Page 10 of The Cheapside Runners
Miss Bingley seemed to have a burr in her blanket, or perhaps she was remembering that Darcy had commented on Miss Elizabeth’s fine eyes at Lucas Lodge, but either way she just wanted to keep pushing and prodding.
“Miss Elizabeth, you said you are not a great reader, and you have pleasure in many things. Why not cards?”
“I did not say I do not play cards,” she replied with thinly disguised annoyance. “I said I was content with my book.”
Darcy had been paying little attention to his own cards, and gave even more to the conversation, which was frankly more interesting.
After a bit of back and forth between the two, Miss Bingleyfinally asked in a tone of poisoned honey, “We could play for pence, if you prefer.”
The intended slight was not particularly subtle, even though it was disguised as concern for the comfort of her guest and her purse.
Darcy watched Miss Elizabeth like a hawk, wondering if she was going to lose her temper. It seemed unlikely, but one could always hope.
Nobody seemed willing to dive into the middle of a cat fight, and Miss Elizabeth stared her adversary down for what seemed quite a long time, though it was probably only a few moments.
She finally replied. “I am happy to play cards if you insist, but any team game seems unfair since you have all known each other for years, and I have no notion of your relative skills. If you are so desperate for me to play, I shall oblige you. The game is Brag[1]. I shall play until I need to return to Jane.”
With that, she jumped up from the sofa, walked out into the corridor for a moment, then returned and dropped five guineas on the table, which she obviously had secreted in a pocket somewhere since she had no reticule.
Everyone stared in shock, and she asked nonchalantly, “If that is too rich for your blood, I suppose we could use Miss Bingley’s idea of pence, though I do not have anything that small.”
Darcy shook his head and wondered. They had been playing high, but not five guineas high. He did occasionally play for that and more, and he knew men who gambled away entire estates and fortunes—but it was a remarkably high bet for a simple country house. Apparently, Miss Elizabethdidhave a temper, and she was throwing down the gauntlet. Those stakes were enormous in their current situation, probably one to three month’s allowance for the lady. Darcy doubted Hurst could afford to lose very many games at that level—not that the manwould think himself in the slightest dangerfrom a woman.
The rest of the party sat down while Hurst shuffled, and they started the vastly more interesting game. Play commenced for a few minutes, before conversation resumed unevenly.
Miss Bingley was constitutionally incapable of silence, so she made a few comments about Darcy’s sister. He didnotwant to discuss her for obvious reasons, so he gave one-word answers, none of which impeded Miss Bingley in the least.
“How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners! And so extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite.”
Darcy grumbled at the topic but obviously had to keep such mutterings to himself.
“It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.”
“All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you mean?”
“Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses. I scarcely know anyone who cannot do all this, and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”
Darcy thought it might be better to concentrate on such accomplishments as refraining from eloping with scoundrels. He could not say that, of course, not to mention the fact that play was continuing, and he was not doing particularly well.
In the end, he alluded to only knowing half a dozen truly accomplished women, hoping that would shut the discussion down.No such luck.
Miss Elizabeth seemed to take particular delight in goading Miss Bingley, though she was still studiously avoiding Darcy as far as he could tell.
“You must comprehend a great deal in your idea of anaccomplished woman,” she threw out nonchalantly as she laid down three of a kind and claimed the pot.
Everyone stared a bit at that, though why they did not expect a simple country girl to win occasionally was a mystery.
Miss Bingley took the bait readily.“No one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved.”
“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”
He had no idea why he said that, or even if he cared at all about the discussion. He mostly was poking the bear—trying to goad Miss Elizabeth into answering him directly.
The deal had come to Miss Elizabeth, who shuffled and dealt skilfully. Of course, every young lady had some skill with cards, so the ability to shuffle well meant little. Darcy waited anxiously to see if Miss Elizabeth would have anything to add to the discussion, and if so, if she would respond to Caroline, himself, or the table at large.
She glanced around the table and seemed ready to let the subject drop (wisely), but Bingley was not quite ready to let it go. “What think you, Miss Elizabeth?”
“About what?”
