CAROLINE

by Sue Barr

  Without a single word being spoken, he knew she was deeply interested in him and for some reason that gave him an immense feeling of satisfaction. The interest was mutual, but before he pursued the beautiful Miss Bingley, or any woman for that matter, he needed to spend time in prayer. His responsibilities as a man of God meant his partner in life had to share the same passion and he wouldn’t move forward unless God gave him peace about it.

  “There are times I hate coming to Town.” Max settled in the chair next to him. “Tonight is no exception. It was bad enough when I was the heir apparent, but now that I have the title, complete strangers think they can toady up and be my best friend.”

  “I see Mrs. Hurst made an impression.”

  “How is it possible to set one’s teeth on edge over a simple greeting? Yet she managed to do so beautifully. Thank goodness we never have to see them again.”

  Nathan stifled a chuckle. He was about to burst his brother’s happy bubble with his next statement and twisted in his chair so he could see Max’s face when he did.

  “That is where you are wrong. They are friends with one Fitzwilliam Darcy and the sisters of Mr. Charles Bingley who is getting married alongside the master of Pemberley. You will have to dance attendance to them for at least a week, as I suspect you are one of the invited guests.”

  He almost laughed out loud at the look of chagrin which chased across Max’s face.

  “Dash it all! I was looking forward to his wedding.” Max slumped back in his chair. Realizing others would notice his lack of decorum in such a public venue, he straightened and sat more erect. “Even in the semi dark, I can tell you are gaining much amusement from this.”

  “Oh yes, I am indeed. I shall be busy with my flock, but you will have to converse with them, eat every meal with them—”

  “You’ve made your point, little brother,” Max ground out between clenched teeth. “Of course, I shall use you as a perfect excuse to be absent for much of the festivities, and –” he held up a hand when Nathan attempted to interrupt “– you will gladly allow me to visit, every day if needed.”

  “You are always welcome, Max. You don’t need to use me as an excuse.”

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather attend me at Pemberley?” Nathan wasn’t fooled by the dulcet tone his brother used. He was up to mischief, much like the old days. “Miss Bingley certainly had eyes only for you, which given the circumstances is surprising. Should I be offended? I am the better catch, even though I didn’t hold the fair maiden’s hand.”

  “She certainly is beautiful.” He let the last comment slide and glanced once more to the Marquis’ box. Miss Bingley was being most attentive to her sister and seemed not to notice him looking her way. “I don’t know if I’ll call upon her.”

  “If I know you, Nathan, you’ll spend much time in prayer before chasing any woman. You’ve become a changed man and your priorities are different than a few years ago. This is not a decision you will make lightly and there is nothing wrong with that.”

  Nathan turned his attention away from the alluring Miss Bingley to his brother.

  If it hadn’t been for Max, he may never have come to know the Lord as his Saviour. After he resigned his commission, he’d turned to gaming and drink in an effort to forget the atrocities of war. His licentious behavior with women was nothing to be proud of and his reputation as a Rake became firmly established.

  After many months, Max finally dragged him out of White’s and confronted him. Broken and dissolute he’d confessed his sins and made the decision to join the church and attend seminary. Never would he forget his brother’s actions, or how he listened as Nathan purged his soul of all he’d witnessed and done in France. How he helped him find his peace again.

  “If I’m a changed man, it’s because of you, Max,” Nathan said quietly.

  “I may have led you to the Lord, but He was the one who changed your heart.” Max clapped him on the shoulder and then switched his attention back to the stage. “Now be quiet. The play is about to start. You can be maudlin tomorrow.”

  “I have no time to be maudlin. Between appointments with the Archbishop and our solicitor, I am to meet with the brides to ensure the Church of England they are prepared for the holy estate of marriage.”

  “Ugh, you sound like Father’s old vicar. Please don’t turn into a Mr. Power. He was a dreadful bore and absolutely no fun when invited over for Christmas punch.”

  “He did have a sour countenance, didn’t he? Well, I have no intentions of being like the dour Mr. Power.” Both brothers chuckled at their childhood nickname for the somewhat resolute vicar. Nathan turned in his seat to face the stage. “Now, you be quiet. I want to enjoy the play.”

  “Lord Little Brat.” Max teased, using his childhood nickname for Nathan.

  “Lord Pompous Head.” Nathan returned with a smile as the first actor took to the stage below.

  Chapter 5

  “Has the mail arrived?” Hobson slid the ermine lined redingote from Caroline’s slim shoulder.

  “No, Miss Bingley.”

  “Any callers while I was out.” She kept the question casual but secretly held her breath while she removed her gloves and handed them over as well.

  “No, ma’am.”

  Disappointment flooded her heart. After gallantly bowing over her hand, she’d been positive Lord Nathan would follow up with a courtesy call, or at the very least, flowers. The past two days had seen nothing from the blasted man, which irritated her greatly. The banked heat in his eyes left her in no doubt of his attraction and she’d prepared for his anticipated visit by wearing a becoming day dress both days. Today, she reluctantly took tea with a close acquaintance, Miss Grantley, and then chafed the whole time, worrying he’d come and gone.

  It was ridiculous. One part of her hoped she hadn’t missed him while the other part remained keenly frustrated there was no calling card on the silver tray to announce he’d even darkened their doorway. Louisa may have advised to cast her net on the other side of the boat, but what if the waters were bereft of anything to catch?

  She moved into the music room and settled down at the pianoforte. Music was the only thing that seemed to calm her soul these days and soon the melancholy sound of Mozart filled the air. Her mind continued down its tortuous path and the music rose and fell with each crescendo of thought.

  Louisa cautioned against making his acquaintance as he was known about Town as a notorious Rake. He’d had his suit rejected by a young debutante a few years ago, although she didn’t know all the details. Her sister relied on second and third hand gossip concerning the higher levels of Society and Lord Nathan wasn’t spoken of that much anymore. Apparently he hadn’t been in Town for a number of years.

  About the eldest brother she seemed to be a veritable fount of information. He’d come into the title late last year and as a single man of only eight and twenty, with Duke preceding his name, he could pick and choose any young lady to be wife.

  Many of Society’s mothers hoped to secure the young Duke’s affection for their daughters. Caroline knew there was no hope of her coming into his stratosphere of influence, but his brother, the third in line shouldn’t have too many strictures on whom he married. Her family may not be landed gentry, at least not until Charles finalized the purchase of Netherfield, and their money from trade was quite fresh, but she’d been sent to one of the most exclusive seminaries for young ladies in all of England and could hold her own with those of a higher pedigree. Too bad she had to attend her brother’s dreadful wedding. Efforts to discover more about Lord Nathan would have to wait until she returned to Town.

  Her fingers stilled on the keyboard, disquieting thoughts rendering her unable to continue playing. She was adrift and for the first time in three years had no set direction. Until Lord Nathan called upon her, if he called at all, she remained in limbo. There were no suitable men to dance attendance on her as the Season was winding down and at one and twenty she may as well be on the shelf.


  She bitterly regretted refusing the young men who’d called upon her during her first Season in Town. Granted, most of them had their sights set on her fortune more than her person, making her refusal of their addresses all the more easy, and during her second season her mother passed, forcing the whole family into a year of mourning. Regardless, it wouldn’t have mattered. Her focus had been solely on one Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley, and look where that had gotten her. Alone in a music room with nothing but Mozart to console her.

  She gazed about the room. The quiet bustle of servants going about their business the only sound heard throughout the house. Not one soul cared whether she was there or not. She could collapse on the floor and expire and no one would be any wiser. When the maids came to dust the room, only then would they discover her cold remains. She had no close friends to confide her hopes and fears with.

  And whose fault would that be, my sweet Caroline, her grandmamma would ask as she rocked her recalcitrant granddaughter, soothing tears inevitably shed when Louisa or Charles would not include her in their activities. The answer was always, ‘Mine’. How she missed her grandmamma with her soft voice and warm hugs.

  She’d never been close to Louisa, six years her elder and Charles had been sent off to Eton and then Oxford, only coming home on special occasions, like Christmas. It wasn’t until she came to London three years ago that she spent longer than a few weeks with either of them. With her father and mother both gone, the family home sold, she had no place to call her own.

  And now with Charles marrying, she didn’t even have the luxury of looking after his household. Jane would rightfully become mistress of Netherfield Park. Unless she found a husband, she’d become the spinster aunt, relying on the good nature of family to place a roof over her head. Her lonely future stretched before her like an aching void.

  She banged the keys in frustration. Why did Darcy have to fall in love with her?

  “Are you playing one of the great Masters in the key of anger, Caroline?”

  “Charles!” She gave a small start and placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart. “You must stop sneaking up on me at inopportune times. Once again you’ve caught me without any composure.”

  He entered the room and stood beside the pianoforte.

  “At least this time you haven’t ripped a pillow apart or fallen to the floor in tears. Things are improving.”

  “Don’t remind me of that day. It’s very ungallant of you to bring up how distraught I was.”

  “I came to ask if you and Louisa would like to attend the Gardiner’s with me. Jane and Miss Bennet have arrived for their trousseau fittings, as well as to meet with Darcy’s vicar. I know they’d love to see you.”

  Caroline raised an elegant brow at his last comment. Jane may have expressed those sentiments, but it would be a cold day in Hades before Eliza Bennet wished to see her. However, she had promised to mend the rift between her and Charles and she’d received a lovely letter of reconciliation from Jane last week.

  Although the two Bennet sisters had, without malicious intentions, ruined the happiness she’d sought for three years, she needed to show them and the rest of society she bore no grudges. At the very least, make everyone believe she bore them no ill will.

  “I’d love to attend with you to Gracechurch Street. Such a quaint part of London, I remember it well when I last visited Jane earlier in the year.”

  At once she realized her faux pas when Charles became very still. For a moment she worried he’d refuse her company. He released a heartfelt sigh.

  “I’m disappointed in the way you sought to keep us separated, but this is a time of great joy for me and Jane, and I refuse to harbor any anger. I hold you very dear, Caro. You are my baby sister and I will love you always.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes. To hear that her brother forgave and loved her was a soothing balm to her heart. She stood and hugged him tight. Until he’d said the actual words, she’d worried he would close his heart and life to her forever.

  “And I love you, Charles. I’m so glad you’ve forgiven me.” She stepped out of their familial embrace and he surprised her by offering a fresh linen cloth. She dabbed the corner of her eyes, which had gone quite moist with her emotional outburst. “You are forever supplying me with dry cloths. I’ve become a regular water fountain these past few weeks.”

  “That’s me, Steward of the Linen Cupboard,” he teased. “Now, move your body in the general direction of the front door. I’m leaving in ten minutes.”

  “Are we not waiting for Louisa?”

  “I spoke with her briefly. She’s indisposed again and has taken to her bed. Let us be off.”

  “Please allow me to freshen up first.”

  “Ten minutes, Caroline. I won’t wait a minute longer,” he threatened in a teasing voce, and brought out his pocket watch, tapping the face of it.

  She hurried from the room. There was one thing she wished give to Jane. It was an heirloom that had been passed down to Bingley brides for generations and would satisfy the ‘something borrowed’ part of the traditional, Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something blue.

  An hour later saw Caroline seated in the front parlor of the Gardiner’s residence on Gracechurch Street. Her memory of the room had been it was much too small to entertain guests, and the miniscule salon hadn’t improved with two more bodies added to the venue. It also didn’t help her temperament that she was seated directly across from Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her Aunt Gardiner, whom she recognized from Pemberley. Miss Jane and Charles were on the settee opposite and Mr. Gardiner reclined by the crackling fireplace, a mug of hot cocoa in his hand.

  The first thing she’d noticed was how the usually reticent Miss Jane Bennet absolutely bubbled with enthusiasm over the warehouses they would be attending. Secure in the affections of Charles, her personality shone through and Caroline had to admit that Jane truly loved her brother. It may have not been the match she and her sister, Louisa, desired, but his home would be a happy one and she felt an honest joy at the thought of their life together. A residual sliver of smugness crept into her heart at the thought of the annoying Mrs. Bennet being an inconvenient three miles from Netherfield Park. Thankfully, that was Charles’ cross to bear.

  Charles appeared to be all affability and easy charm, but if needed he would not hesitate to lay down a set of rules Mrs. Bennet may choose not to adhere. If so, she’d suffer stiff consequences. Such had been the case when they’d left their mother up North, in the family home.

  One too many times dear mama sought to engage Charles’ affections with daughters of friends and acquaintances. On his last visit from Oxford, she had the temerity to suggest he compromise a young lady in order to gain a substantial holding.

  Horrified their mother might attempt something similar with her, barely ten and eight at the time, he’d whisked her off to London and plunked her down on Grosvenor Street with a newly married Louisa. The timing was such, mother couldn’t argue as it allowed Caroline to have a Season as a debutante alongside her fellow classmates from Mrs. Rombough’s School for Elegant Ladies.

  “Your mother did not attend London with you?” Caroline asked of Jane.

  “No. Our mother was quite indisposed and could not travel.” Jane slid a glance toward Elizabeth, who joined in the conversation.

  “Yes, Papa said Aunt Gardiner had enough on her plate with the two of us and her four children.” Her eyes sparkled with untold mischief. “She didn’t need to dance attendance on our mother as well. Mama was quite put out.”

  She had a strong suspicion Mr. Bennet wanted to avoid the embarrassment of asking his new sons-in-law for money as Mrs. Bennet would never be unable to stay within a budget. Caroline’s greatest complaint during their short time in Hertfordshire was how Mrs. Bennet vociferously expounded on Charles’ wealth. She very likely expected Charles and Darcy to pay for everybody’s new wedding clothes.

  “How long are you in Town? Do you have any further plans befo
re returning to Longbourn?” Caroline asked the two sisters.

  “We meet with Mr. Darcy’s vicar tomorrow, and the rest of our week is strictly for trousseau fittings.” Miss Elizabeth answered. “Our days will be quite full with no time for entertaining anyone other than family.”

  “How kind then, that I was allowed to attend with Charles today.”

  “Come now, Miss Bingley, Caroline, we are almost sisters. You are counted as family,” Elizabeth rejoined. “In the future, I hope we shall always be of one mind, much like my dear Jane and I.”

  Although she smiled at Elizabeth and gave her a courteous nod at the seemingly kind words, Caroline caught an undercurrent of disdain. It had been no secret that she and the younger Miss Bennet had not enjoyed each other’s company, but until today it never occurred to her that Miss Eliza Bennet held her in mild contempt.

  Her conversation and manners, on the surface were of the utmost civility, but it was becoming more evident that Miss Elizabeth Bennet found humor in her visit with Charles this afternoon. Why had she not seen the intelligence in this woman before? Plainly Darcy had, as he would never have given his affection to someone who could not hold his interest, or was only concerned with clothing and the latest hair styles. No, there was something more to Miss Bennet’s character and although she didn’t want to admit it, not yet at least, she now understood something Darcy stated last time they were at Pemberley. He’s said that for many months he considered Elizabeth Bennet to be one of the handsomest women of his acquaintance.

  At the time she’d been livid and refused to acknowledge that in a circular fashion he’d informed her that she, Caroline Bingley, was not handsome and he didn’t mean in physical beauty alone. But now, armed with an understanding of his decision, she knew he clearly meant body, heart and soul. The realization had a disquieting effect on her composure. Miss Elizabeth was forcing her to gaze upon a mirror where she did not approve of the reflected image.