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Elizabeth smiled sweetly.

“You just said it yourself, old Mrs. Ellis. She could pick out my expression from the far side of a crowded room? Sorry, there is nothing to tell.”

Elizabeth had decided there was nothing to be gained in telling the truth. The words said about her by this Mr. Darcy still stung. It would do no good for them to be known all over the district. Some of her acquaintance would agree with them and she did not need that, especially as she was back under the control of her parents at Longbourn. She might share the story with Charlotte, but not until she had all the details about the appalling collection of individuals that made up the Netherfield Park party. Telling the truth would inevitably result in the story getting back to Mrs. Bennet, and Elizabeth did not need to provide more ammunition for that lady.

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“Thank you all for making today a success. The three of us will assist where we can to get Longbourn back to normal.”

Elizabeth spoke to the servants and then she, Mary and Kitty helped where they could. They were the daughters of the house, they were not washing all the dishes, but they did provide direction and worked round the edges. Mrs. Bennet had not said a word of thanks merely retired to her room. And Mr. Bennet could not wait for the last guests to leave, Mr. and Mrs. Philips, so that he could retreat to his study.

Both Mary and Elizabeth had looked on with sadness as the Gardiners left to return to London. Both wished to be leaving with them. Eventually the three remaining daughters retired to Jane’s old bedroom which had become a kind of upstairs sitting room for the remaining sisters.

“This breakfast seemed more chaotic than Jane’s. Am I right in thinking that?”

“No Kitty, you are correct. There are two main differences. The first is the presence of the Militia officers. They were not even rumoured to be coming here when Jane was married. The other, of course, is the missing tenant of Netherfield Park. We were all busy in the days before the wedding but I heard all sorts of rumours today. I was questioned repeatedly about the main one. What can you tell us? There must be more fiction than fact in many of these stories.”

“I presume you are referring to Mrs. Ellis’ story. She claims she saw you look both upset and angry, really angry, at something this Mr. Darcy said to you. But that is the entire story. You left three days later before she could spread her gossip. And you were gone until just a few days ago. As you can imagine there has been much supposition as to what happened, and what was said.”

Kitty paused here but Elizabeth was not telling anyone. Mary knew and Jane knew and that was going to be all. Kitty nodded resignedly at the silence and moved on.

“The whole party but up a black from that very first night. You saw the mismatches of the sexes, there must have been twice as many young women as young men. Every man there danced every dance with the exception of two. Mr. Hurst who we will return to presently, and Mr. Darcy. He stalked about the room, was barely civil to anyone and refused to be introduced to many of the families there. When it was discussed later, no one could understand why he bothered to show up.

“And what you will not have heard is that he kept up the same behaviour for the entire two months they resided at Netherfield Park. I know for a fact that several families seriously considered not invited them to functions because of their behaviour. I think if one family had been brave and made the cut, then others would have followed.

“Mr. Hurst did not deviate from his script on any occasion. He thought himself above his company, just like Mr. Darcy and both sisters, and made no effort. He sat close to the refreshment table, drank himself into a stupor and then needed to be assisted out to the carriage. I was not at every event but it was discussed amongst all the families at the mid-winter Assembly and it was confirmed. He is expected to be dead before he is 40 considering how much he drinks.

“His wife?”

Kitty looked down for a moment before carrying on.

“Mariah told me that Mrs. Hurst was like me. Charlotte first made the comparison and my initial reaction was horror. How could she be so cruel? Mariah saw that I was upset and asked Charlotte to explain. All she meant was that I allowed my younger sister to bully me, just like Miss Bingley does with Mrs. Hurst. It took me a few days to come to terms with it, and to understand that Charlotte was not being cruel. I had started to step back from being Lydia’s shadow even before the arrival of Mr. Collins. Their engagement allowed me to complete that. No one really knows what Mrs. Hurst is like, she is lost in the shadow of her sister.”

Both Mary and Elizabeth pulled her to her feet and gave her a hug.

“Are you angry at Charlotte?”

She shook her head.

“Not at all. Saying I am grateful is too much the other way but there is a trace of that. It was a wakeup call that I needed to be my own person. Enough about me, where was I?”

“The unmarried sister.”

“Ah yes, Miss Caroline Bingley. We were all unaware that Princess Charlotte had an older sister, because Miss Bingley put on quite the airs and graces.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows, that was quite the comparison for the daughter of a tradesman.

“Not a word of an exaggeration. She was here for two months and no one saw her happy at any point. Again, discussed and considered at the Assembly after they left. She did not want to be here, made sure everyone knew that she did not want to be here, and was thoroughly unpleasant whenever she was in company. And the stories and rumours from the servants at Netherfield Park are worse.”

“She made no effort to get to know any of the young ladies of the neighbourhood, Charlotte for example?”

Kitty shook her head.

“This is where the neighbourhood is all confused. They were invited into the houses of most of the main families of the district. They were in Hertfordshire for nine weeks so they were guests on at least eight occasions. But there was nothing back the other way. Now perhaps they were waiting until closer to Christmas before reciprocating the invitation. But then they just upped and left right before Advent.”

Kitty inelegantly shrugged.

“They accepted the hospitality as if it was their due but did not return it. Miss Bingley was so obnoxious that no lady in the district wished to spend time with her. And then there is the socially awkward and very rude Mr. Darcy. I do not remember the name of his estate but it was notable, and everyone talked about it reverently. As if it was some big deal. Yet he appeared to make no effort to ease Mr. Bingley’s entry into this neighbourhood.”