by Zoë Burton
“That is an excellent suggestion. Thank you for everything you have done, especially for my daughter. As you can see, the situation here remains precarious for her.
“I would do anything for you, my friend. You know that.” With a shared smile and a shake of hands, the pair parted.
On the road back to London, the carriage was silent. Winthrop allowed Darcy his time to brood, in part because he found it amusing, as he suspected the younger man was falling in love with Elizabeth, and in part because he understood his anger. Once they reached town, however, he was compelled to speak.
“I admire your defense of Elizabeth. It is one more piece of evidence that proves to me that you will make her a good husband. Thank you.”
“You are welcome. I could do no less. Miss Bennet is a warm and witty young lady and does not deserve such censure. What concerned me more was that Mrs. Bennet practically threw another of her daughters at me. That was even worse than the insinuations about my fortune!”
“Calm yourself, Darcy. Mrs. Bennet is uncouth, I agree. However, I doubt you will see much of her, for Elizabeth truly does not wish to return to Longbourn at all at this point. She sees her parents for what they are, and while it breaks her heart, she understands that she cannot change them.”
Darcy nodded his acceptance of his friend’s words and, knowing that there was little he could say and not wishing to cause more upset, turned his face to the window to observe the street outside. Winthrop dropped him off at Darcy House before returning to his own abode to share with the ladies the events of the day. Darcy wished he could have seen Elizabeth and assured her that she never had to face her mother again if she did not wish it, but it was too late for a visit this night. Tomorrow, though, he thought, tomorrow I will make certain she understands this.
Chapter 6
Mrs. Bennet lay awake in her bed for hours after the rest of the household had fallen asleep. She could not bear the thought of her dearest Jane being second to Elizabeth in anything. She must be stopped! But how? I cannot even get a carriage to take to Meryton to visit my sister, because the horses are always needed on the farm.
Though she was of mean understanding, the mistress of Longbourn was wily. She knew how to get what she wanted, and to get where she wanted to be, when the situation called for it. After some contemplation, she decided on a plan. It would require her to rise earlier than was her wont, but she was certain that would not be a problem. Her mind now at ease, she fell easily into sleep.
~~~***~~~
A few hours later, Mrs. Bennet awoke. Looking to the window, she could see that the sun was higher in the sky than she wanted it to be, for her scheme required that she be up and out the door before the servants were at their duties. I am late! She fussed to herself. I must hurry. She rose and dressed herself as quickly as she could without a maid to assist, and then crept down the back stairs to the kitchen.
As she passed the table, she noticed a covered bowl that she knew usually contained muffins. Mrs. Hill always made them late the night before, put them into the bowl after they cooled, and covered the bowl with a small towel. She was reliable as the rising sun, the housekeeper was, and Mrs. Bennet knew it.
Her stomach growling at the sight of the dish, Longbourn’s mistress stopped for a moment to enjoy a few muffins. She longed for a cup of tea to go with them, but as she did not want to wake anyone to boil the water for her and prepare the tray, decided to go without, instead taking a few sips of water. She lingered over the delicious food, and before she knew it, the clock in the entry hall could be heard ringing the half hour. Startled, Mrs. Bennet stuffed the remainder of the muffin she was holding into her mouth and darted out the door.
She made her way quickly to the stables. She would need to saddle one of the horses. She had seen it done often enough and thought it appeared to be easily done. However, she did not know where the saddles were kept. After searching for a few minutes, she found a small room at the back of the building that contained all manner of ropes and metal things, and, there along the wall, a row of saddles. She attempted to pick one up, thinking she would take it into the stall with her and saddle the horse there. However, it was far heavier than she realized, and she was forced to drag it along the floor.
Once she and the saddle reached the stalls, she needed to decide which of the horses to take. Mr. Bennet had two, Nelly the mare and Plato the stallion. She had long felt that Plato was the more attractive of the two, and so moved to his stall to open the door. Plato’s reaction to this was startling, to say the least. He snorted, tossing his head and kicking the side of the stall before lunging forward. With a squeak, Mrs. Bennet slammed the door shut and latched it, then leaned on it to catch her breath. Well, I never!
Standing and shaking herself, she lifted her head to give Plato a hard stare before moving to Nelly’s stall. The mare was far more placid than her companion had been and within moments, Mrs. Bennet had the saddle drug into the stall. She took a moment to stretch her back and puff out her cheeks before blowing the air out and taking stock of the situation. To her chagrin, she realized that not only was Nelly far taller than she had realized, but there was also not enough space between the horse and the wall to maneuver the saddle. She was perplexed, but after some thought, recalled that she always saw the grooms working with the horses in the main part of the building.
She had urged Nelly out of the stall and was dragging the saddle out behind her when unbeknownst to her, one of the grooms entered from outside and stood staring at her in unbelief. James had been at Longbourn for ten years and had never before seen the mistress near a horse, much less in the barn. Curious, he walked over to where she was, trying to determine what she was doing. Her grunts and mutterings drowned out the noise of his boots thudding on the floor.
James was taken aback to see Mrs. Bennet try to lift a saddle onto the back of the horse. So surprised was he that he was struck dumb for a few minutes. He was startled into movement when she dropped it with a loud thud and a barrage of exclamations. Whipping off his hat, he addressed her.
“Excuse me, ma’am, may I be of assistance?”
“AH!” Mrs. Bennet screamed, leaping straight into the air and turning, so that she landed facing him. Nelly startled but only shifted away from Mrs. Bennet. Poor old girl, she has not heard noise such as that since Miss Lydia was learning to ride, James thought before his attention was riveted back upon his mistress, who stood with one hand clutching her heart and the other buried in Nelly’s coat.
“I am sorry, ma’am! I did not mean to frighten you. Please, let me help you.” He watched as recognition came to Mrs. Bennet’s eyes and she relaxed her stance.
“You should be sorry, young man; you took ten years off my life sneaking up on me that way! And yes, you most certainly can help me. Nelly needs this saddle put on her back posthaste. I must away to town before the rest of the family awakens.”
James was surprised and not a little confused to hear that the mistress was going to ride to town. “Perhaps the carriage, ma’am? If you wait a few minutes, I will be able to inquire of the steward if the horses are available-“
“No, I do not want the carriage. I intend to ride to the post stop. Saddle the horse.”
“But ma’am, what about the master?”
“What about him?” She narrowed her eyes at James as a thought came to her. “Do not tell a soul I was here or that I took this horse. Do you understand me? I will dismiss you myself if you do.”
James swallowed. He was not entirely certain she had that power, but he did like it at Longbourn and positions were hard to find in this part of Hertfordshire. “Yes, ma’am. I understand.”
“Good.” She stepped away from the horse. “Now get that saddle on there so I can leave.”
James made quick work of the task, noticing that she had chosen a man’s saddle and not a sidesaddle but deciding not to say anything. His mistress had a sharp tongue, and he had heard enough of it for one morning. In short order, he had her moun
ted and on her way.
~~~***~~~
Not long after, Mr. Bennet himself came out to the stables to set the workers on the home farm to their tasks for the day. James kept his head down with his eyes on the bridle he was repairing, hoping not to be noticed. It was to no avail.
“James.”
He looked up. “Yes, sir?”
“Where is Nelly? Did one of the girls rise early and take her out? I cannot imagine that happening; Miss Lizzy is the only early riser and she prefers to walk…and she is not at home.”
James could feel himself turning red. Unable to look at the master for more than a second or two at a time, his eyes darted all over the barn. “I do not know where Nelly is, sir.” That’s the truth, too….who knows where Mrs. Bennet could be by now.
Bennet was silent for a long moment as he examined his groom. He was better acquainted with his farm staff than he was his own family, and was aware that James was unable to lie. At this moment, his every look and gesture indicated that he was doing so now.
“James.” He waited for the young man’s eyes to focus on him. “You do not know where Nelly is? Do you perhaps know who has taken her?”
James stood there, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him, cursing his luck. I should have taken that blasted bridle into the tack room to repair! Finally giving in to the stress of the moment, he tried to respond in a way that would not make him break his promise to the mistress. Twisting his neck a bit over his too-tight cravat, he replied, “If I tell you, I will lose my position.”
“So you do know.” Bennet nodded. “I suspected as much. I will now narrow down the suspects, for there are only two members of my household that would say such a thing in a manner that would have you believing them. It was either my youngest daughter or my wife, am I correct?”
“Sir, I-“
Bennet held up his hand. “Rest assured that neither of them has the power to have you dismissed. I am the head of this household, and I am the one who takes on and dismisses the staff. You will not lose your position, I can promise you that.”
James swallowed. “’Twas the mistress, sir. I came upon her early this morning trying to saddle the mare by herself. I offered to help her. I, um, I frightened her when I spoke, and she screamed. I was rather surprised that no one heard her.”
Bennet chuckled. “I wish I had seen it. That alone guarantees your continued employment. Did she say where she was going?”
“To town, sir.”
“To town? That means that she is going to ignore what I told her last evening.” He sighed. “Thank you, James. That will be all.”
“Very good, sir.” James bowed and tugged at his hat, then returned to his work, relieved to both be assured of his position and free of his secret.
~~~***~~~
After a brief discussion with his steward in which they rearranged the day’s schedule, he had Plato saddled and took off after his errant wife. He stopped in Meryton first to ascertain if she had stopped there, but Nelly was not in the post station stables and no one he spoke with had admitted to seeing her. He rode quickly on to the next stop and there met with success, for he spied his erstwhile spouse preparing to enter the post carriage. He quickly dismounted and tied Plato next to three other horses that were waiting for their owners to return, and made his way to the equipage.
“Excuse me.” He pushed his way ahead of the line of passengers to poke his head in and locate his quarry. “Mrs. Bennet.”
Having been looking out the window on the opposite side, she had not seen him, and she startled at hearing her name called. She turned her head toward him.
“A word, please.”
“No. I have nothing to say to you. I am going to speak to our daughter and straighten this situation out, since you will do nothing.”
“Come down from there, Mrs. Bennet. Our private business does not need to be aired in public.”
“No, I will not.”
Gritting his teeth, Bennet lowered his voice and added heat to his words. “If you do not disembark this carriage this instant, I will climb in there and carry you out myself. Now!”
Reddening, Mrs. Bennet pressed her lips tightly together. She did not doubt for a moment that her husband would do just as he had said; it had happened before, though not for many years now. She saw him begin to move toward her and gave in to his demand, rising with a huff and exiting the carriage, which immediately moved off to begin the next leg of its journey.
“Now you have done it, sir! How shall I get to London now?”
“You will not and that is the point.”
Bennet led his wife into the inn, where he rented a private sitting room for an hour and a meal for the two of them. Later, Mrs. Bennet exited behind him with head bowed, marveling that her husband had held his ground for once. She meekly mounted the horse that brought her and rode away with her husband.
Hours later, the residents of Meryton looked on in wonder at the sight of Mr. Bennet on his stallion, holding Nelly’s reins with Mrs. Bennet riding the mare. The couple and their odd behavior would be the talk of the town for months to come, much to Mrs. Bennet’s embarrassment.
Chapter 7
As Mr. Bennet was chasing down his errant wife, Darcy was knocking on the door of Winthrop House. He was eager to see his betrothed and ease whatever concerns she may have over his visit to her family yesterday.
Upon entering, he was escorted to the drawing room, where Elizabeth and Lady Winthrop waited. He was astonished to feel joy in his heart at her welcoming smile. He wondered to himself what was happening, but pushed the thought aside to greet the ladies.
“Welcome, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth added to her hostess’ salutation.
As Darcy straightened from his bow, he clearly heard the strain in her voice and determined that his first order of business was to ease her mind.
“Thank you, Miss Bennet. I am delighted to join you today.”
“Why do we not sit? Mr. Darcy, would you like some tea? I ordered some just a few minutes ago; it should be arriving shortly.”
“I would, thank you, Lady Winthrop. How are you ladies this fine morning?”
“We are well, are we not, Elizabeth?”
“We are, thank you for asking, sir.” She hesitated before plunging ahead with the question that was uppermost in her mind. “You visited Longbourn yesterday, did you not?”
Darcy was relieved to have the discussion opened so quickly. “I did. It was instructional and I am glad I made the trip.” When he saw her eyes cast down and her hands twist together, he reached over from where he was on the settee beside her and covered her hands with his own. By now, the zing of feeling was expected and even welcomed, and he was happy to feel her fingers wrap around his. “I admire you all the more for throwing yourself into education and improving yourself. I can see no resemblance between your behavior and that that I witnessed there.”
“Thank you,” Elizabeth whispered, hope and relief causing her eyes to shine once again. In a louder voice, she asked, “Will you share with me what happened? My godfather only indicated that my family was their usual selves.”
Darcy spent the next quarter hour describing the events of the day, reiterating that what he saw did not sway his opinion away from his betrothed and that he was sorry for causing her pain.
“No, it is well, Mr. Darcy. I am intimately acquainted with the behavior of various members of my family. You have not caused me injury by being honest.”
While he rather doubted that sentiment was true, Darcy did not press her. “Good,” is all he said before changing the subject. Glancing out the window at the sunny day, he asked, “Would you care to walk the park with me then? It is a beautiful day.”
“Oh, do, Elizabeth! You know you will feel better after some exercise.” Lady Winthrop turned to her guest. “Walking is one of the methods she has always used to help her organize her thoughts and feelings. Now that you have visited Longbourn, you surely can understand why.”
“
Indeed I do.” He turned from his hostess to his betrothed. “I do the same, though rather than walk, I ride. I find that vigorous exercise distracts me from my cares and allows me, when I come back to them, to find acceptable solutions and alternatives.”
Elizabeth smiled at him in delight. “Exactly! I would love to walk with you, though I must warn you that I am a very good walker, and you may find it difficult to keep up.”
Darcy’s smile grew to see the twinkle in her eye, and he returned her tease. “Oh, I will keep up. Imagine the rumors that would spread should it be discovered that my betrothed outran me in Hyde Park.” Her warm laugh filled him with delight.
Ten minutes later, they were walking into the park, Lady Winthrop and two footmen trailing behind.
“Do you prefer plays or musical performances, Miss Bennet?”
“I confess that I love them both, but my imagination prefers plays, for I can compare the acting to the image I have in my mind. Usually, I find they are quite different.”
“I will own to also enjoying both, though if I am to see a play, I prefer a serious drama to a melodrama or comedy.”
Elizabeth eyed him carefully and then smiled widely. “I am not surprised. You are generally rather serious, from what I have observed. I shall make it my mission to tease you at least once daily.” She accompanied her statement with a raised brow.
Delighted with her impertinence and light-heartedness, Darcy felt his regard for her grow. Though it was true that they had only known each other for three days, every moment spent in her company provided more evidence that they were well-matched; perhaps even made for each other.
“I have no complaints about that. I have been told many times that I am too serious; I believe that your ease and liveliness might improve my manners and soften my mind, both things that I have been unable to accomplish on my own.”
“Perhaps,” she conceded. “And I believe that you might expand my knowledge of the world. There, it is settled. We shall be the happiest couple in the world!”