Caroline Bingley: A Continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (30 page)
Read Caroline Bingley: A Continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Online
Authors: Jennifer Becton
Once in the privacy of her chamber, Caroline could hardly choose where to begin. "I have had quite enough of your poking and prodding at me. I had no desire to play whist. I despise the game!"
"At that very moment, I cared not what you wanted to do. You might have wanted to run away and hide or burst in and engage in a shouting match with the Darcys. I know--or care--not. But I do know very well that you overheard every word that was spoken in that chamber tonight, for I was standing right behind you."
Caroline wheeled on her. "How dare you eavesdrop on our guests!"
Rosemary laughed.
"You are but a servant," Caroline continued. "It was only out of courtesy that I allowed my mother's fancy to treat you as a family member. And I had even begun to view you as a friend, but I see now that it was a poor decision on my part. From this moment forward, you will be treated as you deserve."
Rosemary laughed outright, and the tone of it was so haughty that Caroline stepped back unconsciously.
Before her, Rosemary seemed to transform, to grow ever larger and more confident. Her back became straighter, her face more regal in expression, and her bearing more determined.
Why, she appeared to be a noble lady, and Caroline felt as small as a pebble underfoot. She did not care for this sensation at all.
"You, my dear Miss Bingley, have no notion of the proper way to treat either a lady or a servant."
"And I suppose you do?"
Rosemary gave her enigmatic look. "Mr. Darcy may pity you, but I shall not. You have had all the benefits of society and education, yet you continue to behave as willfully and stupidly as a girl of half your age and experience. Why?"
Caroline's mouth opened, but not to offer an answer to such a rude question. No, she was preparing to address Rosemary's insubordination.
But Rosemary did not give her the chance to speak. She continued, saying, "Out of fear. Your every action and word is borne of your fear that some person might perceive some softness in you, some weakness to exploit, some emotion or feeling. You fear that someone will learn of your past, which is comprised of nothing more awful than a father--
Caroline's jaw clenched upon the mention of her dear father. "Do not speak of subjects you cannot comprehend."
"--who loved his family so much he gave his life so that they could prosper. Oh, the shame of it!"
Caroline winced at the mockery in Rosemary's voice.
"It is shameful," Caroline said. Her voice was high and sharp, but she cared not. She only continued, "Such a designation was not of my own creation. No one finds favor in common labor, and as long as society remains what it is, my feelings on the subject shall not change."
"Of all people, you ought to understand the wish to raise oneself through trade, as your father did. Instead, you belittle everyone for no other reason than to raise yourself in your own esteem, and you do not comprehend how it lowers you in the eyes of those whom you seek to impress. But that is not the worst of it, Miss Bingley."
Caroline had gone from experience rage to becoming very still, and now she felt eerily calm. "Pray, continue."
"The worst of it, Miss Bingley, is that you do not know your own heart. I perceive quite well that there is some feeling in you, but you persist in quashing every good sentiment and cheerful thought. And should that continue, my dear, you shall be one of the unhappiest ladies in the world."
Caroline blinked. "Who are you to say such things? Your existence is made possible only through my brother's charity and--"
"Charity! You are mistaken. This is not charity. I have labored harder for you than I have worked in my life. I have endeavored to make you appear to be the lady you are not. That is a difficult task indeed."
Caroline could stand no more. Deep within her, she comprehended some veracity in Rosemary's words. She was willful and rather fearful.
But she knew her heart, did she not?
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I am most indebted to Jane Austen for her creation of the wonderful world and characters of
Pride and Prejudice
. I would also like to thank my family and friends who contributed to this book and to my life in general: Bert Becton, Marilyn and Robert Whiteley, and Octavia and Ed Becton. I am grateful to my editorial team Beverle Graves Myers and Kelley Fuller Land, both excellent editors and writers. Though any errors within this text belong solely to me, I will--as usual--do my best to foist them upon someone else.
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Jennifer Becton has worked for more than twelve years in the traditional publishing industry as a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader. Upon discovering the possibilities of the expanding eBook market, she created Whiteley Press, an independent publishing house, and
Charlotte Collins: A Continuation of Jane Austen's
Pride and Prejudice, her first historical fiction novel, was published in 2010 with great success.
She also writes thrillers under the pseudo-pseudonym
J. W. Becton
.
Absolute Liability
, the first in the six-book Southern Fraud Thriller series, became an Amazon Kindle Best Seller, and
Death Benefits
(Southern Fraud 2) will be out in January 2012.
• • •
Connect with Jennifer Online
Blog:
http://www.bectonliterary.com
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/JenniferBectonWriter
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/JenniferBecton
Southern Fraud Thriller Series:
http://www.jwbecton.com
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Excerpt from
His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel
by
Nancy Kelley
"I will never understand, Darcy, why you insist on going out in Society only to be displeased with everyone you meet."
Fitzwilliam Darcy poured two glasses of brandy and handed one to his friend before he took the chair opposite him. "I go out because it is expected of me, Bingley. You know that."
Charles Bingley pointed at him. "Ah, but that does not answer the question, does it?"
Darcy conceded the point with the barest shrug of his shoulders. Here, in the comfort of his own study, there was no need to pretend. "I admit that I find little in Society of which to approve."
"Only because you are determined to disapprove." Bingley protested. "What of the young lady you sat out with tonight? Let me hear your opinion of her."
Darcy ran his fingers down the side of his glass. "Her aunt approached me and said her niece had sprained her ankle, and would I be willing to keep her company? Good manners forbade I refuse, though you know how little I enjoy making conversation with someone I am not intimately acquainted with. I have not your ease of speaking on subjects in which I have little or no interest." His lips curled in disdain, and he took a sip of brandy to wash the sour taste from his mouth.
"That is a commentary on your own character, not the lady's."
He ignored the familiar needling. "After two minutes of idle chatter, I inquired after her injury."
Satisfaction gleamed in Bingley's eyes. "Ah, you are capable courtesy after all."
Darcy leaned forward, his forehead creased in a frown. "Perhaps you will not be so victorious, Bingley, when you hear the rest of the story. She did not understand what I spoke of. When she returned to her aunt shortly thereafter, she did not have a limp. The entire incident was manufactured so she could gain my attention. No doubt they have heard that I do not dance often --"
"Or ever."
The leather chair creaked in protest when Darcy stood. He took Bingley's glass and strode to the table, glad to have something to do, even if it was only refilling their drinks. This topic never failed to rile him, but he found a measure of calm in pouring the liquor into their glasses.
"They sought a way to get time with me, and they found it. You wish to know why I so seldom give my good opinion to those I meet; it is this dishonesty, this deception of which I cannot approve. I cannot--I will not--marry a woman I do not trust."
Bingley took his refilled glass, and Darcy noted his frown with some vexation. "You are being a bit presumptuous, Darcy. How can you be so certain she wished to marry you? It was simply a dance."
Darcy set the decanter down on the tray with a hard clang. "Surely even you will acknowledge that a single woman in possession of no brothers must be in want of a husband."
Bingley shook his head and laughed. "You can hardly claim that to be a universal truth."
Darcy ran his hands through his close-cropped dark curls.
Has it truly escaped his notice that he too has received such attentions?
Though it was this very ability to see nothing but the good in people that recommended Bingley to him, at times his amiable nature bordered on naivete.
"Perhaps not universal, but a truth nonetheless." He paced the confines of the study. The paneled walls, usually calming, pressed in on him tonight. London always wore on his nerves, but this Season had been worse than most. "I need to get out of town, Bingley."
Bingley eyed Darcy over the edge of his glass. "You sound as if you had a plan in mind."
Darcy stood in front of the empty fireplace and tapped his fingers on the mantle. "I believe it is time I visited Georgiana in Ramsgate."
"Is that what has made you so tense of late? I know you take great care of her."
Bingley's insight startled Darcy. "Yes, I imagine so. I trust Mrs. Younge of course or I would not have consented to the plan. Still, I will feel better once I see for myself how she is getting on." He turned back to his friend, at ease for the first time in weeks.
"When will you leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Bingley raised his eyebrows. "That is rather spontaneous, Darcy--indeed, it is the kind of precipitous decision you often tease me for."
Darcy tossed back the rest of his brandy before he answered. "In truth, I have been thinking about it some weeks," he replied. "I just did not realize it until tonight."
"Well, if you are decided, then I wish you safe travels."
Bingley rose and shook his hand in farewell, and Darcy retired for the night soon after. He slept well, content with the knowledge he would soon be free of the artifice of town.
• • •
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His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel
by Nancy Kelley
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