“Well,” Darcy said, breaking the spell that was winding its way around his son and soon-to-be-daughter, “sit, Bingley, and talk to us. How were the roads? I see you are out of mourning; how are your sisters?”
“Louisa and Caroline are well. You know, of course, that Louisa married days before my father’s passing. She fared far better, I think, for having Hurst to comfort her. Caroline took it the worst of all of us, I fear. Her grief was deep; we pulled her out of school and hired tutors. She was Father’s favorite, you know, and he spoiled her terribly.”
“You will have to watch that; she will likely expect you to continue what your father began.” Darcy was not as enamored of Bingley’s sisters as he was of Bingley himself. He had only met them once, but had come away with the impression that they were not above underhanded methods to achieve their desires. He was more grateful than ever that Fitzwilliam was betrothed. Tomorrow’s ceremony could not come soon enough to suit the worried father.
“You are correct, sir. She has already begun. The mourning period naturally suppressed any ability to shop or make demands for company, but I have seen in the last week, since we are now entering society once more, that she is going to be difficult to rein in.”
“Stand firm, Son. You are the man of the house and responsible for her. Do not let her spend more than you can afford, and for heaven’s sake, do not let her run your life. You have heard my stories about my wife’s sister; that could be you if you do not check yours.”
Bingley shuddered. He did remember the tales Darcy had shared with him and Fitzwilliam, and he had met Lady Catherine. He did not wish to live with a sister who behaved in such a way. “I can promise you that I will. I do not like confrontation, but I will do what I have to do.”
“Good.” Darcy slapped his hands on his knees and pushed off the chair. “My old bones are begging for a rest, so I will retire to my chamber for an hour or two. I will see you all in a bit.”
Fitzwilliam watched as his father left the room, worry clear in the crease between his brows. Elizabeth, who was sitting beside him on the settee, squeezed his arm. Looking away from the door and to his betrothed, Fitzwilliam placed his free hand on hers, caressing it to convey to her his thanks for her care.
Bingley had been watching, his attention drawn from Miss Bennet’s blushing face by the obvious concern in his friend’s eyes. “Your father is not well?”
Fitzwilliam turned to reply to his friend. “No, he is not. His heart, he says. The doctors do not know when he will go for a certainty, but my father seems more tired since we arrived at Longbourn than I have ever seen him before.” Absently, his hand rubbed Elizabeth’s as he spoke.
“We will take care of him, Fitzwilliam; you know we will. Our marriage will relieve his mind, and perhaps give him a much longer time than he would get otherwise.”
“She is right, you know,” Bingley said to his friend. “You cannot add to his life by worrying over him, and I think I know your father well enough to say that he would tell you the same.”
Fitzwilliam sighed. “You are correct, both of you.” He kissed Elizabeth’s hand again. “Thank you; I will endeavor to think of other things. Come, walk in the gardens with us.” Leaning around Bingley so he could see Jane, Fitzwilliam asked her to chaperone him and Elizabeth. “My friend is coming along, as well. He may need company if Elizabeth and I get lost in conversation again.”
Jane laughed and stood. “I will happily chaperone you, and keep Mr. Bingley company.”
The four of them took a few turns about Longbourn’s gardens, keeping up a steady pace of conversation, until it was time for Bingley to return to the inn and collect his family.
~~~***~~~
When Elizabeth and Jane retired to their rooms to dress for dinner, all Jane could talk about was Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth laughed at the dreaminess of her normally level-headed sister. “I give you leave to like him; you have liked many a stupider person. Fitzwilliam considers him a great friend, so he must be everything good.”
“Lizzy,” Jane admonished. “You should not speak so.” She ruined the effect of her censure with a giggle, making her sister smile. “However, he is wonderful, do you not think?”
“Fitzwilliam is wonderful,” Elizabeth replied, dryly. “Mr. Bingley is only admirable, and very nice.”
“He is just what a young man ought to be: sensible and good-humoured.”
“Then I declare that he is perfect for you, for you are the same.”
“I hope he likes me, Lizzy.” Jane had grown serious. “I know that we are well taken care of through Papa’s will, but I should like to marry, regardless.”
“Promise me you will marry for love, and only love.” Jane’s words had alarmed Elizabeth; though she and Fitzwilliam had grown to love each other in the past weeks, they did not start out that way. She wanted her sisters to know they were in love from the beginning.
Jane lifted her hands to place them against Elizabeth’s cheeks. “I promise, my dearest sister, to do just that. I sense that I could easily come to love Mr. Bingley; there was a connection I felt with him immediately. However, I do not plan to leap into anything. Do not fear for me.”
Smiling and placing her hands atop Jane’s, Elizabeth thanked her sister. “I love you, Jane. You must come visit us and stay a while.”
“We shall see.” The girls hugged each other tightly. “Not until after your wedding trip, at least.”
“Very well, then; not until after the wedding trip.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes and then squeezed them shut to keep tears from rolling down her cheeks. This would be the last night the two of them would be together as only sisters. The wedding was tomorrow, and from then on, one would always be a guest in the other’s home. Letting go of each other, they smiled, holding hands.
“I love you, Sister,” they said in unison, something they had frequently done in the past, a never-rehearsed call from the heart. They squeezed each other’s hands and then let go, walking together down the staircase to dine with their family.
~~~***~~~
“You must tell me more about Miss Bennet,” Bingley declared as the gentlemen settled in for port after dinner. “Is she accomplished? What are her likes and dislikes? How has she reached the age of nine and ten and remained unmarried? Is she courting anyone?”
Fitzwilliam laughed. “I take it you are interested?”
“Very much so! She is exquisite.”
“Are you asking permission to court my niece, Mr. Bingley?” Gardiner could be quite intimidating when he chose, and when he felt he needed to protect those he cared about, he often chose to intimidate. It was a good way to assess the character of an opponent, he always said.
“If I thought she’d have me after knowing me a mere four hours, I would ask. I will say, though, that I would greatly enjoy getting to know her.”
“I think your sisters saw your interest in Miss Bennet, and at least one was less than pleased.” Darcy felt obliged to point this out, in case Bingley did not see it.
“Yes, Caroline became a little terse this evening. I hope she is behaving in there with the ladies. Louisa tries, but she is not capable of controlling our sister. But, as you so rightly reminded me earlier today, Mr. Darcy, I must take the reins of my family and not allow her to dominate me. I will act as I please, especially in regards to a woman I am interested in. Caroline will not always live in my house, but my wife will. She must be someone who pleases me, not my sister.”
“Well said, Bingley!” Fitzwilliam lifted his glass, tilting it toward his friend in a salute.
“Hear, hear!” The remaining gentlemen chorused in agreement.
When the accompanying laughter had died down, Gardiner had his say. “My nieces have just lost their father. The only reason Fitzwilliam and Lizzy are marrying already is that Bennet demanded it in his will, and the reasons for accomplishing it sooner rather than later are pressing.
“I have no objection to you and Jane spending time together, and if she falls in love with you and you with her, and the relationship progresses like you seem to hope it will, I will consider giving my consent. Darcy likes you, and I trust his judgement. However,” he stared hard at the young man sitting across the table from him. “If you behave in a dishonorable manner, or I see evidence that you allow anyone else to influence your relationship with her, I will remove her from your reach, permanently.”
Bingley swallowed. “Yes, sir. I can promise you that I will always behave as a gentleman.”
The conversation moved on then to other topics and Bingley, who had become very nervous during his talk with Gardiner, slowly regained his ease in the company.
~~~***~~~
When the gentlemen rejoined the ladies, they were happy to see them all getting along. Mrs. Bennet appeared to be dominating the conversation, and it seemed that her choice of topic was the incredible luck of her second eldest in capturing Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and how she expected her eldest to make an even better match. Of the listeners in her audience, only the Bingley party failed to catch on that the matron had not given up hope that Mr. George Darcy would marry Jane. When Mrs. Bennet heard her brother clear his throat and caught his stern look, she faltered to a stop, falling completely silent.
Bingley had, upon entering the room, made a beeline for Jane, sitting beside her on the sofa and engaging her in conversation. They soon were blind and deaf to anything happening in the room outside of themselves, to the amusement of most of the rest of the party.
Fitzwilliam sat with Elizabeth, involuntarily reaching for her hand. “Is everything well?” His quiet question preceded a kiss to the back of her hand. Elizabeth bestowed a fond smile at him; privately, she wished she could feel his lips caress her mouth instead of her hand, but as that was not possible in company as they were, she contented herself with squeezing his fingers.
“Yes, for the most part. Mama was waxing eloquent on the subject of Jane and her marriage prospects, but it seems Uncle knew what she was about, judging by the way he calmed her down.”
Fitzwilliam shook his head, glancing over at his future mother-in-law before speaking. “That is a good thing.” He tilted his head to Bingley and Jane. “My friend is very taken with your sister.”
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and leaned forward to look at said sister. “She likes him very much, as well.” She turned her eyes back to Fitzwilliam in silent question.
“He is a good man. If he decides they suit and is certain of her regard, it is likely he will ask for her hand. Your uncle was insistent that no additional weddings will occur before the end of the mourning period, though.”
“That does not surprise me. Uncle Gardiner takes things like that very seriously.”
“I think that is a good thing,” Fitzwilliam said with a thoughtful tone to his voice. “It will benefit your sisters to have a firm hand guiding them.”
“It will.” Elizabeth lowered her head a bit and looked at her betrothed from under her lashes. “Will you also be a firm hand guiding me?”
Fitzwilliam was astounded that his Elizabeth was flirting so openly with him in public. He turned red, and his wide eyes glanced around to see if anyone appeared to have heard her. Relieved to see that the rest of the party seemed to be involved in their own conversations, he relaxed a little and turned back to the grinning Elizabeth.
“You minx; I cannot believe you said that.” Fitzwilliam kept his voice low, so that only she could hear. “If we were not sitting here in the bosom of our family, I would kiss you senseless.”
Laughing softly, Elizabeth leaned over to whisper to him again. “We can always leave the room.” Then, when he growled, she laughed aloud, bringing everyone’s attention to them and putting an end to their banter.