Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
After days upon days of wet weather, the skies had cleared and tempted Hannah to stroll arm in arm with her father along the promontory. To their left was the Bristol Channel, to their right the extensive and neatly maintained lawns of Strandsmere Park.
Upon hearing a hubbub of shouting and singing from below, they stopped near the fenced edge of the grassy cliff and espied a dozen or so people on the beach, some with sickles. “What on earth are they doing down there at low water, Papa? Do they dare to trespass upon Mr Darcy’s property?”
“I am told that the residents of Wyman’s Cove have the right to harvest seaweed for fertiliser, necessary to enrich their soil.
Collection is governed by community rules, so they are not trespassing.
” Leaning on the weathered wooden rail, Mr Wright peered downwards.
“Just look at them. Coarse scarecrows—men, women, and children alike—loading fishy-smelling seaweed into creels and carrying it away on their backs, falling further into decrepitude with every step.”
One of the ragamuffins looked up, noticed them, and waved.
“How disgusting.” Hannah steered her father away from the perturbing sight.
“Indeed, my dear. Similar to the Bakers, such people are not fit to be seen in daylight.” Mr Wright and his favourite daughter walked towards the formal gardens where no eyesores might be encountered. “So, what has been your success with Darcy thus far? Have you made progress since last we spoke?”
Shoulders drooping, Hannah wished she had some triumph to celebrate or some hopeful information to impart.
How mortifying it was for her to have to admit, “No,” in a low, dull voice.
That the gentleman’s previously apparent admiration had, in actuality, subsided was too shameful to confess.
Squaring her shoulders, she gave a little laugh.
“But Mr Darcy is not a man with whom one can be intimately acquainted in a short while.”
“A short while, do you call it? You have worked on him since December.” Mr Wright chose a bench near beds of calendula but far removed from the house.
After seating his daughter there, he walked to and fro.
“If you, the handsomest and brightest of my daughters, cannot win that foolish young man, then—”
“I am not the problem, sir!” cried Hannah. “The fly in the ointment is that chit Elizabeth Bennet. I fear there is some partiality there, although I cannot imagine what a gentleman like Mr Darcy could see in her.”
“Ah hum,” her father muttered.
She gritted her teeth. Men and their baser instincts! Mr Darcy can have the chit for all I care, just not as his bride.
In addition to gaining financial security for herself and, perhaps, for her undeserving sisters, winning Fitzwilliam Darcy had become a matter of pride.
She would not allow Elizabeth Bennet to win the prize.
“We must put a stop to the attraction I have witnessed between them. In the meantime, I shall continue as I have been and soon shall have the gentleman on his knees, begging me to be his wife. He has something special planned for late August. I suspect that is when he will offer for me.”
Seriously turning her thoughts to accomplishment of that goal, Hannah vowed that although she would never resort to violence, if Elizabeth Bennet had designs on her Mr Darcy and his wealth, then she would be utterly ruthless.
And if Margaret and Althea would not assist her, then they were welcome to find their own wealthy men to become their dupes.
“I have a plan, Papa, but first you must loosen your purse-strings and allow me new gowns. Meg and Thea may go without.”
Her father replied that dressmakers there in the middle of nowhere must be as scarce as rocking horse droppings.
“True. This has to be the most tiresome place in the entire world, and I thought summering in town would be unbearable. When I am Mrs Darcy, I shall insist that he put Strandsmere up for purchase. In the meantime, you are to write to James at the Albany, as you previously promised you would, and summon him to Strandsmere Park. And do make him understand the importance of remaining mum about his gaming penchant and our situation. Also, my stupid brother does not have the ability to govern himself, so please keep his debauchery in check while he is here. Order him to pursue either Miss Darcy or Miss Hughes, I care not which one.”
Her father repeatedly rubbed his chin. “Darcy’s sister has a dowry of thirty thousand pounds, while Miss Hughes, I am told, has only one third of that amount.
However, there is some mysterious connexion there to the royal house of Hanover.
Any number of foreign nobles are here in our kingdom at any given time, so I shall endeavour to discover the girl’s kinship. ”
Taking a seat beside Hannah, he carefully dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief.
“If both you and James make good matches, I shall have only two more to marry off, further reducing debt. It will not be easy, however. Beauty and lineage should be sufficient but may not be in Meg’s and Thea’s instances.
They have not much to recommend them, save for our trifling connexion to the Wyndhams.”
Having taken neither the time nor initiative to teach her younger sisters how to manage a household, Hannah had a moment of regret.
But Margaret and Althea and their lack of preparedness for wifehood were of little consequence.
She was the priority, for the age of despair, when her beauty might fade and she be considered a spinster, was approaching.
“As a family, we shall divide and conquer and put a wedge between Mr Darcy and Miss Ben—” Hannah’s scream pierced the air. Jumping to her feet, she flapped her hand at a hovering insect in uncomfortably close proximity to her person. “Wasp! Kill it, Papa. Kill it!”
Gaining his feet, Mr Wright swatted and shouted, “Shoo! Shoo!” The insect darted off towards the flower beds.
“Please do not harm it or scare it away.” Mr Darcy’s deep, rich voice drew nearer.
“’Tis probably nothing but a harmless bee-fly.
It will feed on nectar and carry away pollen, fertilising as it goes.
” Crouching in front of the yellow and orange calendula, he watched the insect as it hovered motionlessly.
“Its larvae eat harmful garden insects.”
In trembling wretchedness, Hannah flumped heavily upon the bench and placed a palm over her racing heart, attempting to appear calm and unafraid in front of her future husband. “It definitely looks like a wasp.”
“True, madam, but a bee-fly will never sting you.”
What of you, sir? Will you hurt me? Spurn me as Mr Morley did? Just stay away from Elizabeth Bennet, lest you inflict a painful puncture wound on my pride.
Hannah’s father cleared his throat. “If you will excuse me, I have many letters to write.” With a wink in his daughter’s direction, he left them alone in the garden.
“Will you not sit with me, Mr Darcy? I am all in a flutter.” She inched over.
“I imagine the fly is in a similar state.” Smiling, he sat beside her.
“Miss Wright, allow me to again compliment you on that truly extraordinary performance at Cliff House last week.” Turning to catch her eye, he said, “I have been wondering what inspired you to sing that particular aria, one so full of jealousy and rage.”
The gentleman seemed to stare into her very soul, and Hannah could not bear looking into anyone’s eyes for more than a brief moment.
She bowed her head in feigned humility. “There is no other lady who so obstinately suppresses her own merit, sir, but I must confess that I wanted to exhibit, for you, my vocal abilities. The piece was challenging, even for one with my talent. Everyone else there seemed to appreciate it, of course.” Looking up, she offered him a deep sigh and a pensive expression.
“Poor Miss Bennet, though. Not wanting to play after my performance. I felt for her exceedingly.” Making a point of showing no vulnerability, she watched a robin hop along the lawn and spoke in a carefree tone.
“By the by, how exactly are you acquainted with her?”
Mr Darcy replied in the same sort of nonchalant manner.
“I met Miss Bennet during the time I spent at Netherfield, Bingley’s place in Hertfordshire.
She and I were occasionally in company together at neighbourhood soirées and whatnot.
” He scratched an ear. “She, ah, also stayed at Netherfield herself for a few days, kindly caring for an ill sister.”
Hannah’s jaw ached from clenching her teeth, for it was extremely difficult to allay jealous abhorrence. “I seem to remember Miss Darcy mentioning that you were rather taken with the young lady.”
“You must have noticed, madam, that Miss Bennet’s manners have all the recommendations of ease and good humour. She is completely without affectation.”
“How nice.” Hannah turned aside to hide a sneer. Perhaps I can foist the chit upon James. It would serve him right for causing me such hardship. That might work well, in fact. If James distracts Elizabeth Bennet away from Mr Darcy, then—
“Yes, and I hope that during the coming weeks you, your sisters, Georgiana, and the two young ladies at Cliff House will form lasting friendships. You may begin doing so on the morrow, for Georgiana has invited Miss Bennet and Miss Hughes to spend the day here, and they have accepted.”