Mr. Darcy anxiously gazed out the window of his chamber, the ticking of the clock the only sound as he waited for Miss Bennet's return to Netherfield. She had been gone for two hours now, and he was becoming anxious. He thought about going to find her, but there was not any reason to do so. Her sister was well cared for by Mrs. Hadley and the weather was fine. Mrs. Hadley did not seem alarmed by her sister's long absence when he inquired about the length of the walk, saying that Elizabeth would often walk several miles in the morning.
Finally, he saw a figure in blue coming over the fields. He recalled her having worn a blue gown that day, as he had thought the simplicity of the gown suited her very well. Miss Bennet did not need the adornment that so many ladies were fond of. Such would only distract from her looks. As she came closer, he could make out the details of her face and form. When he saw her, the corners of his mouth lifted. Her petticoats were caked in several inches of mud and much of her hair had loosened from its pins, cascading around her shoulders in dark waves. Her cheeks were tinged pink from the exercise and she had a content expression on her face as she strode back to Netherfield.
As he watched her, he regretted his ill-manners, both earlier that day and for the past several weeks. Unfortunately, she had been correct in all that she had said. He had been terribly rude to say such a thing to her sister. If someone said as much to Georgiana, he would have done much more than insult them. He might even feel obliged to call such a man out. Miss Bennet was a lady, so she could not do so, but he had no doubt she wished she could.
The rest of her chastisement of him was equally well deserved. He had considered most of the people in the area beneath him. They were uncouth and loud. However, was his pacing the edge of the room and barely speaking any less ill-mannered than their unrestrained merriment? He never was directly impolite, but he did all he could to discourage intimacy with the locals without directly slighting them. Miss Bennet's family members were some of the better mannered among the score of genteel families in the area, but the rest were perfectly absurd. The way some of the young ladies had acted, particularly when Colonel Forster and some of his officers were about, was quite unbecoming. Yet, now that he thought of it, his sister was hardly any better. While those girls might bat their eyes at a handsome colonel, his sister had agreed to an elopement. How could he judge them?
He did not wish to think on such an unpleasant subject any longer. Now that he was assured that Miss Bennet was safe, he called his valet. He would have a bath and forget all that troubled him.
When Elizabeth re-entered the house, she almost collided with Miss Bingley.
"Goodness!" exclaimed Miss Bingley while Elizabeth apologised. Miss Bingley replied with a similar politeness, her eyes scanning Elizabeth from head to toe. "I see you have been out of doors."
"Indeed," said Elizabeth. "I took a walk."
"In this mud?" asked Miss Bingley. "I dare not venture from the path, but then perhaps I have not such… sturdy attire as you do."
Elizabeth thanked Miss Bingley as if the remark had been a compliment and then departed to change into clean clothing. She passed Mr. Bingley and Mr. Hurst in the corridor and greeted them charmingly. Mr. Bingley asked after her sister and Mr. Hurst echoed the sentiment. Elizabeth told them what she could of Kitty's mild improvement.
"I heard you speaking with Miss Bennet just now," said Miss Bingley when her brothers joined her in the sitting room whence she had gone to seek her sister. "Did you observe the state of her attire? I shall never forget it. She looked almost wild!"
"I confess it quite escaped me," said Mr. Bingley. Mr. Hurst said nothing at all.
"Her petticoat must have been six inches deep in mud! You must have seen it. How far must one walk to have themselves appear so? Three miles? Four? Perhaps more?" Miss Bingley crinkled her nose in disgust and looked at her brother in expectation. When he said nothing, she continued, "And the gown had been let down, but it was not serving its office. I could hardly keep my countenance."
"It was all lost on me. I thought she looked truly lovely. The fresh air must serve her well," said her brother.
Miss Bingley huffed in annoyance. She was perplexed as to how her brother and Mr. Darcy, who were both so sensible, could admire Miss Bennet so much. Determined that she would not have such a lady as her sister, she began to abuse Miss Bennet severely. Her manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no beauty. Her sister added her agreement as well.
"That is not at all fair," said Mr. Bingley. "She is not be the traditional beauty favoured by the ton. That I will grant you, but she is quite lively and pretty. I find her conversation delightful as well, but perhaps you and she do not share similar interests. I confess to knowing nothing of style, so I must believe you on that topic. However, I do not believe any of the garments I have seen her wear do not become her."
Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley exchanged a speaking look. This was very bad, indeed. Their brother was not calling Miss Bennet an angel and seemed to see their points, yet dismissed them with fair counterarguments.
Bingley changed the subject to the dinner menu for the next several days, requesting that a dish he despised be taken off. The resulting debate lasted several minutes, during which time Mr. Darcy joined them. His hair was still damp, but he looked handsome in his evening attire.
"Did you know that their mother was once their governess?" asked Mrs. Hurst suddenly.
"Whose mother?" asked Mr. Bingley.
"The Bennets, of course. Their actual mother died long ago. Then their father married their governess. How appalling!" she replied.
"I do not see why that is appalling," said Mr. Darcy. "Unusual, perhaps, but for a man with four children, I suppose it is prudent to select a woman who will be a good mother. Was she not a gentlewoman, or was there some other disparity?"
"She was a gentlewoman if one uses the loosest sense of the word. Her late husband owned a cottage and had no tenants, only his own farm. It is that grey stone cottage that we thought at first belonged to Netherfield."
"It is a pretty cottage, as cottages go," said Mr. Bingley. "The farm is about thirty acres."
"Rather too small to be truly considered a gentleman farmer," said Miss Bingley.
"Owning that land is all that is actually needed," said Mr. Darcy with a frown. He could not believe the audacity of Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley. Their brother owned no land, aside from that on which his father's factory stood. Yet, they looked down on Mrs. Bennet's late husband for owning only thirty acres. True, that was only enough to support a family and not enough to save a fortune, but it was theirs. The match between Mr. Bennet and his wife was not perhaps the grandest, but it was not a poor one either.
The disparagement of the Bennets could not go on much longer, for they heard the sound of footsteps. Mr. Bingley had, of course, invited the Hadleys to remain for dinner. They appeared, followed shortly by Miss Bennet. Miss Bingley showed her displeasure with a glare at her brother. However, wishing to show Mr. Darcy that she could be a good hostess, she graciously allowed Mr. Hadley to lead her into dinner as her brother did to Mrs. Hadley. The only consolation was that Mr. Darcy was leading in Louisa, not Miss Bennet. Mr. Hurst had to be roused from his sleep to attend to that duty.
Elizabeth was pleased to have the Hadleys at dinner. Thy served a twofold purpose, providing both Mr. Hadley as a distraction for Mr Bingley and Mrs. Hadley as someone for her to speak with. Mr. Hadley greatly disliked Mr. Bingley's interest in Elizabeth, particularly as he did not seem to take her subtle hints that his attention was not welcome. If his attentions did not cease soon, he should have to speak with Mr. Bennet about the gentleman.
Mr Bingley's sisters had their attention mainly on Mr Darcy, seated on either side of him, and had very little dialogue with anyone else. Despite their attempts to engage him, Mr. Darcy remained mostly silent, only responding to inquiries succinctly when it could not be avoided. Elizabeth tried to speak a little with Mr. Hurst, by whom she sat. He was an indolent man, who lived only to eat, drink, and play at cards. When he found her to prefer a plain dish to a ragout, he afterwards had nothing to say to her.
Mr. and Mrs. Hadley had to leave soon after dinner. A thick blanket of clouds was rolling in, and the air had a dampness to it that hinted of impending rain. It was a short distance to the parsonage, but they did not want to be stuck at Netherfield if the rain came sooner rather than later. Miss Bingley was relieved, for she had no wish to have two more of Miss Bennet's family members to stay. Elizabeth would have liked to be able to depart with her sister, but knew she could not abandon Kitty to the care of Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Instead of escaping the house all together, she went upstairs to her sister's room.
When she walked in, Kitty was awake and had a book in her lap.
"Hamlet?" asked Elizabeth. "An unusual choice of reading when ill."
"Mr. Bingley's library is sadly lacking. It was the only book that was not a gothic novel or a treatise on plant rotation."
"Surely you exaggerate."
"Only slightly. There were the complete works of Shakespeare, as well as some poetry and a book about the Lake District, but I did not see anything else of interest. I assume there was more, but it was also very terribly organised." Kitty closed her book and set it aside. "Tell me about your evening. Is Mr. Bingley still in love with you?"
"Do not say such things!" Elizabeth hissed. "A servant might overhear and spread gossip. The last thing I would want would be to have to marry Mr. Bingley out of concern for my reputation."
"Is he so bad as that? I thought him a rather pleasant man."
"Perhaps he is not terrible. However, I do not think I could love him. The best a marriage with him could offer would be a good situation and friendship. I wish for more than that."
"I know you do. Can you do more to discourage him?" asked Kitty.
"I do not know what I can do without directly telling him to leave me be. Mayhap I can turn him in someone else's direction. Do you think he could be convinced he is in love with someone else?"
"I do not think a person can just be convinced to be in love or not be in love," said Kitty with a laugh.
"You seem to be doing much better," Elizabeth observed.
"The draughts have helped a great deal. My throat feels much better."
"I am glad, but you still need your rest. Lie down, my dear sister. I shall read to you." With that, Elizabeth did so until after her sister was asleep.
