Page 14 of The Countess and Her Sister

“You presented me with a conundrum, which I shall now put to the table. And you should hear this, too, Caroline,” Mr. Bingley said with a laugh.

“You said, Miss Bennet, that a lady may excel at art or music, or a dozen other things which may be considered accomplishments. I cannot quite decide if a dozen seems too many, or not enough. Surely there are many more things a lady might excel at, and yet, as I have owned, I can manage only one real talent.”

“You do yourself, and probably all of womankind, a great slight, Charles,” Miss Bingley cried.

“You have an uncommon mastery of making good conversation, but surely you excel at other things. I could say the same of many ladies of my acquaintance, when one considers what merits Miss Bennet must have meant.”

“Perhaps we should inquire what Miss Bennet meant,” Mr. Darcy said.

“Yes, explain yourself, Lizzy,” Rebecca said. “Here is your chance to list your dozen great accomplishments without anybody thinking you overly proud, for we are demanding it of you!”

“You would agree with me before all these witnesses here if I claimed I could take flight,” Elizabeth chided Rebecca.

“But I did not mean to suggest that I am personally a paragon of talent, only that it is possible to be accomplished in many ways.” In spite of herself, she glanced at Mr. Darcy as she added, “With practice.”

“I suppose there may hundreds of ways you young ladies invent to be accomplished! Indeed, I have never met a young lady without being informed that she is accomplished,” Mr. Bingley said.

“Every lady accomplished?” Miss Bingley tutted at her brother before whispering to Captain Tilney.

“You all know how to cover screens and net purses and paint tables,” Mr. Bingley said to Elizabeth. “Your sister has told me that you both enjoy such things. I am sure I could never!”

“I believe in you, Mr. Bingley,” Rebecca said. “Net me a purse, and I shall carry it with me always.”

“To mock before everyone you meet, no doubt,” Mr. Bingley replied cheerfully. He was met with a wicked grin.

“In my own experience, endeavor is often equated to accomplishment, for I have tried my hand at many pursuits, but there are few at which I truly excel,” Elizabeth said.

“Perhaps that is your great talent,” Miss Bingley said.

“For surely after such a speech, somebody must feel themselves obliged to speak up for your abilities. I urge you to reconsider such a mean tactic as this, Miss Bennet. No lady can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages to deserve the word. And besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.”

Across the table, Rebecca and Mr. Bingley looked incensed at Miss Bingley’s insult, but to Elizabeth’s relief the harpy was swiftly distracted as Captain Tilney hastened to assure her that she possessed each of these qualities.

Elizabeth shared a look of wicked glee with her companions. “I must begin to reform myself at once,” she said merrily. “I never saw such a woman, though perhaps it is not impossible if I apply myself for the next hundred and fifty years.”

Mr. Darcy cleared his throat. “Such common accomplishments are admirable, but I find greater merit in those that are attained not only through endeavor, but a true passion.”

“Such as Georgie’s application to music,” Rebecca suggested.

“Yes, that is an excellent example. She has a comprehensive understanding of the technical aspect, yet it is a rare thing to witness the great feeling she imbues in her playing. Miss Bennet, you taught your sister to play, and this must be counted as a fine accomplishment.”

“Lady Jane has performed marvelously every time I have heard her,” Mr. Bingley agreed. “If she learned from you, Miss Bennet, I should very much like to see you play a duet together.”

“You are also fond of walking, which I may flatter myself in calling a virtue, prone as I am to doing the same at Pemberley,” Mr. Darcy said.

“And surely a fondness for young children is a grace every lady ought to possess. Your time with your young cousins and your nephew the earl must be considered a credit to you.”

Rebecca sipped at her wine and then smiled brightly. “Since Lizzy has refused to list her accomplishments, you have done an admirable job on her behalf.”

Mr. Bingley nearly choked on his pheasant as Mr. Darcy glowered at his cousin. Nonetheless, he obliged her. “I shall conclude with the most substantial accolade, which Miss Bingley omitted. A lady ought to improve her mind through extensive reading.”

Elizabeth caught herself sitting up a little straighter, savoring what was evidently meant as praise as Mr. Darcy regarded her. She smiled, grasping at a sensible reply. “It is convenient that you should consider such a great merit what I know you to enjoy, sir.”

“If you mean to imply that gentlemen have accomplishments, I must protest, Lizzy. They have privileges .” Rebecca glanced down the table as if hoping the general could hear her irreverence.

“I am sure Jane would agree that running a large estate – or more than one – would constitute a greater accomplishment than all of our feminine endeavors combined,” Elizabeth said.

If she was to converse with Mr. Darcy, she must learn to think of Jane – especially if Mr. Bingley carried on so silly.

“A man of my origins must agree that it is such, though I will own it is a great responsibility,” Mr. Bingley said.

Rebecca snorted and rolled her eyes. “Any man who thinks his estate a burden may find me willing to relieve him of it. I should like to live a life in control of all around me, making greater decisions than what ribbon to trim a bonnet with.”

“God made you a woman because as a man you would conquer the world,” Mr. Bingley chortled. “It would be fearsome to behold.”

“Perhaps in another life,” Rebecca laughed. “Do I shock you, Darcy?”

“Not for many years,” he drawled. “But I admire your endeavor, anyhow. But why do you not reside at Matlock Hall, if you desire an estate? Surely the countess would not object; I understand she spends little time there. If you believe you are up to the challenge of it, what stops you from making the attempt?”

Rebecca grinned at his challenge. “The prospect of certain neighbors.”

Elizabeth flinched, until she realized that Rebecca must mean Pemberley, which was not twenty miles from the seat of the earldom.

It was also near Montrose, where Mrs. Bennet and her three youngest resided, and Rebecca had little patience for them , though she would never distress Elizabeth by speaking of it so publicly.

“Darcy would make a fine neighbor, and a wonderful help,” Mr. Bingley said. “He was of great assistance to me when I took the lease of Netherfield in Hertfordshire last year.”

Rebecca wrinkled her nose at the idea of accepting aid from her cousin. “How odd that you resided in Jane and Lizzy’s neighborhood after they had quit it. I believe there were no other Bennets in the area by then, Lizzy?”

“By last summer, my father’s cousin took possession of Longbourn, where Jane and I grew up. He is married to my friend Charlotte.”

“The Collinses – yes, we met them,” Mr. Darcy replied – his face said a great deal more.

Mr. Bingley laughed. “Your relation was once the vicar of Darcy’s ghastly aunt – he was prouder of his ties to her than of having a countess for a cousin – he went on about it… er, forgive me.”

“Lady Catherine de Bourgh, yes – you may imagine I am acquainted with her.” Elizabeth blushed as she was obliged to remind Mr. Bingley of the family connection.

“Oh, right.” Mr. Bingley sighed and glanced down the table with a wistful sigh. “Poor Lady Jane.”

Mr. Darcy discreetly made a droll face at Elizabeth. “I hope my aunt was welcoming of your sister when she joined the family.”

“She was civil when she visited two years ago. Jane was very hospitable to your cousin Anne. We were very sorry to hear of her passing – I believe you were betrothed.”

“We were not,” Mr. Darcy said. “It was her mother’s wish, but never mine.”

Mr. Bingley grinned. “Darcy refused for many years to capitulate to his aunt’s demands – some say he cares nothing for marriage, but I fancy he is secretly a romantic.”

Rebecca coughed and sipped her wine. Elizabeth smiled at Mr. Darcy, who turned pink and pursed his lips. “Reading novels may tend to have such an effect,” she quipped.

He chuckled and gave a nod. “So, too, can life in the country. We have established that it is nothing at all to run an estate – there is naught to do but read novels and take fanciful walks in nature.”

“There is more to do in that country than that,” Mr. Bingley cried.

“With the beauty of spring and the promise of summer, I should say a great deal more! Perhaps you should open up Matlock Hall, Lady Rebecca, and show Darcy how it ought to be! Better still, I shall rent a place in Derbyshire and pester you all with my unceasing entertainments.”

Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy brushed their shoulders together inadvertently as they succumbed to hearty laughter at Mr. Bingley’s declaration.

Miss Bingley turned from her fawning whispers with Captain Tilney and sneered at their merriment.

“What is this, Charles? Are you really going to let another estate? You must do better in selecting a neighborhood where we might have society, though I see no need to quit London at all.”

Elizabeth smiled at the woman she had taken an instant disliking to. “Would you prefer to be in London always, and never reside at an estate?”