Chapter 9 #2
“Of course I would be pleased to visit Longbourn,” Miss Bingley remarked, drawing Serena’s attention, “but Charles, I beg of you to remember that as charming as Miss Bennet is, she is still the impecunious daughter of a country gentleman.”
Mr. Bingley took a sip of coffee and turned a frowning look on his sister.
“Impecunious? What do you mean by that? The Bennet ladies are well dressed, and while I have not toured Longbourn, I have never heard that the estate is in any sort of trouble. Indeed, Miss Bennet must be the heiress of Longbourn, given that she has no brothers.”
Miss Bingley turned a triumphant look on her brother and said, “Ah, but the estate is entailed away from the female line, Charles! Most regrettable, of course, but when Mr. Bennet dies, the ladies will be turned out of their home in favor of a distant cousin!”
Serena winced. If Miss Bingley was correct, the Bennet ladies were worthy of sympathy indeed. She shuddered at the thought of being dislodged from one’s home because of an entail. Really, it enraged her to think of stupid entails!
“However did you hear all this?” Bingley demanded.
“My maid told me,” Miss Bingley said, pointing her nose skyward, “and she learned it from Mrs. Nicholls herself. The first Mrs. Bennet was a mere solicitor’s daughter, you know.
She was apparently very beautiful but not particularly intelligent.
As for the current Mrs. Bennet, she arrived here in Meryton some twenty-odd years ago, great with child, claiming to be a widow! ”
Bingley frowned. “And is there suspicion she was not, in fact, a widow?”
“Oh, everyone appears to have accepted the story,” Miss Bingley said as she stood up and walked over to fetch another muffin from the buffet, “but no one seems to know exactly who she is, where she came from, nor who her people are. So you must see, Charles, that none of the Bennet ladies are worthy brides for a gentleman seeking to rise in Society. They are the most pleasant ladies in the area, of course, but I beg you not to allow your head to be turned by a pretty face.”
The door opened at this juncture to reveal Serena’s brother, his countenance flushed from exercise.
“Good morning,” the master of Pemberley said to those gathered, and the others responded, “Good morning!”
Serena smiled at her brother. “Did you go for a ride?”
“I did and thoroughly enjoyed the exercise. So far, it seems a fair day.”
“Mr. Bingley and Miss Bingley were just talking about visiting Longbourn this morning,” Serena said. “Would you care to accompany us there?”
Fitzwilliam nodded and said, “Yes, I would like to go. What of you, Georgiana, do you wish to visit the Bennets?”
The shyest Darcy sibling ducked her head and said, in a soft voice, “If you do not mind, Brother, I would prefer to stay at home and practice the pianoforte. Mr. Calthrop, the local music master, is coming tomorrow to give me a lesson, and I aspire to be ready.”
Serena was quite certain that Mr. Calthrop would be most impressed with Georgiana’s skills on the pianoforte without practice, but Georgiana was hesitant in company.
“Of course,” Fitzwilliam said with a smile.
***
Drawing Room
Longbourn
A Little After Noon
The drawing room at Longbourn was filled with noise and chatter and confusion of the merriest sort.
The news that Jane and Elizabeth were to have a Season had taken the family by storm, and the fashion-minded Lydia and Kitty had not once ceased speaking of the prospect except to sleep.
Mary was more reticent on the subject, congratulating her elder sisters and leaving it at that.
At eighteen, she could with perfect propriety also enjoy a Season, and Elizabeth had suggested precisely that.
Mary had visibly been touched as she thanked her elder sister, but she had declined the invitation. The glitter and bustle of London did not appeal to her at this stage, at least. She was content in quiet Meryton.
Elizabeth understood entirely, and in some ways, she agreed with this viewpoint.
It was strange to think of leaving her placid and bucolic life for urban hustle and the dubious charms of a society to which she belonged by birth but had never experienced.
It still staggered her any time she thought of it, to know that one of the grandfathers she had not ever met had been a viscount, while the other, her paternal grandfather, was a man of trade who had been fabulously wealthy and had bestowed a vast fortune on his grandchild.
It was peculiar and worrisome to think that she might be pursued in London by gentlemen wishing to take advantage of her connections and fortune.
As uncertain as she still was on her mother's pointed silence regarding her true circumstances, Elizabeth could only be grateful for her parents' care of her future and happiness.
They had protected her not only from her spendthrift maternal grandfather, but from others who might seek to wed her before she took control of her own fortune.
She would need to be on guard against fortune hunters and social climbers next spring, but Elizabeth contemplated the upcoming Season with excitement.
She had always relished the Meryton assemblies, and Mrs. Bennet had raised her daughters with gentility enough that Elizabeth did not fear committing the sort of faux pas that could destroy a girl's reputation.
For all she knew, she would greatly enjoy the swirl of parties and soirees and balls and dinners and the fashionable indulgence of many different fine gowns and jewelry.
It seemed likely that such plans and daydreams would carry the Bennet girls through the long, cold days of the approaching winter.
It was only October, and the Season would not arrive to brighten London's doors and ballrooms for some six months.
Judging from the way the two youngest Misses Bennet were carrying on, Elizabeth was confident that the subject of the upcoming festivities would provide endless conversation at Longbourn.
Even now, Lydia and Kitty were bent together over all the most recent copies of the Ladies' Monthly Magazine, excitedly pointing out fashion plates to one another.
Miss Trent sat nearby their settee, plying her needle in a bit of linen in her lap and keeping an indulgent eye on her two young charges.
Jane, on the couch beside the fire, seemed nearly as excited as her younger sisters, her eyes sparkling as she spoke at length of such necessities as hats and gowns and ribbons.
Mrs. Bennet alone was a trifle reserved as she made lists of all Jane said, her smile just a tad strained.
Elizabeth could understand why and appreciated her mother's caution, but her sisters' excitement was contagious.
The door to the drawing room opened to reveal the butler, who entered and announced, “Miss Darcy, Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Bingley.”
Elizabeth rose to her feet along with her mother and sisters and governess, and she curtseyed before considering the group with interest. The two gentlemen were dressed in country attire, with buckskin breeches, woolen frock coats, and shining top boots, while Miss Darcy was sensibly attired in a warm dress with a woolen shawl over her shoulders.
In contrast, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst looked rather overdressed, in silken gowns, with plumed hats, and with fur stoles over their shoulders.
“Please, do sit down,” Mrs. Bennet said, “and I will send for tea.”
Mr. Bingley quickly took a seat next to Jane, with the others moving more slowly, while Mrs. Bennet hurried out the door to speak to a maid about refreshments.
Miss Bingley cast her stable stole over her chair, sat down and said, “You must allow me to congratulate you on your home, Misses Bennet. Such a charming, cozy house, is it not?”
Longbourn was the second largest house in the neighborhood, though smaller than Netherfield Hall, and thus the word “cozy” seemed an odd one.
“Thank you, Miss Bingley,” Jane said serenely. “We love Longbourn.”
“Indeed,” Miss Darcy said, “it seems a most excellent house, well-built, and the trees surrounding it are so beautiful at this time of year.”
Elizabeth turned a smiling look on the young lady. “I adore autumn because of the colors of the trees. Our maples, in particular, have such lovely golden leaves.”
Mrs. Hurst leaned forward and said, in a sympathetic tone, “I understand from Mrs. Nicholls that Longbourn is entailed away from the female line. That must be challenging.”
Elizabeth tightened her lips. It was true that the entail was difficult, but there was a strange tone in Mrs. Hurst’s voice, and she suspected that their guest’s sympathy was spurious.
The door opened again to reveal Mrs. Bennet, who hurried over to pick up the various papers on a nearby table, which she carefully placed in a convenient drawer in the desk. She then took a seat next to Mary and said, “My apologies for the disarray, please. Tea will be here shortly.”
“Oh, it is quite all right, I assure you,” Miss Bingley said. “Are you perhaps planning for next week’s meals? It is certainly a task, is it not, especially when one has a large family and it is important to be frugal!”
Elizabeth turned a frowning look on their guest. It seemed that Miss Bingley wished to point out, very openly, that the Bennets were relatively poor.
To her surprise, it was Mary who responded.
“Actually,” she declared, “we have just been discussing the upcoming Season in London. Jane and Elizabeth are being launched into Society next April, and naturally a great many gowns need to be purchased, and slippers, and hats, and the like.”
Mr. Bingley had been sitting quietly, his rapturous gaze on Jane’s lovely face, but this provoked a look of surprise.
“You are intending to go to London next spring?” he asked.
Jane turned and bestowed a glorious smile on him. “We are, yes. I am looking forward to it so much. I have been to London more than once, naturally, but am greatly anticipating having a Season! All those balls, and assemblies, and surely, trips to plays and the like. I am very excited!”
“You are entering Society next year?” Miss Darcy cried out. “So am I!”
Elizabeth turned a cheerful look on the younger woman. “I am delighted to hear it, Miss Darcy. Are you looking forward to it?”
The girl compressed her lips and then said, “I suppose. It will all be very new, of course. Moreover, I am aware that I am rather too tall, and fear that many a gentleman will be so intimidated by my height that they will not ask me to dance.”
“Nonsense, Miss Darcy!” Miss Bingley exclaimed. “You are such a wonderful young lady, and any gentleman with sense would be honored to stand up next to you. Moreover, given your connections and fortune, well! I am certain you will be one of the belles of the Season!”
“Indeed, Caroline is entirely correct,” Mrs. Hurst said confidently. “You are, after all, a scion of the Darcy family, and the niece of an earl.”
The woman turned a limpid gaze on Jane now and continued, “I have no doubt that you will have a truly wonderful time in London, though I hope… that is, I fear that in order to be completely accepted by the haut ton, it is necessary to have some useful connections. But perhaps we can help you in some way. It would be our honor to assist such good friends, certainly!”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, straightening her back and producing a sugary smile, “but I hardly think that will be necessary. My mother is the only daughter of the late Viscount Langdon, and her cousin is the fifth Viscount. I am confident we will find ourselves with invitations aplenty.”
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley openly gaped at these words, but before anyone else could speak, the door opened to reveal Mr. Bennet along with two maids carrying a tea tray.
Mrs. Bennet rose to her feet and introduced her husband to their guests, whereupon Mr. Bennet said, “Miss Darcy, Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley, Mr. Darcy, it is a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Darcy, my Lizzy informs me that you are fond of books. Would you be interested in visiting my library?”
Darcy, who had been listening to the conversation with growing astonishment, was on his feet instantly. “I would like that very much, sir. Thank you.”
“And the rest of us can enjoy some tea,” Mrs. Bennet said.