“I probably should not tell you this, but Darcy predicted you would say as much.”
“He is cleverer than he looks.”
“Indeed! Just one more thing. I should like to perform a service for you. I understand you resist the idea, thinking it amends or the like. Without reading too much into it, though, I should like to do you a favour to repay the kindness you showed me, both in Hunsford and here. You spared no effort to make both occasions as painless as possible.”
“You owe me nothing.”
“Darcy said you might be stubborn.”
“I see. And what did this great prognosticator of yours suggest would work?”
“He said my best tools were politeness and humility.”
There seemed to be a congenital malady among the gentlemen of her acquaintance that caused them all to abandon the habits of a lifetime every Easter. Still, she owed it to the man to think about it.
After a minute, she said, “Very well. You may do me a small service, if you feel so inclined.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “You do not even know what I will ask.”
He chuckled. “I have been stabbed once and shot twice. I doubt very much you will ask of me any service truly disagreeable.”
“On your head be it, sir. My sister Jane will be married in a few months. By then, your cousin Anne will have been with my family in Meryton for some time. If you attend, will have two tasks for you. Does this sound agreeable?”
“It will be my pleasure. And the tasks?”
“The first is to be amiable to Anne. I have no idea how she will feel by then, but I believe a familiar face might be welcome.”
“Easily done. Anne is the least offensive Fitzwilliam in several generations.”
“I believe that, though I warn you, she is a colt leaving the stable for the first time. There is no telling how she will react. She may well be married before then.”
“And the second?”
“Wear your uniform. I will introduce you to my younger sisters, which, I assure you, will be a trial. Your job is to convince them how utterly stupid it would be for a gentlewoman to marry an officer below the rank of colonel.”
“Below general, more like. No sensible woman would. “
“My point exactly.”
“If you have no objection, I shall introduce them to a few officers’ wives and let them see how they live. Hearing is one thing, but seeing is believing.”
“Thank you. That will be most helpful.”
The second bell rang for the curtain, and the colonel bowed. “Consider it done. It will be my pleasure.”
“With some pleasures, a little goes a long way.”
She waved Georgiana back to their seats, and everyone sat for the next act.
Though Elizabeth was dying to know what Miss Darcy wanted to say, she judged this neither the time nor the place. When the play commenced, she deliberately returned the discussion to the performance.
Tea would certainly be interesting.
Tea for 2
“Miss Bennet, welcome! Welcome!”
