Miss Bingley Requests

by Judy McCrosky

  Caroline got ready for bed, calling Genney to brush out her hair. The seed, once planted, would not go away. Did Eleanor have designs on Mr Darcy? The more she considered this, the more convinced, and the angrier, she became.

  What a conniving minx Eleanor was! How dare she set her cap at a man such as Mr Darcy? True, she was titled, even though the title wasn’t hers by birth, but only by marriage. Caroline wasn’t exactly sure how many times her friend had been married, but she knew there were at least two husbands who had died, leaving the lovely young widow alone with her grief. And her title. But that isn’t enough, not for Lady Amesbury. She has to claim a new man, and not only that, he is the man she knows is her friend’s intended! How many times, Caroline wondered now, had she spoken of her long-awaited marriage? And how many times had Eleanor reassured her that Mr Darcy would speak, that he was only awaiting the right moment? Did Eleanor now think that because Caroline had not yet secured the engagement, that Mr Darcy was free to be pursued?

  ‘Leave off,’ she snapped at Genney, who was tidying the dressing table. Genney’s eyes grew moist and Caroline, knowing how easily the maid could become sulky, quickly said, ‘I am sorry, I did not mean to speak so harshly. It is only that I am very tired and wish to be alone now.’

  Genney nodded, curtseyed without looking at Caroline, and scurried out of the room. Caroline wondered for a moment if Genney’s services were truly worth having to deal with such a temperamental creature, but then, remembering that all the French were overly emotional, put the matter out of her mind.

  * * *

  Thinking about conniving minxes reminded Caroline of Elizabeth Bennet, and that reminded her Jane was in town, and she hadn’t yet told Louisa and Mr Darcy. The next afternoon she requested their presence in the smaller breakfast room, knowing Charles was otherwise occupied.

  ‘I realise,’ Caroline said, after having shown them Jane’s letter, ‘that the chance of Charles meeting her unexpectedly is extremely small, given the part of town she is in, but I believe we still need a plan of action.’

  Mr Darcy’s countenance had gone completely still when he first heard mention of Jane Bennet. No doubt he was remembering the danger that lady presented to his good friend but why didn’t he immediately speak up to denounce this new tactic in what was obviously a Bennet ploy to entrap Charles?

  ‘Mr Darcy,’ she said loudly, ‘I can see that this news has greatly distressed you. Do you have any suggestions for what we ought to do?’

  His head jerked up and he stared at her without comprehension for a moment. Her disquiet grew. Clearly the woman he had been thinking of had not been Jane Bennet. Was he reliving memories of her sister?

  With a small shake of his head, as if to push aside any thoughts that were consuming him, he said, ‘Surely there is no need for concern. Miss Bennet and Charles will not move in the same social circles. It is highly unlikely that their paths will cross.’

  Caroline and Louisa looked at each other. ‘You are correct,’ Louisa said. ‘People who live in Cheapside are not often to be found in our section of the city!’

  ‘Although,’ Mr Darcy added, ‘I suppose you must call on her, Miss Bingley, since she has written to you.’ His eyes, dark and unreadable, focused on Caroline.

  She sighed. ‘Yes, I must. A person in my position can do no less, although I do not relish the prospect.’

  ‘I suppose I must accompany you,’ Louisa said with an even bigger sigh.

  ‘Perhaps not.’ Caroline knew how brave she must appear to be. ‘I will not ask you, sister, to share in this burden. It was I, after all, whom Jane thought of as her particular friend.’

  ‘I thought you enjoyed her company,’ Mr Darcy said. ‘Was your behaviour in her presence all an artifice?’

  She thought she heard disapproval in his voice. ‘No, of course not.’ Then, thinking that sounded too sharp, she added, ‘Jane truly is a sweet creature. But after a time I discovered there was little of substance in her mind. A woman raised without the benefit of an education and all the experiences that my upbringing gave to me has much less to offer in the way of conversation.’

  ‘I am surprised.’ He rose to his feet and wandered over to the window, which looked out into a grey fog that revealed only the occasional glimpse of the trees that stood not far from this side of the house. ‘I found that both the elder Miss Bennets had much of interest to say, and that their conversation ranged over a most impressive range of topics.’

  Caroline glanced at Louisa, unsure of what to say. Fortunately, Louisa spoke up. ‘Fascinating conversation or not, I am certain we are all in agreement that Charles must not learn that she is in town.’

  ‘Yes,’ Caroline said, glad that the focus was no longer on fine minds, to go with fine eyes.

  Mr Darcy turned back to face the room again. ‘Is that truly necessary? I confess I am uncomfortable with a falsehood of that magnitude.’

  Caroline waved her hand dismissively. ‘Nonsense. It is not a falsehood unless he asks if Jane is in town, and we say she is not. All we will be doing is not passing on a piece of information, and in her letter Jane did not request that I inform Charles of her presence here. Your conscience, Mr Darcy, need suffer no qualms.’

  He still appeared uncertain, and before she could stop herself, she burst out, ‘Why you are spending even the smallest moment in concern for people like the Bennets is beyond me. They are nothing to those of our standing.’

  His eyes hardened, but having begun, she had to finish it. ‘Fine eyes notwithstanding, you know their situation in life is beneath ours. You have said so yourself. I cannot believe you would risk my brother’s future happiness out of some misguided concern for people who are not worthy of a moment’s consideration from any of us.’

  He seemed, for a moment, to look back into his own head instead of at her and Louisa. At length he returned to his chair and sank down into it. ‘You are right,’ he said, his voice now firm. ‘We will say nothing of Miss Bennet’s presence in town to anyone. In fact, it would be wise if the three of us did not speak of this again.’ Placing his hands on his knees, he stood up. Bowing to the two women, he left the room.

  * * *

  During the next week Georgiana attended her piano lessons with the maestro, accompanied by her brother. Eleanor arranged another soirée at which the maestro would perform, and Georgiana pleaded to attend. Mr Darcy agreed, although Caroline could tell he was not happy.

  Caroline had not seen nor communicated with Eleanor since her realisation that her friend was after Mr Darcy. Caroline observed him when he returned from each lesson and saw no signs that he was becoming smitten. Feeling somewhat better, and wondering if she had perhaps done her friend a disservice, she decided to attend Eleanor’s concert and act as if nothing had changed.

  When she arrived, in company with her brother and the Darcys, Eleanor’s greeting was as effusive as always. Her own must have been a little chilly despite her efforts, for Eleanor stepped back and gave her a searching look before turning to greet Mr Darcy and Georgiana.

  During the evening, Eleanor stuck to Mr Darcy’s side until Caroline felt she must rescue him. She moved across the crowded room, without knowing what she would say or do, until she approached them and heard him speaking about Georgiana’s lessons.

  ‘I am sorry,’ he was saying, ‘but I will be unable to accompany my sister in the future. I have business to complete in town before I depart for Pemberley. If the lessons are to continue, Mr Scott Allen will need to attend Georgiana in my house. I will inform him that I will place a carriage at his disposal, so that this will not inconvenience him overly much. I thank you, again, for your generosity in offering your home and your pianoforte for my sister’s use.’ He bowed and before Eleanor could respond in any way, stalked away.

  Caroline’s anger had been building, at Eleanor for making Mr Darcy miserable with her constant attention, and for attempting to steal a man she knew was the intended of her supposedly dear friend. Fortunately Mr Darcy
was much too intelligent to be misled by Eleanor’s wiles.

  Her anger withered and died when she looked back from watching Mr Darcy walk away, and saw her friend. Eleanor stood completely still, her small form revealing none of the vivacity and gay spirits that usually caused her to be seen as a person taller than she actually was. Her shoulders sagged, her head was bowed, but her eyes still rested on Mr Darcy’s back as he made his way through the throngs of people. Her eyes were moist and Caroline wondered, with shock, if she was about to weep.

  She took a step towards Eleanor, torn by the need to comfort and the need to confront. Her long-term affection won the battle. ‘My dear,’ she said, taking a step closer and holding out a hand.

  Eleanor looked up and saw her. For a moment, Caroline felt a shadow overcome her at the fear she saw in her friend’s eyes. ‘Caroline!’ Eleanor cried and took her friend’s hand. ‘Isn’t this just the loveliest party I have ever given? Everyone is so jovial, and so appreciative of my efforts to provide entertainment for my friends. And Mrs Deaverson has outdone herself; truly she is a marvel of a cook, even if I did select the menu myself. And the music,’ Eleanor clasped her hands at her breast and looked up at the ceiling in a paroxysm of elation, ‘Mr Scott Allen is a gem, is he not? So talented, and so willing to share it with the few friends I invite to hear him play.’

  ‘He is,’ Caroline said. She was still uncertain of what to say or of how to react to this friend who, even though she appeared much as she always did, was apparently adept at hiding her true feelings. Caroline was certain she had seen fear in Eleanor’s eyes, and a great sorrow in the stillness of her body for those few moments. If Eleanor could hide that so successfully, did that mean that her affection for Caroline was also just another of the many roles Eleanor could play?

  Eleanor tucked Caroline’s hand through her arm and they walked together towards the supper tables. ‘Ah,’ she said. ‘I see Stephen is once again at Miss Darcy’s side. Such a dear boy, that one, and so conscientious whenever I ask him to carry out some little request. Look at how Georgiana has blossomed since she first came to my little soirée. She looks like quite a different person, no longer the shy, unopened bud.’

  Caroline sent a sharp glance at Eleanor’s choice of words, but her friend seemed oblivious of saying anything out of the ordinary. Not for the first time, Caroline wondered how Charles felt at seeing another man so monopolise Georgiana’s time during a social engagement. Searching the room for him, she saw him sitting in a small group of younger people, seemingly quite relaxed and happy to be conversing with them. Charles was so good-natured and it wasn’t in him to be jealous. Still, Georgiana, once she was out, would be a most sought-after prize by many young men and some not so young, too. With her lovely figure and elegant manners, and her fortune, she would not long remain unmarried. I had better speak to Charles and urge him to make his intentions known. If he does not speak soon, he may risk losing his future happiness.

  Mr Darcy, who had apparently waited until Caroline was no longer in Eleanor’s presence, appeared at her side as soon as Eleanor was called away by a servant to deal with some crisis in the kitchen. He announced he was taking Georgiana home. Now that she knew he was true to her, Caroline relaxed in his presence and she even dared to rest her hand on his chest for a moment, as she moved closer to him, looking up into his face with a lively smile. ‘I will see you tomorrow?’ she asked.

  He stepped back a little, and shook his head. ‘Unfortunately, I will not have that pleasure. I have a number of matters which require my attention.’

  ‘I am sorry.’ Caroline remembered her goal of showing her affection more fully. ‘I shall miss you terribly.’ She smiled again, and fluttered her eyelashes, just a little, nothing that could be construed as flirtatious, but enough that he cocked his head and gazed at her with rapt attention.

  ‘Do you have something in your eye?’ he said. ‘Do you require assistance?’

  She laughed, even though she felt a blush coming on, and swatted him lightly on his shoulder. ‘No, of course not. I cannot think why you would ask such a thing.’

  He stared at her a long moment longer, and then bowed and left to collect his sister. Caroline stood in the same spot, feeling the overly wide smile still stretching her lips, as she watched him speak briefly to Mr Tryphon before hustling Georgiana away. Mr Tryphon turned and caught sight of Caroline. He apparently thought the smile was for him, because he quickly made his way to her side.

  ‘At last,’ he said. ‘I am freed from my responsibility and can spend my time as I wish.’

  For a moment, a dark thought entered her mind. If Eleanor was brazen enough to chase after Mr Darcy for his money, could Mr Tryphon not have equally base motives for spending time with Miss Darcy? ‘You did not seem overly burdened by your responsibility.’

  He raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘My dear Miss Bingley! Surely you cannot think I enjoy spending time away from you? Please, you must not think so unkindly of me.’

  She looked into his warm brown eyes, and saw only the open countenance of a young man newly come to town and not yet acquainted with the convoluted relationships that sometimes existed between people. She envied his innocence. What was wrong with her, that she could think so unkindly about not one but two of her dearest friends? ‘I could never think unkindly of you.’

  His face brightened, and he took her hand to kiss it, but she pulled it away. A woman about to become engaged to Mr Darcy could not be so free with other men. ‘I think, though,’ she continued, ‘that you will no longer be burdened by that particular responsibility. I suspect Mr Darcy will not allow his sister to attend any more concerts held at private homes.’

  Mr Tryphon said nothing, and Caroline was shocked to see something of Eleanor’s fear in his eyes. But how could that be? Why would either of them fear the loss of either or both Darcys at a party? Mr Darcy had rarely accepted the invitations in the past, so nothing would change. Could her suspicions have some basis in fact after all? ‘Why,’ she asked, realising Mr Tryphon was less adept than his hostess at hiding his emotions, ‘are you so dismayed that you will not have to dance attendance on Miss Darcy? I thought,’ and despite herself, her voice sharpened, ‘you disliked the duty.’

  ‘I do. I did,’ he said, but the words seemed to have appeared automatically, without anything behind them. He stared into the distance, his eyes unfocused. Suddenly he snapped his attention back to her. ‘I am delighted, of course, for it means I can spend more time with you.’

  She looked at him with scepticism.

  ‘Truly,’ he said. ‘I know I have appeared distant towards you, but I know also that you are too kind a person to punish me now by pretending a harshness your gentle heart cannot feel.’ Suddenly, he fell to his knees in front of her. ‘You know how I feel,’ he said, reaching a hand up towards her face. ‘I have told you, I have even committed my love on paper. Tell me, you must tell me, you read that letter, and you know the truth of my affection for you. Please, Caroline, I cannot hold myself back any longer. Say you return my love. Say you will become my wife.’

  All throughout the room, the buzz of conversation faded, and heads turned to regard this spectacle. Caroline had never felt so mortified in her life. Nor had she felt as alive. I do love you, she wanted to say. But the words that came out of her mouth were different. ‘Mr Tryphon, I am greatly honoured by your proposal, and by the affection you profess to feel for me.’

  ‘I do not profess it!’ he cried, ignoring the attention that now focused on him. ‘I do not “feel” it. I am it, it is impossible to separate it from my very being!’

  ‘I understand,’ Caroline said, looking about, grateful that the Darcys, at least, had already left and so were not here to witness this. ‘I am honoured, as I said, and I do not underestimate the strength of your emotion.’ I don’t, and if I stand here much longer, I shall fall to the floor, unable to keep myself from being in your arms. ‘I must tell you, however, that I have an understanding with anothe
r man, and so I can never be yours.’

  He closed his eyes, and the pain inside her resonated from the pain she saw on his face, but then he rose to his feet and his face grew stony as he regained control over his emotions. ‘I did not know,’ he said tightly, each word clipped. ‘I would have thought our friendship was such that you would have confided something so important as an engagement.’

  ‘We are not engaged,’ Caroline said, suddenly miserable. ‘It is simply the knowledge that we will become so, and I am sorry I did not think to mention it to you.’ She hadn’t mentioned it, she realised now, because she had been falling in love with Mr Tryphon, ever since they first met, and she had enjoyed his growing love for her too much to want to say anything that might put a stop to it.

  He looked at her, standing very close, and in his dark eyes she saw fear. There was no mistaking it, even though in the tight press of his lips and the lowering of his brows she saw that the fear was becoming over-shadowed by anger. Unintentionally, she took a step back.

  Charles appeared at her side, and she had never been so grateful to have been granted a brother as well as a sister. ‘Is everything quite all right?’ he asked, placing an arm around her shoulders.

  A few other men, she noticed, had moved closer, and while she disliked appearing weak, she was grateful for their concern. Clearly, since everything in Mr Tryphon’s posture and expression demonstrated anger, they were prepared to defend her.

  At Charles’ words, though, Mr Tryphon seemed suddenly to realise everyone else was interested in the little drama he had caused. ‘All is well,’ he said to Charles, ‘and I would hope that we are well enough acquainted, Mr Bingley, to know I would never allow distress or harm to come to your sister.’ He bowed. ‘I have made a fool of myself, for which I apologise, but I can feel no regret, for she is a prize worth any amount of embarrassment.’ With that, he left. Caroline was unable to keep her eyes from following him as he moved through the clusters of people, his head held high, until he disappeared through a doorway that she knew led to the private areas of the house.