Page 50 of Mr. Darcy and the Mysterious "Miss B"
Mr Morton entered with his usual gentle manner, though Elizabeth thought he looked more frail than usual. His kind eyes moved from face to face, taking in the assembled ladies with obvious confusion.
“My dear Mrs Bennet, Jane, Elizabeth. I confess myself surprised to find you all here.” He settled himself with obvious relief. “Elizabeth, your letter was most urgent. What has happened?”
Elizabeth heard her own pulse in her ear. “Uncle Morton, I asked you to come because there has been a development. A possible solution to Longbourn’s difficulties that does not require Jane to marry James.”
Mr Morton’s eyebrows rose. “Another solution? My dear, what do you mean?”
“I mean that Jane need not sacrifice herself for our family’s debts. There may be another way.”
“I see.” Mr Morton looked puzzled. “Does this mean you do not wish to marry James?”
The question hung in the air like a sword. Jane lifted her chin with quiet dignity.
“I never wanted to marry him, Uncle Morton. Never.”
Mr Morton looked genuinely shocked. “But my dear, I thought… that is, James led me to believe you were amenable to the match. He said you understood the necessity, that you welcomed the connexion… And it would be such a lovely way to unite the family and the entailment…”
“James told you what served his purposes,” Mrs Bennet said with uncharacteristic sharpness.
“I beg your pardon?”
Elizabeth leaned forward. “Uncle Morton, we must tell you some things about James that you may not wish to hear. But you deserve to know the truth.”
“What sort of truth?”
“James has not been honest with you about many things,” Jane said.
Mr Morton’s face grew troubled. “I do not understand. James is my heir, my only family. Surely you do not mean to suggest—”
“Do you remember,” Elizabeth interrupted, “when you were ill last winter? How James convinced you to change your will to leave him a larger portion of your estate?”
“Well, yes, but that was sensible. He is my heir, after all.”
“And do you remember what he told you to convince you? That our family was plotting to take advantage of your illness to secure a larger inheritance for ourselves?”
Mr Morton’s face went very still. “He said… he said he had heard troubling rumours. That he felt duty-bound to warn me. Of course, those rumours turned out to be false, as I discovered as soon as I made inquiries after my recovery.”
“There were no rumours, Uncle,” Mrs Bennet said. “James created that story to secure his own position whilst making us appear grasping.”
Mr Morton looked stricken. “Surely you exaggerate. James would not… he is family.”
“As are we,” Mrs Bennet said. “Yet which family does James choose to protect? He could loan us the money to pay off our debts with an understanding it will all be paid back. But he does not want to do that, of course. He would rather worm his way into Jane’s life and take Longbourn anyhow.”
“He felt it was not practical for him to make such a loan.”
“But when it came to marrying Jane, suddenly it was practical?” Elizabeth prodded.
Mr Morton sat in growing silence, his face aging with each revelation.
“I see,” he said at last. “I suppose… I suppose I have always known James was not quite what I wished him to be. But he is my only family. My only heir.”
“That is not true,” Mrs Bennet said. “We are your family, Uncle. We have always been your family.”
“You are kind to say so, my dear.”
“It is not empty words, Uncle,” Jane said. “We love you. Papa loved you. But the truth is, often James would come between us with his words and actions. It is not right. It is not right that he should manipulate you in such a way.”
The old man sat, lips pressed together. “I know it. In my heart of hearts, I knew it would not be what Thomas wanted, this marriage between you and James. But I wanted…I wanted…” His words trailed off and Elizabeth took his old, weathered hand in hers while Jane did the same.
