Chapter 7

A sennight before the rest of the regiment was to march into Meryton, a contingent of officers and soldiers arrived to create the encampment where the soldiers would reside in tents. The officers would be boarded around Meryton where room was available, with the Colonel renting a house where his office would be situated as well.

An invitation arrived at Longbourn inviting all men of the house to join the Colonel and his officers, who were already in Meryton, at a dinner to be held at the Red Lion Inn on the penultimate Friday of October, a few days before the balance of the regiment would arrive on the final Wednesday of the month.

At first Bennet was inclined to decline the invitation, but in the end he accepted. He was well aware some of his neighbours would not behave properly, and he was counting on it to add to the entertainment which he would have at said dinner.

A few hours after the invitation to the men of the house, one arrived from Netherfield Park addressed to Jane and Elizabeth. Thankfully, Hill handed it to Jane before their mother could waylay the message to read herself.

"What is that letter and who is it from?" Fanny demanded. If it had not been too much of an effort to stand and retrieve the missive from her daughter, she would have. She needed to remember to chastise the butler for handing the thing to her daughters and not to her. Just because it was addressed to them did not mean she should not see it first .

"Mama, we know not yet, but as soon as we read it we will inform you of its contents," Jane stated gently before Elizabeth could make sport of their mother. Jane broke the seal on the pressed, expensive paper and held it so they could both read the note.

21 October 1812

Netherfield Park

Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth,

You may or may not know the men are to dine with the officers. That will leave my sister Caroline and me alone.

My sister and I would like to further our acquaintanceship with you. In furtherance of that aim, will you agree to attend us on Friday the 23rd day of this month at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

In his role of master of the estate, my brother seconds this invitation and is only sorry he will be at the inn by the time you arrive. He hopes he will manage to return home before you both depart.

Please send your reply with the groom who is waiting to carry your missive back to me.

With regards and hoping I will see you here,

Mrs Louisa Hurst

"Well! What does it say?" Fanny carped impatiently.

"Lizzy and I are invited to spend some time with Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley while the men are with the officers on Friday," Jane revealed.

"Why could we not go with Papa to dine with the officers," Lydia whinged before Fanny could respond, not for the first time since learning of the invitation to their father.

"Unless you are a man, you are not invited," Elizabeth shot back exasperatedly. "Do you wear breeches?" Lydia looked outraged, but it seemed she finally got the message as she began to pout .

"How can you say that to your sister?" Fanny interjected.

"Mama, did I say anything which was not true?" Elizabeth replied shortly.

Fanny had to cogitate about her second daughter's words. As she did, she remembered what Jane had related regarding the invitation. "I do not see why Lizzy should go with you and distract Mr Bingley. She needs to remain at home," Fanny decreed.

"In that case I too cannot attend," Jane averred. "You would not like me to look rude by arriving on my own when the invitation is to both of us, would you? Also, Mama, remember the men will be at the Red Lion Inn and not present, which is why Mrs Hurst invited us for that afternoon and evening. Her aim is to get to know us better."

"And Mama, surely you can see that if Jane becomes friends with his sisters, it will be a good thing with regards to Mr Bingley," Elizabeth suggested.

"In that case I suppose Miss Lizzy will accompany you. Now that I think on it, your furthering a friendship with Mr Bingley's sisters can only be a positive in his eyes," Fanny decided. She ignored the fact that she had just said exactly what Lizzy had said, while co-opting it as her own idea.

"Mama, may we be excused to go write a response?" Jane requested. Their mother waved her two eldest away.

The sisters entered the parlour opposite which held an escritoire. "Jane, I am not sure I will accompany you," Elizabeth said as soon as the door was closed. "You know how loathe I am to be in Mr Darcy's company, and Mrs Hurst did say the men may return before we depart."

"What happened to the brave Elizabeth Rose Bennet whose courage always rises? You have been in company when Mr Darcy has been present and you survived. Come now Lizzy, there will be others there, I am sure you will be able to bear a few minutes in his company, if at all," Jane returned. "Besides, I prefer to face Miss Bingley with you by my side."

"I suppose you have the right of it. I was being a silly ninny. I will join you in going to Netherfield Park. It is not like we will be trapped in the same house as Mr Darcy," Elizabeth averred. She could not fathom why she had such a visceral reaction to that man.

With her humour and propensity to laugh at the ridiculous, the arrogant, insufferable man's words should have washed over her. So why had they not? Elizabeth could not answer that question for herself. She pushed the thoughts off to the side to consider at another time when she had more time to cogitate on the subject.

Jane wrote the acceptance on behalf of both, sealed the note, and then handed it to Hill to convey to the waiting groom.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

"Of course those penniless nobodies have accepted the invitation," Miss Bingley spat out after her sister informed her the two eldest Miss Bennets would join them on Friday. "They see a fortune and are chasing it."

At least the men would not be present. She had noted the way her Mr Darcy's eyes always followed Miss Eliza whenever the hoyden was present in their company. She did not want him distracted by anyone before she secured him. As to Miss Jane Bennet, yes, the woman was sweet, too much so for Caroline, but she would not allow some country mushroom to spoil her plan for Charles to marry Georgiana Darcy.

"Yet they are above you in society, and they would not have agreed to visit us without the men here if what you said was true," Mrs Hurst riposted. "As far as I know, you are the only one hunting a fortune."

Caroline Bingley was about to ring a peal over her sister's head for daring to say that to her. Rather, she sat back in her chair as the men entered the drawing room to join them for tea at that moment. Miss Bingley did not want to give her brother a reason to send her to their aunt in Scarborough. She needed to be at this insignificant estate until she had compromised Mr Darcy.

"I noted the groom returned from Longbourn." Bingley looked at his sister expectantly.

"The two eldest Miss Bennets will attend Caroline and me on Friday while you and the gentlemen are at the dinner," Mrs Hurst shared.

Bingley did not verbalise it, but he was determined to arrive back before his angel left his home. The more time he spent in Miss Bennet's company, the more sure he became he had found his future wife.

"They are to spend time with you, it was not my choice. If I were mistress, then…" Miss Bingley closed her jaw with a clack and did not complete her thought when she saw the thunderous look on her brother's visage. She reminded herself it would not be much longer. She took a deep breath and said nothing more on the subject, regardless of how much she was fuming.

‘ I hope we return before Miss Elizabeth and her sister depart, ' Darcy thought, ‘ mayhap I will finally be able to speak to her and beg my pardon of her. '

Nothing he had tried had chased the thoughts of Miss Elizabeth from Darcy's head. Each time he tried to banish her from his consciousness, he thought and dreamed of her more. Some of the dreams had been downright indecent. It was a certainty Miss Elizabeth would not enjoy him thinking of her in that way, even if it was only in his dreams.

Her avoidance of him was a new experience for Darcy. Normally, women threw themselves in his path! Her reticence regarding himself only made her that much more attractive to him. She cared not at all about his fortune or property and all it seemed she was interested in was keeping her distance from him.

From listening to her conversations—not something he was proud of—Darcy had cemented his opinion she was very well read, intelligent, and extremely witty. The one negative he had noted was she had joined her father in sporting with Mrs Bennet. It was true the lady was loud, vulgar, and of mean understanding, but that was not a reason for the blatant disrespect he saw directed towards Mrs Bennet at Lucas Lodge.

In addition to watching her sparkling eyes, Darcy hoped he would gain a truer picture of her character by speaking to her.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

"Mama, we need to ride with Papa in the carriage and then have Jimmy drive us to Netherfield Park," Elizabeth insisted. "It is certain it will rain and you well know Jane at this time of the year. She is prone to slight colds from the dampness, so going on horseback is out of the question, especially as she had a cold only two days past."

Fanny hated it when Miss Lizzy had the right of it. There was nothing she could say to argue. As much as she wanted Jane to remain at Netherfield Park for some days, she did not want it to be at the expense of one of her favourite daughter's health. Unlike Lizzy who was hardly ever ill, Jane was susceptible to colds, and at times, fevers.

"Mr Bennet, our daughters will ride with you and then send the carriage back from Netherfield Park to wait on you," Fanny decreed.

"Yes, Dear," Bennet responded sarcastically.

What Jane had thought was a tickle in the throat from dust, was actually the return of her cold, but she did not realise that. As much as Mama wanted her to see Mr Bingley, she wanted to see him more. She was a fair way down the road to losing her heart to the man, and based on their interactions, Jane was sure Mr Bingley's feelings for her mirrored her own for him.

She applied a little powder to her face as she felt her forehead and cheeks were a little wan.

"Come Janey, the carriage is in the drive waiting for Papa and us," Elizabeth stated when she saw Jane descending the stairs. "Hill is ready with your outerwear. It is good we are going by carriage, the rain, albeit light, has already begun to fall."

As soon as Bennet followed his eldest daughters into the cabin of the conveyance, and the footman closed the door, the coachman started the team.

"If you two desire to depart earlier, send a groom to the Red Lion Inn and I will send the equipage to collect you. If the dinner is boring, I will be in the carriage," Bennet stated as they were being pulled to a halt at the inn. He looked to his second daughter, "I expect a full report on Miss Bingley's behaviour. I am sure she will be more amusing than even our silliest neighbours."

He would have preferred not to arrive earlier than needed, but it was a better option than riding the two additional miles to and from the estate where his daughters were to dine.

"Yes Papa," Elizabeth averred as a footman opened the door for her father to alight.

As soon as they were on their way, Jane turned to her younger sister. "You will be nice to Miss Bingley, will you not?" she enquired concernedly. Jane was aware how easily her sister's prejudices could be ignited. She knew they had been with regards to Mr Darcy, and she was sure the same was true against Miss Bingley. As much as she liked peace and to see the best in people, Jane was not myopic, and could clearly tell the youngest Bingley was not burdened with an excess of kindness. She much preferred Mrs Hurst, and of course, Mr Bingley .

"Janey do you truly think me so deficient I will be rude to her in her brother's home? I expect her to be insolent, condescending, and disdainful, but I will not be so in return," Elizabeth averred.

"I know you are able to behave, you just forget to at times," Jane teased.

After their conversation, Elizabeth looked out of the window next to her and although it was a short ride of only two miles, Jane leaned back against the squabs and closed her eyes to rest.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

The three men from Netherfield Park rode in Bingley's coach. There was enough space for them to all sit on the forward facing bench without being too crowded, notwithstanding Hurst's somewhat portly girth.

Bingley, who was in the middle, turned towards Darcy and saw his mask in place already. "Come now Darce, as long as you do not repeat your performance from the assembly it will not be all that bad. It is not like you are being led to the gallows," Bingley ribbed.

"I am sure it will be well. That is unless Mr Bennet takes me to task regarding the slighting of his second daughter, which try as I may, I have not been able to apologise for yet," Darcy responded.

"She really does not like you, does she," Hurst smirked. "It must be a new experience for you; a lady is not tripping over her feet to gain your approbation."

"I dare say she does not. And your observation is astute, Hurst. It is most refreshing to have a lady who does not seem to be impressed by my wealth or connections," Darcy agreed.

"In other words the opposite of my younger sister," Bingley sighed. "I believe if you insulted Caroline the way you did Miss Elizabeth she would simper and agree with you. She thinks that is the key to your offering for her. "

"As much as I hate to say this, I think your sister may be delusional," Darcy opined.

Hurst nodded his agreement. "It is not anything I have ever wanted to consider, but we may need to have her evaluated by physicians who specialise in maladies of the mental faculties," Bingley stated sadly.

Regardless of her behaviour, he still loved Caroline, and because of that love, if he had to protect her from herself, he would do so.

Just then the coach slowed and was pulled to the left. A carriage passed them, travelling in the opposite direction. It was easy to see Miss Bennet resting against the squabs and Miss Elizabeth looking out of the window on the side furthest from them.

As soon as the other equipage had passed, Bingley's coachman guided the team of four back into the middle of the road and sped up again.