Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
RUN AWAY WITH THE NOTION
“It is not for my own pleasure that I ride out this morning,” Darcy began awkwardly, glad his cravat hid the flush that ran up his neck.
His sister peered at him with innocent expectation.
“Quite by accident, I happened upon a situation…an unfortunate situation wherein a young lady of gentle birth is raising, by herself, her young brother. Although he is three years old, he has almost no speech as yet. When frustrated, he becomes aggressive. He does not seem to understand the most rudimentary of instruction.”
“The poor thing is an idiot?” Georgiana asked sympathetically.
Darcy hesitated. “Perhaps. His sister does not believe it to be so. He has learnt things.” He told her of Edward’s deep, even excessive fascination for animals.
“It crossed my mind that perhaps I could teach him a little something about riding, and possibly, with the incentive of the horse, teach him something of proper behaviour. It is probably a useless exercise, but at the time I offered it, it seemed as if I ought to try. He is getting to be too much for his sister, but his alternatives are not happy ones.”
Hurriedly, he turned Mabel from her grazing, starting again on the road towards the properties of Longbourn, hoping to avoid more questions. Georgiana’s mount obediently followed.
His sister was silent for a few minutes. When she spoke, it was quietly. “Do you remember Mrs Blackstone?”
He nodded, recalling the kindly nurse who had once reigned supreme in the nursery during the worst years of his mother’s illness until shortly after her death. “Yes, of course.”
“She believed me a simpleton, because I could not always pay attention to what she said. She told the other nursery maids to speak slowly and carefully to me, because of it.”
“What?” Darcy was appalled. “I believed her so warm-hearted!”
“Oh, she was! She loved me! She was sympathetic and patient. But she also thought me slow-witted, and so chided the maids for having expectations of me that I could not possibly meet. She did not hesitate to say these things before me, because I was so stupid, I would not understand regardless. She pitied me, and counselled the others to charity.”
“Georgiana…” Darcy was so horrified, he almost did not know what to say. “I am so sorry. I hope you know now how mistaken she was. I am certain that our parents would never have kept her in that position had they been aware of her shortcomings.”
His sister sighed. “Her replacement was much better. But I know I am not like other girls, Fitzwilliam. I have not the talent that so many possess, of conversing easily with strangers. I cannot catch the tone of their conversation; I do not understand what is obvious to most. I am loud when I ought to be quiet. I ask questions that seem natural to me, but which cause others to widen their eyes in surprise. I see…signs that I have erred, but I seldom can tell what it is that I have done wrong.”
He did not know what to say; he had witnessed this, even worried over it, but had not realised she knew it, as well. “I will tell you what it does not mean: stupidity. It takes time to learn the social graces. I too am uncomfortable with those not well known to me. It is not easy.”
“That is what Mrs Annesley says. She says that proficiency in the, um, social graces, is a common talent, exactly as skills in drawing and music, such as I possess, are uncommon ones. She tells me that similar to hiring a master to help those who cannot draw well, as we practise conversation and mannerly behaviour together, I will improve.”
“Thank heavens for Mrs Annesley. She is correct,” Darcy said fervently, grateful that he had finally hired the right companion.
“I am trying to believe her. But the little boy, Fitzwilliam… What is his name?”
“His name is Edward, but his sister calls him ‘Neddy’.”
“Neddy,” she repeated softly. “He may be a simpleton, but what if he is not? What if he is like me, and merely does not possess the common talent of speech?”
“It is what his sister believes.” Suddenly he was possessed of an urge to confide in her.
“She has described his mind as being in what she imagines as a sort of fog, with barriers to what seems clear to us. Obviously, it takes much effort for him to pierce that fog, to breach it with communication. As I have explained, he loves animals, and with their appeal, he has learnt to name them. He especially loves horses. I had a vague notion in my mind, that perhaps I could use riding lessons as a sort of reward for trying more diligently in other areas.”
Georgiana nodded, her forehead crinkled as she considered. “It is an idea.”
“It may be a terrible one. The lad is so wild to ride that he is beyond control when the ride is finished. His sister says that he believes he will never get to go again—he has not had many privileges in his young life—and his despair incites his worst behaviours. How does one reason with a child who has no language? How do I explain that I will return? How do we teach him self-control, when to him we are like jabbering crows, our words meaningless?”
They both puzzled over this as they ambled slowly over the track they followed.
“Does he count?” she asked abruptly.
“I do not know.”
“It seems as though if he could count, we could teach him an…an order to things. Such as, first comes breakfast, then comes this, that, and the following, and next comes riding lessons, afterwards comes something else, then a few other things, followed by bedtime…and thenceforward, we start it all over again.”
He noticed her use of ‘we’ with mild alarm; yet, she was obviously intrigued, and he did not have the heart to stop her involvement.
“It is a thought. I wish I knew how to demonstrate it to him. And of course, I cannot come every day.” With a start, he realised that they were almost to the path to Fox Hollow.
“We had better tether the horses here—her home is near, beyond this grove. Once Edward sees horses, he will pay attention to nothing else.”
Georgiana’s brows rose. “You mean for me to come too? To be introduced?”
He glanced her way. “The sister is respectable. There is no reason you should not be.”
“Oh, no, I did not mean that. And I would love to try and help. It is only…as I said, I do not do well with strangers. I blurt things that ought to be kept quiet, and I need more practice. Also, I am hardly dressed to meet…I would not wish to embarrass you before your…your friend.”
He realised, even though he had not once referred to Elizabeth by name, that she had misinterpreted his interest in Edward to indicate an interest in Edward’s sister.
Well, she was not entirely wrong, but it became more important than ever that he show her that there was nothing in his motives beyond charity. It was a Platonic connexion, and that was all it could ever be.
“Her sibling is half-feral. I doubt she is easily dismayed by a misplaced sentence or two, and improper riding gear. My concern is solely in assisting the child, if it can be done.”
Georgiana suddenly pulled up on the reins. “I have an idea! But I need to go back to Netherfield.” She wheeled her mount in the opposite direction and took off at a gallop.
“Georgiana! Wait! What are you doing?”
“I have an idea!” she called back, laughter in her voice, not slowing in the slightest, nor waiting for him to approve or reject whatever it was that she meant to do. Soon she was out of sight.
But that was Georgiana—impulsive and a little bit heedless.
And are you not the fox calling the wolf sly? he asked himself.
He had been telling himself his trip to Fox Hollow this morning was due to the promise he had made to Edward, but he knew it was a mere excuse.
Georgiana’s briefly joining him had been a warning he ought to heed.
He sat quietly for a long while, indecisive, Mabel patiently nibbling the grass at her feet, wondering whether to turn back to Netherfield.
I should not do this.
It was wrong. He could not pursue Elizabeth Bennet.
Yet, every time he decided to return to Netherfield without seeing her, feelings of disappointment and an even greater wrongness seemed to overwhelm him.
With a sigh, he finally dismounted, tethered Mabel to a tree convenient to his purpose, and finished the journey to Fox Hollow alone.