His Good Opinion: A Mr. Darcy Novel (45 page)

Hoping to forget the jarring of the rented carriage and her circumstances in general, Caroline forced her attention out the window. Only now, she looked ahead toward her destination, her future. Yes, even in winter's gray gloom, the countryside was quite lovely--rolling hills and all that--and had she been in the right company she might have said something poetic about the picturesque landscape of the Lake District. But the dozing Rosemary was hardly proper company, so Caroline remained silent, finally finding consolation two hours later when the coach crossed the arched stone bridge into Kendal and then bumped its way into the drive of the final posting inn.

Feeling quite bruised all over, Caroline pulled the robe from beneath her, attempted to smooth the wrinkles, and folded it into a neat square. She touched her hair, knowing it must look a fright, and adjusted her bonnet to hide the greater part of the damage.

As they drew closer to the inn, Caroline felt her heart leap a bit in her chest at the prospect of seeing her dear mother again.

Her mother, Elthea Knowles Bingley--now Elthea Knowles Bingley Newton--was the very best of women, always kind, generous, and self-effacing. If the meek were to inherit the earth, as the Scriptures said, her mother would certainly be a beneficiary. She was ever thinking of others above herself, a trait of which Caroline could not quite approve.

The post chaise pulled in front of the inn at Kendal, and Caroline spied her mother and Mr. Augustus Newton, her husband, awaiting them at the window. Her mother waved and then disappeared from view, likely rushing heedlessly to greet her in the stable yard instead of remaining inside and out of the cold and mud.

The postilion halted the team, and the horses sighed at the pleasure of resting. Caroline decided that was as good a sign as any that it was time to awaken Rosemary from her slumber. She issued her a gentle nudge to the shin. Her companion's eyes fluttered open, and she scowled as she reached down to rub her leg. "Can I be of assistance, Miss Bingley?"

"
We have reached our destination."

"
And that required a kick to the shin?" Rosemary asked with narrowed eyes. "Mr. Bingley is not paying me enough to be kicked."

Impertinent woman!

"
Do not be dramatic. I am wearing slippers, not boots, and it was only a nudge to rouse you from slumber."

Rosemary mumbled something under her breath and then glanced outside. Then, she said, "Oh, it is lovely. In the face of such a lovely place, I have found it in my heart to forgive you."

Caroline was on the verge of telling her that she was looking at nothing but another dreadful posting inn, and more, she had not begged her forgiveness, but the postboy opened the coach door and assisted her out of the conveyance and into her mother's arms.

"
Oh, Caro!" Mrs. Newton whispered as she wrapped her pudgy arms around her daughter and held her close. "How pleased I am to have you here."

Caroline was briefly inundated by feelings of so tender and unfamiliar a nature that she could not name them. She inhaled deeply of her mother's scent, and tears welled once more in her eyes. She closed them tightly and willed herself to keep her rampant emotions in check.

She was not generally prone to so many displays of feeling in such a short time. Nor was she often compelled to share every tribulation and fear she experienced, but she was tempted to do so now as she rested in the comforts of her mother's embrace.

Caroline steeled herself against these emotions, for she simply could not tell her mother the humiliating truth of what had occurred.

* * *

Click
here
to purchase the Kindle edition and continue reading
Caroline Bingley: A Continuation of Jane Austen's
Pride and Prejudice by Jennifer Becton.