Page 74 of A Most Unwelcome Acquaintance

“You are late,” Bingley said.

“I was in the stable.”

“Again?”

Darcy took his seat. “The bay is favoring his left foreleg.”

Bingley nodded as though this explained more than it did, returned to his letter, read two lines, and set it down.

“Miss Bennet writes that her mother intends to visit my sisters this afternoon.”

Darcy reached for the coffee. “Have you warned them?”

“I have.” Bingley smiled. “Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth are coming with her.”

The coffee paused halfway to Darcy’s cup.

Bingley noticed. “I thought you might want to know.”

“I do not see why.”

“No.”

Darcy poured the coffee and refused to ask what Bingley meant by that single word.

Bingley reached for another paper. “The steward reports that the summerhouse beyond the east lawn needs work.”

Darcy searched his memory. He had seen the small stone building from the upper windows but had never entered it. Ivy covered part of the roof, and two of its windows were missing panes.

“Is it sound?”

“The walls are, but the roof requires work, the door hangs crooked, and the inside smells of damp. I thought it might be worth repairing. Who knows? I might find a use for it.”

“For what purpose?”

“Must every building have one?” Bingley folded the report. “It overlooks the lower garden. Once I have the windows replaced and the path cleared, it would make a pleasant place for tea or reading.”

“Then repair it.”

“Caroline has offered to oversee the furnishings.”

Darcy looked at him.

Bingley laughed. “She says I would choose chairs fit for a countinghouse and curtains that faded within a year.”

“She may be right.”

“I knew you would support her.”

Darcy returned to his coffee. The summerhouse seemed harmless, and Caroline’s interest in restoring it required no explanation. She had treated every room at Netherfield as an argument for better taste since the day Bingley signed the lease.

Mrs. Bennet arrived before three with her three daughters, though Jane's letter named two. Lydia entered behind Elizabeth and announced that a headache prevented Kitty from coming, then added that the headache had followed their father’s refusal to let her walk into Meryton.

Caroline received this information with a smile that showed the effort required to maintain it.

“How unfortunate,” she said.

“For Kitty, yes,” Lydia replied. “Though I told her she would miss nothing. Netherfield has no officers to recommend it.”