Elizabeth entered the dining room feeling a little more like herself after wiping her face with a cool washcloth and changing into yet another borrowed gown from Georgiana. She smiled in greeting and was led to a seat at one end of the table by a smiling Timothy. There were only six of them seated that night and so Darcy had requested that the meal be served in the family dining room where it was a much less grand setting. Darcy was seated at the head of the table with Georgiana to his left and Lucy to his right. At the foot of the table was Elizabeth, and Edward was next to Georgiana, Charles seated opposite. Elizabeth felt slightly uncomfortable being placed at seat usually reserved for the hostess and felt the need to ask if there hadn't been some mistake. Timothy, the young footman, assured her that the seating plan had been arranged by Mr. Darcy himself and that Miss Georgiana always preferred to seat herself at her brother's side.
"How do you like your bedchamber, Miss Elizabeth? I've heard that the Rose Suite was one of Lady Anne's favourite rooms." Charles enquired politely once their soup course had been served.
"It's very pleasant indeed, thank you Mr. Bingley. Have you never seen the Rose Suite?" Elizabeth replied, savouring the delicate taste of the warm soup.
"Ah, no. I have not had the privilege." Charles had been a frequent visitor to Pemberley over the years, but had always been firmly entrenched within the guest quarters and had never ventured past the massive doors that protected the very private areas of the Darcy household.
"Ummm…" Elizabeth didn't really know how to respond to that statement, but luckily the arrival of the main course meant that she didn't have to. Timothy slipped a plate containing a portion of salmon delicately flavoured with dill in front of her. He offered a choice of vegetables and Elizabeth silently chose baby new potatoes as she tried to think of a way to defuse the awkward silence that sprang between her and Charles.
"Miss Elizabeth?" Charles held his voice deliberately kept his voice low, to prevent from being overheard, "I must tell you how much I approve of the change that you have brought about in Darcy. Ever since his return from Kent, he is a changed man, and a much better friend and I have you to thank for that." Elizabeth looked over at Charles and he nodded slightly at her unspoken question. "He came to see me a few weeks ago and told me of his interference and that it was only after hearing your refusal that he realized that he had been in the wrong. I cannot presume to think that Jane would forgive me for holding her so little in regard, but I hope that in time I may begin to earn her trust back." Charles laid down his cutlery and looked straight into Elizabeth's eyes. "Tell me honestly, Miss Elizabeth, do you think that there is still a possibility…?" his voice trailed off, unable to voice his most fervent desire. Elizabeth gently patted his hand which lay nearest to her own on the table.
"My dear Mr. Bingley, I think that there is every possibility that Jane has never stopped in her regard for you, indeed she would never allow anyone to speak ill of you, even when she was feeling at her lowest." Charles brightened at the news and leant forward in excitement ready to clasp Elizabeth's hand, a frown aimed in his direction made him drop it quickly but she could hear the enthusiasm colouring his tone.
"Perhaps, one day we may all at this table, be related in some way or another."
"Yes, perhaps." Elizabeth murmured quietly, Darcy's sharp hearing picked up their quiet conversation, he was relieved to hear that Charles had obviously forgiven him for his interference with Jane. Social politeness had him turning to make conversation with his sister and Lucy and then he caught sight of Charles reaching over to clasp Elizabeth's hand. The infernal cheek! To witter on about his lost chances with Jane and then makes pretty with My Elizabeth! Darcy shot a look of warning down the table and was rewarded when Charles dropped Elizabeth's hand as though it were a hot brick. He heard Charles' comment about how they might all be related in the future and was a little put out to hear Elizabeth's non-committal response. Well, you see if I propose again anytime again soon if that's how you really feel about it! Elizabeth was a little uncomfortable discussing her sister's feelings for Charles, knowing that Jane kept her innermost feelings to herself and was terribly shy about admitting those feelings aloud. She didn't want to give Charles false hope but if Jane's last letter from London was anything to go by there was hope to be had.
Moving into the family parlour again after dinner, Darcy offered around a decanter of port to the gentlemen and they sat around the room discussing plans in a desultory manner for the following day. Charles was pacing in front of the unlit fireplace thinking about his dinner conversation with Elizabeth and wondering whether to send a letter back to Jane with her Aunt. Elizabeth noticed his pacing and finally got up to join him.
"Charles, I really do think that you still have a chance with Jane. Don't rush her though, she may just get overwhelmed and retreat from you altogether." Elizabeth advised him quietly, sending the same message across the room with her eyes toward Darcy, he slowly closed his eyes in understanding and nodded slowly to show that the message had been received and understood. Charles visibly relaxed at Elizabeth's statement and smiled in relief. She patted his arm and left him to his thoughts. As she passed Darcy's chair on the way back to her seat next to Georgiana, he reached out to briefly squeeze her fingers. She returned the pressure of his hand and then felt him let go and allow her to pass. The almost sombre mood lifted and Darcy called out to the room.
"Shall we play a little cards, before the Gardiner's leave us for the evening? It's still relatively early so we have time for a hand or two of whist or some such game."
"Oh, no! Not whist!" Georgiana protested, "That's far too complicated. Can we not play a memory game instead?"
"Elephant's foot umbrella stand!" Elizabeth and Lucy suggested together. It was a favourite past time within the Bennet household especially when one or another of the girls was feeling a little down at mouth, it never failed to bring a smile to their eyes.
"I'm afraid that I am not familiar with that particular game. Elizabeth would you care to elaborate?" Darcy asked the smiling lady. She nodded enthusiastically.
"Well, I would say I went to the market and I bought an elephant's foot umbrella stand…the next person would say: 'I went to the market and I bought an elephant's foot umbrella stand and…"
"…A purple umbrella." Interjected Lucy. Edward picked up the mantle and continued,
"I went to the market and I bought an elephant's foot umbrella stand, a purple umbrella and a black hat." He turned to Georgiana who thought for a moment and then nodded.
"I went to the market and I bought an elephant's foot umbrella stand, a purple umbrella, a black hat and a box of truffles!"
"I went to the market and I bought an elephant's foot umbrella stand, a purple umbrella, a black hat, a box of truffles and a …..Piece of humble pie." Charles couldn't stop thinking about his actions with Jane, even to play a simple parlour game. He forced a smile to his face, trying to make it seem like a joke and felt the embarrassment of tears threatening to well up behind his eyes.
"None of that Mr. Bingley! You will have to do better than that if you want to survive a long winter's night in the Bennet household. My father for one, tolerates no serious answers in the elephant foot game, indeed the sillier the better!" Elizabeth nudged Charles, playfully on the shoulder to try and break through his sudden seriousness.
"Quite right, Elizabeth! That really was appalling Charles, you must strike that from record and try again!" Darcy came across the room and pressed another glass of port into his friends hand and mouthed a 'thank you' to Elizabeth over his head.
"Ah, alright. I went to the market and I bought a yellow…peacock!" Charles tried again, and wondered why everyone shook their heads in dismay.
"No, Charles you have to start every round with the elephant's foot umbrella stand!" Elizabeth laughed.
"Miss Elizabeth, does your family not play any sensible games?" Charles despaired.
"Yes, we do. But this one is a particular favourite of both my Father and Jane's." Elizabeth only smiled again at the look of dismay on Charles face. "Perhaps we should drop the formality, it's so hard to keep hearing Miss Elizabeth, when one is hearing words of purple umbrella's and yellow peacocks! Please, won't you just call me Elizabeth?" She held out her hand in greeting. Charles shook it gently and responded in kind.
"Charles, please." He took a deep breath and started again, "I went to the market and I bought; an-elephant's-foot-umbrella-stand-a-purple-umbrella-a-black-hat…"As he took another breath in preparation to continue, an icy cold voice interrupted from the doorway, making him groan at the thought of having to start yet again.
"Well, isn't this cosy?" Remarked a snide Caroline Bingley, who had returned from Matlock early only to find this shockingly unexpected scene before her. "Look, Louisa we leave them to their own devices for one day and they practically revert to Neanderthals. It's positively shocking!" Caroline sniffed haughtily, referring of course to the fact that none of the gentlemen present were wearing any sort of jacket. Edward shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his cheeks ruddy with embarrassment. He placed his glass down on the sideboard and rose to his feet, extending his hand to Darcy as he did so.
"Mr. Darcy, I thank you for a most entertaining afternoon and for your kind invitation to dine, but I really think that my wife and I ought to say goodnight and leave you to your guests…" Darcy sprang up from his chair and clapped Edward on the shoulder.
"Nonsense, Edward! It was entirely my pleasure! Surely yourself and Lucy can stay a little longer?" Darcy prevailed upon the Gardiner's to extend their stay, having noticed that Georgiana had immediately shrank back into her seat as soon as the Bingley sister's had entered the room. He threw a pleading glance over at Charles who was looking a little perplexed at the ladies early arrival, for they had not been expected until the next morning.
"Caroline, Louisa – I thought that you were to stay in Matlock this evening? How fortunate for you that we have all arrived a day early!" Charles rose from his seat and walked over to greet both of his sisters with a kiss on the cheek. Until that afternoon, they had intended to stay with one of their cousins in the nearby town until they had overheard a conversation in the milliner's shop that the Master of Pemberley had returned home. They quickly made their excuses to their poor cousin and promptly made the journey onto Pemberley that very afternoon. Caroline was not aware that her brother had already returned Georgiana to Pemberley and had rather hoped to surprise Darcy with her early arrival. Instead it was she that was surprised, and a rather unpleasant one it was too! Caroline gave her brother a tight smile and managed to whisper fiercely in his ear as he greeted Louisa -
"What on earth is Miss Eliza Bennet doing here? And who are those rather countrified people? Surely Darcy doesn't claim an acquaintance with them as well?" Unfortunately Caroline's version of a whisper was the type that carried throughout the whole room, and Darcy's face whitened with barely suppressed anger.
"On the other hand, Edward perhaps it would be best if you and Lucy returned to the Inn. It has been a long afternoon and full of surprises, not all of them pleasant." Darcy helped Lucy to her feet and gestured towards the hallway. "Georgiana, won't you join me in seeing our guests out? Elizabeth, shall you join us in saying goodnight to your aunt and uncle?" Darcy held out his arm to his sister and offered the other to Elizabeth, pitching his voice loud enough to ensure that Caroline paid attention to the family connection between Elizabeth and the older couple. Caroline also noticed how familiar Darcy was behaving towards them as well as the fact that he had referred to Elizabeth by her first name.
"Charles, you must tell me what is going on! Charles….Charles?" Caroline almost hissed the questions towards her brother, voice tight with fury. All of her careful plans were disappearing into a puff of smoke. It was inconceivable that after all of this time, that Eliza Bennet should suddenly appear and turn everything upside down in an instant. Caroline had felt sure that Darcy had finally come to his senses regarding his feelings towards Miss Bennet and after prowling around his townhouse like a bear with a sore head, had come to realize that she, Caroline Bingley would make a far more suitable match. Caroline turned back to Charles for a response, only to find herself addressing an empty space.
"Well Charles? Louisa, where did Charles get to? Did he not realize that I was addressing him?" Caroline placed her hands on her hips, infuriated at the disappearance of her brother. She looked at her sister, who was plucking invisible stray threads of her reticule.
"I believe that Charles followed….those people, although I really feel that we ought to have stayed at dear Mariah's, Caroline. Darcy seems to have found that odd looking Bennet girl again. I thought that you said that he wanted nothing more to do with the chit?" Louisa responded lazily, gesturing towards the entrance hall. Caroline sniffed haughtily in response and looked around the room for a servant.
"You girl!" She pointed at poor Nancy who was collecting glasses and placing them on a silver platter.
"Yes, Miss?" Nancy put down the platter with a nervous hand, and bobbed a curtsey.
"That Miss Bennet…has she been in Derbyshire long? When did she arrive at Pemberley? Before or after Mr. Darcy? Well, answer me girl!" Caroline paced in front of the fireplace and the placed herself directly in front of Nancy, who was shaking a little in fear. Temper had made Caroline bristle and caused her lips to thin and cheeks to pinch.
"I'm not entirely sure how long she has been in the county, Miss. I do know that she only arrived at Pemberley this morning, Miss. To pay a visit to the house with her aunt and uncle, I don't believe that she knew that the Master was at home when she arrived, as she looked right peaky when they met in the gardens." Nancy tried to give Caroline a very condensed version of the truth, wanting to appease her a little so that she would be a little less bitter, but at the same time knowing that her loyalties lay with the Darcy's first and foremost. Nancy could see clearly that this information had not appeased Caroline in the slightest and knew just how cruel the woman could be when she was in a temper. When Caroline was in a beastly mood, she took her temper out on whichever poor servant was in the local vicinity and her cruel words frequently caused some poor girl to run from the room in tears on every visit. Nancy saw that Caroline was clenching her teeth in an effort to rein in her temper and visibly quaked as Caroline twisted her hands in the sides of her skirt.
"Ah, Miss Bingley, Mrs. Hurst! I see that you have arrived to join your brother! This is a day for unexpected guests, isn't it?" Mrs. Reynolds interrupted from the doorway just in time to prevent Nancy from facing the brunt of the storm about to erupt. "Nancy, hadn't you be getting that tray down to the kitchens? Those glasses won't wash themselves, you know." She discreetly spared a kindly smile in the girls' direction as Nancy passed her with the tray.
"Mrs. Reynolds, I trust that our rooms are in order? I do hope that they have been aired out properly, I fear that the summer heat must have made the rooms dreadfully warm." Caroline finally managed a calm sentence and made the enquiry of the housekeeper.
"Oh, I don't think you'll have any trouble in that aspect. Your rooms receive the morning sun and so are nicely cooled for the afternoon." Mrs. Reynolds assured the ladies, waiting for their reaction.
"The east? Surely our rooms face the other direction?" Louisa exclaimed in horror, she was not an early riser and the thought of the morning sun streaming in did not please her at all. Caroline thought of the floor plan of the upper floor and came to the realization that she had not been placed in the room that she normally occupied when visiting Pemberley. In fact, her rooms this time were so far away from the family wing that they were almost part of the servant's quarters.
"Mrs. Reynolds, dearest. I think there must be some mistake, I usually occupy the lovely green room with the draped four poster. I know that faces the north side or has the house suddenly changed aspect?" Caroline finished snidely.
"No the house is still where it has always been, it's just that Mr. Darcy is expecting some very important guests next week and wanted them all to be comfortable." Mrs. Reynolds hid a smile, hoping that the inference that Mr. Darcy hoped that the two sisters would be very uncomfortable in their reassigned quarters, would be realized. For her own part, she hoped the neither woman would cause any trouble for the two lovebirds and that they would feel uncomfortable enough to cut their visit short.
"Whatever could be keeping Darcy and Charles for so long? They have had plenty of time to say their goodbyes," Caroline returned to pacing in front of the fireplace, turning events over and over in her head trying to make sense of it all.
"Oh, they are probably taking a turn around the garden with the young ladies. It is a pleasant evening and I know how fond Miss Elizabeth is of the trout stream. They are probably all down there now seeing whether the fish have recovered from their mishap this afternoon…" Mrs. Reynolds walked over to the window and peered out, knowing that curiosity would get the better of at least one of the sisters.
"Whatever do you mean…what young ladies?"
"What mishap?"
Both sisters peppered questions at Mrs. Reynolds at the same time, she smiled to herself, making sure that she kept her face averted from their line of sight.
"Ah yes, there they are now. Don't they all look happy? I shall never forget the look on Mr. Darcy's face…such a sight! Oh, careful Sir! Take care not to slip again…" Mrs. Reynolds chuckled as she watched Elizabeth pretending to shove Darcy back into the water and then smiled fondly when she saw how the Master grabbed his beloved in his arms and pretended to throw her in the water. The squeals of laughter emanating from both Elizabeth and Georgiana drew both Caroline and Louisa closer to the windows, only for Mrs. Reynolds to draw the curtains closed before they could see anything.
"Mrs. Reynolds, you simply must tell us what is going on!" Caroline almost stamped her foot in annoyance, but settled for tapping her foot impatiently on the carpet.
"Well, Miss Elizabeth took exception to something Mr. Darcy did…or said, I can't quite remember which it was…" Mrs. Reynolds said slowly, feigning memory loss, and wanting to draw out the agonizing expectancy.
"Yes…and then?"
"She tripped, or he slipped and they both ended up taking an unexpected dip in the trout stream. Anyway, they all came up to the house and Miss Georgiana took an immediate liking to the young lady and invited her to stay the night." Mrs. Reynolds did not volunteer the information that it was the Master's wish that Miss Elizabeth spend the next month at Pemberley, or the fact that the Gardiner's themselves would be returning in the morning for the rest of the week, or that over the next month the house would practically be taken over by Miss Elizabeth's extended family…No, best I let them find that out on their own, it's more fun that way! She left the two sisters, speechless for once, absorbing that information and returned to the kitchens.
"Mission accomplished!" She informed the head staff, "That bit of gossip has set the cat amongst the pigeon's that's for sure!"
"What's the cover story, Mrs. Reynolds? How much did you tell them?" Henry asked as he poured her a much needed cup of tea. Mrs. Reynolds paused with the cup raised halfway to her lips.
"Well as far as they know, Miss Elizabeth is merely an overnight guest and that she slipped into the stream this afternoon and dragged poor Mr. Darcy with her. They know nothing of his plans for the future or that the house will soon be full of the little Miss's family….nor do I want them to know." She shot a warning glance around the table. "If Mr. Darcy wants them to know anything, he will inform them in due course."
"How did they take the change of room? It's not their 'usual'." Frederick, the pastry chef asked.
"If you ask me, those two Madam's think far too highly of themselves…expecting to be given the best of everything. I bet that one even expects to be given a room in the Master's own wing…" Henry muttered as he pottered around the table, moving mugs around but not really having a purpose until everyone returned to the house and the main door was bolted for the night.
"Hmmm, that came as a bit of a shock. Wait until they discover that Mr. Darcy's 'very important guests' are a group of noisy children! I believe that I will place the youngest boys in the smaller room at the end of the corridor."
"Isn't that right next to the green room, Mrs. Reynolds?" Nancy enquired, pausing as she polished the silverware.
"Why, Nancy I do believe that you are right!" Everyone laughed at that and raised their mugs in salute to a job well done.