Chapter Twenty-Nine
Three months later
For once, Meryton’s gossip mill did not provide the ladies of Longbourn with adequate warning of the arrival of the denizens of Netherfield. The first notice they received came when Kitty glanced out of the window one morning and said;
“Why, Mama, that looks like Mr. Bingley at the gate! And he is not alone, there are two other gentlemen with him! One of them looks like that tall, proud-looking man who was with him before, what was his name?”
“Mr. Darcy?” Mrs. Bennet said. “Well, any friend of Mr. Bingley’s will always be welcome here, to be sure…”
“He was very kind to both Jane and I in Kent, Mama,” Elizabeth cut off anything else her mother might have been about to say. “Not at all proud.”
Mrs. Bennet harrumphed. “Well, he is not here for any of you, that is for sure. Mr. Collins was always quite certain that he would marry Miss de Bourgh; I daresay he is only waiting until her mourning period is over, now that she is the sole owner of Rosings! Who is the third gentleman, Kitty?” she called. “Is it that Mr. Hurst?”
“No, mama, it is a gentleman I never saw before,” Kitty replied. “He is quite as tall as Mr. Darcy, and wears a soldier’s red coat.”
Lydia looked up at this intelligence, but did not squeal with excitement as she might once have done. It was Jane whose reaction was telling; she dropped the handkerchief she was stitching on, her face turning quite pink.
Mrs. Bennet, of course, quite misunderstood the cause of Jane’s reaction.
“Mr. Bingley has returned for you, Jane!” she cried triumphantly.
“Oh, I knew it, I knew you could not be so beautiful for nothing! And now that you will one day be mistress of Longbourn in your own right, there is nothing to give him pause!”
Mr. Bingley, however, knew two steps into the room that his chance to win the heart of the eldest Miss Bennet had well and truly passed. For it was not him she looked at with her blue eyes shining, a soft smile on her lips, but the red-coated Colonel at his side.
A little alarmed by the way the Colonel and Jane were gazing at each other, seeing her dreams of Jane as mistress of Netherfield (leaving Mrs. Bennet to permanently rule the roost at Longbourn) going up in smoke, Mrs. Bennet hastened to request an introduction.
Mr. Darcy lost no time in advising Mrs. Bennet of his cousin’s connections, guessing that the fact that Fitzwilliam was an Earl’s son in addition to a colonel would dazzle her entirely.
He was quite correct in that assumption, and Fitzwilliam soon found himself seated in the place of honour between Mrs. Bennet and Jane, being plied with tea, cake and Jane’s smiles.
Bingley found himself at somewhat of a loss until Kitty approached him with a sweet smile.
“It is a great pleasure to see you here in Hertfordshire again, Mr. Bingley. Please, will you not sit down? May I bring you some tea? I should very much like to hear how you have been spending your time since last we met.”
Mollified by Kitty’s bright eagerness and evident delight in his presence, Bingley allowed himself to be drawn to a chair beside Lydia.
Though he expected to take little pleasure in the visit now, he found himself pleasantly amused, both girls behaving in a much more mature and amicable manner than he had recalled they were wont to do.
Having performed the necessary pleasantries, Darcy lost no time in making for Elizabeth’s side, but was intercepted by Mary, who planted herself squarely in front of him.
“Miss Mary,” he said with a polite bow.
“Mr. Darcy, I wish to present my very great sympathies for your devastating loss.”
Darcy paused, taking in Mary’s dress. She, alone among the Bennets, still wore the severe black of mourning. The eyes she lifted to him — very similar eyes to Elizabeth’s, he noted — were brimming with honest sympathy.
Suppressing his first instinct to brush her off, he said “That is a very kind sentiment, Miss Mary, I thank you. I have lost quite a few close family members in my life, though. While we should continue to remember them with love, there comes a time when we must move on with our own lives and set our grieving behind us. That, after all, is what those who loved us would wish; for us to be happy, is it not?”
Mary’s mouth opened and closed a time or two, but she did not seem to have a ready answer for him.
“Your respect for the deceased does you credit, but I beg you, do not lose yourself to mourning, Miss Mary. Especially not now. I have a very particular reason for asking, you see.”
A little stunned at Mr. Darcy taking so much time to speak to her, Mary stuttered out a “W-why?”
“My sister, Georgiana, is at Netherfield with me this visit. Georgiana is shy and I hoped that the two of you might find something in common, if you would consent to be introduced?”
Mary looked around as though looking for someone else that Mr. Darcy might be speaking to. “Me?” she said finally. “You want to introduce me to your sister?”
“Why, yes. Georgiana is exceedingly fond of music, you see, and I have been reliably informed that you are by far the most diligent of the Misses Bennet when it comes to practising on the pianoforte. Or is my intelligence on the matter incorrect?”
“Yes - I mean no - I… I…” Mary stuttered.
Elizabeth kindly came to her rescue. “You are quite correct, Mr. Darcy, Mary is indeed by far the most interested in music of my sisters. I am sure she would be most delighted to meet Miss Darcy, as would we all.”
“Then I hope you will allow me to send my carriage to fetch all of you to Netherfield for tea tomorrow afternoon?” Mr. Darcy smiled down at Elizabeth. “I believe Mr. Bingley has in hand an invitation from Mrs. Hurst, who is acting as his hostess on this occasion.”
“Miss Bingley…?” Elizabeth queried with a glance in his direction.
“Has gone to visit relatives in Scarborough.” Mr. Darcy gave her a bland look, but she could see the laughter lurking in his eyes.
“I may have mentioned something to the effect that the house party could develop, shall we say, undesirable tensions should she seek to interfere in the affairs of certain other guests again.”
Deaf to the unspoken communication occurring between her sister and Mr. Darcy, Mary waited impatiently for him to finish speaking before saying quickly;
“Mr. Darcy, we are all so very honoured by your invitation to meet your sister! By your leave, I shall go now and look through our music sheets; we have quite a collection, you know, it is possible we may have some that Miss Darcy has not seen…”
Darcy gave her a paternal smile. “That is a very kind thought, Miss Mary, and I know that Georgiana will surely appreciate it.”
Smiling, Mary bobbed a quick curtsy before hurrying out, leaving Elizabeth and Darcy standing alone by the window.
“Why do I have the feeling that Miss Darcy is probably in possession of every music sheet ever printed and probably has no need of anything from our poor collection?” Elizabeth asked archly.
“Are you implying, Miss Elizabeth, that I thoroughly spoil the people I love?” Darcy replied, a small smile playing about his lips.
“Because if so, you are quite correct. Even so, I promise you that Georgiana will be quite delighted by Miss Mary’s having thought to share her music, even if there is not one single new piece for her to exclaim over. ”
That made Elizabeth smile. “I am very much looking forward to meeting Miss Darcy,” she admitted.
“She is most eager to make your acquaintance, I assure you. I have told her much of you.”
Elizabeth blushed a little at that, and looked down; Darcy took pity on her, here in Longbourn’s parlour with her mother watching on with great interest.
“Georgiana and I spent a few days at Rosings before repairing to Netherfield,” he changed the subject.
“You did? How are Anne and dear Charlotte? It is at least a fortnight since Charlotte’s last letter,” Elizabeth said.
“The widow Collins tasked me with delivering her latest missive to you myself, since she knew I would see you soon,” Darcy said, loudly enough for Mrs. Bennet to hear, before drawing a sealed envelope from inside his jacket. He held it up for Mrs. Bennet’s inspection before handing it to Elizabeth.
“Oh, thank you - but I will not be so rude as to read it now, when there are guests to be entertained,” Elizabeth said with a smile, tucking it into the pocket of her dress.
“I am glad of that, because I wished to see your face when I told you a small part of the news it contains, and Charlotte herself tasked me to describe your expression when next I write to Anne,” Darcy said mischievously.
Intrigued, Elizabeth tilted her head. “I cannot imagine what you mean, Mr. Darcy? Pray, do tell!”
“Dr. Trent proposed to Charlotte and she accepted him,” Darcy spoke quietly, for her ears only.
Elizabeth, though, could not possibly restrain her joy at such happy news. Clasping her hands together, her face shining with joy, she exclaimed; “Is it true? Oh, my dearest Charlotte, how happy I am to hear of it!”
“What’s this, what’s this?” Mrs. Bennet cried immediately, not to be denied her right to share in interesting gossip.
Mr. Darcy shared the news generally, the room rejoiced, and even Mrs. Bennet, in the face of such general happiness for a friend, was brought to say grudgingly that Charlotte would likely make a very good doctor’s wife.
“Far better that than mistress of Longbourn,” she muttered under her breath, casting a speculative glance at Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Second son he might be, but surely the Earl had a number of properties, one of which might be bestowed upon a younger son on the occasion of marriage.
Perhaps the Colonel might even buy Netherfield, and then Jane might have it after all, leaving Mrs. Bennet at her beloved Longbourn for her lifetime.
With a little smile as she mentally arranged matters to her satisfaction, Mrs. Bennet settled back in her chair.
Her gaze fell on Kitty then, talking earnestly to Mr. Bingley, who was listening with a smile on his face.
Or perhaps Bingley will keep Longbourn and the Colonel will purchase another local property. I shall begin looking about. Haye Park might do, if the Gouldings would quit it, or even Ashworth…
Lost in pleasant daydreams, Mrs. Bennet did not even notice when Mr. Darcy quietly invited Elizabeth to take a turn about the gardens, and she equally quietly accepted, smiling happily up at him.