“Mr. Wickham was seen kissing someone else, was he not?”
“A barmaid!”
“Oh! Well, that is quite terrible! Lydia was right to end the relationship, do you not agree?”
Maria agreed at once. No one should treat their betrothed in such a fashion!
Kitty sighed as she returned to her chair. The Deception continued, thanks to her forged letters.
Chapter Forty-Three
With Caroline gone, Netherfield was at peace. Mr. Bingley wrestled with a certain amount of guilt – was he really happy because his sister was absent? Was he an inadequate brother in some way?
It was Harold Hurst who set his mind at rest. “I have seen you doing a good deal of thinking, Charles,” he observed over a glass of brandy one night. “And I suspect you are second-guessing your decision to have Caroline out of the house.”
“I had not known you to be so perspicacious,” Mr. Bingley replied.
Mr. Hurst and Mr. Darcy traded glances. Mr. Hurst then continued, “You are now wondering if you were somehow at fault as her brother.”
“How the deuce –“
Mr. Hurst chuckled. “I have known you a good long time, Charles. I tell you this straight – the only thing you did wrong was to believe that she was a better sister and a better person than she really was.”
Mr. Darcy added, “A different sister would have produced a very different result entirely.”
“But perhaps a better brother would have produced a different result as well,” Charles said, forehead wrinkled.
“No; a stricter brother would have simply come to the conclusion that she was not fit to live with a good deal sooner. That is the only difference I can imagine.”
“And a kinder brother?”
“Does not exist on this earth,” Mr. Darcy vowed. “Charles, you have been a saint throughout; do not chide yourself on any point.”
“Too much of a saint, if anything,” Mr. Hurst grumbled. “Caused no end of trouble with me and Louisa,”
“Could you not do something with your wife, man?” Darcy asked, emboldened by the brandy. “She did not help the situation, you know.”
“Louisa is afraid of Caroline, always has been,” Mr. Hurst answered, staring at his now-empty brandy glass.
“And now?”
“Become an exemplary wife!” Mr. Hurst proclaimed. “Was that not a fine dinner she ordered tonight, Darcy?”
Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy rushed to assure Mr. Hurst that his wife’s meals were first-rate, far superior to Miss Bingley’s over-Frenchified choices.
***
Dear Louisa,
You must tell me what is happening at Netherfield! I have heard nothing from you, which worries me greatly. Has Charles relented? Might I return soon? For it is extremely dull here, and I do not know how much longer I can bear it.
You are my sister; I require you to plead my case to Charles!
Your hopeful sister,
Caroline
Louisa considered this letter for a long minute; then she ripped it up and threw it in the fire.
