Page 23 of The Wager
ThefirstweekofNovember, the Bennet carriage pulled to a stop in front of Lucas Lodge, their door quickly opened by one of Sir William’s footmen. Given the abnormal drop in temperature, no one wished to stay in the frigid air longer than necessary.
“Come along, my dears,” Papa said after he handed out his wife and three eldest daughters. “Johnson wants to get the horses back to Longbourn and our warm stable.” He looked up at the carriage driver. “Come back in four hours. If there is a change, I shall have Sir William send a rider.”
With that, the carriage moved off and the Bennet quintet hurried into Lucas Lodge where Sir William awaited in the vestibule.
“Bennet, Mrs. Bennet, we are delighted you and your lovely daughters braved the cold to attend our dinner party.”
“What is a bit of frost between friends, eh, Lucas?”
“You are in luck. The Netherfield party arrived not ten minutes before you. Everyone is here and after a bit of visiting and comparing gowns, Lady Lucas will call for supper to be served.”
Jane, Elizabeth, and Mary continued to the main drawingroom, quickly finding Charlotte and joining her to catch up on all the latest news from Meryton. They had barely started conversing when Mr. Bingley and Viscount Ashton joined them.
Jane had been uniformly silent about the possibility of her having two beaux. The viscount, claiming familial connections, had swung by Longbourn several times in the past few weeks, ostensibly to visit with Papa, but it was not uncommon to find him in the parlor with the ladies as they sewed or took care of other small household tasks. On the other hand, Mr. Bingley only attended whenever anyone from Netherfield came for tea. It was during these visits Mr. Darcy also came tither and politely sat with Elizabeth, much to Miss Bingley’s chagrin.
Elizabeth’s musings were interrupted by a gasp from Jane, followed by a low chuckle over something the viscount said. The embers of Elizabeth’s sense of humor were stoked as she watched Mr. Bingley come to a slow realization his hunting field hosted another predator. Mr. Darcy showed no reaction, solidifying Elizabeth’s belief he was fully aware his cousin had been beating a path to Longbourn’s door.
She wondered why he did not join his cousin. Surely, if Viscount Ashton could lay claim to a familial connection – the reason he gave for his first surprising arrival just as they sat down to breakfast – then so could Mr. Darcy. He was as much a part of her father’s family as the viscount. His great-aunt, Lady Minerva Fitzwilliam-Hamilton, was her and Jane’s grandmother.
Awareness shivered across the back of her neck and she slowly turned to find the gaze of Mr. Darcy resting on their group. It would be foolhardy to imagine his attention was focused solely on her, even though he intimated as much at the assembly. Perhaps he was bored and she and Jane, along with the viscount, were the only people of rank he felt he could associate with.
Her brow furrowed.
That line of reasoning did not hold water as the taciturn gentleman was a good friend to Mr. Bingley. Granted, Mr. Bingley was very wealthy, but still… his roots were deep in trade. Her inner conflict was put into abeyance when Mr. Darcy joined them.
“Good evening, Miss Hamilton, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Good evening, Mr. Darcy,” she and Jane said in perfect unison.
Mr. Darcy turned to Mary.
“Pardon me, Miss Bennet. I did not see you. My cousin blocked you from my view.” He gave her a polite half-bow. “Good evening to you, Miss Bennet.”
Mary smiled in her shy way and returned the greeting before saying, “I am going to ask Charlotte if she minds me playing some music in the background before we dine.”
“That would be lovely,” Elizabeth enthused. “I do hope you play the song you have been working on this week.”
Mary ducked her head at her sister’s praise.
“I am not prepared to play that piece in public. Mayhap on our next gathering.”
“You enjoy playing the pianoforte, Miss Bennet?” Mr. Darcy asked.
“I do.”
“My sister, Georgiana, also loves to play that instrument. Have you had any instruction from one of the masters?”
“Papa invited Senor Giovanni to Longbourn last Autumn. He came for a few weeks to assess my ability and then I stayed with our aunt and uncle in town to further my instruction from him.”
Mr. Darcy’s eyebrows rose upon hearing the name of Mary’s music master.
“Senor Giovanni? My sister has longed to be tutored by him. You must have a rare talent, Miss Bennet. He is very particular in his choice of students.”
“I am aware and very humbled. He inspires me to work hard.”
“Her diligence has benefited us,” Elizabeth added. “Our family is treated to a concerto nearly every day.”
“I must make an effort to attend one of these impromptu musicales,” Mr. Darcy teased, never removing his gaze from Elizabeth.
