AN: Thanks to all who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed the first chapter. Full disclosure: I don't know how quickly I'll be able to post updates, but I will finish.
By the way, the footnotes are just ancillary information about the world these characters inhabit. If you find them disruptive to your reading you can just leave them till the end or not read them at all without losing anything from the story.
Mrs. Bennet did a little dance step as she entered her husband's Library and practically sang out the news. "Netherfield Park is let at last."
This did not have the impact she might have expected either on her husband, who sat reading in his chair, or on the elderly griffin named Daskalos nesting in the corner with his beak in a book.
As if such apathy could only be explained by her not having been heard she sang out again with more gusto, "Netherfield Park is let at last!"
There was no response from either party.
"My dear Mr. Bennet I believe you are going as deaf as that old bird*, I am trying to tell you the news!"
"I am afraid you will have to repeat it, my dear. All I heard you say is that Netherfield Park is let at last."
"Oh, but that is the news, well then, had you already heard?"
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
"But it is," returned she; "for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it."
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
"Do not you want to know who has taken it?" cried his wife impatiently.
"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."
This was invitation enough.
"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a griffon-bound young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he flew over on Monday to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week."
At the words "griffin-bound" both Mr. Bennet and Daskalos looked up simultaneously from their books.
"Griffon-bound to a male or a female?"
"Male."
Daskalos returned to his book but Mr. Bennet asked, "What is his name?"
"Bingley."
"An unusual name for a Griffin. They normally take the names of Greek Gods. Or at least those are the names that have the closest translation in human tongue."
"The Griffin! My dear Mr. Bennet, how can you be so tiresome? The Griffin is named, Leo, or some such name, the young man is Mr. Bingley."
"Is the young man married or single?"
"Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!"
"How so? Were the Griffin female there might be some chance of an offspring bonding with one of them, but in the current case, how can it affect them?"
"Griffin, smiffin! What good would a bonding be to them with the estate entailed away? You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them."
"Is that his design in settling here?"
"Design! nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes."
"I see no occasion for that. If Daskalos were still flying it would be a chance to stretch his wings but it is tedious going on horseback, and by carriage even more so, the preparation takes longer than the visit."
"But, my dear, indeed you must go, consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers."
"You and the girls may go…"
The conversation continued in this vein with heartfelt entreaties on her part and, willful misunderstandings and misdirection on his, until Mr. Bennet had the satisfaction of seeing the woman who had entered his library in such high spirits leave him in a fit of agitation, complaining of her poor nerves.
When she was gone Daskalos regarded him with one eye and Mr. Bennet felt a sense of curiosity from him.
"I will visit him of course." Said Mr. Bennet, but what fun would there be in telling her that now?"
Daskalos returned his attention to his book. Sometimes Mr. Bennet wondered how much of human speech Daskalos understood, just now for example it would almost seem he'd been following the conversation but he might only have been reacting to Mr. Bennet's amusement. Griffins could read human language and Daskalos did read a great many books but speech was a different matter entirely**, and even with the books, what he made of them Mr. Bennet had no way of knowing, other than the feelings he picked up on as Daskalos read. Their bond allowed them to feel each other's emotions but it would have been nice to know more of the Griffin's thoughts. In his younger days, Mr. Bennet had tried writing down questions with yes or no answers for Daskalos to respond to but the Griffin had gotten annoyed with the slow process and stopped answering. The only conclusion Mr. Bennet could draw was that Daskalos did not like to have his reading time interupted.***
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Mr. Bennet paid the required visit to his new neighbor and Mr. Bingley returned it in due form. Mr. Bennet made the most of the situation by not telling his wife of the visit until the moment when it would be the biggest surprise, withholding further information about Mr. Bingley from his family, and meeting with Bingley alone in his library rather than introducing him to his wife and daughters. He did, however, introduce Mr. Bingley to Daskalos, a rare privilege for such a new acquaintance.
Bingley, while well aware of and grateful for the honor, would have preferred to be admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much, but must be satisfied for the time being with the father and Griffin.
The ladies were somewhat more fortunate for they had the advantage of ascertaining from an upper window that he wore a blue coat, and rode a dark gold griffin with white feathers on its head and black wings. There was more time to study the griffin which waited for Bingley outside****.
"By all that I have read," said Mary, "Griffins come in a variety of breeds and here we may observe a proof of it firsthand. I perceive that this Griffin is more lionlike and has less resemblance to an eagle than Daskalos. His head, while feathered, is more cat shaped, his beak is wider and shorter, and you will all have noticed he has paws in the front as well as the back rather than the more common front talons. Do not make the mistake, sisters, of thinking him deformed. Paws in the front are rare but are well within the range of variation of the species."
"I would never think him deformed," said Elizabeth.
Mary continued as if no one had spoken. "It is these variations in the features similar to those of a lion and those of an eagle that have led some to theorize that they are a cross between the two species but more enlightened minds argue this is unlikely and that the griffin is a unique species that coincidentally shares some of the features of the other two."
She paused for breath and Elizabeth asked, "Do his markings tell you anything of his lineage?"
Mary was saved from admitting she did not know by Jane saying, "Did you see how gracefully Mr. Bingley jumped from his back? I wonder how difficult it must be to learn to ride a griffin, it is bad enough with a horse. And one must need to be especially careful not to hurt the griffin's wings."
Elizabeth sighed, "I wish Daskalos still flew. I would love to ride a griffin just one time."
"Would you not be frightened?" Jane asked.
"Oh, I believe my courage would rise to the occasion it must be wonderful to fly."
Lydia yawned, "If Papa is not going to introduce us to Mr. Bingley we would have done better to walk to Meryton."
Lydia and Kitty wandered off to look for other amusement and Mary returned to her studies, but Jane and Elizabeth continued to watch the griffon and had the pleasure a short time later of seeing it leap into the air and take flight when Mr. Bingley mounted and took his leave.
Jane was struck by the ease with which Mr. Bingley kept his seat, while Elizabeth was completely engrossed by the majestic creature.
Mrs. Bennet was quick to invite Mr. Bingley to dinner but as he was obliged to be in town no one except Elizabeth saw him and Eleos again before the ball and that was only at a distance. Elizabeth was out walking, early in the morning, the day before the ball. She had been keeping an eye on the sky whenever she was out on the off chance of spotting the Griffin again when Mr. Bingley returned from London. Her attentiveness was well rewarded for she witnessed not only Eleos in flight but a second magnificent creature along with him. The second Griffin was all gold and white and its wings caught the sun in a way that seemed to make it shine. Elizabeth shielded her eyes from the brilliance and ran to keep the Griffins in sight as long as she could. Only when they had faded into the distance did she stop to think about what she was doing and laugh at herself for even attempting to keep up. The second Griffin must belong to a friend of Mr. Bingley's. There was a rumor of his having gone to London to gather a large party for the assembly. Elizabeth had grieved along with her sisters, at the report of so many ladies, but if she had the opportunity to meet someone who was griffin-bound it might be worth it. Her father was the only one in the neighborhood who had bounded with a griffin.
When Elizabeth returned from her walk she learned that rather than bringing twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly, Mr. Bingley was now reported to only have brought only six with him from London - his five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered the assembly room it consisted of only five altogether - Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young man.
* It is considered the height of vulgarity to call a griffin a bird.
** Hence the expression "deaf as a Griffin". The expression is inaccurate since, while Griffins may not understand human speech there, is no reason to think they do not hear us. They can certainly hear each other well enough.
*** The same experiment was carried out ten years later by Frazer Raynell who documented and published his findings but the result was the same. Griffins read rather slowly but this is largely due to the difficulty they have turning pages.
**** For Eleos to come in Daskalos would have had to invite him. Why he did not do so is unclear.