A Hasty Decision

by Wynne Mabry

  Perhaps the connection with Mr. Bingley had something to do with this. Nobody would want to risk missing an invitation to Netherfield because they had snubbed the Bennets, especially since a repeat of last year’s ball was being eagerly anticipated. He and Jane had already been discussing plans for it.

  Elizabeth hoped that Mr. Darcy would attend so that she could thank him personally for his service to her family, but then she heard that she would have an earlier opportunity. On their way back to London, he and his sister were intending to spend a couple of weeks at Netherfield.

  Elizabeth was now there herself, having been asked to stay with the Bingleys over the autumn in addition to the London plan. She had been a little hesitant to accept so soon after their marriage, but they had insisted, and she was grateful to get away from Longbourn. With her mother still lamenting Lydia’s foolish choice, Kitty complaining about a loss of privileges, and Mary practicing the pianoforte more than ever, that house was not a quiet one. Netherfield, on the other hand, was a place of serenity.

  Mr. Darcy, when he arrived, fit very well into this peaceful atmosphere. Elizabeth saw that he was more tranquil on this meeting than he had been when they were last together, for which she was glad.

  “I have been longing to thank you for the service that you did for my family,” she said as soon as there was a chance to speak with him privately. “I know you did not want any credit for it, but Mr. Bingley had his reasons for telling us what you did. I understand that you were instrumental in finding Lydia and bringing about her marriage. And at your own expense. It was too generous of you.”

  “I felt it was my duty to take responsibility for Wickham,” he said. “You must not think it too generous.”

  “But it must have been a very great expense, and all because of my sister. You would not have felt obliged to help him if he had not dragged somebody else down with him. It was her foolishness which caused you so much trouble.”

  “You must not think any more of it. I was happy to be of use to friends. I hope that I may consider you as a friend.”

  “You may indeed. I am sorry that we have not always gotten along well, but I hope that we can be good friends in the future. I enjoyed our discussions at Pemberley.”

  “I did as well. I will be glad of the opportunity for many more such conversations.”

  In the next two weeks, they talked often, and with the ease of friendship. Elizabeth was pleased to see that her confidence in Mr. Darcy was justified. He continued to behave with perfect circumspection, and there was never any hint of that bitterness which had been expressed in the summer. Certain that he had managed to conquer it, she felt hopeful that her proximity should not unsettle him. She would not have wanted her presence to cause him unease, but it looked as though they could comfortably be in company together.

  She was also delighted to further her friendship with Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley, and to share it with Jane. The four of them were the best of friends by the end of this visit. They were all eager to meet again, which was going to happen before long. Mr. Darcy was very happy to accept another invitation to stay with the Bingleys when they held their ball.

  Mrs. Darcy was of course included in this. Elizabeth was curious to see her and hopeful of also seeing some amiability between the pair. But she feared that this was too much to expect. After all, his stay at Netherfield suggested that he was not in any hurry to be reunited with his wife.

  A Fresh Beginning

  In that time at Netherfield, Mr. Darcy often smiled upon the cheerful camaraderie between the four ladies. He was pleased to see that Jane and Elizabeth were having an excellent influence on Georgiana. After a few days in their company, she was taking a greater share in conversation and beginning to speak with unusual confidence. She was also picking up a little of Elizabeth’s liveliness, which was just what Mr. Darcy wanted to see in his sister, who had been quiet and shy for too long.

  It was wonderful to see so much affection between them too. Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst had often spoken of having great feeling for his sister, but there had never been any real evidence of it. This was the sort of friendship which she needed, and he was very glad that Anne was not with them to throw a damper on it.

  He had briefly seen his wife before going back to Pemberley. After all the business of Mr. Wickham’s wedding had been settled, Mr. Darcy had gone to Rosings for a couple of days. There were some things he wished to discuss with the steward, and he thought it appropriate to see something of Anne while he was in the south. She displayed no enthusiasm for his appearance though.

  “I did not know that you were thinking of coming here,” she said in a voice which clearly declared that it was not a pleasant surprise.

  Lady Catherine was at first pleased to see him. “I hope you intend to make a long stay,” she said.

  “Only a short one actually. I have left Georgiana at Pemberley, and I still have some unfinished business there which requires my attention.”

  “You have business here as well, and you ought to spend more time with Anne,” she said sharply.

  “It was her preference not to go to Pemberley,” he said, carefully keeping his own tone calm. “I was only accommodating her wishes.”

  “You should have come here with her.”

  This had caused him to speak more firmly. “I always go to Pemberley in the summer. I am quite willing to let Anne do as she prefers, but I am not going to change my own habits to suit her.”

  “I do not mind Darcy not coming to Rosings with me,” Anne boldly said to her mother. “We will see plenty of each other all winter.”

  “You should see more of each other now,” Lady Catherine complained. “I have yet to hear anything of a baby being expected.”

  After that comment, Anne had not dared to say anything more. Mr. Darcy had evaded the subject, but he was uncomfortably aware that it would eventually come up again.

  Mrs. Jenkinson had obviously not cared to see him either, and his visit had been strained. The best part of it was the time he spent with the steward, discussing some projects which he had in mind and arranging for the first stages to be implemented. Those productive hours helped to make up for some dreadful evenings spent with three disagreeable ladies. He had been glad to take his leave of them and return to the two at Pemberley whose company was vastly superior.

  The rest of the summer had been more idyllic, contributing to that quietude which Elizabeth had observed. He had spent some more time thinking about his feelings for her, but in a constructive way. He could not simply put an end to his love for her, but he could do his best to turn it into the sort of love which one felt for friends and relatives. She could be significant to him without there being anything wrong in it.

  Seeing her again had tested his resolve. It was not easy to observe her becoming as close to Georgiana as a sister, or to be around a couple so much in love as the Bingleys. But Mr. Darcy had kept to his resolve, and he managed to enjoy her company while maintaining the peace which he had found, and to be happy for his friends without succumbing to jealousy.

  As had been the case last year, they were invited out quite often, but he even found enjoyment in these evenings. Instead of standing at the edge of the company, he was in the middle of it, taking part in conversations that were not so disagreeable as he had thought them on the previous year. He did not find the company as inferior as he had once thought either. Now that he greeted people like Sir William Lucas and Mrs. Long as old acquaintances, he seemed to like them better. Even Mrs. Bennet seemed a little less vulgar, and she was surprisingly pleasant to him.

  The evenings on which they did not go out were the most enjoyable though. Their group was as exceptionally amicable one, and Mr. Darcy appreciated the lack of tensions between them, as well as the laughter and entertaining conversation. Indeed, he had never enjoyed any company better. He was quite sorry when it was time to leave. If their visit could have been extended, he would have gladly done so, but Anne was expecting him to take her ba
ck to London, and he would likely be raked over the coals by Lady Catherine if he did not collect his wife on the date which had already been arranged.

  Meddling and Quarreling

  “I have invited Caroline and Louisa to dinner tomorrow,” Anne said at breakfast one morning a few days after they had returned to London.

  Mr. Darcy noted that she had not even bothered to check with him this time. “Actually, I had promised to meet some friends at the club tomorrow evening,” he said.

  “Well, you will have to inform them that you are not free after all,” she instructed him.

  “I suppose I could put it off for another day,” he said, not wanting to get into a disagreement with her over a plan which had been informal in the first place. He was not entirely certain about the wisdom of giving in to her though.

  In the past few days she had been much more vocal than usual, and loudly critical of various things, including a new jacket of his to which she had taken a dislike.

  “You must not wear it again,” she had said. That had been interfering enough, but now he feared that she intended to dictate to him on a regular basis.

  No longer was she the quiet wife he had anticipated having. Now that she was discovering her voice, Anne seemed to be turning into a version of her mother, which was a dreadful prospect. He felt very uncertain about what the future held.

  It did occur to him that this newfound confidence might help her to overcome her fear of marital relations. Perhaps they might revisit that subject, and there could be children after all. Then again, would he want any child to have such a mother as this shrewish lady his wife was rapidly becoming?

  That question was settled by her behaviour when they went out to dinner one evening. As before, she was unnecessarily nervous of him when they got into the carriage. She took both the opposing seat and the opposite corner. That distrust irritated him more than ever. It was not as though he wanted to force himself upon somebody who had such an aversion to him. A life of celibacy was more appealing.

  The rest of October went by with Anne becoming increasingly peevish and more unpleasant each day. For the sake of peace, he was taking pains to avoid any dispute, but it was obvious that sooner or later he would have to take a stand on some point. That day arrived when he received notice of the date for Mr. Bingley’s ball and a reiteration of the invitation to stay at Netherfield as long as he liked.

  “We have some other engagements coming up, but I am sure we can manage a week,” he said to Georgiana. “I expect you would like that.”

  “I would indeed,” she said, “I should very much like to see Jane and Elizabeth again.”

  “Do you mean the Miss Bennets?” Anne asked.

  “Miss Bennet and Mrs. Bingley actually,” Georgiana replied.

  “But she was a Miss Bennet before her marriage. Are you well acquainted with them?”

  “They are two of my dearest friends.”

  “This will not do,” Anne cried. “Those ladies are not suitable friends for you. I shall not give you the details, but one of their sisters did something excessively shocking.”

  “You do not need to give me the details. I already know about it, but Jane and Lizzie are nothing like their sister.”

  “You know about it? How is that?”

  “I told her,” Mr. Darcy said. “How is it that you know?”

  “Mother told me. She heard all about it from Mr. Collins. I must say that I am surprised you would acquaint your sister with such a sordid story.”

  “It was not that sordid. Mr. Wickham and Miss Lydia Bennet were married.”

  “Only after they eloped. I think it very improper of you to talk to your sister about such matters, but even worse is allowing her to be friends with members of such a family. I cannot countenance any further association with them. We shall not be going to Netherfield. I do not like to spurn Caroline and Louisa’s brother, but it must be done. You should have already had the sense to drop that friendship, Darcy.”

  “Nothing would ever compel me to drop Mr. Bingley’s friendship,” Mr. Darcy said firmly.

  “You must. Even Caroline and Louisa do not care to see much of him anymore. They tried to convince him not to connect himself so foolishly, and they were very disappointed that he ignored their advice.”

  “How despicable of them,” Georgiana cried. “I think it was very nasty of them to try to separate two people as much in love as the Bingleys.”

  “You must get this silly idea of love out of your head,” Anne told her sharply. “People of our standing do not concern themselves with love. And I will not have you saying that my friends are nasty.”

  “Well they were,” Georgiana said defiantly.

  “They were completely correct, as has now been proven.” Anne looked at Mr. Darcy. “I understand that you would not back them up either. They were disappointed in you as well, and justifiably so.”

  “It was not for them to meddle in their brother’s affairs, nor for me, but as it happens, I thought that he should marry Miss Bennet since he was very much in love with her, and I have not changed that opinion. He has a very sweet and good-natured wife.”

  This was a pointed hint which Anne apparently did not catch. “He has a very discreditable wife,” she said. “It would not surprise me if both ladies were like their sister. When we met Miss Bennet, Mother thought that she was very forward in her manners and excessively opinionated. Did it never occur to you that she would be a dreadful influence on Georgiana?”

  “Not at all,” Mr. Darcy replied. “I find her liveliness and honesty quite refreshing. If anything, my sister would do well to take Miss Bennet for a model.”

  “I hope she will not,” Anne said. “I would not like my sister to acquire pert manners.”

  “Elizabeth is not pert,” Georgiana cried in defence of her friend.

  “No, she is not,” Mr. Darcy agreed. Indeed, he thought that if anybody was pert and opinionated, it was his wife.

  “I am in agreement with my mother,” she said with a tone of finality, as though Lady Catherine’s opinion was paramount. “Miss Bennet is not suitable to know. I am sorry, Georgiana, but you must give her up. I insist upon it.”

  Mr. Darcy did not think that his wife looked the least bit sorry. “It is not for you to insist upon anything where Georgiana is concerned,” he said with severity. “I decide what she may or may not do.”

  “It is my responsibility to chaperone her, and part of that duty is helping her to choose suitable friends and avoid unsuitable ones.”

  “Actually, it is not your responsibility to chaperone Georgiana. I have entrusted that duty to Mrs. Annesley, who performs it admirably. And ultimately, all choices concerning my sister are mine alone.”

  She reddened at this, but he suspected that was from anger rather than any embarrassment at having overstepped her bounds. She did not repeat her insistence though. Instead she said, “I think you are making a very foolish choice. You ought to heed my advice on this matter.”

  “I do not see any value in your advice. In my opinion, Georgiana has chosen her friends very well. Better than some people do.” That hint went over her head as well. “And we are definitely going to Netherfield. You may stay here if you like. Indeed, I encourage you to do so since the company at Netherfield is so offensive to you.”

  “I will go with you. If you must go there, which I still strongly protest, then I shall do my best to limit Miss Bennet’s influence on Georgiana.”

  “You are not to interfere with their friendship in any way. That is one thing which I will not tolerate.”

  She did not reply to this. Perhaps the harshness of his tone had quelled her, but he was very much concerned that she did mean to interfere. He was inclined to refuse to take her along, but that would only increase the growing conflict between them. He was going to have to keep an eye on her though. He certainly did not want her to be spoiling Georgiana’s enjoyment of their visit. It was not fair for his sister to suffer because he had chosen a wife f
oolishly.

  In the next couple of days, he tried to treat Anne in a friendly way and put this disagreement behind them, but she was not cooperative with his efforts to improve the rapidly diminishing state of their marriage. She was rather sharp with Georgiana as well, perhaps in consequence of having failed to achieve her wishes.

  Mr. Darcy did not like it at all. Feeling that they were doomed to increasing misery, he began to wonder if an annulment might be obtainable. His wife’s refusal to have him in her chamber could be grounds for it, but he was uncertain what view the church would take of his situation when he had been so willing to accommodate her wishes. He might be expected to make more effort to enforce his marital rights. That was one potential problem. So was the reaction which could be anticipated from his relatives.

  They would be furious, of course. Indeed, they would probably try to block the attempt if he made it. Once he started proceedings, if that were even possible, Lady Catherine would very likely be in his house ordering him to bed his wife and forcing Anne to do her duty.

  There was also the matter of his own duty. He had made his choice and should not be wanting to unmake it. Annulments were not meant to be used in that way. Nor should Anne have to pay such a price for his mistake. It was wrong of him to be thinking about ridding himself of his wife. Feeling guilty for indulging in such thoughts, he told himself that he must keep on trying harder.

  An Abundance of Discontented Ladies

  There was gloom on one side of the carriage, and good cheer on the other. Anne and Mrs. Jenkinson were so sulky that Mr. Darcy wished he had left them behind. Fortunately, Georgiana was in excellent spirits. If she was concerned about any hindrance to her enjoyment of this visit, that was not getting her down. When they reached Netherfield, she greeted her friends with joyful enthusiasm.