Page 8 of A Different Impression

At length, Bingley drew a slow breath. “If I had known about the incident with Caroline last summer, I am not sure how I would have reacted,” he said. “However, first thing tomorrow, I am going to request that Hurst take Caroline and Louisa back to London. I will make them believe we will follow along in a day or two if my sisters seem reluctant, but we will get Caroline out of this house. Take precautions until she is gone—lock your door, have your valet sleep with you, whatever you think it will take. She was unhappy with you tonight—I think she was trying to force us to walk home, but Hurst caught on to it somehow and sent the horses.”

Relief washed over Darcy. He had dreaded burdening Bingley with the truth about Caroline, yet his friend had accepted it far better than he had feared.

There was a light knock on the door. Both men started at the unexpected sound, but it was Bingley who called, “Come in.”

Marston, Darcy’s valet, stepped in the door. “Sirs, forgive me for the interruption, but please come with me. I think you both need to see this.”

“What is it, Marston?” Darcy asked, perplexed by his man seeking him out in this way.

“Please come with me to your room, sir,” Marston replied. “It will explain itself when we arrive. I heard your voice in the hall and unlocked the door, expecting you to come upstairs immediately, as is your custom. Before I could secure it again, Miss Bingley must have slipped inside. I fear the fault is mine, sir.”

With that, both men followed Marston quietly up the stairs. As they passed the hallway to the family wing, Hurst came out of his room and joined the group without a word.

The group of men walked quietly to Darcy’s room. A faint light flickered beneath the door. The servant door was ajar, and Marston directed them to walk into the dressing room. From there, they could see into Darcy’s bedroom, where Caroline lay upon the bed, positioned as though she expected Darcy at any moment. She wore only a thin night rail that left little to the imagination. Darcy immediately averted his eyes.

The men withdrew from the dressing room and gathered in the hallway. Charles’s face had flushed scarlet. Darcy himself was livid, but Hurst looked as though he were suppressing a smile, and even Marston’s expression suggested he found the situation more amusing than alarming.

Charles was the first to speak. “What could either of you find remotely amusing in this situation?” he bit out.

Hurst glanced briefly at Marston, then answered with a laugh. “Surely, you see how foolish she is in this. You have told her; Darcy has told her; Louisa has told her; we have all told her, over and over again, Darcy will never marry her. Yet twice now, she has been found in his bed, stark naked or practically so, and twice she will have been rebuffed for it. She is a fool to keep at it.”

Bingley stared at him. “Foolish, yes, but... wait, you said twice. Did you know about the first attempt in Pemberley?”

“Yes, Louisa knew about it and told me after we left,” Hurst admitted. “I was surprised Darcy did not say anything to you, but I believed he must have said enough to Caroline. Of course, for most women, it would have been enough.”

“I would like to think that most women would not deliberately set out to compromise a man by getting into his bed naked,” Darcy said drily. “Although enough try other sorts of compromises to achieve a similar end.”

“That is one more reason you should marry that girl from tonight quickly, Darcy,” Hurst commented.

Hurst laughed, glancing between Darcy and Bingley. “Caroline did not stop ranting about her in the carriage on the way back. She attempted to get back at you both for your interest in the lovely Misses Bennet by forcing you to walk back from town. I saw what she was up to and let her succeed in not sending the carriage back and sent horses for you in its place. She did not know I knew about her plan.”

“Hurst,” Bingley began suddenly, “would you be willing to take Caroline and Louisa to London tomorrow? Just until I can make some other arrangements for Caroline. After this, she clearly cannot be trusted to stay in the same house with Darcy, and we cannot get him married unless we stay close to the object of his desire.” Bingley winked at Hurst before turning back to Darcy. Darcy found himself returning the smile despite himself.

Hurst chuckled. “Well, that is settled; let us get to bed,” he said, sounding entirely too cheerful for so early in the morning. “I will escort both ladies to London tomorrow, and do my best to keep Caroline confined to the house. You must make arrangements quickly to have her settled somewhere permanently, Bingley.”

Darcy sincerely wished they could all retire at once. Unfortunately, one rather obvious obstacle remained, and it lay awkwardly in his bed.

The four men looked at one another.

“Who,” Darcy asked at last, “is going to wake Miss Bingley and tell her that her plan has failed?”

Three pairs of eyes swung to Bingley. He walked to Darcy’s door, the one leading to the hallway, and jerked it open. Before anyone could see what was happening, he slammed it shut, and they all heard a small feminine squeak. Then, they heard Bingley roar, “What the hell do you think you are doing here, Caroline?”

At that, the remaining three men scattered—Hurst towards his own bed, and Darcy and Marston anywhere Miss Bingley was not.

Marston directed Darcy upstairs. “There are several empty beds in the servants’ quarters, sir. And one benefit is that you will not be caught alone.” He grinned at his employer.

“Thank you, Marston,” Darcy replied, grinning in return. “At this point, I think any flat surface will do. Fortunately, I doubt Miss Bingley would be able to find the servants’ quarters.”

CHAPTER 4

On Oakham Mount

Despite the late night, Darcy woke early. Marston had laid out riding clothes for him from his room, and Darcy quickly dressed before heading out to the stables. His goal was to stay far away from the house this morning until Miss Bingley had departed.

As he saddled his own horse, he considered the events of the previous night. He wondered if Bingley’s aunt could come to serve as hostess and if Bingley would be willing to invite both Georgiana and Richard to join them. With Miss Bingley gone, he knew his sister would be far more inclined to visit, and he would like her to meet Elizabeth. He smiled as the thought that Georgiana would thrive with Miss Elizabeth as a sister flitted through his mind.

Darcy rode across the fields, enjoying the cool but still beautiful late-autumn weather. He came to a fence, perhaps the boundary between Netherfield and Longbourn, and slowed to inspect it. He and Bingley would need to inspect all of the fences soon, but a quick check of this one would help him form an idea of how well the estate had been maintained. It was in good order, but he noticed a couple of areas in the fields that may have drainage issues if a heavy rainstorm came.