16
June 18, Mistelbach, Lower Austria
It was midsummer, and they had crossed from Moravia to Austria, just a day’s ride from Vienna. Waking from deep sleep Elizabeth saw daylight through a crack in the curtain, and eased out of bed carefully to avoid waking Justina. The mantel clock showed half past five, so she could rest another hour. But she felt alert already, and after days on the road, impatient for activity—and solitude.
Quietly she put on a plain dress, shawl, and half-boots, and went down to the foyer, where servants were preparing for breakfast. No-one else was up. It was a small hotel, albeit the largest in the town of Mistelbach an der Zaya, which according to Edmund Lindale meant ‘Mistletoe stream on the river Zaya’. A footman greeted her in German as she emerged into the plaza.
The Zaya was more a ditch than a river, but in compensation had a broad path on its bank which opened on to countryside: in ten minutes Elizabeth had left the town behind and was traversing farmland mostly devoted to wheat. The landscape was featureless: a few trees and hedges, otherwise only fields. The sky was grey. But it was not raining, and she was out of doors—and alone. She could walk and think.
The brouhaha over Lydia had died down after Lord Selborn’s intervention. Everyone knew, and the prevailing attitude was sympathetic, focussing on hopes for recovering Lydia rather than the Bennets’ reputation. Doubts over Elizabeth’s suitability as companion had never been raised. Georgiana Darcy went out of her way to be friendly, for reasons Elizabeth understood, but never mentioned. Elizabeth and Justina shared hotel rooms but saw little of one another on the road: Justina had reverted to travelling with the Darcys.
Taking the long view, events seemed to be moving, as inexorably as water flowing downhill, towards a stable set of alliances. Elizabeth was treated more as friend than employee, almost an adopted daughter. Selborns and Darcys were not merely compagnons de voyage: Justina had become close to Miss Darcy and perhaps even closer to her brother. Lord Selborn evidently thought highly of Darcy, and also of his assistant Edmund Lindale, who had become part of their social circle, and was seen as a potential suitor for—Elizabeth.
None of this escaped Lady Selborn, who guided the dance like a puppet master. With Justina usually riding with the Darcys, Elizabeth had spent many hours tête-à-tête with her employer, and bad feeling over l’affaire Lydia was forgotten. Convinced by her husband’s reasoning, Lady Selborn had apologised for her criticism, so regaining Elizabeth’s trust and confidence.
It was now agreed without reservation that Darcy was a most suitable match for Justina. Regarding Edmund Lindale, Elizabeth was less sure. As a friend she could not fault him. Invariably pleasant and reasonable, he was a fount of knowledge, while retaining a light touch. Almost certainly he would climb the social ladder, enter parliament, and add to the wealth he would inherit from his father. But the linking of her name to his made Elizabeth uneasy. Somehow he was too perfect, leaving her heart untouched. It was as if she needed a challenge: the difference between a beautiful but simple piano piece and one that could be mastered only by effort and improvement.
The stream bent round a barn next to a copse, and all at once Elizabeth had company, a tall man walking towards her, too stylish to be a farmer. She felt a quiver of unease, alone in a foreign country at an hour when hardly anyone was around. But the gait was familiar, and she relaxed.
How odd, she thought, to feel relief on meeting Darcy.
‘Miss Bennet.’ He bowed. ‘This is unexpected.’
She studied him, trying to read his expression. ‘Am I to be scolded?’
‘What have you done now?’
‘Rashly ventured out alone, as I did at the theatre.’
The hint of a smile. ‘And what motivated such an indiscretion, so early in the morning?’
‘I could enquire the same of you.’
‘I suppose, a need for solitude.’ He sighed. ‘It is wearing, I find, to be constantly near others. At Pemberley I can lose myself in the park. Here I am in company all day, and have to watch over Georgiana.’
She pointed ahead. ‘Anything interesting round the next corner?’
‘Only more fields, with young wheat struggling to survive the weather.’
‘Then I might as well turn back, unless you prefer to be alone.’
‘I would be happy to accompany you.’
‘And I you.’ Elizabeth began walking. ‘But not a word of this to Lady Justina. She will fear she has a rival.’
He was suddenly alert. ‘Have you mentioned …’
‘Hunsford?’ She shivered. ‘I am much too ashamed to confide that particular disaster. I hope …’ She regarded him with a raise of the eyebrows.
‘I have said nothing, for the same reason.’
‘Ah.’
Elizabeth fell silent, wondering exactly what Darcy was ashamed of. But while she was considering whether to raise the point, he said, ‘If it is not intrusive, what has it been like, living with the Selborns?’
‘In different ways they have been extremely kind.’
‘I knew them formerly only by reputation, but I have to admire their dedication. A most distinguished family.’
Elizabeth smiled. ‘Which makes it surprising they chose me as companion, don’t you agree?’
‘How did that come about?’
She explained, and with a smile he said, ‘So Lady Justina wanted someone as lively as herself, perhaps.’
‘I wasn’t feeling lively after the misfortunes of the last years. But I did answer back.’
‘I can see sparks would fly …’ A pause. ‘But you like one another, do you not?’
‘In our fashion. Why? What does she say about me?’
He hesitated. ‘The usual theme is that you are impossible and that she cannot understand why she puts up with you. But this is said with an affection that points the other way.’
‘She shows no ambivalence about you. Only approval.’
He looked surprised, but also pleased. ‘She has certainly lifted our moods these last weeks. So gifted, so exuberant, she reminds one that life can be worth living—a corrective after …’ He broke off. ‘Forgive me, Miss Bennet. Your family has endured far worse.’
‘Perhaps, but we do not have a monopoly on misfortune. May I ask …’ She paused. ‘To what you are referring?’
Darcy looked away across the fields, as if reflecting, and she feared her question might be too intrusive. But after a few seconds he sighed, and said, ‘I would have to begin back in 1812, the year of our last meeting, when I left Rosings with Colonel Fitzwilliam. I was in a low humour, of course, and to distract myself stayed for the tail end of the season, while Fitz was called into service to help provision Wellington’s army in Spain. Then I returned to Pemberley, leaving Georgiana with the Bingleys. There I fished, caught up with estate business, and thought a lot, especially about myself. In August, Georgiana came up with the Bingleys, and I confessed to Charles my regret at—you know.’
Elizabeth gasped. ‘Did you confide what had passed between us?’
He shook his head. ‘Pride restrained me, as well as consideration for yourself. Bingley was shocked, even angry, but resolved to return to Netherfield in the autumn in hope that your sister would give him a second chance.’
‘After which you heard about Lydia?’
‘From Lady Catherine. I rode to London to confront Mrs Younge …’
‘I noticed you mentioned her name when we spoke with Mr Wickham.’
‘Just so. But I was too late. As we know, he had fled the country. Bingley decided it would be unfair to Caroline to ally himself to your family, now that this indiscretion was widely known. Meanwhile, we feared for Colonel Fitzwilliam’s safety in Spain, and Georgiana was troubled over the next season, when I had assumed she would be ready to come out. From Caroline she had learned about Lydia, and perhaps for the first time understood the horrors she had narrowly escaped. Seeing her distress, I persuaded her to wait another year and come out in 1813.’
‘And did she?’
‘Yes. Gradually we rebuilt. Fitz returned safely. Bingley took another estate and courted Miss Fairley. In 1814 Bonaparte was defeated and we made plans for a Grand Tour to start in spring 1815.’ He threw up his hands. ‘In vain, of course. Bonaparte escaped from Elba, the war restarted, and Colonel Fitzwilliam was once again called to action. At Waterloo.’
‘And so you rescheduled your tour for this year,’ Elizabeth said. ‘Only to be met by horrible weather—and the proximity of a person you decidedly did not wish to meet.’
‘The feeling, I imagine, was mutual.’
‘At first.’ Elizabeth faced him earnestly. ‘But I hope we are over that. Meanwhile, you have made the acquaintance of the Selborns—a connection that has given pleasure to Miss Darcy as well as yourself.’
He smiled. ‘Georgiana is certainly an enthusiastic advocate for Lady Justina, whom she admires exceedingly.’
They reached the edge of the town, and hearing the church clock strike quarter to seven, Elizabeth was brought back to the present. Her toilette. Breakfast. And the 40-mile coach ride to their main objective.
Vienna!