Chapter Fourteen #3
“Thank you, but it is a beautiful morning, and I would prefer to walk,” Lizzy asserted. “Ah, here is Mary. Mr. Darcy, if you will do me the honor of waiting a few minutes, I will fetch Jeffry and my outer things.”
“Certainly.”
Lizzy hurried away, hearing Georgiana and Mr. Darcy greet Mary behind her.
When she arrived in the orangery, Jeffry appeared to be waiting for her.
She took down a covered basket from off of a shelf, placed a folded piece of flannel and some straw bedding in its bottom, added a few raisins, and then plucked Jeffry from his enclosure.
“We are going for a walk with Mr. Darcy. Pray, do not embarrass me by disappearing from the basket,” Lizzy begged, staring into his tiny eyes as she held him up.
“We are taking you to the lending library to see if anyone recognizes you.” She had the impression that Jeffry felt anxious, and so she sought to allay his fears.
“Do not worry. I will not give you away to anyone who is not your owner.”
This seemed to satisfy him. Lizzy placed him in the basket and closed its lid, fastening it shut. She hurried back to the great hall where only Mr. Darcy stood, and offered him the basket—which he took.
“I will just go and get my pelisse, bonnet, and gloves,” she told him.
“I will be here.” He gestured toward the wall where several straight-backed chairs waited. “May I sit?”
“Certainly, you may,” Lizzy said. “I will be only a minute.
Darcy watched her race up the stairs, admiring her verve and lithe figure. He found a seat, settled into it, and put the basket on the floor. After only a moment, Miss Bennet entered. He stood and bowed his shoulders. She paused and curtsied.
“Good morning, Mr. Darcy.” Miss Bennet looked around. “Did you mean to wait for your sister?”
“I am waiting for your sister, Miss Elizabeth. We are walking into Meryton together.”
Miss Bennet nodded knowingly. “Ah, the lending library.”
“Is there a commission we might perform for you while we are there?”
She chuckled gently. “I need nothing, thank you.” She glanced shyly away and then hesitantly asked, “Is Mr. Bingley looking forward to our drive today?”
“He is, indeed. I expect him to arrive any minute.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, dear, pray excuse me. I must inform our maid that she is accompanying us.”
“Of course,” Darcy said, bowing again. He did not think Bingley wished for an accompanying maid, but his friend would accept her presence with easy humor.
“Mrs. Hill will not like it,” she said not quite as quietly as he thought she meant it to be.
“And why is that?” he asked before she could hurry away.
“Beside Mama’s personal maid, we have only the one upstairs maid,” Miss Bennet explained. “Our maid-of-all-work will be helping the laundress with the laundry today, so Mrs. Hill will miss having a maid to help with the housekeeping.”
“I understand,” he murmured.
She nodded and rushed off. Darcy was surprised the Bennets had only one maid to assist five sisters. But, then, he did not know the extent of Mr. Bennet’s fortune.
Darcy had just sat down again when Miss Elizabeth rushed down the stairs, tying the pink ribands of her chip bonnet beneath her chin. She wore a pink and burgundy striped pelisse over her pale-pink day dress. As he stood, Darcy thought she looked utterly charming.
“May I say, you look very nice today?” he said, smiling slightly. Inwardly, he frowned, wondering what had inspired him to give her the compliment. He had not meant to say anything about how well she looked.
“You may.” She laughed once, her eyes glowing. “Do you intend to carry the basket?”
“I do,” he said, lifting the conveyance from the floor, and then offering his arm. They moved toward the entrance door. Out of nowhere, it seemed, Hill arrived to open it for them.
“We will be back in a few hours, Hill,” Miss Elizabeth informed him.
“Yes, miss.”
“Kindly inform my sister that I am walking to Meryton with Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said to the butler.
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you.”
Darcy led his companion to the walkway which exited through the entrance gates. He heard a chuff behind them and they both stopped, looking over their shoulders at the dog loping in their direction.
“Are you coming, Harry?” Miss Elizabeth asked, sounding surprised. “I thought you meant to lay in the sun and sleep.”
Harry shook his head and came to heel beside her.
“Very well, you may come,” she told her dog. “When we get to the lending library, you must sit quietly by the door, staying out of the way. You may keep Harris, the doorman, company. Mr. and Mrs. Moore do not wish your hairy self inside where they serve food. Is that understood?”
Harry chuffed once more.
“Good,” Miss Elizabeth said. “Are we ready to proceed, Mr. Darcy?”
“We are,” he said, and they continued to walk toward the gate. “Do you think Harry understood you?”
“He understands a surprising amount,” she avowed. “Animals are like humans in a way—some are smarter than others. I have met a number of astonishingly stupid members of each breed. Harry is not one of their fraternities. Say, which puppy did Georgiana choose?”
“If you had to guess, which one would you say she chose?”
Without pausing to think over her answer, Miss Elizabeth said, “Flower.”