Chapter 5
Dinner went well, as far as Darcy was concerned: he overcame the biggest obstacle of the evening, which was revealing that the Bingleys would be arriving, and that he desired for Elizabeth to be introduced to his sister.
Georgiana might be curious why Darcy would show this lady he's never seen before so much attention, but he knew it might soon be apparent.
He knew his sister often wished for him to marry; many a time has she sighed and mentioned how she desperately yearned for the day she might have a sister of her own.
Well, Georgiana might soon receive just that, after all this time.
He grimaced to think about his cousin, Anne de Bourgh—Lady Catherine always has nurtured a desire for the two of them to marry, but he'd never taken it seriously.
However, the fact that Anne had never been to Town for a season, and was nearing age seven-and-twenty, was cause for some alarm to Darcy.
Perhaps Lady Catherine really did desire him to marry her daughter.
Well, after yesterday, she was bound to be disappointed—
There was only one lady Darcy would now consider for marriage, and her name was Elizabeth Bennet.
He stood out of doors and watched the carriage arrive, noticing Bingley was riding aside on horseback.
"Hallo!" his cheery friend called out to him, grinning brightly. "Pemberley looks just as grand as I remember!"
Darcy couldn't help but smile—Bingley was possibly the happiest friend he could have, even if lately his brightness seemed slightly marred, ever since returning from Hertfordshire.
Darcy knew he was still crushed from having to leave Miss Jane Bennet, and now that Darcy had met Elizabeth for himself, everything Miss Bingley wrote him had come into question.
Were the Bennets even as hoydenish and wild as she had claimed?
Elizabeth didn't seem so.
And what about Miss Jane Bennet's lack of affection toward his friend?
Was that true, or did Miss Bingley fabricate that, too?
Darcy briefly contemplated how quickly they had returned to London, immediately inserting themselves into company with him and his sister.
It was no secret that Bingley's sisters desired for something of a match between Georgiana and Bingley, but Darcy had always shrugged off such a scheme, knowing full and well that Bingley had nothing but brotherly affection toward Georgiana.
But were his sisters still so ambitious?
Mrs. Hurst seemed less preoccupied—rather, it was Miss Bingley who might dare to dream of establishing such connections with the Darcy name. His stomach churned to consider it—
He was possibly all wrong about the Bennets when he advised Bingley away from Hertfordshire last autumn.
"Greetings," he said to his friend as he dismounted from his horse, "Welcome back."
"I truly wish you hadn't gone off and left us yesterday," Bingley said. "Leaving poor Miss Darcy to my sisters, why, that was not very brotherly of you!"
He was teasing, but his smile didn't quite meet his eyes, as was the case more often these days with Bingley.
"I'm sure my sister was left in very good hands, with you, my friend."
They chatted for another moment as they helped the ladies out of the carriage, with a dozing Mr. Hurst finally snorting awake, lazily climbing out and then handing out his wife.
As they all ascended the steps to Pemberley, Miss Bingley droned on and on with her usual praise of the estate, how happy she was to be back, so on and so forth, until Darcy finally addressed them all inside.
"I am pleased to announce some guests will be arriving soon to join our house party for the day," he said, catching everyone's eager attention. Georgiana looked intrigued, Miss Bingley looked slightly affronted, while Bingley merely looked curious.
"Guests? Why, who else has sojourned all the way to Derbyshire?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. Darcy looked squarely at him and smiled slightly.
"A guest whom you know, actually," he said, and before everyone could react, he went on and said, "Miss Elizabeth Bennet is in Lambton, traveling the county with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner."
Here he cast a small glance at Miss Bingley—he hadn't forgotten what all she told him about “those gauche relatives from Cheapside.” Her eyes widened, but before she could open her mouth and speak, Darcy added, "I have found them all to be very pleasant and charming last night at dinner, and when I learned they knew you and your sisters, Bingley, I knew I must invite them here today to join us. "
"You had them for dinner?” Miss Bingley blurted out, causing everyone to turn and look at her. She recovered and held her head high as she said, "Well, I am just surprised at you, is all, Mr. Darcy—Miss Eliza's family is in trade, after all—"
"Caroline, that's enough," Bingley suddenly snapped, shooting a look at his sister and startling the rest of the party. He held her gaze for a moment before she looked away, and then he turned eager eyes onto Darcy.
"Tell me," he said, stepping forward, "Is it—is it just Miss Elizabeth?"
Darcy nodded, feeling a pang of regret for his friend's obvious heartache. "Ay, it is just her, and her aunt and uncle. But I'm sure she is anticipating being reunited with you again. Indeed, she has spoken of a desire for you to reopen Netherfield."
Here he was dropping a rather large hint, one which Bingley caught, as his eyes widened in understanding, and then a smile broke out onto his face. He nodded and clapped his hands.
"Indeed! I was thinking of sojourning back to Hertfordshire at the conclusion of our house party here, actually—"
"Surely not, Charles!" Miss Bingley started to interrupt, but Bingley held up a hand, silencing her. He looked back at Darcy.
"We shall be looking forward to reuniting with Miss Elizabeth and meeting her aunt and uncle, thank you, Darcy. This house party looks to be even more eventful than ever!"
Everyone excused themselves to go and refresh after a long journey, but Georgiana, who had been eyeing Darcy with some curiosity the entire exchange, smiled a little at him after everyone left and asked, "And precisely who is Miss Elizabeth Bennet?"
She had a curious yet knowing look on her face, and Darcy felt he couldn't really hide anything from her, though he did attempt to mask his height of feeling.
"She is a lovely lady from Hertfordshire," is all the reply he gave, to which Georgiana simply raised her eyebrows and nodded.
"I see," she said. She smiled at him and turned to leave, "I am looking forward to meeting her, then."
"As am I," he murmured under his breath as his sister left.
How very much he was looking forward to introducing his sister to his future wife.