Chapter Twenty-Nine
Longbourn
It was not at all unusual for Lady Lucas, Charlotte and Maria to visit Longbourn. What was unusual was that such a visit had not taken place for the past fortnight. There had been illness in the Lucas family, and the womenfolk of Lucas Lodge had been kept busy with nursing duties.
But the moment they were freed from those responsibilities, they came at once to Longbourn to catch up on what they might have missed.
“You met the mysterious girl at Netherfield?” Charlotte asked. “What is she like?”
“Her name is Georgiana,” Lydia announced. “She is not ugly or malformed, simply very shy!”
“And she must be very rich,” Kitty added. “She has lovely gowns and the most beautiful shoes, but she is not at all snobbish!”
“Which would mean that this Mr. Darcy is wealthy,” Lady Lucas said. She looked meaningfully at Mrs. Bennet.
“I think he is,” Mrs. Bennet replied. “Miss Darcy told us that they live on a large estate in Derbyshire. And we know that Mr. Bingley has five thousand a year, so it would not be at all surprising for his friend to be rich as well. Two single gentlemen of fortune in Meryton, heavens! But I must tell you, Lady Lucas, that Mr. Bingley has his eye on Jane. He scarce moves from her side when he visits.”
“No one could blame him for that,” Lady Lucas said, mildly. “But there is still Mr. Darcy, unless one of your daughters has caught his eye?”
“I do not think so, though he speaks to Lizzy more than the others. They are all coming for dinner on Tuesday, and I will seat them together.”
Maria Lucas could contain herself no longer. “Who cares about them? The militia are coming to Meryton!”
“The militia?” Several soprano voices chorused.
Mrs. Bennet turned to look at Lady Lucas. “Is this true?”
“It is, but I keep telling Maria not to be overly excited. These men cannot afford wives, and so the girls must not become over-friendly with them.”
“That is all true,” Mrs. Bennet said. Then she sighed. “I liked a red coat in my youth, I must admit.”
“The regulars are a different story,” Lady Lucas continued. “A lieutenancy costs around four hundred pounds, and if a man can afford that, then his family is likely well-to-do! But the militia is not the regulars, and it does not do to forget that.”
Maria, Kitty and Lydia spent the rest of the visit in a corner, giggling together, while Jane and Elizabeth traded glances. Their sisters would need to be watched carefully.
***
Mrs. Bennet did not think she could be any happier, knowing that there were two rich, single gentlemen at Netherfield, but she was wrong, for she became happier yet when a message arrived from Mrs. Hurst saying that Miss Bingley would not be at dinner on Tuesday, but Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy’s cousin and the second son of the Earl and Countess of Matlock was staying at Netherfield, and would Mrs. Bennet mind if he attended the dinner?
Mrs. Bennet’s hand all but trembled in delight as she wrote out her very sincere happiness at the opportunity to entertain that gentleman. So delighted was she that she felt the need to share the news with Mr. Bennet.
Mr. Bennet had very much enjoyed his hour with Mr. Darcy, and looked forward to seeing the gentleman again when the Netherfield party came to dinner on Tuesday.
When his wife came to inform him that the most unpleasant Miss Bingley was to stay home, but a Colonel Fitzwilliam would come instead, he merely shrugged.
Feeling that her news had not been met with the appropriate appreciation, Mrs. Bennet climbed the stairs and shared it with her daughters. Jane heard it with her customary placidity. Lizzie muttered, “Well, no one will miss that odious Miss Bingley!” Mary merely nodded and went back to her book.
But Kitty and Lydia gratified Mrs. Bennet by dancing around their room, chanting, “Red coat! Red coat!” Many young girls were enamoured at the idea of Englishmen fighting on foreign shores for the safety of England, so the enthusiasm of her two youngest daughters was neither unwelcome nor unexpected.
Mrs. Bennet could scarcely wait for Lady Lucas’ next visit. She would speak a good deal about this Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, son of an Earl!