Chapter 14 The Constellations
At Lady Catherine’s bedchamber door, Anne kissed her mother’s cheek, wished her goodnight, and continued down the hall to Elizabeth’s room. “Come, Georgiana, let us visit with Elizabeth for a few minutes, then we will walk to the folly and look at the stars.”
Once in the bedchamber that Elizabeth occupied, Miss de Bourgh disappeared into the dressing room and came out with a thick woolen cloak.
“Will you come with us? I have an extra cloak. In truth, I have six. They are all equally hideous, but they are warm and serviceable. Mamma purchases a new one each year. I cannot account for it, for they are all the same color and no better than the last.”
Georgiana laughed. “Cousin Anne, I like you very much. You are exceedingly witty.”
Miss de Bourgh leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I am glad you think so. Lizzy, will you change into something warmer?”
Elizabeth set down the blanket. “Yes, I believe I shall.”
Twenty minutes later, the three young women crept down the servants’ stair and encountered Sarah.
“Are you off on your adventures, miss?”
“Yes, Sarah. Pray ensure we are not locked out. We have my little cousin with us this evening. This is Georgiana Darcy.”
As Georgiana stood several inches taller than the diminutive maid, Sarah looked up at the young girl and laughed. “I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, little cousin.”
Georgiana curtsied. “And I am pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
They slipped into the kitchen garden and then silently made their way to the grove. It was dark beneath the trees, but when they emerged, Elizabeth saw the pale outline of the folly at the edge of the bluff.
Georgiana drew close. “Anne, it is frightening here. Brother says there is a ghost.”
Anne chortled. “There is no ghost, my dear. It exists only in my mother’s imagination. Though she wrote to Fitzwilliam of it, which may explain his visit.” She gestured toward Elizabeth. “Perhaps it was Lizzy she described. In this light, she does appear quite spectral, as do you, Georgie.”
“It is these white woolen cloaks that render us so ethereal, and you most of all, Annie, for your hair appears almost white in the moonlight.”
“It is bright tonight. Let us run the rest of the way to the folly. I need to stretch my legs. I have been confined all day long with Mamma, waiting for my cousins.”
Georgiana cried out. “Do not leave me behind.”
Elizabeth took the girl’s hand and ran at her pace. Miss de Bourgh reached the folly well before them and had spread the blanket by the time they arrived.
“Lizzy, did you bring the wine glasses?”
“Yes.” Elizabeth drew one from each pocket of her cloak and another from her reticule.
Miss de Bourgh handed a candle to Georgiana and produced a tinderbox. “My mother does not permit me to do much of anything, so I have never learned to light a candle, but Lizzy is teaching me how to do it.”
Elizabeth struck the steel against the flint to cast sparks upon the charcloth, and when it caught, she set it to a taper and lit the candle. Georgiana placed it in the holder while Elizabeth poured the wine, and the three settled upon the blanket.
“We do not know each other, little cousin. Pray tell us something of yourself. What are your accomplishments?”
“I play the pianoforte, and my master considers me an accomplished performer, though I do not sing. I enjoy sketching likenesses of my family, and I paint landscapes.”
“We all know Lizzy’s accomplishment, for we had the benefit of it this afternoon.” Anne sniggered as she continued. “Lizzy, did you observe your cousin’s astonishment when you sang?”
Elizabeth shook her head. “No. You will recall I was most dutiful in keeping my eyes lowered.”
Georgiana asked, concerned. “But why, Miss Elizabeth? Are you a nervous performer?”
“No, Miss Darcy. My cousin expects I will treat his patroness and her family with the utmost deference and humility, which, in practice, requires I remain silent and keep my eyes lowered.”
“How very odd.”
“It is quite archaic for the one who must submit to it. I pity my poor sister, who is to live under such directives for the rest of her life, and she is only nineteen, while he is five and twenty. If he lives another forty years, and she endures as long, it is a considerable penance for the privilege of inheriting a modest estate.”
Georgiana’s expression softened. “That is most distressing, Miss Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth touched the young girl’s arm. “Would you mind calling me Lizzy, or Elizabeth? Unless you feel it is too informal?”
“I should like it very much. I feel as though I have gained two sisters. Please call me Georgie.”
Elizabeth said, “It is your turn, Annie. What is your accomplishment?”
Miss de Bourgh pursed her lips in thought. “I do not sing, play, draw, or sketch. The only thing I can do is run.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Yes, you can.” Then, turning to the young girl, she said, “But you must not speak of it, Georgiana, for gentlemen do not value such an accomplishment in a lady and would be quite scandalized to learn she was running about out of doors where a neighbor might observe her.”
Miss de Bourgh agreed. “Can you imagine Fitzwilliam’s countenance?
He is so exact in his notions that the idea would quite shock him.
The colonel, however, might bear it a little better.
He is a practical man, and I suspect his years upon the Peninsula have made him rather less delicate in his judgments. ”
“Where do you run, Annie?”
“Lizzy and I run in the early morning along the track beyond the old barn. I can now nearly match her in both speed and distance, for we have run together ever since she came to me.”
“Does Aunt Catherine approve?”
“Heavens no, my dear. It is not thought proper for women to exert themselves. You will keep our secret, will you not?”
“Yes, I shall. May I join you?”
Elizabeth asked, “Would your brother object if he discovered it?”
Georgiana was silent for some time. “I do not keep secrets from Fitzwilliam. It would be better if I did not run. I can keep yours, but if I joined you, it would become my secret, and I should be obliged to tell him.”
Elizabeth said, “Of course you would, for he is your guardian and it is only proper.”
They heard footsteps. The three turned, but saw nothing in the surrounding darkness.
Alarm stirred them to their feet. Elizabeth moved a few steps forward, with the other two close at either side, all three peering into the grove to discern who approached, when a man’s voice called out, “Who goes there?”
“Fitzwilliam.” Georgiana saw her brother and ran to him. “You frightened us.”
He drew her close. “Georgiana, what are you wearing?” His gaze traveled over her. She was wrapped in a most unflattering, heavy woolen cloak. He then observed his cousin and her companion, both attired in the same fashion. He inclined his head. “Anne, Miss Bennet.”
Richard approached, his pistol in hand, lowered toward the ground. He secured it and concealed it beneath his coat. “Ladies, we had supposed you long since retired.”
Miss de Bourgh laughed. “It is only eight o’clock, sir. No one but a child would be abed so early.”
“True, yet we saw all three of you follow my aunt upstairs. What brings you out this evening?”
Georgiana pointed to the blanket. “We are taking a glass of wine, and we have a telescope. We mean to study the stars.” She asked, “But Fitzwilliam, what brings you out?” She regarded them both. “You are still in your dinner clothes.”
“We saw the flickering light of the candle and wondered if there were poachers abroad,” Richard said.
“Or smugglers,” Darcy added. “I am relieved to discover it is only my family, enjoying a ramble on a fine autumn night. Sweetling, which of these ladies is your instructress?”
“I am,” Miss de Bourgh replied. “Mrs. Jenkinson and I came out each night for many years, and she taught me the constellations.”
“Naming the stars is your accomplishment,” Georgiana said, and laughed a little too loudly with unguarded delight.
Elizabeth glanced at Mr. Darcy. He had raised a brow and turned his narrowed eye upon her.
His expression was disapproving. Did he suppose she ought to have kept his sister from the wine?
Annie was the hostess, the elder, and the relation.
Surely, he must know such a duty fell to her.
Elizabeth lowered her eyes, unwilling to give him further cause for displeasure.
Richard intervened, and the moment passed.
“Show me your glass, my dear. I shall find Cassiopeia for you.” He indicated where it was located. “And there lies Perseus.”
All five gazed skyward, but Georgiana swayed. “Brother, I may have had a little too much to drink. May I lie upon the blanket and look up? At any rate, Annie assures us it is the best way to observe the heavens.”
“Of course, my dear.”
She lay down, and her cousin joined her. Elizabeth remained standing, too conscious of herself to follow. Richard stretched out between his cousins and pointed out Perseus, Cygnus, and others, recounting a tale for each.
Elizabeth stood at the edge of the blanket, trying to discern the figures. She must have appeared perplexed, for Mr. Darcy came near and raised his arm. “Can you see Cygnus, Miss Bennet?”
“I am afraid I do not possess imagination enough to discern the figures traced by the constellations, sir. I am quite at a loss. Cassiopeia is plain enough, though.” She gestured.
“And I see Pegasus, but I cannot discover where Cygnus lies. I shall consult a book and perhaps recognize it another evening.”
He asked for the telescope and found the Pleiades for her.
“Once you have seen the Seven Sisters, you will find it easier to locate the others.” Drawing closer, he guided her view.
She caught the faint trace of his scent, and his shoulder brushed hers from time to time as he pointed out the constellations and the brightest stars.
She found she was drawn to him, and she reveled in his nearness.