Chapter 32 Friends
Elizabeth held her wrap close about her shoulders as she hurried along the path from the house to the edge of the open moor.
The sky had already begun to lighten, and two horsemen appeared in the distance.
She recognized Mr. Darcy immediately. A surge of pleasure rose in her breast at the sight of him.
She removed the wrap, tucked it into her canvas bag, and hung the bag from the hawthorn tree. Then she unbuttoned her pelisse and ran toward the Darcys.
When they drew near enough to hear her, she raised her hand. “Good morning.”
They brought their mounts alongside her, one on either side.
“You need not hold back. As long as you stay within shouting distance, I shall be safe, for there is no one about.”
Mr. Darcy touched the brim of his hat and called to his sister. “Come, Georgiana. Let us ride to the brook and meet Miss Elizabeth at the stone circle.”
They rode away to the left while Elizabeth continued toward the henge, hoping to see the sunrise from the hilltop.
By the time she reached the stone circle, the Darcys were ascending the causeway. Mr. Darcy helped Georgiana dismount, and the girl joined Elizabeth upon the massive flat stone. Mr. Darcy took his place on Elizabeth’s other side.
“I do not understand why you are not exhausted, Miss Elizabeth. You have run a full two miles to reach this place.”
Her eyes met his. His expression betrayed no teasing. “No, sir, I am not tired. The airing does me good.”
“Look. The sun is upon the horizon.”
They faced the east as the first rim of gold broke above the horizon.
Bright orange spread beneath streaks of purple, while the rising light caught the clouds and set their edges aflame.
Gold poured across the moor and over the ancient stones as the colors deepened, then faded with the climbing sun.
None of them spoke until the spectacle had passed.
When the morning brightened, Elizabeth surveyed the land. “The mist and the gray horizon bring to mind an age when perhaps elves and fairies walked the earth.”
Georgiana laughed. “Lizzy, you say such things.”
Elizabeth glanced at Mr. Darcy to judge his reaction. His expression had grown sober, his attention fixed upon her. She must learn to govern her high spirits. These siblings did not know her well, and her liveliness might get her into trouble if she did not temper it.
She met Mr. Darcy’s eyes, hoping to set him at ease. “Sir, I was only jesting. I know full well there are no such creatures as elves and fairies, but the beauty of this place is so haunting, so otherworldly, that it makes one think of magic and miracles and wonders far removed from ordinary life.”
He raised a brow.
Her gaze returned to the distant horizon. “I want to fix this place, the mist, the henge, and the two of you firmly in my mind, so when I am a governess, perhaps in a house in London, suffering from air fouled by the smoke of a thousand chimneys, I may return here in memory and remember this day.”
She jumped from the stone and faced them. “I must return, or I shall be late for breakfast.”
“Go on, Miss Elizabeth. I will help Georgiana mount, and we shall catch you up.”
“Very well, sir.”
Elizabeth ran into the mist and green grasses, making her way through the scrub and patches of heather. How she wished she might see this place in the spring. Would the moor be covered with wildflowers?
As she ran, her thoughts returned to Mr. Darcy.
He seemed everything a man ought to be. Thoughtful, decent, wise, and protective.
If not for Lydia’s fall, perhaps he might one day ask for her hand in marriage.
Though a wealthy landowner, he displayed none of the arrogance she might expect from a man of his consequence.
He thought neither too highly of himself nor of his station within the highest circles of society.
Perhaps his fortune freed him from the necessity of seeking a well-dowered wife.
The brother and sister rode up beside her, drawing her thoughts back to the present.
When they reached the gate, Elizabeth stopped to make her farewells. As she buttoned her pelisse, she said, “Thank you both. I shall see you at ten o’clock.”
Mr. Darcy doffed his hat, and Georgiana said, “Yes. I can hardly wait to search through my book for treasure.”
Elizabeth laughed as she retrieved her bag from the tree.
As she wrapped the shawl over her hair, she said, “Mrs. Radcliff has ordered Cook to serve her specialty for tea today. I am told it is a delicious pudding much sought after by the local gentry. I shall not be surprised if I gain weight during my visit to Derbyshire.”
Georgiana suppressed a cry of delight. “Oh, Lizzy! Does she mean to serve her baked custard pudding? She will not share her recipe with anyone, though all our neighbors have begged her for it.”
“Yes, indeed. She says it will be flavored with nutmeg, and she means to serve it warm. I imagine Cook must be preparing it now.”
Georgiana addressed her brother. “Come, Fitzwilliam, let us hurry home so we shall not be late to the Radcliffs’. I should very much like some pudding.”
Elizabeth met his eyes as he made his final farewell and doffed his hat once more. Amusement and perhaps even pleasure shone in his eyes, and when her gaze dropped to his mouth, she found his lips curved with pleasure.
She felt certain of it. He enjoyed her company. He must, for he kept coming back.
She waved farewell and passed through the gate.
She ran all the way to the house, slipped up the stairs, and found the warm water Anna had brought for her.
She meant to hurry through her morning toilet and return to her books.
If Mrs. Radcliff had gone to such trouble over the refreshments she meant to serve at tea, she would probably expect them to spend the morning in conversation.
It was already October 12. Elizabeth needed answers before the winter solstice, and the thick volumes still awaited her search.
It was exactly as Elizabeth suspected. Mrs. Radcliff was matchmaking, and to her mind, the surest way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.
“Elizabeth, should you and Mr. Darcy make a match, I shall share my famous recipe with you, for it would be impertinent of me to tempt him to your side with this delicious pudding and then deprive him of it once he has made you an offer.”
Elizabeth studied the woman’s face. She spoke in earnest. “Is that how you captured your daughter’s husband, ma’am?”
Mrs. Radcliff laughed. “I did, my girl. Elizabeth, it is nearly ten o’clock.
Run upstairs, my dear, and wash your face and hands.
Ask Anna to arrange your hair. You must look elegant when that fine man makes his visit.
You know he never has a hair out of place and always appears to perfection, as does his sister.
He must be assured his wife will uphold the family name and appearances. ”
Elizabeth kept her expression placid, though inwardly she cringed. She could never marry Mr. Darcy, for she had come to love him too well to bring him low.
She excused herself and hurried upstairs to do as she was bid, but the Radcliffs found her chastened and subdued when the siblings appeared.
Mr. Radcliff joined them in the drawing room when the Darcys were announced, and the two men fell into conversation over Mr. Radcliff’s sheep. Elizabeth became interested in the subject.
“Darcy, two of my ewes have died, and several others have sickened. They have not gained weight, and their bellies are distended.”
Darcy listened before asking, “Have the animals grazed upon low-lying, poorly drained ground?”
Mr. Radcliff considered the question. “I do not believe so, but I shall ask the husbandman. Perhaps the fences need repair.”
“If the land is wet and infested with pennygrass, perhaps that is the cause.”
Mrs. Radcliff asked, “Elizabeth, have you any brothers?”
“No, ma’am. When my father died, the estate passed to a distant cousin. We never met, for he died a few months before my father from an unknown illness.”
“And your mother?”
“We are orphaned, Mrs. Radcliff.”
Elizabeth sought some means of changing the subject, for she did not wish to admit before the Darcys that her father had met a violent end.
“I have three sisters, ma’am. My eldest is Jane, who has lately turned two and twenty, and my two younger sisters are seventeen and nineteen. Sadly, we are orphaned, but we have family who have come to our aid and whom we love dearly.”
The tea tray arrived, and relief swept through Elizabeth. Once they had taken their tea and pudding, she and Georgiana could retire to her corner, beyond the reach of Mrs. Radcliff’s questions.
Had Aunt Maddie told her nothing? How much should she divulge if her hostess continued to pry?
The pudding proved a success. Mr. Darcy ate his portion, and Elizabeth suppressed her amusement when he scraped the bowl clean.
Mrs. Radcliff must have observed it, for she offered him another serving.
Elizabeth wondered if he would consider himself too elegant to accept, but he did not.
He accepted the second helping with evident pleasure and heartfelt thanks.
When Mr. Darcy finished his pudding, Mr. Radcliff rose. “My dear, I am certain Elizabeth longs to return to her books. Let us repair to the library for half an hour so they may settle to their work.”
Elizabeth detected Mrs. Radcliff’s reluctance to leave, but her husband took her by the elbow and escorted her from the room.
Until then, Elizabeth had liked the woman very much, but Mrs. Radcliff now appeared to regard matchmaking as a duty not to be neglected, and Elizabeth feared both she and Mr. Darcy might suffer for it.
The two young women settled down to read while Mr. Darcy examined each of Elizabeth’s books. They had occupied themselves for about half an hour when Georgiana looked to Elizabeth.
“Lizzy, I am feeling sick to my stomach.”
Elizabeth rose. “Do you think you can make it to my bedchamber?”
“No.”