The invitation to take tea at Matlock House included the Bennets, Miss Lucas, and their hosts.
“Is it certain that Lord and Lady Matlock want to meet me as well?” Charlotte verified.
“I have known Hilldale and his family since we were both at Eton. I can promise you that if Lady Matlock wrote yourname down, Miss Lucas, she intends for you to attend,” Hurst confirmed. “They may be noble, but they are people just like us, and they do not put on airs and graces.”
“In that case, I will not insult her Ladyship by not attending,” Charlotte responded.
“Good. I would not have gone had you not been invited,” Elizabeth insisted. She noted the look Jane was giving her. “It would not have been to insult the Fitzwilliams, but I invited Charlotte to join me in London, so what kind of friend would I be had I been willing to abandon her?”
Understanding what Lizzy meant, Jane relaxed. She was falling in love with Andrew—it had been some time now that she had felt tender feelings for him—and would hate for there to be any kind of conflict between the families.
Looking at his second daughter, Bennet felt the pride well up in his chest. Lizzy’s loyalty to those she loved was one of her traits he respected greatly. He looked across the room at Hurst. Would they have been here had it not been for the nudges Hurst had given him to make changes and to begin treating Fanny with respect? More likely than not, the answer was no.
“It is time for me to depart for White’s. Bennet, are you sure you would not like to accompany me?” Hurst offered again.
“No, I will remain here with the ladies. Remember, before Tommy’s arrival, I was the only man with many ladies, so this will be nostalgic for me,” Bennet demurred. “And are you not meeting some of your young buck friends? What would anold manlike me do there?”
“Thomas Bennet, you are not an old man!” Fanny insisted.
“Papa was jesting, Mamma,” Jane explained. “He was not denigrating himself.” Jane looked at Mr Hurst. “Please give my regards to Andrew.” She blushed as she made the request.
“It will be my pleasure,” Hurst returned. He kissed his wife’s cheek and then his mother’s before he left the drawing room.
While he was donning his hat and gloves, he heard the pitter-patter of small feet behind him. He turned to see his daughter, who would be two in some weeks, running with abandon towards him, her ringlets flying behind her.
“Up, Papa, up,” Tisha demanded as an out-of-breath nurse arrived.
Hurst pulled his darling girl into his arms. He kissed her, and she returned the favour with one of her moist kisses to his cheek. “Papa must go out, but I promise I will come spend time with you and Arthur when I return. Go to Nurse now.”
Once she was on the ground, Tisha pouted but obeyed her father, walked to Nurse, and held out her hand to the woman.
Nurse looked at the master apologetically for allowing little Miss Tisha to escape her. She relaxed when the master waved her concerns away. “Master Arthur is at his lessons with Mrs Pinkston; he will come down to have tea with the ladies in an hour,” Nurse stated.
He would have preferred to remain with his wife and children, but Hurst knew he would see them later. As soon as the butler told him the coach was waiting, he left the house.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As they had planned, Hurst and Fitzwilliam arrived ahead of the other men.
“Do you have anything for me to do?” Hurst enquired after he had greeted his friend. He had not seen Fitzwilliam since his father’s funeral and missed seeing his friend. When the man who had taken over from his late father had told Hurst he was to take as much time away as needed, it had been greatly appreciated, which had allowed him to remain at Winsdale for the full year of his mother’s mourning.
“Not at the moment. We have been too efficient because since we have captured not a few French spies and some fellow countrymen who had succumbed to financial reward to commit treason, Boney’s men have been far more circumspect lately about placing any spies in England,” Fitzwilliam reported. “The best part is they know not who it is who is bedevilling them and catching so many of their men here. We still have no idea who the man is behind most we have caught, but that will change one day.”
“You will be at Matlock House for the tea on the morrow when your parents meet Jane, will you not?” Hurst queried.
“Unless something of import keeps me at Somerset House, I will be. Why?”
“I know you are not looking to settle down yet, but there is a lady I want you to meet. I will not push you two together, but Louisa agrees that you two would suit very well.”
“Who is this paragon?”
“Her name is Miss Charlotte Lucas. Her father owns a small estate next to Longbourn, and she is the best friend of both Jane and Lizzy Bennet. She does not have any exceptional talents like her friends, but she is very intelligent and sensible,and I think you will find her very pleasing to your eye. All I will do is make the introduction; the rest is up to you.”
“I am not averse to meeting her. Who knows what will be? By the by, Hurst, Darcy has begun to think that what he believes about you may not be true. When he was at Winsdale for the funeral, anything he had heard about the paucity of your estate went out of the window. He also noticed that you were never once in your cups or asleep on a chaise or settee in the middle of everything.”
“Perhaps I will tell him that I refrained then in honour of my father,” Hurst proposed.
“That would work, as William revered his father, my late Uncle Robert, so he would believe that of you as well,” Fitzwilliam agreed. “On a different subject, will the one who is so good at chess be at Matlock House?”
