Page 43 of The Vanished Bennet Sister

"You went to Darcy because you assumed he would share your views. Yet no person of good nature would consider a girl's uncertain origins sufficient grounds for discrediting her and separating her from the man who cares for her. You were wrong about him, and I am grateful for it." Bingley had not raised his voice once. This was, Darcy thought, more effective than shouting would have been.

"What you intend to do to Mary Bennet, and to Mrs Bennet, who trusted you, is cruel. It is not protection. It is not strategy. You merely decided that your own kin’s interests were worth another person's destruction."

Mrs Bingley's expression shifted, not into contrition but into a more complicated look. That of a person who had expected some resistance but not at this pitch. "You do not understand what I have been trying to say. The Bennets are not suitable. Mary Bennet’s origins are unclear, the household's finances are propped up by a man who courts one of the sisters, the father is absent, and the younger girls are barely—"

"The Bennets are not suitable," Bingley repeated. "That is what you have been telling me since the start of the season. That Jane Bennet is not what I deserve and I can do considerably better. That I ought to marry a wealthy daughter of an aristocratic family who has been properly vetted and properly connected. I do not want a wealthy daughter of an aristocratic family. I want Jane Bennet. She is the finest woman I have met in several seasons of being presented with women you consider suitable, and I plan to tell her this soon. I also intend to apologise to her family for what has been done by mine, after which I shall ask her to marry me."

Mrs Bingley stared at him with her mouth agape. "You have never spoken to me like this. And seeking Jane Bennet’s hand in marriage…surely you can't be serious."

Caroline rose to her feet. "Charles, if you would simply consider—"

"You." He turned to his sister. "You have spent the better part of this season pursuing a man who has given you no encouragement whatsoever, because Mama told you it was worth attempting. You have attended events specifically to displace a woman who has offered you no provocation. You have conducted yourself in a way that I am ashamed to have been associated with. As the head of this family, I will hereby set a firmer hand on your allowance. I will only make a review on this in the next quarter, if your behaviour seems appropriate."

Caroline's composure broke. "You would not. Charles, you cannot do that to me!"

"I have already decided. You will hear from my steward." He returned his attention to his mother, who was still gobsmacked. Her analytical eyes seemed to be taking a new measure of her son and revising several prior conclusions. "You and Caroline will return to Scarborough this week. The house is available and ready to be occupied on short notice."

"We have engagements in London," Mrs Bingley said. "We cannot simply leave."

"You will send your regrets. I am embarrassed by what has been done this season. I cannot afford the possibility of further interference. You will go to Scarborough, and you will remain there until the season has concluded. When that is over, we shall discuss what is to come next."

"Charles." His mother's voice had dropped into the lower, more personal register she used when she was speaking to him as a son rather than as a figure of authority. It contained real feeling — Darcy had never doubted that she loved her children, only that the love did not excuse what she had done to justify her opinions. "I have only ever wanted what was best for you. Everything I have done this season has been for your sake and your sister’s. Surely you know that."

Bingley looked at her for a long moment. On his face was a look that was not anger, which would have been easier to identify. It was the expression of a son who loved his mother and had found that this love did not always translate to liking someone and every facet of their behaviour.

"I know you believe that, but what you did was wrong. No attempt to convince me otherwise will ever change that." He adjusted his hat. "I will have arrangements made for the carriage."

Caroline made one further attempt, as they left, to introduce a new line of defence. However, Bingley did not stop walking. The hall door closed behind them resoundingly.

In the street, Bingley stood in the cool afternoon air with his arms crossed. He had discharged a difficult task and appeared to have not yet decided what to do with himself in its aftermath.

"You handled it well," Darcy said, because it was true and also because Bingley needed to hear it stated plainly.

Bingley released a short, humourless breath. "I have been easy with them for too long. What ought to be done next?"

"An apology to the Bennet family. In person, from you directly. It should come before any further circulation of Mrs Bingley's intelligence, if that is still possible to contain."

"Today?"

Darcy considered. "Give them the morning. There is much to contend with in that house at present."

Bingley nodded. "My heart goes out to Miss Mary. To learn a thing like that about yourself, about everything you thought you were…I cannot imagine what it must be like."

Darcy thought back to Mary Bennet’s quietness, which reminded him of his own sister’s timidity. She was not the first one noticeable in a line of her sisters but she certainly made an impression in her own way. The intelligence in her eyes could not be mistaken. Neither was the obvious preference she had for retreating into the background. She was not quite as witty and conversational as Elizabeth Bennet, who was unrivalled in that aspect, but he had noticed that she was observant and polite in the few interactions they had shared.

If Mrs Bingley had succeeded in her plans, the days afterwards would cost Mary a lot. Darcy felt a pang of guilt. Perhaps he ought to have stopped Mrs Bingley earlier, but he had no way of knowing she would go this far. Mothers, after all, could be mischievous and scheming in their own unique ways.

But this was…

Unjustifiable.

"Thankfully, she will have her family for support."

"Indeed. With a defensive fleet made up of Misses Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia and Kitty, no one could stand a chance." Bingley said, smiling faintly.

They parted at the corner of Brook Street. Darcy walked north.

He had asked his carriage to go ahead without him and walked because he needed to clear his thoughts. The weather was undecided about whether to rain and the afternoon light was declining towards the flat grey of evening, the streets were occupied enough to require navigation without demanding engagement, which was what he needed.