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Elizabeth entered the breakfast parlor to find Mr. Darcy and his sister already dining. Mr. Darcy stood to greet her and she tamped down any pleasure that brought her, resisting the impulse to raise a hand to her hair to make sure her pins were well placed. Of course they were. She’d only recently dressed.
“Miss Bennet. It is good to see you this morning,” Mr. Darcy said.
“And both of you,” she said, smiling at Georgiana. “Did you sleep well, Mrs. Smith?”
“I...” Georgiana nodded, the dark circles under her eyes at odds with the gesture.
“Please do sit back down, Mr. Harvey,” Elizabeth said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your meal.”
He nodded, seating himself while she went to the sideboard and retrieved her customary fare. She sat beside Georgiana, endeavoring not to look at Mr. Darcy’s plate to ascertain his likes and dislikes. Really, she would have to overcome this strange infatuation with the man. It was perfectly ridiculous.
Elizabeth was reiterating to herself her list of reasons she did not fancy Mr. Darcy, for perhaps the twentieth time since he’d arrived not twenty-four hours ago, when her mother was announced. Mrs. Bennet, of course, barreled into the room as the news of her arrival was being conveyed, showing as little decorum in her entrance as in her choice of hour. Elizabeth stood, as did Mr. Darcy and Georgiana. Mr. Darcy looked to Elizabeth questioningly.
“I heard you have guests,” Mrs. Bennet said, glaring at Elizabeth. “I can’t think why you and Jane didn’t say as much during your visit yesterday. It’s a trial to my nerves, it is, learning about the affairs of my own daughters from village gossip.”
“Good morning, Mama,” Elizabeth said, stifling a grimace. “Mr. Harvey and his sister, Mrs. Smith, hadn’t arrived yet when Jane and I were visiting you.”
“Well surely you knew they were coming. Mr. Bingley isn’t the sort of man to spring such things on poor Jane.”
Elizabeth decided to ignore that. “Mama, this is Mr. Harvey and his sister, Mrs. Smith,” she said. She turned to look at Mr. Darcy. “This is Mrs. Bennet, my mother.”
She was grateful that Jane was still absent, allowing her to make the introductions. Elizabeth was sure her sister wouldn’t have been able to give the false names without coloring. Their mother, along with everyone else, could readily see through those rare occasions when Jane tried to tell a lie.
“Yes, I am your mother, though you wouldn’t know it by the way you treat me,” Mrs. Bennet said, her tone aggrieved. She turned and openly scrutinized Mr. Darcy and his sister before pulling out a chair and plunking herself down at the table. Mr. Darcy glanced at Elizabeth again and they all retook their seats.
As her mother launched into a reiteration of Lydia’s troubles and her list of complaints about the situation her youngest daughter found herself in, Elizabeth realized she’d already grown accustomed to another advantage of living in Netherfield. Neither Jane nor Bingley were bothered by Mrs. Bennet, which kept Elizabeth from being embarrassed by her mother’s vulgarity. With Mr. Darcy and Georgiana there, her mother’s visit was a trial.
Mrs. Bennet filled the room with her overloud voice, describing Lydia’s letter writing. Elizabeth wished her mother would refrain from pronouncing every sordid detail, but to no avail. Finally, Mrs. Bennet stopped speaking for a moment, looking about the table. Elizabeth realized she hadn’t taken a single bite of her food. Mr. Darcy sipped his coffee, his face unreadable. Georgiana sat looking down at her plate.
“Well, what should I do about her?” Mrs. Bennet asked the room at large. “She must marry one of them, I say. If only I could be sure Mr. Denny’s family has more money than Captain Carter, I would be able to establish which of the two men Lydia ought to be in love with.”
Silence filled the room again. Elizabeth’s mother glared at them all, compounding her embarrassment. Finally, Mrs. Bennet’s gaze fixed on Georgiana. “Mrs. Smith, you might have a daughter soon. What would you do?”
Georgiana shook her head and didn’t say anything, not looking up.
“Mrs. Smith, you really should be able to make these decisions,” Mrs. Bennet said. “You won’t be able to put it off when you are the mother. You will have to decide and know all the while that, no matter what you do, some of your children will always be ungrateful.”
Elizabeth had no idea as to why Georgiana should be expected to know how to deal with a hypothetical situation that couldn’t occur for many years, when a mother of five grown daughters didn’t know what to do. What she did know was that Georgiana was shrinking even farther into her chair, her face pale. “Mrs. Smith will have at least sixteen years to decide how to approach that kind of situation with a daughter, Mama.”
“Miss Lydia is sixteen?” Mr. Darcy asked, his tone conveying surprise.
“Yes, last May,” said Mrs. Bennet. She sat up taller in her chair, obviously proud Lydia had reached such an age.
“She is young to be married,” Mr. Darcy said. “Perhaps you should encourage her to wait to decide, if the scandal of her correspondences can be contained. A girl of sixteen shouldn’t be required to make such a far reaching decision.”
Elizabeth watched Georgiana’s face fold into even more wretched lines and wondered if Mr. Darcy realized what he’d said.
“Well, Mr. Harvey, your sister looks like she isn’t much older than sixteen and she’s married. There’s no reason my Lydia can’t get married.” Mrs. Bennet was triumphant. She glared at a silent Mr. Darcy for a long moment. “And you should get married too. Every man of good fortune wants a wife.”
“At this time, I can’t afford to take a wife,” Mr. Darcy said stiffly.
Elizabeth felt he was referring to the current strain, both on his time and his finances, of dealing with his sister’s troubles, but knew he would be taken literally. She saw the avaricious interest leave her mother’s eyes. With four more daughters to marry off, Mrs. Bennet had no time for unwed men of little fortune.
“Then it is generous of Mr. Bingley to take you in when you can’t even afford a wife,” Mrs. Bennet said. “Mr. Bingley is one of the kindest men alive.”
“Indeed he is,” Mr. Darcy said. Elizabeth thought she saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, but wasn’t certain. “His worth is many times greater than mine.” The last sounded very sincere.
“Well, then, don’t come looking about my daughters for a wife,” Mrs. Bennet said, aiming a hard look at Elizabeth, who winced at her mother’s crass words. “If you aren’t worth anything now, you’ll likely never be, and my girls need men who can afford them.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes, beseeching the heavens for forbearance.
“I shall bear that firmly in mind, madam,” Mr. Darcy said.
Now, she was sure he was amused, though she doubted anyone else could detect the emotion in his dry tone. She opened her eyes, daring a glance at him. Sure enough, he caught her gaze and awarded her one of his fleeting smiles.
At that point, Jane and Bingley came into the room and everyone stood to greet them. Elizabeth exhaled her relief, both for being given a reason to look away from Mr. Darcy and that help in dealing with her mother had arrived.
“How are you, Jane?” Mrs. Bennet said. “I hope you haven’t suffered from yesterday’s outing. You have to be very careful, because you don’t want the baby to come early. We can’t have that, for what would people say?”
The same things you say, Elizabeth thought.
“Good morning, Mama,” Jane said, settling awkwardly into a chair.
“Good morning Mrs. Bennet, Miss Elizabeth, ah, Harvey, Mrs. Smith,” Bingley said.
Elizabeth noticed that, in his somewhat rattled state with the awkward names, Bingley went back to using Miss Elizabeth, rather than Miss Bennet. She didn’t mind, glad enough that he’d managed Mr. Darcy’s and Georgiana’s assumed names so well. Bingley moved to the sideboard and Elizabeth joined him, helping him assemble a plate of food for Jane. She could hear everyone else retake their seats.
“You must go to the Lucas’ tomorrow, Jane,” Mrs. Bennet said. “I know they’ve invited you and it’s so very near. It will be nothing in your carriage. Bring Mr. Harvey and Mrs. Smith with you. Mrs. Smith, I’m sure you would like to go on a nice visit before you are confined.”
“I can’t go where I haven’t been invited,” Georgiana said.
Elizabeth turned to find she’d actually looked up.
“I’m inviting you,” Mrs. Bennet said triumphantly. “Besides, I’ll stop there on my way home and I’m sure they will send you an invitation.”
Elizabeth was sure they would as well. Not simply because her mother would press the issue. Everyone would be eager to meet the Bingleys’ new guests.
“And why aren’t you in black?” Mrs. Bennet asked. “It can’t be that long ago that your husband passed.”
Elizabeth sighed. Of course her mother would have heard that rumor already. Georgiana looked to Mr. Darcy, her eyes begging for help. Elizabeth followed her gaze, curious how he would respond. He would need some sort of story to give out about where Mr. Smith was, though she didn’t think dead was the best option.
“I suppose you don’t have a black gown, and your brother can’t afford to purchase you one,” Mrs. Bennet said, answering her own question before Mr. Darcy could speak. “You must be poor indeed, Mr. Harvey. I’ll say it again, you’re a lucky man to have a friend like Mr. Bingley to put you up.”
“Yes,” Mr. Darcy said. “Bingley is a good friend.”
