‘No, Miss Lizzy; of course he is not.’
Alice picked up the basket of laundry as Elizabeth took the stairs two at a time in her haste to escape; then the housekeeper muttered under breath.
‘And the cow in the bottom field is by rights a bull, despite everyone can see it has no horns. As plain as the nose on my face, if you ask me!’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The fine September weather continued into Thursday, and Elizabeth opened her window to allow the morning air to drift into her chamber. Inhaling deeply, she smiled. Though she had enjoyed a short ramble before breaking her fast with her father and Jane, she was keen to be out again as soon as she could.
Her mind drifted towards whether she would encounter Mr Darcy somewhere on the estate today, and the smile faded. Whence had come this anticipation of their next encounter? Was it truly every day since his return their paths had crossed in some form or other?
The sound of horses on the gravel drew her attention, and she peered out of the window to see the carriage being brought round. Mr Bennet had informed his daughters over breakfast of his intention to travel to Buxton today—a matter of business, he claimed, but the town was sixteen miles distant, and Elizabeth could not recall his ever having been there before...
A light tap came on the door, and Jane entered holding a thick woollen blanket. ‘Alice insists I take this with me into the garden.’
Elizabeth laughed, thankful for the interruption, and picked up her shawl from the bed before following Jane from the room. ‘It pleases me to see you so much better, but I suspect your carers are not done with you yet!’
They were soon settled in the garden at a large wooden table, and Alice joined them directly with a tray holding all the necessary things for their planned occupation: the making of lavender bags.
‘Now, Miss Jane, you keep that about your shoulders.’ Alice picked up the two ends of the blanket, which Jane had left hanging loose over her arms, and tied them firmly across her charge’s chest, almost imprisoning her in the process. ‘And no more than an hour or so out here, if you please. We do not want a relapse.’
Jane looked up at the housekeeper from the folds of the blanket. ‘I am quite well again, Alice.’
Alice nodded. ‘That you are, miss; and why, pray, is it so? Plenty of rest, and ample of Cook’s chicken broth. I said it would put paid to that cold, did I not?’
Elizabeth hid her smile as Alice headed back towards the house, but then Jane nudged her foot from under the table.
‘Lizzy, help me, please?’
Elizabeth hurried to her sister’s side to release the knot and free her arms again.
‘Just keep an eye out for Alice at one of the windows. You know she will check up on you.’
‘But it is so mild,’ Jane raised her face to the sun. ‘And the breeze is so uplifting.’
‘It is also mischievous!’ Elizabeth grabbed a ball of ribbons as it rolled merrily across the table. ‘Do you want to fill the bags or sew?’
Jane held her hand out for the small jute bags and picked up a bunch of dried lavender from the basket on the bench beside her, and they set to work for a while in a comfortable silence.
‘We ought to send a message to Mr Wentworth.’ Elizabeth peeped at Jane from under her lashes as she stitched. ‘He expressed an interest in calling directly once you were well.’
‘I do not see there is any need to rush into seeing people.’
Elizabeth smirked. ‘Mr Wentworth is more than just ‘people’, is he not? Besides, what of the poor man’s heart?’
Dropping the bunch of lavender she held onto the table, Jane stared at her sister. ‘You should not make such assumptions, Lizzy!’
‘No, of course I should not. But Jane...’ Serious now, Elizabeth held her sister’s gaze. ‘Would you accept his hand, should he offer it?’
Picking up a filled bag, Jane passed it to her sister. ‘It would be pleasing to be settled so closely to The Grange.’
‘Jane!’ Elizabeth picked up her needle again and applied it expertly to the fabric. ‘Marriage is not a matter of convenient geography!’
Jane’s smile was impish. ‘The Grange is suitably close to Pemberley as well.’
‘Ouch!’ Elizabeth sucked her finger where the needle had pierced it, her insides dipping at her sister’s inference. ‘I—you are... I am no fool, Jane; and foolish it would be to hope Mr Darcy might renew his addresses to me. A second proposal to the same woman? He would consider it a weakness, especially when he has been so fiercely rejected.’
Elizabeth could feel warmth filling her cheeks, and Jane’s smile widened. ‘You have given the possibility some thought, then, Lizzy?’
Picking up the ball of ribbons, Elizabeth threw it at her sister, who dodged it easily as it landed on the lawn and was swiftly blown away towards the shrubbery, and she leapt from her seat to chase it.
It seemed Jane was not done with her yet, though. ‘That is no answer, dear Lizzy.’
Restoring the ribbons to the tray, Elizabeth sat again. ‘Mr Darcy has other intentions; there is nothing else to be said on the matter. Besides,’ she eyed her sister firmly across the table. ‘We were talking of you, I believe, and Mr Wentworth.’
‘As you wish.’ Jane paused, then added, ‘Flattered though I am by his attentions, my heart is not touched. I have waited... expected to feel more. I know not why it is so, and thus it makes me hesitant.’
‘Dear Jane.’ Elizabeth reached across the table and took her sister’s hand. ‘There is no obligation on you to fall in the love with the gentleman, simply because he has a deep regard for you. I am sorry for teasing you so.’
Jane shook her head. ‘There is no need to apologise. Perchance I have become too cautious. I believed in a gentleman’s affection once before, but was let down by his inconstancy.’
‘He was convinced of your indifference by others.’
‘And he should have had more conviction in his own belief, should he not? We have talked of this.’
Elizabeth eyed her sister thoughtfully. ‘Indeed. You have barely mentioned Mr Bingley since he arrived in the neighbourhood.’
To Elizabeth’s surprise, Jane did not answer, placing instead a finger to her lips, and turning around she saw their father coming towards them, dressed for travelling.
‘I must be on my way, my dears.’ He dropped a kiss on top of each of their heads.
‘Are you quite well, Papa?’ Elizabeth frowned as she studied him in the daylight. ‘You are pale and look tired. Is it wise to go travelling?’
‘I hope you have not caught my cold, Papa.’
‘I did not sleep well, that is all.’
They watched him walk away. ‘Did you know Papa had business connections in Buxton, Jane? I did not; nor anywhere else in Derbyshire beyond the business of his tenancy, and that is all under the jurisdiction of Pemberley.’
‘No, I did not.’
Elizabeth sighed as she picked up the next jute bag. ‘Oft times, I feel I no longer know Papa.’
~o0o~
Darcy stood near the drawing room hearth, a cup of tea in his hand, and surveyed the scene before him. It was a rare moment of peace since his young visitors had arrived, for Viola’s nose was buried in her new sketchbook as she moved her pencil quickly across the page, and Olivia was seated beside Georgiana and Mrs Annesley with her music sheets. Bingley remained engrossed in the day’s paper and Darcy was about to walk across and join him when the door opened and a footman entered with the post, which he brought to Darcy on a silver salver.
‘There is one for you, Bingley.’ Darcy walked over to hand the letter, clearly in a feminine hand, to his friend. A quick glance was sufficient for Bingley to toss it unopened onto the side table. ‘Caroline,’ was his only comment as he applied himself to his paper once more.
Olivia looked up and exchanged a horrified look with her sister. ‘Brother, please tell us she is not to join us!’
‘The invitation would have to come
from Mr Darcy, my dear.’
Touched by the anxious look upon Olivia’s countenance as she looked towards him, Darcy shook his head.
‘We are about to receive my cousin and, beyond that, a party of visitors for some weeks. I have no expectation of welcoming any further guests.’
Both Olivia and Viola released visible sighs of relief as the former joined her sister on her sofa, and they began to talk rapidly to each other in lowered voices. Catching sight of Georgiana’s amusement, Darcy smiled and turned his attention to the two remaining letters on the salver.
The first was from his aunt, which he treated with the same respect as Bingley had shown his sister’s, then he frowned, recognising the seal on the second. Was Latimer withdrawing? A surge of hope took him by surprise, and he blinked, then stared at the seal again. Was that the way of it? Was he no longer anticipating the visit as a welcome distraction from... other people, so much so, he wished for it not to happen?
His former plans seemed a distant memory, a foolish aspiration since his return to Derbyshire. The message within was short, and Darcy turned to stare out of the window. Surely this was a positive thing?
‘Brother?’ He turned back as Georgiana came to stand beside him. ‘You are troubled?’
‘Not at all.’ He raised the letter. ‘The Latimers are ahead of themselves. They propose leaving Town a week earlier than planned and will join us on Monday. Latimer writes to request my agreement to it.’
Georgiana glanced over to where Olivia and Viola were seated side by side, giggling about something. ‘Then they will overlap—the twins and the Latimers.’
Darcy followed her glance as Viola let out an unladylike snort of laughter, quickly hushed by her brother who lowered his paper to glare at her.
‘There is more than adequate space for us all, Georgie.’ There would also be no time for riding idly in the direction of The Grange. ‘Perchance it is for the best.’
Georgiana eyed him in silence for a moment, before turning away. ‘If you say so, Brother.’
Barely did Darcy have time to reach for his cooling cup of tea, when both the twins presented themselves before him.
‘We have a notion for an amusing scheme, Mr Darcy.’ Olivia smiled charmingly up at him, and he smiled in return.
‘We hope you do not object.’ Viola assumed as serious an expression as she could manage. ‘We have just spoken to Charles and he said we were too forward in suggesting it.’
Olivia nodded. ‘But we know that we are forward, and we suspect you know it too, so it did not seem a valid reason for not laying our plan before you.’
Darcy’s smile widened as they both linked arms with each other, identical hopeful expressions writ across their countenances.
‘I have no objection to forwardness when it is coupled with such honesty. Please tell me all.’
~o0o~
As the day progressed into the afternoon, Darcy could feel his will weakening. He was further tested when he took to the grounds with Bingley and the twins, Georgiana now taking the opportunity to attend to her pianoforte.
‘May we call upon the Miss Bennets, Brother?’ Viola tugged at her brother’s sleeve.
‘It would be the perfect moment to tell them of our plan!’ Olivia beamed at Darcy. ‘Would it not, Mr Darcy?’
‘It would indeed.’
Bingley smiled. ‘A capital notion!’ He turned to his friend. ‘Will you join us, Darcy?’
Darcy fought with himself, yet this time common sense won. Despite the strong temptation, this morning’s letter from Latimer had been a sound reminder of how things stood.
‘Not today, Bingley. I have yet to respond to Latimer’s note, and I must do so directly. Besides, I am unsure of the exact time of my cousin’s arrival and am keen to be here to welcome him.’
‘Of course, as you wish. Fetch your things, girls.’ They watched the twins skip away to gather their bonnets and gloves, and then turned their steps towards the gate in the far wall.
‘I say, Darcy. Would you have any objection to my raiding your hothouse? The girls say Miss Bennet has been unwell; she did not join her sister on her visit on Tuesday.’
‘Yes, I heard it from Miss Elizabeth Bennet.’ Bingley threw Darcy an amused glance and he added, ‘We happened upon one another yesterday.’
‘You seem to be happening upon one another with some frequency of late, old man. Has your aversion to the family eased since your travels?’
‘The circumstances are much altered.’ He eyed his friend thoughtfully. ‘So you wish to take flowers to Miss Bennet?’ Darcy smiled as his friend’s cheeks coloured.
‘I hardly know how to begin with her, Darcy. Her manner is not inviting, and thus I have been reluctant to make the attempt. The flowers are but a token, no more, for I doubt they could win her over.’ Bingley met Darcy’s eye firmly. ‘If Miss Bennet would have had me back in the year eleven, I would have been perfectly content. Now,’ Bingley turned to look back at the house. ‘Now I shall first seek an establishment of my own. Thereafter, my attention will fall to finding a partner in life to share it with.’
They drew to a halt by the door to one of the hothouses, and Bingley eyed him curiously. ‘But what of you? You have not spoken of it, but I suspect this invitation to the Latimers and the Hansens has a purpose, for you are not prone to opening Pemberley to visitors with whom you are so little acquainted. Are you not also seeking a wife?’
Perhaps if he said it aloud to his friend, it would help Darcy reinforce his original purpose? ‘It is true; I seek a mistress for Pemberley; the estate must have an heir.’
‘Hmmm. Your words are not encouraging, old friend.’ Bingley clapped Darcy on the shoulder as the twins came running along the path to join them. ‘I mentioned finding a wife, not a figurehead!’
Chapter Thirty
The day remained mild, though the breeze had stiffened considerably and several clouds had formed. Jane had donned a warm Spencer to discourage Alice from attempting to bundle her back into the blanket and listened as Elizabeth read to her from her book.
‘Miss Bennet! Miss Elizabeth!’
They looked up to see Olivia and Viola skipping across the lawn from the far side of the house towards them and behind them, at a slower pace, their brother bearing a bunch of flowers. Elizabeth put her book aside and got to her feet, her brow furrowed. Why this sense of disappointment Mr Darcy was not one of the party?
‘Good afternoon! You are in quite the hurry today.’ Elizabeth summoned a smile as both girls came to a halt and performed surprisingly neat and elegant curtsies.
‘Oh, Miss Elizabeth, we have such news!’ exclaimed Viola, clapping her hands together.
‘There is to be a picnic—’ interjected Olivia.
‘At Pemberley—’
‘On the day after the morrow—’
‘And we are to make all the arrangements!’
Viola beamed from Jane to Elizabeth. ‘You are all invited; Mr Bennet as well!’
‘Is it not the most exciting news you have heard this year?’
Both girls stared expectantly from Elizabeth to Jane, their eyes expressive of their good fortune in not only bringing such exciting news but also being the ones to share it.
‘It is certainly the most exciting in recent times. What say you, Jane? Does this not surpass anything we have heard of late?’ Elizabeth’s eyes twinkled as she turned to her sister and, taking her cue, Jane nodded.
‘Indeed it is.’ She turned to look at their brother who had now joined them. ‘Good day, sir.’
Mr Bingley greeted them both warmly, and Elizabeth then turned back to the twins.
‘Well, Miss Olivia, Miss Viola, do please pass on our thanks to Mr and Miss Darcy for including us.’
‘Oh, it is not their invitation’.
Viola shook her head. ‘Indeed not! We are to organise it, for the very notion was ours also!’
Elizabeth was a little unnerved to hear this, unsure if Mr Darcy understood the twins' int
entions for their guest list, but she smiled nonetheless. ‘Then it is a most pleasing one.’
‘Oh, we almost forgot.’ Olivia turned to Jane. ‘Miss Bennet, are you quite recovered? We were concerned to hear you could not join us for our walk the other day.’
Jane smiled. ‘Much better, thank you.’
‘We brought you these!’ Viola turned and whipped the bunch of roses from Bingley’s grasp and offered them. ‘Are they not beautiful?’
‘They are from Mr Darcy’s hothouse—well, one of them, for he has several. Is not the scent delicious?’
Jane dutifully buried her nose in the pretty offering before confirming it was so. ‘I will ask Alice to place them in water, and then we shall have some tea.’
She walked away towards the rear of the house, and Elizabeth noted the slightly crestfallen air of Mr Bingley.
‘And have you seen any more ghosts, Miss Viola?’
‘Yes indeed! We saw it again last night before going to bed.’
Bingley shook his head. ‘You should not speak of ghosts, my dear. I think it must all be your very active imagination.’
Viola looked most put out. ‘But the imagination does not see with its eyes, Charles. And we most assuredly saw it floating high up in the treetops again, did we not, ‘Livia?’
‘Most indubitably!’ She turned to her brother. ‘And would it not be impossible for us both to imagine the same thing at the exact same moment?’
Elizabeth bit back on her smile as Bingley opened his mouth, then closed it with a snap.
‘What have you been making?’ Viola was peering at the unused jute, sewing boxes and the remaining few strands of pink ribbon.
‘Lavender bags! Here, take one each.’ Elizabeth opened the sewing box and presented them both with a completed bag, and they pressed their noses to them.
‘Beautiful.’ Viola sneezed, then laughed. ‘It tickled my nose!’
Jane joined them just then. ‘Alice is insisting we return to the house; she says it is too cold now to take tea in the garden.’
They all turned to follow Jane, and soon the visitors were settled in the drawing room, but then Elizabeth remembered she had left her book and shawl outside.
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