CHAPTER 22 A Walk to the Village
“What a perfectly gracious young woman!” said Mrs. Bennet, after having ascertained her second daughter’s wellbeing.
“And so very beautiful.” She turned to Jane and added, “But of course not as beautiful as you, my dear.” She looked about the room, then stood up.
“Anyway, I must go into the village now to see about getting some new boots made.
“New boots, Mother?” asked Elizabeth, her mind finally returning to her current circumstance.
“Yes, for the ones I travelled in are all but ruined.”
“Would you like for me to accompany you?”
“No, dear, you are still too weak. It is Mr. Darcy who shall accompany me.”
“Mr. Darcy! Mr. Darcy?”
“Yes, dear. He was kind enough to offer his assistance when Charlotte and I met him in the village earlier. It makes perfect sense because he is familiar with the shops and can ensure that I get the best service.”
“Mr. Darcy…” repeated Elizabeth again, wondering if she should be pleased or distressed. “Are you certain that you did not…coerce him into going with you?”
“No! Why would you think it, Lizzy? Mr. Darcy specifically asked if he might take me to the bootmaker’s shop and I agreed, naturally. In fact, he shall call here at any moment and I do not wish to keep him waiting. Are you well, Lizzy? You seem quite flushed.”
“Yes, Mother, I am well.”
“Nevertheless, I insist that you go back to bed this instant. For I would not wish you to have a relapse. We are, after all, invited to Rosings in two nights and I certainly do not plan on missing that. Now, come along, Lizzy, off to bed with you. Mr. Darcy is to call here at any minute and I do not wish to keep him waiting.”
Mrs. Bennet dragged Elizabeth up the stairs, pushed her down into the bed, then pulled the covers up to her chin. She kissed her on the forehead and said, “Well then, Lizzy, I’m off. Charlotte can send a tray for you later.”
“But I do not need a tray and am perfectly capable of going downstairs to eat!”
“Lizzy, please…do not try my nerves today. You will do as you are told and rest.”
“Yes, Mamma,” she said meekly. “Enjoy your trip to the bootmakers.”
Elizabeth lay back in her bed and smiled as Jane stood in the corner of the room and rolled her eyes. They both knew that Mrs. Bennet was being overly cautious but, when their mother got an idea into her head, it was almost impossible to rid her of it.
Once Jane and her mother left the room, Elizabeth contemplated this new development.
That Mr. Darcy would offer to take her mother into the village was nothing short of astounding!
Especially after their argument a few days earlier.
She could actually not think of any two people who were more unsuited to one another’s company than her mother and Mr. Darcy.
Impulsively she scrambled out of bed and went to the window.
She leaned against the casement, feeling slightly dizzy from having gotten up so quickly.
But this was something she did not wish to miss.
Before long she watched as her mother and Mr. Darcy walked to the gate together and headed in the direction of the village.
She stepped behind the curtain so she would not be seen.
Darcy offered her mother his arm and she took it.
Elizabeth watched at the window as the two sauntered leisurely along the lane, her mother doing most of the talking and Darcy nodding occasionally.
*****
Darcy was still unsure if he was up to seeing Elizabeth that day because, for some reason, he could not bear the look of uncertainty in her eyes, nor the disappointment he would feel at seeing her think so meanly of him.
But, when he saw Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Collins in the village, he took advantage of Mrs. Bennet’s need for new boots and offered to accompany her.
It was irrational, he knew, but if he could not be with Elizabeth, he could at least spend time with her mother.
Now he walked along the lane with her on his arm as she chatted animatedly about her atrocious journey.
“Have you ever travelled by post, Mr. Darcy?” she asked at one point.
“No, I have not,” he answered, feeling a little embarrassed by his privileged upbringing.
“You are fortunate because it is a terribly mortifying experience. The smells in the carriage, sir! They are sometimes truly unbearable!”
Darcy did not know what to say to that and so simply nodded sympathetically.
At length she seemed to grow weary of the subject and began to ask him about Hunsford village.
It was this subject they were discussing when they arrived at the bootmaker’s twenty minutes later and went inside.
Mrs. Bennet was taken into an inner chamber where she was asked to remove her boots and show them to the proprietor, Mr. Crump, for inspection.
“I am afraid these are unsalvageable, ma’am,” said Crump. “The leather, you see, is falling apart, as the mud has irrevocably seeped into it.”
“I assumed that to be the case,” said Mrs. Bennet. “But can you make me a new pair? I am visiting my daughter, you see, and shall need them for various outdoor activities.”
“I can but it will take weeks.”
“Weeks!”
“I have other orders, ma’am, and cannot put yours ahead of them. It would not be fair.”
“True but…the other persons here likely have more than one pair of boots whilst I do not.”
“Nevertheless, madam…”
“Mr. Crump!” Darcy called out, causing the man to immediately come out from behind the curtains.
“Oh, Mr. Darcy, sir. I apologise, for I did not see you before. I - ”
“Mr. Crump.”
“Yes, sir?”
Darcy saw that Mrs. Bennet had now also come out from behind the curtains and was looking curiously at him.
“I just wished for you to know,” he said deliberately, “that Mrs. Bennet here is connected to…Lady Catherine de Bourgh.” He said his aunt’s name with a simultaneous flourish and gravity that would have equaled Mr. Collins.
“Oh!” cried Crump, who now looked both astonished and mortified. His eyes shifted back and forth before he finally said, “I apologise, Mrs. Bennet, I was not aware…” He swallowed then continued, “Will two days from now suffice?”
Mrs. Bennet took a glance at Darcy, then turned back to Crump and said, “I suppose it shall have to.”
“I will do my best to finish as quickly as possible,” said Crump.
“Very well,” said Mrs. Bennet.
He motioned for her to return to the back room and began to take her foot measurements while Darcy stepped out of the store and looked around. Fifteen minutes later, he was joined by Mrs. Bennet who regarded him gratefully.
“I thank you for your intervention, Mr. Darcy,” she said, “for without it I would have had to wait weeks.”
He nodded with a small smile but said nothing.
Mrs. Bennet continued, “I suppose you meant - by me being connected to Lady Catherine - that my husband’s cousin is her parson?”
Darcy, who did not quite know what he meant, answered, “Yes, I suppose I did.”
However, on further consideration, he realised that there was a closer connection Mrs. Bennet might have had to Lady Catherine, namely that her daughter was engaged to Lady Catherine’s nephew.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Still, Darcy was not beyond hope.
He just had to speak with Elizabeth. One of these days.
*****
Elizabeth, who was actually a little tired, was able to fall asleep after being forced back into bed by her mother. However, when she awoke, her first thought was to speak to her about her outing with Darcy.
“Well, Mamma? How was it?” she asked as Mrs. Bennet walked into the room later that day.
“Oh, excellent, Lizzy! I met with Mr. Crump, the owner of the shop, who told me that my boots were unsalvageable and that I would need new ones. Of course, it was what I had expected. But then he told me that it would take weeks to make them. Now, Lizzy, you know I do not have weeks to wait. And naturally I explained this to him. But he remained adamant that I had to wait because he could not put my order before the others.” Her mother smiled.
“It was then that Mr. Darcy told him that I was related to Lady Catherine. Or associated with her. Something like that, I forget. But it seemed to do the trick for Crump suddenly changed his tune and said that the boots would be ready in a few days. Is that not wonderful, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth contemplated this and wondered what sort of connection Darcy had in mind - between her mother and Lady Catherine.
Is it through Mr. Collins, she wondered, or myself?
She smiled at this, thinking how nice it would be if her mother were related to Lady Catherine by virtue of Elizabeth being married, or engaged, to Mr. Darcy.