Chapter 2
The company did not gather together again until it was time for dinner.
When the Darcys entered, arm in arm, followed by Georgiana, who had been hiding in her room to avoid Caroline Bingley’s oppressive pretensions of affection, the Bingleys had already arrived.
Caroline immediately popped to her feet and rushed to greet Darcy and his sister.
Georgiana nodded at the woman and made her way to Jane’s side.
The older woman’s sweet serenity had immediately endeared them to one another and Georgiana’s shy attempts at friendship had drawn Jane in return.
They had begun a correspondence after the double wedding and Georgiana was pleased to see her friend once more.
“Well,” Caroline huffed at the girl’s abandonment before turning her sights back to her real quarry. She reached for his arm as she simpered, “Come, tell us about your time in Derbyshire, my dear Darcy.”
Darcy looked down at his arm as she attempted to worm her hand through his elbow which he held tight to his body with his hand on Elizabeth’s on the arm opposite. “I am assisting my wife, as you can see, Miss Bingley.”
“She can sit beside Jane. I am sure someone of her… girth would be much more comfortable on the sofa, and we may have a comfortable coze. It has been ages since we were together. I quite despaired to discover that you were forced to forgo the season.”
“Clearly you do not understand my husband’s preferences,” Elizabeth laughed gaily. “There was no forcing going on. If I did not lever him from the house periodically to attend to the trout, he would never leave it.”
Realizing her error, Caroline returned a toothy smile, “Any who is lucky enough to be at home in such a great estate should never wish to leave it, of course. I know that I feel the same way whenever we depart. With such inducements as these, and of course Darcy’s company, there is no place I should ever prefer to be. ”
Darcy hummed noncommittally and smiled down at his wife who refused to sit with a contrary look and a wink.
Miss Bingley finally gave up and went to sit by Jane where she attempted to insert herself into Georgiana’s conversation with only middling success.
When Mr. Forbush, the butler, appeared to announce dinner, Caroline once again flew to Darcy’s side and reached for his arm.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth at such blatant disrespect to her sister, as the higher-ranking lady, but she did not have to correct her for Darcy did so himself.
“If you will excuse me, Miss Bingley, I need to retrieve Jane so that we might go in to dinner.” He smiled blandly as he shook her off and bowed before Jane. “If you could see Georgiana in, Bingley, I would appreciate it. Elizabeth prefers my arm these days.”
“Of course!” Bingley exclaimed, bowing flamboyantly before the young girl earning a shy smile.
Rather than accept her place as a single woman of little standing, Caroline demanded her brother’s other arm with ill-grace and followed the others from the room.
They entered the small family dining room and Darcy seated his wife at his left and Jane at his right at the small round table.
Georgiana accepted the seat beside Elizabeth while a sour-faced Caroline hurried to the seat beside Jane leaving Bingley to take the last seat between his sister and Georgiana.
“Isn’t this cozy,” Bingley beamed. “It reminds me of family dinners growing up in Scarborough. We did not have separate dining and breakfast rooms until my father’s business began doing well and—”
“No one wants to hear about that!” Caroline screeched, mortified that he would mention their father’s occupation in company.
“Everyone knows we are children of a tradesman, Caroline,” Bingley rolled his eyes. “You are the only one who seems to forget it. My father worked hard to give his children the life that we live, we ought to honor him for it.”
Jane smiled happily at her husband, pleased to see such strength of purpose which was so rarely shown. “I am certainly grateful that he raised such a wonderful man.”
Bingley beamed at her and tucked into his soup.
“I see that Miss Eliza has the same simple tastes as her sister,” Caroline simpered. “I would be happy to train her in fine dining, as I have Jane. Growing up in the backwoods of Hertfordshire as they have, they are not used to the more refined palette of the first circles.”
“Caroline has been a big help to Jane as she learns to manage,” Bingley agreed absently. “This soup is quite delicious.”
“Learns to manage—” Elizabeth growled.
Jane gave her a pleading look from across the table.
“My sister and I were raised to manage an estate. Where exactly did Miss Bingley practice these skills?”
Bingley looked appalled as he realized suddenly how offensive his words had been to his dear wife.
He had grown so used to Caroline’s pronouncements that he did not think about how Jane might perceive his agreement.
“Jane, I— I did not mean that how it sounded. Of course you would have been trained to manage your own home. I—”
He began to babble as Caroline spoke over him. “I was trained at the most premier seminary in town.”
“To paint tables and net screens?” Elizabeth smiled sweetly.
“Certainly,” Caroline puffed up. “And to create lavish dinner parties, of course.”
“Ah,” Elizabeth smirked. “And there is the rub. This is, after all, a family dinner and—” she paused for effect “these items happen to Georgiana’s favorites and I wished for her to know how dear she is to us as she is leaving for a week or two.”
“And Georgiana’s tastes are quite similar to my own, as siblings’ often are,” Darcy remarked, humming contentedly over his soup.
Caroline blinked once as she processed her error, and being incapable of disappointing Darcy in anything, declared, “Everything is of course delicious, as everything at Pemberley always is. I too prefer a plain dish to a ragout. Your French chef is superior to every man I have ever been so fortunate as to sample.”
“Mrs. Greene is quite skilled.” Elizabeth smiled, taking a sip of her own.
“Who is Mrs. Greene?” Caroline asked.
“Why our cook, Miss Bingley.” Elizabeth fought to keep a triumphant laugh from escaping.
“You fired dear Darcy’s chef?” Caroline gasped, scandalized.
“Mrs. Greene was hired by my lady mother,” Darcy informed her.
Silence descended for a moment, the three Darcys smiling at one another while the Bingleys fought to know where to look. It had become too much of a disagreement for Jane and Bingley’s equanimity while Caroline’s vitriol had been thwarted at every turn and she refused to be mocked any further.
“Aunt Elaine is so pleased that you will be joining her, Georgie. She wrote again this morning to inform us of the time for their arrival and used up an entire page at least in her effusions.”
Caroline could not contain her displeasure. She had yet to be even introduced to the countess. “Lady Matlock allows you address her so informally?”
“My wife has become quite the favorite of her ladyship,” Darcy replied. “She often declares that she could not have chosen better for me herself.”
“And she certainly tried,” Elizabeth giggled. “I must agree with her that you were remarkably stubborn and fastidious, although I am grateful as well, for you certainly would have been snapped up well before we had the chance to meet were you not.”
Darcy lifted her hand and placed a lingering kiss on her wrist. “And what a travesty that would have been. I should still be languishing as a bachelor; unhappy and displeased with all the world.”
Caroline scoffed silently at the reminder that five years of friendship with her brother had not garnered her a second glance from the man.
“You are ideally suited to one another,” Georgiana declared, just above a whisper.
Elizabeth patted her arm encouragingly and changed the subject.
“Jane has mentioned that your lease on Netherfield is up at the end of next month, Charles. I do hope that you are considering Derbyshire when looking for an estate to purchase. I do believe that you, Miss Bingley, preferred this neighborhood to any other.”
“Yes, well…” Caroline muttered.
“Perhaps we could look around while we are here,” Bingley agreed as the second course was presented. “I have not found Netherfield to be as instructive as I had hoped. Perhaps another local would be a better fit.”
“And far away from your mother-in-law,” Caroline grumbled, soto voice.
Though offensive, Jane could hardly disagree and she looked away with a blush. Bingley was too polite to agree that some distance was desirable and asked if Darcy had heard of any possibilities.
“There are several estates for sale in the district, and I do believe that there is another just over our border with Staffordshire, though it is less than twenty miles from our estate.”
“Have you seen them?” Bingley asked, nearly vibrating with excitement. “Would any of them do for me? Do you think that they are good as far as investments go?”
Jane’s head tilted as she watched her husband nearly begging for his friend’s direction. “Spaniel.” She blurted suddenly, drawing the attention of the table.
Elizabeth immediately understood her comparison and coughed to cover a laugh. Jane blushed deeply that she had thought such a thing let alone spoke it aloud, but Elizabeth covered easily by mentioning their previous conversation and asking after the puppies.
“The puppies are Danes,” Bingley reminded her.
“You misunderstood. We were speaking of the Danes and of the various canines which we had growing up. Neither of us could remember the breed of our Grandmother Bennet’s dog until just now,” Elizabeth explained with an innocent smile.