Page 30 of The Briar Bargain (The Rom Com Collection #3)
" M iss Bingley has certainly furnished us with an array of patterns," Jane observed from her position on the settee in the blue sitting room, her needle catching the morning light as she worked. "Though I confess myself curious about her sudden interest in our needlework."
Elizabeth glanced up from her own embroidery, a half-finished spray of forget-me-nots.
"Indeed, her thoughtfulness is quite remarkable.
I suspect she hopes to keep us suitably occupied and well out of the way while the gentlemen conduct their important business away from the house.
" For once, she was sorry that she did not ride.
She would not have minded joining them if only to enjoy a bit more of the sunny weather.
"One should not attribute uncharitable motives to acts of hospitality," Jane said gently, though her tone suggested she was not entirely convinced of her own words. At Elizabeth’s searching look, she shook her head and smiled. "Even if the hospitality does appear somewhat calculated."
"’Calculated’ is precisely the right word for it," Elizabeth agreed, setting aside her work to examine a fresh pattern from the basket at her feet. "I cannot help but note that her kindness seems to flourish most remarkably when Mr. Darcy might witness it. "
It was then that her fingers encountered something unexpected, a paper whose texture was different than that of the patterns.
Elizabeth lifted it, noting immediately that it bore no resemblance to the delicate botanical designs they had been working from.
The sketch was executed on fine paper with evident skill, depicting what appeared to be an anatomical study, the sort of detailed rendering of human musculature and bone structure she had seen in her father's medical texts.
It was clearly the work of someone with considerable scientific knowledge, reminiscent of the precise illustrations in the copy of Vesalius that Papa kept in his study.
"Jane, have you seen this before?" Elizabeth asked, holding up the drawing with mild curiosity.
Jane squinted at it from her position several feet away, then shook her head. "The draughtsmanship appears rather accomplished. Perhaps it belongs to Mr. Bingley? You might place it on Miss Bingley’s work basket, and she can see that it is returned."
Elizabeth nodded, though something in the sketch's presence among their simple patterns struck her as odd. The servants must have known that this was not hers. Perhaps someone had not known which basket was Miss Bingley’s?
She rose and made her way to Miss Bingley's elegant work basket, beautifully appointed with ivory handles and lined with rose-coloured silk.
Elizabeth placed the sketch carefully atop their hostess's current project, which appeared to be an ambitious cushion cover featuring peacocks in full display.
"There," she said with satisfaction, returning to her seat.
After a time, she grew restless. “Jane, would you walk the gallery with me? I feel as though I require another stroll. Unless,” she said hopefully, “you would not mind another visit to the garden? ”
“I believe one stroll in the garden is sufficient for today, Lizzy,” Jane told her. “We will walk farther tomorrow if the weather holds. But I would be happy to accompany you to the gallery.”
Elizabeth nodded. She had expected as much, and Jane was not wrong to curtail her activity out of doors while the ground was still so wet. The gallery would have to do for now.
The art at Netherfield was indeed impressive, lined with portraits of previous inhabitants and landscapes that spoke of considerable taste and expense. There were more paintings, Elizabeth thought with amusement, than books in the library.
The long space was perfectly suited to walking, with enough room to move freely without the constraint of furniture. Jane fell into step beside her, and for several minutes they walked to one end and then back to the other, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpet.
After perhaps twenty minutes, Elizabeth finally told her sister that she was satisfied, and they returned to the drawing room, where Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst ought to have been sitting to keep them company, but were not.
Elizabeth did not lament their rudeness, for she was pleased to be left alone with her sister. They resumed their seats and their work. She managed to finish her handkerchief of forget-me-nots. Her embroidery would never be as fine as Jane’s, but Elizabeth was pleased with it.
She reached into her basket for the next project, and her fingers once again encountered the mysterious anatomical sketch done on thick, expensive paper.
She stared at it in bewilderment. "Jane, this is most peculiar. The drawing has reappeared in my basket. "
"Perhaps you did not place it properly in Miss Bingley's things?" Jane suggested, though her tone suggested puzzlement. She pulled her needle through the cloth she was holding.
Elizabeth rose, this time examining Miss Bingley's work basket more carefully. "How very strange," she murmured, this time depositing the wayward paper beneath the peacock cushion cover, though carefully so as not to wrinkle it.
She had barely settled back into her chair when Miss Bingley appeared in the doorway with an air of bustling efficiency.
"I do hope you will forgive my neglect this morning," she said as she entered.
"I have been quite occupied with household matters.
Cook had the most tiresome questions about tonight's dinner, and then the housekeeper required my attention about cleaning out the rooms in the guest wing.
" She glanced about the room with an expression that made Elizabeth wonder whether she was inventorying the valuables to be sure the Bennets had not pocketed anything.
"We have been perfectly comfortable," Jane assured her politely.
"I am relieved to hear it." Miss Bingley's smile seemed rather forced. "I wanted to ensure you had everything you required—additional patterns, perhaps, or different silks?"
"We are quite well supplied, thank you," Elizabeth replied. “But I have found—"
She was unable to complete her sentence and inform Miss Bingley about the wayward illustration because the woman’s gaze fell upon Jane's spencer.
"Oh, Miss Bennet," she said with apparent concern, "I do hope you will forgive my mentioning it, but one of the buttons on your spencer appears to have worked loose. The thread looks quite ready to give way entirely. "
Jane glanced down at her garment with mild surprise. "Oh dear, I had not noticed."
"These things happen so easily," Miss Bingley continued smoothly.
"I should hate for you to lose the button entirely, and in such a well-made garment too.
Perhaps you might ask my maid to secure it properly?
She is quite skilled with such repairs, and it would take only a moment. She should be upstairs just now."
Elizabeth stood as well. "I will come with you, Jane."
"Of course," Miss Bingley agreed with satisfaction. "Take all the time you need."
They found Miss Bingley's maid, Sarah, precisely where her mistress had indicated, and the woman proved as efficient as promised. She examined Jane's spencer with professional attention, produced needle and thread from her apron pocket, and had the wayward button secured within minutes.
"There you are, miss," Sarah said with satisfaction, stepping back to admire her work. "That should hold quite well now."
"Thank you so much," Jane replied warmly. "You are very skilled indeed."
As they made their way back to the stairs, Elizabeth could not resist a small smile. "Well, Jane, I believe we are getting quite as much exercise today as I could wish, what with all this traipsing up and down stairs."
Jane smiled. "I confess I had not expected needlework to prove such an active pursuit."
"Indeed not." Elizabeth paused at the top of the staircase. "I do wonder whether Miss Bingley has moved that drawing again while we were occupied up here."
"Moved it?" Jane looked genuinely puzzled. "Why should she do such a thing? "
"I cannot say," Elizabeth replied with a shrug, "but I have the distinct feeling that whatever scheme she is hatching, it will not be particularly complimentary to me."
Jane sighed as they began their descent, her hand trailing along the polished banister.
"Miss Bingley wastes entirely too much energy on efforts that are misguided at best. She has so many genuine accomplishments, so many advantages of fortune and education.
I cannot understand why she feels compelled to create difficulties where none need exist."
It was unlike Jane to offer such pointed criticism, even when gently phrased. But she continued to be put out with Miss Bingley and her sister.
"She brings a great deal of her unhappiness upon herself, I think," Jane continued quietly.
"And yet I cannot help but feel sorry for her.
There is something rather desperate in her machinations that suggests she believes herself to be in precarious circumstances, when I do not believe that is the case. "
"You have grown quite perceptive during our stay here," Elizabeth observed.
"Perhaps it is simply that we have had opportunity to know her and Mrs. Hurst better in these past days," Jane replied with a rueful smile.
They reached the bottom of the stairs, and Elizabeth found herself wondering what awaited them in the drawing room. More drawings? Perhaps a sculpture?