Page 76 of See, Hear, Speak No Evil, Mr. Darcy
“You may go if you wish, Mary. We will see you this evening at your aunt’s house,” Mrs. Bennet said, lifting her cheek for Mary to kiss. “Give my regards to Miss Darcy and Mr. Bingley’s sisters.” She patted Mary’s cheek in turn.
“Thank you, Mother. Do take care if you see Mr. Collins,” Mary said, moving toward the door.
“I shall not encounter him. Your father verified he caught the post coach and is not staying at the inn. And now Mr. Darcy goes to speak with his aunt. He is certain to discuss his displeasure at the parson who thought to compromise genteel ladies and lives so near Miss de Bourgh. Mr. Darcy claims he does not intend to marry his cousin, but he is fiercely protective of his family.”
“That is a relief. Might I join you on your trip to Meryton, Mother?” Elizabeth asked.
“I see no reason why you should not. Do you still wish to walk to Meryton, Jane?”
“I shall prefer collecting the rosehips and berries Mary intended to pick this afternoon. Would you like to join me in the gardens, Sisters?”
“I would like to very much,” Lydia said, setting aside a ribbon she had been matching to her bonnet.
“I will collect our baskets,” Kitty said, following Lydia from the room.
Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth Walk Along the Lane
When Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth set out, there was a protracted silence. At length, Mrs. Bennet looked at her daughter. “Ten thousand a year, Lizzy? Can you even comprehend it? The carriages and the jewels. The pin money!”
“It does sound most intimidating. Shall I beg off?”
“But you like him. Or, I thought you liked him.”
“I do like William Darcy quite well, Mama. But I would ask if we keep this news to ourselves until he returns. Mr. Darcy might change his mind.”
“I will have Mary give him some Belladonna should he do so. I will not see you unhappy.”
“After the settlements are drafted, Mama.”
“That is very Charlotte-like of you. I know you have not a mercenary thought in your head, Lizzy. If you wish to wait until he returns, I must agree. It all seems a dream to me as well.” Mrs. Bennet patted her daughter’s hand.
In Meryton, Mrs. Bennet surveyed two young men who spoke with the Goudlings’ nieces. Once the young ladies were inside the drapers, the smirks and gestures the gentlemen exchanged caused Mrs. Bennet's eyes to widen in surprise, then narrow in disapproval.
“Do you know who they are, Lizzy?” Mrs. Bennet whispered, leaning to her daughter.
“The one in uniform is Lieutenant Denny. I have not met the man he is with. He is fearful handsome.”
“Do not speak to him unless you must,” Mrs. Bennet said. “Watch them, not the girls.”
Elizabeth looked horrified by the sly expressions and gestures the men made to one another. Mrs. Bennet’s stomach turned over when the one Elizabeth had called handsome focused on the youngest girl, who was the same age as her Lydia, mayhap a year younger.
“Thank you, Mother. I know now to be much more on guard for myself and my sisters.”
Mrs. Bennet knew her second daughter well enough to recognize anger blooming in Elizabeth’s cheeks.
“I do not mean to say men do not talk of women,” said Mrs. Bennet as she crossed the street. “Some of it a lady should never hear. Just the same, we would not always want them overhearing our conversations about them. But such open disrespect? Can you imagine your Mr. Darcy or Jane’s Mr. Bingley making such gestures when you turned your back? You are right to deny it, and I agree neither would. We will interrupt them.”
“Mrs. Bennet,” the older of the two Gouldings’ nieces said in alarm.
“Good afternoon,” Mrs. Bennet greeted the group. “If you are done with your errands, I suggest you make your way home.”
Mrs. Bennet watched the girls start off. She saw them look over their shoulders at her, no doubt worrying what she would tell their aunt.
“Mrs. Bennet,” Lieutenant Denny said in the same jovial manner he had affected when speaking with the younger ladies.
When the other gentleman stepped closer to Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet’s shoulders tensed in the same way the hackles on a cat rose when cornered by a dog.
“Denny, would you please introduce me to these two beauties?” The unknown man’s words were said with charm as false as Miss Bingley’s had been at the assembly.
