Chapter 42 Interrupted
Their peaceful morning was shattered by a cry from Mrs. Bennet. "Lizzy Bennet! What are you doing out of your room? Have you been talking?"
Darcy's hand slipped unobtrusively from Lizzy's wrist as he turned to face Lizzy's irate mother, who was speaking through an open pane in one of the side windows behind them.
"Good morning, Mrs. Bennet," he said pleasantly.
"I woke early, and Mr. Bennet suggested I might keep Miss Elizabeth company as she sat quietly here in the garden. "
"Oh," said Mrs. Bennet, taken aback by the response. "Oh. Well, you both ought to come in and have your breakfast. Everyone else is in the breakfast room, and if you do not get inside soon, there will be nothing left."
She pulled her head back in and was gone as suddenly as she had arrived.
"May I escort you to breakfast, Miss Elizabeth?" Darcy asked, standing.
Lizzy grinned at him as she stood. She poured out what was left of her drink on a nearby plant, then pulled the remains of her pastry to bits, scattering it around for the birds.
Darcy copied her actions, which then enabled them both to balance their cups on their now-empty plates in order to hold both in one hand.
Lizzy took Darcy's free arm, and they went in together.
Mrs. Hill passed by them in the hall and collected the used dishes, so their hands were completely free as they entered the breakfast room.
The two found that Mr. Bennet had already retired to his study, but everyone else was there, just as Mrs. Bennet had said.
Richard sat next to Miss Lucas, and the two were quietly conversing.
Darcy could see the large bruise on the side of her face where Wickham had hit her.
It looked painful, and he was a little surprised she had chosen to come downstairs, especially given the noise that continually surrounded Mrs. Bennet.
Then, he noticed the way she and Richard looked at each other, and his surprise lessened.
Now the main question was whether Richard had already asked her to marry him.
After they filled new cups of coffee and chose a few items to eat from those provided on the sideboard, Darcy followed a subtle head gesture from Miss Elizabeth to sit closer to her mother and sisters, leaving Richard and Miss Lucas a little apart from the rest. Mrs. Bennet either fully approved of the quiet conference at the far end of her table or was completely oblivious to it.
She directed her comments to her daughters and Darcy.
"Now, Lizzy," she said loudly, "I will not have you chattering away as you are so used to doing. We do not want you to injure your voice. Why you found it necessary to sit outside this morning I will never understand."
"Well, it is a lovely morning, Mama," Kitty said in her sister's defense. "If I woke up early like Lizzy usually does, I would sit outside for a time and listen to the birds as well."
"Oh, well, I suppose if you like that sort of thing it is alright," Mrs. Bennet said dismissively before turning to a topic that interested her more.
"Mr. Darcy, Jane told me that you are acquainted with the man who has leased Netherfield Park, a Mr. Bingley.
What can you tell me about him? Is he single? "
Darcy swallowed the sip of coffee he had just taken and answered pleasantly.
"I am very well acquainted with Mr. Bingley.
He has been my closest friend for several years, Mrs. Bennet.
He is currently single but has been calling on a particular young woman lately, so that is not likely to be the case for long.
" He saw the four sisters exchange knowing glances.
Clearly, they all knew Bingley was calling on Miss Mary.
"Oh, that is such a shame," Mrs. Bennet said. "Well, perhaps you can convince him to invite some single friends here for hunting this autumn. We always like to see new faces in the neighborhood, and they would be invited to all our events."
"I will be certain to pass on your suggestion, Mrs. Bennet. He is a very sociable man and has many acquaintances."
Mrs. Bennet smiled and nodded, pleased with his response. Then she looked at him a little sharply and said, "Lady Catherine wrote that you are betrothed to her daughter. When will the marriage take place?"
"It will not," Darcy replied. "There was never any formal arrangement between me and my cousin and even if there had been, she is now married to someone else. Richard and I were witnesses at her wedding just two days ago."
"Miss de Bourgh is married?" Lydia said excitedly. "Oh, do tell us about the wedding."
Jane and Lizzy gave her quelling looks at her exuberance, as Miss Parks did, but Darcy just smiled. "I would be happy to tell you about it, Miss Lydia," he replied, "although I may not be able to provide all those finer details that I understand the ladies enjoy."
"Oh, you need not even try to describe her gown or ornaments," Lydia said. "I know men never pay proper attention to those things. Who did she marry and who attended the wedding? Did her mother approve of her new husband?"
"The answer to your final question is no," Darcy said.
"My aunt was still determined that her daughter and I would wed, whether we wished to do so or not.
I am certain you already know she can be very forceful about her wishes and so we had to perpetrate a little ruse to get my cousin to her wedding on time. "
With that he launched into another rendition of the tale he had told Lizzy earlier that morning, although this version was tailored more to the interests of his current audience.
Mrs. Bennet and her daughters, Lydia in particular, asked many questions about the church, the guests, the family of the groom and more.
Normally Richard would have jumped in, but Darcy quickly realized that his cousin was very well occupied in the quiet conversation at his own end of the table.
Telling a story of this sort, along with being questioned and listened to so intensely was another new experience for Darcy.
He began to understand why Richard enjoyed telling stories so much.
When his audience had extracted everything they could from him about the wedding, Mrs. Bennet seemed to have had a revelation.
She looked at Darcy speculatively and said, "Well, Mr. Darcy, if you cannot marry your cousin, I expect you will be looking for some other fine young woman to be mistress of your estate.
There are several likely candidates in this neighborhood.
Although I should not be the one to say it, my own daughters are the prettiest of the lot.
Sir Barnaby has spoken for Jane, of course, but the other four are suitable and sweet girls.
" She looked at Lizzy and added softly, for her, "more or less. "
Trying not to laugh at her added comment, Darcy ignored the usual warnings that popped into his head with such a brash statement.
"You have five very lovely daughters, Mrs. Bennet," he said.
"Any man would feel lucky to win the heart and hand of one of them.
" He only just refrained from looking at Miss Elizabeth, although he wanted to know her reaction to a comment she must know referred to her.
"Oh, but you have not yet seen Mary," Mrs. Bennet said happily. "She is in London now but will return with my brother in time for the wedding."
"Actually, I had the pleasure of meeting her when Richard and I had dinner with the Gardiners a few nights past. I must say, I quite enjoyed meeting your brother and his wife. They are most respectable people and very good company."
"Yes, yes," Mrs. Bennet said, "but what did you think of Mary?"
"Well, she is lovely, as I said, and I enjoyed speaking with her. I am certain some man will come along soon who will see her good qualities and work to win her heart."
Mrs. Bennet got the message and, by her expression, was not very pleased by it. Darcy was sure she would have continued that line of questioning, but Mrs. Hill entered and announced the Sir William and Lady Lucas were there to check on their daughter.
"Oh, put them in the parlor," Mrs. Bennet said. "All of us will be along momentarily."
Mrs. Hill went off to follow her mistress's instructions while Mrs. Bennet stood and waved her daughters out of the room as if she was herding a flock of chickens. "Oh, Colonel," she said, "Would you please escort Miss Lucas to the parlor to see her parents."
"Of course, Mrs. Bennet," Richard said. Darcy noticed he was looking very pleased.
When Lizzy stood, Darcy offered her his arm, which she took after a few seconds of hesitation. They lagged behind the others on their way out of the room.
"So, you are not interested in Mary?" she softly asked him.
"I could hardly cut out Bingley," he teased. "And besides, I saw Miss Elizabeth Rose first."
She rolled her eyes at him, and Darcy chuckled. It felt good to be so companionable with one another.
"I was watching Charlotte and Colonel Fitzwilliam," she whispered. "I think he has asked her to marry him."
"I think he has as well," Darcy whispered back. "It seems I am likely to gain another new cousin soon."
"Always the bridesmaid and never the bride?" she asked teasingly as they slowly made their way into the hall.
“It would seem that way," he replied. "Of course, that could change. However, I think it may be too early to ask my special someone that all-important question."
She nodded. "I think you may be right. It takes time to get to know someone well enough to answer a question like that."
"I have plenty of time," Darcy replied. Before their conversation could go any farther, they were interrupted by Mrs. Bennet's screech.
"Lizzy Bennet! Are you talking?
~o~