Chapter 15
Darcy paced inside his study, “I cannot believe you invited Miss Bennet to visit without consulting me first.” He railed at his mother.
Lady Anne frowned, “I was not aware I needed your permission to invite a friend, one who will mainly be company to me and Georgiana. You need not concern yourself with Miss Bennet if she offends you that much.”
He bristled, “of course she does not offend me. It is just…”
Lady Anne waited patiently and when he did not finish the sentence, she asked, “It is just what William? What are you afraid of?”
He turned abruptly to his mother, “I am not afraid of anything, Mother. I do not know what you have concocted in your head but Miss Bennet is not a threat to me in any way, shape or form.”
“I never thought she was,” the lady said innocently, “To be honest I only meant to give the lovely young woman a respite from her silly sisters, now that the eldest Miss Bennet will be mainly occupied with Mr Bingley.”
“I beg your pardon? What do you mean?” Darcy asked, confused.
“Do you not know? I thought Bingley was your closest friend?”
“What is it I do not know?” Darcy asked; his features closed with mistrust.
“Mr Bingley has returned to Hertfordshire.” She watched her son’s reaction closely, “he discovered that he understood Miss Jane Bennet’s heart better than anybody else and followed his own counsel.”
“His own counsel...” Darcy harrumphed, “Bingley knows his own heart as much as our noble Prince Regent knows how to run a country.”
“You know William, I always knew you were proud, but I never realised how arrogant you had become.”
Darcy did not answer.
“For your information,” his mother continued, “despite your attempt to redirect him into your way of thinking, Mr Bingley had the good sense to seek counsel from more than just Miss Bingley and yourself.” She glared at him.
“He has returned to Hertfordshire and he is happy that the woman whom he almost abandoned forgave him and is in as much love with him as he is with her.”
Darcy shook his head, “I hope you are right, Mother, since Bingley deserves a woman who truly loves him for who he is, rather than for what he has. I did what I did for his own benefit.”
“What gave you the right to decide based upon your judgement alone, to determine in what manner your friend was to be happy?”
“I just believed it would be a most imprudent marriage.”
“Upon what grounds, William?”
“I determined that there were some very strong objections against the lady. I believed her mother pushed her towards him but her heart was not touched. She would marry him for his fortune but not his love.”
“What on earth could lead you to believe that the two eldest Miss Bennets would act in such way? What makes you think that they are fortune hunters? They are amongst the loveliest young ladies I have met in a very long time. I think you are spending too much time with Miss Bingley son, to confuse every other young lady with that termagant social climber.”
Darcy shivered, “no, you are mistaken, Mother. Miss Bingley has nothing to do with my opinion of the Bennets.” He sat on the edge of his desk facing his mother, “I know they are genteel; however their inferiority, their close connection to trade which, though objectionable would be nothing in comparison to that total want of propriety so frequently, almost uniformly betrayed by the mother, by her youngest daughters and even, occasionally the father.”
“I know Miss Bennet’s youngest sisters and even her mother do lack propriety sometimes, but the girls are still young. And I know Mrs Bennet is lately making an effort to curb their enthusiasm.”
“I commend her for trying. I hope it is not too late.”
“As for that, all I can say is that I only wish that my parents had done the same for Catherine. Yet I have never heard you disparage her for her lack of propriety nor her consistent head hunting of yourself on behalf of her daughter.”
Darcy sighed, knowing she had caught him in a blunt act of hypocrisy.
“And as for their connections to trade,” she continued, “do not forget that the Bingleys themselves are just one generation removed from it. Again, I do not remember your condemnation of them because of it.”
Darcy sighed with a shrug, “very well, Mother, you win. Have it your way and have Miss Bennet stay for as long as you like. You will have no more opposition from me.”
Lady Anne laughed, “thank you, William, but I hope you realise whether you approved it or not, it would have made no difference to Georgiana and I.”
Darcy kissed her forehead, “I know… unfortunately.”
“So, be down to dinner on your best behaviour and welcome Miss Bennet into our home. I will be watching you, young man.” His mother kissed him back affectionately.
“That I also know.” He smiled.
As Lady Anne vacated her son’s study she stopped by the door and muttered, “The boy doth protest too much, methinks.” She laughed.
***
Elizabeth was aware that her wardrobe was not up to par, with respect to the expectations of the Ton.
Her father had given her a little money but she suspected it would go no further than paying for a single day-dress.
Gowns for balls and dinner parties would be an extravagance she could not afford.
So she decided that the best she could do was to visit her Aunt Gardiner and ask her if she had any possible dress that could be modified to fit her.
If not, she could always swallow her pride and ask Lady Anne and Georgiana if they had any throwaway dresses they would be willing to part with for her benefit.
So for her first dinner at Darcy House she chose a simple dress, perhaps better than most from her meagre wardrobe, but nothing like the one she had worn for the Netherfield Ball.
When she entered the drawing room she realised that she need not be nervous, for both Georgiana and Lady Anne were nothing but discreet with their fashion.
Elizabeth almost laughed out loud; she supposed she was expecting the Darcy ladies to be like Caroline Bingley with her hideous orange gowns, turbans and peacock feathers.
However, when Mr Darcy entered, her breath hitched.
She remembered she had found him very attractive during that first time in the Meryton assembly, until he ruined everything by opening his mouth to insult her.
He wore a striped dark green satin waistcoat, under a black jacket with buttons encased in the same material as the waistcoat, the ensemble completed by black trousers.
He was very handsome!
She schooled her expression and plastered a smile onto her face as he approached her and bowed.
“Miss Bennet what a pleasure to see you again.”
“I thank you, sir. Trust me, the pleasure is all mine as this will be my first season in London.”
He smiled and his dimples came out in full glory, “It shall afford us equal pleasure Miss Bennet, for my mother and sister will undoubtedly delight in dressing you and cosseting you as if you were their own little doll. Therefore I trust you possess a tolerance for a copious excess of shopping?”
Elizabeth paled, “oh…”
Lady Anne noticed Elizabeth’s discomfort and immediately intervened, “shall we go into dinner? I hope you enjoy French cuisine, Miss Bennet, for our cook is exceedingly eager to try some newly acquired culinary skills on any subject who happens to grace our table.”
Elizabeth laughed, “I scarcely know whether I ought to thank him when my gowns must soon be let out to accommodate the consequence of his excellence in the kitchen.”
Georgiana giggled, “I do not think that will happen to you, Miss Elizabeth, for you are just too pretty for that.”
Elizabeth blushed, “oh Miss Darcy, if I do not perish from an excess of food, I shall certainly expire from vanity, my ego so exceedingly inflated by your compliments.”
Darcy offered his arm to Elizabeth and they walked into the dining room.
Elizabeth could not help but compare the extravagance of Miss Bingley’s Netherfield table, which could have easily accommodated at least thirty diners, with this incredible, delightful and elegant small table set for four people only.
It was round, facilitating ready conversation which flowed just as easily as the wine.
Elizabeth was amazed at how relaxed Mr Darcy seemed to be in his natural element.
He joked with both his mother and sister and made both of them laugh.
It was a part of his character she had never seen in Hertfordshire.
Finally he turned to her and asked how things were at home, “I hope your family is in good health, Miss Bennet? How is Hertfordshire? And how is Bingley getting on? I mean without any of us there to prevent him moving lock stock and barrel to Longbourn?”
She smiled knowingly, “my family is very well sir, I thank you. As for Mr Bingley, he is certainly a lot freer with his time, spending a considerable amount of his days at Longbourn.”
“Dear Mr Bingley,” Lady Anne said, “I have no idea how two people sharing the same blood could be as different as his sister and himself.”
Elizabeth sighed, “Yes, indeed they are two extremes. One is eager to please, the other eager to offend and often goes out of her way to do so.”
“Out of her way? I hope she has not hurt you and your family, Miss Bennet?” Darcy said worried.
“She did try. I am afraid she wrote a very upsetting letter to Jane when your party left Netherfield.”
“Really?” Lady Anne asked, “Did she not visit to take her leave? What did she say?”
“No she did not visit. But she wrote that Mr Bingley had requested her and the rest of the family to follow him into town and she added, not very discreetly, that he was courting you, Miss Darcy. Moreover she explicitly wrote that both families were looking forward to the connection.”
Georgiana choked on her wine, getting bright red as her mother tapped her on the back gently until she recomposed herself.
“I beg your pardon?” Georgiana asked after coughing for a few uncomfortable moments, “What could possibly induce Miss Bingley to say something like that... and about me and her brother?” She looked at her mother in consternation, “I assure you, Mama, I never looked at Mr Bingley in that way.”
“Of course you have not, my dear; how absurd!”
Darcy shook his head, his handsome face losing all its recent merriment.
“This is very serious. Georgiana is not even out yet. If such rumours made their way to the Ton, it would ruin her reputation even before her debut into society. It would be a scandal for the worst gossips to feed upon all season.”
“Miss Bennet,” Lady Anne asked, “could you please request your sister to send us this letter? I think I shall pay Miss Bingley a little visit.”
“Shall I leave this entirely in your hands Mother,” Darcy's face was wooden “or should I approach Bingley as well?”
“I will deal with Caroline Bingley first, but maybe in a few days you could write to Mr Bingley so he knows what his sister is up to. I would hate for him to be left in the dark. After all, you never know what she will invent next.”
Darcy nodded looking thunderous, his mind suggesting all kinds of plots, subterfuges and tricks.
Elizabeth felt as if she had ruined a perfectly delightful dinner; “Lady Anne, Miss Darcy, Mr Darcy, please accept my apologies for bringing this unfortunate situation to your attention. I should not have mentioned it for it is an obvious falsehood and Mr Bingley seems to dote on my sister. Please forgive me.”
Lady Anne patted her hand affectionately, “do not concern yourself, Miss Bennet, you did nothing wrong. If a friend of yours said untrue things about you to me, I would most certainly make sure you heard about it. The salient point here is that Miss Bingley is no friend of ours and it is about time she was reminded of that.”
Darcy nodded his agreement, “if you write to your sister tonight, I will send my express rider with it in the morning. We should have the letter before the end of the day.”
“Oh, is that Tim?” Elizabeth asked curiously.
Darcy frowned, “yes, Tim Brown. How do you know my express rider?”
Elizabeth smiled mischievously, “well, I do not but he seems to have left a very positive impression on our upstairs maid, Rosie.”
“Oh how romantic,” Georgiana exclaimed obviously having already forgotten her discomfort of mere minutes before. “Have they fallen in love?”
Elizabeth laughed, “I do not know about him but she certainly has. She even asked me to bring her to town to find work here to try her chances with him.”
“Oh Mama,” cried Georgiana, “We should send for her so she can attend Miss Elizabeth here.”
“Well if Miss Bennet endorses it, we can certainly send the carriage to bring her to town.” Lady Anne said, looking at Elizabeth for her nod of approval.
“I am sure Rosie would love nothing better, but unfortunately she is not my personal maid. She attends to all of us and Mama would not part with her that easily.”
Lady Anne looked slightly embarrassed for suggesting it, “but of course.” She then sipped her wine while Elizabeth and Georgiana innocently plotted different ways to bring the two young lovers together.
While his sister giggled with Miss Elizabeth, Darcy kept his eyes trained on the young Hertfordshire lady, finding her even more beautiful than he remembered. Her fine eyes and joyful energy seemed to draw him in.
As they moved to the drawing room Georgiana and Elizabeth started some casual playing on the pianoforte. Every mistake they made caused them to laugh rather than frown.
Lady Anne approached her son as he nursed a glass of port while pretending not to stare at the duo playing the instrument.
She whispered, “Do you still think it was a mistake bringing Miss Elizabeth to spend time here?”
“No!” He responded without thinking, “Obviously Georgie loves her and she seems very good for her.”
“Obviously Georgiana is not the only one who loves her.”
He turned abruptly to his mother, “what do you mean?”
His mother frowned, “I love her.” She said and hid her smile behind her glass of sherry.
“Ah… of course,” Darcy quickly got up and excused himself, saying he had some letters to complete.
The ladies remained in the drawing room for another hour playing the pianoforte and talking about everything they planned to do during the season. They then retired to their bedchambers and enjoyed a full night of undisturbed sleep.