An insightful dinner
Miss Bingley did not like what she saw.
Not only had the insipid Jane Bennet taken a horse to come to Netherfield, what kind of gentlewoman took a horse to come to a dinner, and gotten wet due the rain, now getting the new and fashionable furniture wet, she now wanted to stay the night and entrap Charles by pretending to be sick. But not on Miss Bingleys watch. This fortune hunter would not get a chance to become Mrs. Bingley, Jane Bennet had nothing to raise Miss Bingleys consequence or social standing and the next Mrs. Bingley should bring money, connections or a title, preferably all three, to the marriage.
The sisters and Miss Bennet had been just served the second course and Jane looked like she developed a fever. Miss Bingley thought about the next step how to send Miss Bennet as soon as possible home. The men took the Bingleys carriage and she was not yet in the position to command the Darcy carriage. She smiled as the third option came to her mind. Jane Bennet came on a horse, she would go back on a horse.
The servants left the dining room on her sign and her sister knew to go along with everything she said. Charles and Mr. Darcy would never learn what would be spoken here behind closed doors.
"My dear Jane", Miss Bingley said with a fake smile, "I am sure in this part of England you cannot possibly know, but in higher society you decline an invitation if you have that time of a month or at least you are well mannered enough to ignore your malaise and participate in the conversation with your hosts. My sister and I will be so gracious and excuse you, so you can return back to your little estate, what was it called again, Longbeard? I will have a servant ready your horse and you can thank me the next time we will see each other in what you call here polite society."
"Of course we excuse you! It is not your fault! How on earth could you know, how to behave in better society, without the benefit of a finishing school or at least a gentlewoman to teach you and your sisters!", Mrs. Hurst exclaimed with the same fake smile, while her sister used the bell on the table and told the footman to have Jane´s horse saddled. "If you ever want to marry, you need to learn some manners. I am sure you would not want to displease your tradesman husband, when you insult his customers with your lack of manners while you wait on them."
"I believe the farm animal you call a riding horse is ready. I am sure you would not want my sister and me to accompany you outside and get chilled in this weather. The footman will have your things. Goodbye my dear Jane and do not make yourself uneasy, we of higher standing forgive the lower classes for their lack of upbringing." Miss Bingley dismissed Miss Bennet with her nose up in the air not leaving her seat and continuing eating her meal.
Jane Bennet felt for the first time in her life disappointment in humanity. She always saw the good in everybody, always thought that there must have been a misunderstanding of some kind, always made sure everyone around her was happy, but how she has been treated this afternoon opened her eyes to the ugly side of the world. It began with an interrogation in the drawing room about her, her family, her uncles Philipps and Gardiner, the entail on Longbourn, her dowry and her accomplishments, or the lack of both. It went on with the boasting of everything the Bingley sisters had and did, whom they knew, what parties, dinners and balls they frequented. The whole time the sisters gave her only enough time to answer with yes or no, then asked the next vulgar or inappropriate question. They saw that Jane got wet in the rain, they knew that sitting in wet clothes could bring her down with a cold and despite all this they did not even offered her a towel, not to mention dry clothes. All of that Jane could ignore and make excuses for, but to speak at the table of such things like the monthly courses, to tell her she was unmannered, would only, if ever, marry a shopkeeper and work in his shop, showed Jane Bennet the reality of the Bingley sisters.
Jane knew Lizzy was right about riding to Netherfield and not taking the carriage, but her mother allowed her only to take Nelly and Jane wanted to become better acquainted with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst.
She never planned to stay the night, like her mother hoped. As they sat at the dining table and she began to feel uneasy and hot, she still expected to ride home after the meal. By the time the Bingley sisters ended their atrocious speech, Jane was almost not in the condition to stand or walk, let alone ride 3 miles on a horse, but she was a gentlewoman and would not beg for help or stay where she was undesired. With her head high she stood up, went to the door, turned around, curtsied and said goodbye.
As soon as the door behind her closed, she nearly collapsed and had to steady herself on the wall beside her. The footman, the second son of a tenant family from Netherfield, a family Jane knew and visited due to the absent master and mistress, helped her to the front door where the butler, Mr. Nichols held her bonnet, gloves and cape. At least it stopped to rain.
"Miss Bennet," the butler said in low tones, "I am very sorry. Please be safe on your way home. Perhaps it would be better if a groom would escort you." Before Jane could answer a second footman came to the front door and whispered to the butler. Whispered is maybe the wrong word, because Jane could hear what he told Mr. Nichols.
"Miss Bingley forbade any of the servants to escort Miss Bennet. She said nobody could be spared from his work. And we would not like the consequences of disobeying,"
"Mr. Nichols, please be easy, I will be fine and do not need an escort. I wish you a nice day. Matthew," Jane spoke to the first footman, "if you happen to see your mother, tell her I will come visit the day after tomorrow and bring her more ointment for her cough."
"Thank you, Miss Bennet," said Matthew, the footman, "please let me help you on your horse."
"I appreciate it, thank you", answered Jane.
The ride home to Longbourn was long and exhausting. Twice Jane had to stop Nelly, otherwise she would have fainted and fallen from the horse. Fortunately for Jane Nelly knew her way home, since the last half a mile of the way Jane lost the grip on the reins and bent dangerously forward.
The groom at Longbourn saw Nelly with Miss Bennet and alarmed immediately Mr. Hill, then took control of Nelly and lifted Miss Bennet from the horse. At this time Jane was already unconscious and burned with fever. Mr. Hill directed the groom to Jane´s room and sent him to bring the apothecary as fast as possible. Then he went to Mr. Bennet´s book room and informed him. In the meantime his wife, the housekeeper, informed the ladies of the house what happened.
The chaos that erupted in the drawing room could be heard not only in the house. Lydia and Kitty giggled and laughed, Mary told some inapt nonsense from her most beloved book of sermons, Mrs. Bennet trumped them all with her wailing about her nerves, her heart, her palpitations, her salts, the entail and the hedgerows, she would have to live in, as her most beautiful daughter Jane would surely die upstairs today without having secured Mr. Bingley and therefore without having secured a place to live for Mrs. Bennet when Mr. Bennet dies. Only Elizabeth ran from the drawing room to Jane´s room and helped the maids to undress Jane and make her ready for the apothecary. Lizzy ordered one maid to bring a basin with cold water and a fresh cloth to cool Jane´s forehead and sat by the bed waiting for Mr. Jones. Mr. Bennet behaved like always, he stayed in his book room and ordered Hill to close the door and to apprise him of news.
Unfortunately for her, Miss Bingley never learned that in a house as big as Netherfield with so many servants you are never alone and almost every room has a second door for servants. When she ordered the footmen from the dining room and started her vicious speech, a maid, Molly Hastings, was about to enter through the servants door in the corner behind Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst and opened the door just a little and not only heard the whole ordeal, but also saw Miss Bennet being on the verge of collapsing. Molly´s parents were tenants at Longbourn, one of her sisters worked at Lucas Lodge, another at Mr. Philipps´ house, two of her best friends worked as maids at Longbourn. All of them knew the Bennets, especially the two oldest, Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth.
Had Miss Bingley behaved a little more friendlier and not so malicious to the servants, Molly would have kept the scene to herself, she would have been appalled by her behaviour, but her workplace was something she would not have wanted to loose, although it paid so little. But Miss Bingley being herself made Molly´s life in the six weeks since beginning her job hell on earth. She lost account how many times she had been yelled at, slapped on her hands and her face, once even kicked in her shin so hard, the skin broke.
Compared to Miss Bingley the Bennets were a family you wanted to work for. Yes, Mrs. Bennet was loud, yes, the two youngest were silly, yes, Miss Mary played the pianoforte often, loud and not very good, but never has any of the servants been mistreated. Mr. Bennet wanted to be left alone and did not grope the female servants, unlike Mr. Hurst. The wages were appropriate, the sleeping quarters warm in winter, not like in Netherfield, where Miss Bingley forbade to warm the quarters. The food was good and enough and none of the servants at Longbourn went hungry or with stomach-ache to bed, because leftovers were only to be given to the servants on the verge of being spoiled, as also commanded by Miss Bingley. Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth visited the tenants, not only at Longbourn, but also at Netherfield, helped the sick and the poor, made clothing for the children, dolls for the girls and had the grooms or footmen made wooden toys for the boys.
Molly remembered all of this and despite the consequences told not only the other maids, but also Cook and every footman her version of the happenings in the dining room. It is self-evident that she never mentioned the vulgar words of the Bingley sisters, she just recounted that Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst instead of offering a bed for the sick Miss Bennet, or dry clothes, or at least a towel, they absolutely disgraced themselves as hosts and sent the poor Miss Bennet home on horse. Molly did not forget to mention, that the sisters denigrated the whole neighbourhood and elevated their family almost to royalty in the course of their abhorrent behaviour towards Miss Bennet.
The next day every man, woman and child in Meryton and the surrounding area knew what happened at Netherfield and only the three man in the main house were oblivious. They came back from the dinner with the officers, had a drink, in Mr. Hursts case three or four, played a little billiard and went to bed. In the morning Mr. Bingley and Mr. Hurst slept late, Mr. Darcy took his stallion for a ride and afterwards broke his fast alone, wrote his letters to Pemberley and his man of business in London and avoided Miss Bingley as much as possible.
Throughout the day only Mr. Darcy noticed some kind of change in the atmosphere at Netherfield. It was nothing big, just little things, glances and whispers. The servants in the house and on the grounds behaved different. The greetings, the curtsies, the grim faces, the answers to his questions. It was nothing bad, just not the same. Something happened and he knew from his experience that an estate with dissatisfied servants and tenants was doomed. He decided against asking the other four residents of the house. Hurst was only ever interested in food, drinks and a soft place to sleep, Bingley was to naive and inexperienced to feel the difference and Darcy would never ask Miss Bingley, otherwise she could assume she is a step closer to be Mrs. Darcy. And Mrs. Hurst? Mrs. Hurst had no own opinion, she was just a parrot to Miss Bingley, who was probably the problem. The best course of action would be his valet.
Rodes, his valet, already knew, that the day before a Miss Jane Bennet has been invited by the sisters to dinner, whilst the gentlemen were dining with the officers. He also told him that the guest departed early and promised to get more information.