Lydia and Kitty both snorted with laughter, but seeing Jane let out a quiet sigh, Elizabeth sent them on their way. “I am sorry I was not here to help with that,” she said as she closed the front door.
“It was probably better you were not,” Jane replied with a small shake of her head. “Mama was excessively vexed, but do not concern yourself on my account. Papa took the brunt of it and Mary the rest. I ought to see whether she is well. She was on the verge of tears when she ran upstairs.”
“Oh Lord! Let me go. I need you to save your strength to work on Mama.” Elizabeth had gone only two steps up the stairs before Jane called her back.
“Why do you think Miss de Bourgh is come, Lizzy? Do you think her visit has anything to do with Mr Darcy?”
Elizabeth sighed discreetly, understanding that it was not Mr Darcy about whom her sister truly cared. She had never seen Jane as happy as in those few weeks that Mr Bingley showered her with his attentions, nor so dispirited as in the weeks since he left without explanation or farewell. She hoped beyond anything that he might return to mend her sister’s heart, but she would not say anything that might give false hope.
“Truly, I do not know. What did Mr Collins say in his note?”
“Only that he was sorry for the short notice, but that he was obliged to honour the wishes of his patroness’s daughter, and thatshehas expressed a wish to become acquainted with Charlotte. There was no mention of her cousin.”
“Or her cousin’s friend?” Elizabeth pressed gently.
Jane shook her head.
“Then we shall have to wait and see. If she is, as Mr Collins once assured us, the British court’s brightest ornament, who knows how many gentlemen might follow her here. Hertfordshire could soon be inundated with eligible young men, and Mr Bingley will have to fight his way back in.”
That drew a gentle laugh from her sister. “I shall not set my heart on his coming back. It seems more and more unlikely.”
Elizabeth gave a lopsided smile of sympathy.
Jane returned it with a small but sad smile of her own. “I do think it is strange that she is come. Mr Collins said she hardly ever left Kent.”
“Indeed it is. I cannot help but wonder what sort of woman she must be.”
“To have made such a journey?”
“To be engaged to Mr Darcy.”
“Is she?”
“Yes, do you not recall? Mr Wickham mentioned it the same evening he gave me the account of his history with the Darcy family. The two cousins are pledged to unite their estates.”
“Well, the dismay of hearing you tell me the former must be my excuse for entirely forgetting the latter. Still, it is not uncommon for two cousins to marry.” Jane raised an eyebrow and smiled more sincerely than before. “Unless one of them refuses.”
Elizabeth shushed her sister loudly, grinning and peering pointedly in the direction her mother had gone. “Not so loud, if you please. Mama does not need reminding.” As an afterthought, she added, “She must be clever, do you not think? And handsome. I refusedmycousin because he is ridiculous and certainly not to my taste in appearance. If Mr Darcy has no such objections, then Miss de Bourgh must be a more appealing prospect.”
“Perhaps, though recent experience has taught me that neither looks nor understanding will guarantee a man’s affections.”
A shrill summons came from the parlour. “Jane! Jane, come here at once!”
The sisters shared a knowing look, and Jane departed to wait upon Mrs Bennet.
“Was that your mother shrieking orders?” enquired Mr Bennet, stepping out of his library, book in hand.
Elizabeth replied that it was. “She is not pleased with Mr Collins’s desertion.”
“Nor am I, Lizzy. For what sport shall we have now? I had set my heart on more of his sermons on flattery. And to think, with the legendary Miss de Bourgh accompanying him, we might have seen him at work. Indeed, I am at least as put out as your mother that he will not be staying here.”
“Do not be too disheartened. You may depend upon an invitation to dine at Lucas Lodge arriving imminently, for Sir William will not wish to keep his illustrious guest a secret. You will have ample opportunity to discover whether she is as pleased by our cousin’s delicate compliments as he claims her to be.”
Her father observably brightened. “A good point, my girl. Let us hope she proves to be every bit as absurd as her travelling companion.”
Elizabeth smiled for her father’s benefit, but she was not convinced. “I would find it odd if she wereentirelyridiculous. Indeed, I wonder quite what virtues she must possess to satisfy a man as difficult to please as Mr Darcy.”
“Well, we all knowyoudo not please him, so we must presume she has a few that you do not, eh?” Mr Bennet replied, grinning gleefully. “But we all know Mr Darcy to be a proud, disagreeable man, so you ought not to let it trouble you.”
