White Lies and Other Half Truths

by Barbara Tiller Cole

  “No, Mama, I really have no concerns or question at all. I am not worried. I trust William.”

  “Elizabeth, you do not know of what you are speaking. A husband does not care for such things. It is not his job. You will be expected to remain still…” Mrs. Bennet began.

  Elizabeth interrupted her, “Mama! I know what I need or want to know. You need not trouble yourself! William has told me he is committed to me, and desires our marital bed to be as joyful for me as it is for him. I trust him.”

  “Elizabeth, have you truly had such an intimate conversation with you fiancé? It is not proper! What was Mr. Darcy thinking to speak with you of such things?”

  “Mama, I had concerns and I decided to speak to him. Our relationship started in such a way that we have decided there will be no secrets between us. He has asked me to speak to him about any concerns or questions I might have, on any topic.”

  “Elizabeth, it is just not done. Oh, what he must think of you?”

  “He loves me, Mama. William has assured me that allowing me to feel pleasure is his duty. He has assured me that it is.”

  “But Elizabeth, it is not proper for you to find your pleasure. That is not what society demands of a proper wife,” Mrs. Bennet said.

  “Well, William insists propriety need not have a place in our bed chamber,” Elizabeth said.

  “He has spoken to you of such? That is most singular, shocking, in fact!” Mrs. Bennet looked her in the eyes.

  Elizabeth blushed slightly but said nothing.

  “Well I see, well, fair thee well,” Mrs. Bennet said.

  Is it possible that Lizzy and Mr. Darcy have already… oh, well, she has always been so independent… Mrs. Bennet paused for a few minutes, and then finally decided to let it go.

  “I will leave you to yourself in this matter then, Lizzy. I wish you well, but if you should ever have any questions you will speak with me, will you not?”

  Elizabeth answered her, “Yes, I will, Mama.”

  “There is one more thing of which I would speak to you, Elizabeth. You know that I knew your William’s mother,” Mrs. Bennet paused here for a moment. I wonder if I should encourage her not to let anyone think she is inferior…

  Mrs. Bennet continued, “Anne Darcy was a strikingly beautiful woman. She was the perfect picture of proper society. I found myself feeling quite, I should say, inferior when I first met her. I want you to know you are everything intelligent and lovely, Elizabeth. You have all the skills you need to be Mistress of Pemberley. Never, ever let Mr. Darcy, or anyone in his family, make you feel like you are second-class.

  “Know your strength, intelligence and wisdom will aid you, my dear. I am here if you have questions or need encouragement. I know Longbourn is not nearly as large as Pemberley. But I have managed this estate as its Mistress for many years. I may not have said it often, Lizzy, but I love you and I am proud of you.”

  Elizabeth rose and walked across to her mother’s chair and touched her on the arm, “Thank you, Mama, thank you for your confidence in me. It means a great deal.”

  *~*~*~*~*

  A little while after Elizabeth left her mother, she found herself out in the gardens, walking with Jane. Jane seemed a little subdued, and Elizabeth was introspective. But they began to talk.

  “Sister dear, it is quite difficult to believe that in less than twenty-four hours you shall no longer be a Bennet, but shall be Mrs. Darcy, Mistress of Pemberley. Are you not frightened? Is it not overwhelming to you?” Jane asked her.

  “Jane, I have no fear. I could not have said that even ten days ago, but I have spent much time in William’s presence; I simply cannot wait to be his wife. No, I do not feel fear, simply anticipation. The last two weeks have simply flown by, and now it is as if I am in some type of in-between place. No longer Miss Elizabeth and not quite Mrs. Darcy. But in my heart I am already William’s wife.”

  “Elizabeth, I know mother was to speak with you today. Are you not concerned about the wedding night? Do your duties as Mr. Darcy’s wife not concern you? You just seem so calm. Are you, I mean do you not have any fear at all of what is to come?”

  Elizabeth blushed bright red and turned away, but Jane saw her. In Jane’s new determination to speak her mind and be bold she questioned her sister, “Elizabeth, what is it? I know you are trying to hide something from me. I know you that well. What is it? You know me too well to think you can hide it from me. I also know you well enough to be able to tell if you are lying to me. So you might as was well tell me. I am your older sister, and I demand to know what would cause you to blush so.”

  “Jane, I simply cannot speak of it.”

  “Elizabeth, what are you hiding from me?” Jane asked and managed to get her sister to turn around towards her. Elizabeth would not look at her in the eyes.

  “Why cannot you look at me, Elizabeth? Do you have something to tell me? I am listening. I will not back down.”

  “You may be quite shocked if I speak of it, Jane. Shocked indeed,” Elizabeth said. But she looked up at her sister, and smiled a big smile as she cocked her head slightly to the side.

  “Alright, I am not concerned about my wedding night because it is no longer an issue. So there! Are you glad that you pressed me to tell you what you did not want to know?”

  “Oh, Lizzy, do you mean that you... that you and Mr. Darcy… that you have already… you cannot mean… Lizzy is that what you mean?” Jane stumbled on her words.

  “Oh, yes, Jane! That is exactly what I mean. This must, has, to be a secret between you and I. No one else need ever know. Are we in agreement?”

  “But when… how… where?” Jane gasped.

  “Father sent us on an errand in the curricle the other day. That is all I will say about when and where. But how, oh Jane, it is simply amazing. William is everything wonderful.”

  Suddenly Jane changed from astonishment to curiosity, “Oh Lizzy, tell me what is it like? Is it horrible and unpleasant, as Mother has alluded to? You do not seem to think that it was.”

  “All I will say Jane is nothing you have heard need be true. When it comes to your time to be married, I would not recommend you follow my path. But if you have any questions, any doubts and fears, you should speak of them with your fiancée or your husband when they occur. If you need to know anything else, you may speak with me. I would encourage you to forget everything mother might say to you. Perhaps, it might not be so long until you need this advice, sister dear? Are you and Mr. Bingley close to making your own announcement?”

  “Oh, Lizzy, I am so glad to speak of it to you. He has asked me to marry him and I have accepted. But he is waiting to speak to our Father until after your wedding. He wants nothing to overshadow yours and Mr. Darcy’s wedding. He said he wanted his best friend to have his special day without getting in the way. Oh, but Lizzy, he is everything that a man ought to be. I love him so. You say I should speak to him of any concerns or fears I have?”

  “Yes, I would recommend that.”

  “And what if I want him to kiss me?”

  “He has not yet kissed you?”

  “No, and I find I tire of his adherence to propriety. I want to feel his arms around me. I have been thinking about kissing him. Are you shocked?”

  “Well, Jane, I would encourage you to let him know you want his kisses. He may not want to offend you and take a chance on having you reject his advances. If you want him to kiss you, you might move closer to him, put a hand on his face and look at his lips.”

  “Thank you, Lizzy. Know that I will miss you and write to you often.”

  *~*~*~*~*

  “Bingley, I want to tell you just how grateful I am to you for all but forcing me to come to Netherfield. When I think of all I might have missed if I had not come…” William trailed off.

  “Darcy my friend, you need not thank me, you know. I do believe before too long we will be brothers…” Charles said.

  “So, have you asked the lovely Miss Bennet to marry you? At last!” D
arcy exclaimed.

  “You beat me to punch, old man! I was preparing to ask Jane within a day or two of the ball here at Netherfield. You were faster than me. I did not think you had it in you. But I dare say, I have never seen you more content. I am very happy for you, Darcy. Very happy indeed!”

  “Bingley, you have not answered my question, now have you?”

  “I have asked Jane to marry me and she has agreed, Darcy. She truly is an angel. We have both decided to wait to ask for her father’s consent until the day after your wedding. I believe she was going to tell Miss Elizabeth today. So you see, we will indeed be brothers.”

  “Well, I dare say I could not have chosen a better brother for myself. I will be quite honoured to have you in my family, Bingley. Initially, I was unsure if Jane felt for you what you felt for her. But, I think she is much like I am, or rather was before Elizabeth. I know she has strong feelings for you, as Elizabeth has assured me that she does. She is reserved at times, and maybe a little shy. But with you as her husband, I know you will do very well together.”

  Charles moved to pour some brandy for both of them and handed a glass to Darcy, “Here’s to the lovely Bennet sisters!”

  Darcy raised his glass and joined him in the toast.

  *~*~*~*~*

  Caroline Bingley was preparing herself for the evening’s events. She had dressed carefully in a very special, quite alluring (if she did not say so herself) orange gown and robe, along with her orange slippers. She had loosely braided her hair with an orange ribbon woven into the strands. Everything was set.

  Earlier in the day, Caroline had slipped into the housekeeper’s chambers, found, and stolen the key to Mr. Darcy’s room. She knew that he had begun to lock his door each evening, and the only way her plan would work was if she could slip into his room undetected.

  The house had been quiet for nearly an hour when Caroline quietly opened the door to her bedchamber, and looked down the hall to see if anyone was about. Seeing no one, she quietly walked down the corridor towards Mr. Darcy’s room. She slipped the key from a ribbon she had worn around her wrist and placed it into the lock, taking care to be very quiet as she turned the key. She peered around the corner of the door, discovered the room was dark with only embers from an earlier fire. Silently, she tiptoed into the room, and closed the door behind her.

  Caroline approached the bed. Since the sleeping figure was facing away from her on the other side of the bed, with caution, she pulled back the covers and slipped in beside him. She moved a little closer to the warm figure, and spooned behind him. She waited until her hand and arm were warmed by the covers, and then placed her arm over his side and pulled herself closer.

  He closed his hand over hers and raised it to his mouth to kiss it, pulling her even closer until her breasts, nay; her entire body was pressed against him. She sensed he was beginning to wake as his breathing began to increase in rhythm. He turned around, pulling her hard against his chest, moved her head up to meet his, and kissed her hard and firm on the mouth. Caroline had never been kissed, and her excitement was more than she could have imagined. His tongue ran along the seam between her lips, forcing them open as he invaded her mouth. He lowered his hands to her buttocks, pulling her against his hard manhood, undulating his erection against her. She became more and more excited as her heart rate rose and her breathing quickened. She had never imagined such rapture, such ecstasy. Suddenly, without knowing what was happening to her, she reached her pinnacle of pleasure and screamed; a piercing, brutal scream, “Mr. Darcy!”

  All along the hall, doors were open and guests began to peek out of their doors, looking out into the hall.

  Further down the hall, the last room on the left, a lone figure woke out of a deep sleep. Did someone call my name? Tired, the figure rose from the bed, put on a robe, and began to open the door and walk down the hallway.

  Back at the door to the bedchamber, Bingley was first to arrive and opened the door as the key was still in the lock. Caroline moved her head towards the door, and looked up in triumph as her brother entered the room. Behind Bingley joined the figures of his valet, and Lord Matlock. Her smile grew brighter as she saw one of Mr. Darcy’s family members in the doorway.

  “Caroline, my God, what have you done?” her brother cried.

  Caroline prepared to answer him in victory when over the corner of her brother’s shoulder appeared Mr. Darcy, asking, “What is all the racket about, Bingley?”

  Caroline turned to look at her bed companion and the shock was too great. She fainted.

  Chapter 18

  11 December 1811, 12:01 AM

  “What on God’s earth possessed her, Darcy?” Lord Matlock questioned his nephew. He and Darcy were sitting in Bingley’s study, sharing a glass of port.

  “I do not know, Uncle. But I believe, unfortunately, she thought herself to be in my chamber,” Darcy returned.

  “What do you mean?” questioned Lord Matlock.

  “Uncle, up until the night before last, that was the bedchamber I was using,” Darcy returned with irritation and concern.

  “Good God, Darcy! Do you mean to say she was attempting to compromise you? She thought herself in bed with you? My word! To what further lengths will that woman go? I cannot believe it! Well, actually I can after the interview your aunt and I had with her the other night!”

  Darcy stood and began to pace. “She has been unwavering in her pursuit of me for years, Uncle. But until my engagement to Elizabeth, her attempts have been decidedly less calculating. Since my engagement, she has been like a lioness on the prowl. She has searched for a way to separate me from the herd so she could pounce. I have been keenly aware of it, and have had a heightened sense of alert.”

  “Darcy, I do not think I really need to ask you this; but did you ever consider her? Did you ever give her notice? Did you do anything that might cause her to believe she had a chance to win your favour?”

  “No, absolutely not! She is the sister of my best friend, and I have attempted to be civil to with her, but that is all. I have not been insensible to of her machinations. I have let Charles know I had absolutely no interest in her, and he has told her. Yet, I think she must have believed she would eventually wear me down, and I would accept her. She has had no reason to believe I would court her, other than her own vanity,” Darcy said as he stopped pacing to have a sip of port.

  “Well, I thought you had better sense than that. But I also thought that she might have changed since your engagement. Perhaps her bitterness has made her more desperate?”

  “I suppose so. To be honest, I have paid her no mind as I have been pleasantly engaged with my soon-to-be wife,” he smiled and looked away as he said it.

  “Ah, yes, I am sure you have been preoccupied. You must have a friend in this household protecting you if your bedchamber was changed,” Uncle Matlock said, stretching his arms over his head and locking his hands behind his head.

  “I am not sure if someone knew of a plot, or they were simply protecting me from the possibility of one. All I know is that my valet said Mrs. Hurst suggested that I move to one of the larger married apartments; as the next time I am here, I will be here with Elizabeth. He said the Hursts thought I would like the larger apartment. I admit I did not think too much of it at the time. I will have to ask the Hursts if they suspected anything. I cannot tell you, though, how grateful I am that it occurred. There was a key in the lock, Uncle! She had gone so far as to obtain it to unlock the door. I shudder when I think what could have happened if circumstances had been different,” at this Darcy winced slightly, as he rubbed his brow and then his hair distractedly.

  “Darcy, how trustworthy are the servants here at Netherfield? Do you suspect any gossip of this evening's events will make it to Longbourn before the morning?”

  “Oh, good God, I must send an urgent message Mr. Bennet right away, and ask him to have Elizabeth meet me at first light. I know she will be busy preparing for the wedding, but I cannot allow anything to spoil ou
r wedding day. If she should hear anything of this, by the time the gossips have their way with the news, she might hear that I was in that bedchamber. Perhaps I should ride down there myself now,” he rose, preparing to leave the room.

  “Darcy, sit down. A message will do quite well. I will have my valet hand deliver it to Tom myself. In fact, I will send him a message as well, and inform him of your need to see Elizabeth in the morning. Speaking of which, it is now your wedding day, old boy! I think it is time for you to return to your bedchamber. You have escaped Miss Bingley, hopefully for the last time. Let Bingley do his duty as a brother to sort it out. You deserve some rest so you will be your best on your wedding night, aye?” Uncle Edward chuckled and finished his port.

  “Yes, I suppose you are right. Charles will inform me of what happened in the …” but as Darcy began to prepare to leave the chamber, Charles Bingley and Randolph Hurst entered the study. The four discussed the event in detail before returning to their bedchambers.

  *~*~*~*~*

  Mr. Bennet was awoken around one in the morning by Mr. Hill. Two messages had been delivered to him. One was from Edward Fitzwilliam, summarizing the events of the evening, as well as the innocence of his godson in the matter. The second was a note from Darcy, asking him to wake his second daughter shortly before dawn; asking that she meet him on their path, as the note said, so he could tell her of the events. Darcy was quite adamant that he did not want Elizabeth to hear about the matter through gossip, and doubt his innocence; or be concerned that the events of the previous evening would affect their nuptials.