Chapter Twenty-Three
Longbourn
Icannot believe that I missed them.” Lydia was not at all happy that she had been sent on errands to Meryton by her mother and so had missed their callers the day before.
“If I am not much mistaken, they will be here again today,” Elizabeth said.
“Do you think so?” Lydia asked, eagerly.
“If you had seen the way Mr. Bingley looked at Jane, you would not doubt me,” Elizabeth replied, laughing at her blushing elder sister.
“Oh, it is true!” Mrs. Bennet crowed. “I have never seen a man so smitten!”
“Well, then, I will watch for them,” Kitty said, jumping up from her place at the breakfast table and heading for the front parlour.
“You might be there for a while, Kitty, it is too early for visitors,” Mrs. Bennet called after her.
But Kitty was undeterred. She was the Bennet sister who was most often to be found sitting in the window seat of the parlour.
She claimed to enjoy the view, despite the cold coming through the window, but her sisters suspected that what she really enjoyed was being able to announce visitors before they actually came inside the house.
Indeed, not half an hour later, Kitty called out, triumphantly, “A fancy carriage!”
The four girls still at the table looked at one another in alarm.
They were not yet dressed for callers, and so all but ran into one another in their haste to get to their rooms and change their gowns.
It took Kitty but a moment to understand the reason for the panic, and then she was right behind them.
When five sisters work together, nothing is impossible; a mere quarter of an hour later, all five of them were in the parlour with Mrs. Bennet, accepting introductions and greeting their guests.
Kitty and Lydia could not help staring at Miss Darcy. What a lovely gown she had! And her little boots! Could her feet truly be that small?
Georgiana immediately became nervous under their scrutiny. She turned, appealingly, to Elizabeth, who understood at once the cause of their shy guest’s concern.
“Kitty, Lydia, stop staring at Miss Darcy,” she ordered. “She will think you completely mannerless!”
“I cannot help it,” Lydia declared. “Upon my word, I have never seen such a pretty day dress, nor such beautiful slippers!”
“Nor I,” faithful Kitty added. “We must look like peasants in comparison!”
Georgiana, surprised, laughed aloud, causing her brother to turn to her in astonishment. He had not heard her laugh so easily for far too long.
“You certainly do not look like peasants,” she declared. “The shoes are cut in a way to make my feet look smaller. And this is my very best day dress. I only wear it on special occasions.”
Kitty and Lydia grinned at one another, delighted at the idea that meeting them was considered a special occasion by someone as obviously wealthy and important as Miss Darcy!
Miss Bingley could not bear to be ignored, and could bear it even less when someone else’s costume was complimented, and her own was not. She tossed her head, and said, “Oh, of course no one out here in the wild could compete with London modistes!”
Lydia turned to her and opened her mouth – doubtless to say something that would put Miss Bingley in her place – so Elizabeth interrupted hastily. “Miss Darcy, I do hope that you and Mary will agree to play again today. Yesterday was wonderful!”
Miss Bingley looked over at Mary in some disbelief. “You play the pianoforte?”
Mary was unequal to answering Miss Bingley’s sarcasm; she flushed and looked down.
But Lydia was not so easily cowed. “Even out here in the wild, we have pianofortes, Miss Bingley.”
“But not masters of note, I wager,” Miss Bingley said at once.
Georgiana promptly said, “And yet, Miss Bingley, out in the wilds of Derbyshire, I have managed to become proficient.”
Mr. Darcy was now more than surprised; he was nearly shocked.
That Georgiana would so voice her opinion to Miss Bingley in order to protect her new friends – it was everything astonishing!
He wished he could applaud his sister’s response, but of course he could not. Instead, he nodded with unusual vigour.
Mary rose to go to the instrument. She had been sitting beside Jane, but when she left her sister’s side, Mr. Bingley immediately took Mary’s seat. This was not missed by Miss Bingley; she looked at her brother in astonishment and then displeasure.
Georgiana whispered to Mary, “Do not let Miss Bingley distress you, Miss Mary; she has always been…difficult.”
Mary whispered back, “My sister Lydia would doubtless use a different word.”
Georgiana bit back a laugh. “On four, then. One, two, three, four…” And they began.
The room filled with music. Mr. Darcy glanced at Miss Bingley, whose arms were folded, eyes narrowed, a frown on her face.
Then he moved his gaze to Miss Elizabeth, who had leant back on her sofa, eyes closed, a smile on her face, clearly appreciating the experience.
She had told him that she played, though not nearly on the level as the two currently at the instrument.
But she did not let petty envy get in the way of her appreciation.
She is more than just kind, he thought, recalling how she had immediately jumped in to make Georgiana comfortable when the two youngest girls stared at her.
There is something…something lovely about her, he thought. And not just her appearance.
When the music ended, Miss Elizabeth leaped to her feet, applauding, and then walked swiftly to the two pianists and kissed them both on their cheeks. “That was wonderful!” she declared. “I could listen to that every day of my life and never weary of it.”
Everyone else applauded and expressed their delight. Miss Bingley looked over at her brother, still sitting by Jane’s side, hoping to prompt him to ask her to perform, but he was completely unaware of his sister’s expectant face. He was too wrapped up in whispering with Jane.
Finally, Miss Bingley cleared her throat. “I would not be adverse to entertaining the company,” she said, loudly.
Mrs. Bennet looked startled. “Oh, I do apologise, Miss Bingley. I am certain we would be happy to hear you play.”
Mary and Georgiana left the bench and Miss Bingley hastened to take their place.
She launched into Haydn’s Sonata in E Major, which she played with a good deal of precision and speed.
Everyone sat through it politely, and then applauded for her at the end.
She smiled and returned to her seat, satisfied that she had made her point about the superiority of London masters.
But the applause faded quickly, and soon small conversational groups had formed.
Mr. Darcy found himself beside Elizabeth, though he was uncertain as to how, exactly, he had gotten there.
Mr. Bingley did not move from Jane’s side.
Kitty, Lydia and Mary surrounded Georgiana, chattering excitedly about everything from music (Mary) to fashion (Kitty and Lydia).
This left Mrs. Bennet and Miss Bingley, and Mrs. Bennet was far too practised a hostess to leave her guest sitting by herself.
She moved to sit beside Miss Bingley and did her best to engage her visitor.
“Miss Bingley,” she began. “I invited your party to dinner Tuesday next, and your brother said he could speak for everyone’s presence except your own, as he did not know your social schedule.
Might you be persuaded to join the company? ”
Miss Bingley found herself in an awkward position. She did not want to be in the presence of the Bennets for a minute longer than necessary, but neither did she wish to be left out. After a long minute – too long for good manners, truth be told – she finally agreed that she would come to dinner.
“I am very glad,” Mrs. Bennet declared. “It would not have been complete without you.” Mrs. Bennet had not missed the young lady’s superior manners and disdain for her company, but she suspected that Miss Bingley might prove an enemy to a possible union of Mr. Bingley and Jane.
Nothing would be served by increasing Miss Bingley’s ire, which would doubtless occur were she to be ignored.
Satisfied as to his sister’s comfort, Mr. Darcy gave his attention to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. He began by saying, “I am surprised that you did not play for us as well, Miss Elizabeth.”
His companion arched one brow and said, “I am not in any way adverse to entertaining guests, but I did not wish to give Miss Bingley any further opportunity to disdain my family.”
Mr. Darcy looked down, momentarily embarrassed.
“Oh, no, Mr. Darcy, I did not intend to cause you discomfort. Her behaviour is her own; if there is any correction to be made, it is surely her brother’s province to do so, not yours.”
“Mr. Bingley is too kind to do so, I fear.”
“I suspected as much,” she nodded. Then she glanced over at Jane and Mr. Bingley. “Is he often so quickly in love?” she asked, quietly,
“He does tend to favour a certain…” He trailed off, uncertain how to proceed.
“Type, I suppose?”
“Well, yes; blonde, blue-eyed.”
“So he took one look at Jane at the assembly and that was it.” Her tone was severe.
“He means your sister no harm, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Does he not? If his own heart is not at risk, he nonetheless risks injuring hers.”
Mr. Darcy bowed his head. “You are right. I do not think that has ever happened in the past; his little romances tend to be short and light-hearted.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “My sister is tender-hearted, not light-hearted.”
Mr. Darcy briefly wondered if he should tell Miss Elizabeth that Bingley was actually ready to propose to her sister, but decided at once that this was not his secret to reveal. Instead, he said, “I will caution Bingley to be careful.”
Elizabeth looked at him gratefully. “I would be very appreciative, Mr. Darcy.”
“You are protective of your sister,” he observed.
“As you are of yours,” she replied.
Ah, she had noticed that! “I am,” he said, carefully.
He saw Miss Elizabeth look over at Georgiana, who was laughing with the younger Bennet sisters. Then she said, softly, “She is more than just shy, I think. She is fragile.”
Mr. Darcy sat up in alarm, but Elizabeth quickly said, “No, no, Mr. Darcy. I do not mean to cause you unease or enquire about what has made her so. You may rest easy; my youngest sisters are rather boisterous and not always well-mannered, but they would not harm anyone. And my mother has taken a particular interest in your sister; she will guard Miss Darcy as fiercely as would you.”
Mr. Darcy closed his eyes for a moment. As fiercely as would he! He had not guarded her at all! When he opened them again, he saw Miss Elizabeth eyeing him with concern.
“I am well,” he answered her unspoken question. “It has been a…difficult time for both my sister and myself, and we are both still affected by it.” The moment the words left his mouth, he was astonished at himself. He was not a person who generally revealed himself to others.
“I understand,” she said, quietly. Then she brightened and said, “Tell me, Mr. Darcy, are you a reader?”
“There is little I enjoy more,” he said at once, happy for the change of subject.
“Poetry? Plays? Moral essays? Novels? Tracts on farming?” she asked, smiling widely.
“I suppose all of those, Miss Elizabeth. And I have even read Mary Wollstonecraft.” He laughed at her astonishment.
“Have you, indeed! And what did you think?”
“She makes good points,” Mr. Darcy admitted.
“Thank you for admitting it,” Elizabeth said, now quite serious. “As a rational creature – and you recall that we agreed women could be rational during our dance – it becomes rather tiresome to be regarded as not worth educating. Worse, to be regarded as chattel!”
“Well, young ladies are taught languages,” he said, defensively.
“Knowing French is hardly commensurate with having the right to own property.” She spoke rapidly and gravely.
“Given the choice, I would happily trade my right to learn languages and play the pianoforte for the right to be treated as a human being equal to a man, with a man’s rights and his abilities.
I would like to attend Oxford. I would like to…
” she stopped and took a deep breath. “I apologise, Mr. Darcy. You must think me the worst kind of bluestocking.”
“Not at all, Miss Elizabeth,” he said at once. “I cannot but think you right. I did not give the subject of the female plight in England a great deal of thought before reading A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, but I did think about it afterwards.”
“And what did you conclude?”
“That our society treats women wrongly. But I also had to acknowledge that I lacked the power to change it.”
“You can change one thing,” Elizabeth said at once.
“Which is?”
“You can change how you treat the women in your life. You are not married, I think?”
“I am not.”
“When you do marry, I hope that you will treat your wife as a partner, not as property.”
“I am certain that I will,” he said, solemnly. “I would never wish to injure the dignity of my wife, and certainly never her person.”
“You are a good man, I think. And heavens, this conversation has become quite unusual, has it not?” She sat up and shook her head. “My mother would be quite shocked, were she to know of our discussion.”
“And would your father be equally shocked? I have not met him, but Bingley has, and spoke of him warmly.”
“He tends to hide when there are people in the house.”
“But I imagine there are always people in the house, given that there are five daughters!”
“And thus he is always hiding,” Elizabeth chuckled. “He sits with his books and is happy to be away from the noise.”
“Ah, he is a booklover?”
“Indeed, and a book collector as well.”
“I should like to look at his collection.” Mr. Darcy’s interest was unfeigned; his voice rose in anticipation.
“He would doubtless enjoy showing it to you. Come, let us beard the lion in his den – or, in this case, my father in his study.”
Mr. Bennet accepted the introduction to Mr. Darcy gracefully, and Elizabeth left the two of them to exclaim over Mr. Bennet’s carefully curated collection.
When Elizabeth return to the parlour, she found her mother sitting beside Miss Darcy, and evidently engaged in earnest conversation.
Curious as to the substance of their talk, she took the seat on the other side of Miss Darcy, in time to hear her say, “Oh, I would enjoy that very much indeed! But my brother must be consulted.”
“Of course, Miss Darcy. Though I think there will be no difficulty there; he must see that it is good for you to have friends here in Hertfordshire, and so there can be no objection to you spending the day with us tomorrow.”
When Mr. Darcy returned, some twenty minutes later, he could scarce resist Mrs. Bennet’s kind invitation, accompanied as it was by his sister’s pleading eyes; and so it was arranged that Miss Darcy would come the following afternoon and spend the entire day at Longbourn.