Caroline sniffed. “True enough. Yet sometimes I think he avoids me.”
Louisa smirked. “That is probably nearer the truth than you wish to admit. You must move on from Mr. Darcy and find a suitable husband. You are not growing any younger.”
Caroline’s eyes flashed. “I should have secured him at Netherfield but for that little baggage, Eliza Bennet.”
Louisa only shook her head and quit the room. Neither reason nor reality would persuade Caroline.
Elizabeth and Kitty accepted Mary’s invitation to Hunsford Parsonage, delighted for the diversion. They left Longbourn the day after Jane’s wedding, and the fifty miles were accomplished in a long day’s travel, and Mr. Collins handed them down from the hired carriage with pride.
Elizabeth looked about her. “Mary, you have a beautiful grove at your disposal. Do you walk there often?”
Mary laughed softly. “No, Lizzy. I spend most of my time driving the little gig Lady Catherine has lent us. William and I use it for parish visits. I like to keep busy, and the work gives me purpose.”
Mr. Collins nodded with satisfaction. “Indeed. Mary is of the greatest assistance. Her visits allow me more time to work on my sermons.”
Kitty brightened. “Perhaps I may accompany you, Mary. I am used to visiting our tenants with Lizzy and Jane. It would be an excellent way to see the parish. And are there any young men looking about for a wife? They must be wealthy, for I have no dowry.”
Mary laughed. “No, dear girl, I fear our parish boasts no single men of fortune.”
The parsonage was modest yet cheerful, and the company soon fell into a comfortable routine. Elizabeth took daily walks in the grove at Rosings, where she discovered a little folly perched on a bluff. From there, she could admire the western side of the valley with its patchwork of green fields and stone fences. It became her haunt, a retreat where she filled the pages of her journal with poetry.
Kitty and Elizabeth also joined the parish ladies in planning a bazaar for the relief of the poor. They became acquainted with Miss Penrose and Miss Huntley, who both had good sense and lively spirits, and they became favorites of Kitty’s.
Meanwhile, at Rosings Park, the morning after her two nephews had arrived, they sat with Lady Catherine and her daughter, listening with patience until their aunt had exhausted herself with a lengthy harangue about the state of the chimneys.
Darcy at last interposed. “Lady Catherine, Richard, and I are acquainted with the two Bennet sisters, who are guests at the parsonage. We mean to call on them, as is right and proper. I have already sent word by a servant that they may expect us this morning.”
Lady Catherine inclined her head with satisfaction. “That is well. Though he is but a rector, we must extend every civility. Mr. Collins is very well received in the parish, and I take full credit for it. He is diligent, attentive, and entirely devoted to my interests. Mrs. Collins, too, has proved most serviceable. Her sisters have accompanied her on parish calls, and I have had no fewer than three notes of commendation from my tenants, congratulating me upon the excellent choice ofclergyman I have procured for them, and upon the agreeable visits of his household. The rector’s sisters-in-law are diligent and hardworking country girls. If I see that they keep to their own sphere and are not social climbers, I will look about for suitable husbands. I should like to keep them in the parish, for they would be fine additions to the neighborhood.”
Mr. Darcy’s note had sent the occupants of the parsonage into a dither. Mary was nervous about the impending visit, and she directed the maid to sweep the hall twice and polish the pewter. Elizabeth said, “Mary, my dear sister, relax. The gentlemen will not inspect the baseboards or look for cobwebs. They are personable men in need of company.”
Kitty liked men in uniform, and when she heard that one of the gentlemen was Colonel Fitzwilliam, she spent a full hour before the glass, arranging and re-arranging her curls, until Elizabeth said, “Enough, Kitty. You will pull out your hair if you are not careful. Come here, and I will dress the back for you. You have pulled your chignon all to pieces.”
The visitors arrived, and Elizabeth saw that there was no awkwardness. These men were friends, she realized, as she listened to the Colonel tell an anecdote from their journey to Kent. Darcy had bowed with his accustomed gravity and remained silent throughout the visit. Still, Richard’s easy manners and fine address kept them all entertained, so that even Mr. Darcy chuckled at his cousin’s folly.
When the visit was over, Mr. Darcy moved to Elizabeth’s side and said, “Though it is only a few weeks since we had the pleasure of your company, it feels more like months. I trust you are well, and that Mrs. Bingley is enjoying her trip to Yorkshire.”
Elizabeth answered politely. “I am very well, sir. And Jane writes of dry roads, clean Inns, and an amiable, loving husband. How are you, Mr. Darcy?”
“Well enough,” he replied, though his eyes lingered on her longer than civility required.
Richard turned at once to Mary. “Mrs. Collins, you must know Rosings has been quite dreary without fresh company. My aunt has complained for months that the place was half asleep until she learned you had guests.”
Mary smiled faintly. “I hope my sisters will be a pleasant addition to her ladyship. Lizzy has the reputation of being too lively at times, and she may have the unfortunate effect of engaging Lady Catherine’s interest rather more than is comfortable.”
Elizabeth bit back a laugh; Darcy’s lips pressed together in what might have been amusement. The Colonel said wryly, “Yes, it is often thought that the better part of wisdom is to keep out of her notice.”
Kitty, encouraged by Richard’s attention, said boldly, “Colonel, you must join us at the church bazaar meeting tomorrow. We are planning stalls to raise funds for the poor. There will be a table of trifles and another for books. We might put you to work.”
“Indeed?” Richard said, eyes dancing. “Nothing would give me greater satisfaction than presiding over a table of trifles. Darcy, you will join me, will you not?”
Darcy’s expression suggested he preferred the chimneys, but he inclined his head.
The conversation turned to parish work. Richard asked about the neighborhood. “Have you made friends in the parish yet,Miss Elizabeth? I was told that you and Miss Kitty are very well received, and that your visits are much welcomed.”
She replied, “The parish abounds with interesting characters, sir. I believe Kitty already knows them all by name.”
“Not all,” Kitty protested. “Only the elderly residents. They like me because I can read aloud without stumbling. I have been reading my favorite novel to the little old ladies, and they love it as much as I do.”
