Jump to new as of August 8, 2001
"Brother, you are home! It is so good to see you!" A tall, slender, elegant young woman exclaimed. She ran to him as he was just walking through the door, and hugged him fiercely. Then she stepped back and sighed. "Why, you look so much older! Come, come, sit down, you look so tired! Tea will do you much good..." She was about to ring for one of the few servants they had to get them drinks, when he stopped her.
"Sister, we haven't much time. Yes, yes, I have succeeded, but listen to my story. It is rather long, but I assure you, when I am finished, and when our plan has been carried out, we will be two of the richest people in England!"
His sister interrupted. "Jack, dear, you were always so good at using your wits and wiles to get what you wanted!" She laughed: a shrill, false laugh of women whose hearts are selfish and aims are hurtful.
He chuckled, but then went on: "As you know, I had received a letter the night before I left. How long ago was that-a year? Anyway, the contents of that letter (that I had refused to tell you of) had stated that a rich man, a Charles Bingley, had just moved to Derbyshire from Hertfordshire with his new wife! Of course, there was no moment to lose. I left you, dear Victoria, to find this Mr. Bingley and "befriend" him. Quite an easy task, really, as the man is gullible and easily swayed. Now, you know my aims..."
"I do! Oh, Jack, do you really think that this time-this time it will work? I assure you, brother, that I will be able to "capture" any man instantly! And you had said that he was easily swayed-it shouldn't be too difficult! I shall break him apart from his wife, force an annulment, marry him, leave him, and you and I-we will be rich! I know-"
"Victoria! Please! Your mind is getting carried away with you! You must allow me to explain. I had thought as you did: I would pretend to be your fiancée, and then while you were using your charms to "capture" him as you put it, no one would know the better, you being engaged! It had seemed perfect. Why, the fellow even invited me, as well as you, my dear "fiancée"..." Victoria giggled. "...to an old friend's house, also in Derbyshire! But by then, sister, I had met his wife, and studied them together, to determine how easily we could pull them away from each other, and that is when I discovered our first problem." He sat back in his chair, panting from the effort and excitement of telling his successful story.
"What is it, Jack? You don't mean to tell me that this Mr. and Mrs. Bingley actually are in...in love? How could this be? With him being a rich man, how could he marry for love alone?"
"That is exactly the problem, my dear. I do not know how it came about, but this is obviously a deep love that nothing can ever break. I knew that, and was so disappointed I was actually quite harsh to the Bingleys for a short time. I apologized, of course. You never know when a friendship might help in a time of need. I was just about ready to go home when, by great, great luck, I discovered a little bit of useful information about Mr. Bingley's friend that I had mentioned earlier. You know, you know, the one he asked me to accompany them to visit? Well, it turns out, Victoria, that this friend is actually one of the most sought-after men in England, even more so than Mr. Bingley is. He is rich, my dear...very rich." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Ten thousand pounds a year at the very least!" She gasped in surprise. A cruel smile spread across her beautiful face. Henry sat forward. "And that, my dear, dear sister, is when I had my second plan. Need I explain...?"
She grasped his arm excitedly. "Jack! You clever, clever man! How wonderfully witty and brilliant you are! Of course! It all makes sense! You and I will go with the Bingleys to this Mr..." Her brother interrupted.
"Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy."
"...Yes, Mr. Darcy, who lives in Derbyshire, and who owns a great estate, I presume...?"
"Very great." Her brother nodded, his eyes wide.
"...And then, using our wits and charms, will proceed to make this Mr. Darcy marry me! And then I shall be the one to benefit, sending money back to you while you live in this, this...cottage..." She waved her arm around her at the tattered walls that surrounded them, "Until we have enough saved up to live in luxury! Then you will send me the word, and I will divorce the poor man! Then I will come back to live with you, dear brother, and together we shall finally, finally live in comfort! Oh Jack, everything is completely perfect!" She sank into the ragged chair with her hands clasped at her chest. Her brother smiled as he thought of the luxury he was to have, when the smile disappeared and he clapped a hand to his forehead.
"Oh, Victoria! I just remembered! I dare say, this will at least provide a little inconvenience to our plan..."He cursed at himself under his breath.
"Jack, what is it? Please tell me! What could it be...?"
"Sister, I am afraid I have neglected to mention that this Mr. Darcy is also recently married! It will be a problem for us. We will have to work harder. Really, why do men have to go and do a stupid, useless thing like marriage...?"
"Brother, please, do not fret! Remember our previous plans for splitting apart the Bingleys? All we have to do is go as the happy, engaged couple and no one will ever suspect us! The Bingleys do believe that I am your fiancee...?"
"Yes, they do! Of course! What an idiot I am...and how clever you are! Everything works out quite well, after all! However, as I had said before, we haven't much time. We leave in..." he thought a moment, "...two days time!"
"Two days! We must hurry! How will we manage? Oh, I just thought of something!"
"Do tell!"
"We obviously will have to go as a rich engaged couple, because, of course, a man of Mr. Darcy's consequence will never divorce and then marry a poor woman!"
"Do not worry, Victoria! I took the liberty of "borrowing" some attire from a very kindly, rich old woman whose children have long been gone. I am sure she won't mind, once she finds out!" He laughed cruelly, and so did his sister.
"Oh Jack! I was sure that our poor days would be over someday! And that day is in our midst! Our cleverness had conquered, brother, just as you had foreseen!"
And so the happy brother and sister went off to celebrate with dinner at the new life they were about to face.
"Jack, from where did you say the Bingleys had moved from?" Victoria asked, while they were bumping along in a (stolen) carriage towards Derbyshire.
"Hertfordshire. Their estate had been a handsome one, I understand. I believe it is called Netherfield. However, they had moved, presumably to be closer to his friend. Believe me, my dear, it is handsome. But certainly nothing to Pemberley, or its next mistress...!" Victoria laughed in a vain sort of way.
"Ah, so Pemberley must be Darcy's great estate! I cannot wait to see it, nor the newly married couple. I dare say they cannot love each other. Why on earth would a man with ten thousand pounds a year marry for love? I believe I could stake a bet that she is a pretty, rich young woman of merely eighteen and he a rich old man of forty! As to the nature of their relationship, he most likely fell for a pretty face and a charming nature, and she had her attractive eyes set on his money. Is that not how it always happens in a situation such as that, brother?"
"Indeed it must be so. You are such a good judge of these things, Victoria..." He turned his head sharply toward the window. "Why, I do believe that is none other than _________, the Bingley's estate!" He pointed. Victoria leaned over to look out.
"Hm. Not a very large estate, is it? But it does have an air of elegance about it in its own way. I should be glad to see the interior." She sniffed, smoothed out her "new" expensive silk dress, and sat back as the carriage pulled into the Bingley drive.
"Mr. James Cath and Miss Victoria Moore, sir," introduced the butler. The brother and sister looked at each other as they went into the parlor. The first step in their plan was to play the engaged couple, so Victoria had taken up "Moore" as her last name. Each was wondering, could they really pull it off? Their thoughts were silenced, however, when the Bingleys stood up to greet them. Victoria studied each carefully.
"Cath! How good to see you! It has been a month at least since I last saw you," Bingley said, his usual jovial self. "And this must be your fiancée, Miss Moore! I am delighted to meet you," Bingley bowed to her, then introduced Jane: "And this is my wife, Mrs. Bingley." Jane curtsied, and so did Victoria.
"I am pleased to meet you, Miss Moore," Jane said smilingly. Victoria smiled back, trying to put on a kindly appearance. She wanted to make a good impression so that no one would suspect a thing.
"And I, you," said Victoria.
"And I am glad to see you again, Mrs. Bingley. Thank you both for inviting us." Jack said. He bowed to Jane, and she curtsied. Bingley looked admiringly at his wife. Victoria noticed.
"Pray, say no more of it! I know that you both have not had some time away from home for goodness knows how long, and we are happy that you could make it, of course!" Bingley grinned.
Jane, ever the good hostess, said, "Please do sit down, and partake of some refreshment. You must have had a long journey."
"Indeed we have, Mrs. Bingley, I thank you." said Jack, as he and his sister sat down. Again Victoria looked at him, and they exchanged a brotherly/sisterly glance of encouragement, which both Jane and Bingley took as mutual love and respect.
Glad to see this in another couple, Bingley cheerfully said, "Well, I am glad that you both had a safe trip. And all the way from London! I am sorry to say that actually we leave the day after tomorrow, so you will have to forbear another trip." Bingley accepted a teacup from his wife and smiled at her.
"I am glad to say, however, that Pemberley is not twenty miles from here. It should not be so hard to bear." Jane said in an encouraging way, and smiled back at her husband. All of this did not escape Victoria's notice, and she knew that what her brother had said about unbreakable bonds of love was true, at least for this couple.
And so the brother maintained a steady, cheerful "friendship" with Bingley; and was kind and gentlemanlike to Mrs. Bingley, while his sister proved herself a "kind, and somewhat witty in her own way, yet very elegant" sort of person, as Jane had said to her husband. The practice they had had with plans such as this helped them with their lies, and each proved to be an excellent actor/actress. Jack and Victoria once had a chance for a private meeting, and both agreed that things couldn't go better, and each encouraged the other. And so it seemed that their scheme would be a successful one, and both slept soundly the night before their departure for Pemberley.
"Please allow me to assist you into the carriage, Mrs. Bingley," said Jack, putting on a false smile as he handed her into the carriage. Then he climbed in with Bingley following.
"Are we all comfortable? I can always order a second carriage if it seems too crowded..." Bingley said, always trying to help.
Jack looked at the ladies. "I believe we are all in comfort, Bingley," he said with a smile at his "friend". Jane and Victoria nodded.
"Very well, then! Carry on, driver," Bingley said as he tapped the top of the roof with his knuckles. With a lurch, the carriage went forward, and the people inside began the journey towards Pemberley.
"My love, it is already nine o'clock! I do believe we should climb out of this bed and advance towards the direction of the dining room..." Lizzy said to her husband, still lying in bed.
"I do not see a reason to..." he mumbled.
"Well, I do. Do you not remember? Charles and Jane are coming in perhaps two hours. They are bringing some new friends. Oh, William, surely you cannot have forgotten already?" Lizzy said, looking at the clock on the mantle with an exasperated glance.
Darcy lifted his arms and proceeded to rub his eyes with his palms. Lizzy laughed. "Surely it cannot be that horrible...?" She inquired.
"Surely it can. I was prepared to celebrate our getting through dinner with the Doyles..." Lizzy laughed louder this time.
"I am forced to disagree with you, sir, " she teased, "for I had found them to be quite charming and sensitive..." They both laughed, as the Doyles were actually a Mr. Collins-like couple. "Anyway, we really must be getting out of bed and down to breakfast. They actually could come anytime in the next hour..." with that, she climbed out of bed and rang for her maid to help her get dressed. Darcy followed her example, although half-heartedly.
Victoria held in a gasp as the carriage came over the hill and Pemberley was sighted. The early morning sun was already high in the sky, and was looking over the top of the vast estate. The sunlight sparkled on the lake, and the colors mixed so that it looked orange. The sky was a pale blue, not quite afternoon, and the sun's warm colors were brightening up the clouds already. Jane and Charles smiled as they beheld the obviously awed couple.
"So this is Pemberley!" said Jack with the most cheerful smile he could muster. Now is when his problems would begin...
Victoria was also aware of how difficult it is to deceive people. But she reminded herself that the Bingleys thought well of them, she was proud of her acting abilities, and she knew that she was beautiful. Surely it could not be too hard...
Bingley interrupted their reverie. "That was exactly how I felt when I first laid eyes on it! It is absolutely stunning, is it not? But you will have to wait until you see what Mrs. Darcy has done to the rooms...it is magnificent!" Victoria frowned as she tried to remember this as a topic of conversation for Mrs. Darcy. Her clever mind was already thinking up ways to con Mrs. Darcy into believing her husband didn't care for her...
A sudden stop jolted her mind back to reality. "Right, everyone out!" said a cheerful Bingley. He jumped out, handed Victoria out, and then lovingly handed his wife out. She smiled at him. "It will be good to see your sister, will it not?" He asked as Jack climbed out of the carriage. Jane nodded, but Victoria had overheard and was confused. Always frank, she asked:
"Oh, does your sister live here?" Expecting this sister to be a maid or some other sort of servant. Nothing could have prepared her for Jane's reply:
"Oh, yes, did we not tell you? My sister is Mr. Darcy's wife, Mrs. Darcy."
Victoria stared wide-eyed. What? This would be sure to make her job even more difficult than it already was...but she remembered herself and replied, "Really? How...charming." Jane didn't seem to notice her hesitation as she was already walking through the large doors on her husband's arm. Victoria blinked again, and took Jack's arm. He led her to the door, and then she whispered fiercely, "Did you know of this?" He shook his head.
"No, I did not. But surely it will not prove a problem...?"
"Surely it will! A small one at least, but you see, sisters can confide in each other. If one notices the slightest strange thing about us, the other will no doubt know sooner or later! We will have to be careful, brother, exceedingly careful..." but she could not say another word, for she was being led with the Bingley's towards the drawing room.