7. Chapter Seven #3
Darcy noted the title. “You may borrow anything here except the volume Horace destroyed as a puppy.”
“Was it valuable?”
“Not particularly. Though Bingley insists the dog improved the ending.”
Elizabeth raised her head sharply. “You tease more at Pemberley.”
The words escaped before caution could stop them.
His attention held hers for one difficult moment. “Pemberley suits me better than assemblies.”
Before she could answer, Lydia burst through the open library doors without knocking.
“Lizzy!” she cried. “Miss Darcy says there is a hidden stair behind the old portrait gallery, and I mean to discover it before dinner.”
Georgiana appeared behind her looking apologetic and delighted simultaneously.
Darcy pinched the bridge of his nose. “There is no hidden stair.”
“There must be,” Lydia insisted. “Every proper house has one.”
Darcy shook his head. “Pemberley was unfortunately built without regard for your expectations.”
Lydia appeared unconvinced. “Then we shall search anyway.”
“You will do no such thing alone,” Elizabeth replied.
“Miss Bennet—Elizabeth,” Georgiana said very seriously, “I promised Mrs. Reynolds I would prevent property damage.”
Lydia gasped in betrayal. “You have joined against me already.”
Darcy moved away from the window at last. “Come. I will show you the portrait gallery before rumors of secret passages spread to the servants.”
Lydia brightened instantly. “Excellent. Perhaps the one-eyed admiral hides them.”
They left the library together in cheerful disorder.
After that, the household seemed to carry them all forward whether Elizabeth wished it or not.
They toured rooms Lydia had not yet fully explored, listened to Mr. Gardiner debate fishing rights with Darcy beside the stream, and endured Mrs. Reynolds’s alarm when Horace carried off one of Lydia’s gloves into the shrubbery.
By afternoon Elizabeth found herself moving through Pemberley with growing ease.
She ought not grow so comfortable here.
A house should not feel familiar after one day. It was absurd to admire a man for discussing drainage and speaking civilly to servants before breakfast. With every passing hour, Elizabeth found fewer comfortable ways to preserve her former opinion of him.
Earlier that afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner had settled the question of the following days.
Several old acquaintances and relations lived within an easy drive of Pemberley, and, after some discussion with their host, they agreed that Elizabeth and Lydia might remain in the care of the Darcys whenever such visits occupied them.
Mrs. Gardiner hesitated only long enough to extract promises of propriety from Lydia, while Mr. Gardiner declared that any household capable of surviving both Miss Lydia Bennet and Horace deserved his complete confidence.
Lydia accepted the arrangement with enthusiasm; Elizabeth, though outwardly composed, found herself unexpectedly conscious of how often she might now encounter Mr. Darcy.
Near supper, while Mrs. Gardiner rested before the meal and Lydia attempted unsuccessfully to teach Georgiana cribbage, Elizabeth stood near the entrance hall watching servants prepare for guest arrivals.
Fresh flowers appeared upon tables. Maids carried fresh linens upstairs.
Mrs. Reynolds directed everything with military precision.
Georgiana joined Elizabeth near the open doors, one hand resting lightly against the frame.
“Miss Bingley—I mean, our other guests—arrive soon,” she said.
Elizabeth faced her at those words. Georgiana’s cheerfulness had become more restrained as evening approached.
“You are not pleased.”
Georgiana hesitated. “Miss Bingley has always been kind.”
It sounded rehearsed.
Before Elizabeth could answer, wheels sounded from the drive.
Both ladies instinctively attended to the entrance.
A carriage. Servants moved quickly. One footman exchanged a startled look with another before hurrying forward.
Lydia flew into the hall from nowhere. “Who has arrived? If it is an unexpected guest before dinner, I insist someone warn the cook.”
Darcy descended the staircase at the same moment, gloves in hand from changing for the evening.
The carriage rounded fully into view before the entrance and came to a stop.
The door opened, and Mr. Bingley descended first, cheerful despite the dust of travel. He glanced toward the house, his expression brightening immediately at the sight of Darcy waiting near the entrance with Georgiana and Miss Elizabeth beside him.
Mr. and Mrs. Hurst appeared next, Mr. Hurst pausing to offer his wife a hand before following her onto the gravel. Caroline Bingley descended last, smoothing her gloves as she looked up at the house.
Her smile faltered for the briefest instant when she discovered Elizabeth standing comfortably beside Georgiana. The expression vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by one of practiced pleasure.
Darcy moved forward to greet his friend, leaving the ladies upon the steps while servants came forward to see to the luggage.