Chapter 2

 

November 4, 1812

 

Mrs. Bennet was not someone to rest on her laurels. To be sure, she was indeed quite proud of herself for having finally fulfilled twenty percent of her life's ambition, but she still had four unwed daughters; therefore, there were four men in need of wives. Mrs. Bennet scanned the room from left to right. Her eyes first fell on Lizzy who seemed to be engaged in a conversation with Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins' distant cousin. The name had escaped her, but she recalled that Mr. Collins had mentioned the gentleman next to Lizzy was without a wife. He would do perfectly well. Mrs. Bennet could not be described as a tactful or insightful woman, but like a mouse that is repeatedly punished for making a false move, she did have the ability to eventually learn from her mistakes. When Mr. Collins had first arrived at Longbourn, he had shown an interest in Lizzy but, the more Mrs. Bennet tried to help the relationship, the more Lizzy had resisted it. It seemed that Lizzy did not deem the game worth taking if she had not personally secured the kill. For this reason, Mrs. Bennet had quietly nudged Mary to include Mr. Whatshisname at the table with Lizzy. Mrs. Bennet could no longer even remember the excuse she had offered, but it was of no matter. She had achieved her goal, and it appeared her plan was working. This time, she would sit back and stay out of it.

Next, Mrs. Bennet's eyes fell on Jane, her beautiful, ethereal daughter. How was it possible that Jane had still not found her match? Almost against her will, Mrs. Bennet swiveled her head around to the other side of the room and looked at the table where Mr. Charles Bingley sat. Mr. Bennet had demanded that, as their closest neighbors, the Bingleys be invited and, as the Lady Catherine de Bourgh was to stay at Netherfield, Mary had expressed concern that they might offend Lady Catherine if an invitation to the Bingleys was withheld. Jane too had argued that Mr. Bingley had made no promises and should not, therefore, be held responsible for her broken heart. But Mrs. Bennet knew that the man was no gentleman and Jane had been ill-used. Never someone to waste an eligible bachelor, Mrs. Bennet had orchestrated placing both Lizzy and Jane at the table near that lawyer fellow Lizzy would be marrying. She had resolved to let him have his pick, but she was pleased to see he selected Lizzy. With Jane's beauty, a more advantageous match could certainly be found.

Mrs. Bennet had never been described as intelligent and, she was a great deal more fond of gossip than politics, but there was one small area of life where her mind demonstrated a level of analytical ability and insight that seemed very out of character. This area of expertise was finding eligible bachelors. Once a bachelor was found, Mrs. Bennet was no better at helping to secure him than she was at chess, but there were none her equal when it came to identifying and selecting potential suitors. Like a tiger, Mrs. Bennet surveyed the jungle to find Jane's man. She examined each potential prey, mentally rating them based on income, manners, appearance, connections, ability to capture, and proximity of residence in relation to Longbourn. She didn't skip any possibility and, so it happened that once again, her eyes landed on that dastardly Bingley. Much to her surprise, this time his gaze was fixed on Jane and there was an unmistakable look of longing present. Yet, Mrs. Bennet wondered, was he able to be captured and, if so, how had he escaped Jane's capture once already?

Mrs. Bennet studied the man, and her answer was quickly made apparent. Miss Bingley looked at her brother, followed his gaze, and immediately her countenance changed. She then drew her brother into a conversation she had been having with Charlotte Lucas. Miss Bingley was the problem! If Mrs. Bennet had been anyone else, she would have pondered why Miss Bingley might object to the match, but Mrs. Bennet's mental facilities were exhausted. She had figured out that Miss Bingley had somehow dissuaded her brother from Jane, and forming that conclusion took every last ounce of concentration and thought her brain possessed. She would need to engage in mindless chit chat for the next few days to recover. At some point, she would have to ask a Lizzy to figure out Miss Bingley's motives. For now, she would relax knowing that Mr. Bingley was back on the table and Elizabeth was practically engaged. She was simply too tired to now deal with the failures of Lydia and Kitty's future husbands in making their presence known. For now, she would need to be satisfied with the progress she had made, which was something she was very much willing to do.

Mr. Darcy, silently fuming, attempted to distract himself from the conversation that had now formed between Mr. Kent and Elizabeth. Prior to his aunt's interference, they hadn't spoken more than five words to each other. For some inexplicable reason, the man had been engaging his aunt in conversation before his aunt had decided to arrange for an outing in which Elizabeth would be showing the two of them sights in the area. Once Elizabeth had taken over to arrange the specifics, Mr. Kent felt emboldened to engage his Elizabeth in conversation. Of course she wasn't actually his Elizabeth, but he certainly had more claim to her than this Mr. Kent. And the man was so damn charming. But then again, anyone that could hold a conversation with his aunt, for as long as he had, required charm. Darcy had actually appreciated this quality when it was directed toward his aunt, but now that the recipient was Elizabeth, Darcy felt maddened. Darcy had been somewhat comforted when Elizabeth had indicated she had an engagement tomorrow that would require the tour to conclude by two in the afternoon. At least their outing would only occupy the morning. Mr. Darcy turned his attentions to Miss Bennet hoping for distraction. Before he could open his mouth he noted that she was preoccupied staring at his good friend sitting on the other side of the room. This revelation pulled Mr. Darcy into his own thoughts and provided the distraction for which he had been searching.

Several months prior, Mr. Darcy had been approached by Miss Caroline Bingley. Much like himself, Caroline had noticed a growing admiration between her brother and Miss Bennet. It was obvious that the Bennets were not a family equal in wealth to the Bingleys. Miss Bingley had asked Darcy for assistance saving her brother from such an inopportune match. The irony of this request was not lost on Mr. Darcy, having himself grown steadily attached to one of the Bennet sisters and knowing that such a match was even more imbalanced in his own case. Mr. Darcy's chief concern for his friend was whether the affection was mutual. Mr. Darcy feared the lady was simply looking for a husband and had no particular fondness for Mr. Bingley. Convincing Mr. Bingley that he had failed to capture the lady's heart, the party left Hertfordshire for London where both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley glumly waited for life to pass.

A month after their arrival in London, Sir William encountered Mr. Bingley while in town. The elder gentleman mentioned that he had heard one of the Bennet sisters had become engaged, but he was unable to recall which sister would become the lucky bride. This news was enough to drive Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, as well as Miss Bingley, back to Netherfield where the men were relieved to find it was Miss Mary Bennet that would partake in the upcoming nuptials. While it may have been prudent to then return to London, the heart can sometimes exert greater control over a man's actions than the mind. So, each man found himself in purgatory, living within reach of the object of his affection but feeling the need to resisting the overpowering urge to pursue her. Each day, this resolve weakened, and both men were now at the breaking point, scheming to find ways to bring about chance encounters.

Having lost himself in thought, Darcy was unaware that he was absentmindedly staring at Miss Bennet. She, however, felt his gaze and averted her eyes away from Mr. Bingley with more than a twinge of embarrassment. As she pulled her eyes away from Mr. Bingley, Mr. Steven Lucas, who had been sitting at the table with Mr. Bingley and his own sister Charlotte, caught the slight movement. He misinterpreted Miss Bennet's action believing that she had been looking at him. Mr. Lucas was a year younger than Miss Bennet and had always been drawn to her beauty and grace. He did recognize that being younger, he would probably never be considered as a serious suitor, and he was not ignorant of Miss Bennet's recent heartache. After all, his sister was quite close to the family. Still, Steven's ears would perk up when the topic revolved around Jane. Having nursed a childhood fantasy about Miss Bennet for years, the thought that she had stolen a glance at him was sufficient encouragement for the young man to at least call on the Bennet sisters. He resolved to muster up his courage and visit Longbourn on the morrow.

“Mr. Darcy?” Jane asked after she had waited an appropriate time for him to address her.

Darcy snapped out of his reflections and realized he had been staring, most likely at Miss Bennet, for several minutes. “Yes, Miss Bennet,” Darcy's mind raced. He had certainly intended to engage Miss Bennet in conversation a few moments prior, but he could not remember for the life of him what he had intended to say. “I was wondering if you will have the occasion to visit London to attend some of the events next season,” he said, cursing himself for failing to think of something better. His conversation with women had been fairly limited in recent months, and talk of balls or social gatherings had always entertained Caroline Bingley.

“I had not been planning a trip, but I may visit my Aunt and Uncle in London next season,” Jane answered politely. “Are you and… the other residents of Netherfield returning soon?”

“No. At least we have no plans to hurry back at present.” Darcy again admonished himself. He had no interest in social events and it was becoming obvious that Miss Bennet would not be taking the lead on this topic. He'd need to try again. “I believe your sister, Mrs. Collins, will find the rectory quite comfortably. Prior to Mr. Collins' appointment, I spent many happy hours there visiting with the former clergyman. We both had an obsession with chess.”

Jane, who was shy to begin with, felt an odd sense of loss talking to a man so very close to Mr. Bingley. She saw Mr. Darcy’s admission as an escape from the conversation. “Lizzy plays chess!” Jane turned to her sister and tapped her shoulder. “Lizzy, it seems Mr. Darcy enjoys chess. You might enjoy discussing strategies him,” Jane ventured, hoping to deflect the conversation in her sister's direction.

Lady Catherine looked indignant. “Who's ever heard of a lady playing chess?” she scoffed.

“Oh,” said Elizabeth, “I wouldn't profess to playing so much as dabbling. I am afraid Jane, that my abilities would be no match against Mr. Darcy, and I could not hope to provide him with any strategic insight that he would not already possess.” Elizabeth had been enjoying her conversation with Mr. Kent and was neither interested in redirecting her attentions to the arrogant man sitting across from Jane nor suffering Lady Catherine's rebuke over her choices in pastimes. Jane realized her error as soon as Lizzy spoke and felt guilt for trying to shift her burden to her sister.

At the mention of chess, Mr. Kent 's attention was captured. “I play chess!” he blurted.

Mr. Darcy smiled. “Perhaps you can come to Netherfield an hour early tomorrow, and we can have a game,” Mr. Darcy offered. Mr. Darcy now had a plan, and his mood was quickly improving.