Alias Thomas Bennet by Suzan Lauder Read Free Book Online

shows a kind of vanity and conceit about himself. He cares not about anyone below his station and has no intention of being agreeable to our Meryton society.”
    “He seems to have no qualms about visiting our family. In fact, he is as much a fixture at Longbourn as Mr. Bingley.”
    “We are the only family he ever would deign to visit.”
    “He is amiable enough to us and also to the Lucas family. He plays chess with all of us. I know you enjoy the intellectual contests you have with him; your arguments are too enthusiastic for me to believe otherwise. You vigorously question him on every point, and I think you cannot deny it enhances your own understanding.” There was a long silence as Elizabeth contemplated her next move. Bennet decided to continue his path to discovery of his second daughter’s odd mix of reactions to Darcy.
    “I am under the impression you like him as much as any of our other acquaintances,” Bennet said, further delving into her feelings.
    “I cannot say I dislike him. I just wish he were not so smug in his opinions.”
    Lydia interrupted them. “Papa, your wish to remain the Longbourn champion is in vain. Your impatience has caused you to move too quickly, and Lizzy is going to win in the next three moves. Come; join us in reading a story. Mary and Kitty have agreed.”
    “What is this story? Is it Shakespeare again?” Mr. Bennet asked, suppressing a sigh at his loss of the match.
    “It is called Sense and Sensibility, and was written by a lady!” Lydia said with enthusiasm. She knew she had the most pleasant reading voice with excellent timbre, and her animation and inflection brought the story to life. She even joked she should become an actress, and her family frequently obliged her by enjoying her performances.
    Bennet was sorry he had not been especially successful in understanding why Elizabeth was so affected by Darcy, but he quickly forgot it as his interest was diverted by the lively entertainment.
    1 Although the steam engine had been invented and was in limited use in 1811, the thermodynamic theory behind its operation was not understood; however, it played a critical role in the start of the Industrial Revolution. Also at that time, the knowledge of science that we today take for granted was then in its infancy. What we now refer to as the periodic table of the elements contained only oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, mercury, zinc and sulphur, as well as including ‘substances’ of light and caloric. Caloric theory is an obsolete heat theory.

Chapter 4:
Darcy attends the Lucas soiree and engages in a war of wits with Miss Elizabeth.
    October 1811
Hertfordshire
    Mr. Darcy left the Lucas soiree angry with himself. Following their intellectual discussions in her father’s library, he was enthralled by Miss Elizabeth Bennet and obsessed with the need to speak with her at every opportunity and feel her approbation. He had planned to converse with her almost exclusively that evening: to flirt and be flirted with, to enjoy her as a woman who intrigued him, to welcome her attention.
    His intentions were bolder than his actions. He spent the first part of the evening watching Elizabeth, considering how to approach her and initiate a drawing room conversation. Shortly after divesting himself of his outerwear, he noticed her at the doorstep attending to Miss Mary, whose bonnet ribbons had become entangled, but he was already being announced at the drawing room and required by politeness to enter; thus he had to wait until an appropriate time to greet her. Twice, he tried to approach her when she appeared to be available, but both times he was interrupted by others, and then he was thwarted when he asked her to dance. He would have to content himself with the next occasion where he would see her to try to understand this fascination.
    Mr. Darcy was an enigma to Elizabeth. When he visited Longbourn, he willingly entered into uplifting discussions about science and philosophy,