While Jane was contemplating a future without Mr. Bingley, Charles was rehearsing his proposal of marriage in front of a mirror. He went so far as to get down on bended knee, only to be embarrassed when his man had come into the room. He pretended to have dropped something, and Rayburn got on the floor to help him find an object that his master could not identify by name.
Ever since his discussion with George, things had looked a good deal sunnier. Darcy and he had reconciled, and although his friend’s approval on certain matters was desirable, it was no longer a necessity. Darcy did not yet know of this change in their relationship, but Bingley was confident he would understand as he had already seen a change in him since his return from Kent. According to Charles’s plan, after a week at Pemberley, he would leave his sisters behind and ride to Longbourn to ask Jane Bennet to marry him. His love for the lady was so profound and so deep and their separation so painful that he could hardly keep his mind focused on the next few weeks. But the days would pass, and his journey to Hertfordshire would be very different from the sad one he had experienced on his return to London. This time, the end of the road was Longbourn, leading straight to his beloved and the endless possibilities of their future together.
While Bingley was practicing his proposal to Jane Bennet, Caroline was in the room across the hall thinking of her visit to Pemberley. Her fear that Mr. Darcy would encounter Miss Bennet while in Kent had been unfounded. Upon his return to London, he had immediately called on Bingley, and during dinner, nothing had been said of that particular lady. Much to her relief, what Caroline had witnessed in Hertfordshire was merely a flirtation, and now that he had not seen Elizabeth for several weeks, her brief spell over him was broken.
Caroline too had noticed a change in Mr. Darcy. When he had asked Bingley if they could change their departure date, she was expecting him to say he needed to postpone the journey, but instead he had asked for it to be moved up. He apologized to her in particular for any inconvenience the change in schedule might cause her, but she had immediately reassured him that it was indeed a change, but a most delightful one. As an afterthought, he had said the request came as a result of a promise he had made to his cousin, Miss Anne de Bourgh. At first, that statement had alarmed Caroline because she knew it was Lady Catherine’s intention to see Mr. Darcy and her daughter married. But from the way he had spoken about Miss de Bourgh, it was clear there was real affection, but of the familial type, and not romantic at all.
There was also the possibility Mr. Darcy was using his cousin as an excuse so they could be together sooner. The day after his request was granted, he had sent another note thanking her for being so accommodating and mentioning how eager he was to begin their journey as he found Pemberley to have restorative powers. Was he implying that he needed to repair their relationship, which had been strained during their time together at Netherfield Park? She could now see there was a very real possibility for a union between their two families. Charles would marry Miss Darcy, she would marry Mr. Darcy, and together they would start a dynasty.
Georgiana was positive something was about to happen. She just had no idea what it was. Ever since her brother had left for Kent to visit Anne, there had been something in the air. His reasons for his sudden departure did not pass muster, and when he had come back from his visit to Rosings, he was much altered. So something had happened in Kent. Was it possible that was where he had encountered the lady who had told him that one bad sonnet was sufficient to drive love away? And she went in search of Anne.
Anne loved talking to her young cousin. Georgiana looked at every day as an adventure. When she got into Mr. Oldham’s carriage each morning, she was always hoping something amazing would happen, and on occasion, it did. She had witnessed the apprehension of a thief, a runaway horse, and a manned balloon flying over the city, and now she was sitting opposite to her asking about a mystery lady whom she had taken to calling Miss Sonnet.
“I do not think the time your brother spent in Kent was long enough for him to have fallen in love. He was only there for ten days.”
“Ten days! That is more than sufficient time for someone to fall in love,” the young romantic quickly responded.
“Yes, that is true, and I can imagine someone of a less cautious nature falling in love in such a short time, but your brother, Georgiana?”
For several minutes, Georgiana sat quietly mulling over what Anne had said. It was true her brother was rarely spontaneous; in fact, she had never seen it. So she had to agree with Anne that it was unlikely that Will could meet a lady and fall in love with her in such a short period of time. But suddenly, she jumped up and said that she knew what had happened.
“When Will was in Hertfordshire with Mr. Bingley, he was supposed to stay there for at least a month, but one day, I came home to find him in his study, highly agitated, pacing back and forth. I asked him why he had returned so soon, and he said he had important business meetings to attend. You know he is a venturer with Mr. George Bingley, who is very nice but very dull. But he only went to one meeting, and then he went straight back to Netherfield Park. So Miss Sonnet must be from Hertfordshire, and something happened to separate them. And then he discovered she was in Kent and immediately set out to be with her again. And the denouement to their love story will take place at Pemberley.”
“Pemberley?” Anne asked. Georgiana’s reconstruction of what she believed to have been her brother’s path to love had winded its way through Hertfordshire to Kent, but nothing had been said about Pemberley. Where had she got that idea?
“I am quite sure something is going to happen at Pemberley. There is a force driving all of us to Derbyshire, which is why you are here.”
Anne decided not to encourage any further investigation. Working with so little, Georgiana’s vivid imagination had brought her very close to the truth.
“Your brother thinks you are writing a novel when you retire at night.”
“Oh, I am, but it is entirely different from this scenario, as its setting is Pompeii. But as to the matter we are discussing, one of my tutors had the most clever way of teaching geography. He had a map mounted on wooden blocks, which he had cut into small irregular shapes, and we had to fit the pieces together to make a map of Europe. That is exactly what this is like. I just don’t have all of the pieces yet.”