Darcy reddened, feeling Richard’s questioning gaze on him as well. “Go on,” he urged.
With a surreptitious glance down the table, Bingley went on in a lower voice. “I also asked permission to call on the family this afternoon, and the reply was favourable. We are invited to stay through tea. I intended to go directly after luncheon.” Bingley stared at him briefly, clearly demanding for Darcy to agree to join him.
Darcy nodded without enthusiasm. He would have expected an arrangement of the kind, though he did not yet feel ready to face Elizabeth. He returned to the remains of his scone with less zest than before.
His eyes wandered to the end of the table to see how Georgiana was faring with her companions. He hoped they would be able to avoid Caroline Bingley’s company while they paid the call. It would be difficult to extract his own sister without inviting Charles’ sister as well, but this day would be trying enough without Caroline’s unwelcome moodiness and excessive attention to himself.
Looking long at Georgiana’s stretched features, he knew it wouldnotbe acceptable to leave her alone at Caroline’s mercy while he went alone. Georgiana would have to come to pay the call, and he would just have to leave Caroline to her brother to manage.
Fortunately, he was not alone in those sentiments. The three men excused themselves to make ready for their departure and found themselves unanimous in their desire to encourage Caroline to remain at Netherfield. “I brought your smallest coach, Darcy. I am afraid it can only seat four comfortably,” Fitzwilliam winked at him.
“Well, Colonel, how fortunate that we have one larger to suit us all!” Caroline breezed into the entryway where the gentlemen were receiving their outer coats from the footmen. She already wore her muff and coat, and she sidled comfortably up to Darcy as he settled his scarf over his collar. She had no intention of relinquishing her prize without a fight, and she would not sit idly by while Darcy visited Elizabeth without her. Only look what kind of misunderstanding had happened when she did not go the day before!
Darcy forced a neutral expression, looking down to his buttons to avoid acknowledging her. Bingley cleared his throat. “I am afraid, Caroline, that Mrs Nicholls wished to discuss preparations for the reception I planned to hold for the tenant farmers in a fortnight. Had she not mentioned it to you?”
Caroline turned, her face betraying her outrage. “Charles! A tenant reception? You never mentioned that to me! Only yesterday, we were quitting this country for good, and now you want to host a party for the farmers?”
His eyes shifted nervously to the other two gentlemen, who both resolutely avoided his gaze. Bingley was on his own for the moment. “Y-yes, well…” he stammered. “We are still invested in the estate, and it is the proper thing to do for our tenants. I understand it is quite the expected thing, though it is late in the season. I will not be planning to return to Town for any duration in the immediate future, and I think this scheme will do very well.”
Her mortified stare drifted disbelievingly between the three men, settling on Darcy. “Surely, Charles, the housekeeper can manage sufficiently. It is only the farmers you are receiving! My hostessing skills are not required,” she attempted to recover smoothly.
Bingley bit his lip. Carolinewoulddeepen her humiliation by refusing to accept the situation with grace. Why could he not have had a sister with some measure of taste and decorum, more like Georgiana?Shenever did anything wrong. To his relief, Darcy and Fitzwilliam tactfully excused themselves out of doors, leaving him to handle his sister in privacy.
“Caroline, we must not leave this to the housekeeper. As the present lady of the house, it is your place to plan these events. It matters not whether we are hosting the farmers or the local gentry or our friends from London. I must insist you heed my wishes on this point, for I will not yield!”
“Charles! These Bennets have been a poor influence on you, I fear. You are entirely forgetting your place! We should have been in Town, not dallying further with these mean country folk. We owe nothing to the farmers here!”
Charles Bingley was fed up, enough so that his impulsive decisiveness from the previous day made a reappearance. He set his jaw, much as Darcy might have, and made an unshakable reply. “Caroline, you forget thatyouwere in favour of my forming an establishment in the country. I have made a commitment to this place for the term of my lease, and I will honour it! If you find your duties as hostess so distasteful, take heart. I intend to relieve you of those duties as soon as may be.”
Her eyes flashing her wrath, Caroline screwed her mouth into an outraged scowl. She turned on her heel and marched toward the stairs in a fit of pique. Deflated, he watched her go. How he hated confronting her! It was not in his nature to be so firm, and it was very uncomfortable to him. His life would be so much easier with more amiable relatives!
His eyes followed her hastily retreating figure and were caught by Georgiana. The girl was peeking guiltily around the corner from the sitting room. Apparently, she had witnessed much, if not the whole of the scene. She could scarcely have avoided it! With a sigh and a contrite smile, he encouraged her to follow him by offering his arm. Together they joined Darcy and Fitzwilliam in the carriage.
“So, Darcy,” Fitzwilliam settled himself next to Bingley, leaving Georgiana to sit with her brother, “do you have a plan of how you may win the fair lady’s affections?”
Darcy clamped his teeth. He was not best pleased to discuss his plans regarding Elizabeth in company, even as trusted as each person in the small compartment was to him. Seeing the expectant stares of all the parties in the coach, he finally gave way. “I wrote her a letter,” he replied stiffly.
“Aletter?”the colonel sputtered. “You cannot simply hand the lady a letter! Trust me in this, Darce. You have to talk to her. Egad, man! Bingley, am I not right? Criminy, it is little wonder you are still unmarried. Ladies appreciate a little romance! Invite her for a pleasant stroll, bring her small gifts, tell her how lovely she is… I presume the lady in questionislovely?” He looked to Bingley for confirmation, who gave an agreeable nod of the head. To him, no other lady could compare to his angel, but her sisterwasmost pleasant to look upon.
“Aha!” Richard put a finger to his lips, then traced it in the air, fabricating a mental picture. “She must be tall, fair… blonde, I should think. Blue eyes?”
Georgiana giggled. “Miss Elizabeth is not quite my height, Cousin Richard. She has dark hair and curls and very fine dark eyes!”
Richard roared a great guffaw. “You described her to Georgie! In a letter, no doubt.”
Darcy tried unsuccessfully shrink his tall frame, his ears reddening.
“Oh, Cousin, you are dead gone. Indeed, she does sound quite fetching, I cannot wait to make her acquaintance.”
“Your description could fit her sister quite nicely though, Fitzwilliam. You shall see, Darcy and I are quite in disagreement over which sister is the loveliest. You must help us settle the dispute!” Bingley put in laughingly.
“Oh, Darcy!” Richard wiped his eyes, still chuckling. “Tell me seriously. You cannot truly be planning to just hand the lady a letter and return to Netherfield whilst she reads it? No, it is unthinkable. You must secure a private audience, and I hope you have something worthwhile to say.”
Darcy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Talk to Elizabeth? He would be lucky to untie his tongue while in her presence. She, who never seemed to lack for a clever repartee, would utterly demolish any plea for reason and forgiveness he might try to present in person. He had never doubted that if they should reach a good understanding, he would quickly be completely at his ease with her. He knew he would trust her utterly, and she would tease him in that delightful, intimate way he had seen her reserve for those she loved. Until then, he had much he truly needed her to know and dared not chance the important communication to his uncertain conversation skills.
He opened his mouth to defend himself, but his rescue instead came from an unexpected source. Georgiana looked approvingly at him and squeezed his arm. “William says Miss Elizabeth is very intelligent. I think he must know best how he can tell her what he needs to clear any misunderstandings. Surely a clever woman of sense would value sincere communication, no matter what form it takes. Do you not agree, Mr Bingley?”
Bingley stared for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Miss Elizabeth was perhaps unique among the women of his acquaintance. It was true that Darcy had rarely maintained a conversation with her without falling victim to her playful wit. To be fair, most of the time, the gentleman seemed rather to enjoy his loss, but with so much at stake he feared his friend would be at a disadvantage.
