Page 20 of The Cheapside Runners
Shehad long since given up trying to comprehend it. She had come to an uneasy accommodation with her father some years earlier. She spent more than half her time in London. In exchange for her father allowing her to mostly take control of her own life at an early age, she agreed to mostly keep her nose out of raising her sisters. The bargain meant she had to bite her tongue dozens of times each day. She was, however, not at all convinced her father was keeping his end of the deal. It had been an uneasytruce for some time, but she was starting to think she might have to break it. Jane’s complete and utter ignorance of the evils of the world, combined with the shocking lack of propriety in her two younger sisters was likely to cause a crisis eventually, and Elizabeth thought she would just as soon avoid it.
She did not know if and when she would enlighten Jane about the viscount, let alone what she had heard about Mr Bingley and his many ‘angels’ or just let the scene play out. Jane was the eldest, so presumably she could think for herself, though Elizabeth found her naïveté disturbing.
Elizabeth had heard about Mr Bingley’s propensity to fall in and out of love with some regularity from her Uncle Gardiner and the results were ambiguous. They could not quite tag him as a rake, and none of his former angels seemed overly distressed about losing his attentions, nor was there any real indication he acted dishonourably (though imprudently perhaps).
In at least a couple of cases, the lady dissuaded the relationship. Perhaps they learnt about his connexions to trade, or more likely they became acquainted with his sisters. Elizabeth thought that any lady who abandoned the man over his sisters showed good sense, but that did not mean she advocated the same for Jane. They were not exactly fishing in a well-stocked stream in Meryton, and if Mr Bingley’s sisters did not bother Jane, what business was it of Elizabeth’s? After all, replacing Mrs Bennet with Miss Bingley would hardly be any change at all for Jane.
All in all, Elizabeth trod a narrow path. She knew far more than most about the evils of the world and felt duty-bound to intervene, if necessary, but she did not wish to take up the occupation of nursemaid or governess for her own siblings—particularly against her parents’ vigorous objections. It was all most vexing.
~~~~~
Fortunately for Elizabeth, Jane fell asleep on her shoulder almost instantly when they started moving, and remained so throughout the journey, exactly in accordance with her plans.
Elizabeth had not chosen to leave Netherfield at first light due to any real concern about her safety with the viscount in the house. She could easily have kept her sister away from the man for a few more hours, or days if it came right down to it. She was hardly a babe in the woods.
She did not choose the time based on misters Darcy and Bingley’s comfort, since she had little concern on that front. They were grown men. She would not say she wastestingMr Bingley per se, but knowing how he behaved in uncomfortable situations could be useful, and to be honest, if he was to be frightened off by the Bennet family (including the most forceful sister), it was best done soon.
She did not even organise herself so the viscount would know his game was up and he had been bested—though she had a certain satisfaction about his broken nose and missing teeth.
Any or all of thosecouldhave affected her plans, but they did not. She actually chose that time so Jane would be home, in bed, and plied with broth and willow bark tea before Mrs Bennet became aware of their presence. She would not ordinarily have protected Jane from her mother’s wrath, partly because most of said wrath would be directed at Elizabeth regardless of Jane’s presence or absence. She mostly wanted to spare her because she was still quite ill with the cold acquired through Mrs Bennet’s matchmaking stupidity. She was ill enough that, absent the viscount’s presence, she probably would have left her at Netherfield for a few more days.
Elizabeth ruminated on those thoughts as they travelled by Meryton. She almost woke up Jane when she laughed heartily at one thought that came to mind. It seemed she and Mr Darcy were entirely even, both monetarily after the return ofhis shilling, but also in their general situations.She was still an ordinary tradesman’s niece, and he was still a typical first-circle dandy.
~~~~~
Elizabeth’s arrival at Longbourn went about as predicted. The long-suffering Mrs Hill helped her get Jane into bed and arranged to have everything required for her care before anyone else was awake in the house (except forallthe servants, of course).
Once Jane had been plied with the curatives of dubious efficacy, Elizabeth still had time for a walk in the garden, but she kept it short. She even managed to have a cup of tea and plate of ham and eggs half consumed before the inevitable reckoning commenced.
“Lizzy, what are you doing here?” Mrs Bennet asked in a loud and peevish voice. “I just knew allowing you to walk to Netherfield would turn out badly. You have no compassion for my poor nerves, and I really do not know who will keep you when your father is gone. If you have no concern for your own future, you could at least consider your poor mother and sisters!”
“I repeat, for perhaps the thousandth time mother,” Elizabeth replied in thinly disguised annoyance. “Your future is perfectly secure. Your brother has ensured you would not starve in the hedgerows if our father fell over dead as a herring five minutes from now. We are not desperate.”
“Not desperate? NOT DESPERATE! When you have five daughters to marry off, then you will be entitled to an opinion about the appropriate levels of desperation. You had three eligible men at your disposal—one a viscount—and you conceded the field with nary a backward glance. I do not understand you.”
“As hard as it is for you to believe, our presence was doingmore harm than good. I will agree that Mr Bingley seems as promising as any new suitor can be, but imposing on his hospitality on such a weak excuse as a cold that was an obvious matchmaking ploy is hardly the way to bring him to the point. I know how these men think, and I can assure you that leaving was the right thing to do. Mr Bingley’s pursuit of Jane, insofar as it even exists, washelped,not harmed by our exit. I can assure you of that!”
“I have no idea what your father and uncle have been teaching you, Elizabeth. Simple arithmetic says that with three eligible men in the house, you wantmoreexposure—not less. Even ifyoudisdain all men, how are we to visit if you abandon the house?”
Elizabeth’s exasperation increased apace.Nothingcould induce her to tell the biggest gossip in Meryton exactly why she left, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, there were a hundred ways gossiping about the viscount’s proclivities could recoil on them. Her lecture aboutunbalanced riskswas in full force. The viscount could do almost as much damage to their reputations byclaimingcompromise as he could with anactualone. Even all that aside, what was the point of baiting the bull? Mr Bingley seemed a nice, malleable sort of man. His sisters and Mr Darcy were not! Why hand them a rope to hang us with?
“Uncle Gardiner has been teaching me about how the world works, Mama. I can assure you, in no uncertain terms, that neither Mr Darcy nor the viscount will even consider taking a wife from this neighbourhood. We are chalk and cheese. It is beyond the realm of possibility.”
“Oh, what do you know?” Mrs Bennet lamented angrily.
“Pray, allow me to finish, and I would hope you find yourself in greater charity with my decisions.”
She stared hard at her mother, something she rarely did, but she wanted to get this particular tirade over with if at allpossible.
When Mrs Bennet finally nodded resignedly, she continued.
“As I said, Mr Darcy and Viscount Fitzwilliam cannot help your cause,but they can most certainly hurt it. I will agree that Mr Bingley looks somewhat promising… certainly as promising as any eligible man we are likely to find in this neighbourhood. I can confidently assert that Jane’s leaving at this timehelpedher cause far more than it hurt. Trust me on this one.”
“I disagree, Lizzy. You know not of what you speak.”
“I know exactly of what I speak, Mama,” she replied vaguely, once again frustrated that she could not explainedwhyshe was so confident.
To be honest, she would give Jane about even odds of getting Mr Bingley to the point at best. He did not seem all that stalwart, and it was obvious his sisters disdained the match and would oppose it with great vigour. Jane might think they were her friends, but Elizabeth knew better. Just getting her and Jane out of the sisters’ sight early probably did more for their cause than anything else.
