The Golden Apples of the Sun Page 7

  “What now, Lizzy?”

  “Papa, I have been trying to speak to you for days. I believe that you are avoiding me.”

  Mr. Bennet sighed, sat back in his chair and pushed his spectacles upwards, where they rested on the top of his head. “Well you have me now. Fire away, my dear.”

  As she opened her mouth to speak, Lizzy’s commonsense suddenly reasserted itself. With it came the realization that in any recital of Darcy’s misdeeds, her father would immediately note that she had disobeyed his orders. She would be hard put to explain how she even came to know the man in the first place. In the interest of her own future freedom as well as that of her sisters, she began to reconsider the wisdom of relaying the story at all. Deciding to calm down, she perched on the arm of the nearest chair and quickly searched her mind for another reason for her visit.

  “It’s about the visit that Mr. Collins intends paying us, Papa. After what he had to say about Lydia’s death in his letter, are you truly intending that one of us should marry this man?”

  “Lizzy, you know our position here,” said Mr. Bennet, shifting in his chair. “Your dowries are small: not enough to live on in any event. Mr. Collins offers us a way to secure your futures. My dear, this is a harsh world. I had hoped for a son and then - when everything else failed me - that Jane’s beauty would be enough to ensnare a gentleman of some wealth and that he could be prevailed upon to care for the rest of you. But Lydia’s elopement put paid to that. This is perhaps the only offer of security that any of you are likely to get. You must see that one of you will have to step forward.”

  “But Papa, need marriage be the solution? I have been speaking to Mr. Lester about our current crop production and I have also done some research. With some changes, he agrees that it might be possible to increase our harvest over the next few years. We can then put aside the extra money earned for our future. If we can increase our dowries, we would not have to rely on the generosity of Mr. Collins or any other gentleman.”

  “Lizzy, my darling child, your intelligence and ingenuity can be relied upon when there is a problem and yes, I will take a look at your research. We should and will make some changes - if only to contain costs. But, my dear, you must take into consideration that there are always fluctuations in the market. We face another at any moment. Once the war ends, the demand for corn will dwindle. The price is expected to fall and any increase in the size of our harvest will probably only enable us to make up our losses.”

  Elizabeth’s shoulders slumped. She had not considered that aspect of the problem. She sat quietly for a moment but then rallied.

  “Let’s put that aside for the moment then. I have tried looking at this from several angles, Papa and I wonder what would happen if we diversified: went into horse breeding or dairy farming.”

  “So, you’re suggesting that we borrow. That we get into debt to finance these ideas of yours: because as it is we certainly don’t have sufficient capital for a new venture. We would have to take out a mortgage on some of our land and that, I’m afraid, is exactly why the entail exists. Your grandfather lost the portion of Longbourn that is now Netherfield in just that manner, which is why he took the step of entailing the property on his male heirs. He wanted to prevent any further alienation of land through mortgages or loans.”

  “So there is no hope. Nothing to be done?” said Lizzy with bitter emphasis.

  “Lizzy, there is no one to blame here but myself. I acknowledge that improvements should have been made years ago while the market was more buoyant. We could have put money aside then, but I was indolent and too optimistic about the future. Ultimately, when it comes down to it, I have been too soft on your mother. I should have reined in her spending years ago but I chose to keep peace in the household.”

  He shrugged hopelessly. “Of course, all of this is water under the bridge now.”

  “So this Mr. Collins is our only hope then?”

  “Yes. He is the only male left in the line so there is no disputing that he is heir. I presume that you have come to see me because your mother let you read his letter?”

  “Sir, Jane is beside herself. From the callous remark he made about Lydia, she realized at once what he was. We all know that he will inevitably choose her and she does not have the mettle to stand up to a cold-hearted bully - she has acknowledged it herself. I am very worried, Papa. Even if he agreed to support us all, I don’t think that I could be in the same house and endure watching her as she lives a life of misery.”

  “That might be true. But one of you has to marry Mr. Collins. What are we to do?”

  Lizzy paused and then said quietly, “We can send Jane away to Uncle Gardiner before Mr. Collins arrives.”

  “Knowing what this would mean for you; you would do this for your sister?”

  “I would, Papa,” she said resolutely. “I thought about it last night and realized that I would have a much better chance of dealing with someone like Mr. Collins than Jane would. I could never be intimidated in the same way.”

  “Lizzy, my dear girl… This is one of the reasons why I consider you the best of my daughters. You would look upon the fires of hell for your family and not be turned.” Her father’s voice thickened. “Your mother does not appreciate you as she ought. Neither she nor I have a tenth of your courage.”

  He cleared his throat, looked down at his desk and shuffled some papers about. “Well,” he said, looking up at her, his eyes glazed with tears, “If you are determined to do this, then there is nothing more to be said. We had better set our plans in motion before your mother learns of it and tries to put a spoke in the wheel. I will make arrangements for a trunk from the attic as well as the carriage for Jane for early tomorrow morning. Of course I will send a letter of explanation with her, but she will have to arrive on your uncle’s doorstep unannounced.”

  _________________________

  “I can’t let you do it, Lizzy! It’s too much to ask.”

  “But you were going to sacrifice yourself for me, Jane.”

  The late afternoon light pouring in through the dusty windows illuminated the two young women standing beside a crudely-constructed, wooden table. The distilling room in which they were arguing was situated behind the stables and over the years the two sisters had spent a great deal of time there. In fact, since Lydia’s death, gathering the sweet smelling herbs and flowers from which they extracted and concentrated various perfume essences had become a soothing task and a major source of interest. These soft fragrances were used in soap-making and also in the perfumed petal sachets that were slipped in cupboards amongst linen and clothing. Lately, Jane and Lizzy had, with their mother’s permission, even begun to use their perfumes in bowls of potpourri that now stood in almost every room of the house.

  This room was Jane’s traditional refuge when matters became too difficult and it was the first place that Lizzy had thought to look for her. As expected, she had found her sister standing alone, a large white apron wrapped around her waist. As she spoke, Jane tied up bundles of herbs and flowers, reaching up to attach them to hooks that hung from the exposed rafters.

  “Of course I would do it for you, Lizzy. However, that is not the point. As the eldest, this is my burden. Why should you shoulder it?” she asked bravely.

  “My darling sister, you do not fool me for a minute. In fact, I know how upset you have been even though you haven’t told me.” Lizzy raised her hand to stop her sister’s words. “No, I did not have it from Mr. Bingley. Mr. Darcy has been my informant. He feared that you and I were scheming to trap his friend into marriage, so he came running to complain and demand my cooperation in separating the two of you.”

  Jane looked outraged. “On both occasions, Mr. Bingley came upon me when I was out walking and nowhere near Netherfield, Lizzy. We had no arrangement to meet. It was not done by my design. In fact, I was in a field, not even walking on the road, the second time we met. He was riding by and I had the distinct impression that he had been hacking about the countrysi
de searching for me, because as soon as he saw me, he dismounted and led his horse over. I had been looking for solitude; not for company or for someone to confide in.’

  “He was the one who insisted that I tell him the reason why I was upset. I didn’t tell you about the meeting because I never intended you to know how I feel. I don’t wish to place a burden of unnecessary guilt on you regarding our cousin. I am the oldest and this is my problem, not yours, Lizzy.”

  “Jane, we are all in this together. Why should it be your burden alone? You are always the first to remind us that we all have our gifts and, while I do not have the beauty and goodness that God gave you, I do have a quick wit and an oversupply of impudence: both of which more than equip me to be wife to a difficult husband like our cousin.”

  Tears sprang into Jane’s eyes as she shook her head in denial and stepped forward to grasp her sister’s hand; Lizzy stepped back, resolutely warding her off.

  “No. Leave it to me, I beg you,” she said, shaking her head. “I flatter myself that I am more of a strategist than you are and I am being entirely practical at the moment. Can you not see that after father is gone we will depend totally on Mr. Collins’ generosity? That means that we will all be living cheek-by-jowl in this house. Should you marry him, I would be daily witness to the ups and downs of your relationship and you know me, Jane, I could not stop myself from stepping in to defend you. That would result in a lot more ugliness than if it were I who married him in the first place. As his wife, I would be more likely to anticipate matters going awry. I could direct them appropriately so that there would be fewer upsets.’

  “Also, we should avoid putting all of our eggs in one basket. Of the two of us, you are the more likely to find a partner who would take you on despite the family disgrace and our small dowries. In that lucky event - should Mr. Collins prove to be too awful for the rest of the family to stomach - you could offer Mary, Kitty and Mama an alternate home.”

  “But Lizzy, how could we even think of doing that? It would mean that you would be left alone with…”

  Lizzy shook her head fiercely against her sister’s words. “No, Jane. I am not listening to any more. Papa has agreed to this and you must do as he says. Now, go back to the house and pack. Luckily, even though the whole house heard John thumping the trunks down the stairs from the attic, Mama is not yet aware that you are leaving. Let’s just hope that she stays in her room until you bid us goodbye tomorrow morning. We’ll face the music once you’re gone.”

  Chapter 10

  “How can I, that girl standing there,

  My attention fix

  On Roman or on Russian

  Or on Spanish politics?”

  W. B. Yeats

  Charles Bingley strode home in some distress. He took the front steps at a run and then paused at the door, attempting to order his thoughts before he confronted Darcy.

  What to say and how to say it was the problem. All he had were his suspicions. Well, he thought as he walked towards the library, I’m damned if I am any good at scheming. I will just put it out there. That usually works for me.

  He burst into the library, sighting his quarry in a chair next to the fireplace.

  “Darcy. I just met with Miss Elizabeth Bennet and she told me that Jane Bennet left Longbourn early this morning for her uncle’s house in London!”

  Darcy put aside the book he was reading and looked at Bingley attentively. “And what else did Miss Elizabeth tell you?” he asked carefully.

  “Nothing much. She said that her sister had gone to help her aunt care for their children during her confinement and would be away for at least a month and when I asked if the cousin (the parson who is to inherit Longbourn) had postponed his visit, she said very casually that, as far as she knew, he was still due to arrive on Monday next. But the last time I saw Jane Bennet she had no plans to go to London and was terrified of being forced to marry the man. Something is going on here, Darcy and I want to know if you had a hand in it.”

  “Why would I have?” Darcy countered, entirely without heat.

  “Well, I don’t know. You were awfully adamant that I should keep my distance from Miss Bennet. Did you speak to her father yesterday?” he asked in a voice filled with suspicion.

  “I did not.”

  “Then I apologise. Darcy. It was wrong of me to imply…”

  “However, I did speak to Miss Elizabeth.”

  “I thought that I could see your hand in this! So they sent Jane to London to keep her out of my way. Damn you, Darcy. If I choose to marry it is my business, not yours. You take too much upon yourself,” said Bingley, his eyes sparkling with anger.

  Darcy took it on the chin. After a night’s reflection, he had come to realize that his suspicions about Elizabeth and Jane had been wrong: had, in fact, been outrageous. When he had rushed out of the house, he had been so fired-up that it had all seemed entirely logical; now he couldn’t put his finger on the reason for acting so wildly and without a single shred of proof. It was not like him. Usually he would have stopped to consider.

  He felt mortified. He had fully expected that Bingley would learn from Jane Bennet of the disgraceful spectacle he had made of himself in front of Elizabeth and the entire village of Longbourn. However, it seemed that Jane was gone to London and Elizabeth had chosen to keep his atrocious behaviour to herself. Bingley need never know of it; except that Darcy felt honour-bound to confess.

  Charles’s reaction had been so strong that Darcy realized that he had to tread carefully or lose the man as his friend. “Yes, Miss Elizabeth scolded me for the same thing yesterday - and on that I must agree. It was not my business. You have my apologies, Bingley. Had I taken a few minutes to think about it before I went rushing off, I would have acknowledged as much.’

  “However, I must insist that the few words I said to Elizabeth Bennet had nothing to do with her sister leaving the area. Think about it, Bingley. I very much doubt that your interest in Miss Bennet would have caused the family to move her to London. Mr. Bennet keeps his girls to the house out of pride, but - as you see with this relative of theirs – he is not against marriage for any of them. If one of the Bennet daughters could possibly make a respectable match despite the scandal, the family would be only too pleased for it to happen. I doubt that Mr. Bennet would have sent his daughter away to prevent a marriage with you.”

  He stopped and thought for a moment before adding, “No, I would wager that Mr. Bennet isn’t even aware of you as a possible suitor. You said that Jane Bennet was overwrought at the idea of marrying this parson. She has probably been sent to London to make sure that she is not here when the man makes his selection. That would probably mean that Miss Elizabeth is to be offered up instead. Heaven help the poor man!” he sneered.

  The angry red began to recede from Bingley’s face. “Why do you say that, Darcy? Miss Elizabeth is a very pretty girl. Although, I’ll grant you that, from what Jane tells me, she would be a little too sharp-witted for me. But she seems ideal for someone who can really hold his own in an argument. Someone like you, for instance,” he added with a mischievous smile

  “Good God, Bingley, besides the obvious unsuitability of the family, the woman’s a termagant. A man would know no peace with all her quarrelling and criticizing,” said Darcy, getting somewhat hot under the collar.

  Bingley was rather puzzled. “I can’t say that I’ve heard that about her. According to Jane, Elizabeth is usually the most cheerful of all of them. Jane says that she has a marvellous sense of humour. That’s not to say that I always understand…”

  “And it was her damned sense of humour that left me standing in the road, threatened by an angry mob yesterday!” thundered Darcy, quite aware that he was exaggerating wildly.

  “Good Lord! What happened?”

  “Oh! Leave it alone, Bingley,” said Darcy, getting up and flinging his way out of the library.

  Bingley listened to his friend’s footsteps thudding up the stairs. He had never known Darcy to be in
such a passion. Not even Caroline had managed to disturb his friend’s equanimity to this extent. Obviously there was something about Miss Elizabeth that really got under his skin.

  Well, he will just have to get over it,” thought Bingley with a vindictive satisfaction that was unusual for him. Just at that moment, no matter the ordeal that Elizabeth Bennet had put his friend through, he was of a mind to believe that Darcy deserved it.

  ____________________________

  Some hours later, when the two men had mended their fences and were quietly enjoying a glass of brandy after dinner, Darcy brought up the topic of that afternoon’s discussion.

  “I hope you will forgive my foul mood,” he said with a short, self-conscious laugh. “Miss Elizabeth got the better of me in a little altercation that we had on the village road outside her father’s gates, and I suppose that I lost my temper. I placed a hand on her arm – merely to restrain her, you understand - and the next thing, I was set upon by an old witch with a walking stick, who claimed that I was accosting the young lady. She came from a nearby cottage and in less than a minute, nothing would do but that all the villagers gathered around and listened while she told me just what she thought of me. Elizabeth Bennet stood by laughing until she felt she had had enough and then trotted off home!”

  Bingley - who on occasion, had quite an active imagination - brought his glass up to his mouth to conceal a smile. “Goodness me, Darcy! This is not like you.”

  Luckily Darcy was preoccupied and did not notice his friend’s amusement. “I know. I know,” he said distractedly. “I overreacted, but that sarcastic tongue of hers has a way of getting me into such a passion that I find it hard to retain my composure.”

  __________________________________

  Anyone who knew Darcy could have predicted what would happen next: the man was incapable of leaving matters as they stood. Darcy was well aware of the obsessive side to his nature too; but after a night of tossing and turning he gave up the struggle and set out, telling his friend nothing more than that he was going for a walk.