Chapter 5
“Lizzy!”
Elizabeth Bennet looked up, startled that Jane had raised her voice to her. Based on the questioning expression on her sister’s face, it was not the first time the eldest Miss Bennet had addressed her.
“I am so sorry, Jane. I was deep in thought.”
“Obviously!” the other lady replied with a chuckle even as she patted her steed, a fat and placid mare named Buttercup. “What are you thinking of so intently, my dear sister?”
Elizabeth sighed and slightly tightened her grip on the reins of her own mare Daisy. The filly was a beauty with her golden coat and white stockings, but she was also young and strong; it was unwise to be distracted when riding her, as Daisy was quite capable of trying to brush Elizabeth off on a tree or unseat her suddenly.
“I was thinking about Mr. Fowler’s ten acre field, the one that lies adjacent to Longbourn’s southeast edge,” Elizabeth explained. “He approached Mr. Gregory last week and declared that he would like to sell it as he needs immediate funds. It is a well-watered, fertile field but if we purchase it, funds will be tighter until the next harvest. I am not certain whether it is a wise idea or not.”
“But you believe in the long term it will provide good crop yields?”
“Oh yes, without a doubt. There is a tenant family already installed and they are excellent farmers. The problem is that when Father passes on, Longbourn will be under Mr. Collins’s control. We will maintain possession over that field since it is not under the entail, but it may be challenging to administer from wherever we live. We may well move away from Meryton, after all. You know how hard we are working and scraping and saving so that some money will be available for us when we can no longer live in Longbourn. In some ways, it seems foolish to spend the ready money. In other ways, it seems a marvelous opportunity since the field should provide income for years to come.”
“I had not realized that funds were so limited,” Jane pondered in a troubled voice.
“They are not, dear Jane,” Elizabeth said quickly and reassuringly. “You know that we had to build a new home for the Johnsons after the fire, and that set us back somewhat. But of course there was no other viable option.”
“Of course not! Mr. Johnson and his family are excellent tenants and the fire was not their fault.”
“No, it was not. In any case, we have plenty of money available, really, it is merely that I need to weigh investment in the land with practicality if Father should pass in the next few years. Well, I will pray for wisdom though I think I am inclined to buy the field, unless you object of course.”
“Dearest Lizzy, you know I do not object. You have a remarkable head for business and have successfully managed our rather leaky financial ship through many shoals these last years. I trust you implicitly.”
“I could not have done it without our steward and Uncle Philips and Uncle Gardiner. Even Father, in his own way, helped prepare me by handing over many of the responsibilities for Longbourn while he and Mother focused on Matthew the last few years.”
Jane sighed deeply, “Yes, it is a comfort to me that truly everything that could be done, was done, for our dear brother.”
“Yes,” Elizabeth agreed quietly. A great deal of money and time and effort had been spent on trying to save Matthew, and none of the family regretted that in the least; it was a painful reality that the best medical knowledge was insufficient to repair the poor boy’s damaged body.
Daisy lifted her head and nickered, her dark brown eyes fixed on the large building which was coming into view.
“I am glad that Netherfield finally has an occupant,” Jane said, a little less serenely than usual. “It is delightful to have new friends.”
Elizabeth shot her elder sister a keen glance, though she forbore to tease Jane. She knew that the eldest Miss Bennet was quite attracted to Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth had a vague hope that something might actually come of it. She did not share Jane’s view of Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, Mr. Bingley’s sisters. Elizabeth thought them proud and supercilious in their attentions to Jane, but she would be the courteous caller in the hopes of smoothing the romantic path between Jane and Mr. Bingley.
/
“Oh, I do love London so very much, Miss Bennet,” Miss Bingley simpered. “Do you not find the company here in Hertfordshire rather unvarying?”
“I enjoy my rare visits to London as well,” Jane said courteously, “but I love my home county too. Yes, there are not nearly as many people with whom we interact, but people change from year to year, and even month to month. Is that not so in Staffordshire, from where your family hails?”
“I have spent very little time in Staffordshire the last decade,” Miss Bingley stated with a haughty tilt of her chin. “Both Louisa and I were educated in one of the finest seminaries in London, of course, and our brother has a fine home in Town where we reside during the Season. I do not remember seeing you at any of the balls and parties in London, Miss Bennet, though that is, I suppose, no surprise. So many of those delights were an absolute crush of people!”
Jane shook her head, “I did not have a London Season. My father does not enjoy Town, and in any case, our brother Matthew was very poorly when I was the age to be presented. So no.”
Miss Bingley’s brown eyes widened in surprise, “Your brother? I thought you had only sisters!”
“Our brother Matthew, our sister Lydia’s twin, passed away a little more than six months ago,” Elizabeth interposed quietly. “He was sickly for much of his life, sadly.”
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley exchanged shocked glances and Mrs. Hurst leaned forward, her expression suddenly sympathetic, “My dear Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, I am so very sorry. We had a brother named Harold who was born two years after Charles; he was also sickly and we lost him when he was but six years old. It was a great sorrow to us all.”
“Oh Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley,” Jane replied impulsively. “I grieve for you. It is such an agony of the heart to lose a brother.”
“I admit I do not remember him,” Caroline said in a clipped tone. “I was but a small child when he passed on. But I am sorry for you both. Does this mean you are now the heiress to Longbourn, Miss Bennet?”
Jane pulled in a shocked breath at this question and Elizabeth answered courteously, though with glittering eyes, “No. Regrettably, Longbourn is entailed away from the female line and will go to a distant cousin.”
“Such a pity,” Caroline commented condescendingly.
/
“It appears we have visitors,” Charles Bingley observed, swinging down from his horse and handing the reins to a stable hand.
“Indeed,” Darcy agreed, also dismounting. There were two unknown horses standing in the barn’s spacious stalls. One, a fat gray mare, was placidly eating grain. The other, a golden filly, was shifting around energetically in her stall and occasionally kicking a wall, apparently out of sheer exuberance of spirits.
“Yes, sirs,” the stable hand agreed. “Miss Bennet and her sister, Miss Elizabeth, arrived thirty minutes ago to visit Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley.”
“Oh!” Bingley cried out excitedly, taking a few steps toward the door just as another servant stepped into the barn.
“Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley,” the man said with a slight bow. “The elder two Miss Bennets are departing and wish for their mounts.”
“Come along, Darcy!” Bingley declared. “You have not yet formally met the Miss Bennets, I believe.”
Darcy suppressed a grimace and nodded, “Lead on.”
“We will let our guests know that you are bringing the horses around,” Bingley said cheerfully to one of the servants.
“Yes, sir.”
/
“Miss Bennet!” Mr. Bingley exclaimed as the ladies descended the front stairs of Netherfield. “I am so sorry that I missed your call. Darcy and I were examining a rather muddy field.”
“I understand completely,” Jane replied, her lovely countenance glowing brightly. “I am certain there is much you need to learn about the Netherfield lands.”
“Yes, and I am sadly deficient in understanding since I have never overseen an estate before, so I am most thankful for my friend Darcy, who has administered his own estate of Pemberley for many years now. But come, I must introduce you. Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, my friend Mr. Darcy. Darcy, Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth.”
Darcy bowed slightly and forced a slight smile, which faded away as his gaze met that of the younger of the two ladies. Miss Elizabeth Bennet was a petite young woman with dark eyes and chestnut curls. Unlike her elder sister, she was not a great beauty but she was, he supposed, quite attractive. Her expression, however, was not particularly welcoming, which he found bewildering. Young women of marriageable age always simpered and smiled before him, but Miss Elizabeth’s admittedly fine eyes were flashing with fire and her lips were in a thin line of disapproval.
Bingley cleared his throat and continued brightly, “I believe the field we just inspected is adjacent to the Longbourn estate on the southeast.”
“Was it the one with the stand of three very tall oak trees in the corner?” Miss Elizabeth inquired, her face gentling as she shifted her attention to Mr. Bingley.
“Yes, it was, Miss Elizabeth!” Bingley declared. “How clever of you!”
“That field is indeed adjacent to Longbourn land, and the ground there is often excessively wet after the rains. We are currently growing asparagus in the area which has been quite successful. Perhaps with time we will be able to have the field drained. I do wish to warn you that the field you inspected will likely be something of a challenge.”
Darcy tilted his head and regarded the second Miss Bennet with interest. Her knowledge of anything to do with the land was truly shocking, since very few young ladies had any interest in the fields and workers who supported the family who owned the estate.
“Darcy warned me of the same thing!” Bingley announced happily. “He said that the field would not be appropriate for most crops. Perhaps we might be able to speak to your father on the matter someday and ask for his advice?”
The two Miss Bennets exchanged hurried glances, then Jane answered smoothly, “My father’s health is rather uncertain but yes, I hope that you can meet with him soon.”
Two servants appeared with the Longbourn horses and Bingley eagerly stepped forward to assist Jane in mounting her mare.
Elizabeth allowed a servant to help her into her own sidesaddle, whereupon her horse took a few dancing steps. She grabbed the reins and gave Daisy a gentle but admonitory tug.
“Behave, Daisy!” she ordered. The mare shivered under her impatiently but obediently held her position.
“She looks like quite a handful, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy commented, speaking for the first time.
He had a rich, deep voice; an attractive one, really. It was pity he was so haughty and proud.
“Yes,” Elizabeth agreed politely, adjusting herself in her saddle and keeping her focus on the animal. “She is only three years old and rather strong-willed. She is powerful and carries me many miles with ease, but I cannot afford to be careless with her.”
“You must be quite a horsewoman,” Darcy declared respectfully. His own sister was a competent rider but he was careful to only mount Georgiana on the gentlest of mares.
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth replied formally. “My sisters and I have responsibilities on the estate which require us to visit tenants and the like; thus, we have all learned to ride and ride well.”
“But Elizabeth is the best rider of us all,” Jane said warmly. “Only she and our youngest sister, Lydia, are brave enough to ride our golden firebrand.”
There were respectful nods from the gentlemen at this statement, and the ladies, with courteous adieus, departed for home.