Chapter 19 #3
“We shall see how matters transpire,” Darcy said. “If need be, I will use my influence with Mr Bennet to encourage him—but not until Elizabeth and I have had some time to ourselves.”
Darcy spoke with a certainty he hoped would put an end to the discussion, and it did so.
The noise from upstairs a few minutes later would have interrupted it regardless, and before long they were joined by several others.
Mrs Bennet, it seemed, was still abed, having ordered a breakfast tray to her room, and Mrs Hill came in to inform the rest of the household that breakfast was ready.
Those assembled moved into the breakfast room, where trays of food had been laid out and were ready for the family to serve themselves.
Darcy turned his thoughts to what must be accomplished that day, including his meeting with the rector later that morning, but his attention was soon diverted by the sight of his sister entering the room arm-in-arm with Miss Mary.
He was struck at once by Georgiana’s evident satisfaction, and still more by the same expression upon Miss Mary’s countenance.
That he had paid the third Bennet daughter little attention the previous autumn, he readily admitted; yet in the last few days it seemed she had flourished in Georgiana’s company every bit as much as Georgiana had in hers.
Miss Kitty followed close behind, looking no less pleased with herself, as though she had in some way been the source of the others’ amusement.
Mrs Annesley followed behind the girls, giving him a nod to let him know that all was well.
Without Mrs Bennet at the meal, it began comfortably.
Miss Bennet was perhaps quiet, but she was not as tense as she had been previously, even going so far as to tease Elizabeth lightly.
Darcy wondered if she had at last made her peace with her sister; whatever the case, he was pleased she no longer appeared inclined to condemn their attachment.
“Lizzy, you have barely touched your breakfast this morning,” Miss Bennet said after several moments of conversation had passed, her tone mild but not without amusement.
“You are usually far hungrier after one of your rambles, and I cannot imagine that you did not walk out this morning. After all, you managed to find Mr Darcy and bring him here to join our breakfast.”
Elizabeth’s eyes met his for the briefest moment before she turned back to her sister, though not before Darcy caught the amusement in her expression.
“I assure you, I did not go in search of him,” she said, her voice touched with laughter.
“We encountered one another by chance, and I asked him to return with me, since he would be here all day regardless. He might as well break his fast with us.”
“An excellent chance,” Mr Bennet observed, without looking up. “I begin to think that our neighbourhood, so long deficient in eligible company, has at last discovered a method of supplying it—at least for one of my daughters.”
A faint stillness followed. Miss Bennet’s colour rose at once, her composure not quite equal to the remark, and something in her expression shifted in a way Darcy could not immediately interpret—whether pain or mortification, he could not be certain.
Miss Mary, too, coloured, though with her the cause was even less clear.
Darcy’s gaze moved about the table. No one was untouched by the observation. Even Miss Kitty, who had been inclined to laugh before, seemed uncertain whether she ought, and Georgiana had clearly perceived the slight, though she appeared uncertain how to respond to it.
It was Miss Bennet who at last spoke. “I am certain,” she said, her tone gentle, though not entirely free from strain, “that we shall all be more attentive to such opportunities in the future. Particularly as so many of my sisters are soon to be away from home, I shall be the only one left who must rely upon the neighbourhood for society.”
Darcy felt a flicker of irritation at the attempt to smooth over what ought not to have been said, though he suspected the Gardiners would not permit the subject to linger too much further.
“You may be quite easy on that point, Jane,” Elizabeth returned lightly, though her eyes did not again meet her father’s.
“As you say, most of my sisters will soon be gone from the neighbourhood, and I shall take care to invite them to London—or to my new home—so that they may meet with suitable company when it is required.”
“A very sensible resolution,” Mrs Gardiner said. “It would be unfortunate if chance alone were to determine the future of any family. You will do well, Lizzy, to bring your sisters to London once they are ready for society.”
The discomfort, already present, settled more firmly at the table, which remained silent for several minutes as all applied themselves to their breakfast.
At length, Mr Gardiner set down his cup with deliberation. “You have business with the rector this morning, I believe?” he said, turning to Darcy with easy composure.
Darcy nodded, and with that, the conversation was redirected to the coming nuptials.