“Unfortunately, I am not a lover of that dish,” Elizabeth responded politely. She could not understand why Mr. Hurst felt it necessary to comment on the fare on her plate.
“That is most singular,” Hurst responded before returning to drain his goblet of wine. He put the glass down and signalled a footman to refill it again.
“I for one love ragout, it is indicative of a high-classed and discriminating palate,” Miss Bingley claimed. How perfect was it that Eliza gave her an opening to demonstrate her own superiority.
“If that be the case, then I am afraid I have classless and indiscriminate tastes as I do not enjoy ragout either,” Darcy stated.
Miss Bingley was horrified. In her intention to point out deficiencies in Eliza Bennet, she had insulted Mr. Darcy. “Y-you must have misunderstood what I-I intended to say,” she managed as her blush of embarrassment, which travelled from the roots of her hair to where her flesh was hidden by her ostentatious gown, deepened.
For the second time in as many minutes, Elizabeth had to cover her amusement with coughing. Miss Bingley shot her the gimlet eye strongly suspecting the hoyden was laughing at her.
‘She is rather magnificent, what a pity I cannot offer for her. My family would never accept her,’ Darcy told himself sadly. If not for her lack of wealth, lack of standing, and lack of connections, he was convinced she would have been the perfect Mrs. Darcy.
He was well on his way to being in love with her. That, however, could not override his duty—as he saw it—to his name, Giana, and his family.
When dinner was concluded, Elizabeth excused herself to go check in on her sister. No sooner had she departed the dining parlour than the sounds of Miss Bingley’s grating voice abusing her roundly was heard.
Elizabeth could hear the harpy going on about her havingconceited independence.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“You summoned me, Mr. Bennet,” Fanny sniffed. Mr. Hill had delivered her husband’s orders after dinner when she had been sitting in the drawing room worrying about Jane and praying she was improving.
“Yes, I received this note from Lizzy,” Bennet held up the page. “She says Jane has begun to recover and her fever is no longer as high as it was the first night Lizzy was there to nurse Jane.”
“I knew how it would be, all she had was a trifling cold…” Fanny closed her mouth with a clack seeing her husband’s angry glare. She knew not why she could not admit the level of relief she felt at the news. She began to relax for the first time since being notified of Jane’s infirmity.
“The fact Jane is recovering is thanks to our second daughter’s attention and care of her. You were here when Mr. Jones told us it was a serious illness, one which could have gone either way.” Seeing his wife wanted to speak, Bennet held up his hand. “Before you try and tell me how this was not your fault, it was, but it was as much mine as yours.”
That was not what Fanny had expected to hear from her husband. She hung her head. “The entail drives me to distraction, I just wanted Jane to have time in Mr. Bingley’s company.” All of the pent-up guilt she felt over sending Jane out on horseback in the rain had been pressing down on her shoulders.
“I never suspected you of wanting to make our daughter ill,” Bennet assured his wife. “As I said, I was as much to blame. I find I have had a change of heart and I should have contradicted you and allowed Jane the use of the carriage, but my desire for peace overrode my better judgment. It isnotan error I intend to make again.” He lifted the letter from his cousin from the tray on one corner of his desk. “Speaking of the entail, please read this letter. To my shame, I was only going to tell you the day of his arrival.”
Bennet handed his wife the letter and took a seat on the settee next to her as she read. He watched the various emotions play across her face while she read the nonsensical missive.
On completion of reading the letter, Fanny sat without speaking for some moments. “I am sure he is only coming here to catalogue everything which will be his one day. He does seem to revere his patroness, does he not? And what is this olive branch to which he refers?” Fanny articulated once she regained her voice.
“As to your first point, you could very well have the right of it,” Bennet responded. “Avarice runs in his family; it was one of the reasons there was a break with Mr. Collins’s father. You echo my opinion regarding thegreatLady Catherine; it seems he believes she walks on water. I am sure hisolive branchis his intention to marry one of our daughters.”
“What a good thing that will be,” Fanny gushed as she excitedly clapped her hands together.
“Mrs. Bennet, let me be rightly understood. I will never give my consent for him to marry one of our girls unless the daughter in question chooses him of her ownfree will.”
“Jane is for Mr. Bingley so Lizzy must be his choice.”
“Fanny, is not one of your complaints against Lizzy that no man will want a wife moreintelligentthan himself? You read Mr. Collins’s letter. Do you honestly believe Lizzy wouldeveraccept such a stupid man? You know she would not and I would not give my permission even had she a lapse of judgement and accepted him.”
Before she responded and gave her nerves free rein, Fanny considered her husband’s words carefully. She also cogitated about her least understood daughter. It took her some minutes, but she arrived at the inevitable conclusion.
“He and Lizzy would never suit, but will he want to consider another when he is denied Jane and Lizzy?”
“He can be easily directed. Look at the deference he gives to anyone in a position of power, like his patroness for instance. If he is allowed to pursue Lizzy, he will be angry when she rejects him, and reject him she will. If that comes to pass, he would never consider the one daughter whomayaccept him—Mary. But I assure you, if he proposes to her and she refuses him, I will no more force her to marry him than any of our girls.”
Deep thought was not a common activity for Fanny Gardiner Bennet, but think she did. Bennet watched as her eyes narrowed while the wheels in her head ground. A few times she was about to speak, but stopped herself as she returned to her cogitation.
“If I tell him we expect Jane to receive an offer and point out all the ways Lizzy would be unsuitable as a parson’s wife and worse, unacceptable to his dearest patroness, and point out the opposite for Mary, then he will choose her, will he not?”
“Those are my thoughts, Fanny. Please remember, I will not countenance your pressuring any of our daughters to accept him if it is not her own free choice. At least with Mary, there is a chance.”
