Page 7 of Regrets

Anne groaned at this, but she knew there was no point in arguing.

Georgiana had never before seen anyone bled though, of course, she had heard of the treatment.

The doctor took a jar from his bag; he opened it and applied a leech to the inside of Anne’s elbow. Anne winced.

Georgiana could not just stand by and watch Anne suffer. She flew down the stairs, ran into the library, and found a novel. She was back in Anne’s bedroom not a minute later. She opened the book and began to read aloud. In her interest in the trials of the fair heroine, Anne soon forgot about the leech, and when the sated creature dropped off her arm, Anne scarcely noticed it.

Georgiana slammed the book shut and tried not to glare at the doctor. He would not have noticed in any case, as he was busy packing up his bag, the leech now wrapped in a cloth.

***

Anne was quite weak for the remainder of the day. Georgiana asked for trays for both of them to be sent to Anne’s room, and the two stayed together all day. Georgiana finished reading the novel by bedtime. Her voice was hoarse by the time it was done, but she thought it worthwhile if it helped distract poor Anne from such an experience.

Anne had indeed been distracted, and she had immediately developed a fine taste for novels, despite the fear that they would injure her moral character.

Chapter Seven

London is miserable in the summer,” Mrs. Hurst lamented. “So very hot! Such foul odours!”

“We could remove to the country,” Mr. Bingley suggested.

Miss Bingley immediately rejected her brother’s idea. “There is no amusement to be found in the country, and it is quite dirty; as unpleasant as London is just now, it is still better than being away from Society.”

Mr. Hurst was silent on the subject, as he was on most subjects.

The discussion put Mr. Bingley in mind of a certain matter that he had long neglected. Going to his study, Mr. Bingley took his father’s final letter from the top drawer of his desk and read it for perhaps the hundredth time.

Mr. Henry Bingley had left the letter in the study for his son to discover. A dutiful son, Mr. Charles Bingley had vowed to himself to fulfill his father’s final wishes when he had first read it. Yet three years had passed and he had not yet done so.

My dear Charles,

I have been ill for some time now, and the doctor shakes his head and mutters something about going the way of all flesh, so I assume the end is not far off.

I have done my best to leave you and your sisters well-provided for. You will know that money is not enough to remove the taint of trade from our family name, but money can pave the way to do so, and it is for you to take that step.

You must buy an estate, Charles. Do not be foolish in doing so, of course; when all is said and done, it is a business decision, and I believe I have taught you how to make good business decisions. Lease an estate first; learn on someone else’s property.

You are now the head of the household, and your sisters are in your charge. I need not tell you that your younger sister is strong-willed, nonetheless, you must be the one to guide her, and not the other way around.

I am at peace, my son, as I know I may rely on your good sense, your good nature, and your good heart to safeguard our family.

Remember your loving father,

Henry Bingley

Mr. Bingley had delayed implementing his father’s wish for a variety of reasons; first, Louisa got herself betrothed, and there was a good deal of fuss and bother about the wedding. Then Caroline left school and came to London, and there was even more fuss and bother about her wardrobe.

These seemed like excellent reasons indeed, but he knew himself well enough to know that he had been deliberately delaying when it came to acting on his father’s wishes. In truth, anything to do with an estate was unknown territory, and life was going on quite pleasantly without venturing into strange lands.

But now, he felt, it was time to begin, and with any luck at all, he would do so with the help of a friend.

Darcy,

I am certain I have told you that it was my father’s wish that I buy an estate. His advice was to first lease an estate in order to, as he put it, learn on someone else’s property. I am eager to do so, but I scarce know how to begin! I have looked in the papers, but have not seen anything even remotely like a suitable estate. Might you advise me in this matter?

Your rather stupid friend,

Bingley