since the last scene concluded? Couldn't it mean in the last few weeks? I do agree that the servants could have been the source of the gossip, and the remark about scarcity of gentlemen seems to point that way. However, I also like Deirdre Le Faye's suggestion that the militia could have brought Darcy and Bingley to the area. And it does seem likely to me JA had the Derbyshire militia in mind when she wrote the work originally, and that that was the reason she made Darcy come from Derbyshire. I can't say more without a spoiler. :)