Page 58 of Till Death Us Do Part: Book 2
Fortunately, the eldest Miss Bennet hissed, “Lydia,” loud enough that he could hear it ten yards away, though apparently not loud enough for the younger lady to desist.
“La, Jane. What are you so vexed about? It is a simple question.”
Jane looked exasperated but resigned, while Darcy could not quite work out what he thought about the interaction. The youngest, Miss Lydia apparently, was bold and brash, completely sure of herself—but so was his wife. Spitting out such a question at that juncture might well be considered indecorous, but at that moment Darcy was far more interested in intelligence than propriety. At the very least, Miss Lydia seemed likely to tell him whatever she knew if he asked nicely.
He dropped from Omega, walked closer to the two women and bowed. “Good morning, Miss Bennet, Miss Lydia.”
Both ladies curtseyed. “Good morning.”
Lydia said, “That is a fearsome handsome horse, Mr Darcy, but I ask again, where is Lizzy? Who are you here to see? How long will you be visiting? Why does Lizzy not write? Will we be able to visit you in town?”
“Lydia, he might have a chance to answer if you could slow the barrage of questions down so he could get a word in edgewise,” a new sister said as she emerged from a footpath. Darcy noticed the fourth appearing right behind the third, the one wearing spectacles, so now he believed he had all the Bennet sisters, and could name half of them, which was progress.
Miss Bennet seemed to guess that he was a bit lost. “Thank you, Mary. Kitty, you remember Mr Darcy,” while looking at each sister in turn to give him an idea of which was which.
Both ladies curtseyed to Darcy’s bow, and the one on the left next to Miss Bennet said, “Good morning, Mr Darcy. Welcome back to Longbourn.”
Darcy bowed to the newcomers. “Miss Mary, Miss Katherine, good morning,” guessing that Kitty was most likely short for Katherine.
Jane said, “If you are here to see our father, he has gone to Hatfield on business. He is expected back for supper.”
“I just came from there myself. It is unfortunate we did not meet.”
Lydia said, “Mama is visiting her sister in Meryton, so she will be away for some hours. Where is Lizzy?”
Mary said, “You still have not given him a chance to answer, and I am not entirely certain it is proper for us to be speaking here in the lane unchaperoned.”
Katherine, or Kitty as she seemed to be called, replied. Darcy vaguely remembered her as the one tied to the hip to Miss Lydia in most of his previous experience.
“You are too fastidious,” Lydia replied. “We are four ladies speaking with ourbrother-in-law,in plain sight, on our own estate. What could possibly be more proper?”
Even though it was summer, there was a cool breeze blowing, there were no bothersome insects, and they were in front of a large tree that shaded the gates, so it was a much better place to talk than a stuffy drawing room. He wondered at the advisability of talking to them seriously without their father present; but considering how badly his last encounter with Mr Bennet had gone, he was not convinced this tête-à-tête was all that bad an idea.
It hit Darcy that, silly as the Bennet sisters might or might not be (and considering how badly he had failed his wife, who was he to judge), and as loud and persistent as the youngest was, Miss Katherine had hit on a home truth. Forced or not, desired or not, good idea or not—these four were now his sisters, and he had some obligation to them. He would have to think about that, as he had not given the Bennets much consideration of any kind since his nuptials. The obligation need not be overt, or overly generous, but it wasthere. If nothing else, their reputations were tied inextricably to his for the duration, though nowhere near as tightly as some would think. The project of getting on his wife’s good side might also be advanced by being civil to her family, or at the very least it would not hurt.
Darcy’s previous discussion with Mr Bennet had degraded into a shouting match, partly because Darcy felt Mr Bennet was more interested in his own amusement than his daughter’s future, and partly because the Bennet patriarch had done absolutely nothing to ensure his daughters were marriageable, and seemed to think most of his problems had been solved handily by his wife.
The indolence Darcymighthave been able to stomach, but not the smirking sense of superiority that just rolled off the elder Mr Bennet. He had become so angry he cut his wife’s pin money to a quarter of what he planned in pique (when the original amount was nothing to boast of), which now shamed him no end. Once again, he reflected that it was no wonder she had left. The only surprise was that she stayed so long.
Looking at all four sisters peering anxiously at him, he decided they would know what was happening sooner or later; and if Mr Bennet, as the supposed head of the household, was angry about Darcy telling them in advance, he could just learn to live with it. Darcy knew full well he would probably be furious if someone did it in his house, but he was more interested inresults than Mr Bennet’s comfort, and the sisters seemed to be the only ones he was likely to get anything out of without drawing blood. He was in no mood to play the fool to Mr Bennet’s sport, so he decided to continue his path.
“Miss Bennet, Miss Mary, Miss Katherine, Miss Lydia. It saddens me to report that—” he began, then paused, staring at the ground while they listened in rapt attention. He finally looked each in the eye, and admitted, “I do not actually know. I hoped to find her here.”
They all gasped in shock, but none seemed as if they were likely to faint or show any other weakness, which Darcy always assumed were mostly for dramatic effect. He had been raised with women like Mrs Reynolds and Mrs Longman, so he knew better than to believe in the supposed fragility of women.
Jane looked quite shaken as she asked in a whisper, “What do you mean, you do not know, Mr Darcy? Have you misplaced your wife?”
The attempt at modest humour was helpful, so Darcy replied, “I have been in France, and quite ill with typhus for six months. When I returned—well—your parents will no doubt be angry that I am telling you this. I will ask your word that it will not be spread about,to anyone,including Mrs Bennet—especiallyMrs Bennet.”
Jane looked at Lydia and Kitty, who appeared like the weak links in the chain, and Lydia said, “La, Jane. I know when to keep my mouth shut, and sinceIwas the only one on Lizzy’s side in the end, I think you can depend on me.”
Not able to follow the conversation, he asked, “What do you mean by ‘Lizzy’s side’,if you do not mind my asking, Miss Lydia?”
He had not actually answered the young lady’s questions, but found her expression curious, and wanted to learn all he could.
All three were looking at him in surprise, until Lydia said, “You do not know?”
“Know what? I confess to some perplexity, but anything you can tell me that might help would be appreciated.”
