When she had been small, she had often joined her father in his book room and he had always indulged her by allowing her to read with him. She knew he had been pleased when she began asking him questions and discussing what she read with him, but none of her sisters had ever sought the same.
She returned her attention to the discussion, aware that she should not allow her mind to drift too far from the present conversation, particularly as she heard the voice of one of her sisters joining in.
“Why should we need a companion?” Kitty asked her uncle. “Lydia will not like being sent away to school, but if Mary and I are to remain at home, I do not see what use we have for one.”
To Elizabeth’s surprise, it was Mrs Annesley who replied.
“A companion does not so much instruct as she guides,” she said gently. “She is there to accompany you, to observe, and to advise when necessary. As you begin to move in a wider circle of society, such support may prove of greater value than you expect, particularly when that circle differs from what you have hitherto known. There are occasions when guidance is better received from one who stands a little apart.”
This answer seemed to satisfy Kitty, for she sat back and appeared to be considering the matter. At the very least, she did not say anything else, and the attention returned to the matter of the wedding.
“Since Elizabeth has requested that we remain until the wedding, my suggestion is that the wedding take place as soon as it can be arranged. Today is Saturday, so if the wedding is held mid-week, we can depart soon after and arrive at home that same evening. We had intended toreturn home near then anyway, so that will not require us to extend our trip by too long,” Mrs Gardiner said. “Jane, as I said, you are welcome to join us in London, but I will leave the decision up to you.”
Elizabeth glanced at Jane, but her sister’s expression was too composed for Elizabeth to read anything into it. Her sister hesitated before answering.
“I think that I will remain at home, at least for now,” Jane said, her fingers smoothing her gown, though there was no crease evident.
Elizabeth wondered at Jane’s words, for she could interpret neither her expression nor her tone.
Jane continued. “Mama will need someone to sit with her when she learns Lydia is to be sent to school, and if Papa must take her there himself, she cannot be left to endure that alone. No, I think I ought to remain at Longbourn for now.”
Elizabeth wanted to shake her head at this, and for a moment, she wondered if Jane somehow thought that she also ought to stay, but how would that even be managed after she was married? She would not subject Fitzwilliam nor Georgiana to her mother’s theatrics in that instance, but she did not think that Jane ought to be required to bear it either.
“Fitzwilliam and I spoke of our wedding trip on the way south, and we thought to go to the Lakes for a fortnight after the wedding. But before we went, we intended to escort Georgiana to Pemberley; Jane, would you like to accompany us?”
“No, Lizzy,” Jane said with a slight sniff, “I would not. It is best that I remain here to deal with Mama while you are off seeking your own pleasure.”
“Jane?” Elizabeth nearly cried, the hurt evident in her tone. Instead of responding to her, Elizabeth was astonished to see Jane stand and nearly run from the room. She made to follow, but Mrs Gardiner laid a hand on Elizabeth’s arm.
“Allow me, Elizabeth,” she said quietly. “You and Mr Darcy need to finish making the plans for your wedding, and I believe that, at the moment, I am the one who ought to speak to Jane. The two of you can speak later.”
Reluctantly, Elizabeth nodded as she watched her aunt leave the room. “Papa?” she asked, turning to him.
“I cannot say anything for certain,” he admitted. “I do believe she received a letter yesterday, or was it the day before?”
This last was said absentmindedly, and Elizabeth wondered if, by some chance, Caroline Bingley would have somehow written to Jane from Pemberley and said something to upset Jane further. She could not think of anyone else who might have written to her, particularly no one who would upset Jane in this way.
It did not take long to settle the practical matters attending Elizabeth’s marriage to Mr Darcy, and a letter was quickly dispatched to the rector at Longbourn, requesting that he meet with the Elizabeth and Mr Darcy on Monday to arrange a wedding ceremony for Tuesday or Wednesday.
The wedding breakfast was to be small, confined to those family members currently in residence at Longbourn, along with the Philipses. There was no need to invite the wider community, and any whispers occasioned by the suddenness of the wedding might be easily explained: Elizabeth and Mr Darcy had met again in Derbyshire, after having previously spent time together in Kent in April, and, following so long a separation, neither had any wish to delay their union further.
And yet, even as the arrangements were settled, Elizabeth could not entirely dismiss the unease Jane’s behaviour had stirred.
Twelve
“Jane, I understand that you wish to remain at Longbourn to help your mother, but I cannot understand why you have seemed so upset with Lizzy since we arrived,” Mrs Gardiner said a short time later, when she found her oldest niece in her bedroom, seated at the vanity and staring into nothing. “I would have thought you would be delighted at her match.”
For a moment, Jane said nothing. Then, quite suddenly, she stood and turned upon her aunt, her eyes flashing with accusation and anger. “How could you let her embarrass the family in this way? You were there—why did you not prevent her from compromising Mr Darcy? Or whatever it is she has done? Why is he even here?”
“What are you speaking of, Jane?” Mrs Gardiner asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“Two days ago I received a letter from Caroline Bingley,” Jane said, her tone sharper than Mrs Gardiner had ever heard it. “She wrote that Lizzy had forced herself upon Mr Darcy’s notice once again, to the point that the Bingleys had been obliged to leave the neighbourhood of Pemberley, as Mr Darcy himself intended to depart in order to distance himself from whatever had taken place there.”
Jane hesitated for a moment, as though weighing what she had read against what she had observed. “Frankly, I am astonished that a man such as Mr Darcy would arrive here as he has done, acting as though nothing untoward has occurred and even pretending that he and Lizzy are to marry. I cannot imagine Papa is truly resigned to the match, and I feel certain that one or the other of them will break it before the marriage settlements can be signed and readied—especially since Papa must be told whatever it is Elizabeth is supposed to have done.”
When Jane fell silent again, Mrs Gardiner drew breath to speak; but before she could do so, Jane continued, no longer troubling herself to conceal her bitterness.
“If he does leave without marrying her, it would serve Elizabeth right for her behaviour, even if it would ruin the family even more than Lydia has done.”
