Elizabeth was relieved when Mr. Jones called that evening and said that her sister was well enough that she could return home the following day. "One more night of rest, I think. She can go below stairs if she wishes, but she must not tire herself. It is her usual affliction, not anything serious."
While Elizabeth knew her sister's usual affliction was typically harmless except for the cough, it had a few times become quite serious. When she was twelve and again at fourteen, the cough had got into her lungs and they had thought they would lose her, yet miraculously she had managed to survive. Mr. Jones had once said that it was because Kitty had been born very small that she had such problems. She had been only five pounds when she was born, and they had not expected her to be born for several weeks more. Such early babes had problems, and they were fortunate that Kitty had not been completely infirm. Therefore, Elizabeth asked the doctor if he was quite certain that Kitty ought to be moved. The air was still rather damp, and she did not wish for her sister to worsen.
"Leave in the afternoon," said Mr. Jones, "once the dew is completely gone and wrap her up snugly."
Mr. Bingley overheard this conversation and knocked softly on the doorframe. When Elizabeth answered it, he confessed to his indiscretion and informed her that he did not like to think of them leaving if there was any chance that Miss Catherine would be made worse by it. "Miss Elizabeth, you and Miss Catherine are welcome to stay as long as is required for her to be well. Pray, stay until Sunday. Even if she could be safely moved sooner, it would ease my mind for her to have a while longer to recover. I should never forgive myself if she left now and relapsed."
Elizabeth, who had been uneasy about moving Kitty as well, agreed. She hoped Mr. Bingley did not think that it was for him that she agreed. Mr. Jones admitted that such caution, although likely unnecessary, could not hurt. He left a few more draughts with them before leaving. Kitty wished to rest, so Elizabeth did not return to her sister. Instead, she went to the library and wrote a note to her parents, informing them of her plan to return on Sunday. She also included a summarisation of the conversation from breakfast, asking if Mrs. Bennet would be willing to assist Miss Bingley in learning the duties of a mistress of an estate.
She was joined a while later by both Mr. Darcy and Miss Bingley. Mr. Darcy seemed most relieved to see her, likely because she could act as a chaperone. Miss Bingley did seem to follow him around a great deal and she thought to have such attention must be tiring. At least Mr. Bingley was often busy with estate business. Mr. Darcy sat down and took up a book. Miss Bingley took found the second volume of his book and began to read as well.
Elizabeth had to stifle a laugh, for she was quite certain that Miss Bingley had not read the first volume of the agricultural treatise that Mr. Darcy had selected. Not only would she be very confused, but she imagined that Miss Bingley would have found the subject matter rather complicated and boring even if she had read the first half of the book.
After finishing her note and giving it to a servant to be brought to Longbourn, Elizabeth found the book that she had been reading earlier. It was a volume of German poetry that she had asked to be brought over from Longbourn due to the dreadful state of Mr. Bingley's library. She liked the poet in question very well and had read this collection's English translation several years previously. As she was attempting to improve her German, she had recently sent to London for the text in the original language and was struggling through it. She silently mouthed the words as she read, often having to reread each line after decoding each individual word.
"Do you read German, Miss Bennet?" asked Miss Bingley.
"Not as well as I would like. I speak it, but I have not practiced reading it nearly enough. I am trying to improve. I find reading poetry much more interesting than German primers." She then told Miss Bingley a little about the book of poems, which described the daily life of the poet in the most wonderful of ways.
"I find it curious that you learned German and not French or Italian," said Miss Bingley with a glance toward Mr. Darcy. "Would those languages not be more useful?"
"Indeed. I speak and read French as well. Each of us was required to learn at least two languages other than our own. I never did learn Italian, but perhaps I might someday. Kitty has a gift for languages, though. She knows French and Latin as well as Italian and German. She said that once she knew Latin, Italian and French were easy to learn."
"Perhaps that is true. I was dreadful at Latin, so that may be why I also have quite minimal French," said Mr. Darcy with a smile.
Miss Bingley was not pleased to have been effectively shut out of the conversation. She recalled now that Miss Catherine was called very accomplished by someone, and she had to now admit that such praise might be justified. Although, there certainly was not that special something in Miss Catherine's air and manners that made one truly accomplished.
They were interrupted by servant from Longbourn returning with the response to Elizabeth's note. Mrs Bennet wrote to inform them she would come the next to discuss the plan for visiting the tenants with Miss Bingley and to visit her daughters. Both Elizabeth and Kitty were delighted, as was Mr. Bingley, by the prospect of Mrs. Bennet's visit. Miss Bingley was decidedly less pleased.
"I simply cannot imagine that it is something I need instruction in. I shall visit the tenants, Brother," said she. "I will see to their needs."
"It cannot hurt for Mrs. Bennet to ensure you know all that you ought. We should be thankful to have such generous neighbours that she is willing to give of her time to you," said her brother.
"She is only coming because she wishes to ensure Miss Bennet is doing all she can to catch either you or Mr. Darcy. No doubt it is she who she wishes to advise, not I."
"How unjust!" exclaimed Mr. Bingley. "Miss Bennet has acted in every way as a lady ought. If she catches me, it will not be by underhanded means, but by her innate charms and character."
"Even if that is so — which I do not believe to be true, as I know no ladies who are willing to trudge through mud as she is — I see no sign of regard for you in her manner."
"Mayhap that is true, but we have only known each other a short time. I cannot expect her to return the full force of my feelings. If she does feel for me, she may not wish to show any regard out of fear for her own reputation."
Miss Bingley tried to remonstrate with her brother, pointing out the many signs that Miss Bennet sought to avoid his company, but Mr. Bingley could not believe that his sister did not have ulterior motives. It was not the first time that she had sought to separate him from a lady. She often pointed out that he had enough wealth to marry very high, but he was uncertain if he wished to do so. What use was wealth if one could not marry where one wished? He did not believe those in the first circles were happier than he, and he did not believe he could be made happy with a wife he did not love. He did not yet love Miss Bennet, but he believed her the sort of woman he could easily come to love, and thought her manners would complement his own very well. He expressed as much to his sister, who called him a fool and blamed him for not advancing her own prospects.
Miss Bingley became too annoyed to speak to her brother any longer. He would not see sense. She would have to enlist others in returning him to the path of reason. With that purpose, she went to seek out Mr. Darcy.
"How many children do the Holders have?" asked Mrs. Bennet.
"How should I know?" replied Miss Bingley.
Mrs. Bennet could not think of anything to say that would not be considered very rude, so she looked towards the housekeeper to see if Nicholls knew.
"Three children, madam. A boy of ten, and the girls are four and eight, or right thereabouts," replied Mrs. Nicholls.
Mrs. Bennet thanked her and considered what items might be best for the family. "Children of eight and ten are likely eating a great deal and outgrowing their clothes very rapidly. I think it would be best to put in an extra loaf of bread and some of the cloth. Perhaps if you have any old ribbons you no longer use, Miss Holder might appreciate them."
"I should give a tenant girl my ribbons?" asked Miss Bingley, appalled.
"Only if you no longer use them. My girls are always buying ribbons and lace with their pin money. When they no longer like a particular type of ribbon or no longer have gowns that match it, they will pass it on to tenants. It is a small thing that can make a child very happy." Mrs Bennet spoke while her fingers deftly arranged the items in the basket.
"Well, I have already got rid of any that I do not like. My maid gets them, I think. I am not sure," said Miss Bingley. "If Miss Holder needs ribbons, she will have to save her own pin money for them."
Mrs. Bennet looked at Miss Bingley quizzically. "Tenant children are unlikely to have pin money. Perhaps your tenant with the largest farm. Our largest tenants, the Larrysons, certainly do, but I was under the impression that Netherfield was broken into a great number of small farms instead of a few larger ones."
Mr. Bingley, who had just entered the room, inserted himself into the conversation. "I believe you are correct. Where Longbourn's tenant farms are all rather large, we have no tenants with over two hundred acres."
"You make more income by the land being broken up so much," explained Mrs. Bennet, "but you also have a great many more people under your care, and those people are not so well off."
Miss Bingley looked extremely perturbed at this, which Mrs. Bennet interpreted as concern for the people she was mistress of. "Do not worry. The tenants will not expect you to solve their every problem and they are used to living on a lower income so they will not wish for too much. If anything major occurs, you can also still write to Mr. Morris, as you are not yet the owners of Netherfield. I assume that expenses having to do with the land or houses are reimbursed by the owner?"
"I do not know," said Mr. Bingley. "I would have to look at the contract."
"I suggest you do so soon. It is likely to be a very wet autumn and I would not like for you to be surprised if you have to pay to fix a tenant's roof or some such."
Mr. Bingley took his leave of the ladies and went immediately to look at his contract. He had not even known to ask about such things before letting the house. Mrs. Bennet and Miss Bingley finished making up the baskets for the tenants they were to visit. Miss Bingley's ignorance of the tenants was quite clear. Mrs. Bennet would not have been surprised if she had not had a conversation with a single tenant in the two months they had lived there. How such a thing was possible, she did not know, unless Miss Bingley purposefully went out of her way to avoid them.
"Before we go, I shall just go check in on my girls to see if there is anything they need from Meryton," said Mrs. Bennet when they finished the last basket.
Miss Bingley bade her to take all the time that she needed, wishing to put off the unpleasant task as long as possible.
Elizabeth and Kitty were settled in a sitting room, as they had been told that Kitty could spend a time below stairs if she felt well enough to do so. They were taking tea and speaking with the gentlemen when Mrs. Bennet came in. Mr. Bingley looked chagrined when he recalled that he had meant to look for his lease before he became distracted by Miss Bennet's musical laughter.
Mrs. Bennet offered to fetch anything from Meryton that might be needed by any of the party.
"Mother," said Kitty, "I do hate to put you out if you are not going that way for anything else, but if you happen to be near the circulating library, could you check to see if there are any books waiting for me?"
Mrs. Bennet agreed to stop by the library, and no one else seemed to have any needs so she departed with a kiss on the cheek to each of her daughters.
"I am glad that your mother agrees that you ought to stay a day or two longer, Miss Bennet, Miss Kitty," said Mr. Bingley, speaking mainly to the former. "I wish for you to be well, Miss Kitty, but also I have been greatly enjoying the company of you and your sister."
Both sisters expressed their gratitude for the sentiment, and Elizabeth's cheeks burned bright red as she diverted her gaze. When she did so, her gaze fell upon Mr. Darcy, who looked to be in a very brown study. He met her eye, and a small, empty smile passed his lips. She considered him a moment longer, wondering if something was wrong, but soon Mr. Bingley was speaking animatedly about the ball he was planning and she became distracted by his enthusiasm and the prospect of an enjoyable evening.
