“Lydia!” Her older sisters chorused.
“Miss Lydia, you should have waited to hear what Mr Darcy has to say before you take him to task,” Mrs Dudley admonished.
“Please pardon me; I may have spoken prematurely,” Lydia responded contritely. Even though she was the youngest sister, she was very protective of all of her sisters, and she felt the closest to Lizzy.
“It is I who am here to beg for forgiveness,” Darcy replied magnanimously. He turned towards Miss Elizabeth. “Those words should never have been spoken by me. Miss Lydia is right about the words regarding your looks being anythingbut true. It was rather arrogant for me, as a visitor to the neighbourhood where you were born and raised, to think that I could somehow give you consequence.
“If my words were not bad enough, Miss Louisa Bingley informed me that all of you ladies sit out two sets because of the shortage of men at the assemblies. With a cousin who is a colonel in the Royal Dragoons, I should have realised why there were so many more ladies than men.
“In addition to my vile words, I now realise that had I behaved like a gentleman, I should have asked others, well, other than the Misses Kingston, that is, to stand up with me. I humbly beg your forgiveness.”
“I noticed Mrs Kingston accosting you; hence I understood what added to the mood you were in when you arrived,” Elizabeth related. “Yes, Mr Darcy, you are pardoned of any offences you think you committed against me. I am sure Papa told you I was the least upset by your words when we heard them.”
“He did, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy returned. “I would like to thank you for your understanding and generosity of spirit in your assessment of my mood when I arrived at the assembly. Please understand that no matter what I was feeling, nothing excuses my untrue and insulting words. As Bingley pointed out to me, like I did when Mrs Kingston tried to foist her daughters on me as dance partners, I should have either walked away or told Bingley to cease importuning me as I did not want to dance.” He turned to face the youngest Bennet. “Miss Lydia, had I, in fact, actually looked at your sister before speaking, I would have seen her beauty, so no, I am not in need of spectacles…at least not at this stage of my life.”
The apology had been all that was sincere, and more than that, Elizabeth was impressed by how Mr Darcy was willing to humble himself before all of them. Then with his last statement to Lydia, using self-deprecating humour,Elizabeth was pleased.
“At the next local dance I attend, I promise to dance with any lady in want of a partner to whom I have been introduced, that is, other than any of the Misses Kingston,” Darcy vowed.
“That, Mr Darcy, is a good determination. Any half-wealthy man who agrees to dance with one of the Misses Kingston is considered her daughter’s property by the mother,” Jane revealed. “No one will fault you for keeping your distance from that family. Would you believe Mr and Mrs Kingston tried to offer my father one of their daughters as a wife? Papa was not interested in a child!”
“For obvious reasons, we have no contact with that family,” Bennet added.
“I understand Bingley mentioned I was a chess champion at Cambridge, did he not?” Darcy verified to speak of something far pleasanter.
Bennet allowed it was so.
“It is not to boast that I mention this; rather I understand Miss Lydia is rather accomplished at the game,” Darcy explained.
“That is an understatement,” Mary said insotto voce.
“Would you like to play against me?” Lydia asked excitedly. “I will remove my queen and one of my bishops, if you like.”
“Darcy before you do, I have an admission to make,” Bennet stated. He saw Darcy was listening. “Did your father ever mention that from some point on, he lost every game to me?”
Darcy allowed it was so.
“That was when Lydia took over and played him via the post,” Bennet related with a smile.
He grinned, Darcy knew his father would have been amused to learn who had been beating him every game they played. He turned to Miss Lydia remembering her offer to remove some pieces. “Let me attempt a game with both of us beginning with a full complement of pieces. The result will determine if I ask you to remove one or more pieces,” Darcy proposed.
Lydia agreed and won in just over five minutes. Mr Darcy asked her to remove her bishop, and he lasted about ten minutes. In the third game, the queen was removed as well, this one took almost twenty minutes. Lydia felt very pleased with herself when Mr Darcy tipped his king for the third time.
“Never have I seen or played against a better player,” Darcy observed in awe. “No wonder Father could never win against you.”
When Darcy departed, he was carrying an invitation for those at Netherfield Park, sans the confined Miss Caroline, to come for dinner that evening.
Chapter 19
Charlotte warmly welcomed her friends to her house, her very large size notwithstanding. She was reclining on a chaise, as she found it the most comfortable type of seat for her and her swollen belly.
After giving Charlotte as much of a hug as they were able to without disturbing her, Jane and Elizabeth greeted Lady Lucas. Said lady had taken up residence with her daughter and son-in-law for the last sennight, and she would remain until Charlotte delivered her new babe.
Once the greetings were completed, Jane and Elizabeth sat on a settee close to their friend while Lady Lucas went to call for tea.
“Mama is such a great help to me,” Charlotte stated once her mother left the room. “I am very grateful that, except for the occasional hosting duties, Papa can spare her to be with me. When Mama is not present, and there is no entertaining, Maria is the lady of the house for now, and I am sure my brothers are not too hard done by without our mother to supervise everything.”
“How are you feeling, Charlotte?” Elizabeth asked. “And where is Lawrence?”
