‘Let me guess. Over-dressed, haughty demeanour and vicious gossip.’
‘Heavens. It sounds like you have met Miss Bingley,’ Elizabeth laughed at Mrs Carleton’s imitation of their acquaintance.
‘Caroline Bingley?’ Amelia asked. At Elizabeth’s tentative nod she added, ‘I have indeed had the misfortune.’ The lady laughed. ‘You must think me just as much of a gossip as that… ah… lady, but I must say that you were fortunate that your family is not titled, otherwise she would have been determined to marry her brother off to one of you.’
‘If she is so keen to join the first circles, perhaps she should focus on finding a husband of her own,’ suggested Elizabeth.
‘Therein lies the rub. The lady is so thoroughly unpleasant that no man is desperate enough to marry her despite her dowry which she always boasts about. To her misfortune she has also set her cap on a specific man and therefore fawns on him while being dismissive of anyone else.’
Mary’s eyebrows puckered as she asked, ‘Is the gentleman she has her cap set on Mr Darcy perchance?’ At the surprised look she received, she added, ‘I noticed her attentions to the gentleman at the assembly.’
‘Indeed, he is the one. I had not realised that you are acquainted.’
‘I would not exactly say acquainted. We have encountered Mr Darcy,’ Elizabeth said repressively. ‘Arrogant, rude and thoroughly unpleasant.’
‘Now, Lizzy, I am sure you are judging too harshly,’ Mrs Gardiner interjected. ‘Mr Darcy’s father was a perfectly civil gentleman, and I am certain he would have raised his son to be the same.’
Mrs Carleton ignored Mrs Gardiner’s protest as she raised both eyebrows and said, ‘I have a feeling that you have a story to tell.’
Elizabeth obliged, giving her a condensed version of the recent events in Meryton.
‘I am afraid he has always been thus. He does not perform well to strangers, although he can be quite charming with family and close friends. I suspect that having been the prey of matrimonially inclined ladies for almost a decade has given him an inflated opinion of his own worth.’
‘I do not care how good his opinion of himself is. True gentlemen always behave with civility if nothing else,’ protested Elizabeth.
Mrs Carleton’s eyes twinkled as she recalled having had some glimpses of the gentleman over the previous weeks. ‘Perhaps you are not the only one who feels that way. As it happens, his house is across the square from ours and I noticed him coming home one day in the company of his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. The way he looked and moved made me wonder at the time if he had been in an accident. NowI wonder if the Colonel had not decided to administer a lesson in humility.’
‘If the Colonel did, I should dearly love to meet him so that I could thank him,’ Elizabeth answered with a mischievous grin.
‘Perhaps that can be arranged.’
They chatted for a while longer before Mrs Carleton bustled off again. After her departure Jane sighed, ‘I can understand why you called her a force of nature. Personally, I consider a hurricane to be more restful than our cousin.’
~T~
Since the weather was clear, Mr and Mrs Gardiner, together with their nieces walked to the Carleton’s house as it was just across Grosvenor Square.
As it happened, across the square a gentleman looked out his study window and noticed the group. He could not make out the face of the gentleman who had a lady on each arm as he was facing the lady on his right, whose countenance was blocked by the man. The lady on his left was lovely and Darcy judged her to be his own age or perhaps a little older.
The threesome was followed by a couple of younger ladies. Both were as elegant as the lady in front, and one was quite beautiful. But it was the second lady who caught his eye. From this distance he could not see every detail, but he thought her stunning. Something in the way she moved seemed somehow familiar, but he could not recall at whose function he could have met her.
Seeing them enter the Carleton’s residence, he cursed his cousin. Under normal circumstances he could have been invited and discovered the identity of the chocolate haired beauty.
~T~
Mr John Carleton was pleased to meet the Bennet sisters and in turn introduced his three sons, Matthew, George, and Robert, who was rendered speechless on seeing Jane. For the first time in his life, he understood why his older brothers found the fair sex so completely fascinating.
Jane being her usual kind and generous self, went out of her way to draw out the young man and put him at ease. He was later in the evening heard to say, ‘I hope that she will find a man worthy of her. But if any man should ever hurt her, he will live to regret it.’
Several other cousins from Amelia’s side of the family made up the rest of the family party, amongst them were James Deveril, Fergus Elridge and Simon Harrington. Since her own sons were too young, Mrs Carleton thought to try her hand at matchmaking only slightly further afield.
~T~
It did not take long for Elizabeth to charm her new acquaintances with her ready smile and lively wit. She was pleased that Amelia’s relations were as pleasant as the lady herself albeit somewhat more restrained.
Mary, always a little quieter than her older sister was soon in earnest conversation with Sarah Elridge who had a passion for music.
While Jane was busy soothing and encouraging the youngest of the Carleton sons, she was being observed by the oldest of the cousins.
