That smile was not entirely genuine. Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst would be the object of gossip on the morrow, Elizabeth was sure of it.
The night wore on.
Charlotte spoke with and partnered Mr. Collins, whose smug expression bothered Elizabeth. Jane, always eager to soothe ruffled feathers, then allowed Mr. Collins to partner with her for a time, and Elizabeth did the same to provide Jane a little relief. Mr. Collins did not have a sharp memory, nor was there any quickness about him.
“Miss Elizabeth!” he chided her for the third time. “My dear cousin, you have no head for cards. The trump is clubs!”
“No, Mr. Collins,” she corrected him as sweetly as she could stand, “the trump is diamonds.”
“That cannot be so,” he said decidedly.
“And yet Eliza is correct, Mr. Collins,” Charlotte confirmed. “Clubs was the trump in our previous game.” She gave Elizabeth a sympathetic look.
Fortunately, Mr. Collins eventually grew weary of playing. He participated in a few hands of lottery, but even there, Lydia was the winner, and not a gracious one, as she crowed happily about her luck. After speaking for a time with Charlotte and then again with Lady Lucas, he wandered outside. He was in want of some air, he said. He was not much missed.
Not long after, the gathering broke up. Mr. Collins was already in the carriage awaiting them when Mr. Darcy and Mr. Fitzwilliam handed them all up.
“I hope you enjoyed the evening, Mr. Collins,” Jane said sincerely.
“As much as I was able, cousin,” he said stiffly. “I thank you.”
Mr. Fitzwilliam climbed into the carriage and took his place in the centre of the rear-facing bench, separating Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy with ease and without comment.
Longbourn was going to be a very tense place for the next week. Elizabeth truly did wish that the man would just go home.
Chapter Seventeen
“ImeanttoaskMr. Collins to depart as he has not respected my instructions about leaving the girls alone,” Bennet said the next morning as he rubbed the back of his neck. “However, I found him already prepared to leave. He has received an invitation to Lucas Lodge.”
They had only just finished breaking their fast and had gathered at the stables to plan their day. First, they would visit town so that Bennet might speak with Jensen himself. Then they would return to the estate and speak with a tenant who, instead of constantly draining a wet field, was growing rhubarb on it.
“Lucas Lodge?” Fitzwilliam asked sharply. “Whatever for?”
Darcy waited for the stableboy to saddle his horse for him. He was used to doing that work himself, and even after being in England since the summer, he still observed every move. If anything was done poorly, he would step in and correct it. Longbourn’s staff had learnt how he preferred things done within the first weeks, but still he watched until he was satisfied. That done, his eyes drifted over to the other men.
Bennet shrugged. “Lady Lucas has been trying to marry off Miss Lucas for an age.” He nodded at the man securing his saddle. “I do hope she is unsuccessful. The young lady deserves better than Collins. If she finds herself in difficulty, I will not hesitate to make her an offer myself, though she might not care for me, as old as I am.”
There was no sign that Bennet was attempting to provoke Fitzwilliam, but the general could be difficult to read.
Darcy was nearly certain his cousin still favoured Miss Lucas, but Fitzwilliam held firm to his desire to speak with his father when they returned to London. Miss Lucas was sensible and intelligent, and suffered none of Fitzwilliam’s foolishness. She might not possess the beauty of the Bennet girls, but she was not plain. He rather thought she was just what Fitzwilliam needed, but he was a stubborn man where his duty called. Watching Fitzwilliam refuse to give in to his heart made Darcy even more determined to give in to his. He was ready to be happy.
“I am considering your advice to me when first I mentioned Collins, Fitzwilliam,” Bennet said, patting his horse before swinging up into the saddle. “I had hoped he would have enough integrity to see that a great deal of responsibility comes with the inheritance of an estate, yet there is both a sort of idleness and a meanness to him I cannot like.” He smiled. “I, too, must sometimes war against my desire simply to sit near the fire, particularly when the day is wet and cold, and my books call to me. But I push on. A lifetime of discipline has not deserted me. No, I cannot leave the estate and its people to the mercy of a man like Collins if I can avoid it. I must marry again and make the attempt to sire an heir.” He shook his head. “She must be a woman, not a girl, but one still of childbearing age.”
He rode off, leaving that remark hanging in the air.
“Are you yet determined to leave Miss Lucas here when we depart?” Darcy asked as they mounted their own horses.
“That is my business,” Fitzwilliam said sharply. “Have you spoken with Bennet about Miss Elizabeth?”
If Fitzwilliam meant that to sting, it did not. A warm smile stole across Darcy’s features. “Not yet,” he replied. “But I have a plan.”
Fitzwilliam sighed. “Please, spare me your raptures.”
Darcy barked out a laugh at the misapplied insult. There was no man alive less likely to rhapsodise about the state of his suit, and his cousin knew it. Fitzwilliam just rolled his eyes and spurred his horse after Bennet.
Elizabeth intended to walk out with Mary to see the Porters, another tenant family, when Jane appeared in the hall.
“Lizzy,” she said, “we are invited to take tea with Caroline and Louisa today. Will you attend?”