Chapter 28 Country Life 22 Heart Beating
Time soon came to noon, and only the last round was left.
The final round of prey was partridge, the most challenging prey in rural hunting. While pheasants and grouse can fly, they spend most of their time on the ground, with much less space to maneuver than birds. Partridge is also small, making it difficult to target.
In addition, if someone hesitates too long, the partridge being driven over may fly away from the paddock before the next person's turn comes, and then it will be necessary to drive it away again.
Participants like Mr. Bennett, who prioritized participation, had little hope of winning this round and were therefore completely relaxed. They would likely simply fire a quick shot and declare the round over, allowing everyone to finish their rounds quickly and return home to enjoy their meals. After all, they had already harvested enough prey, proving themselves to be still strong despite their age.
The officers were all eager to try. They shouted to each other and couldn't wait to compete with their colleagues.
All the girls stood up, holding hands and moving forward excitedly. Two young ladies from one family even argued for the right to use the telescope.
The sound of bells and whistles indicated the rhythmic advance of the driving line.
Since the movement routes of partridges are difficult to control, it is difficult for the herders to ensure that they fly into the enclosure from a fixed direction, and all hunters are waiting for the lucky first one.
Obviously, the person who is ahead in the order has a higher chance of hitting the target, because the flock of birds is relatively dense and there are more of them when they first fly in, so it is more likely to hit the prey with one shot.
Soon, a large group of quails appeared at the edge of the paddock.
They came flying over and entered the paddock just between Lancaster and Mr. Bingley.
According to the rules, Mr. Bentley on the right should fire the first shot, and then Major Brown on his right should fire the second shot. Lancaster on Mr. Bentley's left thus became the last one in the final round of hunting.
Heather felt like she was about to laugh out loud in silence. If she had known earlier, she should have read the Bible before going out today. Poor Lancaster seemed to have been set up!
Mr. Bentley fired a quick shot without hesitation, easily hitting one of them.
He raised his hunting rifle high and excitedly waved it twice towards the high ground. His youthful vigor struck all the young ladies present.
Jane blushed as she held her sister's arm. She couldn't help but waved her handkerchief, then quickly put it down shyly. She looked very happy, and her mother and sisters were also proud of it.
Miss Bingley glanced at them without saying anything unkind. She had been visiting Longbourn quite often recently, and her disapproval of the Bennetts had diminished considerably.
Heather couldn't laugh anymore.
Major Brown, who was in second place, also successfully caught a prey. The hit rates of the people behind him were much lower. The flock of birds was too scattered and the number was decreasing. Mr. Bennett and Sir Lucas casually fired a shot into the air and then signaled the next person to seize the opportunity.
The four people before Lancaster all failed. When it was his turn, there were only three partridges left in the paddock, wandering around aimlessly and unable to find their way. The drivers blew whistles from all sides to try to keep them in the middle, but they flew faster and higher under stress, making it basically impossible to hit them.
The others put away their guns and gathered in groups of three or four, intending to disband as soon as the last person gave up. Some had even started arguing about what seasoning would make the grouse more delicious.
At this moment, Heather saw Major Brown, who had already put his gun on his back, say something loudly, and the servants in charge of driving the people ran towards them.
"What did he say?" Heather didn't hear clearly for a moment.
Mary said, "Major Brown said we should drive some more quail out of the woods, because it would be unfair to the last one."
"Hateful." Heather bit her lip, thinking unreasonably why he should try to be a good guy. Everyone was in a hurry to leave now, and it would take who knows how long to start all over again.
Mary looked puzzled at her aunt's indignant face. She had just heard the bet between Major Brown and Mr. Lancaster, but she felt that Major Brown had asked to start over from the same starting line so as not to take advantage of the situation. Women's minds were really hard to guess.
Mary turned her head and looked down. Mr. Lancaster seemed to have not accepted Major Brown's suggestion. He made a gesture to drive people away, then raised his gun and got ready.
Three long whistles were blown in the paddock by the driver standing behind Lancaster.
The ladies chatting on the high ground stopped and looked down curiously.
The three remaining quail in the enclosure were briefly attracted by the simulated bird calls and flew toward the source for a few seconds, but they soon recognized the poor imitation and tried to separate again to find a way to leave.
But just as they gathered, a gunshot rang out across the paddock.
The two quails closest to them were immediately shot down, and as they fell they collided with the last one. In a moment, the only thing left in the paddock was the slowly spreading smoke.
The field was completely silent. Lancaster calmly lowered his gun while no one reacted and looked towards the high ground. He still didn't make any celebratory gestures, and perhaps even his expression didn't change.
A few seconds later, loud cheers broke out simultaneously on the high ground and in the paddock.
One bullet hit three prey. Even a maid like Lucy who didn't know much could feel the excitement of this shot.
The winner has been decided.
Some enthusiastic gentlemen in the paddock shouted and rode towards Lancaster. The ladies on the high ground gathered together and looked down excitedly. Lydia and Kitty ran and screamed, repeating the word "sharpshooter" loudly.
There were young ladies nearby having an excited discussion.
"His marksmanship is amazing. Could he be a general on leave from the battlefield?"
"No, I think he must be the prince from London. He is so handsome, isn't he?"
Heather didn't move. Her heart had been beating rapidly since the shot was fired. She stared down amid the noisy heartbeat.
The telescope was not in her hand, but she clearly felt in her blurred vision that Lancaster must have looked at her when he put down his gun.
Amidst the huge cheers, she finally smiled slowly.
How abominable, she complained in her heart. He actually played the trick of first suppressing and then praising, pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger. It was a pity that she was worried for a while.
Due to the large scale of this hunt, lunch was divided into two groups and officially started at 3 pm.
The gentlemen dined at Sir Lucas's, and the ladies at the Bennetts', and Miss Bingley had sent her servants to both houses to help prepare the meals, so that they would not be late for lunch at five o'clock.
Lydia was very dissatisfied with not being able to see the mighty hunters first. She pulled Kitty to wait at the only way from the paddock to Sir Lucas's house. She successfully received beautiful pheasant feathers from several men and returned home happily.
The main course of lunch is not entirely the freshly caught game. Although this year's harvest has greatly exceeded expectations, not all of the game will be eaten on the same day. Some will be kept by the owner and taken home to show off to relatives and friends; some will be stored and enjoyed when guests come to visit.
The Bennetts' main course consisted of cold cuts of ham, cold roast beef, and puff pastry prepared two days in advance. In addition, the cook, Mrs. Morley, quickly roasted a grouse and a pheasant, which were displayed on the table in their entirety, symbolizing a successful hunt.
The Bennetts also had some partridges at their table. Partridges have a softer texture than grouse, and Mrs. Morley made a large stew with them so that everyone could have a bowl of delicious soup and a few pieces of meat.
Heather ate to her heart's content. Although she had eaten a good meal that morning, she was still hungry by three in the afternoon.
If you are hungry, ordinary white bread with pickled cucumbers is delicious, not to mention the golden and juicy chicken wings and tender and boneless partridge meat. Even Mary, who doesn't care about food, praises the soup.
After dinner, everyone was tired. After saying goodbye to the host family, they went home to rest and prepare for the dance to be held at Netherfield at 8 o'clock in the evening. This was definitely the highlight of the day for the girls.
That evening was Miss Bingley's main event. She and her sister were responsible for preparing the cold buffet and desserts for the banquet, as well as arranging the guests and the band, so they left quickly.
The energetic girls might start dressing and putting on makeup after dinner, while the older ladies would probably need to rest for a while before they could recover. For example, Mrs. Bennett was so sleepy that she started snoring on the sofa in the living room just after dinner.
As usual, Heather was too lazy to spend too much time changing her clothes. She originally wanted to take a nap, but when she lay down on the bed, she couldn't sleep at all. She had to get up and find something to do.
What happened today doesn’t need to be written in a letter to Lancaster, it can be recorded in her diary that has been covered in dust for a long time.
At seven o'clock in the evening, the Bennetts had to eat a simple dinner to avoid fainting from hunger at the party or having to eat a lot of Netherfield almond ice cream to fill their stomachs.
However, the young ladies of the Bennet family did not plan to eat too much. Even Jane was only going to have a small plate of lemon cake and a cup of black tea to refresh herself.
When they went downstairs to the dining room, the Bennets were already seated, and there was another unexpected person at the table - Mr. Collins, who was supposed to stay in Kent to serve his benefactor.
Mr. Collins, dressed in a well-groomed suit, his hair slicked with hairspray, explained to the young ladies with a smile on his face, "Mrs. Catherine, upon hearing that Longbourn was holding its annual hunting party today, immediately urged me to attend. Fortunately, the distinguished Miss de Bourgh has recovered, so I was able to come and attend the ball with my cousins."
His cousins all rolled their eyes secretly and gave him a smirk. It was hard to tell whether Mr. Collins had turned up just before the ball to avoid the morning hunt, as he was probably no better in the paddock than Mr. Bennett, who was fifty years old.
Mr. Collins was as attentive to Elizabeth as usual. Heather looked at her niece who seemed to want to stick to Jane next to her, and after a moment of hesitation, she secretly asked Lena to tell Charlotte the news about Mr. Collins.
The brief dinner ended quickly, and everyone packed up and got on the carriage to Netherfield.
What followed was bound to be an unforgettable night.
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