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Darcy hadn’t intended to stay for dinner, but he was so relieved by Bingley’s attitude towards his confession about Miss Jane Bennet that he couldn’t say no to the importunings of his friend.
“They’ll have quite a spread at Rosings, I should say,” said Mr. Hurst to no one in particular.
“But that’s the thing,” said Bingley. He beamed as though he was about to relate the most wonderful news. “We are going to hold Christmas at Netherfield.”
Dead silence. His sisters and Mr. Hurst stared at him. Darcy looked down at his plate.
Bingley seemed lost for words. Mr. Hurst seemed about to say something but grabbed his wineglass instead and emptied it. Caroline Bingley stared at her brother with her mouth open, and Mrs. Hurst seemed to be frozen in mid chew.
Then they all spoke at once.
“Netherfield?”
“Christmas in Hertfordshire?”
“But, you see, Miss Jane Bennet—”
“Place’ll be bloody cold, like a great tomb . . .”
Darcy said nothing as they bickered back and forth. Mr. Hurst seemed largely indifferent to the scheme, though it was plain that he was not for it. Mr. Bingley’s sisters, on the other hand, did not contain their outrage.
“But there will be nobody of any consequence in Hertfordshire,” Caroline said. Her sister nodded solemnly in agreement. “No one of any social standing.”
“Well, Miss Jane Bennet will be there, at Longbourn I mean, and she’s important to me,” Bingley looked to Darcy for help.
“If you plan to purchase Netherfield,” Darcy said. “It would be a prudent thing to spend Christmas there first.”
“It would be a prudent thing to be bored? It would be a prudent thing to waste the Christmas season in the middle of nowhere with such . . . company?”
“Now, Caroline—”
“It’ll be bloody cold,” said Mr. Hurst. “I don’t call that prudent.”
“How can you be so selfish?” Caroline said. Her sister nodded her head emphatically. “You have an unwed sister and you would drag her to the ends of the earth where she has no hope of meeting a suitable man.”
“That’s just selfish,” said Mrs. Hurst. “Dreadfully so.”
“You can stay in London if you like,” said Bingley. “You can all stay in London if it pleases you.”
At this, Caroline was silent. She glared at her brother for a moment, glanced at Mr. Darcy, and then squared her shoulders as though girding herself for some ordeal.
“I had forgotten that it is impossible for us to travel to Netherfield for Christmas as we had already made plans to Christmas with Mr. Darcy,” she said evenly.
“But that was when he was staying in London,” protested Bingley. “He’s going to Christmas at Rosings Park now. We are under no obligation to follow him. Indeed, we are not invited.”
Caroline turned to Darcy who was seated directly across the table from her. “Mr. Darcy, please confirm whether or not it was your intention to extend an invitation to us to attend with you at Rosings Park? Surely, you did not mean to go without us?”
Darcy was in a spot. He could not decline to invite them as his guests to Christmas at his aunt’s. Yet he had no wish to let Bingley fight the battle all on his own.
“Of course, anyone who wishes to accompany me may come as my guest to Rosings,” Darcy said. “But you are under no obligation to. Bingley, you can certainly go to Netherfield—”
“Rosings Park for Christmas!” Mrs. Hurst clapped her hands together.
“It’ll be quite a spread.” Mr. Hurst patted his broad belly with both hands then tucked his thumbs into the pockets of his waistcoat.
Darcy opened his hands palms up in a gesture of helplessness and Bingley sighed.
“I’m not going to Netherfield on my own,” Bingley said. He regarded the merriment of the sisters reproachfully. “I should feel a fool calling on Miss Bennet on my own.”
