Chapter Twenty-Five

W hen the Bingley carriage arrived back at Netherfield, the Colonel, having had very little to occupy his time while everyone was gone, was happy to greet his host and hostess at the door.

"And how was your visit, Miss Bingley?"

"Perfectly wonderful," she replied, sweeping past him and going up the stairs, head held high.

Her brother remained in the entryway, staring after his sister.

"Bingley?" the Colonel asked.

"It was perfectly wonderful for Caroline, as she ruined any hope of Miss Bennet ever marrying me." Mr. Bingley's tone was flat. "Caroline spoke so insultingly of the Bennets that we had to leave!"

"And you did not immediately reprimand your sister for her behaviour? You allowed her to insult the family of the woman you hoped to marry?"

Mr. Bingley was silent.

The Colonel could only feel sympathy for the young fool. "May I advise you, Bingley?"

Mr. Bingley turned and eyed the Colonel with dislike. "And why would you do that? We are rivals, are we not?"

"Evidently, we are not rivals any longer." The Colonel waited a few minutes as Mr. Bingley digested the truth of this.

"I suppose you are right. You have won the day, Colonel, with the help of my younger sister." Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he looked suspiciously at his guest. "You did not happen to tell her of our agreement, did you?"

"That I would leave the field to you if you could convince me that you could control your sister? Of course not; that would have been dishonourable in the extreme!" Colonel Fitzwilliam drew himself up, offended.

"The way she acted today…I think somehow she must have learnt of the agreement and chose to make certain that I would not be able to offer for Miss Bennet. No, Colonel, of course it could not have been you. I apologise for my insulting insinuation."

"Do you want my advice or do you not?"

"I do, yes." The two men went to the library and shut the door.

"Come farther from the door, Bingley," the Colonel insisted.

"Why? It is closed."

"I have seen Miss Bingley listening at this very door."

"What?"

"Yes. I am sorry to tell you, but it is so."

"I had no idea…"

"Bingley, I will speak frankly, as you have been a good host, particularly in view of our conflicted interests. The girl plays you like a fiddle. I have watched her as she cries on command, as she tells you that you have an obligation to her, as she counters your every statement with yet another reason as to why she should have her way. I will tell you flat-out that she is far, far cleverer than you."

"Why, how dare –"

"Hold; I am not yet done. Your sister is cleverer than you, cleverer than me, and probably cleverer than anyone except Darcy and Miss Elizabeth. And there is only one thing to do with someone so very clever who does not have your best interests at heart." He paused.

Mr. Bingley had a faraway look in his eye. "I just said to her that she wants me to have her best interests at heart, but she certainly does not have my best interests at heart."

The Colonel scoffed at this. "Let me guess; she then said something about your parents and her being your younger sister, or some such thing."

"That is exactly what she said. How could you know that?"

"Because that is precisely the argument that would work on you, and she knows it. I repeat – there is only one thing to do with someone who is cleverer than you, but is not on your side, Bingley."

Mr. Bingley thought about it. Fitzwilliam was a military man, so – "Kill her?"

"What? Good Lord, no, of course not. Well, on the battlefield, that would be the correct response, but in this case the answer is this: get rid of her as soon as possible."

"Get rid of her? How? I am responsible for her!"

"She is of age, so who is it that says that you are responsible for her?"

"Everyone! My parents, Louisa, society –"

"It does not matter, Bingley. She will destroy you if you allow her to."

"I have already lost Miss Bennet. What more can she do to me?"

"If you plan to let your sister choose your bride for you, then you are quite right – there is nothing more she can do to you. If you would prefer to choose your own wife, however, then you need to become more of a man."

"I am already a man." Bingley was offended.

The Colonel shook his head. "Listen to me, Bingley. Women want to be respected, of course, but women also want to be protected. Moreover, in our society, they need to be protected. A woman wants a man who is strong, strong in loving her and strong in protecting her from harm. By allowing Miss Bingley to speak ill of Miss Bennet's family without interfering, you showed Miss Bennet that she cannot count on you to protect her. You showed her that she would never come first with you."

"So I failed Miss Bennet."

"You did not, actually. You simply showed her what she would have to be willing to accept in order to be your wife. She cannot be faulted for deciding against you, given those conditions; asking you to leave was the only thing she could do."

Mr. Bingley huffed. "Actually, it was Miss Elizabeth who told me to leave. But that was after Miss Bennet had burst into tears and run off."

The Colonel laughed. "That sounds about right."

"And what would you have done, had you been there?"

"I would have sent Miss Bingley home the very minute she began whatever diatribe she had launched into, then returned to Miss Bennet, apologised profusely to whomever had witnessed the event, and immediately asked Miss Bennet for a courtship."

Mr. Bingley shook his head. "I could never have done that."

"I know you could not; that is why Miss Bingley must live elsewhere."

The Colonel then put his finger to his lips, walked silently to the library door, and jerked it open.

Miss Bingley had quite obviously been leaning against the library door, hoping to make out a few words of their conversation; once deprived of that support, she almost fell to the floor. Blushing furiously, she righted herself and said, "I was just about to knock; shall I have refreshments sent in to you?"

The Colonel began to laugh as Charles moaned in embarrassment. Flustered, Caroline turned and fled.