Chapter 5 #2
His grandmother dropped her fork onto her plate. “Philip, please! You have no reason for distress, I assure you. Let us enjoy the meal.”
“Oh, I am not distressed but rather entertained,” the young man declared. “Yes, let us enjoy the meal.”
A few more minutes of calm followed, then Lady Kendal addressed the Bingleys.
“I understand congratulations are in order. I know you are newly married.”
“Yes. Two months ago. Thank you,” Bingley replied, glancing at his wife adoringly. Jane blushed and only nodded.
“Your father owns a small estate in Hertfordshire, I hear,” Lady Kendal continued.
“Yes, your ladyship,” Jane finally said.
“Oh, a gentleman’s daughter. And such stunning beauty. You are a fortunate man, Bingley. Your father made his fortune in trade, did he not?”
That new interruption was equally offensive. Lord Alveston appeared to enjoy disparaging others.
Elizabeth glared at the young man. She could understand his frustration; it was not difficult to see his disturbed soul beneath his mocking behaviour.
He likely was behaving badly on purpose, like a small child who has been asked to behave in front of guests, against his will.
His grandmother probably insisted on his involvement in society; she presumably refused to let him lose his spirit in loneliness.
But for him, the evening seemed distressing.
Even when he tried to eat, his hands trembled.
She did understand his turmoil, but that did not diminish her irritation.
Opposite to her annoyed musings, Bingley answered joyfully.
“Yes, my lord. My father made his fortune in trade, and I am proud to say he was the best father one could hope for. And I was even more fortunate in being accepted by the most beautiful and worthy woman that I have ever met. No man is happier than me.”
His effusions of bliss left everyone speechless. Then the earl started to laugh and applaud.
“Excellent response. And I presume Mrs Bingley’s feelings are no different. Now that is something rare and praiseworthy. A marriage of true love! Wonderful!”
He attempted to drink some wine, almost spilling it on himself. Then, just as the others seemed to relax, he continued.
“Of course, my grandmother made a poor choice by inviting you. Witnessing your happiness and realising I shall never be able to reach it, cannot be too comforting for me, can it?”
A most profound and tormenting silence followed, and only the fire in the grate and their breathing could be heard.
“Well, do not distress yourselves. I am pretty sure I shall not live to reach old age—perhaps not even until next Christmas. One more proof of my misery cannot pain you too much.”
“Philip, please!” his grandmother attempted again. “You promised,” she whispered.
“Yes, yes. I apologise. I forgot myself, as usual. I understand how daunting a task it must be for you to find anyone willing to join us for dinner. Poor Mr Banfield cannot refuse you, since he cannot afford to lose you as his client. And you, Mr Gardiner? Do you work with Mr Banfield?”
“Yes, I do have that pleasure.”
“Mr Gardiner is a very skilful businessman. He not only has great knowledge of trade but also of commercial law. He has worked as a solicitor too,” Mr Banfield explained.
“Oh, I see. So I assume he is interested in gaining my grandmother’s favour too. And he has brought his family here tonight.”
“Philip! Enough!” Lady Kendal demanded. But the earl waved his hand to dismiss her.
“I know my grandmother is trying to keep me entertained to the end, so she brings different acquaintances to amuse me. And there is always a young, unmarried woman amongst them. What she forgets is that I am not able to amuse or to entertain anyone and even less a woman. And still, several heiresses in town are more than willing to attach themselves to me. I am the perfect husband, you know—horribly rich and dying.”
“Philip, please! Why do you insist on making everyone miserable?”
“Yes, let us have a pleasant evening. I am sure it will be a singular encounter anyway. Usually, people are appalled to see me once and never repeat the experience. Unless they are young ladies forced by their mothers to try to gain my attention.”
He looked around, and Elizabeth met his glare for a moment. She could not resist raising her eyebrow in challenge. He averted his eyes and commanded the servant, “Pour me some brandy!”
“But…”
“Brandy! Now!”
He took the glass with trembling hands and tried to gulp it but spilt some. He angrily wiped his mouth.
By the time the second course was served, Jane, Mrs Gardiner, and Mrs Banfield were all distraught. The gentlemen were trying to find a subject of interest but could only praise the food and talk about the storm.
“Miss Bennet, are you enjoying London?” Lord Alveston asked her.
Surprised, she gazed at him.
“Very much.”
“Do you live with your sister or with your aunt?”
“I am spoilt enough to be able to move between the two.”
“Are you about to marry too?”
“Not at all,” she responded with amusement.
“That is quite peculiar. I thought it was the purpose of every young woman to marry. Preferably to marry a very wealthy husband, as wealthy as possible.”
“I might be considered peculiar, or you might not know enough women. For the time being, I am pleased to see my sister and her husband happily married. I doubt I could find a man as good as my brother-in-law, so I would rather not settle for less,” she jested, smiling at Jane and Charles.
“That is quite interesting to hear. But perhaps you are right. Marriage and children are such a small satisfaction in life, so easy to achieve for any savage yet so difficult to accomplish for some others,” the earl concluded, gulping more brandy.
“Miss Bennet, I confess I am enjoying your company. In the last two months, I have been visited by several beautiful young ladies. Most of them more beautiful than you and with a much better situation in life but with less spirit.”
His statement, although it was dressed up as a compliment, was rude; everybody exchanged worried looks while Lady Kendal appeared desperate.
“Well, I am relieved that my spirit excels where my beauty lacks,” Elizabeth laughed. She was equally diverted and angry. Suddenly she remembered her reaction to Darcy’s rude remarks and shivers shook her body. To him, she had always reacted more intensely.
The earl’s comment about her average beauty did not affect her in the slightest. It was instead his impertinent tone that bothered her.
Lord Alveston laughed.
“I did not mean that you lacked beauty, not at all. You seem to possess enough wit to keep me entertained. I have never been introduced to a country gentleman’s daughter before, and I was reluctant to have dinner in company below my usual circle.
I even argued with my grandmother about that.
But I am glad she invited you, although I wonder about her purpose. You are not what I expected.”
Elizabeth breathed deeply. She felt Jane’s hand touching hers, trying to calm her. Jane surely noticed her growing anger. But it was too late for calming gestures.
She pasted a grin on her face and replied, “Nor have I ever been introduced to a man like you, Lord Alveston. You are not what I expected either.”
He stared at her and narrowed his bright green eyes.
“Like me, how? Crippled, dying, unable to hold his glass? Stuck to his chair, waiting to die? What did you expect? Better? Or worse?”
His voice was now cold, cutting, demanding, even spiteful. The others seemed to stop breathing. But Elizabeth leant forward, towards the earl.
“I expected a highly educated man with gentlemanlike manners towards his dinner companions, even if he despised them for their lower connections. I expected decorum and politeness. But you, sir, are rude, insensitive, haughty, and find pleasure in offending others because you are accustomed to nobody fighting back. You purposely wounded and embarrassed your grandmother, and no gentleman would ever do that. I know nothing about your illness, and it does not affect me in the slightest. What does affect us is your insolence and disrespect. I may lack beauty, but you surely lack manners. Did you ever consider that people refused to visit or dine with you not because of your illness, but because of your boorish behaviour? You may well count me among them too.”
Silver dropped onto china with a startling clatter. Elizabeth felt stunned faces upon her, but she calmly sipped her wine, then turned to meet the earl’s stare again.
He was looking at her in disbelief, his eyes and mouth wide open.
“You are not any kinder than me, Miss Bennet. That is no way to speak to a suffering man in whose house you are a guest.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “I must inform you that the spirit you earlier praised often betrays me, as it tends to rise whenever I am being attacked.”
She was mocking the earl, but suddenly, the memory of her conversation with Darcy on the same subject sent thrills through her again. She sipped some more wine.
“So you have no compassion for me?” the earl asked with apparent mockery.
This time, Elizabeth stole a look at Lady Kendal and noticed a slight nod of approval. Freed from the fear she might wound her ladyship even further, she turned to the earl.
“Are you looking for compassion, Lord Alveston?”
He held her gaze, then averted his eyes. “I am not. I was only teasing you, Miss Bennet.”
“Oh, you should not do that. In the matter of teasing, no one can defeat Elizabeth. Trust me, you will soon regret sparring with her,” Bingley declared with such utter honesty that peals of laughter were heard around the table.
By the time the final course was served, the atmosphere in the dining room was lighter, more pleasant, and even friendly.