“That is wonderful, Elizabeth,” Georgiana cried. “Miss Bennet, he is a wonderful teacher, and I am thrilled you will share lessons with me. You will enjoy them very much. Would you liketo see my piano? My brother recently purchased a Broadwood Grand for our music room here.”
At her excited nod of acceptance, the two scurried to the music room, leaving Elizabeth behind. She smiled at their excitement, moving into the library briefly to retrieve a book before joining the girls in the music room quietly. She found them speaking to each other eagerly as they discussed composers and techniques, with Georgiana subtly instructing Mary as they played.
Nearly an hour later, William returned home and found his wife sitting to the side with a book in hand. “Hello, love,” he whispered into her ear, causing her to jump slightly. She turned and found him kneeling beside her and quickly pressed a kiss to his lips before indicating the scene in front of them.
“They are doing well together,” she whispered to him. “This will benefit both girls and help them learn confidence.”
“What of Miss Catherine?” William asked.
“Aunt decided it was best to allow her to be educated at Gracechurch Street before she ventures to Mayfair. She is still simply parroting all she has heard others say at this point, and while my aunt believes she does not believe all she says, she does not want to subject any of us to the unfeeling words she may say. She is still speaking in the same thoughtless way of Mrs. Bennet and Lydia, and my aunt hopes to spend some time training her to speak before she thinks,” Elizabeth confessed.
Offering his hand, he spoke quietly again, “Come, love, let us go into my study so we may speak in private. I have things to tell you that I do not want the others to hear,” he said, his eyes darting to their sisters seated together at the pianoforte.
With a look of concern on her face, she allowed her husband to help her to stand and draw her into his study. Leading her to sit beside him on the settee before the fire, he took her hand and caressed it as he seemed to marshal his thoughts in order. “I met with Bingley at the club today. He and your sister departed Netherfield just a day before Mrs. Bennet left for Ireland. He … he brought a letter with him that he thought I should see.” He paused, taking the folded letter from his coat pocket. “It is from his sister to Mrs. Bingley …”
“William, what is disturbing you so much about this letter? Obviously, it contains something upsetting to you. Does it have to do with me?” Elizabeth asked. He nodded, so Elizabeth continued. “May I see it?”
She could tell from his face that he was torn. “I knew that you would want to, but I am hesitant. Will you listen to what I tell you first?” he pled.
She looked at him in concern. “Of course I will, William; I will always listen to what you have to say,” she told him lovingly.
“I do not know how she knows, but Caroline Bingley had been threatening your … Mrs. Bingley to reveal the truth about Lydia and has threatened to spread rumours about our relationship—the same ones she has been sharing with Mrs. Bingley. Miss Bingley, of course, blames her banishment on you and is very unhappy. Still, she had been determined to ruin Jane’s happiness by telling her stories, blaming you for everything that has gone wrong in her life since the autumn we all met in Hertfordshire,” William paused and took a breath. “Since Bingley has been intercepting all the letters from his sister so his wife cannot read them, she has become more desperate since, understandably, Jane has not been writing her back. In this letter, she threatens to ruin both the Bennet and the Darcyfamilies and claims to have ‘evidence’ that you are pregnant with Bingley’s child since not only did you seduce me at Pemberley this summer, but you also used your wiles to seduce Bingley when they were visiting at Pemberley at Christmas.”
Elizabeth gasped at this revelation. “My baby will be born far too soon for that to be plausible since we already suspected I was with child before the time they visited. And how could she possibly have ‘evidence’ since she was not there then? And how does she even know of my pregnancy?”
“Neither Bingley nor I understand her claims either. We think she is simply ranting at this point, growing steadily angrier as she receives no response to her threats to Mrs. Bingley. Her influence is waning, and she is desperately trying to grab at whatever straws she believes she can. What we cannot understand is her ultimate goal in separating you from your sister. Is it just to hurt you both and, by extension, to injure her brother and myself by driving a wedge into both relationships? She knows she will never be permitted at Pemberley again, but perhaps she is seeking to prevent her brother’s welcome at Pemberley as well. Does she gain satisfaction knowing she can control her sister-in-law since she can no longer manipulate her brother?” William asked.
Elizabeth sighed and leaned against him. “I cannot say that I understand what she could be thinking. Is it possible she is not merely angry but truly mad? Does she believe this venom she spews?” she wondered.
“Bingley intends to send his aunt a letter to ask the same question,” he said. “There is a hospital in Scotland near Edinburgh that houses the insane, and Bingley is seriously considering taking her there and leaving her. The letters are increasingly unbalanced.”
“Does he think that Jane has softened toward me at all?” Elizabeth wondered. “Has she begun to understand what she has done by believing Miss Bingley’s lies? Does she begin to think better of me?” She truly wanted her sister back but was uncertain it would be possible given what had passed between them.
“He does not think so,” William admitted sadly. “She is becoming bitter, feeling very isolated and alone in London. She knows very few people in London, and because Bingley is still upset with her, they go out infrequently. He has not permitted her to shop since he is uncertain she will not spread gossip about us. She has also been rather sick with her pregnancy, and they came to London to consult with a physician as much as anything else.”
Elizabeth pressed her face to William’s chest, and he felt her tears dampen his shirt. “Is she better? What does the doctor say? I cannot stop caring about her despite what she believes about me.”
William rubbed his hands down her back to soothe his wife. “Bingley is hopeful she will be, but they have not seen a doctor yet. He had hoped to meet me today to ask for a recommendation for a doctor. I have given him the address of our family physician, who will know who to recommend if he cannot help.” He continued to hold her close as she cried.
“I am sorry, Will; I do not mean to cry, but I cannot seem to help it,” Elizabeth said as she began to pull away.
“Elizabeth, dearest, it is understandable. You are sad for your sister despite the distance between you, and I believe the fact that you are carrying our child likely influences your tears as well. I love you, dearest, and will always want to hold you whenyou cry, no matter the reason,” he said in a soothing tone as he pulled her back to him and began to pull the pins from her hair. “I believe, Elizabeth, that it is time for you to rest. I will have Mrs. Annesley sit with the girls while we retire to our rooms.”
He pulled her from her seat and escorted her up the stairs and to their rooms. Acting as her maid, he helped her undress and, once she was settled in the bed in her shift, departed to his dressing room so his valet could help him remove his boots. That done, he removed his coats and cravat and returned to the bedchamber, where he stripped down further before crawling into bed with his already sleeping wife. Spending several moments just looking at her and caressing the bulge that held their baby, he eventually curled his body around hers and fell asleep beside her.
Chapter Twenty
Waking up, Elizabeth felt somewhat refreshed. She found she was looking forward to returning to Pemberley as the pace of London was exhausting, and she needed daily naps to make it through the day. So many events started so late in the evening and extended far into the night, and Elizabeth had always struggled to sleep past eight in the morning. Pregnancy had made that easier, but she hated lying in bed all day, especially as her husband was bound to be awake early since he was also accustomed to rising with the sun.
Sighing, she began to stir and then felt the presence of another in bed. “Good afternoon, dearest,” she heard the deep voice of her husband say. “How are you feeling?”
“I am better, William; I am sorry for worrying you,” she replied, remembering their conversation.
“I understood the reason, dearest. Despite what Jane has done, she is your sister, and for twenty years, she was the closest person to you. Since she has turned against you, and even though none of us truly understand why, you still love her andwant what is best for her. Even from a distance, you do not want to see her hurting,” he reassured her.
“No, I hate to hear that she is so sick with her pregnancy. While I cannot imagine ever spending time with Jane again, I would like to think that she will eventually recognise the truth. I cannot understand why she chooses to believe these lies about me. Unlike my parents, I cannot just pretend she is dead and never think of or speak to her ever again,” Elizabeth said. “Oh, Will,” she sobbed, turning and crying into his chest. “Oh, pregnancy makes me cry so often, and I hate feeling so … carried away by my emotions. Everything makes me cry, and I feel so awkward, and I just want to sleep all the time. I do not know if I can stay here in London another two months if we keep to the same schedule we are doing now.”
“Hush, dear,” William soothed as he rubbed his hands along her back. “It will be well. With Mary here, we will stay home for the rest of the week and skip whatever events we had intended to attend. We can rest and then spend another week or two with Mary before we depart for Pemberley sooner than we had planned. What will we do about Mary?”
