Page 33 of An Accidental Meeting
“I do beg your pardon, Miss Darcy,” Miss Bingley said hurriedly. “You must know I would never insinuate such a thing.”
“Of course not,” the girl said, but the tone of her quiet words was not at all comforting.
“We were just having a discussion about our favourite composers,” Mrs. Gardiner said soothingly. “Do you both play?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Hurst replied, swiftly recovering from her gaffe. “Every accomplished woman must.”
Miss Darcy stood and rang the bell, then asked the maid who arrived to bring the tea as the ladies had not stopped for breakfast.
When it arrived, Elizabeth was startled, for the food that had been served at breakfast was now augmented by cold meats and a variety of summer fruits served in colourful pyramids. She wondered how many people worked in the kitchen alone to produce such feasts one after the other.
Soon they were gathered around a table, and the conversation stilled. Elizabeth and her aunt put only a few small fruits on their plates, for they had eaten their fill not long ago.
Aunt Gardiner cut her slices of peach neatly into tiny pieces before lifting them to her mouth with her fork. “These are delightful,” she said.
Elizabeth was almost certain she saw Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst roll their eyes at nearly the same time. When she glanced at Miss Darcy and Mrs. Annesley, she realised that they had seen it too. Aunt Gardiner’s mouth turned up slightly at the corners, and Elizabeth almost felt sorry for Mrs. Hurst. Almost.
“I understand, Mrs. Hurst, that you are also a Bingley,” Aunt Gardiner said innocently.
Mrs. Hurst pursed her lips. “I was, before I married my husband.”
“We are well met, then,” Aunt Gardiner said. “For your father was a mentor of sorts to my husband, when first he entered the business of textiles and again when he began to expand.”
“My father was not involved in business,” Mrs. Hurst said tartly.
“Truly? Perhaps this Mr. Bingley was a more distant relation.” Aunt Gardiner delicately placed another bit of peach in her mouth. “Though my husband did sayhisMr. Bingley was the owner of Bingley & Sons. His father too, was in trade, you see. They were an inspiration for my husband, coming from humbler beginnings than his, yet rising to great success.”
Mrs. Hurst shook her head. “They may be distant relations of some sort. I would not know.”
Miss Bingley frowned. Elizabeth wondered whether she was offended by Aunt Gardiner’s blithe reminder of their family’s connection to trade, or it was possible that Miss Bingley did not like her father being quite so publicly disavowed. It was not consistent with what she knew of the woman, but she reminded herself that people were not always as they appeared. Her own presence here was proof of that.
“My brother is a gentleman,” Miss Bingley said. “Eventually he will select an estate to purchase.”
Elizabeth did not venture to remark that Mr. Bingley was already leasing one. Aunt Gardiner had made her point and was satisfied. She always knew when to stop, and Elizabeth was determined to follow her example.
“I wish him good fortune in his search,” Aunt Gardiner said calmly.
Elizabeth thought back on her rejection of Mr. Darcy’s offer of marriage. He had made her so angry, demanding to know why he had been refused, that she had lost all restraint. She could not have accepted the proposal he had offered and retain any portion of her dignity, but she might have attempted to remain polite, no matter how strained that civility might have been. It was what Aunt Gardiner would have done.
“Miss Darcy,” she said, attempting to move them away from less comfortable subjects. “My aunt and I have seen only a small portion of the grounds, but they were delightful. Do you have a favourite place in the park?”
This led them all onto safer ground, and Elizabeth was pleased with the approving glance her aunt bestowed upon her.
They spoke for a time about riding—Elizabeth had to admit that she was no horsewoman, something which Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley remarked upon rather less cuttingly than they had in the past. Miss Darcy kindly suggested that Mr. Darcy might be willing to offer her lessons while they were in residence, for never was there a more patient teacher.
Mrs. Hurst’s nose wrinkled, and Miss Bingley’s thin lips flattened.
“I would not dare to presume upon your brother’s time in such a way, Miss Darcy,” Elizabeth demurred.
“There are a great many beauties on the estate that are not easily accessible unless you can ride. Brother would be pleased to teach you, I am sure.”
Aunt Gardiner deftly steered the discussion in another direction.
A few minutes later Miss Darcy asked whether they had seen Pemberley’s folly, and Elizabeth smiled. “A few years ago, my mother mentioned building a folly. My father told my mother he would have a hermit on the estate before he built a folly. Ithink he was in jest, but Mamma took him at his word and had a hermit installed within the month.”
“Elizabeth’s mother is forever telling the most amusing stories about him,” Aunt Gardiner said. “Do you and your brother have one?”
Mamma was constantly harping at the poor fellow and her stories were little more than a litany of complaints about the expense of fashion, but Elizabeth did not say as much.
