As it turned out, they were not just any bushes. She immediately recognised the fragrance and followed her nose to find the source. Alongside the stream, which was considerably wider as it swept past her, she stood at the mouth of a semi-circle of green-leafed bushes full of light purple blossoms. Almost squealing with delight, she rushed to inspect this new grove of lilac bushes. It was considerably larger than the one in Pemberley’s home garden. There were dozens of bushes, two or three deep, arranged in a horseshoe. At the centre was a small cluster of flowering trees. Their pink blossoms combined with the green and purple of the lilac bushes created such a beautiful scene that Elizabeth wished she were talented enough to capture it in that very moment as sunlight broke through the larger trees of the forest behind, leaving small snatches of light across the trees, bushes and their blossoms.
She flitted from bush to bush, cupping and smelling the flowers. As she pondered how she might bring lilacs to the gardens of Longbourn, she heard a carriage approaching. Turning, she saw that the lovely weather had tempted Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy to come to fetch them in the landau with the hood down. He sat in the back front-facing seat and turned to watch his sister and Mary as the conveyance took the bend in the road and came to a stop beside the rocky shore where Elizabeth’seasel still rested. Elizabeth watched as he took in her abandoned perch and then turned, clearly searching for her. His eyes soon found her, and she raised a hand to wave. She had thought he would go to his sister and Mary, but it became apparent after he looked in their direction and turned away that he was coming to her. Thankful for the distance which concealed her blush and made it impossible for him to hear her racing heart, which she was certain was as loud as the nearby stream tripping over rocks and branches, Elizabeth took what she hoped was a calming breath.
By the time he was before her, Lizzy was as prepared as she could be. She knew that while the sight of him set her off, his nearness would bring an entirely new riot of reactions within her. Really, a gentleman should not be allowed to be so handsome, so tall, to smell so divine or have a voice like velvet. It was really unfair.
“I see you have found another of Pemberley’s lilac clusters,” he observed.
“I have,” she confirmed. “Are there more? Can I request a map to show me where they all are located that I might visit each one before the summer’s end?” Her voice quavered slightly, and she thought madly about what to say next to keep his attention and not appear foolish.
“There are many more. While I could probably provide directions to most, I imagine there are some even I have not seen.”
Though tempted to take the opportunity to praise his knowledge of Pemberley Lizzy forced herself to instead say,“Perhaps I will take that as a challenge—to find those that you have not yet discovered.”
“I have no doubt you will succeed,” he told her, causing her heart to race just as she had talked it into some semblance of a normal rhythm. “If you are finished with your painting of the lake, we could gather some of these blossoms for you to take back to Barlow Hall.”
“I would love that,” she said, clapping her hands together. “You would not mind? They are so perfect it seems almost a shame to pick them.”
“They bloom for so short a time; it may only be a week before they begin to die. Likely no one else will be by here to enjoy them, so we should pick as many as we can.”
“Yes! You can take some to Pemberley as well. We could put a bunch in Miss Baxter’s room. They will no doubt cheer her up, and Mr. Barlow too—he would love them. And Daisy as well—she has been so melancholy since . . .” Elizabeth stopped abruptly, covering her mouth with both hands. “I am so sorry—“
“There is no need to apologise, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy interrupted. “I admire your thoughtfulness, but who is Daisy?”
The pair moved towards the bushes, and Darcy showed Lizzy how to break the small branch from a cluster to get the most flowers for each bunch.
“Daisy is an upstairs maid at Barlow Hall. Her mother is Mrs. Rhodes, the housekeeper. Since my first summer, she has always been so kind to me. She is so beautiful and good—last week she received a letter that upset her.” Elizabeth paused to wrestle with a particularly difficult stem. Her hands were nearlyfull. Between what they had both picked, she imagined she could fill several vases.
“The letter contained bad news?” Darcy asked.
“What?” Elizabeth looked up from where she was rearranging the flowers she held to make space for a few more. “Oh yes, there was a gentleman, whose name she never told me. She cared for him, and he recently wrote to her to tell her he had joined a southern militia unit, and she should no longer consider herself bound to him.”
Elizabeth noted that Mr. Darcy was blushing ever so slightly, and she belatedly realised the inappropriate nature of what she had shared. Before she could apologise, he said, “Then I hope the lilacs will lift her spirits.”
“Yes, indeed.”
When they each had their arms full, they moved to the carriage. Elizabeth could see Georgiana and Mary were packing up their things.
“James, would you be so good as to lay the blanket in the back so that Miss Elizabeth and I might place our treasures atop it,” Mr. Darcy asked the coachman, who stood a few feet from the conveyance, tossing rocks into the water.
“Of course, Master Darcy.” The young man stepped quickly to retrieve the blankets from under the driver’s seat and then placed them in the space in the back of the box.
“Thank you, James,” Darcy said as he unloaded his flower-covered branches. Turning to Lizzy he asked, “May I?”
She nodded, and he took hers and put them on the blanket as well. Placed that way, Lizzy could see how very many they had collected. The pile of lavender flowers, green leaves and grey branches took up the entire space behind the carriage box. She was delighted by the sight and the amazing aroma.
“Look at all the lilacs!” Georgiana exclaimed as she and Mary came to stand by Elizabeth and Darcy. “What will we do with them?”
“Miss Elizabeth intends to share them with everyone from Pemberley to Lambton,” Darcy declared matter-of-factly.
“How delightful,” Georgiana declared.
The ladies showed their paintings, and Elizabeth sincerely admired them both. Each one displayed not only a gift for the art of painting but seemed to capture something real about what they saw.
“Where is yours?” Mary asked.
“I left it on my easel—I will go fetch it.”
While she did this, James and Darcy helped set up the easels by the trees where they could continue to dry. Someone would be sent to fetch them later. Rather than bring hers to show the others, Elizabeth set her easel up next to the trees beside her sister’s blue-and-gold-streaked canvas and returned to the carriage.
