Here's some more. It's a tad on the shorter side, but is moving things forward.
Finding Jane awake but ill at ease, Elizabeth did what was requested of her to aid her elder sister but she could not withhold her questions and curiosity.
'Jane, how did you come to such a state? Were you not in perfect health on taking leave of Longbourn but yesterday?' queried Elizabeth.
The indisposed girl shook her head and replied, 'It was my vain hope that the trifling sniffles would soon disappear and did not wish to trouble our mother with my refusing the invitation. Sadly, they have only increased and I now find myself with a sore throat and slight fever but now that you are here, I feel much improved by the presence of family.' Although she had not spoken a great many words, Jane now laid back upon the bed with weariness evident in her manner.
Elizabeth sat by the bed, reading aloud from a book which she had carried from home for this express purpose, not trusting Mr. Bingley to have so rapidly filled the shelves of Netherfield's library. After but a few pages, she determined that Jane was, indeed, asleep. It now became imperative to attend to the assignment with which she had been tasked; she, therefore, arranged her hair as tidily as possible and assured herself of a semblance of order in her presentation. Wishing Jane good sleep, Elizabeth took care to shut the door soundlessly after her.
Descending the stairs, she was undecided as to whether the library or the front sitting parlor was a superior location for her purposes; however, on entering the sitting room, its eminent suitability for her scheme became apparent - Mr. Bingley, his sisters and his guest were arrayed in various occupations throughout the room.
The ever-affable Mr. Bingley jumped to his feet and greeted her smilingly with, 'Miss Elizabeth! How is your sister faring? Is there that which could be done for her comfort or yours?' His address was an immense contrast to the barest of civilities proffered by the remainder of the room's occupants.
'I thank you, Mr. Bingley,' responded Elizabeth kindly, 'You have been most welcoming. My sister has taken the medicinal herbs she had desired me to bring to relieve her fever and throat; she is currently sleeping and I did not wish to disturb her repose.' She seated herself upon a settee apart from the company, work basket at hand, content to observe and listen.
Mrs. Hurst sat upon a couch, gazing out of a window and playing with her bangles. Mr. Bingley had been, prior to his effusive salutation, speaking with Miss Bingley, who had placed herself in the chair nearest the writing desk at which Mr. Darcy was working.
Returning to his former position, Charles Bingley resumed, 'But, Caroline, I do not recall a letter from the Pearsons recently. Have our cousins written you?' Elizabeth's interest was immediately piqued but her needle did not still and her eyes remained fixed on her work.
'Charles,' Miss Bingley impatiently replied, 'That is due, as you may remember, to neither John nor James being great correspondents, quite unlike Agnes, who is rather faithful about the exercise. She had informed me not six months before that they should like to visit on our being ready to receive guests at your new estate and we are to expect them in a fortnight. I cannot comprehend why they wish to view yet another county with little to recommend it, but none of our Pearson cousins have ever enjoyed London as they should.'
Excited, Mr. Bingley exclaimed, 'A fortnight? How grand! We'll have quite the party and we could introduce our relations to the neighborhood. What say you, Miss Elizabeth? Would not a ball be just the thing to present our cousins?'
The lady in question responded, 'A dance is assuredly an excellent manner in which to acquaint oneself with new people and limited societies, such as this one, tend to happily claim new members, regardless of the duration of their tenure. Do your cousins hail from a distant region?'
Miss Bingley was displeased at this turn of the conversation – hold a ball for these locals, indeed! – and answered, 'I do not know how long they would remain in this area, as the family is from Ridgmont in Bedfordshire, which is but twenty miles to the north.'
Elizabeth expressed her surprise at the lady's speech, for to travel twenty miles in a single carriage with a number of family members could certainly not be deemed a comfortable endeavor.
Mr. Darcy, despite his resolve to be circumspect in his attentions to Elizabeth, found himself drawn into the discussion, declaring that even fifty miles in a well-sprung carriage would not constitute a hardship. He did, however, remark with a slight smile that comfort was a comparative term and the particular inclinations of the individuals within the carriage could materially affect the ease in which they journeyed.
'Are you, therefore, stating, sir,' inquired Elizabeth archly, 'that many families would be in possession of relations who do not act at all times in a decidedly civil manner? Could you claim yourself devoid of such a commodity?' She could not enjoy his implication that her own relations were at all vulgar, despite her having to acknowledge the truth of his statement.
Affronted for her dear friend, Miss Bingley cried, 'Mr. Darcy has no relations of whom to be embarrassed! They are all above reproach in their behavior, as those related to Earls must certainly be aware of the import of their every action. Those of a certain sphere not only grasp, but appreciate, these notions.' Though Elizabeth was diverted by such an enthusiastic defense of the gentleman, she was equally curious if her hostess understood that she had, inadvertently, demeaned her own family.
Standing, Elizabeth excused herself, declaring a need to return to her sister; she took her leave and repaired to Jane's bed chamber, surveying the premises to ensure that none had entered in her absence. After inspecting her dozing sister, Elizabeth sat and wrote a short note to their mother; on sealing the missive, she crept down to the kitchen, finding the precise servant she had sought. As he hurried toward Longbourn, Elizabeth rapidly returned to her sister's side.
How had he come to this place? It had begun when his much younger – but much beloved – sister had gone to reside with their cousins for three months. There she had met him, the man who had forced a doting elder brother to question everything he had thought to be correct.
Miss Bennet was not well enough for her sister to join the rest of the company for dinner, which was no hardship for Elizabeth. She far preferred to dine with Jane than be forced to fence with Miss Bingley and Mr. Darcy, attired in one of the evening dresses that had been brought to Netherfield, as Mr. Bingley wished for his newest guest to have all of the comforts she would find in her home and a loving sibling to attend her was, in his genial mind, quite the necessity. Elizabeth was to remain at Netherfield until Jane was able to return in health to Longbourn.
A note arrived for Miss Elizabeth and it was delivered to the intended recipient with alacrity. Mr. Darcy happened to be present when the servant came with the missive. He was not, by nature, an excessively intrusive person but, on the occasions when his inquisitiveness was roused, he fancied himself rather a good detective and relentlessly sought answers to his queries. Being in possession of what information he had about the family Bennet and their clandestine activities, a communication to Miss Elizabeth at this late hour was assured to stoke his interest.
Mr. Darcy determined that the young lady was accustomed enough to surreptitious pursuits that she would give no indication of the contents of the letter but, that if action was to be taken, it would be during the hours of darkness. To no diminishment of his pride, his supposition was proved correct and, as he waited patient and still in the unlit Netherfield library, two black figures stealthily made their way toward the house. He walked slowly, carefully until the partially-curtained window was directly in front of him, hiding the majority of his body behind the thick draperies.
Despite his expectation of such an event, when a black-clad person climbed down a rope hung from one of the upper balconies and alit on the lawn near the awaiting two, Mr. Darcy could not help startling. It had to be Miss Elizabeth, come for a night-time conference with her compatriots, and could be no other; however, there was that of surprise in him at her smooth descent, as the strength required to comfortably scale a vertical rope was considerable.
The discussion was hushed and short; thus, after but several moments, two shadows slipped away across the grass and an inky shape made its way rapidly back up the rope. Wishing to remain unseen, the gentleman from Derbyshire did not attempt movement before many minutes had passed. He quietly and cautiously proceeded toward his suite and, after securing all doors to his chambers, lit a candle and began to write out, in precise detail, what had occurred this evening. If he kept an exact record of the events, there was a greater likelihood of his eventual comprehension of this conundrum. If there was one thing Mr. Darcy disliked, it was a mystery.