Chapter 30
“Elizabeth, are you ready?”
Elizabeth, having already changed out of her traveling dress into a blue day dress, quickly tied the blue ribbons of her straw bonnet under her chin and opened the door of her bedchamber where Georgiana was standing impatiently.
“Yes!” she declared, linking her arm in her friend’s. “I am truly excited!”
The two girls made their way down the wooden steps into the vestibule of the house, where Darcy was waiting for them.
“Shall we go down to the beach?” the gentleman asked, gesturing toward the door.
“Miss de Bourgh and Colonel Fitzwilliam are not coming?” Elizabeth asked, looking around curiously. The house they were staying in was a large, handsome structure built of red brick, with clean lines and well-polished floors. It was pleasant.
“Anne wishes to rest,” Darcy explained, “and Richard has promised to stay with her so that if by any chance Lady Catherine appears unexpectedly, she will have someone at her side.”
“That is sensible,” Elizabeth said, following the Darcys out the door, down the stone steps, and onto the cobbled street.
Once the threesome had descended to the pavement, both ladies took a proffered arm from Darcy, who was surprised at the surge of happiness which filled him to have those two slender hands on his arms.
“It is well that you are wearing a bonnet with ribbons, Miss Bennet,” Darcy said, casting an admiring glance at the lady to his left. “The sea breezes can be rather strong, and more than one lady has lost a hat.”
“Like me,” Georgiana said with a chuckle. “Do you remember, Brother? It was three years ago. I was looking up at a flying falcon and the wind caught my favorite hat and swirled it into the ocean!”
“You did not leap into the water after it, Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.
“I did not,” Darcy admitted with a grin. “I considered it, but I waited too long, and by the time I was ready to leap, it was already fifteen feet away and quickly heading out to sea.”
“I have plenty of hats,” Georgiana said seriously. “It does not matter.”
“I wonder if any passing ships saw your hat,” Elizabeth mused, her eyes fixed on the water stretching out before her. “If so, I daresay it surprised them.”
“I think that unlikely,” Georgiana responded. “It is true that it was a straw hat and would likely float for some time, and Ramsgate is a military port, but still, there are not that many ships sailing about.”
“That is true enough,” Elizabeth agreed and found herself speeding up, so eager was she to reach the waters.
As usual her companions easily kept pace with her, which she enjoyed.
Elizabeth, a vigorous walker, often found herself dawdling when walking with others, but both Darcys were as quick as she.
Ten minutes of brisk striding brought them to a set of wooden stairs, which they descended until they halted on a wooden boardwalk next to an expanse of sand, which dropped gracefully, gently, into the vast ocean.
Elizabeth was vaguely aware of tears filling her eyes at the sight before her. She had, of course, seen paintings of the sea, and she had read of the great expanse of waters which stretched to the horizon, but even with her own fertile imagination, nothing compared to the actual sight before her.
The August sky was blue, though numerous puffy clouds floated overhead like so many docile sheep.
The sun shone down exuberantly, but the pleasant sea wind kept her delightfully cool.
She watched in awe as distant waves tumbled toward her, their white caps dancing along the surface of the blue waters as they gradually turned aqua, then transparent, until finally the foaming crest crashed onto the shore.
“Oh, it is marvelous!” she finally managed.
“Is it not?” Georgiana cried out. “The motion of the waters, and the sea birds circling and diving?”
Elizabeth lifted her hand to shade her eyes as she tipped her face upwards towards three white and gray birds floating above her. “Oh yes, I see! What kinds of birds are those? Do you know?”
“Those are gulls,” Georgiana said authoritatively. “They are very common birds, but graceful nonetheless.”
“They also are notorious for stealing food from picnickers,” Darcy commented.
He had, of course, taken a few moments to enjoy the view, but he was more interested in watching Elizabeth’s expressions.
It occurred to him that one of Miss Bennet’s attributes was that she did not disguise her enthusiasm about new experiences, which stood in sharp contrast to most ladies of the upper classes, who put on airs of weary indifference about even the most exciting of adventures.
Darcy much preferred Elizabeth’s openness.
“That is true enough,” Georgiana said. “We often picnic near the marshes, and Fitzwilliam has had to scare off gulls more than once.”
“It seems impossible that the marshlands could be better than this,” Elizabeth murmured.
“There are more birds in the marshlands,” Georgiana explained.
Elizabeth turned a happy face on her friend and said, “I look forward to seeing the marshlands, but for now can we walk down to the edge of the water?”
“Of course,” Darcy agreed. Once again the two ladies each took an arm, and the small group made their way across the bright sands to where the waves flowed up over the sand before withdrawing coyly, leaving the wet beach behind.
Elizabeth sighed in exasperation. “I wish I had worn mitts, not gloves. I very much wish to touch the water.”
“I am not wearing gloves,” Georgiana said calmly. “I find them rather unpleasant, and my brother generally does not mind if I do not wear them.”
Elizabeth had indeed noticed her friend’s dislike for gloves, but Georgiana could behave at Pemberley in a way that would be quite inappropriate for Elizabeth, and the only male present was Georgiana’s brother.
“Miss Bennet, I beg you not to concern yourself about propriety if you wish to take your gloves off,” Darcy said bravely, if awkwardly. “I believe that when on the very beach itself, it is quite appropriate to touch the waters.”
Elizabeth hesitated, blushed, then quickly pulled off her gloves and knelt by the water, allowing the ripples to wash over her hand. “What an amazing feeling! It is cooler than I thought it would be, though.”
“I have never bathed in the sea,” Georgiana said, “but I understand that after a few minutes, cool water feels quite warm.”
Elizabeth felt herself redden even further, and she turned her head away from Darcy toward the sands to the south. “I have read of bathing machines before; do they have them here at Ramsgate?”
“They do,” her younger friend said. “I hope some day to try one, but my brother is not yet ready to trust one of the dippers to do her job properly.”
“I suppose it is safe enough,” Darcy said in what he hoped was a natural tone.
Many a physician touted the benefit of being dipped (if one were a woman) or bathed (if one were a man) in the salt seas, but Georgiana was not a strong swimmer, and if she were to panic out in the waters, it would be dangerous indeed.
Bathing was considered a quite risqué activity given that ladies often wore bathing costumes, and gentlemen nothing at all; thus it was of doubtful taste to discuss the topic in mixed company.
“The sand is soft, yet different than normal mud,” Elizabeth commented, digging her fingers into the wet sand.
“The particles are bigger than normal dirt particles, so they behave differently,” Georgiana explained. She too was crouching down, and she pushed her fist into a moist patch, then watched as it filled up with water.
Elizabeth stood up now, brushed off her hands, and carefully pulled her gloves back on. “It is phenomenal.”
“Wait until you see the beach near the marshlands!” Georgiana declared.
/
Rosings
“Where is Miss de Bourgh?” Lady Catherine demanded, handing her gloves to a waiting footman and turning toward her butler. “Has she come down for dinner yet?”
Lawton plastered on his most remote expression and said, “No, Madam, Miss de Bourgh has left the estate in the company of Colonel Fitzwilliam. The colonel left this letter for you.”
“What?” the lady exclaimed, grabbing the paper from the man’s hand.
Her butler, correctly assuming that his mistress was asking a rhetorical question, said, “Dinner will be served in an hour, if that is agreeable, Madam.”
“Yes, yes,” the lady answered, breaking the seal and spreading it open.
Rosings
August 25th, 1812
Lady Catherine,
Anne has agreed to accompany me to the seaside to join Darcy and Georgiana. We will use the second best carriage along with the bay horses. With Mrs. Jenkinson and Anne’s maid accompanying us, you need have no concern. Your daughter will be in the very best of hands.
We plan to stay some three weeks and Anne will no doubt send you letters of her progress. The sea is most salubrious at this time of year, and I have every hope that my cousin will return to Rosings in the best of health.
Sincerely,
Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam
Lady Catherine read the note twice more and then lifted her face to aim a displeased look at her butler, who was waiting silently nearby.
“Colonel Fitzwilliam does not report where exactly the party is going. Do you know their final destination, Lawton?”
Her butler coughed discreetly and said, “As to that, my lady, I did happen to overhear their conversation. They are going to Ramsgate.”
Catherine narrowed her eyes in consideration. “Very good, Lawton. You have done well.”
/
Ramsgate
“Can it be five o’clock already?” Anne asked, staring at the clock on the mantelpiece.
“It is,” Colonel Fitzwilliam answered, rising to his feet and smiling at his cousin, who had just descended from her bedchamber. “I hope that means you had a pleasant rest?”
“Oh yes, I slept for two full hours and did not even stir. I have been sleeping poorly of late, though I do not know why.”