Page 1 of Idle Gossip

Chapter One

The Bennet carriage arrived at Lucas Lodge thirty minutes before the start of the evening. This was tradition; it gave the Bennet ladies time to converse with the host, the hostess, and their family, who were, by all accounts, the closest of friends.

Lucas Lodge was alight with candles. The evening promised to be lively, as such events always were. Sir William and Lady Lucas’s home would likely be crowded. The cheerful knight had a fondness for society and his wife was loathe to exclude anyone from their invitation list.

“Charlotte!” Elizabeth called to her friend the moment she stepped into the large drawing room. Doors leading to the adjacent parlor had been thrown open, making space to accommodate the many people who would soon arrive. It would also be used as a makeshift ballroom. Sir William adored dancing and often had the rugs rolled up partway through the night.

“Dear Eliza, how well you look!” Charlotte took Elizabeth’s hands and kissed her cheek. “Jane is blossoming. Dare I say she looks very much like a young lady in love?”

“Jane has only just met Mr. Bingley, Charlotte. What can you mean?” Elizabeth shook her head. Charlotte had been intensely focused on matrimony in the past few years. It was understandable, given she had recently turned seven-and-twenty, but to assign such emotion to Jane after only a fortnight of knowing their new neighbor was ridiculous.

“Ah, the Netherfield party has arrived.” Charlotte nodded to the door and Elizabeth turned to observe.

Mr. Bingley made straight for Jane after greeting his host and hostess. The Bingley sisters drifted to the side of the room and took up a position on a settee placed near an open window. Mr. Hurst went to the refreshment table. And Mr. Darcy?

Elizabeth watched with fascination as the scowling gentleman made his way around the perimeter of the room—opposite Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst—and hid himself behind a pillar.

“Jane and Mr. Bingley get along beautifully; do you not think so?” Charlotte’s remarks pulled Elizabeth’s attention back to her sister.

“They do. Jane reports that he is everything a gentleman ought to be.”

“Does Jane intend to inform Mr. Bingley that she likes him?”

Elizabeth did not know what her friend meant. “She gives him her time and attention. He seeks her out whenever they are in company, which has been many times since the assembly.”

“Jane’s reserve will be her undoing.”

“What nonsense, Charlotte!” It was a gentleman’s place to show his affection first. A forward woman might be labeled as desperate…or worse.

“Your sister takes great care in hiding her emotions.”

“She has ever been thus. Why should she change now?” Elizabeth could not understand it. “Would you wish her to be anything but what she is?”

Charlotte huffed. “Can you be so blind? Those who know Jane best can see she is beginning to care for Mr. Bingley. But the gentleman has not had years to learn your sister’s manner. They meet primarily when in company and surrounded by others. Jane’s reserve is more prevalent during gatherings, not less. How is he to know?”

Elizabeth could not agree. “You would have her present herself falsely?”

“In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels.”

Charlotte’s reply was disheartening.

“Your pragmatism is admirable. But Jane is not trying to secure Mr. Bingley. She is behaving naturally.”

“It is obvious that he likes your sister, Eliza. But if he receives no encouragement, that will never blossom into something more.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “You are far too worried. It has been but a fortnight, as I said before. We must give them time to let their affection form naturally. Look at him. He is clearly besotted.”

“Yes. He is.” Charlotte’s reply rang with resignation. “But sometimes love needs a little assistance.”

She paused. “Mr. Darcy stares at you a great deal.”

This caught Elizabeth off guard. She glanced around and noticed the man had moved within hearing distance as she spoke with her friend. This had happened more than once since the assembly where he had insulted her. Elizabeth did not know what she had done to incur his judging stares.

“You know he looks to find fault,” she told Charlotte in a low tone he could not possibly overhear. “Mr. Darcy has developed the peculiar habit of placing himself in my proximity. He is near enough to hear my conversations or witness my feeble attempts at the pianoforte, all the while giving every implication he wishes to be elsewhere. Perhaps he ought to stay at Netherfield Park and spare us his presence entirely.”

“Harsh words, Eliza, towards a man worth ten thousand a year.”

“He could be worth twice that and be not one jot more agreeable.” Elizabeth opened her fan and waved it before her face.