13. Chapter 13
T he next morning, after breakfast, Elizabeth enlisted Matthew to ride out with her over the grounds so she might take a look at the amount of debris still needing to be removed.
After she covered a reasonable portion of the estate, Elizabeth decided to head back to the house and spend some time with Georgiana.
The previous evening, she had asked Elizabeth and her sisters to call her by her given name, and they had asked her to do likewise.
She was pleased Georgiana felt so comfortable with them now.
As Elizabeth and Matthew approached the house, they noticed the Lucas’ carriage coming down the drive.
Matthew helped Elizabeth dismount, then led both horses away. She then walked towards the carriage.
“Sir William, Charlotte, welcome!” Elizabeth greeted them with a smile.
“Miss Eliza! I hope you are well?” Sir William asked.
“Very well, sir, and you?”
“Tolerably well, thank you.”
“Hello, Elizabeth,” Charlotte said, smiling.
“Hello, my friend. Please come in.”
“Mr. Hill, could we have tea in the drawing room, please?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, Miss Elizabeth, I shall see to it.”
“Thank you.”
Elizabeth led their guests into the drawing room, where they found her sisters, Georgiana, and Mrs. Annesley.
“Look who has come to call,” Elizabeth announced to the room.
“Sir William, Charlotte, it is good to see you!” Jane said.
She introduced Mrs. Annesley to them and invited them to have a seat.
“Thank you, Miss Bennet,” Sir William said.
While Sir William and Charlotte exchanged greetings with everyone, Elizabeth pulled Jane to the side.
“I asked Mr. Hill to arrange for tea to be brought.”
“Thank you, Lizzy. Perhaps they can stay for luncheon.”
Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “Yes, that would be nice.”
She and Jane joined their guests.
“I am relieved to find you all well and Longbourn in good condition,” Sir William said warmly.
“We appreciate you checking on us, Sir William. Papa will appreciate it as well. He escorted my mother and youngest sisters to town Wednesday,” Jane said.
“Did he? Well, I am sorry you girls had to endure such a vicious storm on your own,” Sir William said.
“Fortunately, Mr. Darcy suspected we might have severe weather,” Mary informed him. “He prepared us very well. He told us what to expect and what precautions to take.”
“That is good, very good! I would be interested to learn of his knowledge on the subject,” Sir William said.
“Indeed,” Charlotte agreed.
“We expect Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley here soon. Would you and Charlotte like to join us for luncheon?” Jane asked.
With a quick glance to his daughter for her agreement, Sir William said, “I believe we would! Thank you, Miss Bennet!”
Mrs. Hill entered the drawing room with tea. Jane informed her that Sir William and Charlotte would stay for luncheon.
“How are things at Lucas Lodge? We hope everyone is well, and the property is intact,” Elizabeth said.
Sir William accepted a cup of tea from Jane and then replied, “Thank you, Miss Elizabeth. Everyone is well, and fortunately, we suffered no damage. There is quite a bit of debris blown about the place, but such is the case for many of our neighbors.”
“Have you spoken with many in the neighborhood?” Mary asked.
“We spoke with several yesterday and a few today as well. Mr. Lewis has a kitchen window that was broken due to a projectile. A rock, I believe. Mrs. Harp has several trees that were felled in the storm. Two of them are very near her cottage,” Charlotte said.
“Yes, and there are more of our neighbors with like stories,” Sir William said. “I am glad, however, that we have not heard of any injuries.”
“Yes, thank goodness for that,” Jane agreed.
Elizabeth explained how the Netherfield party had to flee to Longbourn shortly after the storm had passed.
“My goodness!” exclaimed Charlotte. “What a harrowing experience you must have had!”
“Indeed, it was,” Georgiana confirmed. “I hope I never have to go through another storm like that ever again. It was horrible, was it not, Mrs. Annesley?”
“Oh, indeed. I believe Miss Darcy and I were both quite frozen with fright. Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy took us each by the arm and hurried us to safety,” Mrs. Annesley said.
“I was so grateful that my brother knew what to do,” Georgiana said. “He also helped get Jane, Elizabeth, and Mary to safety. When the weather became blustery that morning, he immediately ordered his carriage to go in search of them.”
“Yes, thankfully, Lizzy had told Mr. Darcy of our plans to visit tenants that morning. We were most grateful they came to our aid. The wind was so strong by that time, we were not sure how we were going to make it home,” Jane said. “Indeed, when they found us, we were taking shelter behind a tree.”
Oh, no! Elizabeth thought. The last thing she needed was Charlotte learning of their morning misadventures and that Mr. Darcy had come to their rescue.
She would never hear the end of it. Too late now!
She could feel Charlotte’s eyes on her. Jane and Georgiana were innocently supplying Charlotte with so much ammunition, and there was nothing Elizabeth could do to stop it.
Her friend was not going to let this go. She knew it.
“I say!” Sir William said. “It was very fortunate that Mr. Darcy remembered your plans and thought to come look for you.”
“Oh yes, very fortunate indeed,” Charlotte said, looking at Elizabeth with an expression only she understood.
Elizabeth ignored her.
They all continued to visit, and about a quarter to noon, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy joined them. When Mr. Darcy entered the room, Elizabeth felt her heart jump in her chest. She also felt excited and giddy that he was there. Both gentlemen greeted everyone, then sat down.
Sir William asked Mr. Bingley how he had found the tenants. They began a discussion on the wind damage experienced by some of Netherfield’s tenants as well as some nearby neighbors.
After a minute or two of politely listening to their conversation, Elizabeth let her eyes wander here and there.
She wanted to look in Mr. Darcy’s direction, but she could not.
Not yet. She needed to be subtle. She had to give the impression that she was casually looking around the room.
Elizabeth moved her gaze back to Sir William and Mr. Bingley for a few moments, then she looked away again and noticed Georgiana watching her.
They shared a smile. Then, Elizabeth finally looked towards Mr. Darcy—and found him looking at her!
Her stomach dropped. How long had he been watching her?
Nervous and unsure of what to do in that moment, Elizabeth’s first inclination was to give a quick smile and then look away.
At the last second, however, she decided to be bold and embrace the awkwardness of not turning away.
After all, she was the one who caught him looking at her!
She had no reason to feel embarrassed, and a part of her wanted to see what Mr. Darcy would do.
So, she bravely held his gaze. He did not look away and neither did she.
His gaze grew warmer as a smile slowly appeared on his face.
Butterflies were dancing inside her as she returned his smile.
Several seconds later the moment came to an end when Elizabeth turned at the sound of her sister’s voice.
“Shall we go through?” Jane addressed the group.
Elizabeth quickly glanced back at Mr. Darcy and was again met with a warm look and a smile. As before, she reciprocated in kind.
They all stood. Jane linked arms with Georgiana, and together they led the group to the dining room. Jane stood at the hostess’ seat with Georgiana at her right.
“Everyone, please sit where you like.”
As they waited for luncheon to be served, Mr. Darcy addressed Sir William.
“Bingley and I just learned the London Road has been cleared as far as Watford.”
“Yes, I heard the same. It may be Monday, midday at least, before you are able to travel,” Sir William said.
Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley nodded in agreement with that assessment.
Sir William continued. “I received word the high winds we experienced for much of Wednesday originated with a storm out at sea that hit the coast and moved inland."
“Is that so?” Mr. Darcy asked. “Then it appears we had two storms on our hands."
“It does indeed appear that way. I understand you have some knowledge of whirlwinds.”
“A bit. I have acquainted myself with the current thinking on how best to deal with them when they strike.”
“Whirlwinds seem to spin up when there has been thunderstorm activity. That is what an old friend of mine experienced. Almost a year ago, a whirlwind storm ripped through his area of Hampshire. It destroyed several buildings, then it disappeared,” Sir William said, snapping his fingers, “just like that.”
“They are certainly a mystery,” Mr. Darcy said. “We never know when they will form, or how destructive they will be. It seems the safest thing to do is assume every storm might be dangerous until proven otherwise.”
“Indeed,” Sir William said.
Shortly after luncheon, Sir William and Charlotte rose to take their leave. They expressed regret that Mr. Bingley and the Darcys must soon leave the neighborhood. They also wished them a safe journey back to London.
Jane and Elizabeth excused themselves to walk the Lucases to their carriage. While Jane accompanied Sir William, Elizabeth followed with Charlotte.
As they walked, Charlotte looked at Elizabeth and grinned.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Yes, Charlotte? Is there something you would like to say?”
“Oh, my dear Eliza, are you sure it is not you that has something to say to me?” Charlotte asked with contrived innocence.
“If you will recall, I did tell you some days back that I had a few things to acquaint you with,” Elizabeth said.
“Yes, I do recall. We were to discuss these things the day of the storm, were we not? I am sure you remember, of course, damsel in distress that you were,” Charlotte said, giggling.
Elizabeth could not hold back her laughter at Charlotte’s ridiculousness. They came to stand in front of the carriage.
“Perhaps I shall call on you after my guests leave for London.”
“Please do! I shall look forward to it!” Charlotte said with a teasing smile. Then she turned and allowed her father to hand her into the carriage.
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head.
Sir William bid them farewell and boarded the carriage. Elizabeth and Jane waved and watched them drive away. Once the carriage left the drive, they went back inside to their guests.
Darcy had accompanied Bingley to check on the progress of a few tenants with significant wind damage.
Repairs were already underway at each farm, and the Netherfield cook was told to prepare dinner again for those tenants.
Netherfield itself was badly damaged. When he and Bingley arrived at the house to look it over, the sight before them was shocking.
The situation was much worse than it appeared the night of the storm, as they had suspected it might be.
They were hard-pressed to find a single window that had not been shattered.
In the light of day, it was also easy to see the water damage in parts of the house where the roof had been torn away.
Now, with the house exposed to the elements and animals the way it was, it would only worsen.
Darcy could see no way forward other than for it to be demolished.
The steward had likely already written the owner regarding the state of Netherfield Park. However, Bingley also wrote a letter informing him of the storm, the state of the house, and the situation of the staff and tenants.
That morning, as Darcy assisted his friend, his head had been full of Elizabeth Bennet.
He kept reflecting on the previous day. They had practically spent the whole day together, and he had enjoyed every minute of it.
He liked the way she interacted with Longbourn’s tenants.
It was obvious they were fond of her and respected her.
What would it be like to have her by his side as mistress of Pemberley?
To have her riding on the estate with him?
He was sure she would develop a good rapport with Pemberley’s tenants as well, and she would show the same dedication to his estate as she did to her father’s.
She would grow to love Pemberley and its people just as she did Longbourn.
And he was certain they would also grow to love her.
When he and Bingley had returned to the house and then joined everyone in the drawing room, Darcy had found it difficult to attend to the conversation.
His focus had been entirely on Miss Elizabeth .
. . on her eyes, her smile, her hair. Normally, he would cast a look around the room to make sure he was not being observed, but he suddenly found himself not caring if he was seen looking at her.
So, he continued to feast his eyes on her.
Of course, minutes later, she turned his way and saw that he was watching her.
Darcy thought she would demurely look away, but instead she daringly held his gaze.
She can hold a man prisoner with those eyes , he had thought to himself as he looked at her.
He could not repress the smile that had come to his lips. Miss Elizabeth had smiled back at him—
Pausing his musings, Darcy looked at his pocket watch.
It was half an hour before dinner. With his mind repeatedly wandering to other things, such as Miss Elizabeth, he had not been very productive in going through his correspondence.
Well, it would keep. Darcy put his letters away and got up to change for dinner.