Jane just looked shocked, so Elizabeth continued. “Jane, I do not understand what has come over you. Surely, you see that I cannot continue a relationship with a woman who utterly hates me and disparages me at every turn. The only reason the whole of Meryton does not know of her complaints against me is that her pin money was threatened if she spoke against me outside the family. Mr. Bennet has made no attempt to keep her from speaking ill of me within the family. Why should I continue to honour them as my father and my mother when they want nothing to do with me except to abuse me?”
“It is the Christian thing to do, Lizzy,” Jane protested.
Elizabeth took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking. “I have forgiven them, although I confess the subject is brought up, I still struggle with anger toward them. With time and distance, I do hope that will become easier. However, while I can forgive them, which our Lord has commanded us, that does not mean I will accept them back into my life without considering their behaviour and its consequences.”
“But Lizzy…,” Jane began.
“No, Jane, no more!” Elizabeth nearly yelled. “Just as my father declared me dead to him, my mother and father are as good as dead to me. Do not expect me to pretend that all is well when you have just told me Mrs. Bennet continues to speak ill of me and blames me for things that are in no way my fault, nor my husband’s. Do you even know what she said of me, Jane? Have you heard the names she calls me? Has she made any efforts to apologise to me for any of it? Why, Jane, why should I pretend none of it has happened?”
Hearing her sister’s words and the raised tone of voice caused Jane to cry. William and Charles had both turned to look as they had noted the tense conversation, but it was not until Elizabeth raised her voice that they began to move toward their wives. Jane, feeling Charles touch her shoulder, turned to him in tears. With a look at their hosts, he led Jane from the room.
Elizabeth, still angry, turns her glare to her husband. “How can she be so blind, William? She believes me to be in the wrong for my treatment of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet while she continues to listen to Mrs. Bennet abuse me at every turn. Surely, she could ban the woman from the house or correct her when she speaks illof me or, or something.” The words burst from Elizabeth as she paced back and forth in front of him.
William reached out to stop her in her tracks as he pulled her into his chest. “Bingley and I spoke of it as you ladies were talking, at least until the conversation took a turn. Jane does not see it; she does not want to blame her parents for the distance between you and them. He fears she will never accept it, and he worries for her.”
Elizabeth leaned further into her husband’s chest. “I attempted to redirect the conversation away from Longbourn, but she insisted on continuing the conversation. She questioned why I referred to them as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and accused me of being unchristian in not accepting them back into our lives.”
Taking a deep breath, William continued to attempt to soothe her. “Dearest, please calm yourself. I cannot imagine this stress can be good for the baby,” he said as he rubbed his hands up and down her back in a comforting manner.
She did as he asked and took several deep breaths. “I know I am likely more emotional because of the baby as well, but, oh William, I do not even want to share this happiness with Jane after this. Even though you and I both know this baby was conceived within the bounds of our marriage, I worry that Jane will be unable to not say something of it to Mrs. Bennet, which will only confirm for her how I have ‘played the harlot’ to gain your favours. I can imagine the stories she will tell when she discovers our news.”
“Soon, she and Lydia will be in Ireland, where they can tell no one,” William soothed.
“But what will prevent them from writing letters to their friends and neighbours when they are in Ireland?” She sighed once again. “I cannot continue in this way, or I will grow angry and anxious once again. We were looking forward to our guests, but now I wish we had not asked them to come ahead of everyone else.”
“I will ensure you are not alone with her again, my love,” he said gently. “We will forgo the separation of the sexes after dinner while we are a small party, and I will contrive ways to keep you in my company. It is just for a few days, and perhaps I can write to Matlock and suggest they come earlier than they had planned.”
“You are so good to me, William,” she sighed, then stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I do love you so very dearly.”
“I love you as well, Elizabeth,” he said, tucking her hand under his arm and escorting her to their rooms, where he continued to work on relaxing her.
Dinner that night was mostly pleasant, if a bit tense at times. For her part, Elizabeth did not speak to Jane directly but kept the conversation general and light. She was aided in this by her husband and his friend, but her sister remained quiet. Charles had confessed to Elizabeth that she had spent much of the afternoon thinking about their conversation.
The next several days passed pleasantly with only a slight hint of the quarrel between the sisters. As he had said he would, William shielded Elizabeth from being alone with her sister, and while there was ample conversation between the parties, little of it was directly between Elizabeth and Jane, and the topic of Longbourn was avoided entirely. However, on the fourth day of their stay, Jane cornered Elizabeth in an empty room as she worked to prepare the Christmas baskets for the staff.
“This summer, I received a letter from Caroline Bingley shortly before her brother returned to Netherfield,” Jane began. “I was rather surprised at it since I had not heard from her since her short visit to Gracechurch Street in the winter. The letter said some truly awful things, but then you married Mr. Darcy so suddenly, and I had not heard anything from you.”
“Mr. Bennet intercepted those letters, Jane,” Elizabeth said heatedly. “You did not hear from me because he consigned any letters I sent to the fire.”
Jane nodded in reply and then continued her tale. “Miss Bingley, Caroline, said that you had coordinated your visit at Pemberley knowing that Mr. Darcy would be in residence and that you had tricked him into inviting you to stay. Once you were ensconced in Pemberley, she said you constantly flirted and teased, and she told me that she saw you come from his study several times with your hair and gown mussed and that on the last night she was here, she saw you slip from his bedchamber in the middle of the night.”
“And you believed this nonsense of me?” Elizabeth demanded.
“I confess I did not know what to think,” Jane admitted. “It seemed so unlike you, but why would Caroline lie to me about it? And then you married Mr. Darcy in such a rush.”
“I married Mr. Darcy in a rush because my father declared me dead to him, and I no longer had a home. I could not be introduced in his society as ‘Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire’ if I was no longer ‘Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire’. I told my aunt and uncle, and my intended, that I preferred not to lie in that way and that it would simply be easier to marry sooner rather than wait as he had originally intended,” Elizabeth stated, her angerstill simmering just below the surface. “Not to mention, Miss Bingley was sent away from Pemberley for the very thing she accused me of—slipping into William’s chambers late at night in an attempt to compromise him, and this was doneafterwe were engaged to be married. Fortunately, William and his cousin Richard had been talking until late, and he was alerted by his staff of her attempt at compromise and sent away in disgrace. She was only in residence at Pemberley for one night before being thrown out. All of this was communicated to you in letters I sent through Charles, who is also aware of these events.
“I do not understand how you, of all people, could think these things of me,” Elizabeth concluded. “I will not ask you to leave because it is a long journey, and William genuinely enjoys your husband’s company, but please do not attempt to corner me again. You may speak to Charles, or even William, if you have questions, as both are aware of all the details, but I will speak of it no more.” With that, she quickly exited the room and searched for her husband.
She found him in his study. Entering without knocking, she marched in, ensuring no one was with him before shutting and locking the door. Then, she dropped into his lap and kissed him soundly. “I require comfort, my love,” she told him after breaking the kiss.
“Jane?” he asked.
She nodded. “I do not want to speak of it right now. Suffice it to say, Miss Bingley is at fault once again. While Jane is incredibly foolish to believe any of her venom, it has found its mark. I only wish the shrew were here so I could once again banish her from my presence, although I might be tempted at this point to plant her a facer as well.”
William chuckled. “Let me comfort you, my love, and we will speak of it later.”
When they gathered for dinner that night, it was apparent Jane had spoken to Charles, for the group that went into dinner was unnaturally quiet. While a few words were exchanged, all parties were tense and unspoken words hung between them. Finally, Charles attempted to break the ice. “It seems that, once again, I must apologise for my sister.”
