No Cause to Repine by Rose Fairbanks

No Cause to Repine by Rose Fairbanks

Author:Rose Fairbanks [Fairbanks, Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rose Fairbanks
Published: 2018-11-27T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter Eleven

Thursday, April 16, 1812

Darcy looked at another letter from his steward and rubbed his temples, then sighed. He must journey to Pemberley. He had previously anticipated needing to leave for London next week, but now he must leave Hertfordshire even earlier. He looked at the calendar and shook his head. If he departed tomorrow, he would arrive at Pemberley on Saturday. He usually was present for the first week or so of the planting season at Pemberley, so this request was not very unusual. It would delay his travels to London, however. He could scarcely hope to return to Hertfordshire before the middle of May at this rate.

It was two weeks since he learned of his aunt’s schemes against him, and nothing new was learned. Mr. Collins swiftly returned to Hunsford with a well-worded decline of Lady Catherine’s offer of money, stating that Mr. Bennet was thankful for her assurances of silence regarding the matter. No new correspondence from her had come, and Darcy assumed she was still scheming from afar.

The day after Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived at Netherfield, he accompanied Darcy and Bingley to call on Longbourn. As expected, the youngest Bennet daughters flirted with Fitzwilliam, and Mrs. Bennet was no less attentive to the son of an earl. He discouraged their attentions when he explained his lot as a second son. No matter the wealth of his father, all of the estates and most of the money was to go to his older brother. He further explained his longstanding courtship with a lady, but they could not marry yet due to his insufficient income. Kitty and Lydia took to heart the good colonel’s words on the imprudence of marrying an officer, but it did nothing to convince them to cease flirting.

Darcy feared Mrs. Bennet and the younger girls might ostracise Wickham after learning he was a gamester and that his accusations against Darcy were vile lies, but it proved needless. None of the women were sensible enough to dislike the company of a man who was otherwise so handsome and charming. Busy arranging a means for Bingley to propose to Jane, Mrs. Bennet hosted the officers with less frequency. Bingley called on Longbourn daily, but to avoid suspicion Darcy did not.

Darcy had not crossed paths with Wickham yet, although Elizabeth was not so fortunate. She admitted to Darcy that, after her first encounter with Wickham, she was scarcely able to hold her tongue and feared she would inadvertently display her improved opinion of Darcy, but she managed to dissemble. In light of Colonel Fitzwilliam’s information of Lady Catherine’s schemes, Darcy believed Wickham would heed her demands for the present until Darcy was moved to announce the engagement. Knowing his aunt’s plans rendered her rather powerless, Darcy did not desire Wickham to have motivation to enact his scheme. Being acquainted with the overactive matchmaking imagination of the local population, Darcy and Elizabeth were careful not to seem too companionable when Darcy called on Longbourn. It all bordered on deceit, and he found it exhausting and frustrating.



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