Chapter 3

The Gardiners and their nieces and guest spent a quiet Sunday together, and on Monday morning the ladies arrayed themselves about the parlour with their stitchery and awaited the coming of not only the gentlemen, but Miss Darcy.

The young lady proved to be tall and well-dressed, which they had rather expected, and also very shy. Her return of their greetings was hardly audible, and the colour of her eyes remained a mystery for the first quarter hour of their acquaintance, so firmly did she fix her gaze upon Mrs Gardiner’s lovely Chinese carpet.

Elizabeth, in a stroke of inspiration, said, “I have heard, Miss Darcy, that you are very fond of music. Do you care for Pleyel? I have just acquired the sheet music for his sonatina in D minor and am enjoying learning it.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed, her eyes (they were the green of midsummer’s moss) flying to meet Elizabeth’s. “I do like his music. That piece is so cheerful; I play it often myself. I should very much like to hear you perform it,” she added tentatively. “My brother has told me your playing is very pleasing indeed.”

This surprised a laugh from Elizabeth. “I cannot imagine why he should say so! My playing is acceptable, but far from capital.” She turned to the gentleman with an arch expression. “Have you any defence for the falsehood you have told your poor sister, sir?”

He, who had been watching their interaction intently, smiled. “I uttered no falsehood. I said that your performances were very pleasing, which they are. I never said you displayed perfect technique.”

“Ah, well, I suppose I might claim as much myself,” she replied playfully. “I do strive to entertain, though I am incapable of dazzling.”

“I will assert that you are entirely capable of it, Miss Elizabeth…though perhaps more with your wit than your playing,” he replied.

She blushed, and her colour deepened as she registered Miss Darcy’s interest in this exchange. “I am certain, Miss Darcy, that no one has cause to criticise your technique. I was informed that you are most dedicated to your practise.”

“I do love to play, and I would be at the instrument all day if my brother and my companion did not insist upon my engagement with other pursuits,” the young lady admitted quietly. “But I have much yet to learn and can claim no particular merit.”

Elizabeth leant forwards. “Pray tell me, what think you of Herr Beethoven? My sister Mary, who is quite dedicated to the instrument, calls him a ‘radical’. I am uncertain what might be radical about music, however, and what I have heard of his compositions intrigued me.”

Miss Darcy was a great admirer of the German composer, and soon lost all her reserve as she earnestly explained why his genius was unique. As Elizabeth smiled and asked questions, she thought to herself what a wellspring of cruelty Mr Wickham must hide behind his amiable veneer, to even consider preying upon so sweet a girl.

As the visitors left, the gentlemen expressed their regret that business would keep them away for the next two days, but promised faithfully to call on the third, if the ladies were not otherwise engaged. They were not, and their absence the next day gave the sisters the opportunity to speak candidly with each other about them while Maria Lucas was occupied in writing to her mother.

Jane surprised Elizabeth by saying that she had told Mr Bingley everything that had been stated and implied in his sister’s farewell letter, asserting that he had a right to know what was being said in his name by a member of his family. Elizabeth agreed that it was so, and hoped aloud that he would take Miss Bingley in hand before she said something unkind to someone who would not remain silent as Jane had.

“Is all resolved between you, then?” she added.

“The past is resolved,” Jane said with a little smile. “The future is still uncertain, but I feel it is quite promising indeed. And what of Mr Darcy? You seem to be getting along very well, and it is apparent that Miss Darcy was eager to meet you in particular.”

Elizabeth felt her cheeks grow a bit warm, but did not hesitate to say, “We, too, have put right the misunderstandings of our early acquaintance. I find that without old resentments clouding my opinions, I like him very well.”

“Do you think you could love him? Every time I see him I am more convinced that he still loves you,” Jane said seriously, taking her hand.

Elizabeth considered her reply carefully before she spoke. “I cannot say that I love him yet, but he is going along so charmingly that my answer may be quite different soon.”

On the day the gentlemen were expected, Mr Gardiner, desirous of meeting this Mr Bingley who had so suddenly reappeared in dear Jane’s life, remained at home to receive callers with the ladies. He was to be disappointed, for only Mr Darcy came.

He received the introduction to his host with every mark of civility, but at the first acceptable moment he addressed them all, saying, “My friend Bingley greatly regrets his inability to keep his appointment today. His sister, Miss Bingley, has taken ill, and they awaited the physician when I saw him not an hour ago.”

“Oh, dear,” said Jane, her lovely face creased with concern. “I hope she may recover quickly.”

“If you like, Miss Bennet, I may pass that along to my friend. I expect to see him again later.”

“Yes, if you would, please tell him we are thinking of poor Miss Bingley, and hope that the rest of the family may be spared whatever ails her,” she replied eagerly.

He bowed slightly. “I will remember.” He turned then to all the ladies. “My sister most particularly wished to be remembered to you, and to convey her hope that it will not be long before you meet again.” The way he looked at Elizabeth as he said this led them all to suspect that Miss Darcy had been especially taken with her.

“We all enjoyed meeting Miss Darcy and would be happy to receive her again at any time,” Mrs Gardiner replied. If the young lady were out in society, she would have stated an intention of returning the call, also. As it was, she could only offer an invitation, and perhaps hope that one would be extended to them, though it was not likely that Mr Darcy of Pemberley would invite a tradesman’s wife and her two unmarried nieces to call at Darcy House.

“My sister does not often invite callers herself, due to her age and retiring demeanour,” the gentleman said. “Though she is entirely at liberty to do so. I hope you do not mind if she prefers to visit you, so early in your acquaintance.”

“Not at all, sir,” the mistress of the house said.

Jane was moved to add, “It is a daunting thing in the beginning, to receive callers oneself. I recall how anxious I was the first time I did so, at about Miss Darcy’s age, and I had known my guests all my life. They were other young ladies from the neighbourhood.”

“I have rarely seen her so at ease in the company of a new acquaintance as she was with all of you,” he replied earnestly. “And I thank you all for the pains you took to ensure that outcome.”

The ladies graciously accepted his gratitude, and Elizabeth said, “Who could have done less for Miss Darcy? She is a dear girl, and I see why you are so proud of her.”

The look he gave her at these words was so expressive she blushed. Mr Gardiner took that moment to advance his own cause of learning more of Bingley, despite the gentleman’s absence. “I wonder, sir, if you could tell me whether Mr Bingley is related to Mr Joseph Bingley of Scarborough Mills?”

Mr Darcy turned to his host and answered readily, “I recall that is the name of his uncle, who purchased a controlling interest in the business when Mr Norman Bingley, my friend’s father, sold out some seven years ago.”

“I wondered if that was not the case. Mr Bingley—the one who owns the mills—and I have been acquainted for three or four years now, and he once mentioned acquiring sole control of the business from an elder brother who intended to set his family up as gentry.”

“I believe my friend is quite fond of his uncle,” Mr Darcy offered, and soon the gentlemen were engaged in a lively conversation ranging across any number of subjects. This, Elizabeth knew because she was paying more attention to them than to the talk between her aunt, sister, and young friend, a conversation of which she was only theoretically a participant. It heartened her to see the too-proud manners of the Mr Darcy she had known in Hertfordshire and Kent replaced with sincere interest in what her tradesman uncle had to say. One of the reasons she could never have accepted his proposal the month prior was the certain knowledge that that Mr Darcy would not have allowed his wife to associate with such lowly people as her good aunt and uncle. To see him so easy and earnest with them both could only increase her approbation.

The ladies were engaged to call upon friends the next day, and the one following brought Mr Darcy and his sister, but no Mr Bingley. The gentleman informed them that Miss Bingley continued ill and the physician was baffled as to the cause.

While Jane and Maria were admiring Miss Darcy’s reticule and questioning her about the technique she used to net it, Elizabeth was able to quietly say to Mr Darcy, “Is it quite certain that Miss Bingley truly is ill? The timing…”

His mouth twisted. “I confess I have had the same thought. Bingley’s physician is a learned man, however, so I doubt she could fool him.”

“That is good to know, and I thank you for the reassurance. I will hope that her recovery is swift, then.”

He smiled at her, and she was reminded anew of how very handsome he was. “As shall I.” He dropped his voice to an even more confidential volume and added, “My friend longs to call upon your sister again.”

An hour after the end of a truly lovely visit, which saw the burgeoning friendship between Miss Darcy and the ladies of the Gardiner household swell like the spring tide, his assertion was proved by the arrival of a bouquet for Jane from Mr Bingley.

It was fully a quarter rosemary, blatantly proclaiming that Jane was on his mind. Its aroma blended pleasingly with the fragrant clusters of tiny purple heliotrope, which Jane blushingly admitted signalled devotion. A few sprigs of chamomile hinted at patience in adversity, while the great spray of red roses around which the other elements clustered required no interpretation.

Mrs Gardiner regarded the flowers and her elder niece’s smiling face thoughtfully for a moment, and then said, “Girls, I am of a mind to write to your father and suggest that you both stay until we embark upon our northern tour. It is scarcely six weeks away, and we are stopping at Longbourn for a night in any case. He cannot object if you agree, and Miss Lucas might be returned to her family with a maid instead of the two of you.”

Let it not be said that Elizabeth Bennet did not love her family. She most certainly did. But it was easier to love them at something of a distance, and she would in most circumstances choose the gentility and peace of her uncle’s home over the chaos and noise of Longbourn, despite the former’s deplorable lack of country lanes and fields to explore. Jane, of course, would have been pleased to stay only because her aunt wished it, but Mr Bingley’s renewed attentions were surely the reason for the expression of utter delight which suffused her features at the suggestion.

“For my part, I think it an excellent plan,” said Elizabeth cheerfully. It would be easier for her sister’s courtship to progress here, under her aunt’s benevolent eye, once Miss Bingley was on the mend and Mr Bingley able to resume his calls. If she also wished for the opportunity to know Miss Darcy and her brother better, remaining in London would serve that end as well.

“As do I, Aunt,” added a pink-cheeked Jane.

“Then I shall write to him directly,” Mrs Gardiner declared, and left them.

“I confess, Jane,” said Elizabeth when they were alone, “I feared that Miss Bingley’s illness might be a ruse to separate you from her brother once more, but Mr Darcy has assured me that your Mr Bingley’s physician is a competent man, certain to see through any gammon she might deal him. And now we see that even with a truly ill sister, he thinks of you.”

Jane blushed, but said, “When we were walking the other day, he spoke of re-opening Netherfield and spending the summer there. This lovely arrangement is not much of a surprise, and I am entirely confident that he shall return.”

“I am happy for you.” Elizabeth took her sister’s arm affectionately. “He was always a good sort of man, but I believe the last months have been instructive for him. I think he will not easily be misled or swayed from his course in future. And that is all to the good!” she added lightly. “For at least one of you should know how to be firm.”

Jane did not laugh. “I think,” she said slowly, “that I must learn that skill also. The mistress of a household, of an estate, must be unyielding on occasion.”

“That is true. I see Mr Bingley is not the only one who has changed.”

Jane cast her a fond sidelong glance. “As have you, Miss Lizzy. A month ago you might have declared Mr Bingley’s physician a fraud simply to be contrary to Mr Darcy.”

Elizabeth laughed. “A hit, a palpable hit! But you are correct. I, too, have learnt a little something since the autumn.”