“Good heavens.”
Jane, still composed despite the circumstances, spoke first. “Our carriage suffered a mishap. The axle cracked upon the road, and as we were so near, we chose to walk.”
“And were caught in the rain,” Elizabeth added.
Miss Bingley’s gaze moved over them with careful attention. “You are quite soaked.”
“Entirely,” Elizabeth said.
Mrs. Hurst joined her sister, her brows lifting slightly at the sight.
“This is most unfortunate.”
“It cannot be helped,” Jane said.
Miss Bingley turned to the servant. “Have rooms prepared without delay. Dry clothing must be brought. You cannot remain as you are.”
They were shown upstairs directly thereafter.
Elizabeth’s hair was unpinned, her gown exchanged for one provided by their hostess, her shoes replaced. The process required time, though not so much as might have been expected. When at last she was ready, she paused before descending, considering briefly the events that had brought them there.
The broken axle, timed just before the onset of rain. Suspicion crossed her mind, though she dismissed it soon after. There was no reason to suppose design where chance sufficed.
She joined Jane downstairs. Jane’s color had deepened, though whether from exertion or something else, Elizabeth could not determine.
After a few minutes of conversation with the ladies of the house, supper was announced. They entered the dining room together.
Miss Bingley received them with renewed civility, though her earlier expression had not altogether vanished. There was something sharper beneath it now, a kind of attention that did not rest easily.
“I trust you are more comfortable.”
“Yes, thank you,” Jane said.
Elizabeth inclined her head. “We are obliged to you.”
Miss Bingley smiled. “It is nothing.”
They took their seats. The meal began. Conversation followed, though it did not flow with the ease Elizabeth had expected. Miss Bingley directed much of it, her questions shaped with care, her observations placed with intention.
Jane, perhaps still affected by the rain, answered with less reserve than usual.
“I understand you have lived your entire life at Longbourn,” Miss Bingley probed.
“Yes.”
“And your family resides there entirely?”
“Yes,” Jane said. “Along with our mother and father, you have yet to meet my younger sisters and the twins.”
Miss Bingley’s gaze sharpened slightly. “Your mother had twins?”
“My stepmother,” Jane corrected herself. “Mrs. Bennet.”
Elizabeth’s attention shifted.
Miss Bingley leaned forward slightly. “Your stepmother?”
Jane nodded. “She married our father some years ago.”
