“Not yet. They mentioned Brighton, Ramsgate, and Cornwall, but nothing is decided.”
“They all sound lovely; do not worry about me.”
Elizabeth smiled, the earlier discussion forgotten. “Let us see what the summer brings. Perhaps Aunt and Uncle will offer to bring you along.”
Anne considered. “Do not encourage such a scheme. I—”
Elizabeth waited patiently, and Anne continued. “I treat you like a mother bird. You feed and shelter me; but sooner or later,you must push me out of the nest and hope I do not splat on the ground. If I cannot handle the Bennet sisters by summer, what hope have I against theton?”
Elizabeth nodded. “So, you plan to have a season?”
“There is noyouin that sentence,” Anne laughed. “Wewill have a season. Mother will insist on sponsoring you next season… unless, of course, you have other arrangements at the time.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Let us crawl before we splat—or is that how the old saying goes?”
Anne squeezed her hand, and they rose to dress. Anne had, with a great deal of stealth, obtained tickets through her uncle, and treated the Gardiners, the Bennets, and Jane’s Mr Jameson to an evening out.
~~~
“Jane, this box is wonderful. We must be certain Anne conveys our heartfelt thanks to her uncle.”
Elizabeth and Jane stood with Mr Jameson in a beautifully appointed box, waiting for the play to begin. Aunt and Uncle Gardiner spoke with acquaintances in the hall. Anne had joined a distant aunt she had not seen in some time.
Jane gave Elizabeth a smile that bordered on a smirk. “I agree on the quality of the arrangement, but I must correct you on the identity of our benefactor. Anne’s uncle needed his box tonight for some political purpose, so he arranged another. Did Anne not mention it?”
“Perhaps it slipped her mind. Nevertheless, I shall convey my heartfelt thanks. Do you know who our mysterious host is? Might we expect his presence, and should we write a note of thanks?”
“His presence is not expected, but he is not as predictable these days as he once was, so I cannot give you a firm assurance. I am certain he would welcome the note.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “Pray tell, perhaps you can expand on that… or is confusion your goal? If so, you have made a good beginning.”
“Of course. I have not spoken to the gentleman for weeks, but at the time of our most recent conversation, he did not plan to be in town tonight. He apparently has other urgent business away from London.”
Suspecting her sister was baiting her, Elizabeth kept her curiosity in check and asked blandly, “It is someone you know, then. Very mysterious! Very mysterious, indeed! Might I at least know who this person is?”
Jane’s smile deepened. “Of course! This isyour Mr Darcy’sbox.”
Elizabeth paused in shock, bereft of anything to say for several moments. Jane and Mr Jameson waited patiently.
At length, Elizabeth said, “I can see my labours at instructing you in mathematics were ill-advised. I should have made you study English, as you do not seem to understand the meaning of certain basic words. What in the world would make you mixyourandMr Darcyin the same sentence?”
Jane remained annoyingly unperturbed. “I understand perfectly. I stand by my assertion. When I met the gentleman recently, he seemed completely transformed.”
“And you did not feel some desire tomentionthis to me?”
Jane ducked her head. “I planned to, but—”
“But?” Elizabeth asked suspiciously.
“You seemed so engaged with Miss de Bourgh, and I was engaged with my beau, then we shopped for new dresses, and… the time never seemed quite right.”
“But here in the theatre, in public, a quarter-hour before the show seemed ideal?”
Jane stared at her calmly. “As good as any other, but may I ask you something?”
Elizabeth reined in her temper. “You may as well; and I suppose it would not kill you to tell me when, how, and why you met with Mr Darcy while you are at it.”
“I shall come to that presently, but why do you react to my calling himyour Mr Darcyso strongly? I have teased you with words of a similar nature for half a year with nary a raised eyebrow. At most, you might have said something like—” Jane lowered her voice in her best approximation of a man. “My Mr Darcythinks I am tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt him.”
