Chapter 21
“Lizzy?”
“Yes, Jane?” Elizabeth asked, pouring lemonade from a pitcher into a glass for her sister. She and Jane had gone above stairs earlier than usual, as Jane was feeling exhausted and ill after a long day.
“Do you think … is there any chance that Mr. Darcy admires you?”
Elizabeth made rather a show of lowering the pitcher and wiping a few drops of lemonade off the table with her handkerchief before turning around and carrying the glass over to her sister.
“I am not aware that he does,” she said calmly, “nor do I have any expectation of winning the gentleman’s affection. It is enough that he is pleased that Georgiana and I are friends.”
Jane took a long sip of lemonade and then narrowed her eyes, focusing on Elizabeth’s cheeks.
“You are blushing, Lizzy!” she accused, her smile animating her already lovely face. “My dear sister, do you care for him?”
“Dearest Jane,” Elizabeth answered, as she plumped down on the bed and rubbed her temples with her fingers, “I do like Mr. Darcy very much, but I do not love him. How could I, after only a week’s acquaintance?
As for me, well, he has behaved very kindly to me, and is openly encouraging of my friendship with his sister, but I do not think that means – oh, how confused I am!
My own heart pulls me toward the gentleman, and first Miss Darcy, and now you, are speaking of marriage… ”
“Miss Darcy?” Jane asked in astonishment.
“Yes,” Elizabeth returned, blowing out a long breath. “She is, you know, a wonderfully direct girl, and she said that she wants me to marry her brother.”
“How did you answer?”
“I told her what I just said to you, that we have not known one another long, and of course that means it would be unwise to consider marriage…”
Elizabeth trailed off at the smug look on her sister’s face and, to her own surprise, grabbed a convenient cushion lying on the bed and threw it at her sister.
Jane caught it with one hand, her mouth open in a startled ‘o’, and then chuckled. Elizabeth rushed over and embraced her sister, who returned the hug fervently as they laughed for a full minute.
Finally Jane leaned back and wiped tears of amusement from her eyes and said, “At this particular moment, I am not feeling sick. You should throw cushions at me more often!”
“I will keep that in mind. But come now, you do need to go to bed, for I know you are exhausted. I promise you that if Mr. Darcy proposes to me, I will tell you as quickly as I can.”
Jane, suddenly solemn, reached out her hand and caught Elizabeth’s arm. “Charles thinks very highly of Mr. Darcy, and based on my own understanding of that gentleman’s character, I believe you and he would do very well together.”
Elizabeth’s eyes tingled. “Yes, Jane, I think so as well.”
/
The rains of the previous day had given way to sunny skies, and Elizabeth, thankful for her stout boots, squelched her way across the grass to the door of the walled garden in pursuit of Miss Darcy.
She followed Georgiana inside and then halted beside her friend, her eyes lighting up at the performance playing out before them.
Two peacocks, one of whom she recognized as Neptune because of his white feathers, were facing one another, cooing and trilling, their glorious trains raised, their feathers opalescent in the morning sun, their bodies shaking, their feet dancing.
Elizabeth laughed in delight as yet another peacock approached and lifted his magnificent fan, wiggling the feathers with exuberance.
“What are they doing?” she asked, enchanted.
“They are showing off for the peahens,” Georgiana said, gesturing at four hens who were wandering around in the vicinity, apparently far more interested in pebbles and bugs than their prospective suitors.
“How can they ignore such a marvelous display?” Elizabeth asked in wonder.
“Peahens are not very intelligent.”
“They are not. Oh, Georgiana, the birds are so lovely! I will miss them.”
“The peafowl will miss you too,” Georgiana said sadly, “and I will as well. Even if you do not marry my brother, I hope you will visit us here in Derbyshire again. You are my friend, and my brother is very fond of Mr. Bingley.”
“I relish the thought of returning here in time, but I am also ecstatic over our upcoming visit to the ocean. I keep trying to imagine water reaching to the horizon, but it is beyond even my imagination.”
“If all proceeds as planned, it will only be eight and forty days until we arrive at Ramsgate,” Georgiana pointed out. “That is not very long.”
“No,” Elizabeth agreed, smiling at her friend’s precision, “it will pass in no time.”
/
Darcy, looking over the dinner table, found himself torn between pleasure and sorrow.
His French cook, spurred on by his request for a magnificent banquet, had outdone himself with a lavish array of dishes which would tempt even the most capricious appetite.
Darcy was thankful to observe that Mrs. Bingley, while a little pale, was eating with apparent pleasure.
The conversation around the table was lively, with Bingley and Georgiana and Miss Bennet speaking of the care and feeding of goldfish, Mrs. Bingley and Mrs. Hurst discussing knitting, and Miss Bingley asking him intrusive questions about his upcoming trip south.
“I do hope to spend a few days at Netherfield at the end of next month,” Darcy said to Miss Bingley. “Your brother has offered to host us in Hertfordshire, and Georgiana and I would relish a few days before traveling onward to London.”
“Oh, of course, you are welcome at Netherfield any time!” Caroline gushed, ignoring the reality that Jane Bingley, as mistress of the establishment, had the right to bar the door of her home to anyone she chose. Not that she would, of course; Mrs. Bingley was a most hospitable woman.
“The only barrier to our visit would be if some problem here at Pemberley delayed our journey,” Darcy said politely, his gaze shifting to Miss Bennet. The young lady’s eyes were sparkling, and she suddenly laughed aloud in a most entrancing way.
There was an irritable harrumph from Darcy’s left and he turned to observe Caroline Bingley staring at him reprovingly, her lips compressed, her brown eyes glittering with jealousy.
Ordinarily, he would not care in the least about the lady’s possessive behavior, but given that Georgiana was at the table, he had best keep Miss Bingley moderately calm.
He wracked his brain for a minute in search of a safe question and finally said, “Do you intend to take part in next year’s Season, Miss Bingley?”
Caroline’s sour glare shifted to one of pleasure. “Of course, Mr. Darcy, of course! Dare I hope that you and Miss Darcy will be traveling to London in the new year as well?”
Darcy returned a vague answer just as Elizabeth Bennet happened to lift her head and look into his eyes. He felt a strange thrill course through his body, and based on the lady’s sudden stillness, she felt something as well.
“I daresay Jane will not feel strong enough to host a party in London during next year’s season,” Caroline droned on, thankfully unaware of the interplay between her host and Miss Bennet. “But I will be available as a hostess, and will ensure that the Bingley name is not disgraced…”
/
“Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Darcy,” Jane said and then turned to Georgiana, who was looking woebegone. “Miss Darcy, I look forward to the day we meet again.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bingley,” Georgiana murmured, struggling to hide her tears. A week ago, she had been fearful of Mr. Bingley and his party arriving and disrupting her typical routine. Now she was miserable because Elizabeth was leaving her.
“Be certain to attach my trunk carefully so that there is no chance it will fall off,” Miss Bingley sharply ordered one of Darcy’s servants before turning a beaming smile on the master of the estate.
“Oh, Mr. Darcy, thank you again for your kindness in hosting us. I will remember this all too short visit for the rest of my life!”
Darcy replied with careful courtesy while Charles assisted Jane into the first carriage drawn up along the main drive on front of the mansion.
Mr. Hurst helped his own wife into the second carriage, and in the midst of Miss Bingley’s chattering, and the sound of servants running to and fro, and the horses shifting and whickering, Elizabeth took the time to murmur into Georgiana’s ear, “Do not be downhearted, dear friend. We will meet very soon, and I promise to write frequently.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Georgiana answered. “I look forward to your letters, and I will even write back to you, though I generally dislike writing letters.”
“My father does as well,” Elizabeth with a chuckle. “Until we meet again, Georgiana.”
She turned toward Darcy with a smile and said, “Mr. Darcy, I have had a truly wonderful time here at Pemberley. Thank you very much for your kind invitation.”
“It has been a pleasure making your acquaintance, Miss Bennet,” Darcy said, then hesitated. He longed to say something more personal to this lovely lady, but with the eyes of the party on him, along with several servants, he had better not.
“I look forward to seeing you again,” he said with a heartfelt smile.
“Until then,” Elizabeth said, turning to allow Charles to hand her into the carriage, where she took the rear facing seat across from Jane. Elizabeth looked out the window and smiled at Georgiana, then shifted her gaze to Mr. Darcy, who chose this moment to look toward her.
To her surprise, she felt her scalp prickle and her entire body flood with heat at the intensity in Mr. Darcy’s dark eyes, and she found herself beaming back at him.
A moment later, she lurched back in her seat just as Caroline Bingley turned a suspicious gaze toward her.
Elizabeth did not know if Mr. Darcy admired her in the least, but she certainly did not want to give Miss Bingley any additional reason to dislike her.