Elizabeth was about to ask what he meant when she heard it. A thunderous roar. She had been so engrossed in her conversation with Darcy that she had not heeded it even though it must have been there for some minutes at least. She smiled. Darcy offered her his arm again even though the way was clear. She obliged and they stepped through the trees.
Elizabeth gasped. They stood near the edge of a large pool. From several feet above fell a force of water which churned at the end. Trees grew around the edges and wildflowers dotted the grass.
“It is beautiful,” she cried. “Oh, Mr Darcy, you are so fortunate to have this. I have never seen anything which gave me more pleasure.”
“I am glad you like it.” Darcy swept his arm towards a tall tree that leaned over the pond. “That is where my family would sit while we ate.”
Elizabeth smiled. “You have wonderful memories.”
“I know. I am fortunate.” Darcy’s voice was soft as he looked over the glade. Elizabeth wondered what picture he was seeing. He and Georgiana playing in the pool, perhaps, while their mother warned them to be careful and their father laughed. Anyone seeing the soft look in Darcy’s eyes right then would never consider him aloof.
“Perhaps you will return here some day. With a family of your own,” suggested Elizabeth. Her words were cautious but he seemed to take no offence. Instead, he smiled.
“I would like that.” He glanced down at her but their gazes gripped and held. “I would like that very much,” he repeated.
Elizabeth’s breath hitched and though she yelled at herself to look away, she found she could not.
Darcy’s dark eyes stared into hers and there was a look of slight puzzlement in his as though he were not sure what was happening between them anymore than Elizabeth did.
16
A sound behind them made them jump and broke the tentative connection between them.
“Miss Darcy,” said Elizabeth in a voice that was slightly too cheerful. “What beasts we are. We rushed ahead and quite forgot about your sister.”
Darcy rubbed a hand against his face and then behind his neck, looking bewildered.
“Yes, we did, did we not? Poor Georgiana. She will wonder…”
Georgiana came into view. Elizabeth was about to greet her when she realised she was not alone. A tall, pleasant looking man walked by her side. On the other were two ladies, very elegantly dressed though their expressions suggested they were not so enthralled by their surroundings as the Darcys. The man was speaking to Georgiana in a low voice and she returned his conversation with her customary shyness. The woman paid her no attention until they looked up and saw Elizabeth and Darcy before them. As soon as she laid eyes on Darcy, the younger woman immediately smiled and turned to Georgiana and engaged her as though she were her dearest friend. She was far too fashionably dressed for a walk in the woods. Elizabeth thought she would look more at home in a ballroom. Judging by the scathing looks the lady had been giving her surroundings, she clearly thought so too.
“Darcy,” cried the man. “There you are at last. Mrs Reynolds said you were coming here but we thought you might change your mind and then we should have to run all about the countryside searching for you.”
“Bingley,” said Darcy. “You are a day early. We did not think to look for you until tomorrow.”
Bingley waved his hand, his cheerful face apologetic. “My fault, I am afraid. We thought to surprise you. We might have known you would not be sitting at home waiting about for us.”
He arrived at Darcy’s side and beamed at Elizabeth. Elizabeth could not help returning the smile.
“Forgive me,” said Darcy. “This is Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She is staying in Lambton with her aunt and uncle and joined us on our walk at my sister’s request.”
Elizabeth cast an offended look at him at that declaration.
“Miss Bennet, this is my old friend, Charles Bingley, and his sisters, Miss Caroline Bingley and Mrs Louisa Hurst.”
Bingley beamed and bowed while the ladies gave Elizabeth a close-lipped smile. Miss Bingley looked Elizabeth up and down as though she did not think much of her appearance.
“How strange that a young lady was walking alone on your land just to run into you and dear Miss Darcy,” she said in a bright tone. She gave a tinkling laugh that Elizabeth did not believe in the slightest. “I am sure your aunt and uncle must be wondering where you are, Miss Bennet. Perhaps they do not realise you have been wandering about by yourself.”
“My aunt and uncle know perfectly well where I am,” said Elizabeth. “But I thank your for your concern. You are very kind.”
“Miss Bennet and my sister have become good friends,” said Darcy. He had stepped away from Elizabeth. His hands were behind his back and he was ramrod straight. What had happened to the man who, just minutes ago, was teasing her and telling her intimate details of his childhood? It cut Elizabeth to the quick to see how Darcy’s manner changed as soon as his friends arrived.
Well, what did she care? Mr Darcy was nothing to her. She was obliged to walk with him while Georgiana hung back and that was all there was to it. If he was so proud that he would be friendly to someone only when they were alone, he was not the sort of man she had any interest in knowing.
Elizabeth stepped back. “If you will excuse me, I must return to Lambton. I promised my aunt and uncle I would return for dinner.”
Darcy frowned. “But we have not yet walked down to the pond.”
“Oh, Yes, Miss Bennet. We shall walk about the glade. It is even prettier from down there. Will you not join us?”
Elizabeth looked at Georgiana’s imploring face and shook her head.
“I can see it and appreciate it very well from here. It is every bit as beautiful as you say it is. But I am afraid I must go. As I said, my family will be waiting for me. Thank you both for a pleasant afternoon.”
“I will walk with you,” said Darcy.
Elizabeth shook her head and Miss Bingley chimed in. “Miss Bennet is the sort of independent young lady who thinks nothing of walking about alone. I am sure she has no need for your assistance. She looks robust enough to manage any uneven ground, unlike some of us who might require assistance.”
She glanced coyly at Darcy from under her eyelashes though it did her little good. He was too busy staring at Elizabeth.
“It would be ungentlemanly of me to allow you to walk home alone, Miss Bennet. I respect you and your aunt and uncle too much for that. Will you please allow me and Georgiana to accompany you?”
Elizabeth was about to refuse again but she caught Georgiana’s eye. She was looking at Miss Bingley with an odd expression, as though she would like very much to escape. Elizabeth wondered if Darcy felt something similar.
“Very well,” she said. “Thank you.”
“We will all walk with you,” said Mr Bingley enthusiastically. “Come, Caroline, a walk to Lambton will be just the thing for you. You are always complaining of how bored you are and how there is nothing to do here…”
“You exaggerate, Charles.” Miss Bingley fixed him with a look that might have reduced him to ashes. “I have always said how much I love Pemberley. There is nowhere finer in all the world. But I am afraid I do not have the shoes for walking. I am only in delicate slippers. I do not have Miss Bennet’s thick, heavy boots. Indeed, I have never seen a woman wear such things.”
“I am not surprised you never have seen a woman wear them when you do not like to walk,” said Elizabeth archly. “It was nice to meet you, but I must leave.”
“Bingley, why don’t you take your sisters back to the house and make them comfortable,” said Darcy. “I will be there in an hour or so.”
Miss Bingley pursed her lips. “Well, I am sure the walk is no object for me. I am not so weak and precious that I cannot endure a little tramp through the woods. No, we will all accompany Miss Bennet.”
“But your slippers…”
“Oh, they are nothing. They will hold up very well and if they do not, I
have plenty more. Come, Charles, do not be so tiresome. I wish to see more of the grounds.”
Bingley and Darcy exchanged a look then gestured for the ladies to walk.
Darcy continued to be stiff and cold as they turned towards Lambton. Any questions Elizabeth addressed to him were answered in a crisp tone as though he only had a limited amount of words to use and feared wasting them. Gone was the warm, open man she had begun to see earlier. Elizabeth was aware of people who might be thoughtful to those they considered beneath them when they were alone but whose openness disappeared once they were around those they wished to impress. For some reason, the knowledge that Darcy was such a man hurt her far more than it should. After attempting to engage him several times, Elizabeth decided she was not about to chase a man who did not wish to acknowledge her when there were others present. She hung back to speak to Georgiana.
“I am so sorry you did not get to explore the waterfall,” Georgiana whispered. “I hoped we might spend some time there together. The Bingleys did not make you feel unwelcome?”
“Mr Bingley certainly did not. I do not think he has it in him to make anyone feel unwelcome,” said Elizabeth with a smile at the man’s back.
Georgiana’s face softened. “Yes, Charles is a good man. I have known him since I was a young girl,” she said, as though she had lived many years. “He is always so cheerful and kind. So good-humoured. He is a good friend for Fitzwilliam to have. My brother is the best of men but he can be a little closed off and reserved. Charles brings him out of his shell and Fitzwilliam influences him for the better as well. Charles would have everyone we pass be invited to join us if he could get away with it.”
Elizabeth glanced down at her new friend and smiled. “You speak for him most passionately,” she said archly. “Are you fond of him?”
Georgiana gave her a surprised look and laughed. She shook her head. “I am fond of him but not in the way I think you are suggesting. He is like a second older brother to me. I know our families would like a union between us but we would not suit as husband and wife. Neither of us want anything more than friendship.”
“You are very decisive for one so young,” said Elizabeth with a teasing smile.
“Oh, I am not at all. At least not in most areas. But the expectation that Charles and I might marry as soon as I am old enough has been in the air so long that I have had plenty of time to think on it and decide if it is what I want.”
Elizabeth glanced to where Darcy led the party. His broad back showed his head was bent as though lost in thought. His cane swished through the air absent-mindedly. He had removed his hat as the sun was hot and his dark hair clung to his forehead.
“What does your brother think of that? How will he respond when you make it clear you will not marry his friend?”
“I am not concerned about that. Fitzwilliam will be disappointed but he would be far more disappointed if I married a man I did not love just to please him. He would never expect that of me. He wants me to make a suitable alliance, as any brother would do, but I think he wishes me to find love as well.”
“I had not thought of him as a romantic.”
“Very few people do. I know he is conscious of what is expected of him. He knows he needs to marry well to secure Pemberley’s future. He does not speak of it but I think every season he returns disappointed that he has not found the right wife for him. Between you and me, I think the reason he is not pleased with anyone he meets is because he hopes to find a wife he can love but he will not admit it, even to himself. But he will be thirty in a few years. He knows he needs to have an heir for Pemberley.”
“What do you think he will do? Will he hold out for love or will he prioritise finding a suitable connection?”
Georgiana sighed. “I really do not know. He is very aware of the family name and what is expected of him. And of course there is our cousin, Anne.”
Elizabeth’s heart raced slightly though she told herself it was nothing more than the arduous walk over difficult ground.
“What of your cousin Anne?” she asked.
17
“Anne de Bourgh. She is of an age with Fitzwilliam. Our mother and her mother, Lady Catherine, are sisters. I know our mothers decided when they were in the cradle that they should marry and unite their estates when they were grown. Anne is rather sickly and I know Fitzwilliam does not relish the prospect of their marriage but I think he will do it if he does not find a suitable connection soon. Aunt Catherine is very keen for the match to go ahead. She considers them all but engaged.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Your poor brother. To have his whole future decided for him without regard for what he wants. Well, I hope if he finds a lady he can love, he is brave enough to reach for it instead of bowing to familial pride. He is the one who will spend every day with his wife.”
“I hope he finds that too,” said Georgiana. For some reason, her gaze drifted to Miss Bingley who was moving herself closer to Darcy and making a show of slipping so he was obliged to reach out his hand to steady her. Once she had him, she held on like a barnacle. Elizabeth’s heart sank. Miss Bingley was comely enough to look upon and judging by her gown, she was wealthy and had the right connections. She was also Darcy’s friend’s sister and Darcy would not be averse to an alliance between their families. Though Darcy did not seem all that enthused about her, there was no reason to believe he might display his affection in front of others. And she clearly was not pleased to see Elizabeth there.
“What about you, Miss Bennet?” Georgiana asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“What about me?” Elizabeth quickly averted her eyes from Darcy where they seemed to drift continuously.
“I hope I am not being indelicate, but I suppose you have a young man at home in Hertfordshire? It seems impossible to me you could not, charming as you are.”
“I am afraid I must disappoint you. I have no suitor at home. I do not believe I have ever encountered a man whom I could like enough to marry.”
“And will you only marry if you like someone enough? That seems quite daring to me.”
“My mother certainly thinks so. But I cannot imagine anything worse than marriage without affection. Life is long and marriage is forever. I think I could better endure the sensation of being single long past the age where I should be married rather than waking up every day to a man who is all but a stranger to me. I could not marry a man I do not respect. I have seen such marriages and I would not wish to emulate them.”
Elizabeth thought back to her parents. Her father had married her mother after only a short acquaintanceship. He had been captivated by her beauty, her youth and her high spirits. Sadly, they were wed before he discovered that she was a silly, vain woman, not very bright and in no way a satisfactory companion. As Mr Bennet was not the sort of man who would turn to the bottle or alternative companionship to comfort him through his disappointing marriage, he instead withdrew to his library where he spent most of the day in solitude. He was affectionate to Elizabeth and Jane but to his wife and younger daughters, he was a remote figure, often sarcastic when he should have offered guidance. It pained Elizabeth to see it. And his neglect caused her mother to become even more silly and nervous. Mr Bennet might have used his good sense to influence his wife to better behaviour but he would prefer to laugh at her from a distance before ignoring her. And once it became clear that a son, the necessary heir to Longbourn, was not going to follow Lydia’s birth, Mr and Mrs Bennet were all but strangers. Elizabeth had daily proof that it was far better to be single than to marry someone she did not care for.
“Still, to think about being single for life with no family of your own…” said Georgiana. She bit her lip as though afraid she might offend Elizabeth, who merely laughed.
“It is not my first preference. I would much prefer to meet a man I could really love and spend my life with him. But if I do not find him, my sister Jane is almost certain to marry. She is the most beautiful of us all and is widely considered the most beautiful
girl in Hertfordshire. Once she is wed, I will simply live with her and be the eccentric aunt who teaches her children to play the pianoforte very ill indeed. I will be surrounded by love and family whether I marry or not.”
Georgiana smiled at the picture. “You are fortunate to come from a big family. I should love to have a sister. Fitzwilliam is wonderful and I could not ask for a better brother. But a sister can be a much closer friend than a brother ever could. I cannot always speak to him about issues that concern me the way I could with a sister.”
Elizabeth gave her a sympathetic look. “I hope you have friends you can confide in? I was your age not that long ago and I can remember how confusing it was.”
“But you had your sisters. And a mother. Did they not help you?”
“Jane did. But my mother was ...” Elizabeth’s lips curved into a smile. “My mother is not the easiest to confide in. She is wrapped up in her own affairs and suffers from her nerves. She does not always find it easy to manage her daughter’s concerns.”
“Ah. That must be difficult.” Georgiana pursed her lips. “I do not have many friends, I am afraid. I am rather quiet and I do not find it easy to converse with strangers. I never know what to say and I always fear I will say the wrong thing. There have been times when I have attended tea with other young ladies and then lain awake all night afterwards worrying over something I said and how they might have perceived it. Can you imagine anything so foolish?” The little laugh that followed her words did not deceive Elizabeth. She drew Georgiana’s arm through hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“My sister Jane is a little like that. She is thought of as the most beautiful and graceful girl in Hertfordshire and is loved by everyone yet she worries about how she might be perceived. I do not think it foolish at all. And I do not think it says anything about how valuable you are as a friend and how enjoyable your company is. I have only known you a short time and yet I am glad I met you. I am known for being very selective about my friends and yet I am always happy in your company.”
An Engagement at Pemberley Page 7
