Chapter 10
Thanks to Bennet refusing to ride to Netherfield Park too early, he was not, as Mrs Bennet desired him to be, the first of the neighbourhood gentlemen to call on Mr Bingley. That honour went to Sir William Lucas of Lucas Lodge.
After being announced, and his host identifying himself, Sir William requested that Bingley introduce him to his party.
Hurst was already sleeping on a chaise. Unless the subject was food or sport, he had no interest. He could not understand why his wife had insisted he attend the calls rather than allow him to rest in his chamber.
It was of no matter to him; he had gone to sleep as soon as he had laid down on the chaise.
Mrs Hurst placed a restraining hand on her sister’s arm when she sensed Caroline was about to scold the man for making the request, which she erroneously thought was her prerogative.
When her sister looked at her with asperity, Mrs Hurst shook her head.
She placed her mouth close to Caroline’s ear.
“He may be a lowly knight, but he is titled,” she explained in sotto voce.
Miss Bingley huffed with annoyance, but held her peace. When Charles mentioned her name after Louisa’s, she emulated her older sister and inclined her head rather than curtsying.
If Sir William noted the slight, he did not show it. He had launched into his tale about how the King knighted him after a speech he had made before the Monarchs when he had been the mayor of Meryton. As was his wont, he could not stop there and told of his investiture at St James Palace.
The Bingley sisters had to fight to stop the snickers which were threatening to escape. They communicated silently about the ridiculousness of the nobody with derisive smiles behind their fans.
“Mr Bingley, are you aware that we have our Michaelmas assembly on Friday evening? It begins at half after seven.” Sir William asked after his story.
“No indeed, I did not know of the assembly, Sir William. Do we need to purchase tickets?” Bingley enquired.
“We do not sell tickets,” Sir William replied. “The cost of the musicians is covered by a small contribution from each of the four and twenty landed families in the area. You and your party will be more than welcome.”
“I accept on behalf of my party, which will include my good friend who will join us on Friday,” Bingley responded before he looked at his sisters.
Said sisters were sending their brother a look which was shooting daggers at him. They both knew Mr Darcy did not favour such an event, especially one which would be attended by country mushrooms.
“Capital! I will make it known that you will attend to meet all of your neighbours. You will be most welcome.” Sir William beamed with pleasure.
As soon as the knight took his leave, Bingley’s sisters turned on him.
“How could you accept an invitation to their backwater ball on behalf of all of us?” Miss Bingley screeched.
“That was not well done, Charles,” Mrs Hurst agreed.
“We will simply not attend,” Miss Bingley decided. “Why would anyone at our level of society mix with those so far below us? And to subject Mr Darcy to such company, it is unacceptable!”
“Caro, we will have to attend now,” Mrs Hurst stated.
“Why should it be so? I do not see why we should cast our pearls before the swine,” Miss Bingley whinged.
“Because not only did Charles commit us to attend, but Sir William will make it known in the area. If we refuse to go and word reaches Mr Darcy that the invitation was accepted, we will look bad in his eyes,” Mrs Hurst explained.
“When he arrives, if you can convince him to remain at the estate, and you happen to, in your role as an attentive hostess, keep him company, we will be able to say that some of our party were too fatigued to attend.”
Miss Bingley got a predatory gleam in her eyes. “That, Louisa, is an excellent idea.”
Bingley said not a word to refute his sisters. He was too happy they were no longer aiming their vitriol at him. Thankfully, before anyone could discuss the assembly any further, a Mr Thomas Bennet of Longbourn was announced.
Unlike Sir William, Bennet noted the anger when he requested Mr Bingley introduce him to his family, and he did not miss the slight when neither lady curtsied.
Rather than take offence, he found it amusing.
He had a feeling that he would be able to have sport at the ladies’ expense if they were ever in company together in the future.
“Do you have sons and daughters?” Bingley asked as he searched for a topic of discussion before Mr Bennet departed.
Bennet gave a sardonic grin. “No sons, but I am lucky enough to have five daughters,” he responded. “Three of them are out, so if you are to attend the frivolity on Friday, I dare say my wife will ensure that you are known to them.”
“Sir William told us of the assembly, and we will be attending ,” Bingley said.
Not waiting for fifteen minutes to pass, Bennet left citing estate business, which was of course returning to his book.
“Well I never! Five daughters! What was his wife thinking to fail to bear a son?” Miss Bingley sneered. “I am sure they are as poor as church mice and have no dowries to speak of. I would not be surprised if they are all ugly with warts and other blemishes on their faces.”
“How droll, Caro,” Mrs Hurst returned.
By the end of calling hours, Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley were well sick of the parade of self-important country bumpkins.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Well, Mr Bennet, did you do your duty and call on Mr Bingley?” Fanny demanded.
His wife had accosted him as soon as he entered the house.
Bennet debated whether to tell her he had not called.
Weighing his sport against his loss of peace and quiet, he decided against doing that.
“It is done. You may meet him with a clear conscience at the assembly, which he stated he will attend.”
“You are such a good husband and father. Is it a large party?” Fanny gushed.
“There are seven gentlemen,” Bennet saw his wife light up as he had intended with his jest, “and twelve ladies.” At that she deflated.
As she did not ask him if he was making sport, which he was, Bennet said nothing.
He was sure that the ever-growing fantastical numbers would be bandied about the neighbourhood within hours.
He felt no remorse as it was all done in humour.
As he predicted, his excitable wife called for the carriage and, with Lydia in tow, was off to share the good news within a half hour of him arriving home.
Not too long after his wife’s departure, there was a knock on his study door. “Enter,” Bennet called out. As he expected Lizzy entered his domain, pushing the door closed behind her.
“Papa, Mama told us about the supposed numbers at Netherfield Park. Were you teasing her?” Elizabeth probed.
“You know me too well, Child,” Bennet replied with a wide grin.
“That was not well done,” Elizabeth opined. “Mama will make a fool of herself when everyone discovers that what she has reported is not accurate. How many are there in fact?”
Bennet had the decency to look a little chagrined at his jest and the possible consequences to his wife.
“They are four, Mr Bingley, his older sister and her husband, and an unmarried sister. I did not meet Mr Hurst, the husband, as he was happily snoring away on a chaise. Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley act like they are peers rather than daughters of a tradesman. Very haughty and arrogant. Before you ask, I told your mother seven men and twelve ladies.”
Elizabeth shook her head as she exited the study. If she told her mother the truth, she was sure the tidings would be rejected out of hand as what Papa had told her had become fact already in Mama’s mind. Of that, Elizabeth was certain.
Jane and Mary were alone in the drawing room. Lydia was with Mama and Kitty was in the east parlour with the master.
After taking her seat on the couch next to her sisters, Elizabeth shared how their father had embellished the truth regarding the Netherfield Park party. “I did not tell Papa that Aunt Maddie wrote to us about the tenants, so I knew the true numbers before I spoke to him,” she reported.
“Surely Aunt and Uncle Gardiner can trust Papa with the information?” Jane asked from her desire to only see good.
“Papa will use the information to tease Mama, and it will be known by one and all, which is exactly what the Gardiners do not want,” Mary agreed. “Jane, even you cannot deny that Papa relishes making sport at Mama’s expense.”
As much as Jane would have liked to have refuted what Mary said, she could not. She much preferred when everyone was in accord.
“If we tell Mama, she will be angry with the messenger more so than with our father,” Elizabeth opined. “I suggest we say nothing, and hope Mama is not too embarrassed at the assembly when she sees that the party is five in number.”
“Five? Did you not say there were four?” Jane verified.
“Do you not remember the latest letter from Aunt Maddie?” Elizabeth disputed. “She told us that Mr Darcy, Uncle Adam’s good friend, will join them the day of the assembly, and Papa said the whole of the party will be present at the ball.”
“She did indeed, Lizzy; it slipped my mind,” Jane replied.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On Wednesday morning, Bingley began to return the calls he had received.
He was alone as his sisters refused to accompany him to give consequence to the owners of the hovels they were sure they would see.
Hurst had come down to the dining parlour to break his fast, and when Bingley said he would not be available to hunt, Hurst had returned to recline in the private sitting room between his and his wife’s chambers.