“You sound just like Darcy here,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said.
“Or Lizzy!” Lydia exclaimed.
Mr. Darcy turned to Miss Elizabeth with alacrity. “We discussed books, Miss Elizabeth, but I did not know that you are a chess player as well.” He smiled warmly.
Elizabeth felt colour rising up to her cheeks. Why did this sound so much like approval, and if it was, why did she care? “I do play,” she said. “I do not consider myself a proficient,” she added, modestly.
Her father snorted. “She can get a draw out of me, and that is no easy feat.”
Mrs. Bennet frowned at Mr. Bennet. Bragging about Lizzy’s chess play was no way to help her catch a man. Mr. Bennet had been married too long not to understand the import of the frown; he coughed and turned away.
But Mr. Darcy continued, undeterred. “Might we not play a game sometime, Miss Elizabeth?”
“I would be happy to, Mr. Darcy,” she replied.
Mrs. Bennet thought now that she would definitely seat Elizabeth beside Mr. Darcy at dinner. She turned her attention then to Mary, who was speaking with the Colonel. “You must be glad of a respite from your duties, Colonel,” Mary was saying.
“I am, though I wish it were for a different reason,” he replied. Then he frowned and bit his lip, as if he had said too much. He added, brusquely, “A family matter.”
“Oh! I am sorry, then,” Mary said. The Colonel’s tone made her feel that she had pried, and she cast her eyes down, embarrassed.
Georgiana, seeing Mary’s discomfort, quickly rescued her friend. “Mary, I have been telling my cousin that you and I often play together. Would you be willing to perform with me after dinner?”
“Yes, indeed,” Mary said at once, grateful for the interruption.
The Colonel made an effort to make amends to Miss Mary. “I look forward to hearing you play.”
“Your cousin is a far better performer than I,” Mary said, happy now that an uncomfortable subject had been avoided. “It is a pleasure to play with someone so gifted.”
“I wager she would say the same about you,” the Colonel replied, smiling.
“Then she would be very much mistaken!” Mary laughed. “But she is likely kind enough to say so, yes.”
“You like my cousin, then?” the Colonel enquired.
It was an odd question, Mary thought. “Of course; who would not? She is a delightful creature.”
Mrs. Bennet had been listening with half an ear throughout, eager to know if there was a possible match in the making, but at this she felt she had to interrupt. “Colonel, everyone at Longbourn is excessively fond of Miss Darcy, and not just because of her talent at the pianoforte. As you see, I have five daughters, and so am inclined to be fond of girls in any case, but Miss Darcy has a sweetness about her that makes us particularly dote on her. In fact, if Mr. Darcy were to be called away from Netherfield for any reason, I would ask him to leave her with us for an extended period of time.”
“Oh, yes!” Mary exclaimed. “She could share my room. Jane and Lizzy share a room, as to Kitty and Lydia, and I would love to have Georgiana’s company.”
The Colonel smiled and said all that was proper, but meanwhile his mind was whirling. Darcy was right; Georgiana had made friends here. And perhaps Mrs. Bennet could help them with the fear that pressed on his own heart as well as Darcy’s. But how in the world were they to introduce the subject?
Chapter Thirty-One
Longbourn
Mr. Bennet put his newspaper down, looked around the breakfast table, and cleared his throat. As expected, his wife and daughters looked up from their plates.
“Yes, Mr. Bennet?” his wife demanded, evidently not at all happy to have her breakfast interrupted.
“I have some news,” he began.
Mrs. Bennet clapped her hands. “Mr. Bingley has asked to court Jane!”
Jane looked startled, but her father reassured her at once. “No, no. It is not that. The news is that I expect a visitor in a few days’ time.”
“Another single gentleman?” Mrs. Bennet asked, hopefully.
