Chapter 6
Mrs Gardiner and her nieces were among the last guests to leave Lady Brightmore’s party.
The late hour, the freezing wind that struck them the moment they left the house, the excitement of the evening, and the stressful anticipation of the days to come were reason enough to fall asleep as soon as they entered their rooms in Gracechurch Street.
In Elizabeth’s case, however, soon meant rather late.
The extraordinary event of Mr Darcy asking her to dance only a few minutes after he took the trouble to explain his opposition to the pastime needed an extraordinary explanation, but Elizabeth had none.
He had asked her to dance in Hertfordshire, and even there his gesture puzzled Elizabeth exceedingly.
During the entirety of that ball, she could see how appalled Mr Darcy was by the behaviour of the attendees—and principally her own family.
Yet, he asked her to dance with him! And, if any doubt remained, their harsh conversation during the dance only proved to him once more that his invitation was unwise, which made it unlikely that he would repeat such a mistake again.
Had he forgotten those things? He must have; there was no other explanation for his renewed request.
Mr Darcy of London seemed a wholly different person from Mr Darcy of Hertfordshire. If Elizabeth had any remaining doubts about this, they vanished with their conversation during the set. Though Elizabeth could not recall every subject of their discussion, his amiability was vivid in her mind.
On further reflection, however, she admitted that, as Lady Selina pointed out, with the others around him, he was his usual self.
Even in the matter of dancing—except for a compulsory dance with his cousin Selina and the one with herself—he did not dance at all.
The satisfying feeling that she was the only lady in the room on whom he had bestowed such attention was difficult to deny—as it was also difficult to deny the fact that she had enjoyed the company of this Mr Darcy quite a lot.
Just before sleep defeated her, three things still spun in her mind.
First—Mr Bingley’s presence at the forthcoming ball seemed more possible than ever.
Second—she must wake up early and prepare for the sleigh ride, as she would meet Miss Darcy at ten o’clock.
Third—among all the gentlemen at the party, Mr Darcy was indeed the one whose clothes were most flattering to his figure.
It was fortunate that Lady Brightmore and Lady Selina had pointed out that feature to her; she had never paid close attention to it before with any gentleman.
∞∞∞
“Lizzy, you look pretty and rested, my dear. May I presume you slept well?”
Not at all, Elizabeth was tempted to reply, but instead she smiled approvingly at her aunt. She felt rested, though, and anxious for a long ride in the freezing, December air.
“Dearest, are you sure it is wise to ride in this weather?” Jane asked with a trace of worry. “It has been snowing since yesterday.”
“My sweet Jane, the problem with a sleigh ride is that its success depends precisely on snow.” Elizabeth laughed while pouring herself a cup of tea.
“Do not worry; I am sure we will be perfectly safe in Mr Darcy’s sleigh.
And, of course, any of you are more than welcome to join us. I am sure Miss Darcy would like that.”
“Thank you for your kind invitation, my dear,” smiled Mrs Gardiner. “We will save our strength for tomorrow’s ball.”
“I fail to understand how a sleigh ride would drain your strength, Aunt. However, I shall not insist further, but I am sure you will come to regret your refusal.”
“I would rather take that risk, dear,” Mrs Gardiner concluded.
Half an hour after they finished breakfast, Miss Darcy arrived.
Elizabeth prepared herself in a few minutes while Eleanor and Edward ran from their mother to Elizabeth, begging to ride with them.
Elizabeth kissed her cousins and renewed her promise that she would take them to the park the next day; even Miss Darcy promised to join them.
The children were not happy about the result but had no other choice than to accept the offer.
Elizabeth and Miss Darcy left the house and bravely confronted the snow and wind while holding each other’s arms. The servants—Mrs Gardiner’s doorman and the groom—helped them into the sleigh.
They sat near each other and wrapped themselves in warm blankets.
With a tinkle of bells, the horses started to move, and soon there was no sight of them.
Mrs Gardiner and Jane reluctantly retired from the window.
“This is a beautiful sleigh, Miss Darcy! And such wonderful snow!”
“My brother said he cannot believe I have found someone to agree to do this with me.” Miss Darcy smiled. “I thank you; the sleigh is beautiful indeed. My brother gave it to me five years ago. And the horses are splendid, would you not agree? We brought them from Pemberley when we came to town.”
“They are splendid, indeed, but I confess I am not fond of horses. I have always been a little…scared of them since I was a child.”
“You do not like horses?” Miss Darcy asked, disconcerted. “How can that be?”
“I am sorry to disappoint you; unfortunately, there is little I can to do remedy this fault.” Elizabeth laughed but Miss Darcy changed her countenance immediately.
“Forgive me, I did not mean to… It is just that… I am sorry if—”
“Miss Darcy, if we are to spend time together in this sleigh, we should make an agreement: we must not use the words ‘I am sorry’ or ‘forgive me’ unless it is absolutely necessary and no more than once per hour.”
Miss Darcy smiled shyly. “That sounds a convenient agreement, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Also, if it is not inappropriate for me to suggest it, please be so kind as to call me by my given name.”
Again, Miss Darcy seemed surprised by the request. “That would be lovely—Elizabeth.”
“Thank you, Miss…Georgiana.” This time the girl laughed.
“Elizabeth, this is our house,” she said suddenly, and Elizabeth turned to look at the place in front of them.
Through the dense snow, she could see little, but the building seemed impressive as she would expect for Mr Darcy.
She wondered whether the gentleman was at home and looked with much attention at the house.
“Oliver, please stop a moment,” Georgiana said, and Elizabeth looked at her, puzzled.
“I would like to see whether William is home. He mentioned his affairs would not take long. Would you come inside for a moment, please?”
Elizabeth had little time to answer as Georgiana had already left the sleigh; she followed her, and the next moment a servant came and retrieved the blankets.
“My child, it is so good to see you home. I am glad you finally took my advice.” A lady in her late fifties came to greet them and remained silent when she saw Elizabeth.
“Mrs Spencer, this is my friend Miss Elizabeth Bennet. We will only stay a moment; the sleigh is waiting for us.”
“I am so pleased to meet you, Miss Bennet! Please come in! Would you like some tea? Are you not hungry? I will order some refreshments immediately and—”
“An admirable, though unsuccessful, attempt, Mrs Spencer, but I doubt you will keep them inside by offering tea and food.”
“William, I am so happy you are home. We just stopped for a moment to check on you.”
“Miss Bennet…”
“Mr Darcy… I hope we did not interrupt you with our impromptu visit. We will leave in a moment.” She felt her cheeks burning, but she was certain it was due to the heat from the fireplace.
“No interruption at all. I am pleased to see you. Yes, I understand you are in a hurry. Georgiana, you will need some dry, warm blankets. Where do you plan to go? I would suggest the direction of ------.”
“That would be a lovely idea. But how are you, Brother? Did you finish your appointments? Would you not like to join us? It is snowing beautifully.”
The request obviously took him by surprise; Elizabeth could see that.
Their eyes met for a moment, and she had a strange feeling that he was awaiting her approval, which was a ridiculous notion.
Why would he need her approval in his house and in his sleigh?
She smiled at her own folly, and to her surprise, he smiled back.
“I would not want to impose on you with my presence. Are you certain I will not ruin your plans? Perhaps you and Miss Bennet have private things to talk about.”
“Oh, forgive me, Elizabeth; I should have asked your opinion first. Would you mind?”
“My dear Georgiana, you have been so kind to invite me on a lovely ride in a beautiful sleigh. Do you think I could possibly mind that the master of the sleigh joins us?” Elizabeth smiled, slightly flustered.
“Miss Bennet, the master of the sleigh is actually Georgiana. And being a guest, you are entitled to refuse any presence that might disturb you.”
Though Mr Darcy’s intervention was surprising, his light, teasing tone and the mirth in his eyes left Elizabeth speechless. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Thank you, sir. I would surely refuse any presence that might disturb me, but I would be glad for you to join us as I understand you are familiar with the places we might visit.”
He did not answer as he seemed preoccupied in staring at her; Georgiana chuckled and asked her brother to prepare himself as quickly as possible while she and Elizabeth took their seats in the sleigh.
A few minutes later, Mr Darcy appeared and, after giving the driver brief instructions, took a seat in front of them.
The snowflakes were falling gently, and everything around was white and frozen. They passed near Hyde Park when Georgiana suddenly addressed her brother.