Page 12 of Mr. Darcy and the Mysterious "Miss B"
“That is wonderful news!” Mrs Bennet exclaimed, her tears forgotten. “Oh, James, you’re our salvation!”
“Indeed,” James said, preening under her praise. “But you must understand, such an investment requires certain assurances.”
Elizabeth’s spine stiffened. Here it comes, she thought.
“We are all family,” James continued, beginning to pace the room like an actor delivering a speech. “Connected by blood and history, bound together by our shared heritage. But family ties can be strengthened, made more permanent through the bonds of marriage.”
Elizabeth gripped her skirts tighter as she realised where this speech was heading.
“Therefore,” James said, turning to face Jane with a flourish, “I would like to propose marriage to my dear cousin Jane. Together, we could secure Longbourn’s future and unite our family in the most permanent way possible.”
Jane gasped, her face draining of colour. Elizabeth started to rise from her chair, ready to object, but Mrs Bennet’s sharp gesture stopped her.
“James,” Mrs Bennet said, “what a generous offer! Jane, my dear, what do you say?”
Jane looked around the room, her eyes pleading for rescue. But Elizabeth could see the trap they were in—refuse James’s proposal and lose their home, or accept and sacrifice Jane’s happiness for the family’s security. He had not said it outright, but she knew what he had meant. They all did. Well. All but perhaps Mrs Bennet.
“I… I do not know what to say,” Jane stammered. “This is rather sudden.”
“I dare say it is,” Elizabeth said, arms crossed. The audacity. She had always known James was moon eyed over Jane but this? To use their family’s security as leverage to force her into marriage?
“Say nothing for now,” James said. “I do not expect an answer to such an important question. I am departing for London tomorrow on business matters and will return by the fifth of next month. That should give you time to consider my proposal. Uncle, a month is not too long, is it? I would not wish for the creditors to be unduly irritated.”
Uncle Morton shifted in his chair. “The creditors will not wait much longer. They have threatened legal action if payment is not received soon. I can hold them off, however, with an assurance that the funds shall be forthcoming.”
Elizabeth watched Jane’s face crumble as the weight of their situation settled upon her. In less than one month, she would have to choose between her own happiness and her family’s survival.
“I did not expect this. I must say I am taken aback. It is a rather unexpected change,” Jane whispered.
“The best changes often are,” James replied. His eyes twinkled with delight as he spoke, knowing that his trap had snapped shut. “I am confident you will make the right choice, cousin. After all, what could be more natural than marriage between members of the same family?”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together to keep from pointing out that such marriages were often anything but natural. While it was not uncommon for cousins to be wed to one another, it was hardly ever out of love and most often out of some other sort of obligation. That her own sister should fall victim to such a scheme was unconscionable to Elizabeth. Especially now that she had just met someone who genuinely admired her.
The thought of Mr Bingley entered her mind—gentle, kind Mr Bingley, who had made Jane smile for the first timesince Papa’s death. But what hope did Jane have of a proposal from him when they had shared only two dances?
Elizabeth clenched her hands in her lap as she understood how helpless they were. Papa’s debts had trapped them all, but Jane would bear the heaviest burden. And there was nothing Elizabeth could do to save her sister from a marriage that would make her miserable for the rest of her life.
Uncle Morton was speaking about practical arrangements and timelines, but Elizabeth barely heard him. Her mind raced through every possible solution, every potential escape from their predicament, but each avenue led to the same conclusion.
Jane would have to marry James Morton or they would all be ruined.
Chapter 5
Elizabeth
That evening, Elizabeth found Jane sitting by her window, staring out at the darkening sky with melancholy case over her features. The events of the afternoon had left them all shaken, but Jane bore the heaviest burden of all.
“Jane?” Elizabeth settled beside her sister on the window seat. “We must talk.”
Jane turned, her blue eyes swimming with unshed tears. “There is nothing to discuss, Lizzy. The matter is quite settled.”
“Is it? Because I noticed you received an invitation from Netherfield today. From Miss Bingley, asking you for tea tomorrow.”
A flush crept up Jane’s neck. “I shall have to send my regrets.”
“Why?”
“Because…” Jane’s voice caught. “Because I cannot let infatuation get in the way of saving our family. James has made his offer clear. I shall have to marry him. There’s no way around it.”
