A Case of Some Delicacy by K C Kahler

Author:K C Kahler [Kahler, K C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781951033071
Publisher: Quills & Quartos Publishing
Published: 2019-09-22T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

Elizabeth wished for a sudden loss of hearing, situated as she was at the dinner table between her mother and her cousin. Better yet, she wished each of her voluble neighbours would suffer sudden (but temporary, she supposed) laryngitis.

Ever since Mrs Bennet’s outrageous statements about Mr Darcy’s…attire, Elizabeth had attempted to avoid her mother lest she might hear more. When they sat down to supper, therefore, she considered it a most unlucky perverseness that placed them within one of each other, but deeply was she relieved to find her mother talking to Lady Lucas of nothing else but her expectation that Jane would be soon married to Mr Bingley. Thank goodness the pair was already in a formal courtship, otherwise Mrs Bennet’s bragging would be excessively premature and tasteless indeed.

It was an animating subject, and Mrs Bennet seemed incapable of fatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match. Mr Bingley being such a charming young man and so rich and living but three miles from them were the first points of self-congratulation. It was, moreover, such a promising thing for her younger daughters, as Jane’s marrying so greatly must throw them in the way of other rich men. This last observation was accompanied, much to Elizabeth’s horror, by a pointed look at Mr Darcy. She finally ended her commentary with a significant look towards Mr Collins and Elizabeth. “And I am certain my other daughters will follow Jane into similarly advantageous marriages, some sooner than others.” She winked at Lady Lucas.

Directly to Elizabeth’s right—for cruel fate did not afford her the shield of even one other body there—sat Mr Collins. The only lucky circumstance in the seating arrangements, though luck probably had nothing to do with it, was that dear Charlotte sat to Mr Collins’s right and thus occupied the parson for some of the time. Had Elizabeth been sitting near someone with whom she wanted to converse, Charlotte’s distraction would have been even more appreciated. As it was, Elizabeth would take whatever relief she could get.

She tried to let her mind wander, thinking back to her last dance partner, Captain Carter, who currently sat next to Lydia some distance down the table. He and Mr Collins had exchanged their supper set partners before taking seats. Lydia might perhaps now regret her hasty accession to the substitution, for though she would have been forced to sit next to Mr Collins, she would also be in closer proximity to Mr Darcy. Mr Darcy…

Elizabeth pushed the distracting thought away and tried to think about her dance with Captain Carter. But, although enjoyable enough, their dance had been completely unremarkable. So she thought about her dance partner prior to the last one, Gussy Goulding. Despite his reputation for clumsiness earned through a propensity towards sometimes disfiguring injuries during his awkward adolescence, he actually danced better than Mr Collins. But again, that dance left her with nothing worth pondering now, even if her toes did survive the set unscathed. Gus was currently

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