Chapter Thirty-Nine
Caroline begged – or perhaps instructed – her sister to give a dinner party for the Bennets, and Mrs. Hurst was glad enough to do so.
The plans were soon set and the invitations sent out.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were invited, as were Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth and Miss Mary.
There were two younger sisters, of course, but they were obviously not ‘out’ and therefore need not be invited.
Caroline decided she would observe both Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth, and then she would point Charles in whichever direction best suited her own needs. She had no hesitation in sharing her plan with Louisa.
“But does not Charles have a say in this?” Mrs. Hurst asked, wringing her hands together.
“Of course he does,” Miss Bingley said. “But if he cannot decide which sister is best for him, then it is our duty as his family to make the right decision for him.”
Mrs. Hurst had her doubts, but she kept them to herself.
***
At Longbourn, Elizabeth and Jane helped one another prepare for the dinner at Netherfield.
“Jane, I have given this situation a good deal of thought…”
Then they both began to giggle, helplessly, as they had both thought of nothing but this particular situation. Finally, Jane said, “And have you reached a conclusion?”
“I have. At least, I think I have. I need to know what you think first.”
“Well, I must hear your conclusion in order to know what I think. You are simply delaying, Lizzy. What is it?”
“It seems to me that Mr. Bingley is as confused as we are. He was interested in me until he saw you, and then he – well, I think he got muddled. Does he want the eldest Miss Bennet? Or does he want the second daughter?”
“Assuming you are correct in this conclusion, what do we do?”
“I think we begin by seeing if he can unravel this tangle himself. We both remain warm, welcoming, everything to encourage his affections. Surely, at some point, he will be satisfied as to which one of us he prefers. Tonight, however, you should make an effort to sit beside him. He has known me for some weeks now, and he needs to be allowed some time to get to know you.”
“Very well,” Jane agreed, after the briefest of hesitations.
Elizabeth continued, “And we must agree, you and I, that there will be no jealousy, no ill feelings between us!”
“Of course there will not be,” Jane agreed at once.
“And we are also agreed that whichever of us receives an offer, that offer will be accepted, regardless of any – well, affection or lack thereof. Right?”
“Right.”
They solemnly shook hands on it.
***
In the warm drawing room, the visitors were welcomed, enquiries as to health were made, and seats were chosen.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet found themselves near the Hursts. Mr. Hurst was interested in obtaining the receipt for the pheasant he had so enjoyed at their home, and so actually bestirred himself to enter into a conversation.
Mr. Bingley was sitting on a sofa he usually favoured. With a warm smile, Jane went to sit beside him, as she had agreed to do.
Elizabeth, hoping to stay out of Mr. Bingley’s way and thereby give him a chance to know her sister better, deliberately took the chair furthest from the others.
Mary hesitated, standing back while the others found their seats; at the end, she had a choice between sitting near Mr. Darcy or Miss Bingley.
It was a difficult choice for her to make, as they were both rather terrifying personages to shy Mary, but knowing that Mr. Darcy was the nephew of her betrothed’s patroness made her want to know more of him; she took the seat beside his chair.
Mr. Darcy was taken by surprise when Miss Mary chose to sit beside him but, knowing her to be as shy as his own sister, he exerted himself to be agreeable. “I am happy to have this opportunity to congratulate you on your betrothal, Miss Mary,” he began.
“I thank you, Mr. Darcy.” Emboldened by his kind tone, she said, “I suspect you do not know this, but my future husband’s patroness is your aunt.”
“My aunt?”
“Yes; Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
“Well! This is most astonishing!”
“Is it not? Mr. Collins informed us of this just before returning to Kent.”
“Why did he not mention it to me?”
“He did not know if it was proper for him to do so; if you do not wish the relationship known, you can be assured that the Bennets will say nothing of it.”
“There is no reason for it to be a secret; say what you like.”
“Very well.”
Mr. Darcy smiled at her. “My Aunt Catherine can be very kind, but often enough, she is rather difficult to please, Miss Mary. If I may give you a word of advice?”
“Yes, please! I would be grateful!”
“Do not openly contradict her, for she cannot bear it. Simply agree without any fuss and then do whatever you wish.”
Mary looked puzzled. “Will she not find out later if her wishes were not obeyed?”
“She issues so many strictures and so much advice that it would be impossible for her to track the results.”
Mary could not help laughing at that; to her surprise, Mr. Darcy joined in. Mary wished very much that she could ask him about his engagement, but knew that she could not.
Miss Bingley watched Mr. Darcy and Miss Mary laughing together. There was no danger to her expectations there; Miss Mary was hardly anyone who would interest Mr. Darcy, and she was newly engaged in any case.
Mr. Bingley was delighted when Miss Bennet chose to sit beside him. She smiled and said, “This is a lovely room; I had quite forgotten how beautiful it is.”
He replied, “Oh! I suppose you have been here before, then.”
“The original owners were known to us; their children were our friends.”
He smiled at her – she was very easy to smile at! – and said, “The Netherfield library is in a dreadful state, though, or so Darcy tells me.”
“I think a number of books have been taken by tenants over the years; Elizabeth could tell you more, as she has read all the books from the Netherfield library and would know what is missing.”
“I confess that I do not much care; I am not a great reader.”
“Nor I!” she agreed. “There is always so much else to do, it seems.”
“Yes, exactly. Darcy makes me feel rather guilty, as he always has a book in his hand.”
“It is just the same with me and Elizabeth; she walks around the house while reading a book, and scarce notices when she trips over the rug!”
They laughed together. Mr. Bingley was sorry when they were called in to dinner.
It could not be argued that Mrs. Hurst set a fine table.
There were three full courses, to which only Mr. Hurst did true justice.
Elizabeth and Jane were too nervous to do more than pick at their food, while Mrs. Bennet was busy trying to memorise each dish so as to be able to give Lady Lucas a full description.
Mr. Darcy was seated between Miss Bingley and Miss Bennet. Miss Bingley leaned toward Mr. Darcy and kept her voice low. “So what do you think, Mr. Darcy?”
“About what in particular, Miss Bingley?”
“Why, Charles, of course. Will he now favour Miss Bennet over Miss Elizabeth?”
“I have no idea.”
“The elder should marry before the younger, of course.”
“I do not know that such an argument will influence him.” His voice was cool.
“Her looks are certainly in her favour.”
“Both ladies are equally beautiful.”
At this, she pulled back in astonishment. “Why, earlier you said she was only tolerable! Now you compare Miss Elizabeth’s appearance with that of her elder sister?”
Caught off guard, Mr. Darcy reached for his wine glass and took a slow sip. Finally, he said, “It is not my opinion that is of importance.”
And coax as she might, Miss Bingley could get nothing more from him on the subject. Finally freed of her persistence, Mr. Darcy was able to turn his attention to his other dinner partner. “I apologise for neglecting you, Miss Bennet. May I pour you more wine?”
“I thank you, Mr. Darcy, yes.” Her voice was calm, pure.
“Are you glad to be home, Miss Bennet?”
“I am, yes. I love my family and miss them whenever we are apart.”
“Ah. I quite understand. I have a sister, who did not travel here with me.”
“Yes, Lizzy mentioned that to me.”
“Lizzy? Ah, Miss Elizabeth, of course. I suppose I would not be allowed to call her Miss Lizzy.”
His attempt at humour fell rather flat, as she looked at him in confusion. “Of course not, Mr. Bingley. Though our friend, Charlotte Lucas, calls her Eliza. No one else is permitted to do so, as she dislikes the name.”
“Elizabeth is such a very flexible name, is it not?” he went on.
“Flexible? Oh, I see. Beth, Eliza, Lizzy.”
“Exactly.”
“Whereas Jane is simply…Jane.”
“But you are not then burdened with nicknames that you do not care for.”
“That is true enough. May I enquire as to your sister’s name?”
“It is Georgiana.”
“Does she accept any nicknames?”
“Our cousin, Richard Fitzwilliam, calls her Georgie, but she will not answer to it from anyone else.”
Miss Bennet nodded, and returned her attention to her plate.
When Mrs. Hurst rose, signaling the end of the dinner, everyone else rose as well. The gentlemen remained in the dining room, while the ladies retreated to the drawing room.
Miss Bingley asked Mary to play, which she was glad to do. Under the cover of the music, Jane and Elizabeth were able to speak. “Did Mr. Darcy say anything to you?” Elizabeth whispered.
“Not much. We spoke briefly about names, nicknames, and so on. Miss Bingley required a good deal of his attention.”
Elizabeth stifled a smile.
“What is it, Lizzy?”
“Well, I just wonder if Miss Bingley knows that he might be engaged.”
Jane frowned at her sister. “It is not for us to tell her.”
“No, though I would treasure the look on her face!”
The gentlemen returned from the dining room, and looked about for seats. Mr. Bingley took a chair beside Jane. They began to speak together at once, and were soon laughing softly, Elizabeth thought them a very handsome pair indeed, both fair-haired and blue-eyed.
Mr. Darcy found himself again pulled by that troublesome invisible string; he was completely unable to stop himself from making his way to a chair beside Miss Elizabeth.
He sat in thought for a moment, wondering frantically why he was so compelled to be near her, and finally managed to say, “You found your dinner to your liking, I hope?”
“Very much so, Mr. Darcy. Everything was delicious, and so elegantly presented.”
“Mrs. Hurst will be gratified to hear your praise of it.”
“I shall be certain to tell her. How long will you stay in Hertfordshire, Mr. Darcy?”
“Several weeks, I should imagine. Bingley has a good deal to learn about estate management. I understand you and Miss Mary shared your knowledge of estate responsibilities to the tenants with Bingley’s sisters. That was good of you.”
“We were happy to do so; my sisters and I have done our best to care for them in the absence of the owner, but our resources are limited. It would be advantageous to the tenants were Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst to take an interest.”
“And do you think they will?”
“That is not a fair question to put to me in this particular drawing room, Mr. Darcy.” Her tone was reproachful, but her green eyes danced with mischief. He could not help but smile at her.
“Do you approve of his lease on Netherfield?” she asked.
“I like it very well, as a sort of practice for Bingley.”
“Might he choose to purchase it, when his lease is up?”
“He might; a good deal will depend on how I advise him.”
“He depends on you a good deal, I think.”
Mr. Darcy did not want Elizabeth to think less of Mr. Bingley, so he quickly said, “He is a very good man. He simply has no experience in estate matters.”
Feeling that a change of subject was in order, Elizabeth asked if he had heard from his sister of late.
“No, sadly not,” he replied. “She does not write as often as I would wish.”
“Perhaps she feels the same about you,” Elizabeth suggested, making certain to keep any hint of criticism from her voice.
“You are likely correct,” he said. “I will mend my ways this very evening.”
“I hope you will be able to tell her that you are enjoying your stay in Hertfordshire,” Elizabeth said.
“I certainly will tell her that.” Mr. Darcy replied. “Miss Elizabeth, Bingley says you study Latin and Greek.”
She replied, “Eiscipulus tantum sum, Mr. Darcy. My father is a scholar, Mr. Darcy, and I am honoured to be his pupil.”
“I am impressed, Miss Elizabeth.” Mr. Darcy was, in fact, extremely impressed. This Miss Elizabeth was beautiful, trained to be an estate mistress, and a student of the classics. A rare combination, indeed!
“I beg you not to be so, Mr. Darcy. I hardly had a choice in the matter. He taught me to read Latin before I was allowed to learn to read English!”
“Indeed? That is most unusual. Did your sisters receive the same tutelage?” He glanced at Jane as he spoke.
Elizabeth could not help colouring as she replied, “Not all of us had the same interest in receiving his instruction, Mr. Darcy.”
The tea tray came in then, and Elizabeth rose to help Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley hand round the teacups.
Miss Bingley seemed to know exactly how Mr. Darcy preferred his tea; she was ready to take it to him, when Mrs. Hurst interrupted her with a question.
Elizabeth whispered, “I will bring it to him, Miss Bingley,” as she took both her cup and his.
She returned to her seat and handed Mr. Darcy his cup. Their fingers touched on the rim of the saucer. Both reacted so strongly to that brief touch that the teacups shook in their saucers, and only Mr. Darcy’s quick reflexes saved the tea from spilling all over both of them.
Elizabeth took her seat and hid her face in her teacup. What on earth had just happened?
Mr. Darcy was frozen in place. He stared at the teacup in his hand, but made no move to drink from it.
As soon as he was able to do so, he rose, bowed silently to Miss Elizabeth, and took a seat nearer the fire.
His fingers were still tingling from Miss Elizabeth’s touch; his heart was still pounding. What witchery was this?