The other lady nodded. “You will escort me,” she said to Elizabeth’s cousin. “My grandson will escort my granddaughter.” Mr. Collins complied, extending his arm to Lady de Bourgh. He led her into the dining room, leaving Lady Catherine behind, fuming after being usurped in her own home.
Lady Catherine hurried after them, no doubt to protect her place at the head of the table, and the rest of the party trailed behind. Miss de Bourgh did not go to the dining room on Sir Andrew’s arm but leaned heavily on Mrs. Jenkinson instead. Sir Andrew instead offered his arm to Charlotte, and she took it, looking none too pleased.
“Will dinner be very entertaining?” Elizabeth whispered to her sister. “Sparks fly, and the first course has yet to be served.
“I hope not,” her sister whispered back. “Their antipathy for each other strains my patience. I do not like to see others unhappy.”
“You are the same Jane in essentials.” Elizabeth teased playfully, nudging her sister.
They entered the dining room and Elizabeth took her seat between Mrs. Jenkinson and Mr. Collins. She groaned. There would be no conversation. Her cousin would be consumed with his meal and Mrs. Jenkinson with her charge.
Lady Catherine had secured her place at the head of the table, but Lady de Bourgh had taken the chair opposite. Her posture was stiff and challenging, daring her hostess to insist that she move. Lady Catherine did not deign to acknowledge the slight; instead, she gestured to the footmen to start serving the meal.
“I wonder that you came tonight, Mrs. Collins.” Lady Catherine spoke loud enough for the entire table to hear. “I have it on good authority that you were ill this morning.”
“I am well, madam.” Jane’s words were firm, kind; insistent yet reassuring.
“You do not seem ill.” Lady Catherine stared at Jane, examining her every feature. “You are a little pale, but not overly so. Do not let your health lapse, Mrs. Collins. I cannot abide sickly women. They are useless.”
Harsh words from a woman with a sickly daughter,Elizabeth thought.
“Your concern and guidance are duly noted, your ladyship.” Jane sipped her soup daintily and Elizabeth silently cheered her sister’s reply.
“You are very attentive to your neighbor, Catherine.” Lady de Bourgh spoke from her seat at the other end of the table.
“Nothing is beneath her ladyship’s notice.” Mr. Collins said this proudly, and Elizabeth almost laughed. “Her condescension and sound advice are well-received by all.”
“I believe most would call it interference, not advice.” Lady de Bourgh took a sip of her soup. “It must be exhausting, Catherine, managing not only your own household, but every home in Hunsford.”
“Do not be ridiculous. I do not manage any household but mine.” Lady Catherine’s affront was clear.
“Oh? Tell me, Mrs. Collins, does her ladyship grant you her…advice?”
Jane’s eyes widened and she looked from Lady Catherine to Lady de Bourgh, and then at her husband. “Yes, Lady Catherine has been so kind as to aid me in my new situation.”
Lady de Bourgh smiled pleasantly. “And has her aid been helpful?”
Jane’s cheeks flushed and her eyes took on a desperate look. She swallowed and answered nervously. “I have considered many of her instructions.”
“But you have not employed them? No? Then you are wiser than most. I recall one incumbent of Hunsford who told Sir Andrew that his patroness frequently overturned his orders at the butcher, ordering him to purchase inferior cuts of meat. My grandson could do nothing, of course, for the situation was out of his purview. I do hope the new butcher is less inclined to follow Lady Catherine’s edicts.”
“Mr. Palmer did notneedthe finest cuts of beef!” Lady Catherine was incensed. “His behavior was frivolous and foolish. He had not a wife to guide his habits, and so it was necessary for me to step in. It is why I insisted that Mr. Collins marry. ‘You must marry,’ I told him. And he has made an admirable choice.”
“That remains to be seen. I have only the slightest acquaintance with Mrs. Collins. She seems levelheaded. Mr. Collins will likely benefit from her apparent good sense.”
“Thank you, Lady de Bourgh.” Jane spoke her gratitude quietly.
Lady Catherine and Lady de Bourgh bantered back and forth for the rest of the meal, and Elizabeth wondered how they had got along when Lady Catherine had first married and come to Rosings Park.
“It is a shame you did not know your grandfather, Anne.” After a tense first course, the conversation turned and became more pleasant. “He died before my eldest son married.” Lady de Bourgh granted Lady Catherine a pointed scowl. “Why Lewis married, when he did not need to, I do not know. Arthur had already married and sired a son.”
“I do not blame my uncle for doing so. Father was happy enough in his law practice.” Sir Andrew spoke up from his seat, lifting his glass in a mock salute.
“And then your dear mother, Andrew, died before you could know her. It was very tragic.” Lady de Bourgh dabbed at her eyes with her serviette, though Elizabeth saw not a tear in her eye. “Your mama… she was a remarkable woman! Did you know your father married for love? It was not the done thing in those days, but they were determined. I did not withhold my approval, of course, since myownmarriage was a love match. Marrying for anything less is foolish.”
Jane’s cheeks flushed again, and Elizabeth felt affront on her sister’s behalf. She agreed with Lady de Bourgh, but her words were hardly suitable for the dinner table. The lady deliberately attempted to provoke her hostess. Was the pair’s relationship so acrimonious that contention would reign at every gathering?
“I wish I had met them.” Miss de Bourgh sounded wistful. “My father spoke very highly of his relations.”
