Chapter 19

Netherfield Park

Three Hours Past Midnight

6 th November, 1811

Mary smiled warmly up at Mr. Collins as he handed her into the carriage, and was rewarded with a rather vacuous beam in return. Mary settled onto the seat across from her mother and sisters, not even flinching when Mr. Collins collapsed heavily beside her. He rapped on the roof of the carriage, and they lurched forward. Mary swayed easily with the motion.

She was very tired, as if large weights hung from her arms and legs, and her feet hurt. She rarely danced more than one or perhaps two dances at the balls, but she had danced a great deal tonight. But though her limbs were heavy, her heart was full of hope. For of all that dancing, two sets had been with Mr. Collins. He had not asked either Jane or Elizabeth to dance at all, and by care or by chance, he had danced the supper set with her, and they had sat at a table together after.

Mary had paid attention to all his pontification over the food with starry eyes and attentive manner. He had clearly been pleased by this. He had favored her with his smiles and spoken at great length. She had, carefully and delicately, asked about his childhood during one of his rare pauses for breath, and listened with delight and comfort as he spoke of his mother. Nell Collins had, according to her son, been a very kind woman, and patient, and wise, and all that was good – no doubt it was an encouraging sign that the man had such feelings for his own mother, as he might think similarly of his wife. Mary admired her own mother as much as Mr. Collins admired his, but she could not imagine Mr. Bennet describing his wife in such terms. He showed no such fondness for any woman in his life. Perhaps he had once, before his accident, but now pain and impatience rendered him dismissive at best of the fairer sex.

Despite the concerns of both her mother and sisters, Mary yearned to receive an offer from Mr. Collins. It was true that he was silly, and obsequious, and not terribly clever, nor altogether discreet. But she had never heard him say a hateful word to or about anyone, even when he had been speaking of Mr. Darcy to Jane. She did not think he was a cruel or uncharitable man, and if he would be a ridiculous husband, at least he would be a kind one. Yes, she hoped indeed that he would offer for her.

But first, she had a warm bed and heavy blankets and a fluffed pillow awaiting her tonight, and she was looking forward to them eagerly.

/

Elizabeth's Bedchamber

Longbourn

Four o'clock in the morning

"Thank you, Jane," Elizabeth said gratefully, stepping out of her ball gown and hastily donning her night attire. "Do you wish for me to go to your bedchamber and help you out of your gown?"

"Yes, but not yet," Jane replied, sitting down on the loveseat near the fire and holding out her hands towards the flames, which Elizabeth had stirred up as soon as she entered the chilled chamber.

Elizabeth immediately took a seat next to her sister and gazed at her worriedly. Jane was always careful not to cause undue problems to those around her, and she knew that Elizabeth was exhausted after a long night of dancing. Whatever this was must be important.

"Mr. Bingley asked me to marry him," Jane said a moment later, her eyes fixed on the fire.

Elizabeth cried out in surprise before asking, "Did you accept him?"

Her sister turned pleading eyes toward her and said, "I did not. I like him very well, but I do not feel I know him well enough. But now I wonder … ought I to have accepted? There is no guarantee that Mr. Collins will offer for Mary, and if I were Mrs. Bingley, our future would be secured."

"Do not even consider such a thing," Elizabeth said promptly. "You know Mamma wants, above all else, for us to be happy in our prospective marriages. If you are uncertain, you ought not to accept an offer. Was he greatly cast down?"

"No, he was a perfect gentleman," Jane replied and smiled a little. "He said he understood completely, and asked for a courtship. I agreed, though insisted on an unofficial courtship."

"Because of Father."

"Yes."

"Did you … tell him about Father?"

"In part, yes," Jane said and sighed deeply. "I felt guilty about it, to say that about my own father, but I wanted Mr. Bingley to understand…"

"I am confident you did the right thing."

"Thank you, Lizzy. I feel better now, and we ought both of us to be getting between sheets. I will tell Mamma about the offer tomorrow, but I needed to speak to someone tonight, and I know she was half asleep by the time we returned home. It was a long day."

"It was," Elizabeth agreed and found herself smiling as her thoughts shifted to her dance and subsequent conversations with Mr. Darcy. "Long but good."

/

Netherfield Park

The Following Morning

6 th November, 1811

The tall grandfather clock in the hallway behind him struck nine o'clock as Darcy stepped out the door. It was a fine morning, with an earthy scent in the air and a light mist clinging to earth and sky and leaf. Though the ball had lasted into the wee hours, Darcy was accustomed to rising early, and he stood now on the top step, breathing deeply. The morning cool invigorated him as well as any cup of coffee, with the birdsong and fresh air filling him up like a heady drink.

He ran lightly down the steps and strode towards the stable, intending to order that Phoenix be readied for him so that he might ride. His thoughts revolved around Miss Elizabeth, whom he had danced with and watched the previous night. Though he commonly detested dancing with any woman with whom he was not well acquainted, his one dance with Miss Elizabeth had, far from being a punishment, been a pleasure. As for the conversation over dinner, it had been delightful. Darcy was used to women who simpered and fluttered their lashes and agreed with every word he spoke, but Miss Elizabeth had cut him saucy looks from her enchanting eyes and archly debated with him throughout the meal. Miss Elizabeth was widely read, enjoying plays and historical books and novels, along with being surprisingly well-versed in all the latest theories and practices regarding farming and estate management. But her knowledge was not purely theoretical; she had a remarkable understanding of tenants and their work and their needs. Indeed, Darcy could think of no other gently born lady of his acquaintance who was so thoroughly familiar with the duties of an estate's mistress. She was an incredible woman, Miss Elizabeth, most incredible indeed.

Darcy stepped into the stable and was startled to see Charles Bingley waiting as a stable boy finished cinching up the saddle of Argo, his bay gelding.

"Darcy!" Bingley cried out. "You are up early!"

"As are you."

"Quite! Are you planning to ride?"

"I am."

"Would you care for company, or would you prefer to be alone?"

Darcy smiled at these words; how very like his friend to be cheerfully ready to accommodate Darcy's own desires regarding solitude.

"I would like to ride together very much," Darcy said.

Bingley nodded and then guided his gelding outside while the servants hurried to saddle Phoenix. When both men were astride their mounts, Bingley said, "Shall we ride the northwestern part of the estate? I am not very familiar with that section."

"Certainly."

The two men rode down the main driveway until they found a path which led toward the northwest. For a few minutes, they were silent, which Darcy did not mind in the least.

The sun had risen fully above the hills now, throwing their shadows out before them like a heralding carpet rolled out beneath their feet. Birds flitted from one bush to the next, squirrels rustled among the fallen leaves and scolded each other from the boughs above, and a family of rabbits peeped out from beneath one bush to watch the horses and their riders go by. The area had, perhaps, once been a parkland, currently overgrown into charming wildness. Darcy rode along happily, pleased with the view and the company.

"I asked Miss Bennet to marry me last night," Bingley suddenly said, and Darcy was so shocked that he jerked in the saddle, which caused Phoenix to shy a little. It took a few seconds for Darcy to get his mount under control, and by the time horse and master were calm again, Bingley had also halted and wore an expression of contrition.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to startle you so badly."

Darcy waved a hand and said, "It is my own fault for riding carelessly, but Bingley, I thought you intended to wait until you knew Miss Bennet a little better."

"I was, but she was so beautiful last night, and so kind ... in any case, she thought the same as you do, that we do not yet know one another well enough to become engaged."

Darcy felt his mouth drop open, and for a full ten seconds, he stared at his friend in incredulity.

"She refused you?" he finally gasped.

"She did," Bingley said mournfully and then managed a smile. "Not permanently, though. She is amenable to an informal courtship, and she would not suggest such a thing if there was no hope. But she agreed with you that we do not yet know one another well enough to be certain of happiness in marriage."

Darcy stared longer and absently patted his horse's neck. "I confess to great surprise, Bingley. With Longbourn entailed, I would have anticipated a quick acceptance regardless of Miss Bennet's feelings."

Bingley nodded and said, "Yes, and apparently the situation is rather difficult at Longbourn."

"In what way?"

Bingley compressed his lips and touched his heels gently on Argo's sides, causing the horse to begin walking further along the trail. Darcy urged his stallion into motion and for a full five minutes, the friends rode in silence.

"This cannot go farther, Darcy," Bingley finally said.

"Of course."

"Apparently Mr. Bennet is not well and can be unpleasant to his womenfolk when he is in pain, which I gather is more or less all the time. He was badly injured in a fall from that horse, and it never healed correctly."

"That is most unfortunate."

"Quite," Bingley agreed.

"So you will court her unofficially?"

"I will. If anything, my attraction has grown even stronger given that she has every reason to accept my offer for mercenary reasons, but chose not to because she respects herself, and me, too much to enter a marriage of convenience."

"She is a most admirable woman, as are her sisters and mother," Darcy agreed and, once again, found himself contemplating Miss Elizabeth Bennet, whose fine eyes and lithe form continued to fill his dreams.

/

Breakfast Room

Longbourn

6 th November, 1811

The ball had kept Mrs. Bennet and her three elder daughters up far later the previous night than was their usual wont, and now the group gathered hungrily around the table to break their fast. Lydia and Kitty, not having attended the ball, had been up at their normal time, and took the edge off their first hunger by nibbling toast in the schoolroom as Mrs. Montgomery read aloud from a novel recently acquired from the lending library.

Now all six Bennet ladies, plus Mrs. Montgomery, clustered about the table, partaking of eggs and kippers and sausage and toast and tea and marmalade and chocolate. Lydia and Kitty were eagerly gathering details about the ball the night before, their eyes shining at the description of the opulence of the ballroom at Netherfield.

"There were flowers in every niche of the ballroom," Mrs. Bennet said. "It was very beautiful indeed."

"I can hardly wait until I am out," Kitty said enviously and took a long draught of hot chocolate.

"Mamma, when Kitty comes out, may I come out as well? It will be so miserable to be the only one home!" Lydia complained.

"You may not," Mrs. Bennet said in an uncompromising tone. Then, at the sight of her youngest daughter's downcast face, she continued more gently, "Lydia, my dear, you are a bright, energetic, intelligent girl, but the world can be a dangerous place for ladies, especially very young ones. I would not be doing my duty as a mother if I allowed you to come out into society too early."

Lydia scrunched up her nose but did not protest; she knew when her mother meant business.

The door opened at this juncture, and Mr. Collins stepped in, his eyes bright, his expression eager.

"Good morning!" he said heartily.

"Good morning," the ladies chorused back.

He turned a beaming countenance on Mrs. Bennet and continued, "May I hope, madam, for your interest with your fair daughter Mary, when I solicit for the honor of a private audience with her in the course of this morning?"

Elizabeth sucked in a startled breath and looked at her mother, whose own look of surprise rapidly shifted to one of grave acceptance.

"Mary, my dear," she said, turning toward her third daughter, "would you like to speak with your cousin after breakfast?"

"I would like that very much," Mary said sedately, though her eyes were shining with excitement.

Elizabeth, watching this, forced herself to breathe in and out a few times. This was Mary's choice, and all she could do was pray that her younger sister would be at least content in her marriage.