Chapter Seventeen #2
Mrs. Long replied first. “Miss Bingley, I would be careful of saying such things. The brownies of Netherfield take pride in their home, and they would never allow dust and dirt to be found anywhere in the house.”
Miss Bingley laughed. Lizzy noticed her laugh was loud enough to catch the attention of some of the other ladies seated nearby.
“You must be joking. Nobody believes in brownies. They are fairytales told to children,” Miss Bingley loudly declared.
“You are lucky Lucas Lodge is not old enough to have brownies, or they would be sharing your complaints with the brownies of Netherfield,” Mrs. Gould, who was seated nearby, said.
“You really believe in brownies?” Miss Bingley’s condescending tone was understood by all.
“Miss Bingley, we are all aware that your family never owned an estate, but those of us who have grown up in our families’ estates know that brownies are real,” Mrs. Long admonished.
“You must be careful of who might overhear your negative comments.” That said, Mrs. Long and Mrs. Gould acknowledged the brownies who attended with their human counterparts.
Miss Bingley snorted in disbelief.
The conversation drew more attention with Mrs. Hurst joining her sister. Charlotte, Jane, and Mary were also drawn into the discussion.
“I have never in my life seen one of the creatures you talk about. If they do infest Netherfield, then they are invisible and afraid to show themselves to decent people,” Miss Bingley declared, and her sister nodded her head in agreement.
“Brownies are shy. They do not appear to strangers and are hardly even seen by those who are not from landed families,” Lizzy informed the two disbelievers.
“If they should make their presence know, it will because they trust you or because you have highly offended them. If it is the second, then I warn you to be on your guard. Brownies are known to be extremely mischievous.”
“Yes, do you remember Mrs. Nash?” Mrs. Long asked the group, and all nodded in agreement.
“Who is Mrs. Nash?” Louisa Hurst asked.
“Her husband leased Netherfield five or six years ago. She too complained about the house and the servants,” Mrs. Gould said.
“Yes, and she often spoke of items going missing from her room,” Mrs. Long added.
“The servants were stealing from her?” Miss Bingley remarked loudly with a sour look.
“No. The brownies moved the item,” Mary explained, “which would then appear two or three days later in extremely odd places.
Lady Lucas chuckled softly before say, “Yes. I remember a pearl necklace she declared was stolen. It appeared four days later around the neck of one of their children’s ponies.”
All the ladies chuckled at the recollection.
Mrs. Hurst frowned, and then said, “That does not mean it was not one of the servants who stole the necklace.”
“If a servant had stolen the necklace, I doubt they would have returned it,” Mrs. Long said. “Besides, most of the servants in this area are honest, hardworking people. Their families have lived in the area for many generations.”
“Servants are never to be trusted,” Miss Bingley interjected. “They are below us and must be carefully watched. I have never met a servant who does not try to shirk their duties.”
Although Miss Bingley missed the response, Lizzy saw must of the ladies, with the exception of Mrs. Hurst, roll their eyes at the lady’s comment.
Since Miss Bingley did not see the ladies’ reaction, she continued on, “Moreover, I am more willing to believe servants stole the items. This talk of brownies is ridiculous. They are myths used to entertain children.”
So involved in voicing her opinion, Miss Bingley missed noticing the entrance of the gentlemen.
With Miss Bingley’s last comment, Lizzy made eye contact with Mr. Darcy and noticed his smile.
Furthermore, she noticed he looked down at Rowan who laughed, and his laughter was heard by all those in the room who had brownies living in their homes.
Of course, that was most of the people present except for the Lucas family.
“Miss Bingley,” Mr. Darcy began and the lady suddenly noticing his appearance gave him a smile that reminded of Lizzy of a cat who had just cornered a mouse.
“I would behoove you to refrain from making derogatory comments about brownies especially in the homes of the gentry. You never know when one the brownies might be present to hear you. They are proud beings, and insults are never taken kindly.”
Lizzy watched as Miss Bingley’s smile turned into shock.
“Surely, Mr. Darcy, you do not believe in fairy tales,” the surprised lady declared.
“‘There are more things in heaven and earth,’ Miss Bingley, ‘than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’ So, again, I would warn you to be careful of what you say,” Mr. Darcy said.
Lizzy held her hand over her mouth to stifle her chuckle when she heard Mr. Darcy’s quote, but her father said, “Nice use of the Bard’s wise words, Sir.”
Miss Bingley only looked confused and fortunately remained silent.
The rest of the evening consisted of some members of the party playing cards while others formed small groups for conversation.
Lizzy decided to move around and partake of numerous different conversations, but she noticed Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley remained together and did not interact with the other guests.
Mr. Darcy, she noticed, joined a number of the landowners who spoke about the year’s harvest in the area and its yield compared to harvests in other parts of the country.
Lizzy returned home feeling very pleased with the evening and pleased with the amount of time Mr. Bingley had spent with Jane.
She knew a romance had begun to develop between the couple, but she also noticed the sour look cast upon them by Mr. Bingley’s sisters.
She also spent a little time pondering what would happen to Miss Bingley if she continued to make offensive comments about brownies and the state of Netherfield’s cleanliness.
Lizzy finally fell asleep and dreamt about brownie revenge amidst a blooming romance.