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Charles ignored Caroline’s caustic tone and explained, “Mr Bennet invited us to shoot partridges in his fields today. Mrs Hobbes assures me that our cook has excellent receipts to prepare the birds for the table.”

“Are we to eat partridge tonight, then?”

“No,” Charles replied. “I believe the birds must hang for a few days before being cleaned and roasted.”

Caroline frowned and looked at her sister, who was also perplexed.

Mr Hurst spoke to Louisa and suggested she speak to Mrs Hobbes for the details of hanging game birds before preparing them for the table.

His wife nodded and wished him a good day as the three men rose from the table and left the room.

~~~

They departed Netherfield on horseback and arrived at Longbourn after a ride of two miles. A stable boy took the three horses to the barn as Mr Bennet emerged from the house and greeted his visitors.

“Mr Bennet, we arrive with one more shooter,” Bingley said. “This is my good friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, who has come out to help me into the saddle at Netherfield.”

The gentlemen shook hands, and Darcy said, “Forgive me for intruding, Mr Bennet, but Hurst and Bingley said you had large coveys, and I enjoy a hunt on a brisk day in autumn.”

“Four guns will not bring down too many birds today. And if you offer good conversation, any impositions will be forgiven,” Bennet replied as he led the men around the house toward a wagon with a single pony in harness, the Netherfield footman, and the Longbourn gamekeeper.

There Bennet greeted the younger man, “David Hill! How are you today?”

“I’m well, Mr Bennet,” David replied. “My mum broke my fast when I got here with the guns.”

“How do you know my footman, Bennet?” asked Charles.

“Young David was born and raised at Longbourn,” Mr Bennet replied. “His parents are the butler and housekeeper for my family. When Mrs Hobbes mentioned to the Meryton shopkeepers that Netherfield needed a new footman and maid, my wife and I recommended David and his sister, Alice, to her.”

Mr Darcy added, “That’s a common practice on all estates, Charles. The young people raised in one house can provide service in another with minimal training. Young Hill knows how to bank a fire, wrestle a trunk, and clear a table without Mrs Hobbes training him.”

Following the pony cart, the four gentlemen walked across the stubble-covered fields where grain and hay had been harvested earlier in the summer.

The pony was hobbled and provided with hay while the Longbourn gamekeeper and David took large sticks into the brush and tall grasses along the edge of the fields to drive the partridges out into the open.

The guns fired irregularly as the gentlemen made slow progress across five farms on the estate.

Darcy and Bennet proved to be the best shots, but Hurst and Bingley also brought down birds.

Without dogs or other beaters, the four gentlemen helped retrieve birds and reloaded their guns themselves.

As they walked across the fields, Thomas Bennet discovered that Fitzwilliam Darcy was a well-informed gentleman and could discuss recent bills before parliament, events in the endless wars with the French, and goods arriving from the colonies for the markets in Britain.

Charles Bingley knew current business concerns in the kingdom, and Hurst understood estate matters.

In their conversations, Mr Bennet noticed that Mr Darcy never expressed an opinion about the prime minister, the dissolute crown prince, or even the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

The only opinion Darcy expressed was to decry the window tax.

“I purchased an estate in Wiltshire a year ago, and the main house had four windows bricked up to have less than seven windows,” Darcy revealed. “There was hardly a room in the whole house with sufficient light.”

“And did you restore the windows?” asked Mr Bennet.

“I did when refreshing the house. I do not live in Wiltshire and leased the place to a merchant who retired from his business in London. He has no interest in the taxes or the surrounding farms where a steward works with the tenants.”

“But the taxes were increased,” Charles observed.

Darcy nodded and explained, “Yes, and I included the increase in the rent.”

~~~

With almost three dozen partridges in the pony cart, the four gentlemen turned their steps back toward the manor house.

The afternoon became cloudy, but at Longbourn, Mr Bennet invited the visitors inside for refreshment.

Hurst was pleased to sit for a few moments in the parlour.

While they waited on a tea tray, Mrs Bennet spoke to Mr Bingley and was introduced to Mr Darcy.

David Hill and the gamekeeper brought half the birds into the kitchen for his parents to hang in the pantry until Mrs Hill prepared them for the family.

The other eighteen birds remained in the cart, and young Hill turned the pony toward Netherfield, his pockets filled with biscuits and small cakes to assuage his appetite.

Mrs Hobbes would take Bingley’s share of the birds to hang and then roast for the family’s dinner in a few days.

Mr Bennet informed his wife they would have partridges on their table in a few days, and only then did he notice his two oldest daughters talking with their visitors. Jane stood next to Mr Bingley, and the man appeared smitten, which made his wife smile.

More interesting to Mr Bennet’s notice was when Elizabeth attempted to discuss an article in the newspaper with Mr Darcy.

There was a review of a previously published title, ‘The Natural History of Selborne.’ The gentleman responded to Lizzy’s first questions but then seemed to grow impatient when the young woman did not simply agree with his conclusions.

It appeared the man was not interested in the ideas of a young woman.

The gentlemen did not remain long–fresh tea, biscuits and cakes were consumed with animated conversations between several persons.

Mrs Bennet and her other daughters were generally left out of the conversations.

Except for Lydia, who grew bored quickly, they were content to observe the oldest sister talking with Mr Bingley, and Elizabeth attempting to speak with the tall, cold stranger.

Leading Bingley and Darcy from the parlour, Mr Bennet escorted his visitors to the front door, where their mounts waited. The gentlemen climbed into the saddle, waved farewell, and departed for Netherfield.

~~~

Fitzwilliam Darcy kept his attention on the ground his horse covered–the grain field was muddy, and Darcy’s mount moved carefully but threw clods of mud into the air with each step. Bingley and Hurst had remained on the road, which was just as muddy but not as soft as the field.

‘I would warn off any man I found riding across my fields when they are soft,’ he thought. ‘But I needed to escape from Charles and his forever glowing reports of Miss Jane’s face and smile.’

He slowed his horse to a plodding walk, the squishing of the mud the only sound while they crossed the last section of the field.

In the privacy of his mind, Darcy asked, ‘Why does Charles fall in love with a new, pretty face every few weeks? He raises hopes and then moves along, leaving hurt feelings behind him. Will he listen if I speak plainly to him now? Meryton is not the centre of England, with the horde of unmarried ladies with mammas following them around. If he intends to live here for three years, he must not alienate his closest neighbours.’

‘And what if Charles aligns himself with the Bennets? Mr Bennet is a country gentleman, but it is obvious his wife has no education or understanding of anything except lace and teacups,’ Darcy judged. ‘But it is not my place to say anything.’

Unbidden, the image of Elizabeth Bennet appeared in Darcy’s mind, her eyes filled with life, her smile promised joy to the man who kissed her, and the depth of her intelligence–a woman who matched his own reading, thinking, and questions about life, the structure of their society, and the future of their nation.

‘After two conversations, she commands my attention. Dressed in a gown that was sewn in the parlour where we drank tea. Still, she was striking,’ Darcy thought, remembering the lovely shape of Elizabeth Bennet in the mercantile in Meryton.

He sought reasons to devalue the worth of this young woman. ‘No doubt she sewed the gown herself. And helped to sew the clothes her sisters wore…and her mother’s gown.’

Fitzwilliam Darcy admitted he admired the young woman’s form and mind, ‘She was truly interested in reading White’s Natural History of Selborne. Do I have the book in London?’

‘I shall write to John Freemont, the bookseller in Mayfair I patronise. He will mail a copy to me at Netherfield, and I shall present it…no, I cannot give her such a gift!’ he realised. ‘I must give it to her father, and she will know it was from me.’

‘What will Miss Bingley say then?’ he wondered. ‘Tea leaves for Miss Bingley and a book for Miss Elizabeth Bennet?’

Darcy grimaced. ‘ What will her father and mother say?’

Imagining the parents’ reactions, Darcy decided, ‘I should find myself declared to be engaged before I could escape Hertfordshire.’

~~~

During supper at Longbourn, Mr Bennet discovered how his second daughter had come to know Mr Darcy by name before that day.

He was only moderately concerned about their introduction at the mercantile, and when Lizzy explained about Lady Lucas receiving a set down for hypocrisy, he considered the subject settled.

Mrs Bennet ignored the conversation between Lizzy and her father to question Jane about her conversation with Charles Bingley.

The eldest sister reported that she thought Mr Bingley to be a kind gentleman who asked her opinions and shared his ideas for the gardens at Netherfield next spring.

Mary kept Kitty interested in talking about the three gentlemen visitors while Lydia pouted to be ignored so completely.

~~~

“Lizzy, what was it you talked about with Mr Bingley’s friend?” asked Jane. The two eldest sisters were in their bedchamber and took turns brushing the other sister’s hair.

“There is a book…”

“Of course, there is a book,” replied Jane good-naturedly.

Elizabeth ignored the comment and continued her explanation, “In the newspaper, there was an article about a book by a parson named Gilbert White. The book is titled The Natural History of Selborne. The newspaper article stated there was some new controversy about the man’s descriptions of the summer of 1783 filled with meteors and storms. The sun was veiled, and the light was reflected. ”

“Lizzy, how could a volcano in Ireland have affected England?”

“Not Ireland, Jane. Iceland…an island north of Scotland and halfway to the new world.”

Shaking her head, Jane asked, “I recommend you discuss the book with our father or Mr Darcy again.”

As she finished brushing Jane’s hair, Elizabeth said, “Perhaps I shall ask Miss Bingley for her opinion when next she objects to our family.”

~~~