“It is. And I cannot say how thrilled I am to be here,” Elizabeth said, looking around the table and ending at Mr Campbell. “It is breathtaking.”
“I agree,” Miss Darcy said sheepishly. “I am very much looking forward to walking about the grounds tomorrow, if youwill allow it.” She waited for Mr Campbell, seeming to shrink at having so many pairs of eyes on her.
“Of course. Please go anywhere you wish about the property, Miss Darcy. And you as well, Miss Bennet. It is perfectly safe, and we are glad to host all of you while we get the inheritance succession straightened out,” Mr Campbell said. “But we need not discuss business over the supper table. I will have the gentleman come to the study tomorrow morning, and we can discuss all the details of the will then.”
There was a chorus of agreement around the table, all seeming to feel, like Mr Campbell, that business ought to wait.
The next course was a fillet of smoked salmon served alongside a side dish called Rumbledethumps, which Mrs Graham explained was a mixture of potatoes, cabbage, and onion. Last was a portion of fruit slice, the same dessert she had enjoyed the day before. Everyone around the table seemed to enjoy it as much as she had.
With supper over, they all retired to the drawing room, rather than having the ladies part with the men as was customary in England. Thankfully, she had not been forced to speak with Mr Darcy again through the course of the evening, and as the new guests had arrived only that day, they soon made their excuses and retired to their rooms for the evening.
Once they were gone, Mr Campbell nodded toward the door where they had just departed. “He seemed a distinguished gentleman. What say you?” he asked, leaning over to Elizabeth’s father.
“I think whoever inherits will do right by the tenants and the neighbourhood,” Mr Bennet said. “Mr Darcy seems a fine enough fellow, even if a bit reserved.”
“Yes, I agree. We shall see what unfolds tomorrow, but I hope we can all come to an amicable solution.”
Elizabeth hoped it might be so, but she was not sanguine that a resolution could be achieved so easily. Surely a man as rude and demanding as Mr Darcy would not accept any outcome that did not end with Strathalt House in his possession.
Chapter 6
Darcy sat at the breakfast table with no little misgiving, staring at a full Scottish breakfast of Lorne sausage, black pudding, baked beans, fried mushrooms, eggs, and tattie scones. While the food was all wholesome and skilfully prepared, it was rather more than he cared to eat in the morning.
He reached for the tea instead. The house blend was hearty and had almost a note of smoke or peat about it. Darcy followed Mr Campbell’s example in taking it black, without cream or sugar. Though very different from the tea he purchased to serve at Pemberley, Darcy found himself taking a deep, appreciative sip, and then another.
But while he enjoyed the strong tea, it was rather too much for Georgiana. Though she had attempted to follow his lead and take her tea black, she had all but choked on the first sip. Wordlessly, Darcy moved the milk and sugar closer to her. Georgiana gratefully added them to her tea.
Though Darcy might have preferred a rather smaller and more English breakfast, it at least allowed him the chance to sit back and watch Miss Bennet and Georgiana together. The young woman was unusually charming and, to his infinite gratitude, very gentle and patient with Georgiana. If she seemed rather cold and disapproving in her few remarks to himself, it wasno more than he deserved after the accidental insults of the previous day.
Darcy, you utter buffoon. First you mistake her for the housekeeper and berate her, and then you say she dresses like a servant? You could hardly have done worse.
He sighed and resolved to let it go.It had all come out wrong, but there was little he could do about it now.
“Do you have any siblings, Miss Bennet?” Georgiana asked softly during a lull in the conversation.
Darcy looked up in surprise. It was unlike Georgiana to initiate conversation. Yet it seemed a good sign. Perhaps she was coming out of her shell, or perhaps she simply felt comfortable with Miss Bennet.
“I have four sisters, one elder and three younger,” Miss Bennet replied.
“Five daughters,” Mr Campbell said. “Well, if they are as kind and good as you, Miss Bennet, your father and mother are truly blessed.”
Elizabeth laughed a little, bowing her head in thanks for the compliment. “Mr Campbell, you are too kind. I hardly know what to say.”
“Then I shall accept the compliment for you, Lizzy, for we certainly are blessed in you,” Mr Bennet said, smiling at his daughter.
“How old are your sisters?” Georgiana went on.
“Jane, the eldest of us all, is two-and-twenty,” Elizabeth replied. “I should like to introduce you to her, for she has the sweetest, most gentle disposition of any woman I know.Whether I deserve Mr Campbell’s praise, I could not say, but I know Jane does. I am sure you would like her.”
“Indeed, I would,” Georgiana said eagerly. “I only wish that we could meet. And your other sisters?”
“My youngest sister, Lydia, is only fifteen.”
“Just think, we are nearly the same age,” Georgiana replied. Darcy looked at her sharply. Was that longing in her voice?
Perhaps it was unsurprising. Of course, Georgiana would want sisters. Particularly sisters as charming as Miss Elizabeth Bennet and as kind as she had described her eldest sister as being.
“You would fit perfectly in between Lydia and Kitty, Miss Darcy,” Miss Bennet agreed, “for my next youngest sister is seventeen.”
