Chapter Four
The rains continued through the night, preventing the Gardiners and Sir Walter from departing the next day.
Nearly twenty people were all cooped up together indoors that afternoon, and they all took tea together in a spacious set of parlors.
After an hour or two, the prevailing attitude turned restless, and the four charming hostesses organized a tour of the expansive house.
Their party was subsequently divided; each of the Goulding ladies led a small assortment of guests in different directions to begin the showing of their opulent home.
Miss Smith was already decidedly attached to Jane; the two were similar in their timid civilities, whispering tranquilly between themselves with shy smiles and soft laughter.
The two captains, also an inseparable pair, seemed content to remain with these two gentle creatures, and their foursome was led away by Lady Blanche.
Sir Walter and Miss Elliot selected Lord Bixler and his sister as the only companions worthy of them, though Elizabeth could not at all make out if any of the four of them liked one another in the slightest, for they were all so full of cold, polished manners and practiced false civility that she could sense no feeling in a word any of them said.
In truth, they said little enough to Elizabeth that she could only hope they would prove amusing in their absurd hauteur.
With the Crofts and the Gardiners led away by Lady Sophia, this left Lady Rosamund to the company of Elizabeth, Anne Elliot, and Colonel Brandon.
That gentleman offered each of the young ladies an arm as Lady Rosamund tutted and lamented that their numbers should be thrown off from the very beginning.
Anne was silent as they moved through the magnificent rooms of the ground floor.
She did not look to Elizabeth for reassurance or offer her half-hearted smiles as she had done the night before at dinner, and even earlier that afternoon; Anne was lost completely to her own thoughts, only just present enough to refrain from giving offense.
Elizabeth was reasonably confident she could guess what her new friend was thinking of – or whom.
She had swiftly ruled out Colonel Brandon as a possibility, and Elizabeth highly doubted it was Lord Bixler whom Anne had once rejected.
The viscount was too civil to Anne’s father and sister for Elizabeth to believe he had any past dealings with Anne, and she doubted him capable of any attachment of true depth and feeling.
Furthermore, Elizabeth knew it could not be Captain Benwick who inspired Anne’s sullen, wistful sighs.
As they dressed together that morning, Jane related to Elizabeth all that the young captain had told her of his sad history.
His betrothed, the only woman he ever loved, had died the previous year of a sudden illness.
Elizabeth was sorry for him, but sorrier still for her sister – it must be Captain Wentworth, the man Jane already showed signs of admiring, who had once been Anne Elliot’s beau.
Elizabeth let Anne sulk, for there was nothing helpful she could say in the presence of Lady Rosamund and Colonel Brandon.
Anne herself was too inattentive for Elizabeth to catch her eye and give any subtle signal for them to hang back and speak in privacy.
Instead, Elizabeth allowed herself to be vastly interested in all the impressive rooms she was shown through.
It did not escape Elizabeth’s notice that the colonel was often looking at her melancholy friend with tender concern.
When their meandering course brought them to the older, Tudor part of the house, a narrow staircase obliged Colonel Brandon to release one of the young ladies.
Elizabeth started to withdraw her grip on his arm so that her unhappy friend would not be left alone, but Anne moved away first when Lady Rosamund beckoned to her.
As they ascended the narrow, spiraling stairs, Elizabeth was glad to have the colonel at her side, for more than one step was unsteady. She smiled, ready to laugh at her ineptitude in walking, though it was an oft-practiced favorite pastime.
Colonel Brandon spoke first. “I observed your kindness to Miss Anne on more than one occasion last evening, Miss Elizabeth, and the same today. Your perspicacity and compassion are a credit to you.”
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “I suppose any demurral on my part would only give offense; I must thank you for the compliment.”
“You are most deserving of such praise. I think it is admirable of you to look out for your new friend as you do, though in my experience such keen instincts are not happily come by.”
There was an air of sad wisdom about him, but Elizabeth was already downcast enough by the relentless rain, and hardly wished to speak of anything morose.
Instead she gave her voice a lilt of humor as she and the colonel followed Lady Rosamund and Anne into an upstairs gallery.
“If you mean to suggest that I was quick to notice the way my new friend is slighted by her family because I have been somehow slighted myself, I must inform you candidly, sir, that I am far more prone to humor when I am the slighted party. It is only when someone I am fond of has been insulted that I am really bothered.”
“I must feel myself doubly fortunate, then, to have a companion who is not only generous with her sympathies, but impossible to offend.” There was just a hint of droll teasing in his eyes, but the colonel’s delivery was perfectly serious.
Something like guilt tugged at Elizabeth. It was generally true that she was more inclined to laugh away any slight made to her, rather than allow it to truly dismay her. But there had been a few notable exceptions in recent months, and they had always involved Mr. Darcy.
“I daresay there are many who would sometimes prefer to give offense, but in such cases as these, I have my revenge by laughing at their folly. Indeed, every time I have whisked Anne away from her father and sister’s insolence, I have whispered something vastly amusing and abominably rude to divert her from their discourtesy.
My friend may rival you for bravery, Colonel, or perhaps it is bravado, for bearing all my shocking irreverence. ”
“And do you mean to shock me, Miss Elizabeth?” There was a subtle tone of flirtation in Colonel Brandon’s voice, and his warm expression gave her a moment of panic.
Elizabeth thought well of him, for he was noble and intelligent, but she had no interest in receiving Colonel Brandon’s addresses – she would sooner have him direct them at her friend.
“If I did intend to shock you, Colonel, I might admit that I rather envy you. If I were as imposing as you are, I might really make something of being insolent to certain high and mighty persons. Even at my diminutive height, I do not often make my opinions a great secret, but I should like to do so properly, with every advantage in stature and severity.”
Despite her look of mirth, the colonel looked taken aback for a moment. “I had supposed you preferred to put people at ease, Miss Elizabeth.”
“I am inclined to do so for my new friend, Anne, for she is a sweet and gentle creature. Perhaps you should try it, some time – putting her at ease, that is. What I meant to suggest before is that the next time Miss Elliot means to claim some triumph by excluding Anne from conversation, the proud lady might be more soundly punished if you come to her sister’s aid. ”
Colonel Brandon gave her a quick wink and bowed his head in assent. “My gallantry has been called into question – I shall attend to the matter at the first opportunity.”
Elizabeth smiled brightly, letting him see her satisfaction.
Though it was a pity that her contempt of Sir Walter and Miss Elliot meant nothing to them, Elizabeth was sure they would be thoroughly and deservedly vexed to see the colonel paying attention to Anne.
Perhaps something might even grow from their friendship; Elizabeth could easily imagine Colonel Brandon and Anne Elliot being well suited to one another.
Of course, she knew that she was biased, for in addition to her suspicions about which of the gentlemen Anne had once loved, Elizabeth was also convinced that an attachment was already blossoming between that same gentleman and her beloved sister Jane. What a tangle!
When their tour of the house concluded and the large party was reunited in the parlor, Elizabeth was surprised to see that it was not Captain Wentworth who held Jane’s attention, but the melancholy Captain Benwick.
His friend trailed behind him with Miss Smith, both of them looking like they should rather speak to Jane than to one another, while Jane looked desperate for rescue from her sullen companion.
Elizabeth was happy to oblige. She linked arms with her sister and asked Jane how she liked the house and all that they had seen on their respective tours, until the pair settled on a sofa at the back of the room, where they might enjoy some degree of privacy.
Then Elizabeth questioned her in earnest, asking how she liked her companions.
“They are all very agreeable, Lizzy. Miss Smith – she has asked me to call her Harriet – she is a dear, sweet girl – she reminds me of our sister Kitty.”
Elizabeth cocked her head to one side with playful impatience. “And the gentlemen? Do you find either of them agreeable enough company that you may cease to pine for Mr. Bingley?”
Jane looked down at her lap and frowned. “I do not pine for Mr. Bingley, Lizzy. I had hoped we might meet again, but I have already given you every assurance that I shall be perfectly content if he is not amongst our party, here.”