Because of Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 28

Bam, bam, bam! The loud pounding on the front door woke Jane up. Someone was banging on the door so hard that the windows rattled. Bam, bam, bam! Then came a loud "Jane! Jane! Are you all right?" Bam, bam, bam!

She was so startled that she jumped up and ran to the door, thinking that something terrible was happening. She swung the door open just as George was about to full-on punch the door again. There was nothing to stop his forward motion except Jane who then fell backward right onto her rump as he tumbled into her. George immediately helped Jane back up with a very strong, confident grip. "I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" George asked as he gave her a once over and then a twice over which then became a thrice over as Jane was in nothing but her very sheer pajama tank top and short shorts. Luckily, Jane was still a bit dazed to notice George's blatant ogling.

"Yes, yes, I'm all right. But what's going on? What's the urgency?" inquired Jane.

"Well, it's past noon, and Darcie was in a state because you hadn't returned any of her calls this morning. So, I told her that I would come and check on you, but I kept knocking and you didn't answer, so then I guess I started to panic a bit," he said with a sly smile that showcased his irresistible dimples. Jane noticed his eyes moving lower, and she quickly crossed her arms across her chest, now cognizant of what she was wearing. "So, did you have a late night?" he asked teasingly as he moved his eyebrows up and down in a knowing gesture. "I'm only gone a week, and you've already moved on to someone new?"

Jane wasn't sure how to take his teasing. It wasn't like he had laid any claims on her before he left. She just shook her head. "Colin showed me around the racetrack yesterday, and then the Scotch after dinner must have done me in."

"Colin?" he said abruptly. "I thought you didn't like Colin." For a split second, his face seemed to darken.

"Is he actually jealous?" wondered Jane. She sputtered confusedly, "I don't . . . I mean, I do . . . I mean . . . I didn't like him, but he wasn't at all ill-mannered like he usually is. He was quite tolerable yesterday." She wasn't sure why, but she felt like she had just been caught cheating!

"I suppose he can act civilized when he wants to," George curtly responded before changing the subject. "Well, I come bearing good news. We are not going to suffer through any more etiquette or dance lessons this weekend, thank God!"

Jane then realized that she had slept right through the ten o'clock start time for the lessons. "Oh, thank goodness! But why is that?" she asked, wondering what could possibly have caused her mother to cancel. It was highly unusual for Mrs. Bennett to miss out on any opportunity to display her knowledge, no matter if the audience was there willingly or not.

George continued, now back to his spirited self again, "Well, the daft lady went into the most theatrical of hysterics when she found out that the Burkes had decided to stay in London for a few days instead of coming here today. You remember Ann Burke? I introduced you to her at Benny's big soiree back in Boston."

Jane nodded. Who could forget a woman who just oozed a sultry magnetism? Jane had to admit that her green horns reared up just slightly at the time until George explained that he had known Ann since they were babies and that she was like a sister. But he didn't really owe any kind of explanation to her back then. Just as it was now, there was no definitive courtship between them.

"Apparently, Mrs. Bennett needs to take their measurements today or else her dressmakers won't be able to get their wedding attire done in time. Then, she had the impertinence to list all her grievances about the 'impossible' demands that were put upon her for this wedding!" George gave a haughty laugh. "I think she forgets who is working for whom!"

There was nothing that George just said about her mother that Jane disagreed with. It was exactly what she would have said and had said hundreds of times about Mrs. Bennett's behavior, but it hit on some nerve that she didn't know existed. It actually rankled her a bit to hear him talk disparagingly about her mother.

"Poor Darcie then became so distressed that it took Lucas, me, and the whole wedding party several minutes to calm her down. She was breathing so rapidly that one of the staffers ran and put a paper bag over her mouth, which then caused Lucas to throw a punch at the staffer before one of his mates explained to him how it was to help not hurt Darcie. Needless to say, Colin will not be happy about this next lawsuit. But for once, it's not my fault."

At this point, Jane had to sit down. She was starting to hyperventilate as well. George walked around the small living room area as he told his story, examining the artwork and lifting up objects and looking at them as if he had never seen the items in this cottage before. "Apparently, Colin had pulled Mrs. Bennett aside while all this was going on. When they returned--to find a staffer on the floor with a bloody nose, four men holding back a raging Lucas, Darcie with a bag stuffed over her mouth--you can imagine Colin's reaction. And let's just say that it wasn't 'tolerable'."

Jane let out a weak laugh, "So, what happened next? It couldn't have gotten any worse, right? Ha ha?" It wasn't a rhetorical question for Jane. She really wanted to be assured that the worst was over. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

"No, things finally got better after Colin laid out the plan to take Mr. and Mrs. Bennett with him to London today to meet with the Burkes. He has to be in Town anyway on Monday for a meeting so driving down a day earlier would be no trouble for him. Mrs. Bennett didn't seem too happy with this arrangement, but Colin must have told her in no uncertain terms to bite her lip because for once she was silent."

Again, there was a slight twinge in her brain at hearing her mother talked of in this fashion. Was it because she was actually sorry to see her mother being ridiculed or was it because she felt herself being vicariously ridiculed? She would have to talk with her therapist about this, but more pressing worries crowded her mind. Her mother and father would be in the car with Colin for several hours! Nothing good could possibly come of this. If Colin didn't end up actually strangling them both, he would surely come away with murderous thoughts. And God forbid that Mrs. Bennett got carried away by all the excitement as she was prone to do and revealed their deception! There was nothing Jane could do now except pray that her mother could keep herself together for a few hours.

"So, we are left to our own devices this weekend," George was saying. "Darcie wants to go to the Lake District for a relaxing girls' weekend. She was trying to get a hold of you to invite you to come along. We boys will be doing some shooting and fishing." Then, with the winking again, he added, "If you're into that, you're welcome to come with us instead."

Jane couldn't tell if George was flirting again or not. Although she felt like the dowdy housemother around the much younger Darcie and her friends, Jane felt that getting away from secluded Langbourn would be good for her. The Lakes would be packed with regular folk, and that's just what she needed.