“In that case I suppose Miss Lizzy will accompany you. Now that I think on it, your furthering a friendship with Mr Bingley’s sisters can only be a positive in his eyes,” Fanny decided. She ignored the fact that she had just said exactly what Lizzy had said, while co-opting it as her own idea.
“Mama, may we be excused to go write a response?” Jane requested. Their mother waved her two eldest away.
The sisters entered the parlour opposite which held an escritoire. “Jane, I am not sure I will accompany you,” Elizabeth said as soon as the door was closed. “You know how loathe I am to be in Mr Darcy’s company, and Mrs Hurst did say the men may return before we depart.”
“What happened to the brave Elizabeth Rose Bennet whose courage always rises? You have been in company when Mr Darcy has been present and you survived. Come now Lizzy, there will be others there, I am sure you will be able to bear a few minutes in his company, if at all,” Jane returned. “Besides, Iprefer to face Miss Bingley with you by my side.”
“I suppose you have the right of it. I was being a silly ninny. I will join you in going to Netherfield Park. It is not like we will be trapped in the same house as Mr Darcy,” Elizabeth averred. She could not fathom why she had such a visceral reaction tothatman.
With her humour and propensity to laugh at the ridiculous, the arrogant, insufferable man’s words should have washed over her. So why had they not? Elizabeth could not answer that question for herself. She pushed the thoughts off to the side to consider at another time when she had more time to cogitate on the subject.
Jane wrote the acceptance on behalf of both, sealed the note, and then handed it to Hill to convey to the waiting groom.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Of course those penniless nobodies have accepted the invitation,” Miss Bingley spat out after her sister informed her the two eldest Miss Bennets would join them on Friday. “They see a fortune and are chasing it.”
At least the men would not be present. She had noted the wayherMr Darcy’s eyes always followed Miss Eliza whenever the hoyden was present in their company. She did not want him distracted by anyone before she secured him. As to Miss Jane Bennet, yes, the woman was sweet, too much so for Caroline, but she would not allow some country mushroom to spoil her plan for Charles to marry Georgiana Darcy.
“Yet they are above you in society, and they would not have agreed to visit us without the men here if what you said was true,” Mrs Hurst riposted. “As far as I know, you are the only one hunting a fortune.”
Caroline Bingley was about to ring a peal over her sister’s head for daring to say that to her. Rather, she sat back in her chair as the men entered the drawing room to join them for teaat that moment. Miss Bingley did not want to give her brother a reason to send her to their aunt in Scarborough. She needed to be at this insignificant estate until she had compromised Mr Darcy.
“I noted the groom returned from Longbourn.” Bingley looked at his sister expectantly.
“The two eldest Miss Bennets will attend Caroline and me on Friday while you and the gentlemen are at the dinner,” Mrs Hurst shared.
Bingley did not verbalise it, but he was determined to arrive back before his angel left his home. The more time he spent in Miss Bennet’s company, the more sure he became he had found his future wife.
“They are to spend time with you, it was not my choice. If I were mistress, then…” Miss Bingley closed her jaw with a clack and did not complete her thought when she saw the thunderous look on her brother’s visage. She reminded herself it would not be much longer. She took a deep breath and said nothing more on the subject, regardless of how much she was fuming.
‘I hope we return before Miss Elizabeth and her sister depart,’ Darcy thought, ‘mayhap I will finally be able to speak to her and beg my pardon of her.’
Nothing he had tried had chased the thoughts of Miss Elizabeth from Darcy’s head. Each time he tried to banish her from his consciousness, he thought and dreamed of her more. Some of the dreams had been downright indecent. It was a certainty Miss Elizabeth would not enjoy him thinking of her in that way, even if it was only in his dreams.
Her avoidance of him was a new experience for Darcy. Normally, women threw themselves in his path! Her reticence regarding himself only made her that much more attractive to him. She cared not at all about his fortune or property and all it seemed she was interested in was keeping her distance fromhim.
From listening to her conversations—not something he was proud of—Darcy had cemented his opinion she was very well read, intelligent, and extremely witty. The one negative he had noted was she had joined her father in sporting with Mrs Bennet. It was true the lady was loud, vulgar, and of mean understanding, but that was not a reason for the blatant disrespect he saw directed towards Mrs Bennet at Lucas Lodge.
In addition to watching her sparkling eyes, Darcy hoped he would gain a truer picture of her character by speaking to her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Mama, we need to ride with Papa in the carriage and then have Jimmy drive us to Netherfield Park,” Elizabeth insisted. “It is certain it will rain and you well know Jane at this time of the year. She is prone to slight colds from the dampness, so going on horseback is out of the question, especially as she had a cold only two days past.”
Fanny hated it when Miss Lizzy had the right of it. There was nothing she could say to argue. As much as she wanted Jane to remain at Netherfield Park for some days, she did not want it to be at the expense of one of her favourite daughter’s health. Unlike Lizzy who was hardly ever ill, Jane was susceptible to colds, and at times, fevers.
“Mr Bennet, our daughters will ride with you and then send the carriage back from Netherfield Park to wait on you,” Fanny decreed.
“Yes, Dear,” Bennet responded sarcastically.
What Jane had thought was a tickle in the throat from dust, was actually the return of her cold, but she did not realise that. As much as Mama wanted her to see Mr Bingley, she wanted to see him more. She was a fair way down the road to losing her heart to the man, and based on their interactions, Jane was sure Mr Bingley’s feelings for her mirrored her ownfor him.
She applied a little powder to her face as she felt her forehead and cheeks were a little wan.
“Come Janey, the carriage is in the drive waiting for Papa and us,” Elizabeth stated when she saw Jane descending the stairs. “Hill is ready with your outerwear. It is good we are going by carriage, the rain, albeit light, has already begun to fall.”
As soon as Bennet followed his eldest daughters into the cabin of the conveyance, and the footman closed the door, the coachman started the team.
