They all greeted her, even Mary, who rather than cutting Caroline, as Elizabeth had been afraid she would, hugged Caroline, and promised to copy out for her some of the best extracts she knew about Godly behavior. Mary added, seemingly aware that her sisters were looking at her with a little surprise, that forgiveness was after all the chief Christian virtue — and besides Jesus happily spenthistime with the disreputable women and tax collectors.
Mr. Bennet laughed and said, “Tax collectors do an important job. Without them we’d have been conquered by Napoleon. I’ll hear nothing against the excise menhere.”
He then studied Caroline down the nose of his glasses. “Dear girl. Are you properly repentant?”
“I did wrong. I don’t know if that means enough. But I know I did very wrong, and—” Caroline stood very stiffly.
“That is satisfactory tome.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Poor girl. You’ve learned a hard lesson.”
Mrs. Bennet said several times how happy she was to see little Lina again, and also that she could not like Mr. Darcy at all, not after he cut relations with Charlie over a matter that was not his fault.
The more Mama said that, the more miserable Caroline began to appear, so after a while Elizabeth begged, “Enough of that. Caro, you must be exhausted after such a trip. Are you staying in Meryton, or… with Charlie?”
Caroline shook her head. “I came to you first, and I do not believe he wishes to have anything to do with me.”
“He will ifIhave anything to say about it,” Elizabeth growled.
“No, no, no. I am very aware of how wrongly I acted.”
“I am too, but—”
“I hurt my brother, his honor, his standing, everything. I don’tdeserveto be acknowledged by him. Not by anyone, I don’t deserve your kindness, and—” And Caroline started crying into her hands.
Elizabeth put her arms around her friend, and suddenly the drawing room emptied out as Mama shuffled everyone else out of the room to give them a bit of space and peace.
“I’ll send Mrs. Hill to bring tea and biscuits,” she said as she closed the door on them.
Caroline slowly stopped crying, and she was wiping her face with her handkerchief when the tray of tea was brought in.
Elizabeth poured and served the tea for both of them, while Caroline started speaking, “Aunt Matilda would not give me any of my correspondence, nor allow me to send any letters, saying that she would be party to no clandestine schemes during my remaining with her.”
Elizabeth laughed. “What did she anticipate you would do?”
“Whatever it was, I had not the heart. Aliette was dismissed immediately, though I gave her a small wallet full of guineas — I do not even know what the number was, and promised to reemploy her upon reaching my majority. Aunt Matilda intended that she be sent off with no references, and to be left without resources for her part as an accomplice in my crimes… I deserved all the punishment. Every time I become annoyed — I shared the downstairs maid for my toilette, and I believe she’d been instructed to pull at my hair—”
“Surely Aunt Matilda would not be so petty.”
Caroline wrapped her hands around the pretty filigree blue teacup, and just looked at Elizabeth.
“You were always her favorite.”
“I think that drove her anger. I disappointed her. If I was her favorite, then her judgement was shown to have severe deficiencies, and so severity in response was called for.”
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “You seem to have become as great a judge of character as I am.”
With a small choked laugh, Caroline flushed. “Not a worthy trade for… for what I lost from my soul by acting out such a crime. But still a praise I like — Charles sent me no letter.”
Elizabeth grimaced. “Even after his marriage with Jane, he is in no mood to forgive you.”
“My actions were far worse in regard to him than with regards to you.”
“And that you are siblings does not soften it?”
“We are nearly siblings as well.”
“I never imaginedCharlieto be the unforgiving one.”
“Perhaps he will forgive me partially when I speak with him.”
