“Yes, Lizzy is here. She is to be presented along with her mother and Miss Lucas. Why do you ask?”
“Father fancies himself a chess master and is convinced Andy allowed her to win. William has not mentioned his own humiliation by her, and I think he would rather forget it. I hope Father will challenge her to a game or two.”
The two men fell silent when they heard voices they identified coming from outside the door. The door opened and Hilldale, Darcy, and Bingley entered.
By the time the other men greeted him, Hurst had a glass of brown-coloured liquid in his hand. He did not miss how dejected his brother-in-law looked. Hurst knew why. He was still on the much smaller allowance for another year until he turned five and twenty. Now that she had reached her majority, Caroline had commanded that he bring her to London, and asbefore, she left it to him to pay for the rent and the costs to staff a house. He had leased a terraced home in Bloomsbury again, right next door to the one he had rented before.
The last was necessary because the embargo on Miss Bingley being hosted in any Hurst house had not been rescinded, and as Bingley would not, or could not, separate himself from her, he too was not welcome.
“So, Andy, Mother and Father are to finally meet Miss Bennet on the morrow,” Fitzwilliam ribbed as he clapped his older brother on the back.
Hurst did not miss the moue of distaste which flashed across Darcy’s face when Fitzwilliam spoke of Hilldale’s pursuit of Jane Bennet. He placed his glass on the table and crossed the parlour to stand next to Darcy. They were away from the others.
“Do you have a problem with Miss Bennet for Hilldale, Darcy?” Hurst asked quietly so no one else could hear.
“When I met her, I saw no attraction to Andy; she is too low, and from what I have heard, has no dowry to speak of and has connections in trade,” Darcy stated insotto voceso that the Fitzwilliam brothers and Bingley would not hear him.
“Darcy, you saw her more than four years past for a brief moment. Most of that time you were being thrashed at chess by Miss Elizabeth. At that time, Miss Bennet had no interest in Hilldale, and he knew that at sixteen she was too young to be considered as anything other than a young girl he met,” Hurst shot back so only Darcy could hear.
He did not like being reminded of how spectacularly he had been drubbed by the then fourteen-year-old girl. Darcy ignored the inference; he knew Miss Bennet not at all. “The rest of what I said is still true,” he insisted.
“Are you more interested in fortune and connections than compatibility and character? It seems like it. In that case, perhaps you and Caroline will suit; you are both social climbing fortune hunters.” Hurst ignored the look of outrage on Darcy’s countenance and pressed ahead. “What would you call a woman who is only interested in you for your fortune and connections?”
In his mind, Darcy heard the answer:social climbing fortune hunter. He was not that, was he? “Is not Miss Bennet only interested in a title and wealth?”
“If you want to keep a relationship with your cousin, I would never say that aloud again, especially not in Hilldale’s hearing if I were you. The Bennets are being hosted at Hurst House, as my mother will sponsor some of them as they are to make their curtsies before the Queen, as Miss Bennet did two years past. Also, you are a hypocrite.”
“I am not!” Darcy exclaimed as he fought to keep his voice quiet.
“Are you not? Pray tell, Darcy, where does Bingley’s money come from? You are friends with him, and acquainted with Gardiner, who, in case you forgot. is uncle to Miss Bennet. Unless you want Gardiner to drop you, as I warned you once before, be very careful about denigrating his family,” Hurst warned. “Hilldale knows what he is about; his parents support him as well, or would you like to tell them Mr High and Mighty knows better than all of them?”
Darcy was rocked back on his heels. Who was this forceful man? Where was the indolent, drunken sot he was used to seeing?
“One last thing, Darcy. Will you be at Matlock House on the morrow?”
“Yes, my sister, Gigi and I will be present. Why?”
“Unlike you, I have seen Miss Bennet and Hilldale together. Rather than pronounce judgements from a place of ignorance, I suggest you watch them carefully without preconceived notions before making a judgement.” With that, Hurst picked up his glass and drifted over towards the other three men.
“What am I to do? I am responsible for Caroline…” Bingley was saying when his brother-in-law interjected.
“No, you are not! Caroline was Uncle John’s ward until she reached her majority, and now, she is independent. Please tell me how you are responsible for her?” Hurst demanded.
“She told me it is in Father’s will…” Bingley tried again.
“Bingley, are you a simpleton? Were you not at the reading? There was nothing of the sort in your late father’s final instructions. I should know, as I am one of his executors. Why do you allow your sister to make things up out of whole cloth and then buy what she is selling without any verification?” Hurst pushed as he felt his ire build.
“Caroline says it is what Father meant to do,” Bingley responded weakly.
“Like she was promised to go to the seminary in London, but somehow, your father omitted it from the final document?” Hurst shook his head. “Bingley, your younger sister is an expert manipulator, but you seem to be the only one she ensnares in her web. The will never mentioned any of those things because that was never your father’s intent.” Hurst realised Hilldale and Darcy were staring at him because this was not the persona they were used to seeing. He would deal with that later; now he had to try to knock some sense into his brother-in-law.
“That is harsh, is it not?” Darcy interpolated.
“No, Darcy, it is not harsh; it is the truth.” Hurst turned back to Bingley. “Have you ever wondered why your father made Uncle John and me executors? And why you were never made Caroline’s guardian?”
“Caroline says you and Uncle John influenced…” Bingley began to say but closed his mouth when he saw the look of anger on Hurst’s face.
“Caroline says!” Hurst exclaimed. “Bingley, she prevaricates as easily as she breathes. Do you know that your mother and younger sister lied to your late father about being invited to Pemberley after Darcy’s father went to his final reward? He just managed to stop them when he discovered the truth. Rather than apologise, they just kept dissembling. That, combined with the fact that he had seen your refusal to stand up to your mother and sister, is why he made the changes to his will.”
