Chapter 1 - Darcy confesses to Bingley

Posted on 2008-09-08

(This would take place between chapters 54 and 55 of canon P&P, it contains some paraphrasing from JA)

At Netherfield on the evening before Darcy was due to go to London for ten days, he knew that he had to make a confession to his friend Bingley, which he believed he ought to have made long ago. He must tell him all that had occurred to make his former interference in relation to Miss Bennet, absurd and impertinent. As he entered the room where his friend was sitting, Bingley looked up.

"Well Darcy, so you're ready for your trip to London tomorrow? You're going to return here in ten days' time, aren't you"

"Yes, if you will have me back then. Before I go, I have to tell you something, I have a confession to make, that will surprise and displease you. You may no longer feel friendly towards me when you have heard what I have to say", said Darcy seriously.

"Good heavens, Darcy, what in the world is the matter? A confession? And what is it could possibly displease me so much?" Bingley asked in surprise.

"When you left Netherfield last year, and your sisters and I followed you to London, and I persuaded you against returning to Hertfordishire..."

"Darcy, if you mean to tell me that now that I have returned, I am again in danger of forming an attachment for Miss Bennet, well, to tell the truth I have never forgotten her. You may think that amidst the bustle and amusements of the London season last spring that I have forgotten her, but although there are many pretty and agreeable girls that I've met, I have found none to be her equal. And since the unexpected meeting with her sister at Pemberley in the summer, I have thought of her more than ever. I fancied that I could trace a resemblance between them, except that Miss Bennet is gentler and more beautiful than Miss Elizabeth. Although some may prefer Miss Elizabeth's livelier manners, for me Miss Bennet's sweetness and gentle manners are perfection itself. I've thought about what you said regarding her indifference, but I trust that even if her heart is not likely to be easily touched, it is not conceited of me to hope that I may gradually win her affection. Since our return I've been careful to be more guarded in my admiration of her than I was formerly, for I hope to win her over first as a friend. I believe that friendship may well be a good basis for affection. As for your objections against certain members of her family, if you wish to reiterate them ..."

"Bingley, I was not going to reiterate those objections". Darcy had listened in silence to Bingley's enthusiasm over Miss Bennet and her merits, but thought it prudent to interrupt here. He could easily perceive, if he ever had any doubts on the matter, that his friend's attachment to her was unabated.

"I now realize that my former interference in your affairs was absurd and impertinent. When I engaged in the office of pointing out to you what I thought was the evils of such a choice, I was under the influence of certain personal conflicts regarding a relationship with the Bennets which had since then ... never mind that now. Anyway, the main thing is that I believe myself mistaken in supposing, as I had done, that Miss Bennet was indifferent to you."

Bingley was much surprised. "You believe that you were mistaken? But you were so sure about it when we were in London. It was your insistence on her indifference that prevented me from returning to Netherfield as I had intended. I had before that believed her to return my affection with sincere, if not equal regard, but you were so sure that I feared that I was being vain and conceited when I fancied that she returned my love. Your other objections would not have prevented me from seeking her hand in marriage. You must be aware that the want of family connection would not be such an impediment to me as it may be to you. Mrs Bennet's relations may be in trade but my own fortune was acquired through my father's dealings in trade. And you saw yourself at Pemberley that Mr Gardiner is most agreeable and gentlemanlike, and his wife an amiable and elegant woman. They are quite like people of fashion. In any case, Mr Bennet is a country gentleman and the Longbourn family is of the first consequence in this neighbourhood. Had his estate not been entailed away from the female line, or if there had been a son, it might even be said that she is more than good enough for me. As for your censure of the manners of Mrs Bennet and the three youngest sisters, you yourself admitted that Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth had always conducted themselves so well as to avoid any share of the like censure. It is Miss Bennet whom I wish to marry, not Mrs Bennet or either of the youngest Miss Bennets! Even my sisters were desirous of being better acquainted with the two eldest Miss Bennets from the first, and although Caroline later seems to take a dislike to Miss Elizabeth, I thought both she and Louisa always got along very well with Miss Bennet."

The mention of Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley made Darcy uncomfortable as he thought of the conspiracy he had engaged in with those two ladies to conceal Jane's presence in London from Bingley. He felt himself obliged to confess that Miss Bennet had been in town for three months during the last winter, and that he had known it, and purposely kept it from his friend. But while he might confess his own part in the concealment, he was concerned that it would be unfair and ungentlemanly to expose the two sisters to their brother's displeasure. Mrs Hurst was an older married woman and her brother's displeasure could have little effect on her, but a younger unmarried sister such as Miss Bingley is more dependent on a brother's goodwill. Darcy felt that he and the two ladies were all equally to blame for what they did in London, but that in making his confession he must take the greatest share of the blame upon himself.

"There is one thing I could no longer allow myself to conceal from you. Miss Bennet was in town last winter, and I had known it, and had concealed it from you."

Bingley was astonished. He had not the slightest suspicion that anything like that was going on around him when they were in town. "What! How did you ...? And why did you... ? I suppose she must have called on my sisters in town, and they knew ... "

"Yes, but you must not blame your sisters for the concealment. The blame was almost entirely mine. Miss Bingley informed me that Miss Bennet was in town had called on her, and I advised her not to inform you. I felt that your regard were not enough extinguished for you to see her without some danger. I must have put Miss Bingley in a rather difficult position, for she was obliged to return Miss Bennet's call. I agreed that she must return the call, but in a way that would show Miss Bennet that it was only a formal acquaintance and discourage her from further intimacy."

‘And your advice of course, would carry immediate weight with Caroline. Darcy, how could you have done such a thing? I would not have believed it of you! Surely it is hardly worthy of a gentleman to have condescended to such measures of concealment from a friend!"

Darcy winced as he remembered another occasion when he had been accused of conduct unworthy of a gentleman, but he must not think of that now. He must first do what he could to make amends to his friend.

"Indeed, I am very sorry for what I did. I hope you will be able to forgive me. Anyway it should make you happy to know that I have carefully observed Miss Bennet's manner with you during our recent visits to Longbourn, and I am now convinced that in her gentle, discreet way, she cares for you at least as much as you care for her.

Posted on 2008-09-12

(This would take place after the announcements of Bingley's engagement to Jane, and Darcy's engagement to Elizabeth. Miss Bingley had returned to Netherfield to help with the wedding preparations. The Hursts were due to arrive at Netherfield a couple of weeks later.).

Nearly a week after her return to Hertfordshire, Miss Caroline Bingley was sitting by herself in the drawing room at Netherfield. She was feeling depressed and angry, chiefly against both herself and Mr Darcy. She had now made up her mind to have a completely frank conversation with him.

Her mind went back on to what had happened in the previous week, and to earlier events since her brother had taken Netherfield on a lease the year before. When she had received his letter telling her of his engagement to Jane, she had written her congratulations to him very affectionately, if not quite sincerely. She had also written to Jane, somewhat awkwardly saying that she was "delighted" with the engagement, and repeating her former professions of regard to her "dearest friend", and looking forward to "the period of future happiness in which the delightful intercourse we have earlier known as friends will be renewed with yet greater satisfaction as sisters." She thought how much easier it would have been to express these professions of delight and regard, if it had not been for Jane's unfortunate visit to London last winter. Jane had thought highly of her before that, and had she known that Jane would ultimately become her brother's wife, she would not have behaved to her as she had done when making that formal return call at the Gardiners. Charles could have married much more advantageously as to fortune, both she and Louisa would certainly have preferred him to marry a woman of fortune, but Jane was so sweet-tempered and amiable, that she could have resigned herself to his choice, and been thankful that it was no worse, had it not been for the Darcys.

The Darcys! As she thought of Mr Darcy's previous role in all those events, and of his present engagement to Elizabeth Bennet, she felt so angry with him that she wondered how she could have fancied herself to be in love with him and had made such a fool of herself in seeking to attract him to her. Well, if she were to be honest with herself, she had never really been in love with him, but she had liked him and admired him, as so many women did, he was so handsome and such a fine gentleman. And, of course, to be mistress of Pemberley must be something! And his sister was such a gentle and unassuming girl, with none of the airs and pride which she would have expected and been willing to acknowledge as perfectly natural and justified in a girl of such fortune and consequence. What a perfect wife Miss Darcy would have made for Charles! Of course, Georgina was little more than sixteen, but if Charles had remained unattached for another couple of years, they might have made a match between them. And Mr Darcy seemed to have thought so too, for he had encouraged Georgina's friendship with the Bingleys, and she perceived that he was very particular as to his sister's friendships. When Caroline had first befriended Georgina it was mainly in order to get closer to Darcy, but it was impossible not to become genuinely fond of that young lady, who was also so accomplished and yet was as modest of her accomplishments as she was of her fortune and consequence.

When they had first arrived at Netherfield a year ago, and attended the Meryton assembly, Caroline had been happy to echo Darcy's views that Meryton society was a collection of people in whom there was little beauty and no fashion, none of whom was likely to have the smallest interest for them, and from none were they likely to receive much attention or pleasure. She and Louisa had made an exception as to Jane Bennet, and Darcy himself acknowledged Miss Bennet to be pretty "but she smiled too much". When they had called on the ladies at Longbourn, they had found Mrs Bennet to be intolerable, and the three younger girls not worth speaking too, but they had also found that the manners of the two eldest were much more pleasing than that of the rest of the family. Miss Bennet, who was about the same age as Miss Bingley, was gentle and serene, and Miss Elizabeth was lively and amusing. Jane had accepted Caroline's overtures of friendship with pleasure, but Elizabeth had been less interested, and after that evening at Sir William Lucas', when Darcy had commented on Miss Elizabeth Bennet's "fine eyes", Caroline no longer had any desire for a friendship with Elizabeth.

When Jane had been ill at Netherfield, and Caroline had felt obliged to invite Elizabeth to remain at Netherfield to nurse her sister, Caroline had seen, or suspected enough of Darcy's interest in Elizabeth, to be jealous. Her jealousy had provoked her to make uncivil and malicious remarks with Louisa against Elizabeth and the Bennets as a whole, with the possible exception of Jane. She had tried to provoke Darcy into disliking Elizabeth by making various insinuations against the Bennets and the behaviour of Mrs Bennet and the younger girls, and had remarked on the "impertinence" of Elizabeth herself. As Darcy had listened to such remarks with composure, she convinced herself that while he may be attracted to Elizabeth's wit and vivacity, he was not actually in danger of forming any serious designs, since he obviously regarded her maternal relations' condition in life to be so decidedly beneath his own.

At the Netherfield ball, she had been upset to see Darcy dancing with Elizabeth, but had told himself that he was merely amusing himself for the evening. Except for that dance, he was not being particularly attentive to Elizabeth, and had certainly not approached her again that evening. At that time, Jane had been talking to her and Charles about George Wickham and asking them many questions about him and his relationship with the Darcys. Charles had not known the whole of that history, but he had assured Jane that he would vouch for the good conduct, the probity and the honour of his friend Darcy, and was perfectly convinced the Wickham had deserved much less attention from Darcy than he had received and that Wickham was by no means a respectable young man. Caroline had been indignant to think that anyone would take Wickham's word over Darcy's, while also feeling some malicious pleasure that the same Elizabeth whose fine eyes were so admired by Darcy, should be so delighted with the unworthy Wickham. However, she could not bear to allow anyone to think so badly of Darcy without attempting to defend him, and so, after a short struggle with herself, she had approached Elizabeth to tell her that Darcy had always been remarkably kind to Wickham, the son of Pemberley's late steward, and that it was Wickham who had treated Darcy in a most infamous manner, although neither she nor Charles had known the particulars. To her great annoyance, Elizabeth had been quite ungrateful for her information and had accused her of being against Wickham for no other reason than that he was a steward's son. Well, it was quite true that she looked down on Wickham partly because he was a steward's son, but for anyone to prefer to believe a steward's son over a fine gentleman like Darcy was incredible, and it increased her dislike of Elizabeth tenfold. That Darcy should have even a momentary admiration for a woman who preferred his steward's son to him!

When Charles had left for London the day after the Netherfield ball, Louisa and Caroline had uneasily discussed his too-obvious admiration for Jane, and the lack of propriety displayed by Mrs Bennet and the youngest Miss Bennets at the ball and elsewhere. Darcy had joined them, and declared that Charles should be saved from the inconvenience of a most imprudent marriage. They had decided to go to London immediately and Darcy had readily engaged in the office of pointing to his friend the evils of such a choice. Caroline had heard Darcy's views on the imprudence of such a connection with the Bennets with great relief, for if he felt so strongly against it on her brother's account, how much more strongly must he had felt it on his own account. It was thus obvious that he had no serious intentions towards Elizabeth Bennet.

Then after Christmas, had come that unfortunate visit of Jane to London. She had hardly known what to do when Jane had called upon her, but had told her that she was very glad to see her. She supposed there was no help for it and that Charles and Jane were bound to meet, but it was possible that Charles had got over his infatuation amidst the amusements of the London season and they might have met without consequence. All she could do was to discourage Jane's possible hopes of him by stressing upon the attractions of Miss Darcy. But when she told Darcy about Jane's visit, he had thought that Charles' regard was not enough extinguished for him to see Jane without some danger. Caroline had felt herself to be in a very awkward position. She was obliged to return Jane's call and it was very unpleasant to make it evident that she had no pleasure in it and had no wish of seeing her again. After all, she had liked Jane and had singled her out when they were in Hertfordshire, and every advance to intimacy had begun on her side.

But however painful and unpleasant the whole thing was, there had been one great comfort to Caroline -- the sense of a confidence shared with Darcy and that they were united in their common purpose of dividing her brother from an imprudent connection and of possibly planning for a match in the future between her brother and his sister. It had rekindled her hopes of Darcy, which had begun to be rather dimmed amidst his admiration for those "fine eyes" in Hertfordshire. When her brother had first introduced Darcy, she had found him to be rather reserved except among his intimate acquaintances, with whom he was remarkably agreeable. She had been flattered and pleased to find that as his friend Bingley's sister, he had apparently included her among his intimate acquaintances. And after she had paid her first visit to Pemberley, she told herself that she was falling in love with him. Louisa had been quite zealous in supporting her and attempting to promote the relationship with Darcy, giving her all sorts of advice on how to attract him. She had sought to please him by every means in her power, agreeing with all his opinions and paying him such attentions that a young lady may pay a young gentleman, as she thought, without impropriety. Admittedly she had begun to be rather discouraged as, instead of increasing their intimacy, he had become more reserved and more distant from her, his manner towards her becoming more like that of his manner towards his ordinary acquaintances rather than towards his intimate friends. But the sense of their shared conspiracy in London had renewed and strengthened her hopes, and she had eagerly looked forward to the visit to Pembeley in the summer.

Alas! What a blow that visit dealt her! Elizabeth Bennet and the Gardiners had been at Pemberley, and Caroline could scarcely bring herself to be civil to them. After Elizabeth had left, Caroline had vented her feelings in criticisms of her person, behaviour and dress. Georgina had been surprised at her vehemence, and said quietly that her brother considered that Miss Bennet was lovely and amiable. That remark increased her anger, and she could not help repeating some of her criticisms on Elizabeth to Darcy himself, while also reminding him of his own earlier disparagement of Miss Eliza Bennet: "She a beauty! I should as soon call her mother a wit." Darcy had snapped back that that was only when he first knew her, and that for many months since he had considered her as one of the handsomest women of his acquaintance. After that moment, Caroline knew that she had no hope of Darcy, and was not sorry when he had to leave Pemberley unexpectedly for business in London two days later.

While she was at Scarborough with the Hursts some weeks later, they had received their brother's letter communicating the news of his engagement. How she had wished that that unpleasant encounter with Jane in London had never taken place! And it need not have taken place if it had not been for Mr Darcy. Both she and Louisa would have done their best to discourage Jane from their brother, but she would not have been so uncivil to her at the Gardiners had it not been for Darcy's opinion that it was not safe for Charles to know that Jane was in London. And then, some ten days after the news of her brother's engagement, had come the news of Darcy's engagement to Elizabeth. Caroline was furious and mortified. If Darcy was intending to marry Elizabeth Bennet, why was he so much against Charles marrying Jane Bennet earlier that year? Why had he spoken so strongly regarding the inferiority of the Bennets and their relations in trade?

On Caroline's return to Netherfield to help with the wedding preparations, Charles had welcomed her as affectionately as ever. She soon found out that he now knew that they had concealed Jane's presence in London from him last winter, but that luckily for her, he had laid the blame for that at Darcy's door. His only mild reproach for her was that she had been too willing to allow herself to be directed by Darcy, and that was a fault that he himself had been guilty of. Now he was glad that Darcy had unexpectedly fallen in love and was going to marry a high-spirited young lady who would be capable of standing up to him.

Her meetings with Jane were less satisfactory. Jane was always very civil, but rather reserved and restrained. She could hardly wonder at it, considering her uncivil behaviour to Jane in London. Nevertheless, she felt it to be rather unfair. While she knew in her heart that she was not quite as blameless as Charles had thought over that episode in London, Darcy was equally to blame for it. And Jane seemed to have completely forgiven him, for she was on perfectly friendly terms with the man who was soon to be her sister's husband. Why could not Jane have forgiven her future sister-in law as completely as she had forgiven her future brother-in-law?

Or perhaps -- Jane was still unaware of the role that Darcy had played in that concealment. Jane may have thought that Darcy was as unaware of her presence in London as Charles was. Caroline decided that she must speak to Darcy about it. He owed it to her to set things right between her and Jane.

At that moment, Caroline heard the footsteps that she had been waiting for, her brother and Darcy had returned home from their morning ride and had entered the hall. She knew that the steward had wished to speak to his master on some Netherfield estate business that morning, and this was her opportunity for a private conversation with Darcy.

She heard the murmur of voices in the hall, and Charles saying "Well, if you will excuse me Darcy, I had better see to this at once, I must learn to take my own responsibilities seriously, you know."

"Of course", Darcy replied.

Caroline moved quickly into the hallway and called to him::."Mr Darcy, if you will come into the drawing room for a minute, I need to talk to you."

He looked up, surprised and wary. Miss Bingley had not sought him out or paid much attention to him since her return to Netherfield. He had been relieved to find that her reaction to his engagement had been to leave him alone and not to take any notice of him beyond the necessary civilities. He could not refuse her request without being uncivil, so he stepped warily into the drawing room.

She began rather abruptly: "There is a message, or rather a communication that I think you should make to Jane Bennet...", here she paused.

"You have a message to give to Jane? I'm sure Charles will be delighted to give any messages that you wish to send to her. His steward was waiting to speak to him on some estate business when we came in just now, but I don't think it will take much time."

"Only you can make this communication. Mr Darcy, does Jane know that you were aware of her presence in London last winter, and that you were also involved in concealing that fact from Charles?"

Darcy was rather taken aback, he had thought that episode was now behind them as he had made the necessary amends in his confession to Bingley. He replied: "I've not spoken to Jane about it, but I had confessed to Charles. And, Miss Bingley, I have told him that you were not to blame, that you had acted under my advice..."

"I know that Charles thinks that you were mainly responsible for that concealment. But Jane seems to think that I was solely responsible for it."

"Does she think so? But as far as I could see she has been quite friendly with you, I have never seen any hostility in her manner towards you."

"She has been very civil, but also rather reserved and restrained. We were on more intimate terms last year, before there was the possibility of any relationship between us. I can hardly wonder at it, I know that we behaved badly to her in London. But since we were both to blame for that unfortunate episode, it seems unfair if she can completely forgive you, and only partially forgive me. It makes me wonder if she knows that you were also involved in that deception, or if she thinks that Louisa and I had concealed her presence in London from both you and Charles."

Darcy said slowly:
"I have not spoken to her about it. I suppose it is possible that she is not aware of my involvement, unless Charles or Elizabeth has told her."

"You have spoken to Elizabeth about it, but not to Jane?"

"Elizabeth has known about my role in that unfortunate episode since we were both in Kent last spring."

Caroline was very much surprised. "You mean, when you visited your aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh at Rosings?"

"Yes, Elizabeth was visiting her friend Mrs Collins at Hunsford Parsonage. My cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, mentioned to her that I had lately prevented my friend Bingley from making an imprudent marriage, not realizing that the lady in question is Elizabeth's own sister. She was justly angry and upset, and told me that I was the last man in the world whom she could ever be prevailed on to marry."

Caroline was stunned. "Told you -- that you were the last man in the world she would want to marry -- do you mean, that you proposed to her then?"

"If it could be called a proposal. Yes, I proposed to her, but I also insulted her. I told her of my sense of her inferiority, of its being a degredation, and that I loved her against my will, against my reason and even against my character. It is no wonder that she refused me. I realize now that no self-respecting woman would have accepted such an insulting proposal. I am now glad that she had refused that proposal, for if she had accepted me then, I would never have come to know her as well as I do now, or to have as much respect for her."

Caroline was doubly astounded. So Darcy had proposed to Elizabeth earlier that year and been refused. He had proposed in a haughty, condescending manner, and Elizabeth had angrily refused him. But if he had proposed to her, Caroline, in that manner, would she have refused him? She did not think so. She would have eagerly accepted him, no matter how haughty and insulting that proposal had been. And he would never have respected her, and they would eventually have ended up in a most unequal and unhappy marriage.

This disclosure was a tremendous revelation to Caroline. It turned many of her ideas upside down. So Elizabeth was never mercenary, a mercenary woman would never have refused the proposal of a man of ten thousand pounds a year, however insultingly worded. Even a prudent woman might have hesitated in rejecting such an offer, especially a woman in Elizabeth's position, with only a thousand pounds settled on her, bringing in a mere fifty pounds a year. It made her feel ashamed of herself. She, Caroline, was in a better position not to be mercenary, since she had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, bringing her a thousand pounds a year. Even if she never married, she would always be financially secure with an income of a thousand pounds a year, but a woman with only fifty pounds a year would be dependent upon the goodwill of relatives, and may have to seek out employment as a governess or companion. Surely in that situation, marriage with a man of ten thousand pounds a year would have been preferable, even if he had been the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world? But Elizabeth did not think so. And Darcy has come to respect her and love her all the more for her disinterestedness and high principles.

She said slowly: "What you have told me is astonishing ... I never realized ... but it has made me feel some respect for her, which I own, I never had before."

Darcy began to feel slightly embarrassed, he and Miss Bingley were discussing his disastrous proposal at Hunsford. How on earth had that happened? He was not sorry that it had come out, for now Miss Bingley would be more aware of the true nobility of Elizabeth's character, but how had it come about that they were talking about such a thing? Oh yes, Miss Bingley had been asking him as to whether Jane was aware of his involvement in that unfortunate concealment in London. She had felt that Jane was reserved with her and thought that she was solely responsible for that unfortunate episode. To bring the conversation back to that point, Darcy said quickly:

"I daresay that Jane is unaware of my role in that unfortunate encounter in London. I am sorry if she thinks that you are solely responsible for it. Be assured, Miss Bingley, that I will make my confession to her as I had to Charles, and that I will do my best to effect a full reconciliation between you and your future sister."

"Thank you, Mr Darcy. And I know that I was not as blameless as Charles thinks I am; it was very good of you to have taken all the blame upon yourself in your confession to him. But I was not exactly an unwilling participant, although I was influenced by your opinions."

Darcy said suddenly: "I have been a bad influence on you, Miss Bingley, and you have agreed with me and flattered me and my pride...but Elizabeth has stood up to me, and my pride has been properly humbled by her"

"I think you mean that we have been bad influences on each other, and I agree. I have made a fool of myself, but now I hope we can be good friends, as we had been in the earlier days of our acquaintance."

"Certainly, and we are going to be almost brother and sister to each other."

"I think I would have liked you as an older brother. You are such a good brother to Georgina and she thinks the world of you. Charles is only a year older than I am and he seems so young in some ways ... until recently. He has matured since his engagement."

"I believe being in love with the right woman or man can improve us a great deal. Jane and Elizabeth have made better men of Charles and I. You and I would have been wrong for each other but may I express my hope for your future happiness, and that you will find the right man who will make you a better woman -- I mean, who will make you happy?"

Caroline half-smiled: "You mean the right man who will make me a better woman who will deserve to be happy."

She certainly hoped that there was such a man, but he will have to find her and court her. She would not go looking for him. Never again would she make such a fool of herself by pursuing a man who was indifferent to her.

Posted on 2008-09-15

While he and Bingley were riding to Longbourn that day, Darcy was reflecting on his unexpected conversation with Caroline Bingley. He was glad that they have had that unexpectedly frank talk, for it had cleared up the air considerably between them. He also hoped that Caroline would now learn to respect Elizabeth's character, and might derive some benefit from it, and the knowledge of the firm principles that should guide a self-respecting woman and her conduct towards others, regardless of whether they were rich or poor.

He remembered the time when Bingley had first introduced him to his sisters. He had liked Caroline well enough, at least he had certainly not disliked her. She was like many other young ladies of his acquaintance, who were not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of being agreeable when they chose it, but rather proud and conceited. However, he had not censured pride as a serious fault if it was under good regulation, and he supposed such young ladies would think that they had something to be proud of. Like other young ladies who had been educated in a fashionable seminary, she had acquired the usual extant of accomplishments -- in music, singing, drawing, dancing and the modern languages, but not in something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading. In general, he personally found such young ladies to be rather commonplace and boring, but as she was his good friend's sister, he had sought to be more than ordinarily civil to her.

He had also allowed and even encouraged Georgina's friendship with Bingley's sisters, they both seemed to be so fond of her, and he thought it might do her good to be well-acquainted with some fashionable young ladies who might help her to overcome some of her shyness when in company. He did not want Georgina to grow up to be as socially awkward as his cousin Anne de Bourgh. And after that near-disaster with Wickham at Ramsgate, both he and Georgina's co-guardian Richard Fitzwilliam would have been glad if they could make a match between Georgina and a respectable and amiable gentleman like Bingley. He had certainly formed such a plan, and without meaning that it should affect his endeavour to separate Bingley from Miss Bennet last winter, it was probable that it had added something to his lively concern for the welfare of his friend. That he had been desirous of believing that Miss Bennet was indifferent was certain, but he had been confident that he had believed it on his impartial observation of the serenity of her countenance which had led him to believe that her heart was untouched. However, he now wondered if he had been as impartial and acute an observer as he had thought, for it was possible that he had been subconsciously influenced by his personal feelings. And his personal feelings at that time was not only the hope of a possible future match between Georgina and Bingley, but his desire to repress and overcome his own feelings for Elizabeth, which had made him wish to avoid any further intimacy with the Bennets. He had certainly not expected to find her in Kent when he had gone to visit his aunt. But finding her there had overcome his struggles against her attractions, and his disastrous proposal had been the result.

It had not occurred to him that any woman would refuse him, especially a woman in Elizabeth's situation, with only fifty pounds a year settled on her. He knew himself to be one of the prizes in the matrimonial mart. Miss Bingley and several other young ladies with handsome dowries in London had made it very clear that any of them would be very willing to receive his addresses. Perhaps he had been rather unguarded in being a little too friendly with Caroline, he had not at first realized that she was going to misconstrue his friendly attentions towards her as his friend's sister and his sister's friend for something more. When he realized that fact, he had endeavoured to discourage her by becoming more cool and distant, hoping that she would take the hint that there could be nothing more than friendship between them. And when his aunt Lady Catherine had started saying that there was a tacit understanding between him and Anne since childhood, both he and Anne had become rather withdrawn from each other, perhaps they had both felt embarrassed that any friendly or cousinly relations between them would be misconstrued by her mother as a prelude to their engagement. He supposed he could hardly blame the young ladies or their mothers who were after him and other eligible men, for the social system on the position of women and the education of girls was such that most of them ‘had been taught to presume that it was her destiny to be married. A young man generally regards it as his destiny to succeed or to fail in the world and he thinks about that ... The young man may become Lord Chancellor, or at any rate earn his bread comfortably as a county court judge. But the girl can look forward to little else than the chance of having a good man for her husband, -- a good man, or if her tastes lie in that direction, a rich man.'*
[*from Anthony Trollope, "The Prime Minister", chapter 5, first published 1875-6]

He had believed Elizabeth to be wishing, expecting his addresses. Her refusal, and the manner of it, had been a great shock to him. He had been angry and bitter at first, but his anger soon began to take a proper direction. He had written to her his letter of explanation as to his actions and their motives, feeling that such explanation was due to his character, but he had never expected to see her again.

How startled he had been to see her viewing his grounds at Pemberley that summer. His first object then, was to show her, by every civility in his power, that he was not so mean as to resent the past, and he hoped to lessen her ill opinion by letting her see that her reproofs had been attended to. It was not long afterwards that other wishes introduced themselves to his mind and he realized that here was the opportunity to win the woman he loved, now that chance had once again brought them together.

They had now reached Longbourn, and Darcy roused himself from his reflections. Now he was going to explain to Jane about his role in that unfortunate concealment of her presence in London last winter.

On that day, Darcy repeated to Jane much of the confession that he had earlier made to Bingley, and also part of his conversation with Miss Bingley. Jane was initially much surprised and rather confused, but she was soon quite glad to believe that it had all been a misunderstanding, and that both Darcy and Caroline had acted in what they had believed to be Charles' best interests. Anyway, Jane was too happy in her engagement to be angry or unforgiving against anybody or to resent the past, and she assured Darcy that she heartily forgave them all.

Elizabeth was slightly exasperated with Jane's easy forgiveness of Caroline. She herself did not think that Caroline had acted from such pure motives, and said so to Jane when they were alone that night.

"Jane, it does vex me to see you again the dupe of Miss Bingley's pretended regard."

"I am not her dupe or anybody's dupe, Lizzy. Mr Darcy and Charles' sisters made an unfortunate mistake last winter, but that is all over now. You yourself often say that we should think only of the past as its remembrance gives us pleasure."

"Jane, I believe that Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley acted for more selfish motives when they concealed your presence from their brother last winter."

"You must not be prejudiced against them, Lizzy. Remember how prejudiced you once were against your Mr Darcy, and how mistaken you were! And Charles' sisters will also be related to you through me, so I hope we can all be on good terms with each other"

Elizabeth was not too pleased at Jane's making comparisons between her former prejudices against Darcy and her distrust of Miss Bingley, but she only said:

"You cannot expect me to open my heart to Miss Bingley. I cannot so easily overcome my distrust of her. She had always seemed so insincere to me."

"I am not asking you to open your heart to her Lizzy, but merely that you should keep an open mind about her. Even if she had not always been sincere or behaved as she ought, you should know that it is possible for people to change and to improve for the better, especially if given the right encouragement. Caroline and I are going to be sisters, and I hope to be a good influence on her.

Posted on 2008-09-19

It was now less than two weeks before the day of the double wedding between Charles Bingley and Jane Bennet, and Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet. It was also a busy day at Netherfield as Bingley's elder sister and her husband, the Hursts, were arriving there that day, and they were not going to be the only guests at Netherfield. Darcy's sister Georgina was also arriving on the same day, accompanied by her cousin and co-guardian, Colonel the Honourable Richard Fitzwilliam. Darcy was very much looking forward to seeing his sister again, Elizabeth was very much looking forward to getting to know Georgina better, now that they were soon going to be sisters, and Jane was very much looking forward to her first meeting with Georgina.

Everything had gone along quite smoothly, at least outwardly, since Darcy's confession to Jane the other day. On the following day, Jane had met Caroline with a degree of warm affection that had somehow put the later young lady somewhat to shame. Caroline thought that she should be relieved and even triumphant that Jane had so easily accepted Darcy's explanations and acquitted her of any blame except that of being too willing to be guided by Darcy regarding that unfortunate episode in London. However, for perhaps the first time in her life, her conscience told her that it was not right of her to take advantage of other people's goodness or to abuse their trust in her. She felt that it was still too awkward for her to speak freely to Jane about their unfortunate encounter in London. However, although she could not alter her past behaviour, perhaps she could at least resolve to amend her notions and conduct in the future. Her mind had received such a great revelation since Darcy had told her about Elizabeth's refusal of his Hunsford proposal -- it had received ideas and notions which had never fallen her way before, it was changing her outlook on life, and she was beginning to have a new sense of respect not only for Jane, but also for Elizabeth.

Perhaps Jane was not quite as naïvely trusting as everybody else thought she was, perhaps she knew that Caroline was not quite as blameless over their London encounter as Darcy represented her to be, and that she was at least as equally to blame as he was. However, she thought it best to overlook the past, and to give her the benefit of the doubt for the sake of the future. Perhaps she also guessed, or hoped, that by showing her affection and confidence in her, it would cause Caroline to resolve to endeavour to be worthy of that affection and confidence.

Elizabeth had always been inclined to be a much more severe judge of other people's faults and weaknesses than Jane, although she had learned to admire Jane's "generous candour" rather than to disdain it, since her own prejudices against Darcy had been exposed as false and absurd. For Jane's sake, therefore, she had agreed to attempt to give Caroline the benefit of the doubt for the future, and to interact with her with every appearance of civility, although she could not go so far as to believe that there would ever be true confidence between them.

Two days after the arrival of Mr and Mrs Hurst, Miss Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, they were all engaged to dine with the family at Longbourn. It was to be a large family dinner party, and besides the guests from Netherfield, Mrs Bennet's sister and brother-in-law, Mr and Mrs Phillips, and Mr Bennet's cousins, Mr and Mrs Collins, were also going to be there. As there was going to be a greater number of ladies than gentlemen, Mrs Bennet had been very glad to also extend an invitation to Mr John Clark, a very personable young man who was the senior clerk of Mr Phillips and whom Mrs Phillips had declared to her sister to be very clever and promising in his work, and was becoming quite like a member of the family.

Darcy had been delighted to be with his sister and cousin again, and to witness the sincere affection that was already apparent between Elizabeth and Georgina. Colonel Fitzwilliam was pleased to make the acquaintance of Miss Bennet, and to renew his acquaintance with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and also with Miss Bingley.

Darcy soon noticed that his cousin was being rather particularly attentive to Miss Bingley. Colonel Fitzwilliam had earlier met Miss Bingley in London and been struck by her handsome looks, elegant figure and musical accomplishments. Darcy remembered that the Colonel had expressed his admiration of Miss Bingley to him when they were in London earlier in the spring. But then, when they had gone to visit Lady Catherine at Rosings and had met Elizabeth at Hunsford parsonage, the Colonel had expressed his admiration of Miss Elizabeth Bennet's pretty looks, pleasing figure and musical talents in almost the same terms. However, he had also laughingly added that as it was out of the question for him to marry without some attention to money, it was necessary for him to fall in love with a woman of fortune, or with at least a respectably substantial dowry.

Darcy did not quite know what to make of it, if his cousin decided to fix his interest with Miss Bingley. He remembered that he had told Caroline that he hoped she would meet the right man who would make her a better woman and make her happy. Was Richard Fitzwilliam the right man for Caroline Bingley, and was she the right woman for him? Then Darcy reminded himself that it was not for him to judge or interfere in their affairs. He had caused enough pain and trouble in his interference with Bingley's affairs last year. Moreover, while his friend Bingley was four years his junior, his cousin Richard was two years older than himself, and should best know how to take care of his own affairs.

Colonel Fitzwilliam's views on marriage was that it was wrong to make an imprudent marriage without giving due regard and proper attention as to the financial means for bringing up a family and for them all to enjoy what he considered to be a reasonably comfortable standard of living, or in other words, the standard of living to which he was accustomed to. But it was very wrong to marry for purely mercenary motives, it would be very wrong for a man, or a woman, to marry a rich person whom he or she could not love, merely for the sake of securing a large property or income. So he was quite determined to find a woman of some means whom he could also fall in love with, or at least for whom he could feel some affection upon which to build up a tolerably happy marriage. He was a prudent man, not a mercenary or unprincipled fortune hunter. And should he find such a woman to be his wife, he believed that what he had to offer her was not contemptible. As an earl's younger son, he would not inherit the title and great estate that would go to his elder brother Viscount Fitzwilliam, but he was by no means propertyless, even though his portion was insignificant compared to his brother's.

When they were all assembled at Longbourn on the evening of the dinner party, Mrs Bennet was very happy to observe that Mr Clark took the seat beside Mary, and that they seemed to be conversing amiably together. Of course, a match with John Clark would not be a brilliant match, it would be nothing compared to that of her two eldest girls, but Mary was the plainest of her daughters, and if Clark was as promising a young man in his profession as her sister Phillips had told her, he would be good enough for Mary, especially if her brother Phillips was going to take him into partnership in the attorney's firm at Meryton. Then, almost all her daughters would be married, except Kitty.

As she thought of Kitty, Mrs Bennet's eye fell on the only other unattached man in the party, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Her eye brightened, he was Darcy's cousin and an army colonel, surely he would be a very good match for Kitty. And Kitty and Lydia had always liked army redcoats, thought Mrs Bennet to herself, completely ignoring the fact that since Lydia's disgraceful marriage, Kitty had gone through a revolution of mind and had become quite as much opposed to an alliance with an army officer as she had once been in favour of it. Kitty now felt that she would rather marry a clergyman than an army officer.

As Mrs Bennet was very anxious to tackle Colonel Fitzwilliam, she soon found an opportunity during the course of the evening to speak to him, while practically dragging a reluctant Kitty to a seat beside him.

"So, Colonel Fitzwilliam, you are Mr Darcy's cousin, so we shall soon be related to each other." began Mrs Bennet.

"I look forward with pleasure to the relationship, ma'am" Colonel Fitzwilliam responded politely.

"Your cousin and his friend are setting forward such a good example of matrimony. I wonder, don't you have any thoughts of getting married yourself, Colonel?"

Colonel Fitzwilliam became aware of the drift of Mrs Bennet's thoughts, especially as she was looking significantly at Kitty who was sitting silently beside him. He said quickly:

"I am a younger son, ma'am, and there are not many in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some attention to money."

"Oh, but your cousin Mr Darcy is a very rich man with ten thousand a year. Can't he do something for you if you decide to get married? If he gives you one thousand a year, he will still have nine thousand a year for himself."

Colonel Fitzwilliam was much amused at Mrs Bennet's naive and unrealistic idea about his cousin Darcy providing for his marriage, but he answered with every appearance of gravity:

"My cousin is a rich man, but his wealth is not unlimited. I am his cousin, but I have no such natural claim on him as to expect him to provide for me, he is not the head of my family. And if he and his wife have a large family of children in the future, he will need his substantial funds to provide dowries for his daughters, as well as to make provisions for his younger sons. Ten thousand pounds a year may no longer be such a large sum of money if he has ten children, for instance."

Mrs Bennet gave a little shriek: "Ten children! Oh, my poor Lizzy! Oh, I hope he will have more consideration for her nerves than to burden her with ten children, she must speak to him about it. If you will excuse me, Colonel, I need to see to my other guests. And Kitty, perhaps you should go and speak to Miss Darcy, you must not neglect Mr Darcy's sister."

Colonel Fitzwilliam smiled to himself as Mrs Bennet hurried away from him, and Kitty, with a polite word of excuse, rose with alacrity to walk across the room to sit beside Georgina, with whom she hoped to form a friendship. He himself was happy to change his seat and moved to a seat near Miss Bingley. Mrs Collins was sitting beside Miss Bingley and they were engaged in conversation, for Miss Bingley had displayed an unexpected interest in Hunsford and Mrs Collins' housekeeping, her parish and her poultry. Mrs Collins in her turn was happy to talk of her housekeeping, her parish and her poultry, for they formed the greatest concerns and interests of her married life, and supplied her with its greatest comforts. However, soon after Colonel Fitzwilliam joined them, Charlotte's quick, discerning eye noticed the glances that passed between the Colonel and Caroline, and it was not long before she tactfully excused herself and moved away. There were too many pairs of lovers in the room, thought Charlotte, as she glanced at the two engaged couples and the two likely-to-become-engaged couples. She then joined the only two unattached young ladies in the room, Kitty and Georgina.

It was now more than a week after the dinner at Longbourn, and only two days before the double wedding day. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Caroline were sitting that morning in the library at Netherfield. During the course of the past week, they had spent a great deal of time together, walking in the shrubbery when the weather was warm enough, or sitting in the drawing-room or library talking of new books and music. The Colonel was quite a well-read man, and Caroline was beginning to take an interest in the books recommended by him.

Richard Fitzwilliam had made up his mind to propose that morning. He had decided that they were well-suited to each other, they liked each other and were quite open and honest with one another. So he told her that he liked her and admired her, and hoped that she would do him the honour of accepting his hand in marriage. He was quite honest in making his proposal, he did not pretend that her dowry of twenty thousand pounds meant nothing to him. On the contrary, he confessed that it meant a great deal to him, as he could not afford to marry without some attention to money. But he assured her earnestly that he would not ask any woman to marry him, even if she had ten times twenty thousand pounds, if he did not genuinely like her and was convinced that they could be happy together. And he pointed out that what he had to offer her was not contemptible. He had rightly told Mrs Bennet that he had no natural claim on his cousin Darcy as to expect him to provide for him, but what he had not told Mrs Bennet was that he did have some natural claim on his own father and elder brother, and a provision of twelve thousand pounds was to be settled on him. With her twenty thousand pounds and his twelve thousand pounds, together with his pay and emoluments and prospects of future advancement in the army, they could do very comfortably together. His wife, as the Honourable Mrs Fitzwilliam, would also enjoy the status of an earl's daughter-in-law, and sister-in-law to a future earl. She would like that, wouldn't she? Caroline agreed with him, and told him that she would be happy and honoured to be his wife. She also assured him that she genuinely liked and respected him, and was not marrying him merely for the sake of enjoying the precedence due to an earl's daughter-in-law.

From that point, their conversation somehow turned to the subject of the social system of titles and inheritance which they both agreed was rather unfair on women and younger sons. As he said, younger sons of the nobility were brought up to be accustomed to the same expensive standard of living as their eldest brothers, but most of the family property would be inherited only by the eldest brother. As for daughters' inheritance, some family estates were entailed away from the female line and would pass to distant male relatives as would happen in the case of Longbourn. But heiresses were sometimes at a disadvantage too, if they were not well protected by their guardians, for they could be exposed to unprincipled fortune hunters. If a woman were to marry without a proper marriage settlement to protect her, all her property would legally belong to her husband once they were married. He assured her that in their case, he would be happy to agree to a marriage settlement that would hold her money safely in trust for her benefit and that of their future children.

Bingley was happy to give his consent to his sister's engagement to the Colonel, finding it rather amusing that he should be applied to for his sister's hand in marriage on the eve of his own wedding day, and by a man six years older than himself. He jokingly remarked that if Richard and Caroline had become engaged only a few days earlier, there might have been time to obtain a special licence and they could all be married together on the same day, turning the double wedding into a triple wedding.

At this Mrs Hurst exclaimed: "Oh, but that would have been impossible, Caroline would need time to prepare her wedding clothes."

"Calm down, Louisa, I was only joking", Bingley explained patiently.

Richard smiled fondly at Caroline, and said to Bingley "Neither of us want a long engagement, but we are not in such a great hurry either. More important than even the wedding clothes, we need time to instruct the lawyers to prepare a proper marriage settlement, for I am determined that my wife should have the same protection in her marriage settlement that I would insist for my ward. But once that is done, we can get married as soon as possible after you and Darcy return from your wedding trips."

They decided on a day two months after the double wedding. Darcy congratulated his cousin and Caroline, then as Mrs Hurst began talking to her sister about the wedding plans, he drew Richard a little aside for some private conversation.

"There is something that I should tell you, Richard".

"Darcy, if you mean to express your doubts over my engagement..."

"No, I would not presume to interfere in your decision. I am sure that you know your own mind. But there is someone whom I have reason to think will be most seriously displeased over your engagement."

"I am sure that my father and mother will have no objection."

"I don't mean them, I don't think my Uncle and Aunt Matlock will have any objection either. But I have another aunt, who is also your aunt."

"You mean Aunt Catherine? You think she will be displeased? I know that she is displeased over your engagement, but that was because she was hoping to make a match between you and Anne."

"She was, even though neither Anne nor I had any inclination for the match. Anne had written her congratulations most warmly to Elizabeth and I, expressing her joy and even relief that I was going to be married. She thought that since there is no longer the possibility of a marriage between us, her mother will now allow her to meet and mix with a wider circle of people. However, in her most recent letter to us, she tells us that her mother is now talking about you as a prospective match for her."

"Really! Does Aunt Catherine think that there are no other men except her nephews?"

"I think she is fearful of Rosings falling into the hands of a stranger. Anyway I thought I should warn you about Aunt Catherine, and you might want to prepare yourself and Caroline to face the expression of her ladyship's displeasure.

Posted on 2008-09-23

The engagement of Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam and Miss Caroline Bingley was officially announced at the reception held after the double wedding of Mr and Mrs Charles Bingley and Mr and Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy.

After the announcement was made, and the engaged couple as well as the two newly married couples were receiving congratulations from the guests, Mrs Bennet could not help eyeing Mary and Mr Clark, and wondering when they will announce their engagement. As far as she knew, Mr Clark had not actually proposed yet, but he was being quite attentive to Mary, and the two of them seemed to enjoy having serious conversations together. Mrs Bennet wished that he would hurry up and propose, what was he waiting for? Colonel Fitzwilliam and Miss Bingley were getting married in two months' time, and if Mary and Clark would also become engaged soon, then there may be another double wedding in Hertfordshire. And why not? After all, Mary and Miss Bingley were now almost sisters through the marriage of Bingley and Jane. And Mrs Bennet thought how she would enjoy planning a double wedding with Mrs Hurst, for that lady would surely want everything to be fashionable and elegant, and how nice it would be for Mary to share in such elegance for her wedding.

Such thoughts being predominant in her mind, as soon as the wedding breakfast was over, and the guests had left after the newlyweds had departed on their wedding trips, Mrs Bennet spoke to Mr Bennet about it.

"My dear Mr Bennet, when is Mr Clark going to propose to Mary?"

"Mrs Bennet, how do you know that he is going to propose to her?"

"Oh, but he is being so attentive to her that it would be a shame and a disgrace if he doesn't propose. He must mean to propose to her, or I would consider that he has used my daughter extremely ill. Indeed, I would not stand for it if he means to abandon her, and so I would tell my sister Phillips. My brother Phillips should dismiss him from his employment if he behaves so badly to my daughter."

"How is he going to support a wife if he is dismissed from his employment?"

"He couldn't of course, but he won't be dismissed from his employment if he marries Mary."

"At present he is still only a clerk in Phillips' firm, it will be at least another year of two before he may be taken in as a partner."

"Exactly so, he will be a partner one day, that is why he is quite a good match for Mary. My sister Phillips says that he is very clever and promising in his work, that is why my brother will consider making him a partner."

"But he is not a partner yet. Don't you think it will be better and more prudent to wait until he is actually made a partner before making the wedding plans?"

"Oh, but Colonel Fitzwilliam and Miss Bingley are getting married in two months' time, and it would be so nice and proper for Mary to share a double wedding with dear Miss Bingley, who is almost her sister now."

"But perhaps both Miss Bingley and Mary would prefer to have two separate, single weddings. In any case, Mr Clark is hardly in a position to get married immediately, as he is himself aware of, he will be in a much better position to settle down and support a wife when he becomes more established in his career, which will probably be in a year or two. He is a steady young man, and both he and Mary have serious views against the follies of imprudence and impatience."

"How do you know his views, Mr Bennet? Has he spoken to you about it?"

"As a matter of fact he has, my dear. He has told me that he wishes to establish an understanding with Mary, although he is not in a position to marry her immediately, he hopes to be able to do so in a year or two, once he is made a partner in the firm."

"Oh, can't we ask my brother Phillips to make him a partner immediately? Then he and Mary need not wait but can get married at once."

"I beg you will do no such thing Mrs Bennet. As I said, he is a steady, serious young man, and has the confidence to believe that he will advance in his career through his own abilities and merits. He may well be offended if he thinks that we have no such confidence in him, but is asking for special favours to be given to him solely for Mary's sake. And, my dear, there is really no need to be in such a hurry over Mary's marriage. We have just got rid of our two eldest daughters today, is that not enough for now?'

"Oh, Mr Bennet, how can you say such a thing? Get rid of our daughters, indeed! You know of course how happy I am that Jane and Lizzy -- dear Mrs Bingley and dearest Mrs Darcy -- are so well married."

In the meantime, Colonel Fitzwilliam had communicated the news of his engagement to Caroline Bingley in letters written to his parents, the Earl and Countess of Matlock, his brother and sister-in-law, Viscount and Viscountess Fitzwilliam, and his aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

For the second time in a couple of months, Lady Catherine was rendered exceedingly angry by the contents of a nephew's letter. However, her experience over her unsuccessful confrontation with Elizabeth at Longbourn had not been without its effect, and she prudently refrained from the impulse to set out on a journey to confront Miss Bingley directly, telling herself that she would no longer condescend to attempt to reason with yet another "obstinate, headstrong girl". She gave vent to her feelings by sending an abusive letter to her nephew, and a long and impassioned letter to Lord and Lady Matlock, in which she deplored the folly, imprudence and ingratitude of the younger generation. What on earth were these young men thinking of? As if it was not bad enough when their nephew Darcy decided to marry the daughter of an unknown country gentleman with no fortune, now here was her brother's son Richard going to marry a vulgar tradesman's daughter! Good heavens! Were the shades of Matlock as well as that of Pemberley to be thus polluted? She wondered that her brother would countenance such a match. So what if that young woman had a dowry of twenty thousand pounds, there were well-born young ladies with larger dowries than that, such as her own Anne for instance. She would never consent to the shades of Rosings being thus polluted, but how was Anne going to find a suitable match with a gentleman of her own sphere, if her own cousins would insist on marrying women who were outside that sphere?

Lord Matlock sent a calm and civil reply to his sister's impassioned letter. He told her that he had no objection to the match, and reminded her that his son was not a very young man, but a thirty-year-old colonel accustomed to commanding soldiers in the army. Such a man could be trusted to make his own decisions and to know his own mind best. Regarding Anne, Lady Matlock added that it was high time that Catherine should introduce her into society, instead of keeping her at Rosings all the year round. It was time to forget the idle conversations that three young mothers -- Catherine, her sister and her sister-in-law-- used to have when Anne was in her cradle, that the baby girl might one day marry one of her three boy cousins. Even if Catherine believed her daughter to be a little too delicate to enjoy the bustle and excitement of a hectic London season, she could still introduce Anne to the milder social life at a smaller public place such as Bath for instance. As for her fears of Anne meeting unsuitable young men or fortune hunters, surely a well-chaperoned girl could be sufficiently protected from such undesirable persons.

Although she would not admit it to anybody else, Lady Catherine was privately impressed by the Matlocks' letter and its advice regarding Anne. It was true that since Anne was born, she had hoped for an alliance with one of her nephews, her first choice had of course been Robert, Lord Fitzwilliam, the heir to the earldom of Matlock. But Robert had married the Lady Margaret when Anne was only sixteen, and Lady Catherine could not make any objection against that match, since Lady Margaret was herself the daughter of an earl, and thus regarded by all of society as a perfectly eligible bride for a future earl. She had consoled herself by shifting her hopes to her nephew Darcy, for although Darcy was an untitled gentleman, the estate of Pemberley was almost as grand as the estate of Matlock. She had been bitterly disappointed in Darcy, and had then thought of Richard as a tolerable match for the heiress of Rosings, for although Richard was a younger son with no great estate of his own, he was still a son of the nobility, and the shades of Rosings would not suffer any pollution with such a master. She had always been fearful of Anne falling a victim to the wiles of charming rakes and unprincipled fortune hunters who would want to get their hands on Rosings, and had thus been extremely reluctant to introduce Anne into society. She had hoped to get away from the necessity of presenting her daughter into society if only one of her cousins would marry her. However, there was now no help for it, she would have to allow Anne to meet and mix with other young people in society, but she must ensure that her daughter was to be very strictly chaperoned at all times. She would not take her to London, but Lady Matlock's idea of a place like Bath was a good one

Chapter 6 - Couples and Conclusion

Posted on 2008-09-27

Miss Anne de Bourgh was sorry that, due to her mother's attitude, she had been unable to attend the wedding of her cousin Fitzwilliam Darcy to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and that again, two months later, she was unable to attend the wedding of her cousin Richard Fitzwilliam to Miss Caroline Bingley. However, she had written to both her cousins and they knew that she did not share her mother' sentiments. On their part, they had written to assure her that they understood her situation, and for her sake, they hoped eventually to seek a reconciliation with their aunt.

Lady Catherine had decided that a visit to Bath would be of benefit to both herself and her daughter. Every public place was new to Anne, she had been so little in society that she was both delighted and apprehensive over the visit. In preparation for her introduction into society, Lady Catherine had also hired a dancing-instructor to polish up Anne's limited dancing skills. Anne's apprehensions were not helped by her mother's admonitions, for Lady Catherine was giving her daughter daily instructions and reminders, that were sometimes contradictory, as to the proper mode of behaviour expected of a well-born young lady who was also an heiress, of the need to make the acquaintances of proper young gentlemen of rank and fortune, and to avoid charming rakes and mercenary fortune-hunters. Mrs Jenkinson was to accompany them to Bath, and Lady Catherine had decreed that either she herself or Mrs Jenkinson must always be at her daughter's side, to protect her from making undesirable acquaintances.

By the time they reached Bath, Anne was feeling more apprehensive than delighted over the visit. However, fortune smiled on them, for a few days after their arrival, Lady Catherine was so fortunate as to meet an old acquaintance of hers in the pump-room, where they had gone to drink the waters deemed beneficial for their health. This old acquaintance was the Dowager Lady Osborne, from Osborne Castle in Surrey, and most important of all from Lady Catherine's point of view, Lady Osborne was accompanied by her bachelor son, the present Lord Osborne.

Lord Osborne was a handsome young man, but there was an air of awkwardness about him, he did not appear to be at ease in the company of ladies, and he never danced. This last point however, was an advantage where Miss de Bourgh was concerned, for although she had dutifully attended to the dancing lessons recently ordered by Lady Catherine, Anne knew that she was a far from skilful dancer.

Lord Osborne had suffered a disappointment in love about a year and a half ago, when his proposal of marriage had been very civilly, but very firmly, refused by Miss Emma Watson. And a few months ago, Miss Watson had married his old friend and Rector, the Rev Mr Howard. Mr Howard was a very agreeable gentleman, and Lord Osborne could not grudge him his happiness. His lordship also acknowledged to himself that Mr and Mrs Howard were well-suited to each other. The Rev Mr Howard was a very responsible clergyman, but he was also fond of dancing, and Mrs Howard was a very graceful dancer. Moreover, part of the attraction that the former Miss Emma Watson had for Lord Osborne was his sympathy for the plight that she had been in -- at that time, her father had recently died, leaving her in poverty and dependent for a home on her narrow minded elder brother and sister-in-law. Underneath his shyness and his stiff, awkward manners, Lord Osborne had a hidden streak of romantic chivalry in him, and he thought how very romantic it would be if he, the lord of the manor, could come to the rescue of the poor damsel in distress. However, as it turned out, Emma was not the helpless damsel in distress that he had thought her, but a strong-minded young lady who was quite capable of looking after herself, and who now appeared to be an active and excellent Rector's wife.

Miss de Bourgh was an heiress but perhaps she was more in need of rescuing than the former Miss Watson. He felt for her shyness and social awkwardness with the instinctive sympathy of a fellow sufferer, he did not wonder at her shrinking in the company of her domineering mother, the Lady Catherine had something of that effect on him as well. He could not make pretty speeches, but he displayed his interest on Miss de Bourgh by frequently seeking her out and sitting closely beside her at their meetings. At the Assembly rooms, since he did not dance and she did not much care for dancing, they often sat out the dances together.

The Dowager Lady Osborne and Lady Catherine were both delighted at the thought of a match between Lord Osborne and Anne. Lady Osborne was delighted at the thought of securing the heiress of Rosings for her son, Lady Catherine was delighted at the thought of securing a peer of the realm for her daughter, and great was her maternal pride and joy when Lord Osborne formally applied for her permission for her daughter's hand in marriage.

Unlike his mother, Lord Osborne was not thinking of Rosings when he asked Anne to marry him, and unlike her mother, Anne was not thinking of his title when she accepted him. Superficially, there appeared to be a certain resemblance between Lord Osborne and her cousin Darcy, but it was not really so. Darcy's appearance of pride stemmed from self-confidence, and it was this sense of his self-confidence that had rather intimidated Anne when her mother had been attempting to make up a match between her and cousin Darcy. Lord Osborne's awkwardness, on the other hand, stemmed from a lack of self-confidence, and Anne found it rather endearing, for it was something that she could sympathize with.

Lady Catherine and the Dowager Lady Osborne would have liked to have a grand society wedding, but neither the bride nor the bridegroom had any inclination for it. Lord Osborne declared that he would rather obtain a special licence and be married at once in a private ceremony than submit himself to the fuss and publicity of a fashionable society wedding. A compromise was reached, and a family wedding reception was agreed upon.

Anne seized the opportunity of her wedding to effect a reconciliation between her mother and her cousins. The guests on the bride's side included Lord and Lady Fitzwilliam, Colonel and Mrs Fitzwilliam, Mr and Mrs Darcy, and Miss Darcy. The guests on the bridegroom's side included his sister and brother-in-law, Colonel and Mrs Beresford, and their intimate friends, Mr and Mrs Tom Musgrave, nee Carr.

Lady Catherine was in too good a humour to object to the presence of Colonel Fitzwilliam and Darcy and their wives, indeed she no longer had any grudge against either of them. She was now glad that Anne had not married either Darcy or Richard, for as Lady Osborne, Anne would take precedence over both the Hon Mrs Fitzwilliam and the untitled Mrs Darcy. In fact, if she had any lingering resentment left against any of her nephews, it was against her eldest nephew, Lord Fitzwilliam, because his wife, as Viscountess Fitzwilliam would still take precedence over Baroness Osborne. Lady Catherine was graciously pleased to be most condescendingly civil to both Mrs Elizabeth Darcy and Mrs Caroline Ftizwilliam. Seeing Lady Catherine's maternal pride and joy, Elizabeth reflected wryly that there was actually not much difference between her own mother and Lady Catherine. Both Mrs Bennet and Lady Catherine wanted what they thought was best for their daughters, however misguided and embarrassing their attempts in that direction sometimes were.

Mary and Mr Clark were married soon after he was made a partner in her uncle's firm at Meryton, and that event took place about two years after the marriages of her two eldest sisters. Mrs Bennet was delighted to have at least one daughter settled near her, she had been bitterly disappointed when Jane and Mr Bingley had left Netherfield about a year after their marriage, and was only partially reconciled to the move by Jane's explanation that the opportunity to purchase an estate in a neighbouring county to Derbyshire was such a good bargain that they could not afford to refuse it.

Kitty had formed a steady friendship with Georgina and was frequently invited to make long visits to Pemberley. On one of these visits, she made the acquaintance of the Rev Mr James Morland, a young clergyman who had recently been installed at Kympton Parsonage near Pemberley. Mr Morland had a most respectful admiration for Mrs Darcy, and was struck by the fact that Miss Bennet was a younger and equally attractive version of her sister. Kitty, who since Lydia's disgraceful marriage to Wickham had felt that it was preferable to marry a clergyman rather than an army officer, was confirmed in this favourable view of clergymen by finding out that not all of them were like her cousin Mr Collins. James was an agreeable and sensible young man, and it was not long before he and Kitty were engaged.

James's sister, Mrs Catherine Tilney, the wife of the Rev Mr Henry Tilney of Woodston Parsonage in Gloucestershire, arrived at Kympton to help with the wedding preparations about two weeks before the wedding. Mrs Tilney was a charming young woman, and soon formed affectionate friendships with both Kitty and Georgina. Georgina found out that Catherine Tilney had a great taste for literature, and after her return to Woodston, Catherine and Georgina frequently corresponded together, often discussing the latest novels and literary publications and making comparisons of their likes and dislikes. Georgina was eventually invited to pay a visit to Woodston, and during the course of that visit, she made the acquaintance of Henry Tilney's elder brother, Major Frederick Tilney, the heir of Northanger Abbey.

Frederick Tilney had been a bit of a rake in the past, but seeing the happy marriages of his brother and sister had influenced him to realize his past errors and to appreciate the value of true affection and domestic tranquility. He found Miss Darcy to be a most charming and delightful young lady, she was so accomplished and intelligent and yet her manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle. He did all he could to make himself agreeable to her, and it was not long before she was willing to accept his marriage proposal. He confessed to her about his rakish past, but assured her that he had reformed and would never again flirt with any woman except herself as his wife. She was pleased with his openness and reciprocated by confessing to him about that incident at Ramsgate when she was but fifteen. His reaction to her confession confirmed and strengthened their mutual affection for each other, for he did not blame her in the least but was most indignant at the scoundrel who had attempted to take advantage of an innocent fifteen year old girl. At least he himself, even in his most rakish days in the past, had never attempted to flirt or to take advantage of innocent young girls.

Georgina's guardians had some initial reservations about consenting to her marriage with Major Tilney, they wanted him to prove his constancy through a long engagement. Georgina had too much respect for her brother and cousin to object, and as Major Tilney was anxious to prove that he was indeed constant in his affection and worthy of her, he did not object either. They were finally married about a year after their engagement.

Let other pens write of guilt or misery. I have no wish to dwell on such odious subjects, and therefore wish to assure everyone that none of the marriages that took place in here were miserable or unhappy. But of course, not everybody was capable of the same degree of tenderness or had the same capacity for love, and these marriages ranged from the blissfully happy to the tolerably contented.

And I leave the readers to decide for themselves which of these couples were blissfully happy, which of them were reasonably happy, and which of them were tolerably contented.