The next morning Mama came shortly after breakfast with Kitty and Mary to visit the recovering Jane, and after visiting the invalid in her sick room, the group returned to the drawing room.
As soon as they sat down to the richly scented tea and ample cakes provided by Caroline, Mrs. Bennet announced that she was wholly satisfied with the girl’s improvement, and that she thought that Jane would likely be able to return home in another day or two.
Mary had sat down on the edge of the couch, and rather rudely pulled her book of sermons out to start reading. It was not so surprising though, Mary usually acted as though she were among family at the Bingleys.
When Mama announced that she thought Jane could soon come home, Caroline looked at Elizabeth with those “please stay here” eyes.
While Elizabeth was now convinced she could not help Caroline’s hopeless case with Mr. Darcy, still, for reasons she could understand and easily articulate, and due to some she could not, was happy to remain longer at Netherfield. Elizabeth said to her mother, “We would not want Jane to relapse in the carriage.”
“Oh nonsense. People don’t fall sick again just because they are in the carriage for twenty minutes.”
“But she would be exposed to the cold,” Charlie nervously chewed on his lip. “Much, much better if she remains here until she is completely well. Even longer perhaps.”
Mama patted Charlie on the cheek. “Sweet boy. Well if you both insist on staying longer, you can stay here at Netherfield as long as you want, though I miss all of you.”
With a roll of her eyes, Kitty said to them, “It is hardly fair! It is quite too quiet at home when I’m the only one there. And Papa just sits reading all day from his books without you there. I miss Lydia, I wish she’d been brought out of school with me.”
“When she is sixteen,” Mrs. Bennet said.
Louisa and Caroline looked between each other, Elizabeth knew that neither of them was particularly fond of Kitty, who had always been a slightly annoying creature who thought that a world dominated by older siblings was unfair.
Charlie cheerfully clapped Kitty on the shoulder. “If you wish to stay here also, I’ve rooms, and rooms, and rooms. You can have three of them.”
Kitty’s eyes widened. “Oh no! Not Netherfield. You’d give me a room in the drafty wing. No, no.”
“Ah, well.” Charlie shrugged.
“Mr. Bennet does miss you and Jane,” Mama said. “He has begun making sketches of machines again, and he mumbles about maybe establishing another business — he won’t though, not without poor Mr. Bingley.”
Darcy looked sharply at Mrs. Bennet. “In trade? Again?”
The disapproval in the tone was clear to Elizabeth.
“One cannot simply read all day — or Mr. Bennet can, and I enjoy seeing him so happy with his books. But it is no surprise to me that he sometimes wishes to be active again.”
“No matter what Mr. Bingley has said on the matter,” Darcy replied stiffly, “it astonishes me immensely that any gentleman with a substantial estate of his own would decide to spend such a great amount of his time directly involved in trade.”
“He always enjoyed it,” Elizabeth said. “Besides, how else was the construction of all those machines to be funded?”
“Hmmmm,” Mr. Darcy replied noncommittally, and Elizabeth was not sure whether she should despise him as a snob who despised her father for his involvement in trade, or not.
Mama knewherchoice. She frowned deeply at Mr. Darcy. “It astonishes me that you’ve such a narrow acquaintance — Oh by the way,” she said to Elizabeth, “Mr. Collins is coming to visit next week. That cousin of your father’s, the one who will inherit Longbourn.”
“Mr. Collins?” Elizabeth said with some surprise. “I shall be quite interested to meet this almost mysterious cousin.”
“Do be cautious around him — like as not he hopes to marry one of you. And he is at present only the vicar of a modest parsonage, whatever his hopes may be. Mr. Bennet makes fun of me by saying that he shall be able to throw us all into the hedgerows when he should die, but that is quite nonsense, as I will be very well provided for. Longbourn is not a half part of your father’s income, you know — I do not fancy these people who look down upon fortunes made in trade. I have always said that a man in trade is quite as respectable as any gentleman with an estate — more respectable I think, since they are useful sorts, unlikesome.”
She glared at Mr. Darcy, looking rather like a peevish old cat.
“Mama,” Elizabeth said, feeling an odd anxiety at the thought of her mother embarrassing herself, “You quite misunderstand Mr. Darcy — quite. That was not what he meant at all.”
She flushed as she looked sidelong at Darcy and shifted on the velvet fabric of the couch.
Charlie also noticed the tension, and he jovially laughed, and exclaimed, “I am a wholly useless and idle sort of fellow! I did not learn the business in any way,andI do not worry myself much over Greek or Latin, though I did learn todancequite admirably.”
“Oh Charlie,” Mama exclaimed, smiling at him. “You always make a laugh about yourself. But you are a quite useful fellow — everyone loves to have you near in conversation. And you do notneedto worry yourself away with business, because your father and Mr. Bennet did soforyou. There is no sense in thesonworrying himself to an excess when his father already did so.”
Mrs. Bennet then launched into one of those lines of reminiscence about their days in Manchester.
