Chapter Two #2
Mr. Bennet pulled his gaze from the wreckage to give Darcy a quick, penetrating look that immediately made Darcy feel guilty for curtailing Bingley’s offer, but in an even tone replied, “In that, I’ve had a turn of luck, although when I tell Mrs. Bennet about my plan, she won’t think so, and I didn’t realize it as luck until this morning. ”
“Oh?” Darcy encouraged warily.
“I was having a cottage renovated for one of my tenants. Rather than live there through the renovations, they said they would visit family.” Mr. Bennet’s dry tone didn’t match the innocuous words.
“We agreed they would go directly following the harvest, so they packed up their personal possessions and the crop and headed to market.” A wry smile alleviated some of the strain in Mr. Bennet.
“What seemed unfortunate at the time is that they have no intention of returning, or of paying the rent they had due after taking their goods to market, something I discovered when it turned out the address they’d left me for the man’s brother was fake. ”
“That does sound like bad luck,” Bingley observed.
Darcy said nothing, suspecting where Mr. Bennet headed with his tale.
Mr. Bennet nodded at Bingley. “Indeed, I thought it was, until now. Now, I have an almost renovated, furnished cottage on hand, as they didn’t bother to cart off their furnishings, whether because I would have taken note or because they didn’t deem them worth the expense of moving, I neither know nor care.
What I do know is that the larger bedroom will sleep my daughters, although it will be a tight squeeze, and that Mrs. Bennet and I will fit quite snugly in the smaller bedroom.
There is also room for three servants. That won’t leave much space for our possessions, but,” he waved at the remnants of his home, “that is not an immediate problem.”
Relieved, Darcy said, “It sounds as if you have accommodations well in hand.”
Bingley frowned. “But that means you will have to live there through the renovations.”
Assuming Mr. Bennet had the funds on hand to continue them, Darcy thought, but did not voice, not wishing to fuel Bingley’s obvious attempts to get Jane Bennet under his roof.
“Yes, I believe we will, but I won’t know for certain if that’s possible until I inspect the cottage. I’ve been watching the progress of the renovation but haven’t looked at that progress in terms of immediate livability. I was walking over to look when I spotted your carriage.”
“Well, then, we shouldn’t keep you any longer,” Bingley said, looking in the direction in which Lucas Lodge lay.
Darcy wouldn’t give in that easily. He had to keep Bingley from proposing to a woman who didn’t suit him or love him, a task made more monumental by last night’s tragedy. “Would you like our opinions? Sometimes extra eyes can see things a single pair might miss.”
“I’d be pleased,” Mr. Bennet said.
“I’ve had nothing to do with cottages or renovations,” Bingley said, backing away. “I will call on your family and offer my condolences.”
Unfortunately, Bingley spoke truly. He had never been a landlord or ordered a home renovated. Darcy sought about for another protest.
“That would be very kind of you, Mr. Bingley,” Mr. Bennet said. “I’m certain your presence would elevate their spirits.”
With that, Mr. Bennet curtailed anything more Darcy might say on the matter. Judging by the gleam in Mr. Bennet’s eyes, he understood as much.
Knowing he was beaten, at least for the moment, Darcy nodded to Bingley. “I’ll meet you at Lucas Lodge after we make our inspection.”
Bingley nodded back, then issued a bow to Mr. Bennet. “Until then, Darcy. Mr. Bennet.” Bingley turned and all but jogged back to the carriage.
“Shall we?” Mr. Bennet asked.
“Lead the way.”
They didn’t return to the lane but strode down a narrow path leading away between two hillocks.
Mr. Bennet kept a respectable pace for a man half his age, and likely on no sleep.
Darcy could see where Elizabeth got her rigorous health and active nature.
She must also have learned her ability to engage in comfortable silence from her father.
Darcy had expected as much, quite sure that Elizabeth didn’t come by the laudable trait on her mother’s side.
When they drew in sight of the cottage, Darcy despaired to see that the stout, two story, yellow plastered structure appeared even smaller than Mr. Bennet’s description intimated.
He couldn’t imagine all seven Bennets and three servants cramming in together under the thickly thatched roof.
Coming closer, he took in the green front door.
From within, the sounds of wood being sawn, hammering and a general hubbub of movement reached him.
“It’s called Goldfinch Cottage,” Mr. Bennet stated.
“Did you recall the workers already, or decline to halt the renovations upon learning that your previous tenants wouldn’t return?”
“I didn’t halt them. A well renovated cottage can only bring in better tenants.”
Darcy nodded in agreement with that.
“I wasn’t certain they would be working today, however, with news of the fire circulating,” Mr. Bennet added. He fished a folded page from his pocket, gesturing that they should walk around the outside first.
Darcy took in the new cladding and thatch. He noted that repairs had been made to the stout chimney that formed part of one exterior wall, inside of which he assumed lay the kitchen. A plume of woodsmoke rose cheerfully from the top.
“There’s no reason the workers should freeze, and I provide them with cider, which they often heat,” Mr. Bennet said, taking in Darcy’s look upward before returning his attention to the page in his hand.
“Very generous of you,” Darcy replied, meaning it.
In fact, the more they circled Goldfinch Cottage, with its neat fence, freshly renovated outbuildings and orderly, if barren, garden, the more his opinion of Mr. Bennet rose.
Darcy hadn’t seen the cottage before the renovations, but clearly Mr. Bennet took care of his tenants.
When they finished their circuit and stood once more before the front door, Mr. Bennet folded the page he held and met Darcy’s gaze with a questioning look. “Well?”
“As to the outside, the only suggestion I could possibly make is that you’re in need of better shutters.” It further affirmed Darcy’s good opinion of Mr. Bennet’s management to note that there were only six windows, which avoided the window tax.
Mr. Bennet smiled slightly. He unfolded the page again and held it out. In neat, blocking script, the page held a list of exterior and interior renovations. The first list held many items, but all were crossed off except the word ‘shutters.’
“I’m getting the impression that you have this well in hand,” Darcy said with a rueful smile.
“The outside is the easy part. It’s the inside where I must live, with Mrs. Bennet and five daughters.” So saying, Mr. Bennet went to the door.
Opening the front door to the cottage showed a man working on the railing of the stairway.
They stepped into a low-ceilinged entrance hall, where Darcy fought the urge to duck.
He reflected it was good that none of the Bennets were overly tall, though both Jane and Lydia stood above average in terms of feminine height.
They peeked into a small parlor and then a dining room that would be a tight squeeze for family meals.
Meanwhile, the man working on the railing put down his hammer and dipped his head to Mr. Bennet, saying, “Sir, we didn’t know if we would see you today.
As we’re all but finished, I thought we’d keep on until you said otherwise, and I’m hopin’ that’s all well with you? ”
“It is indeed. Thank you, John.” Mr. Bennet turned to Darcy. “Mr. Darcy, this is John Green, my handyman.”
Darcy nodded in greeting, pleased with the man’s overall appearance of competence, the orderliness of the worksite, and Green’s trust in not halting progress, even though he must have been worried about getting paid, in view of the fire.
“Will you be getting to the shelving soon?” Mr. Bennet asked, gesturing to the kitchen. He held up his page again and tapped the two most significant lines not yet crossed off on the interior list; ‘handrail’ and ‘kitchen shelving.’
“We mean to start on that tomorrow, sir.”
Darcy frowned, unsure of Mr. Bennet’s decision for the first time in the course of their inspection. “Wouldn’t cabinets be better? Especially for below the worksurface?”
Green grimaced. “Aye, they would.”
“We would have to hire a carpenter from Meryton and he’s currently busy,” Mr. Bennet explained. “We’d put off the kitchen in the hope he’d free up, but he hasn’t.”
Mr. Green twisted his hat in his hands, the first sign of agitation Darcy had noted in the man. “I don’t have anyone with the skill to make proper cabinets, sir. We tried to lure a man over from Harlow, but he has too much work there to be lured.”
“I have a carpenter on my estate who would like to travel,” Darcy said before he could weigh the offer.
Mr. Bennet turned to him with a look of interest and Green with one of hope.
Darcy cleared his throat. “He’s training his sons and therefore looking for a variety of tasks in which to educate them.
I’m trying to keep him happy, so he can’t be lured away.
” He nodded to Green. “You would be doing me a favor if you turn him loose to make cabinets and other storage spaces for you. His sons will get trained, and all will get to travel, and I know I can count on you not to keep him.”
Mr. Bennet appeared thoughtful. “Certainly, if you let me bear the cost of their stay.”
Darcy opened his mouth to protest.
Mr. Bennet held up a staying hand. “Cash is not an immediate problem. I don’t have enough to rebuild without borrowing, but I do have enough to make Goldfinch Cottage more comfortable.”
“It would be a great help, sir,” Green said, nodding. “When Mr. Bennet discovered his tenants had left, he said that we should not make it a priority to work on this place, since he doubted we could get new tenants during the winter, so we spent some time on other work, and now we’re in a rush.”
Mr. Bennet nodded to Green and said to Darcy, “We’ll continue our tour. You can see if there’s enough to be done to entertain your carpenter and educate his sons.”
They saw the remainder of the downstairs and then went up.
A youth, who Darcy suspected was Green’s son, was working on a door handle.
Mr. Bennet showed Darcy both family bedrooms. The one near the stairs held a single bed and a sad looking six-drawer dresser.
It wasn’t spacious, but it wasn’t unreasonable for two people.
The larger one would be very cramped for five women, and there was only one chest. Darcy couldn’t help but imagine Elizabeth in gentle repose.
Or, at least, an attempt at such. He suspected gentle repose wouldn’t be easy to come by while sharing a room with all her sisters.
Leaving the larger bedroom, they went up a narrow flight, stepping over a damaged tread, to see two adequate but very tiny servant bedrooms in the attic.
One was designed for two people and the other for one person.
They returned to Green and Mr. Bennet asked him to work on the attic staircase, saying the last thing he needed was a servant falling down the stairs.
They then bid John Green farewell and headed back down the narrow path.
Mr. Bennet took them a slightly different way than they’d come, whether for efficiency in reaching Lucas Lodge or to avoid the sight of his burned down home, Darcy didn’t know.
Darcy couldn’t deny being impressed with Mr. Bennet’s planning and management. It pleased him immensely that the Bennets had somewhere to go. The cottage would be crowded for seven people and three servants, but Darcy approved. The alternatives were to rely on neighbors or spend more money.
What Darcy wasn’t impressed with, as they once again walked in companionable silence, was for how long he’d left Bingley alone in the presence of Miss Bennet.
Darcy had become so caught up in inspecting the cottage and looking over possible carpentry projects that he’d forgotten his goal of keeping Bingley from playing knight gallant to a woman who was bound to accept him, even if she didn’t truly love him.
Not that love was paramount in a relationship, but if it must be one sided, better it should be skewed with the woman holding greater affection for the man.
Darcy had seen too many times the havoc a woman could wreck on a man’s life if she didn’t hold him in high enough regard, but he worshipped her. He’d spare Bingley that sort of trial.
Therefore, Darcy now counted it doubly pleasing that Mr. Bennet kept a good pace. Hopefully, they would reach Lucas Lodge in time to stop Bingley from making a terrible mistake.