by Linda Wells
Darcy glared and said through gritted teeth, “Once again Bingley your sister has behaved in a horrific manner and attempted to come between me and my wife. If we had known she was here we would not have come. I believe her display today justifies my stance. Once again I must put to you this charge, either she goes or we do.” Darcy held Elizabeth tighter.
Bingley stared in disbelief, and looked between the two of them, blood or friendship. He had no doubt that Caroline was guilty of whatever happened. He had allowed himself to be blinded into complacency by his wishful thinking. “I am sorry Caroline, but I am afraid you must leave. Please have your things packed and I will have a carriage prepared to take you to London in the morning. I gave up the lease on the townhouse, so you will have to stay with the Hursts. I obviously cannot trust you any longer. I hoped that you had changed. I was a fool to do so.” His sadness and disappointment were obvious.
“Charles! You believe them over me?” She suddenly saw all of her desires collapsing around her.
“Yes Caroline, Darcy is my brother, and I believe him. Now please pack your things and leave us in peace.” His face was pained but determined. “I will contact my solicitor and have your dowry released to you. The Hursts may help you find a home, or not. I wash my hands of you.”
Caroline was incredulous. “You cannot be serious!”
“I am Caroline. I am a fool for believing you could ever change. I had such hopes for you finding your happiness, and you had so many opportunities. Instead you . . . I do not know what happened to you. I have done my best by you. I am finished.”
Caroline held her head up high and strode to the door. She turned and glared at her brother then directed her gaze to Elizabeth, and down to her child. Darcy held her protectively. Caroline’s eyes met his and held, staring coldly at him, and then she turned and left. It was unnerving, and Darcy did not know what to make of her, so he gripped Elizabeth tighter.
Charles turned to Darcy and asked for the entire story.
He did not like relating the details, especially with Elizabeth there, but it was her warm presence that gave him the ability to speak and reined in his anger. When finished, he apologized to her again.
Bingley apologized to both of them. “Caroline has been here for a month and I truly thought that she had improved. If I had any idea that she would try to interfere with you again, I would have sent her away. I apologize for not honouring your request to never stay under the same roof with her. Please forgive me.”
“Forgive you?” Darcy stared at him, his expression a mixture of anger and frustration. “Bingley, I do not understand. Why would you allow us to come here blindly, knowing my feelings about Miss Bingley? I know how much Jane and Elizabeth wanted to be together for the birth of your child, it would have been a very difficult decision to make, and I admit, I would not have anticipated it at all, but in the end, I would have likely agreed to come for the sake of our wives. But to have us blindsided like this, I am sorry Bingley, but I feel that our friendship has been betrayed. Why would you not tell us? At the very least, Elizabeth and I could have been told of your sister’s state of mind, and we might have been prepared. You gave us no opportunity to decide our own course.” He looked at his friend’s sunken shoulders, but still could not feel sorry for him. “I truly thought you had learned to assert yourself over her machinations. I thought you had become your own man. I am happy to see you finally break with her, but how can I trust you again? I felt this way for good reason.” He was not shouting as he did with Caroline, but the anger was evident in his voice. “I am deeply disappointed with you, as I am sure Elizabeth is with Jane.” He looked down to his wife, who nodded to him.
“I cannot believe she would not warn me.” Elizabeth was so hurt. It was not the first time that Jane had not supported her, and she did not understand why.
“She wished to, I wanted to keep it secret.” Bingley said, turning to her. “Please direct your anger to me.” Elizabeth simply looked sadly at him; she knew the fault was as much Jane’s as his.
“Bingley, you knew that your sister nursed an obsession with me. Your aunt’s letters indicated she was angry with Elizabeth. How could you allow us to enter this home without any warning, or give us the ability to stay away? I am grateful she chose to accost me. I shudder to imagine what she might have done if she had chosen to enter our bedchamber while Elizabeth slept alone.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened and her hand went to her mouth. “Oh William, she would not have hurt me!”
Darcy’s eyes filled with emotion and he took her hand. “I believe very seriously that she would.” Elizabeth gasped, and then thought of Caroline’s stare as she left the library. Darcy turned back to Bingley. “If it was not so late in the day, and Elizabeth was not with child, I would leave here immediately, but I will not risk her or our child by travelling now. In the morning, however . . .”
“Please Darcy, please do not leave. Do not let my foolishness end our friendship.” Darcy’s face remained stony. Bingley sighed, his face pained. “What would you do Darcy? What would you do if this was Georgiana? Could you have turned her away if she came to your door with nowhere to go? Tell me. Please. What would you do?” He stared down at the floor. “I should have warned you, that is correct, and I understand your anger, and after this display, I finally realize she should never be near you or Elizabeth again. If she is ever here in my home again, I will inform you. I honestly never anticipated that she was capable of what she did here today. I do not know if she is mentally unbalanced, she seemed to be doing so well here this past month. She will be gone in the morning. Please, do not let this destroy our friendship, or indeed, our family.”
Darcy felt the warm, steady pressure of Elizabeth’s hand on his back, and looked down at her, absorbing her support. “What should we do William? I am angry and disappointed with Jane, but I have no desire to be estranged from her. I have already had that experience with my father.” He looked back up to his old friend and closing his eyes took some moments to think clearly and order his thoughts. His disappointment was intense, but most of his anger was spent on Caroline.
“I do not know what I would have done, but I do know that I wish to value our friendship and family more than I wish to nurse a grievance against you. Never do this again to us Bingley; such an act would be unforgivable.” His reluctant concession was made purely because he could now fully understand why Elizabeth tried so hard to convince him to tolerate her father. It was easier to be angry when there was no bond. Darcy made it very clear that they would not be joining the Bingleys for any meals or other activities until Caroline was gone, and he would make sure that the lock on their bedchamber was in good working order before they retired. He also said that he wanted to talk again about what had happened in the morning after they all had time to calm.
With whispered words of thanks, Bingley left to inform Jane of the situation and arrange for the carriage. An express was sent that afternoon to the Hursts warning them of Caroline’s imminent arrival. Bingley, with Darcy’s permission, indicated the reason for her hasty removal. They should know what was coming their way. He did not know what else to do. After Bingley departed the couple embraced and sighed.
“Lizzy?” Darcy stood with his cheek resting on her head.
“Yes William?” Her round belly kept her from hugging him face to face, but she did her best.
“Do you believe me? I truly did not encourage her.” He whispered.
She tightened her embrace. “Yes William, I do believe you. All is well.”
“Thank you.” He said quietly in her ear. She laughed softly. He drew back to regard her. “What is it?”
“I truly will never forget seeing you desperately washing out your mouth with the port.”
He chuckled, relaxing. “If I could have gargled, I would have.” She laughed and squeezed him. “It was a foul taste, I assure you; nothing like my Lizzy.” He kissed her gently. “Sweetheart, could we go upstairs and rest some more?”
He kissed her. “Yes, my love, please?”
“Well, you did say please . . .” He laughed with relief, and holding hands, they returned to their chambers to reaffirm their love. The door was decidedly locked.
IN THE MORNING the sound of a carriage awakened Elizabeth. Curious, she extricated herself from William, who was spooned against her. She slipped on her robe and walked to the window, looking out at the scene below. Caroline’s luggage was being loaded into the coach. She was standing outside having what appeared to be angry words with her brother. He offered his hand to help her up the step and she spurned it, grasping the handhold and climbing inside herself. He shut the door, and tried to say something through the open window, but it must not have met with success as he quickly stepped away and signalled the driver to walk on. He stood watching the retreating carriage until it was no longer in view, then with slumped shoulders, an unusually downcast Charles Bingley turned to enter his home. Elizabeth drew a sigh of relief and was about to walk away when she saw Jane come out of the house and embrace him. She nodded, that was what Jane should do. A pair of hands encircled her waist and she looked up to see William watching the scene.
“She is gone?” Elizabeth nodded. “Thank God, I could not stop thinking of her harming you.” They stayed in their silent embrace, holding each other tighter, wondering if Caroline was truly capable of such violence. Neither would tell the other of hearing the door handle turn during the night.
They watched their sister and brother and Elizabeth broke the quiet, “I think Miss Bingley’s behaviour is the only unhappy thing in Jane and Charles’ world.”
“They do seem to live a perfect existence, always happy, always serene, never, ever arguing.” He gently kissed her ear and nuzzled her neck. “Do you wish that we lived that way, Lizzy?”
She leaned back against him, feeling his hard body and the security of his strong arms around her. “I honestly do not think that I could live a life of no emotion, William. One cannot always be happy, and the sad or difficult times make us appreciate the happy ones more. Jane’s unending serenity frustrated me, and I cannot help wondering if sometimes she was hiding her true feelings. I think that it would become quite a burden to always have to be so annoyingly peaceful, or in the case of Charles, buoyant.”
“But you are happy with our life, even when we endure our little arguments or suffer at the hands of our own relatives or the influence of the outside world?” He turned her around and took her hands in his, softly caressing them, raising them to his lips while looking deeply in her eyes.
She was melting with his gentle ministrations. “Yes, William, I am very happy, warts and all. I would like to think that our times of difficulty are over, but I am too realistic to believe that. However, I would not trade our marriage for anyone else’s. Why do you need to ask?”
He drew her against him, and gently kissed her. “Oh, Lizzy, just bear with me, I will forever need your reassurance that you are happy.”
“Are you still insecure, Will?”
“I do not know if it is insecurity now. Perhaps it is that after a year of being loved, I am now worried that it could somehow be taken away.”
She caressed his cheek. “My pregnancy frightens you, and Jane’s imminent delivery is making it worse.”
He nodded, getting to the truth. “Yes.”
There was nothing she could say that would make his fear disappear; nothing but the birth of their child. In the meantime, she would just have to love him. “Come.” She took his hand and led him to the bed. They removed their robes and climbed in. They embraced and began kissing slowly, very slowly, caressing each other. Darcy lay on his side and pulled her to him, and smiled as he felt the baby kick his belly. “Ow!”
Elizabeth laughed, “Imagine it from my side of things!” He laughed, stroking her face, smiling into her eyes. “I love you, Elizabeth.”
She returned his caress, “I love you my William.”
He kissed her again. “Roll over sweetheart.”
He helped her to turn away from him. “I miss you lying on me, Will. I miss feeling your weight pressing me down into the bed, and being overwhelmed by your body. It will be a long time before I can feel that absolute security again.”
He embraced her and gently kissed beneath her ear. “Oh, Lizzy, I miss that feeling too, but for now, let me try to bring it back for you. You are secure no matter how I hold you.” His arms came around her and she felt his arousal pressing against her bottom. She lifted her leg and he pushed into her, joining together in their rhythm of love.
When they finished Darcy kept her wrapped in his arms and whispered. “Did I make you feel safe, Lizzy?”
She reached up behind her and caressed his face. “Always.”
AFTER FINALLY RISING, the Darcys took a long walk around the park, stopping in a certain grove of trees for a short visit, and then returned to the house to see their hosts for the first time since the incident in the library. During their walk Darcy confessed that his friendship with Bingley had received a painful blow, and he was unsure how to proceed. He stated that had it been Elizabeth who was accosted, he would have shown no mercy to Bingley, and they would have spent the night at an inn, never to return. Elizabeth told him of her struggle with her feelings for Jane. She was just as confused. She told him that if Caroline had done anything to hurt him, Elizabeth would have given her the sound thrashing that she deserved. He had no doubt of it at all.
They both felt manipulated and betrayed. Important information had been deliberately kept from them. The Darcys were forced to accept a situation because others had decided that it was the best course to take, and suited their needs. Forgiveness was difficult to find, but neither one wished to return to Pemberley. Such an action would cause a nearly irreparable breach in their family. They agreed that conversation was needed.
The couples sat in awkward silence as the servants set out the tea and cake. Jane poured out and when everyone was served, Darcy and Elizabeth exchanged glances. It was obvious that they would have to begin.
Elizabeth spoke in a calm, clear voice. “We would like to try and understand why you would not tell us that Caroline was here. Of all people, you should have understood our feelings about her, and were clearly informed by your aunt what her feelings were towards us.” She searched their faces. “Please explain this to us.”
Jane looked at Bingley and spoke. “We really wanted to tell you, but we were so afraid that you would not come. I wanted so much to have you here with me, Lizzy, and Caroline’s behaviour was so . . . pleasant and kind. We were sure that after you saw her, everything would be well.” She leaned forward. “We truly saw nothing that would tell us she would act in such a way.”
Elizabeth’s brow creased. “But Jane, that is not the point. You knew that we did not want to be exposed to her, why could you not respect our wishes? At least give us the information so we could make our own decision. If you so wanted our company, why would you not support our obviously justified feelings?”
Jane looked down and then up. “It is so hard when you marry. You must balance the needs of two families. Caroline was homeless, what were we to do? I was not sure that you would have come if we told you.”
“Perhaps that is true, but it does not excuse letting us come in unprepared.” Elizabeth looked at her sadly and Jane dropped her eyes. She simply could not understand, nothing terrible had ever happened to her, until Caroline.
Darcy turned his gaze on Bingley. “I thought that I had made myself clear on this Bingley. Why did you not respect our friendship enough to tell us that she was here?”
Bingley ran his hand through his hair. “I know how much it means to Jane to have Elizabeth with her when the baby comes. She will not speak of it but I know she is terrified.” He took Jane’s hand and kissed it. Her eyes filled with tears. He looked back at Darcy. “You are entirely justif
ied in your anger. It was selfish of us, I understand, but please do not leave us. I know that I need you with me Darcy. I cannot . . .” He choked. Darcy watched as his friend displayed all of the fear that he was personally keeping buried about losing Elizabeth when she gave birth. He looked over to her and saw that she was watching Jane, whose mask of serenity was finally removed. They looked at each other and touched hands. Darcy turned to Bingley.
“I need you to know how very angry and disappointed I am and I expect to always be informed in future if your sister is in residence. It is beyond me why you simply did not set her up in a home somewhere and been done with it then. In any case, if she does come to stay with you, we will NOT be visiting then, no matter the circumstances.” He watched his friend until Bingley looked up at him. “However, I do understand your fears, and we will stay.”
“Thank you Darcy.” Bingley said with emotion. They shook hands and Elizabeth and Jane embraced, whispering to each other. It was tenuous and fragile, and the Darcys were unsatisfied, but the family remained intact.
A WEEK LATER Jane and Elizabeth were sitting on a shaded porch when with a cry, Jane’s water broke. Word was immediately sent to summon the midwife, and Bingley and Darcy, who were riding, were intercepted. Bingley had no desire to be present at the birth, but held her hand until her excruciating cries became unbearable then ran from the room, white as a ghost.
Elizabeth went to her own equally frightened husband and took his hand. “I will stay here with Jane, William; perhaps you and Charles could go wait in his library or play billiards. This may take many hours.” Jane’s scream rent the air.
“Lizzy, is she well?” His eyes were wide with fear, and darted to stare at the closed door to the bedchamber.
Elizabeth tried to reassure him, but she was just as frightened for her sister. “She will be. Now go. I will come when there is news.” They kissed, and Darcy hugged her, almost desperately, and then left to find Bingley.
Elizabeth returned to the birthing room, and held Jane’s hand, giving her the calm assurance she would want, while taking careful note of everything around her; preparing herself for her approaching day.