Jump to new as of March 12, 2002
It was a cold, frosty autumn morning when a dark gentleman rode across the fields of Netherfield, his mood being not much lighter than his appearance. Before too long he made it to the house, and was dismounting his horse when another man, seemingly more cheerful came out to welcome him.
"Darcy! You are finally here!" said the man with a broad smile. "What on earth took you so long? I was waiting for you to come and say your opinion of this house. I had to trust my own judgement and take it when you didn't show up."
"Perhaps it was better that way, Bingley." said the other man. "I cannot always be there making choices for you."
"I did not mean that you would have needed to make the choice, I just wanted your opinion, you know." Bingley declared, not easily let down by the cold tone of his friend. "So, what have you been up to?"
"You know I was in London, searching for..." Darcy caught himself before finishing the sentence. "...for nothing in particular."
"Oh" Bingley said in an understanding tone, although he had no idea what Darcy was talking about. To change the subject he then continued: "Shall we go inside now. It is freezing here and I do not want to catch cold. There's a tea party tomorrow at the Bennets - they are my new neighbours, you see - and I would not miss it for anything."
"A tea party!" Darcy snorted, as they entered the house. "Honestly, Bingley, I don't understand you. What fun could there possibly be?"
Bingley coloured slightly.
"A girl again, is it?" Darcy asked after seeing Bingley's expression. "Don't tell me she is the sweetest and the most beautiful girl you have ever seen. I have heard that quite often enough from you, and right now I am not in the mood to hear it again."
"But she is!", Bingley insisted. "Miss Bennet is an angel, and I swear I have never met anyone like her."
"So that's why you are so eager to go to the Bennets!"
"Well, yes, for one thing...But there are other nice people as well. You should come with me, I'm sure it would cheer you up from whatever is troubling you now."
I think not Darcy thought bitterly.
"I would only spoil the fun, Bingley", he said aloud. "Besides, I have no wish to spend an evening with ill-bred country people who have nothing better to do than to dance and gossip."
Bingley shook his head "You are too selective, Darce. Perhaps they are not everybody images of wisdom and intelligence, but they are most of them very agreeable, good-sort-of people."
"I know you think they are, but I would probably find none of them agreeable. Perhaps it is my own fault, but I can't help it, especially not now." Darcy stated.
After a pause he continued: "I am sorry, Bingley. I really should not have come at all, and I wouldn't have, had I not promised you before."
Bingley opened his mouth as if to say something, but Darcy continued before he could utter a word: "Now that I am here I shall stay a few days, but don't expect me to accompany you anywhere."
Again Bingley tried to say something, but Darcy already knew what he had in mind: "And don't ask me to stay any longer, because I can't. I have business in London (or God knows where, he added to himself) that cannot be delayed."
After that, the gentlemen sat down for a glass of wine, but because Darcy was not in the mood for company, he soon - that is, before Bingley's sisters could find out that he had arrived - excused himself, saying that he was tired of the long ride. A servant was then ordered to show Darcy his rooms, while Bingley was left to wonder what had happened to his friend.
The following morning Darcy woke up early, like he had done every day during the last few weeks. It was now nearly two months ago that Mr. Darcy had been informed of Georgiana's disappearance from Ramsgate, and it was almost as long since he had heard any news at all of his sister.
Darcy's first action after hearing the dreadful news had been to travel to Ramsgate as soon as he possibly could, but there he had only been discouraged by the information that Mrs. Younge, the woman who had had the responsibility of taking care of Georgiana, was also missing. It seemed clear that Miss Darcy had been spending a lot of time in the company of a certain gentleman, and it was a common assumption in the village of Ramsgate that the two had eventually eloped, with the assistance of Mrs. Younge.
This news alone was enough to cause Darcy much grief, but to make the situation even more painful, it soon became clear that the gentleman behind this was no other than Mr. Wickham.
After gathering this information, Darcy had immediately began the search for his sister and Colonel Fitzwilliam had soon joined him, but no matter how hard they tried, they could find no signs of the couple from anywhere. Nevertheless, neither one of the cousins were willing to make anything public, because even if a public search might have helped them to find what they were looking for, they were still hoping to find Georgiana in quiet before her reputation would be entirely ruined.
However, after nearly two months of searching there still was no sign of Georgiana or Wickham to be found. Only one thing was certain: the two of them had never reached Gretna Green to get married. Of this Darcy had no doubt, for he had visited the place right after hearing the news of the elopement, and there he had been informed that such a couple had never arrived to get wed.
At the time Bingley's invitation for a stay at Netherfield had reached Darcy, he had only just arrived from his second visit to Gretna Green, where he had again been informed that no wedding between Mr. Wickham and his bride had taken place there. Having promised Bingley to make a visit to his new house, Darcy had then decided that there was nothing at the moment he could do in London or anywhere else, and that it was the time for him to keep his word. At least he would have a couple of days time to sort out his thoughts and to decide what course of action he should take next.
It was with these thought that Darcy had arrived to Netherfield the day before and it was much with the same thoughts that he now woke up after yet another sleepless night. Georgiana was still lost and there was not much hope of ever recovering her again, unless she herself took contact. To make matters worse, Darcy would soon have to answer all the inquiries that Bingley and his sister would make after his sister, because they had no idea of what had happened. So far Darcy had managed to keep everything secret so that, save him, only Colonel Fitzwilliam and his family, the Matlocks, were aware of Georgiana's situation. It was clear, however, that if she would not soon be found safe and sound, other people, including the Bingleys, would eventually have to be informed of her disgrace.
When Darcy finally arrived to the breakfast room to have his breakfast, he found Bingley there already eating his.
"Good morning Darcy!" Bingley cried immediately as he noticed his friend.
"Good morning", Darcy replied a good deal less enthusiastically.
"Are you feeling better this morning?" Bingley asked, munching his toast. "I hope you are, for I would be very disappointed to find you in such low spirits every day during your stay here."
"I already told you, Bingley. I am not staying!" Darcy stated as he sat down to read the newspaper.
"I was hoping you would have changed your mind over the night."
"Well, I haven't"
"And what about the tea party at the Bennets?" Bingley continued. "I am sure you would enjoy yourself if you only tried."
"I am sure I wouldn't", Darcy replied sharply.
"Are you then planning to stay indoors all day?" Bingley questioned after a short pause. "It is raining outside. You can't even go riding."
Darcy looked out of the window and sighed. He had to face it that it was indeed raining too hard even for him to go out for the lonely ride he had been so willing to take.
"I guess you are right" he finally said.
A silence fell between the two friends for a while. Bingley concentrated on his breakfast and Darcy was deep in his thoughts, but finally he sighed again and turned to face Bingley.
"I am sorry for my behaviour yesterday", Darcy said, having decided that there was no reason to be rude to his friend even if he had problems of his own. "I was not on my best mood, and I still am not, but if you want me to accompany you to that tea party, I will do that - And I promise I will try not to offend your new acquaintances too much" he added dryly.
"Then it is settled?" Bingley asked. "I am sure my sisters will be delighted to hear it."
"No doubt they will" Darcy sighed and rolled his eyes.
The two gentlemen then finished their breakfast in silence and the rest of the morning passed quietly in the anticipation of the upcoming evening. Darcy hardly knew what to expect and how he was to survive an evening with all those country savages, but he was determined to stay civil, for Bingley's sake. So Darcy finally managed to convince himself that all would go well, if only those Bennets would turn out to be sensible and civilised people.