Chapter 6

“The concert was quite wonderful last night, was it not?” Caroline Bingley commented. “I do appreciate fine music, especially when enjoying it in the company of fellow members of high society. And oh, Louisa, did you see Miss Harding’s fan? Do you have any idea where she purchased it?”

Mrs. Louisa Hurst, who was rooting through her netting box in search of black thread, paused and shook her head. “I do not, but I agree it was quite lovely. I think it must have been made from ivory?”

“Yes, and with such charming medallions painted on it. I will have to ask her where she obtained it when next I see her.”

“We are invited to dinner with the Hardings in three days,” Louisa said as she threaded her needle and returned to her needlework.

Caroline emitted an irritable sigh. “Three days! I do loathe February, Louisa! There are so few amusements this time of year. I do not know how I will survive another two months before the Season begins!”

“It is better here than in the country, at least,” her sister returned drily.

“Yes, that is true enough, though I do wish that Charles would bring Mr. Darcy over more often. It has been a fortnight since...”

She trailed away as the door to the drawing room opened and her brother, as if summoned by her words, marched into the chamber.

“Charles!” Caroline exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “I did not expect to see you this evening! Is Mr. Darcy here?”

“No, he is not,” Charles said courteously, though his expression, if his sisters had cared to notice, was not propitious.

As a matter of fact, neither sister did notice. Charles Bingley was well known both for his cheerful disposition and his disinclination for argument, and Caroline, and to a lesser extent, Louisa, were in the habit of directing his life as they saw fit. Their reign was quite at an end, though they did not yet know it.

“Please do sit down and let me call for tea, Charles,” Louisa said, lifting a bell, only to halt when her brother said firmly, “I am not here for tea, Sisters, nor do I intend to stay long. I am here to speak to you both about a matter of importance.”

Caroline sat up eagerly at these words. Perhaps Mr. Darcy had finally decided to make her an offer, and he had spoken to Charles on the subject, and...

“What is it?” Louisa asked, finally noticing her brother’s narrowed eyes. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes, something is very wrong. I went to Hookham’s Library yesterday, and I met Miss Jane Bennet in the Reading Room.”

Caroline gasped at these words and then, when her brother turned to glare at her, pasted a false smile on her lips even as her brain worked busily. “Miss Bennet? I had no idea that she was in London.”

Bingley took a few steps closer to her and glowered down, though when he spoke, his tone was eerily calm. “I must admit, Caroline, that I find it disappointing and unnerving that you are comfortable with lying to my face in this way. I know that you knew of Miss Bennet’s presence in London. Indeed, she visited you, and then you took a full four weeks to return her call, whereupon you treated her with abominable discourtesy.”

Caroline leaped up and peered up into Bingley’s face, her countenance twisted in outrage. “If Miss Bennet told you that, then she is the liar. I assure you that I had no idea she was here in Town; Jane probably told false stories because she did not want to admit how little she cared about you and…”

“Darcy told me that Miss Bennet visited you some weeks ago,” Bingley interrupted, and now his hands were fisted ominously. “He was at the library with me, and admitted during the carriage ride home that he was also aware of Jane Bennet’s visit to her aunt and uncle’s home and deliberately chose to keep me unaware. So do not try me anymore, Sister; I am quite angry enough without additional subterfuge on your part.”

Caroline’s face went slack and her mouth drooped open. Charles never, ever spoke to her this way, and while her first inclination was to snarl, her second was to take a moment to ponder this most unusual situation. There was a strange look in her brother’s eye which provoked an unusual alarm in her breast.

Louisa, who had been watching with growing consternation, set aside her needlework and said, “Charles, I do beg you to calm yourself! Yes, Caroline and I knew of Miss Bennet’s stay here in London with her plebian relations in Cheapside, but given that she certainly came to Town in the hope of reclaiming your attentions, we decided, as did Mr. Darcy, that it was best for you to remain unaware of her presence. You cannot fault us for that any more than you can fault Mr. Darcy who is, you must acknowledge, far more aware of the machinations of desperate ladies than you are.”

Charles blew out a slow breath to calm himself and stalked up and down the Oriental carpet, a handsome, expensive rug woven in crimson and blue, before he trusted himself to speak.

“So what is it, Sisters?” he inquired conversationally. “Is Miss Bennet eager for an offer from me, or is she not? First you and Darcy informed me that she did not care for me. Now you claim that she pursued me to London in the hopes of rekindling my affections. Those do not seem compatible goals on the lady’s part.”

“She does not care for you,” Caroline said, regaining her confidence, “but she does wish to marry you. Why would she not, Charles? You are handsome and wealthy, whereas she has only her considerable beauty to recommend her.”

“She is also kind, gentle, charming, and intelligent, along with being a gentleman’s daughter,” Bingley said indignantly.

“Yes, a gentleman’s daughter,” Caroline retorted with a disdainful sniff. “A country gentleman, with a vulgar, stupid wife who is merely the daughter of a solicitor. Miss Bennet is not worthy of you, and we did you a great favor by keeping her away from you. Now I do hope you will be careful. It is unlikely you will meet her again, but you should probably avoid the library...”

“I called on Miss Bennet at her relations’ home this morning,” Charles interrupted. “I am convinced that she loved me before I so cruelly abandoned her, and my greatest hope and prayer is that I will be able to regain her good opinion and admiration.”

“Charles, no!” Caroline screeched. “You know that Mr. Darcy…”

“I do not care what Darcy wants, though to his credit, he has acknowledged his own errors in this matter and asked my forgiveness, which neither of you has done. In any case, I did not come here in order to ask your opinion. I will attempt to win back Miss Bennet’s love. I will call on her in Town unless she sends me away, and when she returns to Longbourn, I will journey back to Netherfield. Neither of you will be permitted to join me there, and before you shriek that I will need a hostess, well, if necessary, I will invite Cousin Amelia, who can be trusted to treat the Bennets with courtesy.”

“Charles!” his sisters cried out together in horror.

Bingley turned on his heel and took a few steps towards the door, then turned dramatically and said, “One last thing, Sisters. I have been in the habit of paying the extra bills for dresses and furbelows and the like. That ends now. You have your own money, and I recommend you learn a little economy, for I will no longer be funding your extravagances.”

Charles bestowed one last, vindictive smile on his stunned siblings and strode out of the door.