In the library after dinner at Netherfield Park, Mr. Darcy sat quietly while Mr. Bingley opined on the beauty and amiable nature of Miss Jane Bennet. “She is a rare jewel, an angel one might say. I have never met such a lady in all my life. We shall be the happiest couple in all the world.”
Mr. Darcy sipped his port as his friend carried on in his praise of the young lady. Charles Bingley had surprised him with his adoration of the eldest Bennet daughter and his refusal to abandon the idea of marriage to the young lady.
Both Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley had attempted to sway their brother away from Miss Bennet with every tool in their employ. It had been quite the spectacle to behold and he now dearly longed for the peace and quiet of his estate in Derbyshire.
“Charles, I admit I am shocked at your devoted pursuit of Miss Bennet. I have seen you in love a dozen times yet this time you are certain of your feelings and of hers?”
Mr. Bingley stood and carried a book Miss Bingley had left on the table to its proper shelf. He had precious few volumes as he had only recently let Netherfield Park. He would soon correct the deficiency as his Jane dearly loved to read almost as much as her sister, Miss Eliza.
“Darcy,” he said as he rejoined his friend, “a man who has not found his true love might think a strong infatuation is love and be terribly certain he has the right of it. But when at last he meets the woman he shall marry, he understands he has never known love before. As for my Jane, I am quite certain of her feelings.”
His friend’s romantic speech plucked at Mr. Darcy’s heart. Hadn’t he felt the same looking into Miss Elizabeth’s eyes at Lucas Lodge and again when she came to tend her sister at Netherfield when the woman fell ill? What good it did him to think of it now he did not know.
Her connections were not those his family would approve and her mother was a terrible gossip who seemed to despise him for some perceived slight. Still, he might put all that aside for the lovely Miss Elizabeth Bennet did he not have his sister’s future to consider.
“Darcy, have you fallen asleep old man? I say it is late.”
Mr. Darcy shook his head. “I had not fallen asleep, Charles. I was only thinking of what you said about love. Whether the match is a good one is not love’s concern. Men love in haste…”
Charles Bingley knew his friend was considering Miss Eliza. He had not missed the attention Darcy gave the lady when his sweet Jane was ill in a room upstairs and he’d overhead Caroline telling Louisa of Mr. Darcy’s description of her fine eyes the evening of the party at Lucas Lodge.
“My dear friend, I have never known you to act in haste in any matter. Do not keep secrets from me for I have two eyes and two ears. It is plain to me that Miss Eliza has captured your attention.”
Mr. Darcy was surprised his friend had found him out. “Indeed she has Bingley, but it matters not when a match between us would be frowned upon by society. I would not see her ridiculed by the Ton.”
Mr. Bingley snorted in disbelief. “When has the great Fitzwilliam Darcy cared for the opinion of polite society? You have none to answer to save yourself, sir. I would think the love and affection of Miss Eliza far preferable to the cold and calculating embrace of the Ton.”
Mr. Darcy knew his friend spoke the truth. He did not care what the world thought of him, only of his sister. And she must avoid further scandal before her season in London. “There is Georgiana to consider, you know. I would not have her season ruined by gossips and naysayers.”
Again Mr. Bingley made his snorting noise. Mr. Darcy was becoming irritated with it now. “I do not believe any slight given your sister would turn potential suitors away. No, her dowry means much more to the gentlemen who shall chase her than the silly gossip of malcontent matchmaking mamas.”
Mr. Darcy laughed at the alliteration. His friend was correct on that point. There wasn’t an eligible gentleman in all of England who would be turned away from the only daughter of Pemberley. He had worked tirelessly since the Ramsgate incident to be certain her name was not dragged through the mud.
The scandal of Wickham’s plot against his family had been narrowly avoided with the help of his cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Georgiana was safe in London under the watchful eye of Richard’s mother, Lady Margaret Fitzwilliam, for the time being. When he thought of how narrowly his family had avoided the ruination of his sister, a cold chill chased down his spine.
“You have given me much to consider, Bingley, as always. Perhaps I ought to think with my heart as you do and not with my head when it comes to Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
Mr. Bingley was astonished by his friend’s easy acquiescence but chose not to tease him over it for he did not wish to be a hindrance to his friend’s future happiness. “See that you do Darcy, see that you do. What a happy coincidence that we may be related before too much time has passed. Poor Caro though, to lose you to Miss Eliza would break her heart.”
As his friend pretended at sadness for his bothersome sister, Mr. Darcy grimaced. “I was never hers to lose, Bingley. Perhaps once she sees that truth she will make a match with a man who might truly love her. I would be most happy to see such a future for Miss Bingley.”
The gentlemen rose together and quit the library to seek slumber in their respective beds. Mr. Darcy, upon entering his room, greeted his valet. Once the man had left him, he went to the door and turned the lock. It was an old habit of his whenever he and Miss Bingley were under the same roof. He’d never told her brother of the time she came to his room one night a few years ago but he had not trusted her since to employ good judgment.
As his head hit the pillow, Mr. Darcy thought again of Miss Elizabeth Bennet. There was time to determine a plan of action while his friend and her sister were off on a wedding trip. His heart raced at the idea of holding her close and whispering words of love.