Page 26 of Master of Netherfield
There was silence for a moment from the carriage as the woman said, “I must return to London immediately, but this wagon is hardly suitable for my person or the person of my daughter.”
Mr Bennet attempted to offer refreshment and rest for the woman, her daughter and her footmen though she would have none of it.
“Then perhaps I could offer Your Ladyship the use of my carriage and team to return to town now. There will be a full moon tonight to light the roads and you and your daughter can be in town in only a few hours,”
“What kind of carriage do you have?”
“Nothing so fine as the carriages Your Ladyship is familiar with, I am certain, but it is reliable, and my coachman and team will deliver you safely to your destination.”
“Very well,” decided the voice. “But hurry!”
Mr Bennet walked to the side of the house and dispatched the coachman and stable boys to once again harness the team to his carriage.
When it pulled into the drive next to the first carriage, Lady Catherine and her daughter and the daughter’s maid all silently stepped from the Goulding’s carriage to the Bennet’s carriage.
“This is totally unsupportable! I cannot be seen in such a wagon!” declared the tall woman who appeared wilted from the confinement of carriages for the entire day.
“Certainly, Your Ladyship! Certainly!” agreed Mr Bennet. “All that is necessary is for you to lower the curtains and no one will see you in London.”
“Very well....”
“And what shall I do with your carriage, coachman and team along the highway madam?” Mr Bennet asked.
“Send for the magistrate. He will care for them and return them to me when I am able to recover them.”
The footmen quickly lowered the curtains and took their places on the carriage–one at the back and the other up top with the Bennet coachman.
“I shall expect you back by luncheon tomorrow, Tolliver,” told the coachman letting the footmen and the passengers hear his order.
“Very good sir,” Tolliver replied.
**++**
As the Bennet coach pulled away, Mr Goulding stepped closer and asked, “But Bennet, you are the magistrate are you not?”
“Indeed, I am,” Mr Bennet replied. He turned as Mr Hill opened the front door to allow Elizabeth and Jane to return to his side, while Mr Jones and his three sons with farm implements in their hands came around the corner of the house.
“Send for a wagon and another team,” he told Mr Jones. “There’s an injured man to recover as well as horses down the road.”
He glanced at his two daughters and nodded, “Yes you may come. Few people have as good a hand with horses as you two have proven this summer.”
**++**
Chapter 12.Lady Catherine’s Horses Founder
Despite the late hour, Mrs Bennet, Elizabeth and Mary followed Mr Bennet from the house to the stable.
“Papa are the horses going to die?” asked Mary nervously holding her mother’s hand.
“I hope not,” Mr Bennet told his youngest. “I sent Mr Hill to Mr Taylor with Jane’s diagnosis of a foundered team of horses to fetch him back.”
“Thomas, why have you sent for the blacksmith?” asked his wife.
Mr Bennet replied quickly, “He has a reputation for saving horses when they founder but Jane has said that the treatment must begin quickly.”
The family entered the Longbourn stable where the darkness was held at bay by several lanterns hung from the rafters. Turning to his steward, Mr Bennet ordered, “Observe extra care with those lanterns. We do not need fire on top of the trouble with horses.”
Jane emerged from the stall where the two bays stood quietly, stamping their feet occasionally, and indicated the stall to her father. “I am certain both of these horses have foundered and require treatment.” Pointing to another stall where the second pair of bays stood as the stable boys brushed their coats she said, “The second pair are in poor shape, but they are not foundered.”
