“And quite refreshing!” Theo added. He took off his coat and hat and laid them aside, then sat on a large boulder to remove his shoes.
“What are you doing?” Miss Bingley asked.
“Going for a dip. Care to join me, Miss Bingley?”
“I ought not to,” she answered.
Theo waded into the shallow water until the rushing water flowed over his head. He let out a shout. “It’s cold! But wonderful!” He splashed about in the water. Miss Bingley, watching him from the side, looked as though she regretted her decision not to come in.
“You’ll join me, won’t you, Connally?” Theo said to Oliver.
“I had better not. I will spoil my new breeches,” he said with as much of an affected air as he could.
“How about you, Beaujean?”
“I am with Connally, I shall pass. Enjoy your swim, Hodge!” He sat down on a large rock to watch the scene.
“Well, I do not care about spoiling my attire!” Mr. Hurst declared. “If Mr. Hodge can go in, then so shall I!” He began stripping his outerwear before getting in the water.
“Reggie, really!” Mrs. Hurst complained. “Such childishness.”
“Perhaps it would not hurt to put my feet in,” Miss Bingley said, changing her mind. She sat down on a rock, prepared to take her boots off. But her sister put a stop to it.
“If the gentlemen are to swim, I think it best if the ladies take a walk along the shore, don’t you agree, Caroline?”
“If the lovely ladies are not opposed to it, I shall join you,” Oliver put forward.
“Not at all, Your Lordship,” Mrs. Hurst said. “You would be most welcome to accompany us.”
S
They picked their way along the rocky shoreline. Caroline wished she could have remained behind and swam. The water beneath the falls truly looked inviting. She envied the men, being able to do as they pleased while she, as a woman, must remain proper.
Lord Connally talked the entire time their party was separated. Caroline tried to give the appearance of interest in what he was saying, but found it difficult. He spoke of serious subjects with such lightness, and gave a grave attitude towards the most trivial of matters. She found it hard to take anything he said as being in earnest.
“Did you hear about the siege of Badajoz? Forty-eight-hundred men down, and they still say we won! I say, if this is the sort of ‘victory’ we can expect, I think the Frenchies will have us all outnumbered by the time we’ve got Napoleon beat!” He exclaimed in jovial spirits.
Another remark of his, “What a great tragedy it is, that there are so few operas by Beethoven! It is remarkably sad, do you not think, that of all his works, only one is meant to be sung on stage?”
And still further ridiculous, he said with a sober expression, “Ah, Miss Bingley, we must not give way to our feelings on the subject of poetry. How I lament that Shakespeare wrote so many sonnets, and yet, his greatest works are his comedies! No, no, I will not allow Hamlet to be greater than A Midsummer Night’s Dream! It would be a mistake more tragic than the death of Othello to say such a thing.”
On one point of his, in regards to Shakespeare, did she agree. His assertion that Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy, not a romance. She had argued with Elizabeth Bennet over that very thing, some months before, while Elizabeth was staying with them at Netherfield Park. The reminder brought up painful memories of her humiliating attempt to ‘audition’ against Elizabeth for the part of Juliet in a little home-play they were attempting, in which Caroline not only forgot her lines, but tripped on the rug and tore her gown.
Not wishing to dwell on the memory any longer, she quickly changed the subject to that of a book she had recently read by “A Lady” about two sisters whose fortunes changed suddenly after the death of their father, and how they rose back to prominence through their fortuitous marriages.
S
The ladies and Oliver had been gone a long time. Theo wondered what they were up to. A small feeling of jealousy rose in him, knowing that Oliver was in Miss Bingley’s company without him.But of course, this is all according to plan,he reminded himself. It would be impossible to discern her character without observing her in this manner.She must believe that he is Lord Connally, and that I am merely the gardener’s son.
He dried himself off in the sun before putting his coat and boots on.
“I do hope the others return soon,” Mr. Hurst remarked. “It grows near dinnertime. I confess, my swim has worked up my appetite!”
Theo suspected that Mr. Hurst nearly always had an appetite, but he said nothing. At length, the rest of their party returned, and they made their way back up the rocky staircase to the carriages.
“I hope you had a pleasant adventure, Miss Bingley,” Theo said as he handed her into the barouche.
“Very pleasant, Mr. Hodge. Thank you for being our guide today and for suggesting the falls. I never would have known about this hidden gem if not for you.”
