When Jane Got Angry

“Oh.” Jane’s brows drew together. “He completely deceived Lizzy!”

“No doubt Wickham also neglected to mention how he tried to induce Georgiana Darcy to elope with him when she was only fifteen?”

“How terrible!”

“I only learned of it recently when Darcy told me the story—in his cups. He does not share it readily. I cannot imagine he has told Miss Elizabeth.”

Jane’s hands were kneading the fine silk of her gown. “Oh, Lizzy does not truly understand Mr. Darcy’s character! She will refuse his offer because of Mr. Wickham’s lies! What a terrible muddle!”

Meanwhile, Bingley was imagining Darcy’s perspective. “Darcy will walk onto a battlefield without the least knowledge of the ambush lying in wait. He is, I am sure, quite certain of an acceptance.” Bingley was particularly sensitive to the vulnerabilities of a man who was making an offer of marriage.

Tears sprang to Jane’s eyes. “Charles, it will be a disaster! They will hate each other forever!”

Bingley had a sudden vision of his wedding day: Darcy standing by Bingley’s side and Elizabeth at Jane’s. While Bingley and Jane smiled lovingly at each other, everyone in the church would watch Darcy and Elizabeth glare at each other with thinly veiled contempt.

He and Jane would spend the rest of their lives trying to keep two of the people they loved best in the world from ever inhabiting the same room. Suddenly their future did not seem quite so inviting. “But what can we do?” he asked. Bingley and Jane seemed doomed to anticipate the carriage wreck while being helpless to slow the horses.

Jane was now wringing her hands. “We must prevent him from making an offer!”

Bingley gaped at her. “How might we accomplish that?”

“Kent is not so very far. If we travel tonight, we might be there in the morning. You could explain the situation to Mr. Darcy, and I will tell Lizzy what I have learned.”

There were so many obstacles to this plan that Bingley did not know where to begin his objections. “The offer may have already occurred. We may arrive too late.”

Jane sighed, but then she shook her head. “At least then we might help to mitigate the damage and repair their opinions of each other.”

Bingley could envision Darcy, ensconced in his room at Rosings, fuming over Elizabeth’s rejection while she stomped around Hunsford Parsonage, complaining about the arrogance of his proposal. Such an outcome was all too easy to picture. Darcy and Elizabeth would part ways in bitterness, vowing to nevermore have dealings with each other. And there was nobody at Rosings or Hunsford who might soothe such proud and angry feelings.

However, if Bingley and Jane arrived, they might be able to explain the misunderstandings and untangle Wickham’s lies. They might lessen the damage.

And they were the only ones who could do so.

Still… “Jane, we may be betrothed, but we cannot share a carriage unchaperoned.”

Jane’s shoulders slumped. “I had not considered that. But we cannot simply allow this disaster to take place! Perhaps Uncle Gardiner can send a chaperone with us.”

Bingley envisioned Gardiner’s face moments ago. “Well, I suppose we might ask him. But I do not hold out much hope.”

***

Jane peered out of the window at the Kent countryside. Under other circumstances she would have been excited to visit a new place, but it was difficult to appreciate the beauty of the budding spring flowers and the trees with a fuzz of green waiting to burst into bouquets of leaves. Instead, she fought a sense of impending dread. What would they find when they arrived at Hunsford? Cold politeness between Lizzy and Mr. Darcy? A bitter war of words? Perhaps.

Misunderstandings? Hurt feelings? Almost inevitably.

Charles and I can fix it. No matter the rift between them, somehow we can mend it. Jane had repeated this to herself again and again throughout the journey. Unfortunately, she did not quite believe it. The longer she and Charles had spoken about Lizzy and Mr. Darcy, the more Jane realized that they misunderstood each other in many fundamental ways. They might as well speak different languages.

It was difficult to imagine anything arising from Mr. Darcy’s proposal other than disaster. Then Jane and Charles would be asked to choose sides. Events in Hunsford and Rosings threatened to prevent or destroy their marriage.

The situation had already created difficulties. Obtaining Uncle Gardiner’s consent for the journey had taken hours; fortunately, her aunt had agreed with Jane’s assessment and had helped to sway her uncle’s decision.

Her uncle would not allow her to travel at night, so Jane had impatiently awaited the sunrise when Mr. Bingley’s carriage arrived to collect her and Aunt Gardiner, who was serving as their chaperone. Jane had not wanted to take her aunt away from her children, but the older woman insisted. As they hastily packed their trunks, she had confided to Jane that she felt responsible for giving Lizzy faulty advice regarding Mr. Darcy and wanted to correct her error.

> In place of riding to Longbourn for her father’s consent, Charles had dashed off a quick note to Hertfordshire with a solemn promise to visit as soon as he was able. Jane had assured her uncle that her father would consent, and he had grudgingly agreed to such a compromise.

Despite the anxiety hanging thick in the air, Jane could not help smiling at Charles, who was seated opposite her inside the coach. He was hers now. Her betrothed. Soon to be her husband. A secret thrill raced through her every time she laid eyes on him.

The carriage turned along a wide curve in the road, and Jane spied the smaller carriage following theirs. One of Bingley’s footmen drove the vehicle containing Maggie and Charles’s valet—and all the luggage. A quick glimpse through the window showed the couple holding hands, deep in conversation. Jane could not help smiling. Charles caught her eye and grinned as well. “Perhaps I should have brought a chaperone for your maid, Mrs. Gardiner.”