“He told me that he wished to marry me, and I replied that I would not marry a fortune hunter. Then he said that I would be glad to marry him when he was done with me, and he forced me to go with him. I was so afraid of causing a scene!”
“Rightly so, as it would have been in the papers in the morning. It is, alas, very difficult for a young lady to avoid difficulties if a gentleman is that determined.”
“It is all so unfair!” Now her voice sounded teary.
Alarmed, the Colonel said, “Now, Miss Bingley, we cannot have you weeping at Almack’s. Remember, instead, how very much you hate me! That will dry your tears right up.”
His ploy was successful, as her tears vanished, and she smiled at him. “I do not think I hate you any longer.”
“Mother will be delighted to hear it. She said you sent a very charming note, thanking her for the voucher.”
“I really thought she did not like me.”
“She says there is more to you than she originally thought. Something about a tea shop.”
“Oh, yes, I recall it.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I shall not; it involves some gossip about a friend, and I will not repeat it.”
The Colonel looked at Miss Bingley with new respect.
***
Elizabeth was finally able to join her husband at the refreshment table. He was looking over the offerings with a grimace, but turned when she touched his hand. “I would not bother with any of it; we shall have a nice cold collation when we get home,” she advised him.
“Quite right,” he said, with relief. “Come, Elizabeth, can we not go home now?” He had seen Richard rescuing an upset Miss Bingley and had made an accurate guess as to what had occurred there. He was certain that Miss Bingley, at least, was more than ready to leave.
Elizabeth had witnessed Georgiana’s discomfort when dancing with Lord Fane; doubtless she was ready to return to Darcy House. “Yes, we have done our duty for both Georgiana and Miss Bingley,” she said. “Let us collect our charges and retire.”
***
That night, in Elizabeth’s room, Mr. Darcy recounted his cousin’s actions.
“That odious Lord Russell! How dare he!” Elizabeth was furious. “But how very clever of Richard to extricate her from behind the draperies! It was good of him, particularly as the two of them seem always at odds.”
“Richard’s military mind at work, evidently. Did Georgiana dance with Lord Fane? I did not notice, as I was busy squiring about the wallflowers, as you required.”
“Yes, she did dance with Lord Fane, and she was quite cool to him. He then danced with me and pressured me to tell him what was wrong. Oh, William, they are both so very unhappy! Is there not something we can do?”
***
Caroline was able to wait until she was alone in her bedroom before giving way to tears. That dreadful man! What if he had been successful in compromising her! Her entire life would have been ruined, through no fault of her own. It was with great chagrin that she recalled how she had contemplated compromising Mr. Darcy. She would have ruined his life, as surely as Lord Russell would have ruined hers.
Oh, how very, very wrong she had been throughout her entire life! She had not befriended the nicest girls at school because she had thought them beneath her; what a fool she had been! And she had sought out Mr. Darcy solely for his wealth and importance, giving no thought to his own happiness! She had almost succeeded in separating her brother from his beloved Jane! How had either of them tolerated living with Caroline after that? She wept and wept, not noticing when her bedroom door opened a crack.
“Caroline?” a voice whispered.
Caroline stopped crying at once, though her face was wet, and she sat up. “Who is it?”
“It is Jane.”
“Oh.”
“I heard you weeping, Caroline. Let me help you.” A slight figure in a white nightgown came to sit beside Caroline. Jane put an arm around Caroline and hugged her. “Tell me what troubles you, dear sister.”
Caroline, who had scorned Jane for so long, now melted in her embrace. “Oh, Jane! I do not know how you can be so kind to me, when I have been so awful to you!”
