Chapter XXVII
The afternoon proved far pleasanter than any of them had anticipated.
Kew was alive with visitors enjoying the fine weather. Gentlemen strolled leisurely beneath avenues of chestnut and lime, ladies paused beside the still flowering borders, and children chased one another across the broad lawns until governesses called them back with varying degrees of success.
They lingered beside the ornamental lake, admired several curious specimens from the botanical collections, and paused beneath the shade of ancient cedars whose great branches seemed almost to touch the ground.
The Great Pagoda rose above the trees exactly as Elizabeth remembered it from her childhood, though she confessed she had once imagined it considerably taller.
“Everything appears larger at ten years of age,” Darcy observed.
“Except one’s mistakes.”
He smiled.
They wandered slowly through the gardens, allowing Lydia and Georgiana to move some distance ahead whenever their conversation became animated.
They had walked some distance when Darcy said, rather unexpectedly, “There is something in your letter which I have been considering.”
Elizabeth looked at him.
“You mentioned that I had called you tolerable.”
She stopped – and crimsoned.
“I believe I owe you a correction.”
“A correction?”
“Yes. I was wrong.”
Elizabeth glanced at him. “You did not appear to think so at the time.”
“I remember. I was determined not to dance that evening. I wished to be left alone, and I confess I scarcely considered you properly at all.”
“And yet you found time to pronounce me not tempting enough to be danced with.”
“I see you remember it well.”
“Unfortunately.”
Darcy smiled.
“That was abominably unfair. I had hardly given you my attention before forming my judgement.”
Elizabeth looked away.
“I had hurt you. Was that why you disliked me so much afterwards?”
She looked at him in surprise.
“At Hunsford, you told me that you had decided against me from the very beginning.”
Elizabeth could not speak.
“Was it because of that?”
She considered the question.
“Not entirely. But it certainly did not help.”
“I see.”
He was silent for a moment.
“Then let me correct that statement.”
She looked at him.
“I have since had considerably more opportunity to observe you.”
Elizabeth smiled faintly.
“And I have come to a very different conclusion.”
She waited.
“I believe, Miss Bennet, that you are one of the most beautiful women of my acquaintance.”
Elizabeth’s steps faltered for the briefest moment.
When she found her voice, she commented, “That is rather different from tolerable.”
“Considerably.”
She looked away, unable to prevent the smile that appeared upon her face.
***
As they wandered on through the gardens, their conversation turned naturally to the future.
Darcy spoke of his conversation with Mr. Gardiner.
He admitted that it had been Elizabeth herself who had first planted the thought in his mind when she observed that her family could never have a clean slate in Meryton.
From that moment, he confessed, he had found himself considering possibilities.
One possibility in particular had refused to leave him.
He still owned the property, a large house at Ramsgate. It had been standing empty ever since the previous year. And he had begun to wonder whether it might offer the Bennets something Hertfordshire no longer could – a fresh beginning.
Elizabeth stopped walking.
“You have been thinking about all this?”
Darcy looked almost uncomfortable beneath her gaze. “I could not help thinking about it.”
She continued to look at him. “For my family?”
“For your family,” he replied simply.
She was silent for several moments.
“Mr. Darcy…” She shook her head gently. “You never cease to astonish me.”
He attempted a smile. “I hope not always unpleasantly.”
Her own smile appeared almost despite herself. “No,” she said quietly. “Never unpleasantly.”
He seemed almost uncomfortable beneath such praise.
She looked away, picturing it. “Ramsgate… A thoughtful expression crossed her face. “At the sea.”
“Yes.”
“Good Gracious…” She laughed softly. “It could work.” The smile faded almost immediately. “But my father…”
Darcy nodded. He had expected that. “Yes. Mr. Bennet. What do you think?”
“To make him move?” she frowned. “To persuade him to leave Longbourn…” She gave a small shake of her head. “I cannot imagine it.”
“Nor can I,” Darcy admitted. “But I believe we must try.”
“You truly think this would be the best course?”
He answered without hesitation. “You know it as well as I. Miss Lydia cannot safely return home. Not now. Not after what happened. Would you truly wish her tied to that man for life? For a foolish mistake of youth?” He paused. “I fear none of you has a chance of a proper future if you stay there.”
Elizabeth just stared at him.
“At Ramsgate,” Darcy continued quietly, “you would at least have the opportunity to become known for yourselves, instead of for a scandal that was never wholly your own.”
His voice softened. “You could all start anew. We must convince him.”
Elizabeth lowered her eyes. She said nothing for a long while.
At last, she whispered, “I think… you may be right.”
And what startled her most was not that Mr. Darcy had found yet another solution where she had seen only difficulties, but that she had begun to expect him to.
“Convincing my father may prove rather more difficult than finding Lydia.”
Darcy smiled faintly. “Mr. Gardiner suggested as much.”
She looked at him with a mixture of affection and resignation. “He has lived at Longbourn all his life. The Bennets have held the estate for several generations. His books are there. His habits are there. If you ask him to exchange certainty for prudence, he will almost certainly choose certainty.”
Darcy considered this. “And if I ask him to exchange comfort for his daughters’ future?”
Elizabeth studied him thoughtfully. “He would pretend not to hear you.”
Darcy looked at her with surprise on his face. “You cannot mean it.”
“Unfortunately, I do.”
“That is… difficult to defend.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Nevertheless, if he believes someone is attempting to persuade him, he immediately becomes contrary. It is almost a game with him.”
“That could be amusing, but not in this case.”
They walked a few more paces.
“So,” Darcy said, “I must allow him to persuade himself.”
Elizabeth stopped and looked at him. A smile slowly spread across her face. “You understand him astonishingly quickly.”
“I understand negotiations.”
She laughed. “You are not negotiating over an estate now.”
“No.” He looked ahead, his expression thoughtful. “I believe I am attempting to persuade a gentleman that moving to the sea is entirely his own excellent idea.”
Elizabeth laughed outright. “I should dearly like to witness that conversation.”
“So should I,” Darcy admitted. “At present, I have only the faintest notion how to accomplish it.”
“Maybe you do not have to do it all on your own.”
He looked at her questioningly.
“Let me think.”
Darcy frowned thoughtfully. “I confess I do not know how one persuades a gentleman to abandon the home in which he has lived for more than half a century.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I think I do.”
He looked at her.
“You do not ask Papa to abandon it.”
“No?”
“You ask him to leave it for a little while.”
Darcy’s expression slowly changed.
“A journey,” she continued. “A few weeks by the sea. A change of air. Rest from callers and gossip. His wife would adore him for it.”
“I think, Miss Bennet, you are a born strategist.”
“Maybe.” She laughed softly. “Mr. Gardiner could suggest it at dinner, just by the way. No, actually, my aunt would be much better. My father is defenceless against her charm.”
Elizabeth became increasingly animated. “Then Mr. Gardiner could second it by saying that his sister could use a time away from being shunned. Papa dislikes exertion far more than he dislikes travelling. If he believes the arrangement temporary, he will not trouble himself to oppose it.”
She looked almost mischievous. “Then I shall bring it up on the way home. Lydia will second me, and when he tries to bring up the difficulties in finding a place, you can bring up the Ramsgate house very innocently.”
Darcy said nothing for several moments. It was extraordinary to watch her mind at work. Within minutes, she had transformed what had seemed an impossible proposal into something that might actually succeed. She had improved every part of his plan except the existence of the plan itself.
“Very innocently.”
They both laughed.
Before either of them resumed walking, Elizabeth stepped forward almost absent-mindedly and laid her hand upon his arm, as though the gesture were the most natural thing in the world. Her attention was entirely fixed upon her father and the scheme they were constructing together.
Darcy looked down for the briefest instant. She had taken his arm. Whether she knew it or not, he could not tell. He rather suspected she did not. He had no intention of enlightening her. “And Georgiana would describe what a lovely house it is… with a library.”
“Mr. Darcy, you speak to my heart. He will not be able to say no to sweet Miss Darcy. A library, really?”
“Yes, there is a considerable library. I never had the opportunity to really sort through it, but yes, it came with the house.”
“That could be a major incentive for him.”
“And once he is there?”
“Then we make him comfortable.”
Darcy’s eyes brightened. “He shall have his books.”
“And a quiet study.”
“No officious neighbours.”
“No Mrs. Phillips bursting through the door every morning. And Mama will stop fretting.” Elizabeth laughed. “No bemoaning the lack of invitations.”
“No calls unless he wishes them.” Darcy added, “Good claret.”
“And excellent dinners.”
“The sea.”
“A garden.” He looked at her. “And peace.”
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Elizabeth said quietly, “If he spends a month there… he may begin to wonder why he should hurry back.”
Darcy smiled. “And by then,” he said, “it will almost seem his own decision.”