabeth could not help but agree. She was glad that Charlotte had stopped visiting. They met from time to time at their neighbours’ houses and were cordial to each other, but Charlotte’s forthcoming marriage had put a strain on their friendship. The fact that Charlotte was to live at Longbourn had made things even worse.

  Even Jane felt it. She tried to pour oil on troubled waters, and to make the peace, but it was not an easy task. Elizabeth said very little, not wanting to distress Jane.

  Lydia said, ‘La! I think it monstrous clever of Charlotte to have caught him, and why should she wait to marry him? I would not wait, if I wanted to marry. I might marry before Jane and Charlotte yet.’

  ‘And so you might,’ said Mrs Philips. ‘Captain Denny is very attentive, and if he should happen to ask you to marry him, neither your Uncle Philips nor I would object.’

  ‘You could not marry before Jane and Charlotte, even so,’ said Mary.

  ‘La, Mary, have you never heard of a special licence? If I wanted to, I could marry tomorrow.’

  ‘Not unless someone asks you,’ said Kitty provokingly, ‘and no one has.’

  An argument was brewing. To keep it at bay, Elizabeth said lightly, ‘A good thing, too. You are too young to be thinking of marriage, Lydia.’

  ‘And now that your sister Jane is making such a good match you do not need to. There is no hurry,’ said Mrs Philips. ‘Take your time, Lydia. Look about you, and find the best man you can.’

  Mary quoted various lengthy passages from learned books on the subject of marriage, until Mrs Philips begged her to play something on the pianoforte, as a way of stopping her talking. This was something of a mistake, as it was then very difficult to talk over Mary’s heavy playing. However, Mrs Philips was determined to speak and not even Mary’s sonata could stop her.

  ‘It is shocking, the speed with which those two intend to wed,’ said Mrs Philips, as Jane and Elizabeth continued making an inventory. ‘I say nothing against rapid weddings in general. Why, your Uncle Philips and I had a very short courtship, but we had known each other for many years. Charlotte has known Mr Collins for only a few short weeks and they barely know each other. I call it most indelicate.’

  Elizabeth shared her aunt’s view, but she did not say so for fear of provoking her aunt to greater complaint.

  Lydia and Kitty now began to squabble in earnest and Elizabeth was glad that Mary, Kitty and Lydia were to go to London in a few days’ time. It had been arranged that they would visit Mr and Mrs Gardiner on the fifth of December. They would stay with the Gardiners for ten days, so they would not be in the way as final preparations were made for leaving Longbourn.

  They had originally been asked to help, but since Lydia and Kitty exclaimed over everything that was to be thrown away, deciding they absolutely must keep it, and then unpacked all the boxes, it was easier to have them elsewhere. Mary, on the other hand, discarded needed items and so she, too, was better in London.

  There was much to be done. Mr Collins had made it plain he intended to move into the house with his new wife on the last day of the year, and he had told the Bennets they must leave the day before, on the thirtieth of December. Consequently, Jane and Mr Bingley had abandoned their plans for a spring wedding and they were planning to wed on the twenty-ninth of December, so they could welcome Jane’s sisters to Netherfield Park on the thirtieth of December.

  ‘Are you sure you do not mind us all living with you at Netherfield?’ asked Elizabeth a few days later, when her younger sisters had departed for London.

  Mr Bingley had generously insisted they all move into Netherfield Park. It was a spacious house with twelve bedrooms and numerous reception rooms, so there was plenty of room for all of them, but many gentlemen would have balked at housing their wife’s four sisters.

  ‘If you do, you must say so and we will find a way of managing,’ Elizabeth continued.

  ‘My dear Lizzy, of course I do not mind,’ replied Jane, as she and Lizzy sorted through the things in the attic. ‘Charles and I have spoken of it often and he insists you come to live with us.’

  Jane was proud of using Mr Bingley’s given name, now they were betrothed, and said it at every opportunity. Elizabeth thought it was adorable.

  ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘And are you sure you want me to come on your wedding tour?’

  ‘I am. You know as well as I do that it is customary for the bride to take her sister with her on the tour. Charles will be engaged with busine
ss for some of the time and I will need some female companionship. Who better than my own sister? Besides, I would hate to be parted from you for so long. Charles has many relatives in the north and we are to visit them all, so our tour will last several months. He wants to introduce me to all the branches of his family.’

  ‘I must admit, I am looking forward to it,’ said Elizabeth. ‘I will be glad to leave Meryton for a while.’

  ‘Even though it will mean parting from Mr Wickham?’ asked Jane.

  ‘Yes, even then,’ Elizabeth admitted. ‘It will be painful to see Mr and Mrs Collins living at Longbourn, but by the time we return I will have grown accustomed to the idea.’

  Elizabeth sat back on her heels and looked around the attic room. It contained all the precious objects from her childhood. There were dolls and wooden farm animals, and a hobby horse which Lydia in particular had loved to ride, knocking into the furniture and creating mayhem. Their personal items were not remaining at Longbourn. They were going to Netherfield Park, where there was plenty of room for them in its own spacious attics.

  ‘When does Mr Bingley return from London?’ Elizabeth asked.

  ‘Tomorrow,’ said Jane, as she wrapped some old but beautiful ornaments.

  ‘You must have missed him.’

  ‘Yes, I have, but he had to ask my uncle for my hand in marriage, and then there were the marriage settlements to arrange. Now that he has instructed his lawyers he can return, and our betrothal can be officially announced.’

  Elizabeth looked at her and said with a laugh, ‘I do not believe there is a single person in Meryton who has not guessed that Mr Bingley has proposed, but they will all be delighted nonetheless. We will have a house full of visitors, all wanting to wish you well.’

  ‘I am fortunate to be pleasing so many people, as well as myself,’ said Jane.

  She finished packing a box and turned her attention to a new, empty one. She spent a few minutes carefully wrapping some old china and placing it carefully in the box. It had been a wedding gift for her parents but as most of the pieces had been broken over the years, the remaining few items had been consigned to the attic. Jane had decided to keep it for her new home, in memory of her mother. She took great care with the wrapping of it, for it had great value for her as a reminder of Mrs Bennet. As she wrapped each piece, she spoke of her memories and the two girls remembered all the happy times they had shared with their family. She placed each piece delicately in the box, laying it down gently and then packing it with more paper.

  Elizabeth finished another box, then looked around her at the sea of paper, packing boxes and oddments.

  ‘Will we be finished in time, do you think?’

  Jane, too, looked round the room.

  ‘I think so, yes. But if not, Charles has promised to send some of the Netherfield servants to help us. We have only to ask.’

  ‘That is very good of him. He is a kind and generous man, Jane. You will be a very happy woman.’

  ‘Yes, I know it. I only hope that one day you can know this happiness,’ said Jane. ‘Perhaps Mr Wickham . . .’

  ‘Perhaps,’ said Elizabeth, but her tone of voice did not invite further discussion.

  She was still not entirely easy in her mind about him, and she looked forward to hearing from her aunt.

  She returned to her task, making a note of what was going and what was staying, and packing the items accordingly.

  ‘Have you discovered any more about his early life?’ asked Jane, as she carefully wrapped a doll and lay it in a box.

  ‘A little,’ said Elizabeth. ‘I know that he went to university with Mr Darcy, and that Mr Darcy’s father paid for him to do so.’

  ‘Mr Darcy’s father evidently thought highly of him,’ said Jane.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Elizabeth. ‘I am hoping my Aunt Gardiner can tell me something more about his early life. I have written to her, asking her to make enquiries, and I had a reply from her this morning, promising to ask all her friends in Derbyshire if they remember him. I am very much looking forward to hearing from her again. I want to know everything about him and I want to know my aunt’s opinion of what she hears, as well.’

  ‘You are not usually reliant on other people’s opinions. You are usually happy with your own,’ said Jane.

  ‘That is so,’ said Elizabeth. ‘But I cannot give my heart to him until I am sure about him.’

  Jane stopped her packing, leaving a second doll only half wrapped.

  ‘Do you mean you think you could give your heart to him?’

  ‘That is a difficult question to answer. All I will say is that I find him the most interesting, charming, handsome and attentive gentleman in Meryton.’

  ‘As Charles is still in London, I will agree with you!’ said Jane.

  Elizabeth laughed.

  Then she became more serious. She looked round the attic room again.

  ‘We must work hard today, Jane, for once he returns you will not want to sit in a dusty attic with your sister. You will have far better things to do!’

  Jane blushed but then she agreed.

  They set to with a will, and continued until the light failed.

  ‘We can do no more today,’ said Elizabeth. ‘I do not want to continue in candlelight. Let us go downstairs.’

  They stood up and dusted their skirts with their hands. Then they went downstairs. There was a leaping fire in the drawing-room grate, and the candles had been lit. The curtains had already been drawn against the dark December sky. Mary was doing some plain sewing, whilst Lydia and Kitty were poring over some fashion plates. Mrs Philips was complaining about Mr Collins, his iniquity in inheriting Longbourn, and the cunning of Charlotte Lucas.

  Mr Philips, to whom she was speaking, was dozing quietly by the fire.

  Jane and Elizabeth took their places on the sofa, where they were soon joined by Lydia and Kitty, and the four of them passed the evening pleasantly in talking about wedding clothes, the details of the wedding ceremony and their new life at Netherfield Park.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  In London, there was a scene of similar harmony taking place on the following morning. Mr Darcy and his sister loved each other too well to remain out of temper with each other for long. Georgiana apologised for her outburst and Mr Darcy accepted her apology. He admitted, too, that he had thought about what she said.

  ‘Your words gave me pause, Georgiana. One of the reasons I was angry was because I knew you were right. I was ungracious to Mr Bingley and I thank you for treating his announcement with respect. I mean to make it up to him, and to give him proper congratulations the next time I see him.’

  ‘Does this mean you have come to realise Miss Elizabeth meant no harm?’ asked Georgiana, a note of hope in her voice.

  A dark cloud passed over his face but he bit back his angry retort and replied calmly instead.

  ‘Our opinions on this will always clash, I fear, but now you are safe and well protected I am less anxious than I was. Try to understand, Georgiana. Your welfare is a sacred duty for me. I promised our father on his deathbed that I would look after you, and I mean to keep you safe. When we return to Pemberley, I will provide you with a new companion. I am intending to employ a lady you already know, for she was our mother’s companion many years ago.’

  Georgiana brightened at this, for she liked and respected her new companion. But then her face fell.

  ‘I miss her,’ she said sadly.

  Mr Darcy did not need to ask what she meant, for he knew she was thinking of their mother.

  ‘I know you do. But you have Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst to keep you company. They have devoted hours to your amusement. Are you not grateful to them?’

  Georgiana roused herself.

  ‘Yes, I am. But gratitude is no substitute for friendship.’

  Her words went to his heart.

  ‘After Christmas I think we should start entertaining at Pemberley. You are old enough now to attend private balls and parties if they are giv
en for young people. You enjoyed arranging parties at Netherfield Park for the young people of the neighbourhood. I think you should do the same in Derbyshire. It will do you good to have the company of people your own age. You will soon make more friends, ones fitting to your station in life.’

  Georgiana managed a smile and said, ‘Thank you, brother.’

  He could see she was not consoled but he hoped that in time she would come to see that he had acted for the best.

  Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley entered the room, and the conversation became more general. Leaving his sister to their company, he retired to his study where he examined the morning’s mail. There was a letter from Mr Bingley and it gave him just the chance he had been wanting in order to make up for his earlier behaviour.

  It was difficult for him. He did not want Mr Bingley to be related to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, but it could not be helped and he owed it to his friend to congratulate him.

  Mr Bingley’s letter said that he had decided to buy Netherfield Park. The owners were agreeable, but Mr Bingley said he would value Mr Darcy’s opinion on the state of the land. Mr Darcy had many years’ experience of looking after an estate and Mr Bingley had none. To be sure, he could ask the estate manager and his lawyers for advice, but he felt he would prefer the opinion of a friend.

  Mr Darcy was about to write, saying that he would visit on the morrow, when he heard the clock chime the hour. He put down his quill. It was still early, and he could be at Netherfield Park before lunch.

  He called for his carriage and made his preparations. He told his cousin where he was going, but added, ‘Say nothing of it to the others until I have gone.’