Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner had spoken with the two ladies before Mrs. Bennet came down to breakfast. Elizabeth was beside herself with worry that Mr. Darcy would be subjected to her mother's outrageous behavior and was determined to cancel his visit. Mr. Gardiner suggested that Jane write a note to Mr. Bingley and ask his help in postponing Mr. Darcy's call at the house. A hastily written note thus made its way across town to Mr. Bingley, where it was accepted by his sister at the door of his townhouse. She carried it into the breakfast room where her brother was enjoying a cup of coffee.
"Here, Charles. Your Miss Bennet apparently could not wait until a respectable hour to summon you," she intoned as she casually tossed the missive on the table. Mr. Bingley picked up the note and read it.
"Good God!" he yelped as hot coffee splattered on his formerly pristine cravat. He leapt up from the table and called for his carriage. As he ran upstairs to change his cravat, Miss Bingley's curiosity overcame her and she read the note her brother had carelessly discarded:
My Dearest Charles, Please forgive this odd note, but I must write to beg your immediate assistance. I fear for Mr. Darcy.
You see, our mother has found Mr. Darcy's handkerchief in Lizzy's bedroom, and has come to London to expose him as Lizzy's lover. Mr. Darcy plans upon calling on Lizzy at Gracechurch Street this morning and I am writing you to beg your assistance in preventing him. Please prevent him, Charles! If Mr. Darcy comes to Gracechurch Street all will be ruined. Please assure Mr. Darcy that Elizabeth will happily meet with him at another time, but that he must not come here until we have convinced our mother to return home to Longbourn.
Please let me know of your success in reaching Mr. Darcy. Lizzy and I will eagerly await word.
Jane
A wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm Miss Bingley, but she forced herself to stand. She took a deep breath and fled the morning room.
• • •
Mr. Bingley arrived at Mr. Darcy's house before nine of the clock, and found the master at his own breakfast.
"Bingley! You are here rather early. Please, join me," Mr. Darcy said with a gesture toward the table. Mr. Bingley sat and cautiously accepted a cup of coffee. "I am planning on calling on Miss Bennet at Gracechurch Street this morning. If you are planning on visiting your fiancée, we may as well go together." Mr. Bingley looked into the cheerful face of his friend. Everything in Mr. Darcy's demeanor spoke of newfound optimism. Mr. Bingley felt a pang of misery as he carefully formed his next sentence.
"That is precisely why I have come, Darcy. I just received a note from Jane. She urged me to convince you not to go to Gracechurch Street this morning." Mr. Bingley paused, as he searched his pockets unsuccessfully for the note. Mr. Darcy's facial features stiffened.
"Not go? Why ever not?"
"I am afraid it is a bit of a muddle," Mr. Bingley began, still fumbling for the absent document. "According to Jane, Mrs. Bennet found a personal item of yours in Miss Elizabeth's bed chamber...blast, I must have left it in my other waistcoat...and she now suspects Miss Elizabeth of having taken a lover." Mr. Bingley gave up the search and laid his empty hands upon the table. "Jane seems to think that Mrs. Bennet thinks--."
"Wait a minute, Bingley," Mr. Darcy said rising and carrying his cup to the sideboard for a refill. "You say that Mrs. Bennet found an object of mine among Miss Bennet's personal effects?"
"A handkerchief, if I remember correctly," Mr. Bingley amended. "Although I do not know that she knows it to be yours. But Jane seems to believe that she will think it is yours if you appear this morning at Gracechurch Street."
"Why?" asked a confused Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley could only shrug in response. Mr. Darcy stared into his cup for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders as well. "Well, there is only one thing for it," Mr. Darcy said with a wry smile. He placed the cup on the sideboard and adjusted his cuffs. "I must go to Mrs. Bennet and confess."
"Darcy!" Mr. Bingley leapt to his feet, his mouth agape. Mr. Darcy laughed.
"Oh, I am innocent of whatever that inane woman is accusing me of, but I am willing to take responsibility for it and accept whatever punishment she decides to mete out."
"And if that punishment is banishment from Miss Elizabeth's company?" asked a dubious Mr. Bingley, as he followed Mr. Darcy toward the door of the breakfast room. Mr. Darcy looked askance at his suggestion.
"This is Mrs. Bennet of Longbourn we are speaking of. She will demand that I marry her daughter, and I as a gentleman will have no choice but to comply." Mr. Darcy stepped forward, but Mr. Bingley reached out and prevented Mr. Darcy from opening the door.
"Think, man. Will Miss Elizabeth appreciate your stooping to such a tactic?" Mr. Darcy turned his back to the door and leaned heavily against it. He knew that Mr. Bingley was correct.
"What am I to do, then, Bingley? I promised Miss Bennet that I would see her today. I would not want to disappoint her."
"You are far more likely to disappoint her if you resort to chicanery to win her hand." Mr. Bingley smiled. "I have another idea."
"If it is as good as your last one, I am all ears." A short while later, the two men parted company. Mr. Darcy walked along the perimeter of ______ Park, while Mr. Bingley made his way to Gracechurch Street.
• • •
When the doorbell sounded at Gracechurch Street, Elizabeth froze. She lowered herself into a seat and mercilessly gripped the armrests. Jane, who was resting her ankle on a divan that had been brought down from the Gardiner's sitting room, held her breath. A moment later, however, the Crenshaw party was shown into the parlor. Jane and Elizabeth were reunited with Richard Crenshaw, Elise, and Mr. Douglass, who had met the two ladies several years ago at Richard and Elise's wedding. When Mr. Gardiner joined his guests in the parlor Olivia managed to find a moment with Elizabeth to get caught up on gossip. She was most pleased to learn that Elizabeth had spent part of the previous evening in the company of Mr. Darcy. The ladies repaired to the relative privacy of the window seat to talk.
"It sounds as though the two of you are finally getting somewhere," Olivia smiled.
"Oh, but it will be all for naught if he keeps his promise and comes here this morning. I am sure that my mother will offend him irrevocably," Elizabeth said worriedly, twisting the handkerchief in her hand.
"But she is out this morning, you said," Olivia reasoned. Elizabeth was determinedly grim.
"Yes, but only for now. I have every confidence that she will return in time to ruin my every hope." Olivia put her arm around Elizabeth, attracting the attention of Elise, who came over fearing that something was amiss.
"Are you all right, Miss Bennet? I am afraid you look unwell," Elise whispered as she sat on Elizabeth's other side and took her hand. Olivia fashioned a hasty excuse to explain Elizabeth's anxiety.
"I am afraid that Lizzy was out rather late last evening and is the worse for it this morning," Olivia said unconvincingly. Elise could see that Elizabeth's anxiety had nothing to do with a lack of sleep, but she chose not to pry. She was about to make a tactful retreat when a commotion was heard in the hall. A moment later, Mrs. Bennet, followed by a slightly flustered Mrs. Gardiner, swept into the room.
"I have never been so exhausted in my life," Mrs. Bennet exclaimed. "I do declare, sister, you must have meant to torment me with so many shops, so many selections of muslin and lace. So many laces, Mrs. Gardiner! I could not take it all in. My nerves cannot cope with so much excitement," she declared collapsing dramatically into the nearest chair. Jane glanced at Elizabeth, who had gone absolutely pale. Mr. Gardiner was also alarmed by the early return of his wife and sister.
"Mama," Jane said quickly. "We have guests. You will remember the Crenshaws. This is Mr. Richard Crenshaw and his wife, Mrs. Crenshaw, and of course, Olivia. And this is Mr. Douglass, Mrs. Crenshaw's brother." Mrs. Bennet spared the merest courtesies for the Crenshaws, out of her supposed exhaustion and a lingering dislike for Mrs. Crenshaw (whom she had long accused of luring Richard Crenshaw away from Jane
). She greeted Olivia politely, but reserved her charm for Mr. Douglass. He was someone new, a handsome man from a very wealthy family. Here was a man who might make a good husband for one of her daughters. Mrs. Bennet's earnest gaze discomfited Mr. Douglass, and he unwisely chose to change his seat for one closer to Elizabeth and Olivia in order to escape that lady's attention. Noticing that Elizabeth looked very pale, he stopped and poured out a glass of water for her as he made his way across the room.
"Miss Bennet? You...I am afraid my sister is correct; you do look rather pale. Perhaps a glass of water...?" Mr. Douglass managed. Elizabeth gratefully accepted the water and Mr. Douglass sat down next to Elizabeth in the seat his sister had vacated. Mrs. Bennet promptly crossed the room to join them.
"I understand that you were recently on the Continent, Mr. Douglass," Mrs. Bennet began, as Mr. Douglass rose and offered her his own seat. Much to Elizabeth and Olivia's chagrin, she accepted it.
"Yes, ma'am," was the extent of Mr. Douglass' reply.
"And how long were you there?" Mrs. Bennet continued as the ladies rolled their eyes.
"Three months ma'am." Mrs. Bennet did a quick calculation in her head, while Elizabeth grew queasy.
"Then you must have been in town last spring when Lizzy was here." Mr. Douglass looked at Elizabeth blankly for a moment, then turned back to Mrs. Bennet.
"Mrs. Bennet?" Elizabeth's mother smiled smugly. So! I have found the infamous Mr. "D," and he seems determined to play the innocent. Well, I shall have Elizabeth engaged and married before Christmas regardless of his little game.
"Mr. Douglass lives in Devonshire, Mrs. Bennet. He was not in town when Lizzy was here in March. In fact, I believe he was in Kent with our sister and brother at the time," Olivia said helpfully. It was not until she felt Elizabeth's fingers digging into her thigh that she realized her mistake.
"Then you must have seen my daughter in Kent, sir. She was staying with her cousin Mr. Collins and often was often in the company of Lady Catherine DeBourgh," Mrs. Bennet said proudly. Elizabeth groaned inwardly.
"No, ma'am. I...I had no idea that you ever were in Kent, Miss Bennet, or else I would have...I would have been pleased to call upon you," Mr. Douglass said in a voice barely above a whisper. Elizabeth smiled kindly at Mr. Douglass. She found him shy and sweet, a good conversationalist when he dared allow himself to speak, and wondrously handsome to look upon, but he was scarcely the sort of man to excite her interest. Olivia, Elizabeth's spiritual twin, had recognized his incompatibility with her own nature, and had not even attempted to match Mr. Douglass with her friend. Olivia could not fathom how Mrs. Bennet could see Mr. Douglass as an apt match for Elizabeth, even with his income of five thousand a year.
Into this interesting setting, Mr. Fowler was unexpectedly announced. Elizabeth was both relieved and upset at his appearance. She had concluded that she did not like Mr. Fowler. He was pleasant enough, to be sure, but his interest in her seemed to spring as much from a desire to compete with his friend Mr. Darcy as from any genuine inclination toward her. Elizabeth, however, welcomed Mr. Fowler as a distraction for both herself and her mother. Perhaps if Mr. Darcy did appear now, Mrs. Bennet would be too overwhelmed by the surfeit of eligible bachelors to pay him much attention. Elizabeth had to worry, however, that Mr. Fowler's presence might prove daunting to her elusive suitor.
"Mr. Fowler, may I introduce my mother, Mrs. Bennet, and my friends, Miss Crenshaw and Mr. Douglass. Mr. Fowler greeted Olivia with a gracious bow that instantly excited her distrust. Mr. Fowler and Mr. Douglass exchanged curt greetings before Mr. Douglass excused himself to return to his sister. Mrs. Bennet was a bit put out by Mr. Douglass' defection, and she would have followed him across the room had Mr. Gardiner not intercepted her and steered her in another direction.
"I must apologize for abandoning you last evening, Mr. Fowler," Elizabeth began sheepishly. "I suddenly remembered that I had Mr. Darcy's libretto and I wanted to return it to him while I had the chance."
"I see, Miss Bennet," Mr. Fowler replied in a tone that did not admit acceptance of her apology. His tone abruptly changed to become more pleasing. "Have you known Mr. Darcy very long?" Olivia eyed Mr. Fowler suspiciously as Elizabeth responded to his query.
"I have known him less than a year, sir."
"Really? I wonder that he has not ever mentioned you," Mr. Fowler smiled benignly.
"Mr. Darcy told me last evening that, until this week, he had not seen you in some three or four years, Mr. Fowler. I should think that a discussion of Mr. Darcy's recent acquaintances would be rendered virtually impossible by that circumstance," Elizabeth said calmly. Mr. Fowler smiled uneasily. He was not prepared for the sharpness of Elizabeth's wit.
"You have the right of it, Miss Bennet, of course. But I still think that Darcy would have hidden from you from me if he could."
"I would hope that he should not find such behavior necessary," Elizabeth smiled. "It would not likely reflect well upon either of us."
"Miss Bennet?" Mr. Fowler was completely lost. Olivia found pleasure in his confusion.
"Such an action can only mean that he is embarrassed by one of us, or perhaps mistrusts the other." Elizabeth looked Mr. Fowler in the eye. "Do you think Mr. Darcy finds me embarrassing, Mr. Fowler?" Disarmed, annoyed, enchanted, and intrigued despite himself, Mr. Fowler could offer no response. Elizabeth was beginning to feel more herself. The morning was nearly over, and soon it would be too late for Mr. Darcy to call. Perhaps Mr. Bingley had successfully dissuaded him. Elizabeth wondered how he would react to being told to stay away, however, and her mind suddenly filled with unpleasant thoughts. Her fears began to return, especially when her mother chose that moment to rejoin the party at the window. Mrs. Bennet's interest in Mr. Fowler was piqued by Richard Crenshaw's revelation that Mr. Fowler enjoyed an income of eight thousand per annum.
"I had come here this morning hoping to persuade you to come out for a walk with me, Miss Bennet," Mr. Fowler said as he tried to recover his poise. Perhaps if he got her alone he could begin afresh and gain the upper hand.
"Oh, but she cannot go out with you this morning sir," Mrs. Bennet cried. "She has other guests, and her admirers," she said with a wink toward a bewildered Mr. Douglass, "Would hardly appreciate you absconding with their favorite."
"No...no, Mr. Fowler. My mother is correct. It would be impolite of me to leave when my aunt and uncle have so many guests to entertain." Walking out with Mr. Fowler was the last thing Elizabeth wanted to do. Mrs. Bennet suggested to Mr. Fowler that "if he was to come again at a more opportune time" she was certain that her "Lizzy would not be at all adverse to walking out with you." Pleased to have found an ally in his pursuit, Mr. Fowler welcomed Mrs. Bennet's efforts to coyly insinuate herself into his conversation with Elizabeth. As he predicted, Elizabeth quickly grew silent, and Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Fowler chatted amiably. Mrs. Gardiner, Jane, and Olivia watched this odd display for some moments, until the doorbell rang yet again. When Mr. Bingley entered the parlor, Jane and Elizabeth looked at him expectantly. His smile told them that all was well. As the Crenshaws prepared to take their leave, Mr. Bingley wasted no time in suggesting that he take the Bennet sisters on a ride through the park. Fearing that Mrs. Bennet would insist on Mr. Fowler joining them, Elizabeth declined. Mr. Bingley whispered something into Jane's ear.
"Lizzy?" Jane asked a moment later. "Will you not reconsider? Mr. Bingley assures me that it is lovely outside and that there is much to be seen in the park," she said with a significant look. But Elizabeth was not paying attention.
"I have already declined Mr. Fowler's invitation to take a turn out of doors, and so I must decline Mr. Bingley's fine offer as well," Elizabeth said with a significant look of her own. Jane and Bingley exchanged glances and Mr. Bingley reluctantly took a seat beside his fiancée. Much to Elizabeth's surprise, however, Mr. Fowler left along with the Crenshaws, and calm was finally restored to the Gardiner's townhouse. Mrs. Bennet, satisfied with her morning's work, reti
red to her room, leaving Jane, Bingley and Elizabeth alone with the Gardiners.
"Miss Elizabeth, I spoke with Mr. Darcy this morning and was able to persuade him not to come to the house. However, he did agree to wait upon us in the park," Mr. Bingley said.
"Oh, dear!" Elizabeth exclaimed, jumping to her feet, followed quickly by the others. "Do you think he will still be there?" But as Mr. Bingley and Mr. Gardiner began to help Jane to her feet, Mrs. Bennet returned to the parlor carrying a bundle of fabric samples.
"Since we have the house to ourselves again," she smiled to the stunned gathering, "And Mr. Bingley, I quite consider you a member of the family already--I think we should use this time while Jane is laid up to discuss the wedding." Jane sat down again. Mr. Bingley sat, Mr. Gardiner sat, and Mrs. Bennet sat in the large armchair near Jane. Elizabeth remained standing, her hands clenched in tight fists.
"Now I think that we should begin with the bridesmaids..." Mrs. Bennet began as she rifled through her fabric scraps. Elizabeth turned and bolted from the room. She ran up to her room, ignoring her mother's demand that she return to look at fabrics. In the bedroom, Elizabeth threw herself on the bed and banged on it with her fists. After a moment she rolled over onto her back. Then she grew calm. Mr. Bingley had spoken to Mr. Darcy and all was well. If only she could get to him at the park...
• • •
Arriving at home, Olivia was delighted to find the Colonel in the parlor with her father. She greeted the Colonel with a spontaneous and warm hug, forgetting for the moment that they were not alone. Colonel Fitzwilliam, however, spied the others smirking behind his intended and quickly extricated himself to greet his friends.
"Fitzwilliam!" exclaimed the younger Mr. Crenshaw. "I hear that you are about to join our family!" he said when everyone had settled. The Colonel gazed lovingly at Olivia and, lost in thought, did not bother to reply. "Does that happen often, father?" Richard Crenshaw asked.
So Long, Sentiment Page 20