Caroline Bingley: A Continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (17 page)

Thirteen

The best course of action, Caroline decided, was to apply to Lavinia for assistance in her quest to marry Mr. Charlton, and she must do so as soon as possible, for the London season was already in progress, and though her friend's brother seemed to show an interest in her at times, he had not yet proposed. And Caroline had the greatest wish to rejoin society as the wife of a future baron. Then her triumph would be complete, her humiliation finally forgotten, and the requirement to make amends with Miss Elizabeth Bennet nullified.

"Do get your bonnet, Mrs. Pickersgill," Caroline said into the quiet sitting room where the ladies had been reclining, "for we must pay a call on Oak Park this morning."

"Yes, Miss Bingley," Rosemary said as she rose to gather her outerwear.

Once in the carriage, Rosemary looked at Caroline with curiosity.

"You seem to be rather purposeful in this visit, Miss Bingley. Is something amiss?"

Caroline scowled and lied, "Of course not. It is a visit. Nothing more."

"Ah," Rosemary said, not sounding convinced at all.

They remained quiet on the remainder of the ride, and when they arrived, they were escorted again to the cavernous drawing room.

Caroline joined Mrs. Winton on the sofa, while Mrs. Pickersgill chose a seat on the opposite one and took a book from the nearby table, obviously giving Caroline her privacy.

After a bit of polite conversation, it was time for Caroline to reveal her motivations for calling.

"Lavinia, I have come to speak with you about a matter of a deeply personal nature," she whispered as she glanced across the room at Mrs. Pickersgill, who appeared to be engrossed in her book. It seemed safe to speak, albeit softly.

"Oh?" Lavinia asked as she leaned in, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"I trust that we have been friends long enough that you must have already guessed what I might say."

Lavinia blinked at her and then laughed. "You could not be more mistaken, for though you are one of my dearest friends, I have not the slightest conception of what you might say."

That disclosure did not hearten Caroline. She had hoped that her friend might already be aware of her desire to marry her brother and that she would approve and assist her in that goal.

"Then, because you have not guessed already, I will speak plain. Our families have long been acquainted, and, I daresay, no one would argue that we have been the closest of friends for many years."

"No indeed," Lavinia said. "No one could argue that point, but I do not comprehend your hesitancy to speak such an obvious truth."

Caroline took heart at Lavinia's tone and pressed onward. "I hope you will not think me too presumptuous when I say that our families could only grow closer by the arrangement of a strategic union."

Had Lavinia not been one of her dearest schoolfellows, Caroline would have thought her expression momentarily registered shock. However, the look lingered but briefly, so she could not be certain that she had seen it at all.

"Union?"

This question was asked with perhaps more volume of voice than Caroline had hoped to hear. She looked quickly to Mrs. Pickersgill, whose head was still bent over the book. She appeared not to have heard.

Caroline took a bracing breath and then spoke aloud. "Indeed, I hope I might have your support in convincing your brother, Mr. Charlton, that a closer connection between our families might be a benefit to both."

A small crease formed between Lavinia's eyes. Caroline could not tell if her friend's countenance showed her bafflement or anger, but she could certainly feel the searching nature of her look. Lavinia's intense exploration of Caroline's face was both disconcerting and more than a bit bewildering.

Could Lavinia have not guessed her motives?

"My dearest friend, tell me. Are you suggesting an"--here, Lavinia's voice seemed to catch, but she continued--"alliance of a marital nature between yourself and my brother?"

Caroline nodded.

Lavinia straightened her back and cocked her head to the side, asking an unspoken question.

Well, Caroline would explain her motives, and then Lavinia would comprehend the necessity of such a merger.

"Our association would be advantageous to all parties." Caroline watched as Lavinia's features went entirely blank. There was no joy, sorrow, or conflict to be had within her expression or demeanor. Only a confusing vacancy. "You and I would be sisters. Your brother would be wed." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "And the rumors about his proclivities of socializing with those so decidedly beneath him would be ended. And though I do not fancy my fortune to be a large enticement, it would no doubt aid in its own little way."

Lavinia's blank expression altered, and a smile slid across her features.

Yes, money was ever an enticement, Caroline thought.

When Lavinia finally spoke, her voice had taken on a new tone that was not entirely comprehensible to Caroline. "I may make one promise to you, my oldest and dearest friend: I will do whatever is in my power to ensure that both our families get precisely what is warranted."

A snort from the opposite side of the room impeded Caroline's sense of relief. She lanced Mrs. Pickersgill with a sharp stare. "Mrs. Pickersgill, if you are ill, kindly remove yourself from this chamber so that you do not infect us all."

"Pardon me, Miss Bingley," Rosemary said with a decidedly unapologetic tone. "I am not ill, and I certainly did not intend to distract you from your tete-a-tete." She then went back to her reading without the least hint of appropriate embarrassment, and Caroline reminded herself that she ought to continue to speak in hushed tones.

To Lavinia, she whispered, "I am relieved indeed to find that you favor the match."

"Indeed, I am glad to offer you some relief," Lavinia said, her head still held high.

"I hope you will direct me in the best way to convince your brother of the rightness of such unification of our families in that manner."

Lavinia reached out and patted Caroline's hands, which had been clutched in her lap for the balance of the conversation. "Do not give my brother the least thought, for I shall design the strategy myself."

• • •

After their return from Oak Park, Caroline and Rosemary spent the afternoon in the cutting garden with Mrs. Newton, and Caroline had just gone to clean the soil from her hands and change into her dinner attire when a knock sounded at her bedchamber door.

"Pardon me, miss," said the rather fresh-faced young maid, "but Mrs. Newton bid me to inform you that Mr. Charlton is awaiting you in the sitting room."

"Mr. Charlton?" Caroline asked. Lavinia was an efficient worker if he had come this very day to make his proposal.

"Yes, miss," the maid affirmed.

Caroline quickly surveyed herself in the mirror. Her light blue dress had a white chevron pattern and was suitable for a country meal, but it would not do now. Not with Mr. Charlton about to make his proposal.

"Go and find my green silk gown and help me redress quickly," Caroline commanded the maid, who dashed to the wardrobe and began to search through the gowns stored there.

She did as Caroline asked, returning to her side with her finest London gown that seemed to accentuate her features nicely.

She managed to don the gown in a timely fashion, but then she realized her hairstyle would not do for such an occasion, and she demanded that the maid help rearrange that as well.

In the end, her decision to redress quickly took her almost an hour to accomplish, but when she entered the sitting room, she was pleased to have made the choice she had, for Mr. Charlton's eyes seemed to lighten upon his first sight of her.

He leapt off the high-backed chair where he had been sitting and speaking with Rosemary. "Oh! Miss Bingley, there you are."

Rosemary also stood and took in her mistress's appearance, and her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Good evening, Miss Bingley. You look lovely."

A crease formed between Caroline's eyes as she tried to eke some hidden purpose from Rosemary's words, but who could fathom what that woman was thinking? She would do better not to try to interpret her at all. Instead, she turned her pleasure upon Mr. Charlton when he said, "Yes, indeed. You make quite a picture, just as Mrs. Pickersgill said."

Caroline stood for a moment longer so that Mr. Charlton could admire her further if he wished, and then she took a seat on the chair opposite his.

Mr. Charlton watched as she sat, and Caroline believed she might have seen a twinge of regret in his expression, but she only smiled at him and said, "We are so pleased to have you in our home this evening."

"I have been here too long already," he said as he removed his watch from the fob pocket of his breeches and glanced at it, "but I found myself quite compelled to stop here on my ride back from town."

Caroline blushed. "I am honored," she said.

"I simply could not leave Kendal without taking leave of you," he said.

Caroline's blush suddenly drained, and she felt her face pale. "Leave Kendal?"

"Yes, unfortunately, Lavinia had a letter from our father just this morning, and we have been called immediately to London."

"London?" Caroline repeated lamely. She knew she was staring at him with confusion and questions in her eyes, and that it was a most unsophisticated expression, but she could not prevent herself from looking at him thus.

On the periphery, she saw Rosemary look from her to Mr. Charlton.

"It seems a rather abrupt decision," Rosemary said into the awkward silence.

He nodded. "My sister was in a fine dander this morning and gave me barely a moment to sit, much less the opportunity to read the missive itself, before sending me on this errand. We depart tomorrow morning."

Caroline stared at him, then shook herself and managed to ask, "Has something happened to your father?"

She desperately hoped for a negative response, for it was too soon for the barony to transfer to Mr. Charlton. He had not yet proposed, and Caroline had no wish to compete for him with all the eager young ladies in Town.

"Good Lord, I should hope not, for then I would be required to take over his position," he said on a bitter laugh. Then he shrugged. "Lavinia says he is well but demands our presence. That is all I know."

"How odd," Rosemary said, again looking from Caroline to Mr. Charlton.

"When will you return to Kendal?" Caroline asked, and then, not liking the note of desperation in her voice, she cleared her throat and added, "For society will be quite tedious without your sister to lead us."

"I do not know when I shall return," Mr. Charlton, turning his dark eyes upon her, and Caroline wondered if they didn't hold a bit of longing. "But I do hope it will be soon, for there is much for me yet to do here."

Caroline felt her skin prickle a bit. What did this signify? She managed to hold his intense gaze for long moments until Rosemary shifted in her seat.

Then Caroline felt a sudden, strange lack of emotion. She was not embarrassed at having been caught staring at Mr. Charlton, sad that he was leaving, or entranced any longer by those dark eyes.

Mr. Charlton did not make his proposal that evening, but Caroline did not feel regret at all when he stood and took his leave of her, bowing deeply over her hand.

She maintained her odd emotionless state as she looked out the window and watched Mr. Charlton's carriage disappear down the drive.