“He is enchanted,” she replied. “Although not with the landscape so much as with the library. Mr Sinclair built a very impressive collection, he tells me.”
“And I take it you enjoy the written word?” Darcy went on. The conversation was easier than he anticipated. Miss Bennet was so easy-going and unassuming. She seemed to be turning the same conversational talents she employed for Georgiana to his benefit — and the result was more enjoyable than he could have guessed.
“I do — nearly as much as my father does. I do enjoy other pursuits, though, dancing chief among them. And walking about the countryside. Mama says I will ruin my constitution with so much traipsing about, but I have never found it to be a detriment to my health in the slightest.”
“No, indeed. I must agree that walking is one of life’s great pleasures,” Darcy replied. “That and riding.”
Miss Bennet laughed. “Well, I have no great experience with riding. We have only the team for the carriage, and they are often wanted in the fields. In any case, I am no great horsewoman.”
“But perhaps you might learn,” Georgiana said eagerly. “My brother is an excellent rider. If you ever find yourself in Derbyshire, you must come to visit us, and we could all go riding.”
Darcy frowned at his sister. He got the distinct feeling she was getting too far ahead of herself. Unsatisfied with having Miss Bennet merely as a friend, she appeared to have decided that they must be sisters as well.
“That is most kind,” Miss Elizabeth said, eyeing him warily. “I do not have many opportunities to travel, I am afraid. Before this trip, I had never been farther from Hertfordshire than London. I have never been to the Peak District. But I would heartily love to see it someday.”
The conversation lulled as they drove around the loch. The driver took them around to the far side, where they would surely find some solitude in which to watch the waves for the fabled Loch Ness monster.
They all climbed out of the carriage and walked down to the shore. “Here, ladies, sit upon this fallen log. We may be here for quite some time,” Darcy said.
The mist was beginning to dissipate from the surface of the loch. An air of mystery surrounded them, as though something magical might happen.
“I do love Scotland. I am quite certain I could live here,” Georgiana said. “Once we have finished, would you be willing to take me into town so we could order the dresses Miss Bennet and I have been speaking of?”
Darcy nodded, then sat beside his sister on the fallen log once the ladies were settled. “I see no reason we could not do that. Are you amenable, Miss Bennet?”
“Oh yes, of course,” she replied.
After agreeing on the plan, they settled into a companionable silence. Darcy found he watched Miss Bennet almost as much as the loch. Of course, he had no great expectations that they would see anything, save for the beautiful scenery. Doubtless, that would account for it.
She was lovely, sitting with her back straight but not tense, looking serenely over the lake. At every ripple that broke the surface of the water, the ladies jumped and looked excitedly to see if Nessie had indeed put in an appearance. The pure delight that played over their faces made the whole excursion worth it.
The sun was well up in the sky when Darcy stood to stretch his legs. Surely it had been at least two hours since they had arrived at the lakeshore. He was about to suggest they leave when Georgiana suddenly gasped, gripped Miss Bennet’s arm, and pointed out toward the middle of the loch. “Oh, there she is! Did you see her?” she exclaimed in an excited whisper. “Fitz, did you see?”
Darcy was not one to encourage such nonsense as mythical creatures, but he did not want to crush her spirit. “I am afraid I did not. I must have been looking at a different part of the loch,” he apologised. “Shall we go down closer to the shore?”
Georgiana and Miss Bennet eagerly agreed, and Georgiana even went so far as to link arms with her new friend. Darcy felt the corners of his lips tug up to see it. For so long, Georgiana had been so alone, so unwilling to trust. After discovering the part Mrs Younge had played in the Ramsgate debacle, trusting other women and her own judgement seemed equally impossible. Yet with Miss Bennet, it was quite different. Already they were close friends, as though Georgiana felt down to her bones that she could trust her.
And thank goodness that Georgiana had chosen a woman so worthy of her trust. At the thought, Darcy halted a moment in surprise. He forced himself to go on before the others could notice his confusion. He could not be so certain that Miss Bennet was truly worthy, and yet he was. Her sincerity was as obvious as her intelligence and her kind heart.
Careful, Darcy. You like her — you cannot deny it. You like her much more than you ought.
As they neared the shore, Miss Bennet gasped and pointed at the loch. “I saw it, too! There, in the deep waters. A dark shadow moved,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow and joined them at the water’s edge. He had thought Miss Bennet too sensible for such fables, but perhaps he was wrong. And why did that only make her seem more charming, more real?
“There, its head is popping up just above the water!” Georgiana gasped. Darcy had been too busy watching Miss Bennet. Mesmerised by his private thoughts, he had not seen the creature. When he turned his attention back toward the loch, there was nothing there.
“I saw nothing. I am sorry, ladies. Perhaps it was a rock. Or a seal?”
“Nonsense. It was far too large to be a seal, and it had a long neck.” Georgiana scowled at him for a moment, then turned back toward the loch. “I am sure of it. We saw Nessie!”
Miss Bennet seemed no less pleased by their success. Privately, Darcy resolved to keep his scepticism to himself. He would not argue any further with them and ruin the morning. “Well, I must congratulate you both. I am glad that the morning’s excursion was a success. Now, as we have been sitting for quite a long time, shall we go into town and pick out the dresses you have been discussing?”
Georgiana’s face immediately brightened. She hurried Miss Bennet along to the carriage, speaking excitedly about the haberdashery that was in the nearby village. Darcy was the last to turn at the shore, watching the ladies traverse the slight incline back to the carriage. He glanced over his shoulder, fully expecting to see nothing more than the tranquil loch spreading out before him.
In the split second before he turned to go, something poked a long, graceful neck above the water. A small head turnedtowards him, its round, dark eyes seeming to stare straight into his soul. The hair on the back of Darcy’s arms and neck stood on end. He blinked several times, but the apparition did not disappear. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone, leaving only ripples in its wake.
“Are you coming, Fitz?” Georgiana called from the edge of the road.
