A few weeks later, Mr Bennet sat in his library the morning after becoming
utterly exhausted by the rigours of visiting all the new families who had
to be welcomed into the area. His wife had hounded him and hounded him
until he had admitted, yes, he did plan to visit all the new families,
however detestable the job may be to him. He sipped his wine thoughtfully
as a small knock came on the door. "Yes?" he called.
Mary slipped inside. "Good morning, Father," she said softly, trying to discern whether she should try and talk to him or not. "How are you?"
"Tolerably well, Mary, tolerably well," he said, settling down his glass and indicating the seat opposite him. "What is it you want, child?"
"Nothing, Father, I just wished to know how your interviews went, and you made such a point of not telling Mother that I did not get a chance to hear."
He chuckled. "Well, the interviews - interesting, Mary. You once had no taste for news such as this, child."
She lowered her eyes. "I do not mean to gossip, Father."
"And you are not gossiping, my dear. Don't trouble yourself on that; you are much improved, my girl. Well! The interviews! As you know, I visited your mother's favourite, Sir Geoffrey, first. Hmmmm, an interesting man. Very handsome for his age, of course, but most genial, not a touch of stiffness about him. I feel I shall get on with him tolerably. I met only his wife, nephew and niece, and I like them all a lot, I think. Your mother dislikes Lady Penfold without even meeting her, but I do not have a former prejudice against her," he smiled.
Mary laughed. "No, indeed, why should you, Father? I own I should be much concerned if I heard that you were jealous of Lady Penfold because she married Sir Penfold! But what of the nephew, Mr Trevor Newlands?"
"Well, he was as an agreeable man as I have ever seen, Mary. What you girls may think extremely handsome, I suppose. He is certainly an appealing figure. But I must not whet your interest in him; your mother says I must not as he has no fortune! And the niece, Miss d'Arbre! I admit I was looking forward to meeting her with some apprehension, due to the long and dramatic tales your silly mother has told of her, but she turned out to be as any handsome, proper girl, with only a twinge of mystery about her. It was most disappointing."
"Are they all the family you met, sir?"
"Yes. There are three sons called Malcolm, James and Ernest, and two daughters called Anthea and Belinda, from what I hear. I am disposed to think of them as without exception handsome, if the whole family is similar to the portion I met."
"And what of the other families you visited, sir?" enquired Mary.
"Well, next I visited the precious Earl of Remington and his family. They seem to be also a charming family, although the old boy is as gruff as a griffin! He has a good head upon his shoulders though, and I should not be surprised to find him as sensible a man as ever lived. His young wife Countess Grayling knows exactly how to handle him; she is a fine young woman, Mary, all confidence and fire! I met all his family also. His eldest, a Lady Ada, is insupportable in my standards. She just sits, looking wistful! No doubt she is a very good sort of person, but she needs to show it more. She is a little like Jane in appearance, but Jane has more character."
"And what of the handsome, eligible Viscount?" enquired Mary mischievously. "I hear so much about him!"
Mr Bennet laughed. "The Viscount Kemsley is a very respectable sort of fellow; jolly good old chap type of man, he reminds me a little of Bingley. He seems sadly scatter-brained though; somewhat like his eldest sister, but more agreeable. The next eldest, Lady Selina, is a sensible young woman, witty like your sister Lizzy, I should say. She impressed me a lot. She seems the kind of girl I would like to see friends with you and Kitty; vivacious and brilliant, but not at all silly. Possessed of a good dowry too, or so I hear. Her younger brother the Honourable Marlon Grayling is an excitable young chub, it seems, hooked on all kinds of sports, and not at all partial to balls, which is a pity for all the young ladies; but never fear, I am sure that he shall change with time."
Mary laughed. "Oh, I am not worried, Father! There are more than enough young men to go around!"
"The youngest, Lady Valerie," he continued with a twinkle in his eye, "is only just out, and seems like a nice, animated type of girl, I think, although overawed a little easily. And that is the family of the Earl of Remington, my dear! Who shall I describe to you now?"
"Oh! I am most interested to hear of the inhabitants of Netherfield, Father!"
"To be sure," he said. "Netherfield it shall be. Well, Mr Jasper Nesbit is a cordial young man, nothing like Mr Bingley was, but not lacking in admirable qualities. Very staid and proper he is, but you mustn't hope for another Mr Collins, my dear, he seems to be quite sensible, unfortunately."
He was here interrupted by a giggle, and an "Oh, Father!"
He continued. "Miss Emma Nesbit, his youngest sister, is a very welcoming young lady, which is to be thanked for if we were anticipating another Caroline Bingley. Very polite, very affable - I am sure she will be well- liked with all the matrons round here, for she is respectable enough, but not well-favoured enough in their eyes to pose as a threat to one or another of their daughters chances with the men residing at Netherfield." Here came another giggle. "And her sister, Mrs Anne Milne, is agreeable enough, but lacks the warmth her brother and sister have. She is married to a Mr Douglas Milne, who, unlike Mr Hurst was, is a very intelligent, sharp- witted sort of man, the type who is always so awake and bright-eyed that you feel quite sleepy in comparison! Mr Nesbit has two friends staying with him, a Mr Alcott and a Mr Hildesly. Mr Alcott is quite the handsomest person you may ever see, but has a deplorable arrogance about him; he is not at all likeable. Worse, you may say, than Mr Darcy was! He languishes about on the couches all day if he is not hunting or being arrogant, and refuses to even try to be civil! I fear he is a great embarrassment to his cordial young friend, but I quite look forward to the next ball to see him slight all the young women and offend the matrons - I look forward with relish!"
"You would, sir!" scolded Mary. "Do you know what it is like to be slighted? Therefore, I shall watch out for him, and be careful not to be in a position to be slighted!"
"And so you should, my dear, so you should. Meanwhile, I will carry on my account of the Netherfield party. Mr Hildesly, I think, is next? Yes, Mr Hildesly. He is quite the fellow I like the most at Netherfield; a witty, kind sort of man. Quite the opposite of both Alcott and Nesbit. A most interesting man to converse with, too. He isn't at all handsome, but he is supposed to be very rich, if that's what you're interested in. Well, that's all the Netherfield party, who shall you hear of next?"
But as Mary opened her mouth to answer, a voice was heard on the other side of the door. "Mary? Mary? MARY! Oh, where is that dratted girl?"
Mary shut her mouth, sighed, and rolled her eyes at her father. "Coming, Mother!" she called, and got up.
"It'll have to wait until another time, Mary," said Mr Bennet sympathetically.
"Yes, Father," she replied as she made her way out of the room and towards her mother's voice.
Mary slipped inside. "Good morning, Father," she said softly, trying to discern whether she should try and talk to him or not. "How are you?"
"Tolerably well, Mary, tolerably well," he said, settling down his glass and indicating the seat opposite him. "What is it you want, child?"
"Nothing, Father, I just wished to know how your interviews went, and you made such a point of not telling Mother that I did not get a chance to hear."
He chuckled. "Well, the interviews - interesting, Mary. You once had no taste for news such as this, child."
She lowered her eyes. "I do not mean to gossip, Father."
"And you are not gossiping, my dear. Don't trouble yourself on that; you are much improved, my girl. Well! The interviews! As you know, I visited your mother's favourite, Sir Geoffrey, first. Hmmmm, an interesting man. Very handsome for his age, of course, but most genial, not a touch of stiffness about him. I feel I shall get on with him tolerably. I met only his wife, nephew and niece, and I like them all a lot, I think. Your mother dislikes Lady Penfold without even meeting her, but I do not have a former prejudice against her," he smiled.
Mary laughed. "No, indeed, why should you, Father? I own I should be much concerned if I heard that you were jealous of Lady Penfold because she married Sir Penfold! But what of the nephew, Mr Trevor Newlands?"
"Well, he was as an agreeable man as I have ever seen, Mary. What you girls may think extremely handsome, I suppose. He is certainly an appealing figure. But I must not whet your interest in him; your mother says I must not as he has no fortune! And the niece, Miss d'Arbre! I admit I was looking forward to meeting her with some apprehension, due to the long and dramatic tales your silly mother has told of her, but she turned out to be as any handsome, proper girl, with only a twinge of mystery about her. It was most disappointing."
"Are they all the family you met, sir?"
"Yes. There are three sons called Malcolm, James and Ernest, and two daughters called Anthea and Belinda, from what I hear. I am disposed to think of them as without exception handsome, if the whole family is similar to the portion I met."
"And what of the other families you visited, sir?" enquired Mary.
"Well, next I visited the precious Earl of Remington and his family. They seem to be also a charming family, although the old boy is as gruff as a griffin! He has a good head upon his shoulders though, and I should not be surprised to find him as sensible a man as ever lived. His young wife Countess Grayling knows exactly how to handle him; she is a fine young woman, Mary, all confidence and fire! I met all his family also. His eldest, a Lady Ada, is insupportable in my standards. She just sits, looking wistful! No doubt she is a very good sort of person, but she needs to show it more. She is a little like Jane in appearance, but Jane has more character."
"And what of the handsome, eligible Viscount?" enquired Mary mischievously. "I hear so much about him!"
Mr Bennet laughed. "The Viscount Kemsley is a very respectable sort of fellow; jolly good old chap type of man, he reminds me a little of Bingley. He seems sadly scatter-brained though; somewhat like his eldest sister, but more agreeable. The next eldest, Lady Selina, is a sensible young woman, witty like your sister Lizzy, I should say. She impressed me a lot. She seems the kind of girl I would like to see friends with you and Kitty; vivacious and brilliant, but not at all silly. Possessed of a good dowry too, or so I hear. Her younger brother the Honourable Marlon Grayling is an excitable young chub, it seems, hooked on all kinds of sports, and not at all partial to balls, which is a pity for all the young ladies; but never fear, I am sure that he shall change with time."
Mary laughed. "Oh, I am not worried, Father! There are more than enough young men to go around!"
"The youngest, Lady Valerie," he continued with a twinkle in his eye, "is only just out, and seems like a nice, animated type of girl, I think, although overawed a little easily. And that is the family of the Earl of Remington, my dear! Who shall I describe to you now?"
"Oh! I am most interested to hear of the inhabitants of Netherfield, Father!"
"To be sure," he said. "Netherfield it shall be. Well, Mr Jasper Nesbit is a cordial young man, nothing like Mr Bingley was, but not lacking in admirable qualities. Very staid and proper he is, but you mustn't hope for another Mr Collins, my dear, he seems to be quite sensible, unfortunately."
He was here interrupted by a giggle, and an "Oh, Father!"
He continued. "Miss Emma Nesbit, his youngest sister, is a very welcoming young lady, which is to be thanked for if we were anticipating another Caroline Bingley. Very polite, very affable - I am sure she will be well- liked with all the matrons round here, for she is respectable enough, but not well-favoured enough in their eyes to pose as a threat to one or another of their daughters chances with the men residing at Netherfield." Here came another giggle. "And her sister, Mrs Anne Milne, is agreeable enough, but lacks the warmth her brother and sister have. She is married to a Mr Douglas Milne, who, unlike Mr Hurst was, is a very intelligent, sharp- witted sort of man, the type who is always so awake and bright-eyed that you feel quite sleepy in comparison! Mr Nesbit has two friends staying with him, a Mr Alcott and a Mr Hildesly. Mr Alcott is quite the handsomest person you may ever see, but has a deplorable arrogance about him; he is not at all likeable. Worse, you may say, than Mr Darcy was! He languishes about on the couches all day if he is not hunting or being arrogant, and refuses to even try to be civil! I fear he is a great embarrassment to his cordial young friend, but I quite look forward to the next ball to see him slight all the young women and offend the matrons - I look forward with relish!"
"You would, sir!" scolded Mary. "Do you know what it is like to be slighted? Therefore, I shall watch out for him, and be careful not to be in a position to be slighted!"
"And so you should, my dear, so you should. Meanwhile, I will carry on my account of the Netherfield party. Mr Hildesly, I think, is next? Yes, Mr Hildesly. He is quite the fellow I like the most at Netherfield; a witty, kind sort of man. Quite the opposite of both Alcott and Nesbit. A most interesting man to converse with, too. He isn't at all handsome, but he is supposed to be very rich, if that's what you're interested in. Well, that's all the Netherfield party, who shall you hear of next?"
But as Mary opened her mouth to answer, a voice was heard on the other side of the door. "Mary? Mary? MARY! Oh, where is that dratted girl?"
Mary shut her mouth, sighed, and rolled her eyes at her father. "Coming, Mother!" she called, and got up.
"It'll have to wait until another time, Mary," said Mr Bennet sympathetically.
"Yes, Father," she replied as she made her way out of the room and towards her mother's voice.