Chapter 11

Dawn was not until 7.00 but Elizabeth and her two staff left as soon as the morning light was sufficient for walking safely. It would be close to two hours to return to Longbourn and the first 30 minutes were silent, all three alone with their thoughts. Claire was the first to speak.

“May I enquire as to how you are feeling this morning, Miss Elizabeth?”

She was still thinking of the red eyes and tear stained handkerchief from the previous evening.

“Confused Claire, confused.”

Claire glanced at her husband and they waited for Elizabeth to say more.

“I am wondering if it was a mistake to return to Hertfordshire. I have been considering a fact that until recently I had overlooked. My Uncle Gardiner did not invite either of his sisters to his wedding. I wonder the reasons behind that. Aunt and Uncle Philips have visited, not regularly but two, no three times since the accident.”

She lapsed into silence. It was Robert that asked the question.

“I am sorry Miss Elizabeth but can you explain more please.”

“Sorry Robert, I was not trying to be enigmatic. I could have stayed at Gracechurch Street. It would not have been ideal for the Gardiner family but I know that I could have stayed. I wonder if by not inviting his sisters, especially my mother, he was allowing me that option. So the first part of my confusion is whether I should have left Gracechurch Street, it was the correct action for the Gardiners but not necessarily for me. And then there has been life here in Hertfordshire upon my return. It is what? Five weeks since I returned and I feel lost.”

Elizabeth sighed.

“I am struggling with my family, and what family means in general. Last night I was struck by Jane’s defense of Mr. Bingley, well of his sister. She apportioned more blame to me than to Caroline Bingley. As you can imagine that did not sit well with me, but my chamber at Netherfield Park was not the place to debate the matter.”

“Why do you think she reacted that way Miss Elizabeth?”

“I do not know for sure, it will be one of my questions. But Jane, Mary, Charlotte Lucas and my father have all chastised me for being too blunt and direct.”

“Blunt and direct?”

“Yes. My father was scathing in his critique of my conversational abilities.”

There was no hiding the hurt in Elizabeth’s voice and again Claire glanced at her husband.

“Apparently the appropriate way to respond is with sugared words, carefully structured sentences. My father so helpfully described it as elegantly thrusting with a poniard as opposed to my swinging with a broadsword.”

“We did not know you before you came to London, have you changed?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“Yes, I have. Despite how his critique made me feel, I understood completely. I do not have the patience for linguistic parlour games. I do not think I suddenly changed one day, rather it was the work of many months. I do not think I had the time.”

She stopped.

“No, that is not true. I chose not to bother with such things, instead devoting my time to assisting my uncle in his business. It comes back to the fundamental problem. I am not sure I know how to be an elegant lady with endless time on my hands.”

She shuddered.

“Such a thought fills me with horror.”

She stopped and faced her staff.

“These talks with you are incredibly helpful. Often, I have to talk something through to organise my thoughts. I am confused and upset about many things but most of all what I am going to do with my life. The autumn and winter hours are going to be busy.”

She reached out and squeezed Claire’s hand and nodded in thanks to Robert.

“Nothing will get solved in the next hour, let us return to Longbourn. Goodness only knows what Mrs. Bennet will have to say for herself.”

--

It could be summarised in two words. A lot. Mrs. Bennet had a lot to say about everything. Elizabeth was shocked that she seemed upset that Jane was better. It had been a troubling fever, stubbornly high for three days before finally breaking. And it had been Elizabeth who had nursed her better, without help from any other members of the family. Yet she was still being scolded for returning. And for allowing Jane to return as well. In barely more than a month Elizabeth had developed a finely-honed ability to tune out her mother. It was that kind of morning.

Of course when Mrs. Bennet saw Mr. Bingley escort Jane into the church all was suddenly well with the world. He handed her off to her family before joining the Netherfield Party. After the service both parties met outside the church.

“Oh Mr. Bingley, I cannot express how thankful we are for your care of my dearest daughter.”

Elizabeth almost turned and headed to Longbourn at that opening sally. She knew Jane was the favourite but his care?

“I did hardly anything Mrs. Bennet. Miss Elizabeth devoted hours to Miss Bennet’s care.”

Bingley might be unable to control his sister but he was a decent man.

“That is as maybe, but we are delighted that you escorted her to church this morning. It is most excessively kind of you.”

Bingley preened before their eyes.

“It was the least I could do.”

“Charles, I think it time we returned to Netherfield Park.”

Elizabeth suppressed a chuckle. Miss Bingley was incapable of remaining silent for long.

“Yes, yes, Caroline. In a minute. I have been thinking about holding a ball, to thank everyone for welcoming us to the neighbourhood. Mrs. Bennet, Miss Bennet, do you think a ball would be well received?”

“Mr. Bingley that would be most prodigiously generous. It has been many years since a ball has been held at Netherfield Park.”

Mrs. Bennet was in full gushing mode. But Mr. Bingley was more concerned with the response of Jane Bennet. She blushed under his scrutiny but quietly confirmed her support.

“That would be most hospitable of you Mr. Bingley.”

“It is settled then. Once the date is set I will deliver the invitations personally.”

As the parties separated Elizabeth was puzzled. It was as if the previous evening had not occurred. Jane had. Elizabeth stopped. Jane had done what? Ignored the fight, dismissed the fight, taken the side of Miss Bingley? Elizabeth lagged behind the rest of her family, Robert and Claire once again silent sentinels. Elizabeth realised that Jane had taken the side of Mr. Bingley, not Miss Bingley. It appeared that loyalty to family only went so far.

--

Elizabeth escaped Longbourn Manor and went to the stables with Mary. It was the only place they could talk with any expectation of privacy. They were aided by Robert who was grooming Buttercup after the journey back from Netherfield Park. Elizabeth told her tale, it did not take long as there were only half a dozen interactions with any of the residents, four of them the short breakfast meetings. Mary was quiet, even during the recitations of the two evenings.

“You let your temper get the better of you Lizzie. But given the provocations it is hard to be censorious of you. It seems that Miss Bingley is a tinder-dry hayrick and you are an unguarded flame. When you come together the result is an inferno.”

“I will accept most of that Mary. But I went out of my way, to use your analogy, to guard my flame. Miss Bingley went looking for trouble both evenings.”

Mary pursed her lips, before nodding in agreement.

“Yes, I can see that. Do you have any idea why?”

“I can only presume that she just does not like me. At an instinctual level. Until I arrived on Wednesday morning I had not spoken to her. Yet on Wednesday evening after dinner she was attacking our family.”

“Attacking Lizzie?”

“You heard her questions. She was pretending concern but there was no mistaking her gloating at our misfortune.”

“She would do well to heed the Book of Proverbs. ‘Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth’.”

Elizabeth smiled.

“I can always rely on you to provide an appropriate quote. It still does not explain why.”

“You are the one who has lived in London, been exposed to that society. Is she not typical?”

Elizabeth considered the question.

“That is the issue, there are lots of social climbers, it is the major pastime in the city. But her actions, her behaviour here, seems to be so bad as to border on caricature. She attacked our family for having uncles in trade. And yet I talked of her own uncle in trade, I had even been introduced to him. She mocked us for Longbourn being entailed. But when I asked her which estate she grew up on she looked like her head was going to explode. I have had tougher debates with our young cousins. And the snide continued use of Eliza after I asked her to refrain? I just do not understand her. Did she think herself Lady of the Manor, able to get away with anything she did, and not be called out on it?”

“There may be some truth to that. Her last sally was disgusting. And Mr. Bingley said nothing?”

“I do not think he caught the start of it. Claire informed me that she had been interrogating the servants, finding out as much as possible. Miss Bingley learned I had been away in London. She knew this already, I had owned it three nights earlier. She could not fluster me, she could not get me to react. She is so deathly afraid of the stench of trade that she expected me to react the same way. When I did not she crossed the line.

“I think that is the part that I struggle with. Uncle Philips is the leasing agent for the Uptons, he is the local solicitor and everyone knows Aunt Philips and Mrs. Bennet are sisters. Similarly Edward Gardiner grew up in the area and, again, is known as their brother. So even if our family were similarly minded to Miss Bingley, it could hardly be ignored. Mama and Papa have their issues but there has never been even a moment when they have not acknowledged Uncle Gardiner. Or indeed Uncle and Aunt Philips. They are part of our family, our closest family other than the seven of us here at Longbourn.

“Part of my problem with Caroline Bingley is that we are completely different when it comes to family. The Gardiners and the Philips’ will always be part of my family.”

It had been a day for sighs, Elizabeth exhaled loudly.

“Which leads me to the point that is more painful than any of Miss Bingley’s demonic diatribes.”

“Jane?”

Elizabeth nodded, pacing as she gathered her thoughts.

“How did she describe Miss Bingley’s insinuation?”

“Something like ‘she should not have said that’, but she was more upset with me for my response than the original insult.”

“What did she say this afternoon?”

Elizabeth scoffed.

“She took a long time to say very little. The gist of it was that I needed to be more ladylike.”

Mary was incredulous.

“In the face of that insinuation about you and our uncle?”

“It comes back to something I discussed with Claire and Robert this morning. Papa, Jane, Charlotte Lucas, even you on occasion, have accused me of being too blunt, too direct. Miss Bingley never said anything actionable. It was the pauses, the smirk, the tone, that conveyed what she meant. She never said the words. Whereas I all but called her a traitor, an agent working for a foreign power.”

Mary had flushed at Elizabeth’s comment but knew the truth of it. She had told Elizabeth she was too blunt. In this instance she did not know how to respond. It had been a breathtaking insult against Elizabeth, thinly-veiled for sure but breathtaking nonetheless.

“What are you going to do about Miss Bingley now?”

“Ignore her. She is never going to invite me to Netherfield and if we are both in attendance at an event at one of our neighbours then I will make sure to stay away from her. At worst I will have to curtsey and mumble ‘Miss Bingley’ before moving away, and at best I never have to talk to her ever again.”

“And Jane?”

The one thing Elizabeth had not shared was her suspicion about Jane’s loyalty to their family. It was not provable and Elizabeth could not bring herself to talk about it. Even to Mary.

“I do not know. That was the biggest misconception in my own mind, that everything in Hertfordshire would be as it was when I left. I was closest to Jane, and Charlotte Lucas was my best friend. But after four years, the two of them are now close friends and my closest sister, and best friend, is you Mary.”

The two sisters embraced tightly. Damp eyes were dried and with thanks to Robert they returned to the Manor.

--

“I worry about our girl.”

Robert and Claire Smith were barely five years older than Elizabeth but when alone always called her ‘our girl’. They were lying in bed that Sunday evening. Claire acknowledged Robert’s comment.

“She is lost, unsure of where her place is in the world.”

“There are precious few who would not be lost based on her experiences the last four years. Let me ask you a seemingly unrelated question. Do you still think of your family?”

“My family? You mean my parents and siblings, rather than you?”

Robert nodded.

“Occasionally I suppose. Something will happen, or someone will say something, that reminds me of them. But it is not often. There never seems to be time. Everyone is still alive, although two of my nephews were stillborn. Why do you ask?”

“I will get to that in just a minute. When did you start in service?”

“I was 14 years old, so 11 years ago.”

“And you left Norfolk and travelled to London, yes?”

“No, I entered service in Norwich but the family decided to move to Ireland so I found new work. It was that family that moved to London, and I moved with them. A year later the Master decided to join his brother in India. It was at that point I joined the Gardiner household. And you had joined three months earlier.”

Her husband nodded.

“Thank you for the reminder. I am not sure that I would have remembered all that correctly. When did you stop thinking about your family?”

Claire pulled herself up, tucking the blanket around her.

“I do not mean that in a cruel way.”

Rather than berating her husband Claire stopped and thought about it.

“After a year with the Gardiners. I saw you and was immediately taken with you. When you smiled at me my heart flipped. I had thought of my family when deciding not to move to Ireland and then India. But once settled at the Gardiners they receded in my thoughts. When I saw you I dreamed of a family with you.”

Despite being married to the man beside her Claire Smith still blushed at her admission.

“Trust me, the admiration was mutual. The reason I asked is I think Miss Elizabeth has an unrealistic, na?ve even, idea of family.”

“What do you mean?”

“We are talking about the gentry, not people like us. The oldest male inherits everything and any other males have to make their way in the world. Yes?”

“Agreed.”

“And the daughters are married off to suitable, eligible, appropriate men. Pick whichever word you wish. But they are married off. And they leave their birth family and join their husband’s. And together they start their own family, even if it is a continuation of the husbands. Yes?”

“Agreed. Everyone knows this including me, why are you explaining it?”

“Because Miss Elizabeth seems to have missed the point.”

“Do not be coy, speak plain please.”

“She does not imagine leaving her family. Actually, let me change that. She does not imagine marrying and leaving her family. She finds nearly all men tiresome, and has little time for them. And sadly that now includes her father. She spent four years working long hours with few breaks, all for her family. But you have seen all this. The extended family have embraced her, she is loved by all the children, and you know that the servants all respect her. Yet she returns here and her actual family are a mess. Her father never leaves the library, the mother gads about the county spending money, and the two youngest are three quarters of the way to being light-skirts already. And now on top of all that she is disillusioned by her oldest sister, choosing to side with an eligible man and his family rather than Miss Elizabeth and her own family.

“That was why I asked about whether you still thought about your family. At a certain point women decide to separate from their family. And not in any kind of ‘never speaking to them again’ sort of way. But they have to embrace, at least mentally, a huge change in their near future.”

“I see what you are saying. Miss Elizabeth confessed just this morning that she has no idea what is in store for her life. Although she did not say it out loud, it is clear that she does not see marriage as one of those options, given her disdain for most men.”

“That is definitely part of it. She is also having to deal with conflicted feelings about family. Nothing has changed here, for any of the five sisters. None of them have a dowry, and the two youngest are not being parented. Or at least parented appropriately. Again, you know how society works. So let me ask you this. What will happen to Miss Elizabeth, and the others, if Miss Lydia ends up in the Pudding Club?”

There was no answer to that dangerous conundrum. Any comments from Miss Elizabeth fell on deaf ears with the youngest two. In fact they were being actively encouraged in their behaviour by their mother!

“The latter point has no easy answer. It will depend upon whether they can capture the father before he skedaddles. The lack of dowry is not about the money. Rather it is about the priorities of the parents. That is also part of her confusion. She updated those ledgers every quarter, another task the Master of Longbourn abrogated. She saw the numbers, knew what they meant, but it was really driven home when she saw it with her own eyes. And the cutting comments from both of them did not help either.”

Claire slid back down and snuggled into her husband.

“Do you have any idea how she will react?”

“I think she will move to London. She will try and stay through to her majority but I am not sure she will last that long. It has only been five weeks and there are seven and a half months until her birthday. If something happens before then, your guess is as good as mine.”

The candle was blown out and they fell asleep. Little did they know.

--

Elizabeth had read Aesop’s Fables as a young woman and there in the autumn of 1811 she was glad she had. Her daily mantra was ‘if you cannot say anything nice, then do not say anything at all’. The person who had inspired such devoted recitation was the Reverend William Collins, the previously unknown heir to the estate. The man was an utter buffoon. He used 20 words when two would suffice, displayed at least five of the deadly sins and appeared ignorant of the tenets of Canon Law, most especially in his veneration of his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Mr. Collins had invited himself to stay at Longbourn for two days short of a fortnight. Mr. Bennet had known the date of his arrival for several weeks but chose to only share it with his wife and daughters at the last minute. The manner in which her father had announced the visit to the family was so cruel that Elizabeth was close to casting up her accounts. ‘ It is from my cousin, Mr. Collins, who, when I am dead, may turn you all out of this house as soon as he pleases’. Who says that to his wife of nearly 25 years and his five grown children?

What Elizabeth was unaware of, at least at first, was that the Rev Collins had come to Longbourn to seek a wife. The olive branch mentioned in his letter to her father was to be the Rev Collins marrying one of the Bennet daughters. On the third day of his visit he requested a private meeting with Mrs. Bennet where he outlined his intentions. Although thrilled beyond measure at his plans she did encourage him away from Jane, his first and obvious choice. She claimed that Miss Bennet was courting and would soon be engaged. In her defense, she did not actively suggest Elizabeth merely stating that she knew of no impediment with any of the other four. That Mr. Collins immediately transferred his attentions to Elizabeth was now her problem to deal with.

From then on Mr. Collins tried to be Elizabeth’s shadow. She resorted to retreating to her room, not just to continue her examination of the papers and magazines for her uncle, but also for some peace and quiet. Of course such behaviour was unacceptable to Mrs. Bennet and their relationship was back to being as contentious as when she first returned.

“Lizzie, where have you been?”

“There is no need to shout mother.”

Lizzie knew she was baiting Mrs. Bennet and rather than be ashamed of her behaviour, was rather reveling in it.

“I am not shouting, and answer my question.”

“I was out.”

She turned to leave.

“Do not turn your back on me young lady. Nobody knew where you were. You will not leave this house without letting someone know where you are going.”

Elizabeth retired to her room, she had pushed Mrs. Bennet close to the limit of her patience. The situation would deteriorate quickly if Mrs. Bennet tried to demand that Elizabeth not go out. Mary knocked at the door and was bid enter.

“You never actually answered Mama’s question.”

“I just went for a walk. I walked to the foot of Oakham Mount. We did not climb it today, it was too blustery.”

“We?”

“Robert and Claire accompanied me as usual. Why is our mother so upset?”

“She believes that you are deliberately hiding from Mr. Collins.”

“That is true, and could not be more obvious. I find the man tedious in the extreme. The three of us were talking as we walked. Mr. Collins has openly displayed five of the seven deadly sins, and covertly, an additional one.”

Mary ran through them in her head.

“Wrath is the only one missing, yes?”

“Well done Mary.”

As Mary thought about which one had been covertly displayed she blushed.

“You do not have to say it Mary, your face tells me that you guessed it.”

“I do not know how to ask this Lizzie.”

Elizabeth sighed.

“At times, especially when he thinks he is unobserved, he has trouble looking me in the eye.”

Both of them were red by this point.

“Well I am sorry to say but Mama is insisting that we walk to Meryton, and that Mr. Collins is to join us.”

Elizabeth grimaced.

“We will just have to use his sloth against him. A brisk hike to the town, yes?”

“Please do not make me run.”

“Mary, as if I would!”

They both laughed and separated to get ready.

--

Mary Bennet reckoned that the armies on the continent did not march as fast as the pace set by her sister. She smiled to herself. That was an exaggeration but it was still a brisk walk. Mr. Collins had tried to slow them down but Elizabeth had used Jane’s recent illness against him.

“My sister is only recently recovered from a chill and fever. I do not wish any of us to get cold today. I worry about my sister’s health.”

Elizabeth, with her ever present footman and maid, walked with Mary at the front of the group, leaving Jane to walk beside Mr. Collins. The pace was sufficient that he had little excess breath and so she was spared his endless drivel. Kitty and Lydia completed the group, an additional barrier between Elizabeth and Mr. Collins.

“Was there a reason Mrs. Bennet wished for us to walk to Meryton? Or did she just wish to have peace at the house for several hours?”

“Lizzie!”

Mary exhaled noisily as she thought about the question.

“It does seem rather contrived when I think on it. Lydia wanted to visit the haberdashery to look for new ribbons. Jane has a note for Aunt Philips but it could have been sent by a groom. If I did not know Mama better I would think we have been sent to chaperone Lydia and Kitty.”

“Well at least I know where we need to visit.”

“Lizzie look, there are soldiers around town. The Militia regiment must have arrived.”

There were many people in the streets of Meryton, the normal bustle of the small town swollen with the addition of the soldiers. But even with this noise and hubbub the air was still cleaved with a Bennet screech.

“Denny!”

Before Elizabeth could turn to admonish her youngest sister, Lydia with a trailing Kitty brushed past her and crossed the street towards an officer. He was walking with a gentleman and had turned at Lydia’s coarse bellow.

“How on earth does she know the name of a particular officer already?”

Mary’s question was rhetorical because Elizabeth was thinking the very same thing.

“When did they arrive in the neighbourhood?”

“Several of the officers have been here for close to a month, but the bulk of the men arrived last Friday.”

“So while I was at Netherfield Park.”

It was not a question but Mary acknowledged it.

“We were introduced to Colonel Forster at Lucas Lodge. If we were not so worried about her behaviour then it could have been nothing more than a typical innocent introduction.”

Elizabeth realised that Mary was correct. It was the manner of greeting that was as much of a concern as knowing the officer in the first place.

“We should go over and be introduced as well. At least get an initial impression of this Denny.”

So the remaining four from the Longbourn party crossed the street and approached Kitty and Lydia with the two men. With eight of them, and most not known to each other, the introductions took a moment. ‘Denny’ was in fact Captain Denny and his companion was a Mr. Wickham who was about to join the Militia with the rank of Lieutenant.

“Miss Bennet.”

The bustle of the street had masked the approach on horseback of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth found herself taking a step back watching her sister’s reaction to his arrival.

“Mr. Bingley, good morning.”

“We were just on our way to Longbourn to check on you, to ensure that you were well. But I can see that you are indeed very well.”

The slightly forward manner of speech had them both blushing. But Elizabeth’s eyes were drawn to his companion. Mr. Darcy’s face was suddenly suffused in anger. His attention was upon the man they had just met, Mr. Wickham. She watched as he briefly paled under the angry stare. But then she saw him smirk and casually tip his hat at Mr. Darcy. He was standing still but there was a swagger to the action. She watched Darcy spin his horse round and head back in the direction of Netherfield Park.

“Mr. Bingley, I believe your companion has abandoned you.”

At Jane’s words Mr. Bingley looked round, surprised to see Darcy in the distance.

“I wonder what has happened. Excuse me, I will endeavor to catch him. The invitations are ready. May I call at Longbourn in the morning?”

“Please do Mr. Bingley.”

With that he was off, urging his horse on to catch up with his guest.

“Lydia, I believe you wanted to purchase ribbons. Shall we away?”

Elizabeth’s successful effort to separate her sisters from the officers was only temporary however. When they arrived at their Aunt Philips it was to discover that she had invited the officers of the regiment to her house for dinner and cards that very evening. After a welcome cup of tea and an unwelcome soliloquy from Mr. Collins they prepared to return to Longbourn. Elizabeth took her footman aside.

“Robert, will you stay and assist Aunt and Uncle Philips please.”

“Lizzie that is very kind of you. It will make moving the furniture so much easier.”

“You are welcome Aunt. We will see you this evening.”

Once her aunt had moved off Elizabeth handed several coins over to Robert.

“Have dinner at the Inn please Robert. I know that my aunt will feed you here but I want you to sit in the taproom and listen. You know why.”

“Yes Miss Elizabeth.”

Nothing else needed to be said. He had been around Elizabeth long enough to know that information was king. And that she was extremely concerned about the behaviour of her sisters. He would find out all he could.

“Where is Robert your footman Lizzie?”

“I asked him to stay and help Aunt Philips Mary. He will ride back with us this evening.”

--

In fact he arrived in the Philips’ gig to drive Elizabeth and Mary to their house. The Bennet carriage was not designed for seven and Mr. Collins was not a slim gentleman. He would have been inappropriately close if they had all squeezed into the carriage. The gig allowed two of the sisters to escape that crush. Elizabeth and Mary left before their mother even realised they had gone, derailing her, and Mr. Collins, plans.

The evening was like so many others they had attended. Their aunt prided herself on providing good fare, and the central location in Meryton was an advantage on a late autumn night. The difference this evening was firstly the inclusion of the 10 officers of the Militia regiment, along with the Colonel’s wife, and secondly the Reverend William Collins. Elizabeth had met the Colonel and his wife already, and she respected the man. Any conversation with him would be enjoyable. What was concerning was that his wife was young, younger than her in fact. There was no way to hide this from her youngest sisters. It was the last thing they needed to see, a young woman married to an officer. The rest of the officers were as yet unknown and a key part of the evening was getting to know them, at least superficially.

The other key part of the evening was to escape the grasp of Mr. Collins. Not that he was holding her physically but he was constantly dragging her into his verbal effusions. They were not sermons, there was barely anything religious in his speeches; she had already used soliloquies; monologues, lectures, speeches? No one word quite described his gushing verbosity.

Actually there was. Tiresome.

The arrival of the card tables was her salvation. Her Aunt Philips corralled Mr. Collins at her table, and Elizabeth was able to slip away. But the respite was brief because as soon as she sat down on a couch, as far from Mr. Collins as possible, an officer requested permission to sit with her.

--

Elizabeth sat back after listening to Mr. Wickham’s list of grievances against Mr. Darcy. All the teachings of her uncle swirled in her mind as she dissected the list, her memory sharp.

It started with known facts, Darcy had a large estate in Derbyshire, everyone knew that. Wickham stated Darcy’s income as ￡10,000 which dovetailed with the rumours floating around Meryton. Her guess was that this amount was leaked by Miss Bingley but she had no way of knowing.

What was the next phrase? ‘You could not have met with a person more capable of giving you certain information.’ It was an odd boast. What struck Elizabeth the most was Wickham’s way of exposing secrets. If they were true, how did he know? What was much more likely was that a kernel of truth had been wrapped up in self-serving lies.

The discussion, from her side at least, about Mr. Darcy’s temperament was factual. She had seen the cold greeting between them, she did find Darcy disagreeable, both from his display at the Assembly and his words about poor Mary, although the four days spent at Netherfield nursing Jane had tempered that perceptibly. As to the final point she made, he was not well-liked in Hertfordshire, she had to admit her biases clouded her judgement. He was acknowledged as not social at all but he was a gentleman of the first circles, he had a lot of latitude in how his behaviour was judged. But Elizabeth’s words had spurred Wickham on.

Then came to the largest glaring contradiction of the whole, probably rehearsed, speech. Wickham prattled on about not being forced from the county by the presence of Darcy, how he treasured the memory of Darcy’s father and would never do anything that ended up ‘disgracing the memory of the father’. Elizabeth had sensed Wickham to be sly, but he had the same blind spot as so many men. He did not consider that a woman could be intelligent and discerning. His whole discourse had been damning to Darcy personally, and to the Darcy name, yet he blathered on about not disgracing the memory of Darcy’s father. Elizabeth shook her head, was she ever going to find a man that respected her intelligence?

After some generic compliments to Meryton and Hertfordshire Wickham returned to his tale of woe. It had taken Elizabeth a great deal of effort to keep from laughing in Wickham’s face. Disregarding the will of his father? Elizabeth accepted that she did not like the man but there was nothing about Darcy that suggested that he would behave in such a manner. She had been around contracts for close to decade. She knew that wills and marriage settlements were contracts. And that ambiguous contracts were the bane of all business. Lawyers that drew up such contracts were soon known and did not survive long. She just did not believe that a family such as the Darcys would allow ‘an informality in the terms of the bequest’ to be part of a last will and testament.

Elizabeth acknowledged she had lightly goaded Wickham on, for him to once again claim that he would not expose Darcy whilst retaining the memory of the father. Again, being blindly unaware that he was doing exactly that to Elizabeth.

The question of jealousy between Wickham and Darcy, and Wickham’s absurd contention that old Mr. Darcy liked his godson rather than his only son and heir? There was so much jealousy in all levels of society, Elizabeth herself was not exempt from it, that all Wickham did was expose his own jealousy of the difference in situation between himself and Darcy. Elizabeth knew that she was jealous that she could not have a larger more active part in society, that no woman could aspire to that. The whole ‘men know better’ attitude was an overwhelming and suffocating blanket over all women. Elizabeth knew that she disliked men that perpetuated that arrogance, and as a result she liked very few men. She dealt with them, she tolerated them as she had no other choice, but she did not like them. Wickham had been educated at both school and university, what did he have to complain about?

She shook her head and considered the last part of the monologue. It was clear and obvious that Darcy was proud, he had acknowledged so himself when Elizabeth had been at Netherfield. But Wickham had tried to square the circle claiming that Darcy treated his tenants, sister and acquaintances well, making sure that society was proud of the Darcy name, while being mean to those beneath him, especially Wickham.

At the end of the evening Elizabeth returned to Longbourn and once in bed returned to conversation of earlier. At first, she was inclined, despite her own prejudices against the man, to believe and trust Darcy over Wickham. Most of Wickham’s tale reeked of bitterness and jealousy. But she returned again and again to Darcy’s pride. She recalled his pomposity the final evening at Netherfield. The exact words did not come to her but there was something about ‘pride, where there is real superiority of mind’. He owned it, was proud of it and less than a minute later acknowledged he had a vengeful temper. No she remembered it was a resentful temper. At the time she thought it was a warning to Miss Bingley, now she was not so sure.

So Darcy was proud, Wickham and he must have had words, although Elizabeth knew not what, and Darcy’s resentful temper meant that Wickham now nursed a grudge. She recalled that Darcy also admitted that ‘my good opinion once lost, is lost forever.’ Elizabeth felt she understood the dynamics of their relationship. But two things still troubled her. Darcy and his friendship with Bingley, and through him the idiotic sisters. And why Wickham invested so much time in damning Darcy to Elizabeth herself.

She thought about the last point first. She knew she was guilty of giving Wickham encouragement at various points in his speech. She would claim she gave him enough rope to hang himself but regardless what did his attentions mean? Based on the tale Wickham was 28, the same age as Darcy. What had he been doing for the last six years? He had left Cambridge at 22 with a gentleman’s education. Why at 28 was he reduced to joining the Militia as a basic Lieutenant? Even if Darcy had denied him the living how had he spent his time? There were too many questions and all of them had potentially unsettling answers. Wickham bemoaned the loss of the living, but to be eligible to accept the living he had to be ordained. Comments about that process were conspicuously absent from his tale of woe.

A more troubling thought was that he was a rake, coming to an area where he was not known to prey upon the na?ve amongst the local female population. With Claire and Robert as constant companions she did not feel threatened by him. But Elizabeth’s eyes involuntarily turned in the direction of her youngest sisters’ bedroom. The two of them were already enamoured with redcoats. They would be easy pickings for an experienced seducer, especially given the non-existent parenting of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth knew that she was going to have to try herself, there would be no help from her parents. But as with all her previous efforts she expected it to fall on deaf ears.

She set aside that issue for the morning and thought about Darcy and the Bingleys. Wickham appeared to be a blight upon Darcy and he had removed him from his society. Bingley, despite his family’s origins in trade, had been a friend since Darcy’s university days. He was here in Hertfordshire to help Bingley understand managing an estate. Both those pieces fitted into nicely labelled boxes. What Elizabeth could not understand were the other three members of the party. Mr. Hurst was a satirical cartoon figure brought to life; he slept late, had a bit of sport in the afternoon before an evening spent eating and drinking to excess. He could not understand how someone did not like ragout, or would prefer reading to cards. His wife seemed to be in the company of her sister more than her husband and reminded Elizabeth of her own sister Kitty; she was a follower. In Kitty’s case it was her younger sister Lydia and with Mrs. Hurst it was also her younger sister. Louisa Hurst’s role was to be an obliging toady for her sister.

Which left Caroline Bingley. Elizabeth had no idea how Darcy put up with Caroline Bingley. His friendship with Mr. Bingley must be very strong, as she was a plague upon his person. Old Mrs. Evans in Meryton, blind for more than a decade, could see that Mr. Darcy had no matrimonial designs upon Miss Bingley. Yet she continued to throw herself at him, not just physically but verbally as well. Elizabeth did not understand how anyone could deal with her pretentions. Caroline Bingley was the daughter of a tradesman, Elizabeth had met her father’s brother who still ran the family carriage works, yet she acted like she was Princess Charlotte. Caroline Bingley deluding herself was all well and good but what Elizabeth could not understand was how everyone else put up with it. Especially Mr. Darcy, he of the self-proclaimed pride in his family and circumstances. She was still pondering this situation when she finally fell asleep.