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THE DINNER WAS EXCEEDINGLY handsome, and there were all articles of plate which Miss Collins had promised. The servants were plentiful and remarkably well-dressed, and the table was lit with pleasant, soft candlelight.
“There is no greater pleasure than supping with Lady Catherine de Bourgh!” Wilhelmina declared as her knife indelicately sawed the tough quail on her plate. “Truly. There is no greater pleasure, and no greater honor.”
“Now you're doing it a bit too brown, dear,” Lady Catherine chided her. “I know you're grateful that I chose to sponsor you, and while I appreciate your enthusiasm, if you truly want to repay me, you can stop treating me as if I am some sort of goddess to be revered. Now...” She turned her attention to Elisander, who was in the middle of chewing a large bite. She shook her head at the unnecessarily large protrusion of food in his cheek. “My niece said you have some unusual ideas about men and airships, Mr Bennet. Would you care to share them?”
As soon as he swallowed, Elisander asked, “Are you speaking to me, Lady Catherine?”
“Indeed. Since there are three Misters Bennet, would you mind if I referred to you by your given names?” the lady asked.
“I suppose not.” There was a long pause in the conversation. It took Elisander a moment to realize the lady was expecting a response from him. “Wh-what sort of unusual ideas might you be referring to, my lady?”
“You believe men should be in the military and be allowed to fly airships.” The sharpness in her voice disappeared, replaced by coldness. “You think men should be afforded the same liberties as ladies.”
“I do believe that.” Though it was an unpopular opinion, Elisander shared it with conviction. “Why should we not be allowed to fly? Men are more than capable of it.”
Lady Catherine's lengthy reply was preceded by snide laughter. “Should I assume you've never read a history book, young man? Did you never learn of the past atrocities that were committed by your sex? Men are the starters of war and the creators of conflict, and I thank God every day for the brave women who stood against the men who were trying to suppress them. That power shift is undoubtedly the most significant part of our history as a species. Humankind is better off with females at the helm. Men are such savage creatures if we let them run amok. ”
Fearing his son would retaliate with an opinion of his own, Mr. Bennet spoke up before Elisander could reply. “This quail is excellent, my lady! And these carrots truly exceeded my expectations. The honey glaze is perfection.”
“Yes. Quite.” Lady Catherine agreed through clenched teeth. Clearly, she was still vexed by Elisander's defense of males.
“And yet...” Mr. Bennet noted, “you have barely touched your food! Is it not to your liking?”
“I find, Mr. Bennet, that in my old age, I have a declining appetite,” the lady explained. “Although it is really none of your business what I do and do not consume!” As she forced herself to eat a bite of quail, she turned her attention back to Elisander. He had barely been given a chance to speak, but he had captured her attention nonetheless. “Let me guess, Elisander Bennet... you also believe men should be allowed to own property?”
“I do,” Elisander answered with a nod. “Can you give me one good reason why they should not?”
“Because they would likely gamble away their inheritance and let their houses fall to ruin!” Lady Catherine declared. “Estates should, without question, stay in the female line. Do you play and sing, Mr. Bennet?”
Elisander's eyelids quivered at the sudden change in subject. “A little.”
“Oh! Then... some time or other we shall be happy to hear you,” replied Lady Catherine, whose tone was suddenly much softer.
In the corner of his eye, Elisander saw Captain Fitzwilliam shaking her head. When they were at Netherfield, the captain was less than impressed by Elisander's musical talent.
“Our instrument is a capital one, certainly superior to your—” Lady Catherine stopped herself before she insulted him further. “Do your brothers play and sing?”
“Kier does, on occasion.”
Despite having been mentioned, Kier did not expect much attention from Lady Catherine. She was too fixated on Elisander to pay him any mind.
Lady Catherine turned up her nose at his answer. “You ought all to have learned. The Webbs all learned, and their income is likely more sparse than your mother's.” After a short pause, her questions continued. Even Darcy looked a bit disconcerted by her aunt's interrogation of him. “Do you draw?”
“No, not at all.”
“What, none of you?”
“Not one.”
“That is very strange. But I suppose you had no opportunity. Your mother must not have minded if her sons lacked talent. I wonder if she would have treated a daughter with more care.” When Catherine grew tired of cutting her quail, she glanced at one of her servants, who immediately took over the task. The servant sawed the meat into portions that would fit comfortably in her mistress' mouth. “Did you have a proper education, at least?”
“I believe we did,” Elisander stiffly replied.
“Good... good. With country fellows like you, you never know. Education in young men is often neglected.”
When Elisander spoke again, a tense smile visited his lips. “So... men should be educated, but they should be kept away from airships? That makes little sense.”
“Ha!” the lady cackled. “Is it really so difficult to understand that one is proper for a gentleman, and the other is not? Oh my, you look so cross! Have I offended you now? Did I hurt your feelings?”
Elisander shook his head and withheld his reply. The old lady was testing him—goading him. For some reason, she wanted to vex and annoy him.
“Men have such fragile egos, honestly,” Lady Catherine continued. “My late husband was the same way. His ego was as fragile as the wings of a butterfly.”
Elisander attempted another defense of his gender. “Not all men, my lady. Surely.”
“No? Is that so? For one so young, you share your opinion liberally. You cannot be more than twenty, I'm sure.”
“I am not quite one and twenty.”
When most forks were set aside, Lady Catherine suggested a game of cards. Her guests murmured words of agreement, and as they withdrew to one of Rosings' many sitting rooms, Captain Fitzwilliam walked with Elisander.
“I thought you hated cards,” Darcy observed. “At least, that is what your brother once revealed.”
“Inane games are hardly one of my favorite pastimes, but I don't hate cards,” Elisander corrected her. “I am surprised you would remember that, however. I didn't expect you to retain any knowledge of my interests.”
Before the young man assumed too much, Darcy said, “I have a good memory.”
“As do I.”
Darcy held the door for Elisander as they entered the sitting room. “My aunt has been taking you to task, Mr. Bennet. I do not know what you said to make her so uncommonly cross.”
“No one ever disagrees with her. That is what I assume,” Elisander replied. When Darcy tried to pull out a chair for him, he declined and claimed another. “I am probably the first to challenge her opinion.”
“Not the first, but a difference of opinion is certainly rare at Rosings. My aunt is a renowned patron of the sciences, and many go out of their way to please her.”
“And you?” Elisander began. “Do you go out of your way to please her?”
“Of course not. At the risk of sounding vain, I should admit that I have enough wealth of my own. Additionally, I have no reason to disagree. I share my aunt's opinion.” They were already speaking in whispers, but Darcy lowered her voice even further. “Men should most certainly not be allowed to pilot airships.”
Elisander moved his chair closer to Kier's, putting distance between himself and the woman who frequently offended him. The gap did not deter Darcy, who leaned forward to continue their conversation. “While I might not like the idea of men piloting airships, I would not object to letting you board and tour my beautiful ship. It is certainly better than Georgette Wickham's poor excuse for an airship.”
“I thought her ship was lovely,” Elisander rigidly replied. He collected his cards as Lady Catherine dealt them.
“You need to experience flight on quality vessel, Mr. Bennet. Only then will you know the difference.” Darcy leaned closer and lowered her voice again. “Did you know I could have you arrested for consorting with pirates? I won't, of course... but I could. If I arrested you, I would have to arrest Bin Li, and I would never do such a thing.”
Elisander, exhausted by the sound of Darcy's voice, concealed a yawn behind his cards. “Do you expect me to be grateful?”
The game commenced, so he never got an answer. Elisander was a young man of keen intellect. Had he committed his full attention to the cards in his hand, he might have easily won. However, it was the equally adroit Kier who won most often. The younger brother hoped someone would acknowledge his abilities, but no one ever did.
Each time Elisander glanced in the direction of Captain Fitzwilliam, the lady's eyes were always on him, and each time their eyes met, she immediately feigned disinterest.
“I will admit, Miss Collins, that your cousins are not so terrible,” Lady Catherine confessed as the evening drew to a close. “I still think they are a bit witless for declining your offer of marriage, but... to my surprise, the boys are actually tolerable.”