Discreetly handled. Mrs. Bennet was a better mistress than he would have supposed.
“How long must you wear that sling, Mr. Bingley?” Miss Lydia asked.
“Lydia,” Miss Bennet said warningly.
The girl blinked. “Yes?”
Bingley chuckled. “A few weeks, Miss Lydia, but I am already feeling a good deal better. I must admit, being able to leave my chamber has done me a world of good.” He shared a glance with Miss Bennet.
“I always feel the same whenever I am ill,” Miss Lydia declared with a nod.
“As do I,” Miss Kitty affirmed.
Miss Mary glared at her sisters and gave one disapproving shake of her head.
At the other end of the table, Mr. Collins sat in his seat near Mrs. Bennet, sullenly shoving his food into his mouth.
Mrs. Bennet, however, was not to be outdone by her daughters. “Mr. Bingley is welcome to remain here for his entire convalescence, I am sure, for he cannot return to Netherfield without a mistress to run the house for him.”
“Mother,” Miss Elizabeth said quietly, “I am sure Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy know they are both welcome, but we must allow them to make their own arrangements.”
“You ought not speak to your mother in so flippant a manner, Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Collins replied haughtily, speaking at last. “You must honour your mother and father.”
Mary nodded.
“Yes, Miss Lizzy,” Mrs. Bennet said, making a face that reminded Darcy of a prune. “Your cousin is a clergyman. You ought to listen to him.”
“We have listened to him. All week long,” Miss Lydia said with a dramatic sigh.
Darcy might have to rethink his assessment of Miss Lydia after all. There was a certain pleasure in the company of someone who said what everyone else was thinking.
“We have been a burden on your housekeeping, Mrs. Bennet,” Bingley said, kindly but firmly taking the reins of the conversation and attempting to guide it back to safety. “When I am ready to sit in a carriage for the short trip back to the Netherfield, Darcy and I will take our leave.”
“And I would thank you, Mr. Collins,” Mr. Bennet said mordantly, “not to take my daughters to task. As their father, I believe that is my responsibility, and just as in that matter we discussed a few days ago, I have not relinquished it.”
“Do you mean when Mr. Collins proposed to Lizzy, Papa?” Miss Kitty asked. She was not teasing, for both her words and tone were genuinely earnest, but her younger sister guffawed, and then they were both tittering.
“Kitty,” Miss Mary hissed. “We do not speak of such things before guests.”
The goose turned rancid in Darcy’s mouth. It still bothered him enormously. To see Elizabeth married to another would be difficult enough. To see her wed to a man so unworthy of her would be agony. He swallowed and tried to regain his senses. She had not accepted, for Mr. Collins was betrothed to Miss Lucas. He had no reason to be bitter and indeed no right to be.
“It is fortunate for Mr. Bingley,” Miss Lydia said in the loudest whisper Darcy had ever heard. “Mr. Collins’s awful proposal is what sent Lizzy fleeing out of doors.”
“I can only be happy for the outcome, then,” Bingley said. Bless him, for Darcy still could not find his tongue. “Now that Mr. Collins has been accepted by Miss Lucas, all has turned out for the best.”
Miss Elizabeth made a little squeaking sound. Even in the candlelight, the fierceness of her blush was something to behold.
Mr. Collins, on the other hand, was highly offended. He opened his mouth, and Darcy dreaded what would come next.
“It has indeed, for my patroness, the esteemed Lady Catherine de Bourgh, would have been seriously displeased had I brought home a foolish bride.”
“Oh, Mr. Collins,” Mrs. Bennet said with a wave of a hand, “one thing you cannot say about Elizabeth is that she is foolish.”
Darcy lifted his eyebrows at that. Mrs. Bennet was defending her second daughter instead of disparaging her?
Miss Elizabeth was nearly as surprised, if her widened eyes and parted lips were any evidence. He had never seen her so flustered, and a strong wave of protectiveness for her and revulsion of her cousin prompted him to re-join the conversation.
“I believe Lady Catherine rather enjoys the conversation of intelligent, witty women,” Darcy said. “She would have been delighted with Miss Elizabeth. Whether Miss Elizabeth would have been as delighted withmy aunt. . . Now, that I cannot say.”