“Everyone, remain calm. We had a pleasant visit yesterday, and we are here to repay Miss Darcy’s kindness. Now, just be yourself, and all will be well,” Elizabeth encouraged, drawing the faintest smile from Mary. It was remarkable howbecoming it was to her, particularly in contrast to the severe expression more often seen on her face.
They knocked on the door and were admitted by a smartly dressed maid. She left them in the foyer, staring at the lavish surroundings. Evidently, some improvements had been done to the small house before they had moved in, for all the furnishings were obviously quite new and first-rate in quality.
Mary walked over to an open doorway and gasped with pleasure. “They have a pianoforte!”
Elizabeth laughed. “She told you they did.”
Mary smiled more broadly still and rejoined them near the door.
“I suppose the rumours might be true, then?” Jane whispered. She nodded toward the crystal chandelier hanging above their heads.
“What? That Miss Darcy is to have a dowry of £30,000? I suppose they are. But I do not think that should change our perspective on her. From what I saw yesterday, she is a lovely young woman in need of true friends.”
“Of course. I was not saying that the knowledge should change our opinion of her, nor put weight on our treatment of her. Not in the slightest.”
Elizabeth nodded but could say nothing else on the subject, for the maid returned and showed them to the room where Mary had just been snooping. A moment later, Miss Darcy and her companion joined them in the drawing room.
“How good of you to come!” Miss Darcy said. She scampered over to Elizabeth, and as if with an afterthought, dipped into a quick curtsey. She took Elizabeth’s hands warmly,just as Elizabeth had done with her the day prior. “Have you had trouble in the rain?”
Elizabeth frowned, then looked down at her hem. It was indeed a little damp. “Oh, no, not at all. It was not raining when we walked over, but I went for a short walk this morning.” It was not entirely an accurate description, for the walk had comprised all of give miles. But there was no need to draw such attention to herself as this would have brought. “I prefer to be out of doors.”
“Oh, so do I. Especially in the mountains beyond Pemberley. They are breathtaking, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You shall have to come and visit me there, and I will show you.”
The invitation at once pleased and surprised her. Elizabeth had never been invited to anyone’s home outside her own family, and it was startlingly early in the acquaintance to make such a suggestion. Nonetheless, it was very pleasing. “That is very kind of you,” Elizabeth replied without hesitation. “I am sure I would be delighted.”
Miss Darcy turned and her eyes lit up as she greeted Jane and Mary. She turned her attention to Mary and stepped aside so she could point toward the pianoforte. “Is it not pretty? I think it would be a travesty if we were to leave it looking so lonely. Do not you agree, Miss Mary Bennet?”
Mary was no less eager for the chance to play such a beautiful instrument, and the two girls went over to the piano. The room was soon filled with the delightful sounds of piano music as the two girls played one piece after another, each taking turns in showing off their skill.
After some time, Elizabeth turned to Mrs Younge with a small smile. Civility surely bade her to offer a little conversation. “From where do you originally hail, Mrs Younge?”
The older woman looked down her nose at Elizabeth before answering. “I am like the wind, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. No one knows where I come from or whence I am going.”
Elizabeth hardly knew how to reply. Mrs Younge’s answer was odd in the extreme, and she could see no reason for the older woman to object to such an innocuous question. “I see,” Elizabeth said at last, keeping her tone light and friendly with a slight effort.
Mrs Younge gave a tight-lipped smile. “Do you, indeed?”
Jane exchanged a concerned glance with her before turning to Mrs Younge with an air of determination. “How long have you been a companion to Miss Darcy? She is a charming young woman, I must say.”
“I have been with her for the past six months. And I cannot but agree. She has much potential.”
The glint in her eyes left Elizabeth ill at ease. Something about it stirred old memories, nearly forgotten over the years. One of her father’s books described the creatures of the West Indies. There was an illustration that had always frightened her as a young girl, of a crocodile with its head just above the water, grinning at its prey. Odd indeed, that something about Mrs Younge called that crocodile to mind. “Do you have any family close to Pemberley? We hear it is a lovely place.”
Mrs Younge turned back to Elizabeth, her eyes narrowed into slits. “I have no family. Not anymore.”
Something in the cold, flat statements made Elizabeth’s blood run cold. Yet surely it was absurd of her. Yes, Mrs Younge did not wish to discuss her past, and was less than gracious in her refusals, but was that really so strange? Perhaps she was still grieving the loss of her late husband, and could not bear tothink of her former life. Elizabeth had the strangest feeling that she did not have Miss Darcy’s best interests at heart, and yet it must be ridiculous for her to imagine anything of the kind. She hardly knew Miss Darcy or Mrs Younge, and she had not seen the companion do anything amiss. If she was less charming than might be wished in conversation, that was no real cause for alarm. Elizabeth was merely being too suspicious of a stranger, as Jane had sometimes told her was the case.
She pushed away the disturbing thoughts and turned her attention back to Miss Darcy and Mary, playing contentedly away at the instrument. “Miss Darcy speaks very highly of her brother, even in the short time since our acquaintance has been formed. Is he much older than she?” Elizabeth asked.
“Mr Darcy can do no wrong in her eyes, I am sure. He is older by quite a few years—twelve, at least—I think. He dotes on her, as you can see.” Mrs Younge waved her hand around the room and halted at the pianoforte. “The place was not furnished with a pianoforte when he first let it. I believe he had it delivered all the way from London to accommodate Miss Darcy. However, it is nothing compared to the instrument he commissioned to be built for their home in Derbyshire. It is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever laid eyes on, I am sure. Rich canary wood from South America, carved with a figure of peonies—Miss Darcy’s favourite.”
Mrs Younge glanced down her nose at Elizabeth and Jane. “I believe it cost him upwards of two hundred pounds.”
Elizabeth knew she was meant to be shocked by such a sum. And she was. But she did not allow it to show on her face. “How fortunate for Miss Darcy to have such a thoughtful brother.” To think of spending two hundred pounds on a present — it made her head swim.
The girls got up from the piano bench then and joined them in the little sitting area. “That was delightful, Miss Darcy. Thank you for allowing my sister to play with you. She practises so often but has rarely had an opportunity to set her fingers to such a magnificent instrument.”
Mary sat down, straight-backed but not as stiffly as she was wont to do. “Yes, the Kings have a very good instrument, but nothing as pretty as this. And it often goes out of tune,” she said fretfully. “As a matter of fact, ours is often out of tune as well. I am always telling Papa that the pianoforte should go into a room that does not so often change temperature. But there is not room for it in the drawing room.”
