“I thank you, Mr. Darcy.” Emboldened by his kind tone, she said, “I suspect you do not know this, but my future husband’s patroness is your aunt.”
“My aunt?”
“Yes; Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
“Well! This is most astonishing!”
“Is it not? Mr. Collins informed us of this just before returning to Kent.”
“Why did he not mention it to me?”
“He did not know if it was proper for him to do so; if you do not wish the relationship known, you can be assured that the Bennets will say nothing of it.”
“There is no reason for it to be a secret; say what you like.”
“Very well.”
Mr. Darcy smiled at her. “My Aunt Catherine can be very kind, but often enough, she is rather difficult to please, Miss Mary. If I may give you a word of advice?”
“Yes, please! I would be grateful!”
“Do not openly contradict her, for she cannot bear it. Simply agree without any fuss and then do whatever you wish.”
Mary looked puzzled. “Will she not find out later if her wishes were not obeyed?”
“She issues so many strictures and so much advice that it would be impossible for her to track the results.”
Mary could not help laughing at that; to her surprise, Mr. Darcy joined in. Mary wished very much that she could ask him about his engagement, but knew that she could not.
Miss Bingley watched Mr. Darcy and Miss Mary laughing together. There was no danger to her expectations there; Miss Mary was hardly anyone who would interest Mr. Darcy, and she was newly engaged in any case.
Mr. Bingley was delighted when Miss Bennet chose to sit beside him. She smiled and said, “This is a lovely room; I had quite forgotten how beautiful it is.”
He replied, “Oh! I suppose you have been here before, then.”
“The original owners were known to us; their children were our friends.”
He smiled at her – she was very easy to smile at! – and said, “The Netherfield library is in a dreadful state, though, or so Darcy tells me.”
“I think a number of books have been taken by tenants over the years; Elizabeth could tell you more, as she has read all the books from the Netherfield library and would know what is missing.”
“I confess that I do not much care; I am not a great reader.”
“Nor I!” she agreed. “There is always so much else to do, it seems.”
“Yes, exactly. Darcy makes me feel rather guilty, as he always has a book in his hand.”
“It is just the same with me and Elizabeth; she walks around the house while reading a book, and scarce notices when she trips over the rug!”
They laughed together. Mr. Bingley was sorry when they were called in to dinner.
It could not be argued that Mrs. Hurst set a fine table. There were three full courses, to which only Mr. Hurst did true justice. Elizabeth and Jane were too nervous to do more than pick at their food, while Mrs. Bennet was busy trying to memorise each dish so as to be able to give Lady Lucas a full description.
Mr. Darcy was seated between Miss Bingley and Miss Bennet. Miss Bingley leaned toward Mr. Darcy and kept her voice low. “So what do you think, Mr. Darcy?”
“About what in particular, Miss Bingley?”
“Why, Charles, of course. Will he now favour Miss Bennet over Miss Elizabeth?”
