Chapter 32
Hyde Park
“It is lovely here, is it not?” Elizabeth mused.
“Yes, it is very lovely,” Mr. Darcy agreed. “There is something very special about spring after a hard winter.”
“Oh, I agree! What was it like at Pemberley when you left a few days ago? When we visited Wrayburn, spring was well advanced compared to Longbourn. It is startling how even eighty miles can result in such differences.”
“When we were driving south, we went from very early spring to full spring in two days. I do love Pemberley, of course, with all my heart, but it is substantially colder than London, and while I do not generally mind the cold, I get rather tired of winter by early March.”
“I do as well, especially since January and February at Longbourn are often wet and muddy more than icy. I envy your pond, Mr. Darcy. Serena described ice skating with such joy.”
“Have you ever skated before?”
“I have not,” the lady said wistfully.
Darcy cleared his throat and then said, “Perhaps one day you will be at Pemberley in winter and can learn how to ice skate on our pond.”
Miss Elizabeth’s cheeks turned a trifle pinker, accentuating her remarkable beauty, and she said, “I would enjoy that very much.”
Darcy found himself swallowing hard in the face of such loveliness, but he managed to say, “Miss Elizabeth, would you do me the honor of dancing the first set with me at the Matlock Ball?”
She looked startled and then smiled. “I would like that, so long as Serena does not require you for that set.”
He grinned. “My cousin Richard has promised to dance the first set with Serena, and his brother the viscount will dance the second.”
“Then yes, and thank you.”
“Elizabeth!” a voice cried from behind them, and Darcy turned along with his companion to observe a young man and a young woman hurrying toward them, arm in arm. He glanced at Elizabeth, whose eyes were now glowing.
“Priscilla! Zachary! Good morning! I did not expect to see you today!”
“We arrived last night and wished to see you this morning, so Father escorted us to your hired house. He and your mother are talking, and we decided we would enjoy a walk,” the young woman explained and then turned to Darcy. “Might I have the honor of being introduced to your companion, Cousin?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth said. “Priscilla, Zachary, Mr. Darcy of Pemberley. Mr. Darcy, my cousins Miss Rutherford and Mr. Rutherford.”
Bows and curtseys were exchanged, and Darcy, when he had straightened again, found himself inspecting both brother and sister carefully.
Miss Rutherford was a diminutive brunette, with dark eyes and a pretty face, while her brother was almost six feet tall, with red hair of a darker shade than Miss Elizabeth’s.
He thought he could trace the family resemblance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Rutherford, though it was faint.
The two were mere second cousins, after all.
“Elizabeth,” a new voice said, “would you kindly introduce us?”
Miss Bennet and Colonel Fitzwilliam had circled back, and Elizabeth made further introductions. Darcy, who found himself regarding Mr. Rutherford suspiciously, was relieved when that gentleman looked genuinely thunderstruck at Miss Bennet’s beauty.
It was a trifle chilly to stand still for too long, and thus the group, now six, began walking again.
Darcy, to his regret, was mostly tongue-tied, though Richard did an excellent job of picking up any slack in the conversation.
Mr. Rutherford, too, was not particularly loquacious and kept stealing glances not at Elizabeth, but at her stepsister, Jane.
Well, that was encouraging.
***
Drawing Room
The Bennet’s Rented House
“You like tea with milk and one lump of sugar, I believe?” Mrs. Bennet said to her cousin, Lord Langdon.
“Yes, thank you,” her cousin said with a nod and a smile.
Mrs. Bennet poured and handed the cup over, and then she prepared a cup for herself.
“What do you think of your hired house on Orchard Street?”
“It seems well enough,” Lord Langdon said, looking around himself. “I have not seen much of this house yet, but I would say it is similar to the one we are renting. Ours is not overly large, but comfortable enough along with not being overly expensive.”
“Those were our priorities as well,” Mrs. Bennet said, taking a sip of pleasantly hot tea. “Well, there was one major consideration, and that was that Elizabeth desired to be within easy walking distance of a park. She is a great walker, and Hyde Park is only a few steps away.”
Langdon nodded and turned his attention back to his tea, and Mrs. Bennet, gazing at her cousin, was aware of an odd expression on his countenance.
“Is something wrong, Stanley?” she asked.
Lord Langdon sighed, set his teacup down, and leaned forward. “Annabelle, I received a note from Lady Hampton, my wife’s sister, that there are rumors floating throughout society that Elizabeth has a fortune of nearly ninety thousand pounds. Is that true?”
Mrs. Bennet sucked in a quick breath and rested back against her chair. “Where did she hear that?”
“I do not know, but Lady Hampton has her finger on the pulse of Society gossip, and she makes a habit of being right about such things.”
Mrs. Bennet wrinkled her nose and admitted, “Very well, it is true enough, but I had hoped that the specific details of Elizabeth’s fortune would not … oh dear! Every impecunious gentleman in London will be interested in her.”
Lord Langdon continued to stare at her, and she said with a sigh, “I have thought about Wrayburn, of course. Eight and eighty thousand pounds would do much to restore the estate to its former glory, but I will not push my daughter into an unwanted marriage. I hope you understand that.”
Langdon’s expression softened, and he said, “Naturally, I do, especially after your own difficult experience. I merely wondered whether you are opposed to a marriage between my Zachary and your Elizabeth.”
“Oh no, of course not! I do not pretend to know your eldest son well, but he seems a very fine young man, and if Elizabeth were to fall in love with him, I would be well pleased. I do find Wrayburn’s condition to be disturbing … but I will not push her towards your son.”
“I am very glad to hear you say this,” Lord Langdon returned with a relieved grin.
“I would love nothing more than for our children to be united in marriage, not just because of the money, though I will not pretend that a vast fortune is of no interest, but because you truly were always my favorite cousin.”
Annabelle chuckled and said, “Well, there were only four of us cousins, and Aunt Maria’s girls were so much younger that we did not spend much time together. Whatever happened to Julia and Sophia?”
“They married brothers from Yorkshire and live there year-round. I suppose they might return to London when their children are older, but I think none of the children are yet fifteen years old.”
“I see,” Mrs. Bennet said. She poured more tea for her guest and herself and then said, “As I said, I am certainly happy for Elizabeth to spend a substantial amount of time with you and your family.”
Lord Langdon nodded. “I can ask for nothing else.”
***
The Darcy Carriage
Later
“Well, what did you think of her, Richard?” Darcy asked eagerly as his carriage pulled away from the front door of the Bennets’ hired house.
Colonel Fitzwilliam turned an oddly blank countenance toward his cousin. “What?”
Darcy glared at his cousin in exasperation. “Miss Elizabeth! What did you think of her?”
“Oh, Miss Elizabeth, yes, that is, erm, she seems a very pleasant young lady. Pretty, lively…”
Richard trailed off at the now glowering expression on Darcy’s face.
“Darcy,” he said weakly.
“Yes?”
“Why did you not tell me that Miss Jane Bennet is so incredibly lovely?”
Darcy blinked, leaned back up against the squabs, and groaned aloud. “Richard, do not tell me that you have fallen in love with a pretty face.”
“Pretty? Pretty? Miss Bennet is perhaps the most handsome woman I have ever met in my life. Moreover, she is cheerful, and courteous, and not at all proud, which is what I expect when I see an incredibly beautiful woman. Miss Elizabeth is handsome, without a doubt, but Miss Bennet is … is … exquisite! I assume she is not an heiress, but maybe she has something? Do you know?”
“No, I do not.”
“A pity. I will ask my mother. She will determine the truth. But I do not know, Darcy; I believe it would be worth a degree of frugality to live with that glorious woman. She is marvelous…”
He trailed off with a ridiculous expression on his face, and Darcy suppressed a huff. So much for obtaining assistance from Richard in his own pursuit of Miss Elizabeth!
***
Lord Langdon’s Carriage
“So Cousin Elizabeth is a great heiress,” Priscilla Rutherford said with round eyes.
“A very great heiress,” her father agreed.
He turned his face toward his son, who was sitting across from him and said, “Zachary, I would never wish for you to be unhappy in your marriage, but if you were to marry your cousin, it would be a considerable blessing financially. I am aware that sounds rather cold, but it is reality.”
Zachary nodded his head and said in a dispassionate tone, “I know it is my duty to find an heiress to marry, and Elizabeth is a charming, intelligent young woman.”
Lord Langdon regarded his heir carefully. “I truly do not wish for you to be unhappy, Son.”
Zachary looked out the window at the various brick houses and then turned back and said, “I am certain that if I were able to win Elizabeth’s hand in marriage, we would rub along well enough.”
“But you are obviously not excited at the prospect.”
“I think Zachary is half in love with Miss Jane Bennet,” Priscilla said in a saucy tone.
Lord Langdon turned a startled look on his daughter, and then, looking back at his son, noted the tinge of red on the young man’s cheeks.
“Miss Jane Bennet?” he repeated.
“Elizabeth’s stepsister,” Priscilla explained. “She and Elizabeth were walking with a Mr. Darcy and a Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Miss Bennet is very beautiful.”
Lord Langdon was startled. “Is she? I think your cousin Elizabeth is quite handsome.”
“Oh, without a doubt,” Priscilla said, “but Miss Bennet is like a fairy princess, with blonde hair and blue eyes and a perfect figure and perfect height. Do you not agree, Brother?”
Zachary’s cheeks flushed darker red, and Lord Langdon suppressed a sigh. Well, this was an unwanted complication.