There was one more thing she might try. Elizabeth opened the drawer at the side of her desk and withdrew a letter, the last that her father had written to her.
∞∞∞
My dearest Lizzy,
I write this knowing that I have little time left on this earth. Your mother was right, and I suppose I should have tried to do more to see that you and your sisters were settled before it was my time to go. I am sorry I cannot see you safely married and settled. Know that the man I would wish for you would have great strength of character and mind, a man who would support you and love you for who you are. Do not settle, no matter what happens. Dearest Lizzy, with your lively talents, you would be dreadfully unhappy in an uneven marriage. It must not be so.
Your mother, bless her, will try to see you married to the first man who offers for you. But I caution you to take things slowly, and be sure of your decision before you go forward. Watch over your sisters and your mother, and never forget how very much I love you. I am proud to have been your father.
Love, Papa
∞∞∞
A knock sounded at the door, and Elizabeth jumped, clutching the letter to her chest. Her heart thudded wildly against her ribcage, and she went to the door to answer it after stuffing the letter back in the drawer. “Yes, Aunt. Forgive me, I was…writing.”
Her aunt smiled, a little ruefully. “As you have been all morning. Dear Lizzy, you work much too hard. Now, my dear, you have some visitors downstairs. Shall I tell them you are not receiving calls?”
Elizabeth frowned. “Visitors? Is it already time for calling hours?” she asked.
“It is. I hated to interrupt you, but it is a gentleman named Mr Darcy and his young sister, Miss Darcy. She says that she has come to return your book.”
Elizabeth pulled her aunt into the room and closed the door. “Miss Darcy? Yes, I will come down and see her.”
“Very good. Perhaps her brother will prove a pleasant acquaintance as well. You didn’t tell me he was so handsome,” Mrs Gardiner remarked, giving her niece a gentle smile to go with her teasing.
Elizabeth was at a loss. She had been so certain the Darcys would send a servant with the book, rather than giving them the compliment of a visit. Now here they were, waiting for her in the Gardiners’ drawing room. “What shall I do?”
Her aunt looked her up and down. “Well, if you are coming down, I suggest changing into something more appropriate.”
Elizabeth looked down at her front and was appalled to discover that she was still in her night rail and dressing gown. Indeed, she had not even bothered to put slippers on her stockinged feet. She went to the mirror and winced back at her reflection. She resembled an escapee from Bedlam more than a respectable young lady.
“Aunt Gardiner, you must stall them for me. I will be down directly. Please tell them I will be a few minutes,” Elizabeth said. “Will you send up Catherine to help me change?”
“Of course,” Mrs Gardiner agreed. Her maid was the most skilled of the household servants at arranging hair. “I will order tea to give them an excuse to stay.”
Elizabeth hurried to dress. Her tardiness would press them to stay beyond the quarter-hour, but certainly they would not stay beyond the half-hour, however late she might be. Thankfully, Catherine quickly came in and helped her change into a navy blue day dress. She brushed and arranged Elizabeth’s hair in a simple bun at the nape of her neck.
This time, the mirror did not present such a frightening prospect. “What do you think, Catherine?” Elizabeth asked her. “Do I look as though I have just finished a writing frenzy?”
“Not at all, miss,” Catherine assured her stoutly. “You do not look like a crazed artist in the least, but like any proper young lady.”
There was, perhaps, something a little backhanded about that compliment, but Elizabeth did not intend to quarrel with it.“Thank you, Catherine,” she breathed, and hurried downstairs to greet their guests.
When she arrived, tea had been delivered and served. Miss Darcy stood as soon as she entered. “Oh, Miss Bennet, I do apologise for disturbing you. Your aunt said you were writing a letter to one of your sisters.”
It was a clever lie. Elizabeth was grateful to her aunt for thinking of it, particularly as the Gardiners did not like to dissemble. “Yes, do forgive me for being so long. And you have not intruded. I am glad you came to call, although I know it must be an imposition coming all the way across London.”
“Not at all. I wanted to thank you in person, Miss Bennet. Indeed, I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to borrowThe Castle of Skybree. It was a sensation!”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Oh, I did not think I could enjoy any book as much as I did Mrs Laurence’s debut novel, but I was quite wrong. Her second book is even better than the first. What do you think? Have you read it yet?”
Elizabeth exchanged a knowing glance with her aunt. “Yes, I am tolerably familiar with it now.”
She was not forced to elaborate, for Georgiana was in raptures over the book, and could hardly say enough in its praise. It gave Elizabeth no little pleasure to hear one of her readers so enamoured of the story, characters, and plot. “It was wonderful. I was discussing the first book with my brother this morning before we came to returnThe Castle of Skybree. I love how Mrs Laurence makes you feel everything her characters are feeling, as if it were happening to you in that very moment. Andwith this new book, I was very undone by the scene of Elouisa trapped in the wood.”
“Yes, I thought that was particularly moving. She is physically lost in the woods, waiting for a rescue. But she realises she is the one who has created the conditions she finds herself in, that is, her outward dilemma is only a mirror of the landscape of her inmost being. By holding onto bitterness, she has effectively constructed a prison for herself. She cannot find the freedom she so desires until she is able to let go.”
