Chapter Ten
March 1812
Hunsford, Kent
Elizabeth
“Goodbye, my dear.” Mr. Bennet kissed Elizabeth’s cheek. His tricorn hat sat upon his head; his cape draped over his shoulders. “Enjoy your visit with your sister.”
Elizabeth nodded, searching his face for… something.
He smiled pleasantly and tapped her nose as he had done when she was a child. “What is that look for?” he asked.
“I hardly know.” She shrugged. “I shall miss you.”
“You will be home before you know it,” he replied before he turned to Jane.
“I am pleased you have found contentment.” He took Jane’s hands and tenderly kissed both of them. “I am so proud of the woman you have become, my Jane.”
“I love you, Papa,” Jane replied. “Write to me.”
Mr. Bennet laughed. “You know me to be a dreadful correspondent, but for you, I will make every effort.”
“That is all I can ask.” Jane hugged Mr. Bennet tightly.
“Thank you for your visit, dear cousin.” Mr. Collins stepped forward and held the carriage door open. “As you can see, your daughter’s position is enviable. She is an excellent wife and mistress, and I flatter myself that I have made thewisestdecision in my choice of wife.”
Elizabeth noted Charlotte’s wince and wondered at its cause. Mr. Collins rambled on until the horses stamped their feet impatiently.
“Time to be off.” Mr. Bennet stepped away from the others and climbed aboard the carriage. He waved as it set off, and Elizabeth waved until the carriage rounded a bend in the road and disappeared.
The four remaining people filed inside the parsonage to the tune of Mr. Collins’s continued expressions of delight at his father-in-law's visit. He continued to speak as he made his way into his study and his voice could be heard even after he closed the door.
The ladies continued to Jane’s private parlor. “I am off to the village,” Jane said as she rifled through the papers on her writing desk. “Ah! Here it is. I need to procure a few items. Will you both accompany me?”
And so, the days following fell into a pattern. Elizabeth and Charlotte were happy to help Jane with her duties, which included visiting the parishioners, tending the garden, and decorating the chapel for services. Elizabeth still walked out inthe mornings after breakfast and took great delight in exploring the surrounding area.
They received an invitation to take tea with Lady Catherine and her daughter one sunny Wednesday in the middle of March. Jane seemed a little vexed, having prepared a special treat for their own tea, but merely told Cook to save it for dinner.
The three arrived for tea promptly at two o’clock. Lady Catherine greeted them with a nod and gestured for them to seat themselves. Miss de Bourgh sat next to Mrs. Jenkinson, and showed no interest in the conversation, it being dominated by her mother.
She is a colorless creature. Pale, sickly, and she looks rather cross. Yes, she will make him a proper wife.Elizabeth’s thoughts kept her occupied as Lady Catherine spoke and she wondered if Mr. Darcy had learned to be silent in company because his aunt often controlled the conversation when he was in her company.
Mr. Darcy frequently had residence in her thoughts, though she knew not why. She had thought about the gentleman since the twenty-sixth of November at the Netherfield ball. He and the rest of the party had departed without taking their leave of the neighborhood. And then she saw him at Gunter’s… she had scarcely been able to forget him since.
Elizabeth’s gaze drifted to Jane, and she wondered for a moment if Mr. Wickham’s suppositions that Mr. Darcy had aided in keeping Mr. Bingley away were correct.
The doors to the sitting room flew open and banged against the wall, causing the entire gathering to jump in surprise. In strode a handsome man of some forty years, a towering woman on his arm, her walking stick hitting the floor as she walked. She was striking; her hair was pure white, and her face handsome, though wrinkled. She stood tall and proud, her postureunaffected by her apparent years, looking at the assembled group over the tops of a pair of spectacles.
“You!” Lady Catherine snapped. “What areyoudoing here?”
Behind the unexpected visitors came the butler. He huffed as if he had run down the hall after them. “Lady de Bourgh and Sir Andrew de Bourgh,” he panted. He bowed and backed slowly out of the room, closing the doors behind him.
“I have come for my granddaughter’s birthday,” Lady de Bourgh said imperiously.
Lady Catherine scoffed. “Anne’s birthday is not for another month.”
“I know. I am early.” Lady de Bourgh came forward and seated herself without an invitation.
