The Caroline Bingley Diaries - Part Twelve

[the_shrubbery]

Part Twelve: In Which Caroline Finally Goes To Pemberley & Becomes Rather Anxious

July 25th:

Could not see Paul for very long today but that was worth it because he & D have saved Louisa! Was that which he came to tell me yesterday in spite of wanting to stay away from me, that they had finally found a possibility. Turns out that Paul has a great-aunt who knew smug Sir Walter’s mother &s I am not sure how but she found out about our problems & wrote Sir W a letter & the end of it is that he is going to pay the money & L & H are going to be released soon.

Paul would not tell me what she wrote, said he had to promise, but am sure great-aunt knows about dark dealings of smug Sir W somehow & they blackmailed him. Cannot wait to meet great-aunt. Sounds fabulous woman.

Cannot marvel enough at the fact that Paul did all this for me without having any hope. Am marrying the best of men.

Shame that will only happen when I am old.

July 26th:

L & H to be released tomorrow or the day after, as soon as everything has been settled & all the papers drawn up or whatever is necessary.

Saw L this morning to tell her the good news in person & she was over-joyed. Also told her about engagement at which she had to confess she was not sure she ever even met Paul. Really odd thought. Always thought if I got married it would only be to someone of whom L approved like D. Cannot say however that if L disapproved it would sway my decision one bit.

Paul came for dinner with C & me because we had hardly seen each other all day & because he wanted to ask C for my hand. C readily agreed to it & for a moment everyone was happy until C reminded us that his blessing did not count for anything because Paul had to ask uncle Tiberius.

Had to explain to Paul then about uncle Tiberius but he claimed he was undaunted by the challenge. Poor man does not know what he is getting into. Said he would see us to Pemberley when we leave & then continue on north to approach uncle Tiberius in person.

Cannot believe almost forgot about trip to Pemberley. Must make sure have everything ready. Abigail said she wanted to alter some gowns & am not sure have everything I need. On the other hand have not really any sort of money to make purchases & clearly cannot ask uncle Tiberius now on top of everything. Shall have to improvise.


July 28th:

Louisa is home! Very teary reunion with her & Hurst. Hurst & Charles agreed that they should stay with us for the time being & probably will close their house up until their debts are fully paid. L very enthusiastic about living together again but had to remind her that if all goes well, will not live here for much longer. Both of us a little dejected at the idea but then of course will be able to see her all the time when I am married. Whenever that may be.

July 29th:

D&G called to welcome L&H home & to congratulate on my engagement. D very warm & sincere in his wishes and G most exuberant. Had to remind her nothing was official & was meant to be secret until we have consent from uncle Tiberius which will probably happen shortly before my 40th birthday. Hope Paul will still love me when I am old & toothless. Said he will & pointed out he would probably lose his teeth before I did, but you never know.

C & D & Paul have finalised travel arrangements & we are to leave on the 31st. Will spend two or three nights with Paul’s grandmother before continuing on to Pemberley & uncle Tiberius, respectively. L&H to come with us, to keep L from the temptations, as H put it. Never actually realised it was possible to have a conversation with the man.


July 30th:

Have finished packing. Abigail worked wonders & altered some old gowns of L for me & only expenses were for a little trim. Was worried it might be too much work since L so much bigger than me but abigail says no trouble at all.

Paul asked H about what to expect from uncle Tiberius but H said when he proposed to L uncle Algie still alive & all he had to do was let him win at whist.

Cannot say look forward to being locked into carriage for days but Paul will ride with me & G so at least will see him all day. D says he will ride instead of being cooped up for hours.

Only hope it will not be too hot!

August 1st:

Spending the night at the house of one of Paul’s cousins who is not there but ordered the staff to shower us with fresh fruit and cold meats. Must say is much nicer than spending the night in an inn like yesterday even though everything was clean & we brought our own sheets.

G kept wanting to talk about what the possible connection was between Sir Vincent & Madame Valentine & what the Mother Superior knows about it. Was interesting for the first two or three hours but then discussion began to run in circles & Paul threatened to not let her read the next volume until she is of age & she was quiet after that. Tried to find out if Paul really knows the author of The Woes of the Chaste Orphan Athalia but he would not say a word & kept distracting me in most unfair ways.

Must say though is v. nice to travel with Paul sitting by my side. Makes up for most of the inconveniences. If only there was not the threat of uncle Tiberius & the convent looming at the end of the journey it would be thoroughly enjoyable.


August 3rd:

At Paul’s grandmother’s. Have met blackmailing great-aunt. Rather intimidating, truth be told, but hopefully seemed to like me. Wondered if maybe she knew something with which to blackmail uncle Tiberius but she said had never even heard of him. No wonder since he never leaves Lancashire I suppose.

Get a big knot in my stomach whenever I think about uncle Tiberius & I am not even the one who has to meet him. Paul tells me not to worry & that he will wait for me if we cannot marry but I just know it is going to be horrible. Do not want to wait & pretend we are nothing but casual acquaintances for two years. What if they send him abroad & I cannot go with him?

August 4th:

D continued on to Pemberley this morning, said he needed to meet his steward. No idea if it was that or just getting away from the BGA’s inquisitorial questions. I gather she is somehow related to the Bat which explains a lot of things. G wanted to go with him but the Dowager Countess absolutely insisted we had to stay for another night.

Was rather reluctant to leave as well because it would mean saying goodbye to Paul. Was glad to have another day with him & he proposed long walk in the grounds. Dowager Countess insisted L&H accompany us but Paul managed to get us lost & we ended up in secluded little grove by the brook. Cannot say have ever spent an afternoon in a more blissful fashion.

If uncle Tiberius refuses to consent will have to find blackmailing material on him in person. Must ask Lady Grace for advice on how to go about these things.

August 5th:

Was woken before dawn by G who wanted to leave for Pemberley the minute the sun was up just so she could see D again. Pointed out that she had seen him not even a day ago but to no avail. Had to drag myself to the carriage still half asleep & only hope we did not forget anything. Could not even sleep properly in the carriage because G kept chattering about her blasted brother. Finally Paul gave her a very stern look & then I was able to doze on his shoulder for some thirty minutes.

Most surprised to find upon our arrival at Pemberley that D was in a state of equal unrest. Apparently Jane Bennet’s plain sister & some relatives were touring Pemberley the day before & now D wanted us all to come along & pay a visit the moment we had climbed out of the carriage. C & of course G most eager to comply but L&H excused themselves citing need to sleep & Paul & I begged out of the excursion as well.

At least absence of others meant got to say goodbye to Paul in private. Miss him already. Wonder when he will arrive in Lancashire & be able to see uncle Tiberius. Wonder if uncle Tiberius will even agree to meet him.

Seems we are to entertain plain girl & her family tomorrow. Really do not feel in the mood for it. Could not even appreciate being at Pemberley though I have to say it is very pretty because all I can think about is what will uncle Tiberius say?

August 6th:

No word from Paul this morning but tell myself that is only to be expected because he spent all day yesterday on the road & could not have sent anything. Surely does not mean that uncle Tiberius locked him in the cellar. Miss him so much.

Plain girl & her family here all morning. D took the uncle fishing or some such thing & Eliza & her aunt left to us. Could not really think about anything else but what Paul was doing right that moment so think got rather snappish with them. Miss Eliza all smug & full of herself in a completely sickening way going on & on about her travels. As if it were so special to be travelling. I could have been travelling too this summer. D all excited at her being there & going on about how she is just so special & pretty just because she is of age already & can get married any time she wants & I am at the mercy of uncle Tiberius entirely.

Must ask L if I was very rude to her. Must try to be more civil when we see her again for dinner tomorrow although I do not know why we have to see them every day.

Wish Paul was here & all was well.

August 7th:

Still no word from Paul. Hope that means all is going well & he is returning soon & no need to write.

D even more distracted today than he was the last days. Was out early this morning to pay yet another visit to Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her fine eyes but apparently she had to leave because someone or other of her family fell ill. D has locked himself up in his study & refused to come out ever since.

August 7th, later:

Uncle Tiberius has refused. I always felt he would but is something else entirely to know it for certain. I knew it the moment Paul dismounted & looked at me & when he embraced me all I could do was cry. Only good news is uncle Tiberius has no plans yet to send me to a convent. At least none that he told Paul about.

It is so damnably unfair. Is not as if I cared one jot about the stupid money. He can keep that if he wants & have more pamphlets printed urging everyone to repent or whatever it is he does these days. I only want to get married & why can he not see that? Paul says that uncle Tiberius found him lacking in moral substance & altogether corrupted & unworthy. Tells me again & again it does not matter, we will wait. Cannot express how much I love him for that but it will never do. Must find other way.

D finally emerged from his study an hour & a half after Paul had come back. Was even more distracted but managed to find some words of sympathy before telling Paul that he had to leave for London early next morning on some sort of business & Paul to see to it that the rest of us got back to London safely. Then he dragged Paul into his study to discuss “the details” in spite of my protests. Wonder what sort of business it is this time & or if he is trying to escape again.

August 8th:

Think it bodes well for my marriage that Paul & I seem to be thinking the same thing so often. When I went to tell him this morning I had found a solution he had just seen D off & come to the same conclusion. Think I love him even more than I did yesterday just because he agreed with me it was the best solution if unconventional.

Think might have shocked everyone at breakfast a little when I announced we were going to elope on Monday but then everyone there already knew of our plight & surely much better this way than to leave them wondering when we are gone and the horses are missing. L immediately said she would come with us. Had thought when eloping one only took a trusted servant but then would really like for L to be there so did not argue with her. H will accompany her of course because he wants to make sure she is not tempted.

G wants to come as well but Paul & I do not think D will like that.

August 9th:

Spent the day getting things in order; is not every day one gets married & want to look perfect even in unusual circumstances. Abigail & Mrs A took things in hand & thing everything is splendid now. Can hardly wait.

Paul has asked C to stand up with him since D unable to come. G complained again that she wanted to come as well so Paul finally agreed but only on the condition that Mrs A come as well. Which is all for the better because a cousin of Mrs A is a priest in Brydekirk, which appears to be just north of Gretna. Much nicer to be married there instead of over an anvil.