Cilla rang for tea.
“The suite Thomas and I are in is very comfortable,” Fanny said as they waited for the tea service to arrive. She and Thomas were well pleased that being back in the house where Lizzy was born had not seemed to discompose her. Her second daughter’s propensity—Lizzy would be thus forever regardless of the name she bore—to be unsettled by change seemed to have been banished. Fanny was pleased to see her daughter’s increased sense of security. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see how intently William was watching Lizzy, at least when he thought he was unobserved.
Darcy was well satisfied that Ellie had taken arriving at Willowmere in her stride. He had been worried she may have a reaction like she had had at Longbourn when she was about to hide in that trunk in the schoolroom. Thankfully, that had not occurred again. In fact, the next day they had all played the game again, this time with the ‘no hiding in trunks’ rule. Ellie had played, and she had been very happy to do so, never looking discomposed at all.
Just before the tea service arrived, they caught one another’s eyes and both smiled widely. ‘No,’ Darcy thought, ‘Ellie is not indifferent to me. However, I do need to wait before I approach her. I am sure she and her parents want her to remain at home for a while.’
Soon enough Mrs Malfoy was supervising two maids who placed the tea service, a large platter of small cakes, and some pastries Cook had baked that morning. On her way out of the drawing room, the housekeeper stopped for an instant andlooked at Miss Ellie. With a face splitting smile, she followed the maid out of the room.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The tour for Ellie, who could not remember seeing it, and the Bennets who had never before seen the house, commenced after the tea service had been collected. David was at Jane’s side and Giana joined them to be with Mary. The two youngest Bennets wereenjoyinga lesson.
First were the public rooms on the ground floor. Next, they went up one flight to the first floor where the private rooms and parlours were located. The penultimate room they visited was the library. Both Bennet and Elizabeth were impressed by the size of the library and the amount of books. Bennet verbalised that to Elizabeth’s father.
“I know you have several bibliophiles in your family, and yes, this library is good, and more than meets our needs,” Wendell responded. “It is, however, less than a third the size of the library you will see at Pemberley when we visit the Darcy estate. The collection of tomes there is four to five times what I have here. Darcys, well first D’Arcys, have been collecting manuscripts, and later books, since before the Conqueror and his Normans took England. Pierre D’Arcy served William I and came with him, but he and his family had been collecting manuscripts for a few generations before the new king granted him the land we know of today as Pemberley.”
At first, Bennet, Elizabeth, and Mary were struck dumb.
“How is one to read half of those books in a lifetime?” Elizabeth asked. “It will be something to see.”
“Ellie, the final room is your father’s study. If it is too difficult for you to be in that room, just tell us,” Cilla said gently. “This may be one time that having a good memory may be unpardonable,” she teased.
“It is just another room, and I am no longer a girl of not yet three. I am sure my equanimity will not be disturbed overmuch,” Elizabeth claimed.
Wendell led them out of the main doors and turned to the left. They arrived at a large oak door, which he pushed open. “Welcome to the study,” he said and then stepped back and allowed the others to enter the room.
From the nightmares she had had, Elizabeth recognised the study immediately. “The safe is behind that portrait of Mother, is it not?”
“It is,” Wendell confirmed. “What do you remember?”
“The robber had the painting swung to one side and the safe was open. He was looking at something…a gold fob watch, I believe. The strongbox was on the desk, and open,” Elizabeth recalled from her nightmares. “That is when he told me I needed the magic potion.”
“And you still are unable to see his face?” Bennet enquired.
“No, Papa, I cannot,” Elizabeth responded. “I am so very sorry, I know everyone wants to know who the criminal is. Truth be told, so do I, but I can never see his face clearly.” She paused as she remembered something else. “Did I tell you that he called me ‘little one’?”
“No, but it will not assist us. It was used by several people, our uncle was one of them,” David stated.
“When Uncle Stephen called me that in Hertfordshire I was worried, but I knew that he could not have had anything to do with what happened that night. I remember Barney telling me that he and late Aunt Adelle arrived from Glenmeade a day later as they had not been here when I was taken,” Elizabeth related.
“Is there anything else you saw in your dreams?” Cilla prompted.
“In the study?” Elizabeth saw nods. “Only that one of the drawers in Father’s desk was open.”
“It was where I kept the key to the safe,” Wendell mused. “Even if the miscreant is never brought to justice, he failed. You are hale and healthy and back in this house.”
“Amen to that,” Cilla and Fanny chorused.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next day was a clear one. The younger set all went riding in the morning prior to breaking their fasts and it was when Elizabeth had her first view of the Peaks visible from Willowmere. The mountains were more beautiful than she had hoped, and she looked forward to the views of them available from Pemberley and Snowhaven.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The man knew he needed to be careful what he asked about in Meryton. It did not take too much to discover the Bennets had an estate, Longbourn, a mile from the town, but much to his chagrin, they had left to travel somewhere. He could not wheedle the information of the location without drawing suspicion to himself.
It meant he would have to be patient and not make himself stand out.
