Chapter 17: Mr. Bennet Hinted
The gentlemen went down to the riverbanks soon after breakfast. They located the goosey drumsticks just around the bend of the river quite close to the bridge. Apparently neither the absentee owner nor the previous tenants of Netherfield were aware of what trouble these plants could cause, and there had not been a storm such as this one for at least ten years. While they and some workers supervised by the steward were pulling the plants up, they saw Mr. Bennet and a footman crossing the bridge on foot. Both Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy went to greet him.
"Good day, Mr. Bennet," both Netherfield gentlemen bowed in greetings.
"Good day to you, Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy. I see that you have a goosey drumstick infestation problem," responded Mr. Bennet.
"Yes, Miss Elizabeth alerted us to the problem, and we found the plants right away once we knew what we were supposed to be looking for. The Meryton millwright who repairs bridges told us that Miss Elizabeth was the one who discovered the plant in a similar bridge problem when she was just a little girl. You must be mightily proud of her," answered Mr. Darcy with a smile, as if he had been equally proud of the young botanist.
"Ah, yes. Lizzy was just eight years old. She found goosey quite by chance after another wrecked bridge like this one, and it turned out that she was the first person to have sighted this plant that apparently was accidentally imported from the East. She even came up with the Latin binomial nomenclature for the plant. Allium anseris, she called it. You can find it properly registered in the records with the Linnean Society. Someday I will tell you the whole story." Mr. Bennet paused and put on a far-away and self-satisfied look. "I should not be so indulgent about one of my daughters. I am proud of them all, but Lizzy…she keeps me entertained by pointing out all kinds of interesting things around me that she somehow can see but others miss."
To Mr. Bennet, Mr. Darcy said, "How remarkable!" To himself, he lamented, "It would be very difficult to pry his favourite daughter from her father!" By now such thoughts had been invading him so frequently that he should just get used to it. He changed the subject.
"How are the roads between here and Longbourn, Mr. Bennet?" inquired Mr. Darcy.
"They are in wretched conditions. We had to leave the carriage about half a mile from here and walked gingerly around the felled tree limbs. I was hoping to come close enough to Netherfield so that Jane and Elizabeth could come home with me. I see that it may be wise to impose on you, Mr. Bingley, for one more day.
"There is no imposition at all, Mr. Bennet. The Miss Bennets are charming houseguests. I am honoured to have them here to visit. Without them my sisters would have been quite at wits' end being house bound, as they are not yet used to the country. Darcy and I have to be out of the house to see to the repairs."
"I see that the bridge will need a fair amount of work before it will be safe to bear the weight of a carriage with horses."
"That is correct. The millwright has already given me an estimate on the costs and lead time. I am afraid it will be about a week before the bridge is safe for all traffic again."
"In that case, I will send the carriage to the other side of the bridge in two days as I believe the one big tree blocking the road between here and Longbourn will have been removed. If the road between the manor house and here is clear, then both of my daughters should have no trouble being conveyed here to meet the carriage. Does this sound agreeable to you, Mr. Bingley?
"If you insist on having the Miss Bennets back to Longbourn in two days, I shall make sure that they are safely escorted here to meet the carriage. Meanwhile, would you come up to the house to join us for tea and rest after your arduous walk, and ask the Miss Bennets whether they would like to go home in two days or wait till the roads are all clear and the bridge repaired for I…. I mean, my sisters would love to have them stay as long as they would like?" Mr. Bingley was quite breathless after asking such a long question.
Mr. Bennet accepted the invitation to tea, and accompanied by the two young men, went back to the house on a horse borrowed from the steward. Mr. Bingley assured him that the downed tree blocking the road would be removed by the next day.
Both his daughters were glad to see their father, and expressed their desire to leave with him that day. When Mr. Darcy mentioned the downed tree before the bridge with a twinkle in his eye and other similar big trees blocking the roads, the ladies relented and agreed to stay until Saturday as suggested by their father. The father stayed for tea and told the gentlemen the general conditions of the country after the storm, and the fortunate farmer who fell into the swift currents by his field but was rescued by the militiamen half a mile down river.
He thanked the Bingleys again for hosting his daughters; and before taking his leave, asked to speak with his daughters for a few minutes privately. The two ladies accompanied him to the small sitting room by the front door. Mr. Bennet told the girls the footman had brought more clothes and even some books and embroidery work for them to pass the time. He then asked them whether they were enjoying their stay, and whether the gentlemen behaved. Jane was scandalized and spoke as heatedly as Jane could mutter:
"Oh Papa, both Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy have been perfect gentlemen!"
Mr. Bennet turned to Elizabeth and asked, "Elizabeth, do you agree?" He had seen Mr. Darcy's intense stares at Elizabeth although now the former sternness with the stares had much softened. Elizabeth was not expecting this inquisition from her father and hesitated just a second, and said, "Of course, Papa. You know these gentlemen well yourself. You could not have expected less than a sterling report about them."
Mr. Bennet retorted, "Then why that hesitance before answering?"
Elizabeth was a little flustered by the persistence of the questioning, and could hardly believe that her father noticed her mind having momentarily wandered to that morning's 'carried away' incident at the downed tree. She recomposed herself and said," I was just thinking that Mr. Darcy had a sense of humour in surroundings familiar to him that I had not previously noticed. That was all." Mr. Bennet looked at his daughter a moment longer and said, "Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy…"
Elizabeth was very much rattled now and said, "Papa, what are you implying?"
Mr. Bennet smiled gently at Elizabeth, "Mr. Darcy is a gentleman of the first rank in character, breeding, education and wealth. You could not do better. Mr. Bingley is too, Jane, although not as educated and wealthy as compared to Mr. Darcy, he made those up in amiability. I am at ease that you are staying under the same roof as these two gentlemen."
Chapter notes:
The Latin binomial name means 'goose onion". Lizzy was quite a Latin scholar when she was only eight years old, but her father and maybe her grandparents probably helped.
