“For a patroness in Kent, Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” Elizabeth replied. “She is, I believe, your aunt, Mr. Darcy?”
Darcy looked up from his cup, visibly surprised. “She is. May I ask how you came to know that?”
“Our cousin is not one to keep his good fortune to himself,” Elizabeth said. “When he learned of your friendship with Mr. Bingley, he was delighted to discover a connection to hispatroness. I am surprised the whole of Meryton doesn’t knows it yet.”
Darcy’s lips curved faintly. “That is indeed surprising. I do not believe we have met. When last I visited Rosings, the living was still vacant.”
“He has only lately accepted it,” Elizabeth replied.
Darcy inclined his head. “Then I look forward to making his acquaintance.”
Caroline gave a small laugh, brittle and forced. “How very extraordinary that the Bennets’ cousin should serve the aunt of Mr. Darcy. Hertfordshire grows more interesting by the hour.”
“England is smaller than it seems,” Elizabeth said pleasantly. “Mr. Collins will be overjoyed to learn that his patroness’s nephew expects to meet him.”
Darcy’s quiet laugh followed hers, and Caroline’s smile faltered at the sound.
The talk turned to London. Miss Bingley, eager to reassert command of the conversation, leaned forward. “Have you ever spent a season there, Miss Bennet?”
“Not a season,” Jane answered, “but we often visit our aunt and uncle, the Gardiners. They live in Gracechurch Street.”
Louisa exchanged a small glance with her sister. “Gracechurch Street? Near Cheapside, is it not?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied, her smile unwavering. “A most convenient location for all manner of respectable trade.”
Darcy looked toward her with quiet admiration. “I recall that part of town. The streets are well kept, and the society, I am told, as steady as any in London.”
Mrs. Hurst went still. Caroline's practiced smile slipped for just a moment before she caught it. They clearly weren’t expecting his response. "You are generous, Mr. Darcy," she said, her laugh brittle. "I cannot imagine you have ever walked those streets yourself."
“Not often,” he said, unruffled. “But I have visited several parts of London on business. It seems unjust to censure what one does not know.”
Conversation lingered on the topic of the city until Mrs. Hurst, still restless, turned the discussion again. “So, aside from the clergyman and your relations in Cheapside, have you any other family?”
Elizabeth caught the insult beneath the question but answered calmly. “Our Aunt Phillips lives in Meryton.”
“That is the woman I met two days ago?” Bingley asked with cheerful interest.
“Yes,” Jane said.
“A lovely woman. Very agreeable,” Bingley declared warmly.
Caroline inclined her head, her tone cool. “Pray tell, what is her husband’s profession?”
“Our uncle Phillips was an attorney before his passing three years ago,” Elizabeth said. She could see the faintly amused exchange of glances between the sisters, and though she kept her composure, she felt her patience fray.
Mrs. Hurst gave a delicate smile. "How unfortunate for you. A modest family circle must make society rather... limited."
Caroline nodded with feigned sympathy. “Family is everything, Louisa, no matter its size. Though, of course, not all families possess the same degree of refinement.”
Elizabeth only smiled and raised her cup. “Refinement, I think, is often far less pleasant than affection. A few relations with genuine kindness are enough to make one content in family life.”
The sisters’ expressions tightened, their poise disturbed for a moment too long.
Bingley, eager to dispel the silence, said with his usual cheer, “We must persuade your sister to visit soon, Miss Bennet.Netherfield grows dull in such weather, and it seem your visit bring it to life at once.”
Jane blushed, and Elizabeth’s irritation softened at her sister’s happiness.
Just then, two wet noses appeared at the window. Apollo and Pippin pressed eagerly against the glass, their tails wagging, the drizzle gleaming on their coats. Pippin’s paw left a damp print upon the pane, to Caroline’s visible dismay.
