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“Have you attempted crop rotation with turnip and clover, Elizabeth?” Darcy was fascinated by all the things that Elizabeth had been doing to benefit the estate without the aid of her father.

There was a pleasant smell of coffee in the air as the servers brought out the dessert. Once again, Darcy relished the meal.

“Yes, though the land we work with is not large enough to show a significant increase in crop yields, it is enough to improve the lives of the tenants,” Elizabeth explained enthusiastically, though she was stymied by the inability to gesture as she normally did.

She had never realized how often she used her hands when she spoke.

The smile that spread across her face as she discussed her efforts to help her people mesmerized Darcy. “How so?”

“My father collects the same amount of rent whether they prosper or starve. Increasing the yields enables the families to get what they need when my father does not provide it,” Elizabeth explained while eyeing the luscious-looking tart being put in front of her.

The meal had been a simple roast and several side dishes, but all of it was good and the dessert looked to be amazing.

“How do you think he would act if the tenants left Longbourn? I know you have worked hard to make their lives livable, but if you and your sisters leave as you one day must, they would find the need to move to greener pastures, so to say.” Theodore was toying with a thought of sending the man to the front in France.

He did not like the idea of Mr. Bennet getting away with so much harm.

He started to devise a plan for the Longbourn tenants.

“I would hate to see any of the families struggle. I do not think that Father would act until he found the problem interrupting his flow of port and books. He would soon find the estate insolvent and heading to bankruptcy.” Elizabeth sat back in her chair, pondering the ramifications of the colonel’s point.

How would she leave all of those families in her father’s brutal grasp?

Upon seeing the panic on Elizabeth’s face, Darcy rushed to reassure her, hoping to abate her fear.

He reached over and squeezed her much smaller hand with his own.

He knew how much all of those families meant to her and he would not see her fret over something he could easily amend.

“You know, I believe Pemberley has several vacancies and could easily find a home for any families looking for a new start.”

Blinking moisture from her eyes, she squeezed his hand in return. “I know that most girls would love jewelry from a man who is courting them, but I think your reassurance just now is worth more than any gems.”

“Do not be so quick to turn down jewelry, Miss Elizabeth. He is bound to put his boot in his mouth again at some point. How else will he get himself out of trouble then?” Theodore cackled at Darcy’s disgruntled look. He was going to have so much fun messing with his cousin now that he was in love.

At the other end of the table, Caroline looked around in confusion.

The meal had been simple, with no excessive sauces or hard-to-get ingredients.

There was nothing special about the meal and yet everyone commented enthusiastically about how good it was.

While she admitted that the food was delicious, no one had ever complimented any of her fancy meals nearly as much.

Her aunt had convinced her she needed to join the meal and quietly listen to everyone.

That was, of course, after she had to clean her own room.

Sweeping up all the broken china and freeing her room of feathers had been a chore she had never attempted before.

She even had to gather her clothes and put them away, though her aunt said they would review her entire wardrobe tomorrow.

The conversations that flowed around her were bewildering.

Jane was discussing someone named Locke with her brother and Mrs. Ansley.

It seemed like so much intellectual falderal.

Miss Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were discussing turnips and crop yields.

How was he so engaged in talking about turnips?

Louisa was laughing at something Georgiana said and smiling at her husband occasionally.

Georgiana was bland. She knew nothing about style or the latest gossip.

Caroline would often spend time with the girl, but she could barely bring herself to smile, let alone laugh.

Even though it all went against the rules for how a proper dinner should proceed, everyone appeared to be having a good time.

No one seemed to care at all that they weren’t following any rules.

“Is there something wrong, Caroline? You seem confused.” Guthrie had been monitoring her niece throughout the meal and easily saw her confusion.

“Why are they all enjoying themselves so much? They never enjoyed themselves like this at any of my dinners. I arranged everything so much better than this, and yet I could believe they would choose this meal over any of mine.” Caroline stared at her plate, unwilling to admit that she thought the plebeian food much better as well.

Guthrie took a sip of her drink before responding.

“Sometimes simpler is better. Not everyone has the stomach for more complicated meals and sauces. I know you were taught that you must serve the best to everyone in order to show your supremacy, but if the food is something they cannot eat, how does it show your superiority?” She guided her niece as kindly as she could.

“They are not even talking about any of the correct things. None of them are talking about any of the topics they taught me to bring up. In fact, I was told specifically to avoid intellectual discussions and talk related to manly responsibilities. Why are the gentlemen encouraging this?” Caroline heard a faint whisper of doubt in her mind as the truth of the situation came into focus. Everyone at the school had misled her.

“Rather than looking for a dull wife in order to satisfy their egos, these men want someone with whom to share life’s joys.

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, and different groups will talk about different things.

I have been to dinners with mathematicians and inventors who cannot speak of anything but numbers and angles and others where fashion was all that came up between the males and females.

Accepting people as they are leads to better dinner parties, closer friends, and hopefully happiness.

” Guthrie thought of adding something about marriages, but thought that was a fight for another day.

Caroline looked down the table at all the cheerful faces and the bursts of laughter. She had never seen this much joy at this table before. “I think I have a lot to learn, or perhaps unlearn.”

“Do not worry, I have every confidence in your ability, Caro.” Patting her niece’s hand, she focused on the delicious fruit tart. It was superb.

The hard smack of a cane on the entryway floor was the first clue that they had a visitor.

The level of anger conveyed by the simple act of striking a cane against the ground was astounding.

Only those that knew the formidable lady suspected how bad the next interlude would be.

Darcy, Theodore, and Georgiana all inwardly cringed against their memories of previous tirades.

The doors before Lady Catherine slammed open with the weight of the servant she shoved. She would have her way, and no one would stop her. “I will not wait, you blithering moron; get out of my way!”

Bingley found that having confronted his sister on her behavior, it was much easier to confront someone with no hold over his heart.

It really did not matter to him who she was, though he suspected even without an introduction that she was Lady Catherine.

This was his property, at least for now, and he would see no one mistreated while under his protection.

“Madam, I do not know who you are, but you will kindly treat my servants with respect, or you will leave.”

“I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and no tradesman’s son will ever have the power to direct me. I am here to contend with what I can only assume are outlandish rumors.” She scanned the room and spotted her family in various places around the table.

Guthrie studied the domineering older lady.

She was wearing a poor excuse for a traveling outfit far too opulent and covered with ruffles to be comfortable to ride in a carriage for any extent of time.

Her hand was clutching the top of her cane so tightly her knuckles had lost all color.

The level of her indignation was obvious in every flare of her nostrils.

“Nephew, Mrs. Ansley, would you at all mind my stepping in here? I am rather experienced in dealing with unwelcome guests.” Noting their respective nods, she wiped her mouth, stood and stepped away from the table, facing the intruder.

“I know you cannot be implying that I could ever be an unwelcome guest. My goal is to make sure my nephew is safe from that social climbing harlot! I am also here to shield my other nephew and niece from her manipulative charm.” After her conversation with her rector, Lady Catherine had rushed to put an end to the travesty taking place here.

Yet no one seemed to value the effort she put into protecting the family.