Chapter 24
“Darcy, you need to improve your image.”
“Good morning to you too, Aunt. Would you care for some breakfast?” Darcy responded, calmly buttering his toast.
“You waste your time in niceties while Mrs. Hardwicke will soon convince your Miss Bennet that you are not worth her time,” Mrs. Ashcombe quipped as she poured herself some tea.
Darcy was immediately still, staring at his aunt, his toast half-eaten, “Are you going to expand on your point?” he said with gritted teeth, as Mrs. Ashcombe seemed absorbed in her tea.
“Well, how did you offend that Harrison fellow?” Mrs. Ashcombe asked as she finished her tea.
“Harrison, the steward from Briarwood?” Darcy replied with a frown. “He is the one who offended me. He made drunken claims in the village that I mean to sell Willowmere, and then had the audacity to demand that I appoint him steward. How do you know of him?”
“I overheard Mrs. Hardwicke speaking to her maid. She was inquiring about the new steward and mentioned Harrison’s grievances.
He is a slippery one, this Harrison; I had thought so, but you cannot tell Mrs. Hardwicke this, it will appear as complaining and I am sure a lady with Miss Bennet’s strength of character is not going to be impressed by that. ”
“Miss Elizabeth is not impressed by such superficial things,” Darcy responded primly.
“Well then, if you are so sure, why do you not walk up to the main house and proclaim that Harrison has it against you because you challenged his drunken claim.”
Darcy rubbed his forehead. “It will be petty, as I did it to allow the shopkeepers in the village to continue the credit of Willowmere. Miss Bennet is aware of it, but if I speak about it to her aunt it will come off as if I am trying to gain her gratitude. That would be insupportable.”
“Your father always touted your intelligence. Do me a favour and use it to ingratiate yourself with the aunt before you lose the favour of the niece.”
“I will go to the main house and try to be pleasant. Hopefully I will not be tongue-tied.” Darcy responded with worry.
He had been trying to improve himself and be a more amiable man after Elizabeth’s tirade at Hunsford but he was not sure if wishing it would make it so.
For all his flirtation with Elizabeth, never in his life had he needed to be pleasant in order to gain anything.
Mostly he could be as unpleasant as he wished, and still got whatever he desired.
Finally finishing his breakfast, he walked up to the main house to call on Mrs. Hardwicke.
“I hope you are completely recovered, madam,” he said taking a seat in front of Mrs. Hardwicke in the drawing room.
“Yes, I am well now, sir. I thank you for your concern.”
“Mrs. Hardwicke, I hope you are not threatened by my presence. I know entails can be tough and often unfair to the family, but I assure you I have no intention of causing any harm.”
“Mr. Darcy, it is your right to be present at an estate that belongs to you. That you are staying at the dower house is very much to your credit, for you could have easily demanded to stay here,” Mrs. Hardwicke responded.
“I would never be so ungentlemanly, madam. My right aside, you are grieving and I would never interfere with that. I held your husband in high esteem; he was a good man and I am very sorry that I did not have a closer relationship with him.”
“My husband always spoke well of the Darcy family, and I have nothing to hold against you. Indeed, even the entail is much more generous to me and my daughter than I would have expected.”
“I hope that if at any moment you are uncomfortable with any of my actions, then you will be forthright. I have no intention of stepping on your toes.”
“I thank you, sir, but I am quite comfortable,” Mrs. Hardwicke responded.
Darcy had hoped that the lady would speak of some of her concerns regarding Harrison’s complaints but she was too tight-lipped for his comfort.
He could not say anything more to assuage her concerns until she spoke of them.
Frustrated, Darcy decided to take his leave, hoping to speak to Elizabeth at the earliest opportunity.
She had been welcoming to his candid conversations and it was her good opinion he courted.
While he still wished to work on his own temper and personality and be a man she deserved, he genuinely did not care if anyone had a good opinion of him or not, as long as Elizabeth trusted him.
He was near the front door when another thought struck him, and he spoke to Mrs. Hardwicke, “I hope you are not offended by my renovation at the dower house. My aunt needed a purpose and I could not think of a better one. If you are opposed to the result you may do it over again whenever you wish and it shall be paid by the estate funds.”
“There is no need for that. My allowance is more than sufficient for whatever changes I may need to make; that said, I am sure Mrs. Ashcombe has done me a favour by taking care of the work.”
At a loss, Darcy finally left the house. He could feel that the lady did not approve of him, but there was nothing more he could do to change her opinion.
Mrs. Hardwicke went upstairs to her study as soon as Mr. Darcy left.
She was still reeling from all that the gentleman had said.
How could he have known about her concerns?
The only person she had spoken to was Elizabeth, and she had never thought that her niece would repeat a private conversation between them to the gentleman but a girl in love was not always wise.
She knew very well that intelligence did not preclude one from being a fool in love.
She was standing next to the window and could see Elizabeth running around with Margaret in the back garden.
She had been a godsend to her daughter, Elizabeth’s company and gentle care had helped her precious child laugh and enjoy life again.
Tears gathered in her eyes as she thought of her dear departed husband and the bond he had shared with their daughter.
Wiping her tears, Mrs. Hardwicke made a promise that she would not let any harm come to either of the girls; they were both innocent, untouched by the cruelties of the world.
No, she would save Elizabeth from herself if she had to.
Then, all at once, an idea struck her and with renewed purpose, she walked into Elizabeth’s bedchambers.
It had occurred to her that Mr. Darcy might have made some promise to her niece which he had no intention of honouring.
She knew that she was invading her niece’s privacy but felt justified in reasoning that Elizabeth was still young and under her guardianship as long as she was at Willowmere.
Looking around, she searched the drawers and her writing desk but could not find anything.
As she was about to leave, she saw the sketch pad Elizabeth always seemed to have in hand when in deep thought.
She flipped through it. Not really hoping to find anything, but was taken aback at what she saw.
The entwined E&D confirmed every one of her suspicions, and she leafed through the rest of the book. It was filled with Darcy’s name or initials sketched by her niece between some random words. Words that made little sense to her, but she was sure were connected to the gentleman.
Closing the sketch pad, Mrs. Hardwicke walked out of Elizabeth’s room all the while certain of the heartache that lay ahead for the poor girl.