“The pleasure and the honour were certainly ours,” Mrs Gardiner said. “My father owned a shop in Lambton. He was a draper.”
“Cole’s?” Lady Amelia immediately enquired, her eyes brightening. Mrs Gardiner seemed shocked.
“Exactly! How wonderful that your ladyship remembers it!”
“Of course I do! I visited with my mother and with Lady Anne many times. Did you help your father in the shop, Mrs Gardiner?”
“Sometimes. I also helped my mother about the house — her health was rather delicate.”
“How is it that you remember the shop so well and we do not? Not even Darcy?” the colonel asked.
“Well, you were mostly at school, and when we met at Pemberley, you certainly did not care much about a shop selling fabric, gloves, and stockings.”
“I remember Cole’s,” Mr Darcy interjected. “I did not know it was Mrs Gardiner’s father’s shop.”
“I presume you did not ask,” Lady Amelia replied with a sigh. “Why do men loathe asking for details and prefer to presume, even at the risk of being wrong?”
“Some men ask,” the viscount said.
“Only when they should not, and only the wrong questions,” Lady Amelia insisted, and Elizabeth smiled to herself.
Dinner was announced, and Mr Bingley turned to his guests. “Please allow me to show you to the dining room. We can continue our conversation there. However, first, my sisters would like to apologise to Miss Bennet and Mrs Gardiner for a misunderstanding. They simply forgot to mention your visit to me, and then they had no other opportunity since I was out of town for a few weeks.”
“Indeed, it was a simple misunderstanding,” Mrs Hurst said. “We were sorry to hear we upset dear Jane. It was certainly not our intention.”
The excuse was silly and unbelievable, but Jane and Mrs Gardiner chose to graciously nod in acceptance. The Bingley sisters forced smiles, but neither of them expressed a clear apology. Elizabeth glanced at her uncle, raising her eyebrows at him. The deceitful sisters deserved a proper rebuke, but it was not worth ruining the evening.
They all took seats around the table. Mr Bingley invited Jane to sit to his right, and Elizabeth found herself between her sister and Colonel Fitzwilliam; Mr Darcy was opposite her.
Elizabeth longed for just one moment of privacy with Mr Darcy, but such an opportunity seemed unlikely. She glanced at him several times, hoping the others would not notice.
Chapter 6
“You have a lovely home, Mr Bingley,” Lady Amelia said.
“Thank you, your ladyship. I inherited it from my excellent father.”
“What about your sisters? Did they inherit anything? Usually, women are left out of the will, and the entire fortune goes to the men, which I find highly unfair and irritating.”
“Our father was as fair in his business as he was with his family. My sisters had generous sums settled on them. Also, Louisa was given a house in London, only a few minutes’ walk from here. Caroline chose and received an additional amount of money instead of a house.”
“How wonderful. Your father must have been a very successful man. I was not aware one can make so much money from trade,” Lady Amelia continued.
“In fact, the late Mr Bingley’s fortune was much more significant,” Mr Darcy interjected. “Most of it went to Bingley with the purpose of purchasing an estate.”
“Indeed,” Mr Bingley added. “Darcy has promised to help me find the right property when the moment comes. Until then, I have much to learn about managing an estate. Darcy tries to teach me, but I am afraid he is a more diligent teacher than I am a pupil.”
The viscount and the colonel both laughed. “Do not feel bad, Bingley, Darcy is more diligent than most people when it comes to managing a property. Would you not agree, Hurst?”
“What?” Mr Hurst asked. “Yes, yes, of course.”
“Miss Elizabeth, I understand you visited Rosings Park last month?” Lady Amelia said. “How did you find it?”
Elizabeth’s cheeks warmed, and she cast a hasty look at Mr Darcy. “Rosings Park is a beautiful estate. Anyone would admire it. I felt privileged to have the chance to see it when I visited my friend Charlotte, who married my cousin.”
“Mrs Charlotte Collins is the new wife of Mr Collins, the clergyman of Hunsford,” the colonel explained. “We were lucky enough to have Miss Elizabeth’s company while we visited Lady Catherine. That made our stay more entertaining.”
Again, Elizabeth glanced at Mr Darcy and met his eyes briefly.
