11
The following morning dawned just as wet and windy; Jane felt tired and out of sorts.
She had slept badly, unable to tear her thoughts away from Archer and her feelings for him.
She was ashamed of herself. Only weeks ago she had been desperately in love with Digby—or so she had thought.
Was she really that shallow or had she just mistaken liking, the unusual occurrence of being first in someone’s affections, ahead of Anne for once, to colour her own?
She arose early, and with Tabitha’s help, dressed in her travelling clothes; there was a lot to do before they set off for London where she was sure this flood of emotion for Mr Maitland would die down and vanish as quickly as it had arrived.
No doubt she had not fully recovered from her experiences in the village the other evening.
Back in the peace and quiet of their London house, all this would just be a dream.
Archer would marry Anne and she would attend her sister at the altar. They would make a splendid couple and she would dance at their wedding with great happiness!
“I expect you will be pleased to be going to London, Tabitha?”
Her maid paused in her task of tidying the room and gathering together all the items that needed to be packed.
“Yes, Miss Jane, I will. There is so little to do here in the country, even less than at Pemberley. At home there is always something interesting happening, visitors and such like. The house is full of noise and bustle, especially when the young gentlemen are at home. And, of course, we travel to London at least four times a year.”
“Well, you will no doubt enjoy the weeks we are about to spend at Matlock House.”
“Yes, Miss. And I know someone else who will be pleased—that Luisa. She hates the countryside. As far as I can understand from her foreign chatter, she misses their life in Rome which seems to be as big a city as London, although I think she is likely to be exaggerating that.”
“I think you must have misunderstood her, Tabitha. Signorina Celeste and Luisa come from Sicily. A long way from Rome.”
Tabitha bit her lip: it wasn’t her place to argue but she knew what she had heard.
“Well, Miss, I’m sure it was Rome they lived in.
But perhaps I misheard. She rattles on so, all about their life looking after some old lady who was very fond of Signorina Celeste and how exciting it was to travel to England. ”
“Well, we will find it exciting to travel to London! Now, if you have nearly finished in here, perhaps you could go to Miss Courtney and see if you can help her with her packing.”
Jane sat quietly gazing at her reflection in the dressing table mirror after the girl had left, gazing but not seeing.
She was quite certain Celeste would be delighted to partake of all that London had to offer.
When she and Andrew had returned from Dorchester yesterday, the Italian girl had been thrilled to hear of their forthcoming journey.
Andrew had hardly time to tell Jane that he would hopefully see them all in London in the days prior to his journey to Greece before Archer had called for their horses and with a swift bow over her hand, had left so fast that a splatter of muddy water doused the groom who had been holding the reins.
A knock at the bedroom door and Tabitha entered again. “Oh Miss Jane, I have just been to Miss Courtney, she is very poorly still. She begs your forgiveness but if you could step along to see her she would be grateful.”
Within seconds Jane was at her friend’s bedside. “Susannah—my dear—you are unwell. Let me call for the doctor immediately.”
Susannah looked up from her pillow, her usually severely braided hair loose around her shoulders in a brown cloud.
She coughed a little but her voice was quite strong.
“No it is just a chill, Jane. A silly cough and a feeling of lethargy. I have had it before—it lasts a few days, maybe a week or two, and then vanishes. But I am afraid I shall be unable to accompany you and Celeste to London.”
“I shall leave Tabitha behind to care for you,” Jane said firmly.
“And Mrs Oxley is most reliable. I am sure that my godfather will be leaving for his London home very soon so there will be no impropriety in your staying at Deerwood on your own until you are fully recovered. I will send our carriage back for you in a few days.”
A flush that Jane hoped was not the onset of fever stained Susannah’s cheeks pink. “My dear, at my advanced stage of spinsterhood, I think that the gossips would be hard pressed to make comments, even if the Colonel did stay here in residence.”
Jane smiled: because Susannah had such a young spirit, she often forgot that she was very close to forty years of age.
Downstairs she found her godfather at the breakfast table, his face still drawn and grey with the pain from his old war wound.
“Jane, my dear girl, you are leaving so soon and I fear I have not been a good host to you. We do not seem to have had any time to speak quietly about our lives without interruption.”
Jane sat next to him and patted his arm affectionately. “Dear Godfather, it is of no consequence. Pray do not trouble your mind about it. I have found the break away from home invigorating and educational.”
“And Celeste is to go with you, I believe. She will enjoy London. Deerwood Park is very quiet for a young girl.”
“But surely you will not be parted for long, Colonel. You will be recovered very soon and be able to venture up to London. We shall be all be able to meet up regularly—a happy party altogether once more.”
“Yes, and hopefully Miss Courtney will be well by then and can travel with me.”
Jane helped him to some slices of ham and beef and watched carefully to make sure he was eating. She dripped honey from a comb onto her bread and gestured to the footman for more coffee.
At last the Colonel spoke again, his voice diffident. “I suppose you think that I am too old to be considering an alliance with the lady in question? She is, of course, much younger than me.”
“Too old? Not at all, Sir. Especially if you believe the lady returns your affections.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam smiled. “Well, I think and pray that my instincts are correct in that direction. I have had my doubts, but our good friend, Mr Maitland, passed a remark the other day about seizing opportunities in life when they occur that made me realise I must not miss out on this opportunity due to cowardice!”
Jane reached up and kissed his cheek. “Dear Godfather. I wish you joy and I am sure everyone who knows and loves you will join with me in saying the same.”
“That gives me great pleasure to hear. And you, my dear, you are looking in better health than when you arrived. Have you fully recovered your good spirits? You have been busy, walking and exploring, but you must not overdo things. Remember you are not as strong as your sisters.”
Jane sipped her coffee and assured him that her stay in the country had done wonders for her constitution.
She pushed aside the flicker of irritation that his words had caused her—once again she was being told that she was weak, must always take care not to exert herself, remain quiet and passive.
A few weeks ago she would have listened and agreed, but now—now she felt as if she were a bird in a gilded cage, battering her wings against the bars.
She was desperate to escape. Her time in Dorset had indeed changed her, although not perhaps in the way her family had hoped.
***
Two weeks later, sitting with her mother, sisters and Celeste in the elegant drawing room of Matlock House in one of London’s most prestigious squares, Jane felt she was looking back at her time in the country as if it were a dream.
“I thought Dr Moore and Mr Maitland would have called to see us by now.” Celeste was pacing around the room: she was obviously bored and sounded irritated, even a little anxious. “They surely are both in London. I am surprised at their lack of attention.”
“I know nothing of any Dr Moore,” Anne Darcy said smoothly, “but Mr Maitland is a very busy and important man in legal circles. Paying calls must take second place to his duties, especially as I know he wishes to make his mark in the world of politics soon.”
“He sounds a very sober and proper gentleman,” Bennetta said from where she was lying full length on a sofa, her shoes cast off on the floor, showing a great deal of stockinged leg.
She was already bored with life in London—there was to be only one small dance held at Matlock House, not even a proper ball and she had met no new young men at all on this visit.
She might as well have stayed in Derbyshire.
Sober and proper! Jane bent her head over her embroidery, so her expression should not show.
Pictures flashed through her mind, Archer leaping off his horse when they had first met, his face when he stopped her from falling by the waterfall, the midnight escapade to the Green Man, his defiance of his grandmother’s wishes in insisting on waltzing around the room. Sober and proper he certainly was not.
“Do sit up, Benny! I have never known a girl to slouch about the house as you do.” Elizabeth Darcy’s words were cross but she was smiling to take the sting out of her comments. “Did the gentlemen in question say they would hope to meet up with us all in London, Jane?”
“Er … yes … I believe something of the sort was mentioned by Mr Maitland, Mama. But I am not certain.”
“You have said little about your meeting with his grandmother, Lady Goddard,” Anne said suddenly, looking up from the table where she was reading. “Did she speak of me at all?”
“She mentioned that you had met in London,” Jane replied quietly.