“Very good, sir.” Briggs nodded, and the footmen did too, all of them bowing to Elizabeth as she pointed the way around the side of the house to the stables.
Darcy found himself looking around as they walked along Longbourn’s western flank. He had not visited the house during his previous stay in the county, and he found it both larger and more charming than he had expected. Built of a mellow pinkish-red stone, it glowed softly in the late evening light, warm and welcoming. Seven or eight main bedrooms, he guessed from a surreptitious count of windows on the second floor, and several more in the attics, probably including the nursery.
Longbourn was a handsome house in good condition, but Darcy understood why Mr Bennet lacked for funds to dower his daughters. Several of Meryton’s other residents had mentioned the insufficient lands attached to the estate, and without many fields to farm or tenants to pay rent, Longbourn’s income would never provide sufficient funds for such a large family to put any away for the future.
Elizabeth was already speaking to the man who came to the stable door at the sound of the carriage, introducing Briggs and the two footmen by their names and entreating her man to be sure Darcy’s horses were well cared for and his men provided every comfort.
“As you wish, Miss Lizzy,” the grizzled stableman agreed equably, tugging his forelock vaguely in Darcy’s direction even as his eyes greedily ate up the team of chestnuts hitched to the carriage. “Coo, I ain’t never seen bloodstock so fine as them!”
Confident the horses and his men were in careful hands, Darcy was happy to follow Elizabeth back to the house. They entered through a rear door into a smaller back hall, where a delicious smell reached his nostrils and caused his stomach to emit an embarrassingly loud rumble.
Elizabeth pressed her fingers to her lips to muffle a ladylike giggle, her eyes sparkling up at him. “That smells as though Cook has been persuaded to rustle up a late supper for us, Mr Darcy.We shall not stand on ceremony, so if you would care to remove your coat, hat and gloves, you can wash up in here before we go in to eat.” She gestured to a small retiring-room off the hall.
Darcy half-thought that they might be eating in the kitchen, something he had not done since he was a boy, and was almost disappointed when Kitty Bennet, who was waiting for him when he came out of the retiring-room, led him to the dining-room, a very pleasantly appointed room with a fine spread on the table for him, Elizabeth and the Gardiners to enjoy. A delicious soup, crusty bread thickly spread with freshly churned butter, ham, cheese, pork pie, hard-boiled eggs and slices of fruit cake held the majority of his attention until his protesting stomach was silenced, and he was not alone. Jane and Kitty, who sat with them, were forced to carry the conversation between them until the others had slaked their appetites.
“That was wonderful, Miss Bennet,” Darcy said sincerely at last, laying down his folded napkin. “I cannot remember when last I enjoyed a meal so much. My compliments to your cook.”
“I shall certainly convey your compliments, Mr Darcy,” Jane said with her sweet smile.
“They are high praise indeed, Jane,” Mr Gardiner said jovially. “A few nights hence we dined at Pemberley as Mr Darcy’s guests, and I have never eaten so fine a meal.”
“Ah, but hunger is the best sauce, Mr Gardiner,” Darcy said, “and even the finest of French chefs could not produce fare so satisfying as that we have just enjoyed, do you not agree? Delicious, filling and plentiful. Rich sauces are not truly to mytaste, but our cooks at Pemberley were eager to impress... my guests.”
He’d almost slipped up and saidMiss Elizabeth.The truth was that almost as soon as she had accepted the dinner invitation, he had summoned Mrs Reynolds and impressed on her most firmly his urgent desire that Pemberley should be presented at its absolute best, which of course must include the best dishes his cooks could provide, the finest wines from the cellars, the freshest fruit from the hothouses and brightest blooms from the gardens to decorate the table.
Mrs Reynolds, who had known him since he was in swaddling clothes, saw right through him at once. Her remark of “Miss Elizabeth Bennet seems a charming young lady” made Darcy flush and stammer as he hadn’t done since he was eight and she caught him and his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam stealing jam tarts from the pantry.
The housekeeper had said no more, but Pemberley had indeed been shown to best advantage that day, and Elizabeth’s every admiring glance or murmured word of appreciation had warmed Darcy’s heart.
He wondered now if she felt the same way about Longbourn, as he saw her smiling at him, and realised he should make sure she knew how he felt.
“Longbourn sets a magnificent table, even with its mistress absent,” he said. “You do your mother’s training great credit as a hostess, Miss Bennet.”
Jane and Elizabeth’s pleased smiles told him he was right on the mark, and he wondered what else he might say that would not sound foolish.
“I regret that I did not visit Longbourn on my previous stay,” he said honestly. “It is a beautiful house.”
Elizabeth chuckled a little cynically at that. “You are doing that up too brown, Mr Darcy. Compared to Pemberley, Longbourn is the merest cottage.”
“Lizzy,” her aunt reproached. “Longbourn is most certainly not a cottage - even compared to Pemberley!”
“Well, the only other people I know who have seen both are the Bingleys,” Jane said a little bitterly, “and while Mr Bingley would never make such a comparison, Miss Bingley was even more severe upon Longbourn - she called it ahovel.”
Darcy’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“Did you not know, Mr Darcy?” Elizabeth’s tone dripped honey. “Miss Bingley saves her true vitriol for when no gentlemen are present to witness.”
He could scarcely believe it, but then he had seen how badly Caroline Bingley could behave even in front of those she wished to impress.
Jane Bennet took a sip from her teacup, her blue eyes very calm as she watched his reaction. The Gardiners were silent, watching him too, waiting for his response.
“That is beyond despicable,” Darcy said after a brief pause, “and Miss Bingley’s motives are sadly obvious. She sought to detach you from her brother by any means possible.”
Jane’s eyes dropped. “Yes,” she said softly. “In that, she eventually succeeded, despite my determination not to rise to her insults.”
“Temporarily,” Darcy said, deciding then and there that he would convince Bingley to return to Netherfield as soon as possible. Indeed, Bingley returning to Netherfield would give Darcy an excellent reason to remain in Hertfordshire too, even once Lydia was dealt with. “In fact, Bingley is at Pemberley at this very moment, but he already suggested to me that he intends to take up residence again at Netherfield very soon.”
Jane’s eyes snapped back up to meet his, and he wondered how he could ever have thought her emotions were not engaged. Hope blazed clear on her face, and he offered her a reassuring smile even while silently vowing that he would drag Bingley to Netherfield himself if he had to.
When he looked back at Elizabeth, she was smiling at him, a warm, approving smile he had never seen on her face before. Directed at him, it made him feel as though he was basking in warm sunshine. Darcy smiled back at her, quite unaware of the Gardiners watching every interaction between Elizabeth and himself with great interest.
