20

Over the next fortnight, Elizabeth and Captain Darcy chose a different part of the estate every morning when they walked, and though he only referred to their future obliquely, Elizabeth could sense that he was acquainting her with the estate she would one day be mistress of. He spoke often of his plans for the place, and the possibilities of what he might do once Rosings Park passed to his niece. Elizabeth listened to all his plans, imagining their lives together, and he was often asking her opinion, which was readily given.

On the first of April, their routine was disrupted. Elizabeth had been on the verge of going downstairs to depart on her morning walk when Kitty hurried out into the corridor in her nightdress. Mr. Collins shambled out behind her, tying a sash about his banyan.

“Oh, Lizzy!” Kitty latched onto her sister, seizing both her hands. “It is the most wonderful thing! But I am horribly ill – we must call for the doctor at once!”

Elizabeth looked at her sister as though she had gone mad. “His cottage is not far – I can run there at once – but whatever is the matter?”

“Yes, make haste, Lizzy, for you are already dressed,” Mr. Collins cried, ducking behind his wife in embarrassment.

Kitty hurriedly spoke over him, bouncing a little before clutching her stomach with sudden discomfort. “We received the post very late last evening and the Taylors were such diverting company at dinner that I forgot all about our letters – you have had one from home and one from Charlotte – and I got one from Aunt Madeline! And I woke up at dawn to cast up my accounts as I have done every morning for a fortnight – I wonder that you have not heard me when you get up so early to go on your walks! And then I could not go back to sleep, and I remembered the letters and I thought perhaps Aunt Madeline had answered my questions about a certain matter – and she did! She said that all of my suspicions are correct, and I am with child! And so I woke William and told him the good news….”

“I am in raptures, dear Lizzy! I am truly the luckiest man in England,” Mr. Collins cried, though his wife had not finished her rapid fluttering of thoughts.

“And so we must call for the doctor at once because I am going to have a baby!” Kitty had grown quite loud, and their father now opened his door and stepped out into the hallway in his pyjamas.

“My dear child, you are not going to have the baby presently; can you not wait until a more respectable hour to be congratulated?” He grinned sleepily at them.

Elizabeth only threw herself at her sister, drawing her into a tight embrace. A moment later Mr. Collins gave his own little bounce of glee before wrapping his arms around both women. Mr. Bennet chuckled at their antics before giving an exaggerated yawn and then returning to his bedchamber.

When she was once again bid to fetch the doctor to confirm the good news, Elizabeth set out directly. She had not run far when Captain Darcy appeared on the wooded path that Elizabeth had selected as a shortcut to Mr. Post’s cottage.

His relief at seeing her swiftly gave way to alarm at the sight of her sprinting. “Elizabeth, what is the matter?”

She stopped, panting a little, and laughed at the spectacle she must present. “I am to fetch Mr. Post at once. I am sorry I was not able to meet you by the stream as we had agreed. Indeed, I had nearly forgotten.”

“Good God, is something the matter? I can see you are well, but what of your family?”

“I shall tell you as we walk,” she replied, taking him by the hand, as had become their new custom. “We are all very well – indeed I believe there may be some happy news to share soon – oh! But I ought to let my brother and sister tell you.”

Comprehension alighted on his countenance, and he nodded. “I see – I shall allow Mr. Collins to confirm what I think you mean. But is there some cause for urgency?”

“Only my sister’s excitement,” Elizabeth laughed. “She received a letter from our aunt confirming the symptoms she experienced this morning.”

“Then she is well enough – there is no emergency?”

“No,” Elizabeth said, unable to repress her wide smile. “But is it not marvellous? I am so happy for her I think I may weep. She and my brother were so excited, there was such pure and utter joy on their faces – it was wondrous to see it.”

Captain Darcy returned her bright smile. “I am overjoyed for them, truly. But shall we not walk at a brisk pace to the doctor? I would not see you tire yourself out, especially if you mean to cry.” He offered her a handkerchief and a mischievous grin, and she swatted at him.

“I am going to keep this, whether or not I shed a tear; I shall take it as penalty for your mockery,” she teased, putting the handkerchief into her pocket. “But I shall allow you to walk with me until we are in sight of Mr. Post’s cottage and no further – we have a charade to maintain. I find I can be very cavalier about it, knowing that I am making quite a fool of the woman who would happily do the same to me. Tell me of your latest performance as the jilted lover lamenting his woes to a sympathetic cousin.”

Captain Darcy obliged her, though he expressed some distaste for the deceit. They did not walk together long before they were obliged to part ways, and they agreed to meet by the stream at the same hour on the morrow. Though she was disappointed to have less of his company than usual, Elizabeth was content enough to know that two letters and a very happy sister were awaiting her at the parsonage, and she had no doubt the day would be a pleasant one.

This was not entirely the case. After Mr. Post had announced that a little Collins would arrive in early October, Elizabeth passed a pleasant morning with her relations at the parsonage. Mr. Collins endeavoured to make their breakfast a little fancier than usual as a celebration, for Captain Darcy had sent a servant over with a basket of fruit from the orchard and some pastries Kitty was particularly fond of.

After their repast, Elizabeth sat in the parlour with Kitty; while the men played chess, the two sisters read over her letter from Charlotte, and then the one from Longbourn. And then their good cheer turned sour.

The letter from Mrs. Bennet to Elizabeth was not an update on the family and local gossip, as she had presumed, but a nasty piece of scolding for her least favourite child. Mrs. Bennet had been informed that Jane did not expect Elizabeth to attend her wedding, and their mother was most seriously displeased.

Elizabeth forced herself to read the whole of it, growing more indignant at every castigation. The missive concluded with Mrs. Bennet’s insistence that her daughter, who was a week away from being of age anyhow, need not trouble herself to return home. Mrs. Bennet would arrange for Elizabeth’s things to be sent to the Gardiners in London, where Elizabeth ought to do her best to catch Captain Lucas, as reports had reached Meryton that Captain Darcy was soon to be engaged to his cousin.

Kitty snatched the letter away and threw it into the fire before storming upstairs, declaring she had a headache. She paused on the landing, came back down, threw her arms around Elizabeth, and promptly burst into tears.

Elizabeth managed to assure her sister that she was not upset over the hateful letter, before Mr. Collins was at his wife’s side, the chess game forgotten. “My madonna, whatever is the matter?” He wrapped one arm around her and placed his free hand on her stomach. “What can I get for your present relief?”

“I do not wish to go to Jane’s wedding, either! But it is terrible of Mamma to turn you out of the house for it,” Kitty wailed.

“What?” Mr. Bennet abruptly stood from his seat.

Mr. Collins gasped. “Turned you out? Have you had some quarrel with your sister, Lizzy? But you are always welcome here, for as long as you like – would that not be lovely, my dear?”

“Yes, you must stay with us, at least until the baby comes. And by then perhaps….” Kitty clapped a hand over her lips and then giggled.

A smile spread across Elizabeth’s face as she thought that she might indeed be settled at Rosings by the time her new niece or nephew arrived, and then she would be close by to dote upon the babe, and perhaps soon after welcome one of her own. “I should be happy to stay here, thank you.”

Mr. Bennet frowned. “I would not be! Lizzy, I will not allow your mother to banish you from Longbourn. I understand why you do not wish to attend Jane’s wedding, and I will not attempt to persuade you on that score – you have some excuse not to, Kitty – but surely you cannot remain away forever.”

“I certainly shall not go to Jane’s wedding,” Kitty huffed. “I have no wish to see her again! And I want Lizzy to stay until the baby comes. You do too, do you not, William?”

“I desire your comfort above all things, dearest one,” Mr. Collins answered. “But what is this about not attending Jane’s wedding? I am to stand up with Mr. Bingley!”

Kitty only raised her brows and gave him a knowing look. “We have spoken on the matter before,” she reminded him.

Elizabeth blanched. “Oh dear – do not distress yourself, brother. I think you should attend, regardless of what Kitty and I decide. I suppose my sister has confided in you about the events of last autumn?”

“Oh dear,” he sighed. “I had hoped her visit here signified some reconciliation, for as a parson I must recommend the Christian philosophy of forgiveness. Learned as I have become – I flatter myself – I shall ever preach harmony amongst families.”

“You may choose to do so now, but that may change once you have spent more time amongst our family,” Mr. Bennet said drily. “But Lizzy, might Mr. Collins’s spirit of Christian generosity sway you to take pity on me, and return to Longbourn before I have gone out of my senses? Think of your poor Papa.”

Elizabeth might have been influenced by such an entreaty, but Kitty scowled and her father, nearly snarling with rage. “Poor Papa ought not allow Mamma to write such dreadful letters! How could Lizzy go back now?”

“It would be different if Jane were to settle elsewhere after her marriage, but Netherfield is so near,” Elizabeth said. “Must I decide at once?”

Her father chuckled. “Perhaps you may not need to face such a decision, if your Captain Darcy would ever muster the courage to keep you here in Kent. But I shall require your sympathy, anyhow, especially if I am to chastise your mother for her poison post.”

Kitty appeared on the verge of some further insolence, but Mr. Collins cossetted her into tranquillity. “I fear you shall have a headache ere long, my blossom. Allow me to escort you upstairs.”

Elizabeth looked at her father with apprehension, fearing she would be dissuaded from her resolve to stay away from Longbourn; she hastened upstairs after the Collinses.

Once Kitty was settled, Elizabeth retreated to her chamber. Though remaining at the parsonage suited her purposes, her mother’s letter had wounded her more than she had initially realised. To put it from her mind, she began to read over the letter that Captain Darcy had recently written to her, and then the one he had written to her in November, which she had kept in her reticule ever since. The words of reassurance comforted her, though she ought to conceal his communications until matters were settled between them.

Her mind turned toward the handkerchief he had given her that morning, and she pulled it from her pocket to examine it. One corner had his initials embroidered in bold blue lettering, with an anchor on either side, and in each of the other corners there was the same little design of a ship. Elizabeth smiled, wondering if his sister had made it for him.

She brought it to her face, as if searching for some scent of him on the handkerchief, and indeed there was. Then she set the handkerchief before her and laid the two folded letters atop it. The handkerchief was twice the size of them, and she folded it over the neat ivory paper. Suddenly taken with a clever notion, she retrieved her sewing basket and set to work sewing a pattern in bright blue thread along two edges of the folded handkerchief, resembling the waves of the sea. She left one short end open, and then slid her letters into the little pouch she had made. She smiled, considering how she might someday add to her collection of letters from Captain Darcy. Satisfied with her endeavour, she tucked the pouch into a book she had brought from home, and returned downstairs.

Elizabeth expected to find her father grousing at his abandonment, but as she entered the drawing room she was stunned to find him seated across from Captain Darcy, drinking tea and playing chess. Captain Darcy set down his teacup and stood to bow, then reached for two bouquets of flowers.

“Good morning, Miss Elizabeth. I came to congratulate Mr. Collins – that is, once he has told me the good news – and these are for your sister.” He indicated a small arrangement of hot house blossoms in a crystal vase, and then presented her with a selection of wildflowers tied with a simple red ribbon. “These are for you – I thought they would suit you better.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, lifting the flowers to her face and relishing the aroma. “And thank you for the basket you sent over this morning – shall I fetch Mr. Collins? I am sure he will wish to thank you – and to tell you a certain something.”

But at that moment, her cousin entered the room. “Fair Mrs. Collins is resting comfortably now,” he declared before noticing his guest. “Ah! Will!”

“William.”

The two gentlemen exchanged a grin at the levity of their shared appellation. Mr. Bennet marked the casual demeanour of the two friends and waggled his brows at Elizabeth, then said, “Am I not clever for inviting Captain Darcy to join us?”

“Self-serving as it is, and I am glad you have done so,” she teased him.

“I am not, for he is thrashing me soundly,” her father grumbled.

Captain Darcy sipped at his tea as he surveyed the chess board, and then smiled. “I have only managed to best your father because he has been distracted by a certain disclosure.”

“Oh, yes!” Mr. Collins clapped his hands in a rapturous pose. “I should like to sing it from every window in the house – my dearest wife is to have a child! Is it not the most excellent news? The babe is to come in October, and I am sure I shall be beside myself until then!”

Mr. Darcy clapped his friend on the back and gave his heartiest congratulations. Mr. Collins beamed at him, before recollecting himself and offering Elizabeth some refreshment as he poured himself a cup of tea.

Elizabeth demurred, content to stand in awe of the tableau before her. Not an hour before, she had been cast out of a home she had no wish to return to, no longer feeling easy at such proximity to her sister. But now, she savoured the sight before her, with her father and new brother so easy with Captain Darcy. They were a picture of domestic felicity as Mr. Collins pulled an armchair near the little table and observed the chess match, speaking idly with the two other men.

Elizabeth did the same, observing the game in which Captain Darcy defeated her father, and then the next, a game she suspected he allowed Mr. Collins to win, for he advised his friend on nearly every move he made.

After the second game, Mr. Bennet declared he would play a game with Mr. Collins, while Captain Darcy expressed a wish to stretch his legs. He invited Elizabeth to walk with him, and she readily assented. Her father gave her a wink, as if this had been his true intention in inviting Captain Darcy to the parsonage.

They agreed to keep to the garden, but the tall rose bushes afforded them enough privacy to feel at ease, and they walked hand in hand. Captain Darcy began the conversation by saying, “I understand there was some commotion after the doctor left here – that you have received unpleasant news from home.”

“It appears my father shares my mother's penchant for gossip,” Elizabeth quipped. “Yes, I have heard from her. Jane must have told Mamma that we quarrelled, and that she does not expect me to attend her wedding – which indeed I had not intended to do. My mother was so angry that she has banished me from Longbourn, though in light of my sister’s news, I shall be content to remain in Kent for the foreseeable future. Among other reasons.” At this, she smiled coyly.

Captain Darcy smiled back at her. “I cannot deny I should wish you to remain in Kent forever, though I am sorry that it should come about in such an unjust way. It is a dreadful feeling to be at odds with a parent; I hope it will not remain thus between you for long. Perhaps you may manage to regain her esteem.” It was his turn to give a suggestive look.

Despite his implication, Elizabeth felt a pang at his words. He had not been on the best of terms with his father, and she knew not if the breach had been healed before the older man had passed. It must have compounded his need to observe a proper period of mourning.

They lapsed into a melancholic silence for a moment, and then he said, “I have also received a rather disappointing letter from home. My mother had intended to return to Kent, and to bring my sister, which I daresay she ought to have done the first time she visited. Georgiana was indeed convinced that travel would do well for her low spirits, but it was her friend Miss Taft who persuaded her of it, for they are to visit a school friend of theirs in Norfolk for a fortnight. My mother will bring her here directly from Norfolk at the end of their stay, but it will not be until the end of April. The delay makes me uneasy.”

Elizabeth offered him a look of sympathy. “I am sorry you shall have longer to wait; I know her visit means a great deal to you. But Mrs. Taylor informs me there will be a May Day celebration in the village, and so we shall have much to look forward to for the next month.” They had only to endure the next four weeks of his playing the wounded lover before Lady Amelia, and then all would be well indeed.

“Mamma also informed me that there are rumours in Meryton of your imminent betrothal to your cousin.”

“I have heard of it from Bingley, and asked him to quell such talk. I have also written to my uncle the earl and informed him of his daughter’s behaviour. He is in favour of the match, but he was very close with my father and will at least disapprove of his daughter pressing the matter while I am in mourning.”

“You are not worried that the speculation might… force your hand?”

He sighed. “Perhaps it would be best to simply inform my cousin once and for all that she will, for the first time in her life, not have her own way. I have hesitated to do so for fear she might take more desperate measures, but I am too sensible to be prevailed upon as my brother was – though he was a more willing participant – ahem.” He coloured and cleared his throat. “I shall consider how to proceed, but you need not fear the worst.”

Elizabeth nodded appreciatively. “I am glad to hear it. And in the spirit of having much to look forward to, I wonder if I might ask you to dine with us next Tuesday? Lady Amelia and your aunt may not be best pleased, particularly as they will not be invited, but I hope you will come. It is my birthday, and even Charlotte is to join us. Mrs. Taylor has declared she shall preside as master – er, mistress – of ceremonies. She has made a list of her favourite parlour games, ordered a very fine cake, and has promised to play a jig or two.”

“I certainly hope so,” he replied, his eyes shining with delight. “It would barely be tolerable if I had not the pleasure of standing up with you.”