Chapter 27
THE PATH TO NETHERFIELD held the last damp of the morning beneath the hedges, though the sky was clear and the fields shone under a pale sun. Jane lifted her skirts where the ground sank near the stile, and Elizabeth crossed behind her with Sarah at her heels.
Their mother had objected to the walk on grounds of distance, mud, rank, weather, and the waste of a carriage that stood ready in the yard.
Jane had borne the protest with patience.
Elizabeth had pointed out that the distance had not grown since Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst called at Longbourn, and Bennet had ended the dispute by asking whether Netherfield had moved during the night.
Sarah ran ahead, stopped at the next gate, and looked back.
“You know the way,” Elizabeth said.
Jane smiled. “She may think we do not.”
“To her, caution is a fault of people who cannot judge for themselves.”
Sarah waited until they came within a few yards before passing through the gate and following the track toward the house.
Jane watched her. “Do you think Miss Bingley will object?”
“To Sarah?”
“To our bringing her.”
“She will remain outside. Miss Bingley may object to the knowledge that a dog crossed her lawn, but I am sure she can survive the trial.”
Jane’s expression asked for restraint and expected none.
Their visit had a simple purpose. Caroline and Louisa had called at Longbourn, and courtesy required a return.
Elizabeth refused to reward Caroline’s courtesy with distrust, though the dinner at Longbourn had shown how little warmth stood behind it.
Jane wanted to preserve peace, while Elizabeth doubted peace could survive Caroline’s scrutiny.
The front of Netherfield came into view beyond the trees. Sarah left the path and moved toward the stable yard, drawn by the horses and the scent of straw. A groom, who knew her from earlier visits, held out a hand.
“She will give no trouble, miss,” he said. “I will take her to the tack room.”
Sarah looked at Elizabeth for leave.
“Stay,” Elizabeth said.
Sarah sat beside the groom, though her attention remained on the entrance.
Upon entering the house, they found Caroline and Louisa in the morning room, and Hurst in a chair near the fire with a newspaper spread across his waistcoat. Caroline rose with a smile that stopped before warmth had time to interfere.
“My dear Miss Bennet. Miss Eliza. What a pleasure.”
Louisa greeted them with less polish and more welcome. “You chose a fine morning for the walk.”
“The ground chose otherwise,” Elizabeth said, glancing at the hem of her gown.
Caroline’s eyes followed the glance. “Country paths do impose upon one’s clothes.”
“They ask less than London streets.”
Hurst lowered the newspaper. “London streets ask for wheels.”
“Mr. Hurst speaks from study,” Louisa said. “He has viewed most of them from a carriage window.”
Hurst considered this and returned to his paper.
Jane asked, “Is Mr. Bingley at home?”
“He and Mr. Darcy went to inspect a tenant cottage on the north edge of the estate,” Caroline replied, watching Elizabeth for a reaction.
“How useful Mr. Darcy has become,” Elizabeth said.
“He has never lacked usefulness,” Caroline said.
“No. It has lacked opportunities for display.”
Before Caroline could decide whether to take offense, Jane turned to Louisa. “Mrs. Hurst, did you enjoy Mary’s song after dinner?”
“I did. She chose a demanding piece.”
“Mary favors music that tests her skill.”
Caroline took the chair beside Jane. “Has Mrs. Long recovered from her cold?”
“I believe so.”
“And the officers remain in Meryton?”
“For the present.”
“Do the Lucases intend another evening party?”
“They have said nothing of one.”
Jane answered each question with care while Louisa watched her sister’s performance with growing fatigue. Before Caroline could begin another, the sound of wheels crossed the gravel outside.
Hurst lowered his newspaper. “Another caller.”
Caroline turned toward the window, but a servant entered before she could respond.
“Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Miss Darcy, and Miss de Bourgh.”
Caroline sprang up, tipping her workbasket against the arm of her chair. One spool rolled across the carpet.
“Lady Catherine?”
The servant confirmed the name.
Relief transformed Caroline’s face before she mastered it. Elizabeth saw rank, authority, and correction arrive in her thoughts before Lady Catherine crossed the threshold. Louisa’s mouth tightened, though she said nothing.
Hurst folded his newspaper. “Is she staying?”
“No one has said,” Louisa answered.
“No one knows enough.”
Caroline bent to recover the spool, changed her mind, and left it where it lay. “Louisa, we must receive her in the drawing room. We cannot expect Lady Catherine to sit here.”
“The chairs have not changed,” Hurst said.
Caroline ignored him and moved toward the door.
Outside, Georgiana had seen Sarah before the carriage came to a full stop. The dog sat near the stable yard with her ears raised and her gaze on the house. Georgiana knew her from Darcy’s letters before Lady Catherine’s footman opened the carriage door.
A working dog and a flock of sheep.
The phrase returned with such force that Georgiana caught her breath.
Miss Elizabeth Bennet must be inside Netherfield.
The thought brought relief and dread in equal measure.
She had wanted to meet the woman who occupied so much space in Darcy’s guarded letters, but not beneath Lady Catherine’s judgment.
Anne followed Georgiana’s gaze. “Is that the dog?”
Georgiana nodded.
Lady Catherine looked across the drive. “What dog?”
“The one my brother mentioned.”
Lady Catherine’s attention sharpened. “The girl is here.”
No one had said anything, yet the conclusion pleased her. Chance had placed the object of her journey within reach and spared her the need to seek Longbourn before dinner.
“She may have called upon Miss Bingley,” Georgiana said.
“But she is here.”
Anne rested one hand upon the carriage frame while the footman brought the step. “A call does not confer ownership.”
Lady Catherine descended without a word. Georgiana followed with Anne and Mrs. Jenkinson.
The groom beside Sarah bowed as the party crossed the drive. Sarah did not move, but her eyes followed Georgiana. The calm attention matched Darcy’s account of a dog that judged strangers before granting them trust.
Georgiana wanted to stop, but Lady Catherine’s pace left no room for it.
Caroline met them in the hall with Louisa beside her. Her welcome contained respect, surprise, and an appeal she had no right to make.
“Lady Catherine, this is an honor. We had no expectation of your arrival.”
“I sent no notice.”
“Mr. Darcy and my brother have gone out, but they should return before long.”
Lady Catherine gave the hall a survey. “Darcy has left you to receive callers without him.”
Caroline heard support in the remark and brightened. “We do what we can.”
Louisa greeted Georgiana and Anne before asking after the journey. Georgiana answered while Lady Catherine removed her gloves finger by finger.
“Who is with you?” Lady Catherine asked.
Caroline paused. “Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth Bennet called.”
Lady Catherine looked past her toward the open drawing-room door. “We need not wait for an introduction.”
The words stripped Caroline’s relief of some part of its pleasure. She had expected Lady Catherine to correct the disorder, but she had not expected the correction to begin under her roof while Darcy was absent.
Louisa led the way into the drawing room.
Jane and Elizabeth had risen. Elizabeth knew Lady Catherine from description before Caroline spoke her name.
Height, command, and offense stood together in a face that seemed formed for judgment.
Beside her stood a young woman Elizabeth took for Miss Darcy, pale with embarrassment but determined to meet her eyes.
Anne de Bourgh entered behind them with Mrs. Jenkinson at her shoulder.
At Caroline’s introductions, Lady Catherine acknowledged Jane before fixing her gaze upon Elizabeth.
“So you are Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
“I am.”
“You appear at ease in this house.”
Elizabeth glanced at Caroline. “She invited me to sit down.”
Hurst made a sound behind his newspaper, which Louisa turned into a cough by asking whether Lady Catherine wished for tea.
“No. We stopped at an inn.”
Caroline moved to the chair nearest Lady Catherine. “Miss Eliza and her sister came to return our call. We see a great deal of the Bennet family in Hertfordshire.”
“I have heard as much,” Lady Catherine said.
Georgiana wished the carpet would open beneath her, yet curiosity held her attention on Elizabeth.
Darcy had written of wit, spirit, loyalty, and a refusal to grant him the advantages he expected.
The woman before her looked less formidable than the letters had suggested.
Mud marked the edge of her gown and a loose curl had escaped near one temple.
Her expression held no fear, though she must know Lady Catherine was not there to offer friendship.
Elizabeth turned to Georgiana. “I hope your journey was comfortable, Miss Darcy.”
“It was, thank you.”
“Your brother did not expect you.”
“No.” Georgiana met Lady Catherine’s gaze before returning to Elizabeth. “None of us sent word.”
Lady Catherine sat. “We wished to see matters as they stand.”
Jane looked from Lady Catherine to Caroline. “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong?” Caroline said. “No, dear Jane. Lady Catherine has a strong interest in her nephew’s welfare.”
“His welfare brought you from Kent?” Elizabeth asked.
Lady Catherine rested both hands upon the head of her cane. “Family duty does not observe distance.”
“Nor invitation, it seems,” Hurst said.
Louisa closed her eyes.
Lady Catherine turned toward him. “You are Mr. Hurst.”
“I have been all morning.”
Caroline’s face tightened. “Mr. Hurst has a taste for humor.”
“No,” Hurst said. “I have a taste for peace.”
“You should know when silence serves it,” Lady Catherine replied.
Hurst opened his newspaper.