Page 73 of The Briar Bargain
Bingley rose from his chair as well. "Ah, Caroline! You have missed Darcy's grand defence of my mangled Latin."
His friend's pleased greeting was genuine, as it always was when it came to his sisters. Darcy had long known that Bingley possessed a nearly inexhaustible well of familial affection, even when the recipient proved herself undeserving. Had he not known that Bingley had plans to send his sister to their family, he might have worried that Miss Bingley was again about to exploit his friend’s good nature.
Miss Bingley gave a low, musical laugh as she returned to her chair. "I hope that someone will relate the tale to me later." She glanced at Darcy.
That would never happen. He sat and said nothing, sipping his wine and allowing the silence to speak for itself.
“I shall, I shall,” Bingley assured his sister as he resumed his own seat.
Miss Bingley’s lips straightened, but she resumed her seat, folding her napkin just so and surveying the table, appearing eager to reclaim a part in the conversation.
“I have always adored that gown on you,” Mrs. Hurst said quietly.
Darcy thought Mrs. Hurst might be issuing a compliment to encourage more diversity in the colours Miss Bingley wore. It would be to her benefit, for she did look elegant in this ensemble.
“Thank you, Louisa.”
The conversation had turned to musical accomplishments, an inescapable topic at such dinners, and one Darcy usually endured rather than enjoyed. If the conversation revolved around the music itself, he would enjoy it more, but it was nearly always a paean of the musician instead.
"Of course, the pianoforte and the harp remain the most elegant instruments," Miss Bingley said with the sort of knowing tone she reserved for remarks she believed clever, "but novelty has its charm. Only last season, Miss Grantley and I encouraged a dear girl from the country to take up the tambourine."
Darcy's knife paused mid-cut.Tambourine?The instrument would mark the player instantly as coarse, a fixture of wandering musicians at country festivals or a woman who walked the boards. No gentlewoman would dream of even owning such a thing, let alone playing it in polite society. Toencourageits use, even in jest, was not merely unkind, it was cruelty masquerading as wit. She had deceived some poor innocent very badly.
He saw Elizabeth glance up, brows delicately arched. Her voice, when she spoke, was light but alert. "The tambourine, Miss Bingley?"
"Oh yes," Miss Bingley replied, clearly relishing the memory. "Lord Aston once made some remark about admiring Spanish dancers. I suggested, in jest, mind you, that the young lady cultivate an exotic flair to please him.She took it rather seriously. She brought the thing to his musical evening, but we were certain to tell her it had been a joke." Laughter bubbled from her lips. "We called her the Spanish Minstrel for weeks."
Darcy’s jaw tightened. He had witnessed such cruelty before, dressed in the finest silks and delivered with the sweetest smiles. It was the province of some who had known uncertainty themselves to find amusement in the uncertainties of others. That Miss Bingley should so casually confess to orchestrating another's humiliation revealed a callousness he found increasingly difficult to overlook. He thought of his younger sister Georgiana, of how easily she might become such an object of ridicule in the wrong company should she falter or try too hard. The thought turned his stomach.
Across the table, Louisa Hurst's expression had stiffened. Her gaze dropped to her plate, and she reached for her wine glass with a too-careful hand. She had likely been present for the incident. Perhaps not complicit. Darcy noted with some satisfaction that rather than amused, she appeared a little ashamed.
His eyes shifted to Miss Elizabeth, whose face remained composed. There was no smile, no encouraging nod, no attempt to join in the merriment at another's expense. Instead, she regarded Miss Bingley evenly.
“How clever you must have felt," she said softly.
The words were mild enough, yet Darcy heard the frost beneath them. Something twisted in his chest, though whether it was admiration for her restraint or guilt at being linked, however distantly, with Miss Bingley, he could not tell. Likely both.
Miss Bennet, calm and serene as ever, interjected before the silence could deepen. "How very unfortunate. One hopes she has recovered from the embarrassment."
Her words carried the gentle reproach that her sister had delivered more pointedly but wrapped in such kindness that even Miss Bingley could not take offense.
Their hostess waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, we did not allow her to actually play. It was most amusing."
Darcy doubted the young woman had been spared embarrassment as Miss Bingley claimed. Everyone would have seen the poor girl carrying the instrument and the talk would have been humiliating. Even if she had escaped detection, the mockery Miss Bingley and her friend had perpetuated remained no less distasteful. There was no kindness in making a spectacle of another's ignorance, and certainly no honour in actuallyplanningsuch a thing. It spoke poorly of Miss Bingley’s character that she saw no distinction between a jest and a joust.
Bingley, ever eager to rescue a conversation and far too gentle-hearted to do so directly, turned to Miss Bennet with a hopeful smile. "Miss Bennet, did you not mention a story about your sister and a wager the other day?"
Bless his friend's good heart. Darcy ought to have thought to do something, but his temper was not yet under good regulation.
Miss Bennet took the cue without hesitation, her relief evident in the brightening of her expression. “Oh yes, Elizabeth, do tell the story about poor Mr. Harper's dog."
"Oh, dear. The bonnets?"
Miss Bennet nodded, laughter already threatening.
Miss Elizabeth glanced around the table, and he could see that her eyes were sparkling. "The Lucas boys wagered us each a new ribbon against our shillings, and in our defence, poor Gadabout looked very charming in muslin."
Darcy felt an involuntary tug at the corner of his mouth. The matter-of-fact delivery of such an absurd statement was something he hadbegun to expect with Miss Elizabeth. She seemed to possess an inexhaustible capacity for levity. It was something he would not have thought he would enjoy. But he did.
