Chapter 16
Dinner was both interesting and unsurprising.
Elizabeth was placed at the table in such a way that the only person beside her was Mr. Hurst, and there was no one across from her.
Therefore, she had little in the way of actual conversation.
She could see Mr. Darcy, who was across from Mr. Hurst, but she could not see Miss Bingley who was on the same side as Elizabeth but hidden by Mr. Hurst.
What conversation there was mostly centered around Miss Bingley.
Now that she was no longer in the presence of her ill friend, Miss Bingley seemed to forget all about her.
Instead of the pleasant, somewhat interesting young lady she had been all afternoon, Miss Bingley suddenly became a harsh, complaining, and slightly shrewish woman.
She still maintained a reasonable facsimile of good manners in that her voice was gentle in its tone and volume.
However, her words were far from mannerly.
Seemingly forgetting that Elizabeth was there, Miss Bingley spent the entire first course complaining about how dead and uninteresting Hertfordshire was and how she longed to return to London.
Each time she spoke, she paused as if expecting someone, probably Mr. Darcy, to agree with her, but no one did. Mr. Darcy’s thoughts went to the pleasant hunting and fishing he had experienced here, while the rest of the table remained silent.
Occasionally, Mrs. Hurst would chime in, but only on the subject of a lack of entertainment and shopping. She did not criticize the local society.
Elizabeth was pleased to find that Mr. Darcy liked Hertfordshire in general, and he had nothing against his neighbors other than that they were sometimes a trifle too loud for comfort.
She also felt vindicated in her earlier poor opinion of Miss Bingley when she discovered that, despite her moderated tone, Mr. Darcy found her to be nearly intolerable.
At one point, Mr. Darcy thought, If you are so opposed to Hertfordshire, it is a wonder you are so adamant at getting your hands on Pemberley, for it is even more devoid of interesting neighbors.
Having a park that extends ten miles around sounds pleasant, but it certainly prevents any gentleman of means from living closer than a mile and a half away.
When Elizabeth heard this in her mind, she had to work hard to prevent herself from showing her shock. Not only was her surprise due to the sheer size of Pemberley’s park, but she was also impressed that Mr. Darcy could admit, at least to himself, that such a large home had its disadvantages.
Since she could see Mr. Darcy’s face, Elizabeth was treated to the sight of his unchanging expression, which was at great odds with his active thoughts. She wondered how often he found such a blank expression to be useful in such a way.
By the end of the third course, however, Elizabeth was no longer amused. When Mr. Bingley expressed concern for Jane’s illness during a brief lapse in the conversation, Miss Bingley agreed with his concern. However, she also went on to share all she had learned about the Bennets’ connections.
She explained that Mrs. Bennet’s only known relations were a brother-in-law who was a solicitor in Meryton and a brother who was a tradesman in London. She didn’t know much of Mr. Bennet’s relations, but she assumed they couldn’t be particularly notable, or they would be more talked of.
Miss Bingley’s words attempted to convey sympathy for her poor friend’s lowly connections, but her tone carried her real feelings, feelings of superiority and arrogance.
Not far into this diatribe, Mr. Darcy finally spoke. “Miss Bingley, while I understand the necessity of sharing news of your neighbors, it is the height of rudeness to discuss the family of someone who is present and who is quite capable of telling us of her relations, herself.”
Elizabeth felt her jaw drop, though it was not so much as to cause her mouth to open. Mr. Darcy had actually spoken up to stop Miss Bingley’s rudeness. Not only that but it was in defense of Elizabeth.
She wished she could see Miss Bingley’s expression, wondering whether it was simply blank with surprise or whether she pursed her lips with displeasure. Either way it would have been a sight to behold.
After a few moments of silence, Miss Bingley said, “Very well, let us change the subject.”
Elizabeth was outraged. Instead of Miss Bingley deferring to Elizabeth, which would finally allow her to join the conversation, she continued to shut her out by wishing to change the subject.
Mr. Darcy’s face grew thunderous, and Elizabeth imagined that she could feel waves of heat wafting from him, fueled by his anger and nothing else.
Miss Bingley must have seen it as well, for she did not continue speaking.
Everyone else was staring at Mr. Darcy. Such a display must have been unusual in the extreme.
After a few moments he schooled his features into some semblance of a more relaxed visage, and he turned to Elizabeth. “Would you mind telling us of your relations and your connections? I am very curious to hear the tale of how you obtained your fortune as well.”
“Oh, yes,” said Mr. Bingley with the enthusiasm of a puppy. “I have heard rumors, but it is quite difficult to believe. Do tell us the story.”
“I will tell you of my relations first,” said Elizabeth.
“Then I will be happy to tell the tale of my fortune, for I agree with you that it is a most unbelievable story. My father has only one living relation, a second cousin by the name of Mr. Collins. He grew up in this county about twenty miles away, though I have never met him. I believe he received his education at Oxford with the intention of entering the clergy. My father does not speak of him much, because he was on poor terms with Mr. Collins’ father.
Additionally, our estate, Longbourn, is entailed away from the female line, and Mr. Collins is the heir.
Naturally, my mother does not like to hear him spoken of. ”
“I know it is common and traditional to do such things,” said Mr. Darcy, “but I have never thought it wise. By limiting the potential inheritors to only male heirs, one doubles the chances of the property falling away from the family, all the while causing undue distress for parents who fail to produce any males.”
“I could not agree more,” said Elizabeth. “While I could at least understand the necessity of leaving the property to the oldest son, even if he is not the oldest child, I will never understand why my father’s grandfather did not wish females to be considered at all.”
Elizabeth paused, but when there was no further comment on Mr. Collins or the hated entail on Longbourn, she said, “As for my mother’s relatives, Miss Bingley was correct in essentials.
My mother’s sister married a very successful solicitor in Meryton.
Her brother, Mr. Gardiner, however, cannot be described as simply a tradesman.
“While the term is essentially accurate in that he owns two warehouses, it does not do him justice whatsoever. What fortune my mother’s father had that did not go to my mother and aunt all went to Uncle Gardiner.
He is quite comfortably wealthy, and I have never met a gentleman or gentlewoman with better manners than Aunt and Uncle Gardiner.
His warehouses are not much more than investments to him, similar to the investments any gentleman has which serve to grow his wealth and provide him income.
The only difference being that they require a bit more attention from him than simply leaving his money in the funds. ”
Mr. Darcy said, “You do your family credit to defend them so.” His thoughts, however, told a different story. So, he is truly a tradesman after all.
Oddly, Mr. Darcy’s internal dismissal of her uncle hurt her far more than anything Miss Bingley said aloud. She felt herself slump in her seat, and she stared at her plate, not wanting to see anyone else’s reactions.
Simultaneously, she heard Mr. Bingley speak while Mr. Darcy’s next thought reached her.
Mr. Bingley said, “Indeed. You do them great credit. I believe I would quite like to meet your uncle.”
Mr. Darcy thought, Why is she suddenly so sad?
Mr. Bingley’s words caught Mr. Darcy’s attention, and his head swiveled toward his friend. “You would?” he asked.
“Of course,” said Mr. Bingley. “He sounds rather like my uncle who still manages our cotton mills. He is gentlemanly in all his actions, but he is certainly not afraid to take charge when it comes to managing his own affairs.”
“I don’t believe I have met your uncle,” said Mr. Darcy.
Mr. Bingley laughed. “Of course not. He still lives in Scarborough. Besides, I didn’t think he was the sort of man you would wish to be introduced to.”
Mr. Darcy stared at his friend. Then he looked back at Elizabeth. She wondered if Mr. Bingley had changed his mind about Mr. Gardiner, but all she heard was, Hmm.
“Enough of this nonsense,” said Mr. Hurst querulously. “Who cares who anyone’s uncle is? I believe we are all quite a bit more interested in hearing how you came by your inheritance. I understand you did not even know the lady who left you your fortune.”
Elizabeth chuckled briefly in relief at Mr. Hurst’s selfish way of breaking up an awkward conversation.
“Indeed, I did not,” said Elizabeth. “I was not connected to her in any way.” She then proceeded to tell the story of her inheritance.
This led to questions which in turn led to her describing all the effort that went into settling everything.
Fortunately, the ensuing conversation took the rest of dinnertime with no input whatsoever from Miss Bingley.
~~~~~
After dinner, Elizabeth made her way back up to Jane to ensure she was still comfortable. She was. Jane had spent the intervening time reading a novel that Elizabeth had brought from home and eating some soup that a maid had brought up to her.
“Lizzy, you don’t need to curtail your own enjoyment just to keep me company,” said Jane. “I certainly don’t mind if you go back downstairs to join the others. I will probably sleep soon anyway.”
“You are not curtailing my enjoyment in the least,” replied Elizabeth, “for I would much rather be here with you than with anyone else in this house. Besides, as I was leaving them, Mr. Hurst mentioned the idea of them playing loo tonight, and you know I’m not overly fond of that particular game.
So, even if I went downstairs, I would not truly be participating anyway. ”
Jane looked as though she didn’t believe her, but she said, “Very well. If you insist on staying here, would you read to me for a bit.”
Elizabeth began to read. It was a gothic novel they had both read previously, but it was nevertheless rather gripping. It took Jane another hour to slip into slumber.
Once Elizabeth was certain her sister was asleep, she made her way downstairs, not because she wished to see Mr. Darcy again. No, of course not. It was simply the polite thing to do.