Chapter 13
The Matchmakers at Work
Breakfast at Longbourn seldom passed in complete peace.
On the morning Mrs. Bennet received three unexpected acceptances to a dinner party she did not remember extending; however, the atmosphere bordered upon catastrophe.
Mrs. Bennet sat at the head of the table with a small stack of correspondence beside her plate and an expression Elizabeth had learned to interpret as restrained bewilderment.
Sunlight filtered pale and watery through the breakfast room windows, silvering the steam rising from coffee cups and catching against polished china while the family assembled in varying degrees of wakefulness.
Jane appeared serene despite lingering traces of her recent illness. Mary already had a book propped discreetly beside her plate. Kitty yawned repeatedly over toast. Lydia appeared unusually alert for the hour, which alone ought to have inspired suspicion. Mr. Wilson had not come down.
Thomas and Toby whispered together over something hidden beneath the tablecloth.
Mrs. Bennet unfolded another letter slowly.
“The Longs are coming on Thursday,” she announced.
Mr. Bennet lowered his coffee cup. “How enterprising of them.”
Mrs. Bennet ignored him. “As are the Kings.”
Mary lifted her attention from her book. “I thought the dinner was to be quite small.”
“It was.” Mrs. Bennet picked up another note. “And apparently Miss Bates accepted as well, though I cannot imagine why she felt compelled to devote three pages to discussing the weather between Meryton and Longbourn.”
Lydia choked suddenly on her tea.
Kitty turned toward her sister. “Are you unwell?”
“Perfectly,” Lydia gasped, pressing her napkin firmly against her mouth while her shoulders shook suspiciously.
Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Across the table Thomas kicked Toby beneath his chair. Toby retaliated instantly. Both boys attempted expressions of grave innocence that only deepened suspicion further.
Mr. Bennet observed the exchange over the edge of his newspaper with growing interest.
Mrs. Bennet opened another note. “I distinctly remember inviting only the Lucases, Netherfield, and Cousin Wilson to dine.”
Mr. Bennet appeared thoughtful. “Perhaps your invitations multiplied themselves in transit.”
“Thomas.” Mrs. Bennet sounded rather exasperated.
“I merely attempt solutions.”
Elizabeth let her gaze travel slowly around the table.
Lydia refused to meet her gaze. The twins appeared suddenly fascinated by sausages. Suspicion solidified.
Mrs. Bennet continued, “I should not object to the additional company if I understood how the confusion occurred.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth.
At that precise moment the breakfast room door opened, and Mr. Wilson entered with all the timing of a theatrical interruption. “My apologies,” he announced cheerfully. “I fear I overslept.”
“You missed nothing except mystery,” Mr. Bennet informed him.
Mr. Wilson seated himself beside Elizabeth before anyone else could occupy the chair.
The twins glowered openly.
Mrs. Bennet explained the situation while Mr. Wilson helped himself liberally to breakfast and declared the entire affair amusing.
Elizabeth, meanwhile, watched Lydia carefully. Her younger sister finally glanced up and caught Elizabeth’s eye. Then smirked. Not accidentally. Deliberately.
Elizabeth nearly dropped her fork.
Good heavens. The realization arrived with astonishing speed.
The twins had escalated. And Lydia had joined them. Across the table Thomas attempted innocence with such effort that he achieved only deeper guilt. Toby avoided looking toward either sister.
Elizabeth pressed her lips together firmly.
Mrs. Bennet sighed. “Well. The invitations stand now, regardless of how they originated. Cook shall simply need to prepare additional dishes.”
Mr. Bennet set his newspaper aside at last. “I confess myself eager for Thursday now. Confusion promises entertainment.”
Elizabeth caught him looking directly at the twins while saying it.
Her father knew. Or suspected enough to enjoy himself thoroughly.
Mr. Wilson leaned closer beside her. “Larger gatherings suit the season well, I think. A lively house is always preferable.”
Elizabeth smiled politely while imagining throttling half her siblings.
Over the next two days Longbourn descended steadily toward elegant disorder.
Mrs. Bennet adapted with admirable efficiency once it became clear the expanded guest list could not gracefully be reduced. Additional dishes were ordered. Mrs. Hill reorganized kitchen schedules. Extra candles appeared from storage cupboards. Footmen polished silver until the dining room gleamed.
Through it all Elizabeth watched her younger siblings with increasing caution.
Lydia spent far too much time disappearing into corridors with the twins. Whenever questioned, the three developed immediate and suspicious interest in unrelated subjects.
At one point Elizabeth entered the morning room unexpectedly and found Thomas perched atop a chair reaching toward the escritoire where Mrs. Bennet kept correspondence supplies. Lydia was bent over and writing something on a piece of paper.
All three froze.
“What,” Elizabeth asked slowly, “are you doing?”
“Nothing,” Toby answered instantly.
“An answer which has never once inspired confidence.”
Lydia descended upon Elizabeth, looping arms through hers. “Come, let me help you choose ribbons for Thursday.”
Before Elizabeth could protest she found herself swept halfway down the corridor while behind them Thomas hissed something triumphant at Toby.
Elizabeth stopped abruptly.
Lydia nearly collided with her.
“You are involved in something.”
Lydia widened her eyes. “Me?”
“Yes, you.” Elizabeth put her hands on her hips and glared.
Her sister dramatically placed a hand on her heart. “I am wounded by your distrust.”
“You forged the invitations.”
Lydia gasped with theatrical offense. “Elizabeth Bennet!”
“Barnett,” Elizabeth corrected automatically.
Lydia grinned. “See? You are distracted already.” Then she darted away before Elizabeth could pursue the matter further.
The little minx. Despite herself, Elizabeth began laughing. She resolved to let her sister have her fun and inform her mother after everything was over.
Thursday arrived with rain threatening since morning and Longbourn descending steadily into elegant disorder.
Mrs. Bennet maintained outward calm through the preparation of additional seating, expanded supper arrangements, missing candles, and Lydia’s inexplicable inability to remain where instructed longer than three minutes.
Elizabeth spent most of the afternoon assisting where needed while simultaneously attempting to determine precisely what her siblings had done.
No answers emerged. Only suspicious behavior.
Thomas and Toby vanished repeatedly into corridors whenever adults approached. Lydia hummed constantly beneath her breath with the expression of someone privately delighted by her own cleverness.
Even Kitty appeared infected by excitement. She sighed dreamily. “I do hope the evening proves romantic.”
Elizabeth nearly pricked herself with a rose thorn. “Romantic?”
“Yes.” Kitty adjusted another arrangement carefully. “Something feels as though it is about to happen.”
“You have spent too much time with Lydia.”
Her sister laughed. “Probably.”
Before Elizabeth could answer further, Mrs. Bennet entered carrying seating cards.
Right behind her, Thomas and Toby appeared in the doorway.
Like wolves scenting opportunity. Elizabeth narrowed her gaze at them.
The twins froze.
Mrs. Bennet moved toward the dining room table without noticing. “Lizzy, be a dear and help me arrange these properly.”
“Of course, Mama.”
Elizabeth crossed toward the table while the twins lingered suspiciously near the hall entrance.
Mrs. Bennet walked around the table, examining the cards. “Lady Lucas beside Mr. Bingley… Mrs. Long near Mr. Bennet… Mr. Darcy here…”
Elizabeth glanced down.
Mr. Darcy’s card stood directly beside her own. Again. A dangerous warmth moved unexpectedly through her chest.
She turned sharply toward the twins.
Both boys examined the ceiling.
Mrs. Bennet frowned, confused. “No. That cannot be correct.”
She reached for the cards—
And was interrupted by Mrs. Hill requesting instruction regarding the second pudding. Elizabeth glanced toward the doorway. The twins had vanished. Lydia stood there instead, smiling serenely.
By the time Mrs. Bennet returned several minutes later, she had forgotten to fix the card. The arrangement remained unchanged.
The guests arrived in careful succession despite worsening weather and increasingly muddy roads between Meryton and Longbourn.
Sir William Lucas, Lady Lucas, and Charlotte were among the first to appear, Sir William entering with cheerful compliments regarding the elegance of country hospitality while Lady Lucas surrendered her cloak with visible relief at escaping the cold.
Mr. Wilson arrived in the drawing room not long afterward and paused just inside the door, appearing a little puzzled to discover the room already fuller than expected.
“I had understood this evening would be relatively intimate,” he remarked while accepting wine from a servant.
Mrs. Bennet blinked once. “Did you?”
“You implied as much.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly.
Lydia coughed violently into her handkerchief.
Mr. Darcy, standing nearby, developed a sudden fascination with the fireplace.
Oh no. Oh no, indeed.
The Netherfield party arrived last.
Mr. Bingley entered smiling already toward Jane. Miss Bingley swept into the room with polished elegance and immediate dissatisfaction upon discovering additional company. Mrs. Hurst followed more placidly, her attention fixed chiefly upon warmth and comfort.
Darcy came behind them.
As always, Elizabeth felt his presence before she wished to.
Their eyes met almost instantly across the crowded room.
Something warm and steady passed between them before either turned their attention elsewhere.
Dinner announcements finally rescued everyone from further explanation.
Until the seating commenced.