“They will not,” Kitty protested. “We have the finest militia in the world.”
“I am of your opinion,” he said. “Men like Colonel Forster and his officers will keep us safe from invasion, but you shall still learn French. There are some excellent literary works which ought to be read in that language, and it can be very useful for knowing what you are having to eat. It is becoming all the rage to serve dishes with French names, and a very good thing too in my opinion. As we are at war, I cannot approve the current state of that country’s affairs, but its cuisine is superb.
“You will be learning to play the pianoforte and harp. Both instruments will also make an appearance sometime during the course of the day. I have also engaged several scholars to teach you geography, history and philosophy, and in accordance with Miss Kitty’s wishes, I have engaged an expert in military history.”
Kitty looked delighted at this, and he gave her credit for her willingness to tackle such a complex subject.
“This will not be like the sort of history where a young lady learns to recite dates and the names of kings and queens,” he said. “I have chosen teachers who will challenge you, but I believe that you are all up to it. You are not unintelligent girls. Apply yourselves well, and you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.”
“We shall,” Lydia said, and he gave her a nod of approval.
“You will also be required to do some reading at home. Your teachers will make reading lists for you and you must diligently work your way through them. Finally, Mrs. Pearson will be in charge of instructing you in proper behavior and the skills which will enable you to navigate your way in society. We must not be savages, you know.”
He and Mrs. Pearson both smiled at them.
“I shall leave you in capable hands,” he said.
CHAPTER 10
Elizabeth noticed that her younger sisters were almost never at home in the following days but presumed that they were visiting the officer’s wives with greater frequency than usual. In the evenings, they were exceptionally quiet. It was not unusual for Mary to have her head in Fordyce’s sermons, or for Kitty and Lydia to be reading novels, except that lately they did not continually leave off their reading in favour of making trite observations or recalling some piece of gossip which they had neglected to mention earlier. They both were oddly engrossed in their books.
They were only reading Gothic romances, books of which Elizabeth had no high opinion, but she was impressed by their powers of concentration, and held a slight hope that it might be evidence of some growing maturity.
What Elizabeth did not see was that Mr. Godwin’s Enquiry Concerning Political Justice was hidden inside Mary’s usual tome, Kitty had a translation of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War behind her novel, and Lydia’s was providing cover for Mr. Burke’s History of the Revolution in France. The three had agreed between themselves to keep their lessons secret so that expectations which they could not yet meet would not be too hastily formed. They also had no wish for the officer’s wives to hear of their endeavour and turn it into a mockery.
On the next occasion when there was an evening party, all three of them declined to go. Mary cited a headache, Kitty claimed to be excessively fatigued, and Lydia said that her novel was so exciting she could not put it down. Mrs. Bennet tried to persuade them against such foolishness when the officers were to be in attendance, but they were resolute in their determination to remain at home, and she was obliged to go out with only two daughters in her train.
With her younger sisters absent, Elizabeth was not surprised to notice that Mr. Darcy was less lively than usual; however, it astonished her when he fell in with Miss Bingley’s wishes for once and meekly sat down to be her partner at quadrille. Elizabeth wondered how much this had to do with their quarrel. She had noticed his silence and troubled expression after their last meeting and had given him credit for some proper thought. Perhaps he might be applying the same principles to his behaviour to Miss Bingley as well. The possibility that he was consciously trying to do better made her inclined to be more charitable with him, and at the same time, he gave no sign of remembering the harsh words which had been spoken between them. She and one of the officers were the other pair at that table, and he spoke to her in a very civilized way.
He did not address much of his conversation to Miss Bingley, but it was a great deal that he did not go out of his way to be disagreeable or disobliging to her. It was as though a truce had come into existence between the warring parties; however, it did not last. After the card tables were broken up, somebody called for a few dances, and several couples eagerly took to the floor. Mr. Darcy did not immediately join in as he usually would have done, and Elizabeth had the impression that he was not intending to; however, when one of the officers asked if he was not coming to dance, Miss Bingley took it upon herself to say that he preferred a quiet conversation.
“His dancing days are over,” she said with exultation in her tone.
It was all the provocation that Mr. Darcy needed to enter into the fray again. “They certainly are not,” he snapped. “I was only wondering with whom I might dance? Perhaps you would do me that honour,” he said to Elizabeth.
Having no wish to become part of their argument, she replied, “I thank you, but I was not thinking of dancing. Nor would I wish to deprive Miss Bingley of all her company at once.”
“Oh! By all means go and dance with him, Eliza,” Miss Bingley said. You will be a good influence on Mr. Darcy, and I need not want for company. I shall sit with my sister.”
“Very well then, I will dance with you,” she said to Mr. Darcy, despite feeling that she in no way wished to be responsible for what ever influences might guide him, or be held accountable in that regard by Miss Bingley. Indeed, as they took to the floor, he was already returning to all his usual behavior, dancing wildly, talking nonsensically, and laughing loudly.
“You need not waste your time trying to be a good influence,” he said to her after a time. “You see that I am quite determined to be bad.”
“I do see it. Indeed, it has been obvious for some time that you are determined to annoy Miss Bingley. Whatever displeases her is certain to please you.”
“I hope you are not feeling her claim to something better from me. You of all people should understand my situation. I have seen how you have been pressed into a friendship which is not of your choosing. Your taste and intelligence are superior to Miss Bingley’s and I see no evidence that you find her company pleasing. Indeed, I have been suspecting you of frequently longing to be released from it.”
“I do not deny that her friendship was thrust upon me, but I choose to behave politely and follow the dictates of good manners.”
“Unlike me, you mean to imply, but I shall not take offense. We ought not to quarrel when our situation is so similar. This engagement was pressed upon me in much the same fashion. Hence my attempts to make myself repulsive to Miss Bingley.”
“They seem to be having no success, if I may say so. I have no particular interest in taking up her cause; however, I doubt the usefulness of your actions. Do you really think that there can be any purpose to degrading yourself when she shows no sign of changing her mind?”
“My behavior is not that degrading,” he protested. “Merely unorthodox. My chances may be slight, but keeping up the attempt allows me to feel there may still be hope. My campaign is not done yet, and perhaps I may engineer some new tactic to overcome the enemy.”
“It is a most ungentlemanly attitude.”
“She trapped me in a most unladylike way, I assure you. You may not like my speaking so ill of her, but I assure you that it is perfectly true. Miss Bingley’s behaviour in this business has not been that of a lady. If you knew the truth of it, you would take my side.”
“I have no desire to take any side. I am merely observing that your campaign, if you will call it thus, seems doomed to failure aside from lacking in honour and dignity.”
“It
would be far more dishonourable to break off my engagement, even though it was not of my choice. Honour dictates that I am stuck with it unless Miss Bingley changes her mind. As for dignity, I have not minded the loss. I have rather enjoyed being foolish since I came to Meryton.”
“Since you came here,” she said in an angry tone. It took all her effort to keep her voice low. “I believe I comprehend everything now. Encouraging my sisters was not the worse of your transgressions. Everything was deliberate from the moment of the assembly. You took advantage of them and copied their silly ways for the purpose of alienating your fiancée. In the process, you have used my sisters most abominably.”
“It was not like that,” he protested. “I only meant to be friendly at first, but then when I saw how annoyed Miss Bingley was, it occurred to me that it would be worthwhile making an effort to annoy her.”
“You saw an opportunity and grasped at it. That was reprehensible, Mr. Darcy. Even if there was no deliberate intention, your plan was made easier by my sisters’ folly, and your behaviour has served to further encourage theirs. You have taken advantage of their youth and inexperience for your own purpose. You have come among all of us in the guise of friendship when your only intention was to take advantage of our little country society in a quest to rid yourself of an unwanted fiancée.”
“That is not true. I have made real friends in Meryton, including your sisters. They may be silly at times, but I like them better than Miss Bingley, and I am grateful for the influence they have had on me by encouraging me to learn how to enjoy myself for the first time in my life. I have made errors of judgement, but I never meant to use anybody.”
“The consequences of your actions, however, are proof of your selfishness.”
“I cannot deny that. I have acted wrongly and do intend to fix the damage.”
“I think you have done quite enough, but I will be glad to see you cease this scheme of yours.”
“I can promise that I will no longer involve your sisters or encourage them in any untoward behaviour, but not that I will give up scheming. It was a scheme which put me into this situation, so I have no compunction in scheming to get out of it.”
“As long as my sisters are safe, I suppose that is no concern of mine, but I doubt that it will bring you any happiness.”
“One has to try. I have nothing to lose.”
She could not help feeling sorry for him once again.
The next time she was alone with Charlotte, Elizabeth told her all and vented her feelings.
“You cannot deny that this was very unprincipled of him,” she concluded.
“I cannot,” Charlotte agreed. “I am inclined to sympathize with his aims, but not with his methods. Yet I remain convinced that he really is a good sort of man. There is a natural ease in his manners and appearance of goodwill in his expressions, which makes me believe his friendships to be as genuine as he said. Do you really doubt them?”
“I do not know anymore. It did sound as though he spoke the truth, but it strikes me that I know so little of what kind of man he really is since everything appears to have been an act. I do not know if he is to be trusted. I do believe his promise not to encourage Kitty and Lydia anymore. I think that was honourable of him and to his credit. That much I will grant, but as to his real character, I reserve judgement until I know him better.”
Mr. Darcy was at that moment wandering about the gardens at Netherfield and pondering his own character with respect to his latest quarrel with Elizabeth. She had not been unreasonable in saying that he had taken advantage of her sisters in their earliest part of their acquaintance. There had been selfishness and disregard at that moment. But since then a real regard had grown between them, and he had formed a genuine liking for his new way of life.
He had little inclination to give it up, but he was aware that he needed to steady himself and return to being something like the old Mr. Darcy in terms of sense and propriety. Not in selfishness and conceit, however. There was much in his new life that was right and good. And much that was amusing and pleasurable.
He paused in front of a small pond at the centre of the garden and stared into the water, where a few yellow leaves floated over his reflection leaving ripples in their wake.
“Who is it that I really am?” he asked the sodden leaves. “Where do I go from here?”
He had changed in these last few weeks. Not just into the foolish person whose character he kept assuming to provoke Miss Bingley. He would give that up and be glad of it. The amusement of deliberately saying and doing silly things had lost its appeal, but he could not return to being the same proud and reserved person he had been in the past. That was behind him now, wiped away by the influence of his new friends. He would be a more thoughtful and less arrogant version of himself. He would combine the best of old traits with the best of the new, and hopefully the blend would make him a better person. It would certainly make him a more sociable one, able to take greater enjoyment in company and give something in return. In the future, it would please him to meet new people and learn what they had to offer, instead of looking down upon them as Miss Bingley did. As he had always done.
“I’ve been a selfish creature all my life,” Mr. Darcy said to his reflection. “I was taught good principles, but left to follow them in selfishness and conceit. It is time I started thinking of others instead of myself.”
As he took the path which returned to the house, he thought of the arrangements he had made for Elizabeth’s sisters. Had it been arrogant of him to take so much on himself, to presume that he knew what was best, and to leave Mr. Bennet in ignorance of his daughter’s activities. That ought to be rectified, so he called for his horse and set off for Longbourn, where he was happy to find that Mr. Bennet was in solitary occupation. He had no desire to rouse curiosity.
It was an easier interview than his conversation with Elizabeth had been. He explained everything and begged permission for the lessons to continue with parental sanction. Mr. Bennet was very much diverted by hearing the entire story, and especially by discovering what had been keeping the three of them so well occupied. He was very happy to consent.
“I cannot find fault with any arrangement which has Mary practising her music elsewhere,” he said. “I had noticed it was remarkably quiet here lately even in the evenings when they are all at home. And Kitty has really taken an interest in military history?”
“She is becoming quite proficient in the subject. All three of them have been studying most attentively.”
“Even Lydia?”
“Yes, she works very hard, and I am told she has shown a talent for drawing and painting.”
“I am astonished by all of this, but I approve of your endeavours. It sounds as though they are properly supervised, so there can be nothing untoward in it. You have succeeded where I have failed, Mr. Darcy. If it were not such a fine joke, I would be heartily ashamed of myself.”
“What success I have had is due to their own desire to improve themselves. They came to a point in their lives when they wanted to make a change and I happened to be there to facilitate it.”
“You are too modest. You have done a very good thing for my daughters. As a result of your endeavours, they stand an excellent chance of being much happier than they would have been otherwise. They and I are deeply indebted to you.”
“It is nothing,” Mr. Darcy said. “They have had a profound influence on my life by schooling me to be a more agreeable person, so I consider the debt to be cancelled out.”
CHAPTER 11
One morning a few days later, Jane and Elizabeth each received a note at breakfast. Their mother and sisters looked on with the eager curiosity as they opened the missives.
“It is from Miss Bingley,” Elizabeth said, swiftly reading the contents of hers. “She and her sister have invited me to dine with them since the gentlemen are dining with the officers this evening.”
“Dining with the officers!” Lydia repeated. “I wonder that Mr. Darcy did not
mention it.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at her sister. Why should she expect Mr. Darcy to tell her everything? Even if he had not been engaged to Miss Bingley, it was hardly likely that there could be an understanding between him and Lydia, yet her sister frequently spoke as though they were particularly close, and she had the idea that they saw each other often. There was all too frequent mention of something he had said or done, and Lydia’s comment implied that she must have seen him very recently.
“What does your note say?” Mrs. Bennet asked Jane. “Has she invited you to dine as well?”
“It is not from Miss Bingley,” Jane replied. “My note is from Mrs. Long, inviting me to dine with her and her nieces this evening.”
That prospect was of little interest to Mrs. Bennet and she turned back to Elizabeth. “It is a pity you do not ride,” she said. “It looks as though it is about to rain, and if you were to go to Netherfield on horseback you would probably be invited to stay the night. Then you might have an opportunity for seeing Mr. Bingley and doing whatever you can to advance your sister’s interest with him since she is not so fortunate as to enjoy Miss Bingley’s patronage. I am sure your father would rather have the horses to work in the fields, but I suppose you would have the carriage to visit your friends.”
“By no means,” Elizabeth said, perfectly willing to oblige her father. “I can go to Netherfield on foot. If I set off at once, there is a very good chance that I shall beat the rain.”
“And I can ride to the Longs,” Jane added. “There is no need to go to any trouble about the carriage.”
It was settled that way, and the two of them hurried to prepare.
“I am sorry that Miss Bingley did not include you in the invitation,” Elizabeth said to her sister. “I cannot anticipate much pleasure in dining with them. I do wish that you were to be there with me, but at least I shall have the comfort of knowing that you will be among those who offer genuine friendship and agreeable conversation. While you are happily chatting with Mrs. Long and her nieces, you may think of me with sympathy.”
Mr. Darcy Dances: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 7