Darcy wondered what else he could do to either make Elizabeth and her relations feel welcome, if they agreed to come to Pemberley, or to further his efforts at self-reform?
He always kept a travel desk under a seat in his carriage, and Darcy brought it out and settled it firmly on his lap, a blank paper ready, before he removed the cork on his ink bottle. He made rapid notes:
Thank you to Mr and Mrs Wilkerson -
Bohea tea, Coalport tea set
He noted down some of the details of the pattern on the teacups and plates, made a rough sketch, and then carefully stowed the writing materials away again and re-entered the shop.
Mrs Gardiner was putting on her repaired shoe, and Mr Gardiner was thanking Mr Wilkerson for his prompt repair.
“Yes, thank you so much, Mr and Mrs Wilkerson,” Darcy said. He nodded to each.
Mr Gardiner was removing a leather purse from his pocket, and Darcy smoothly said, “May I be permitted to add this to my account?”
Mr Gardiner said, “Not if my family and I are heading to your estate, where I shall take great pleasure in taking many fish from your waterways.”
Darcy grinned and said, “My sister and I will be so delighted to host you. Will you come this afternoon?”
“That seems to be the plan, sir. And we are very grateful for the invitation.”
As Mr Gardiner paid the cobbler, Darcy escorted Elizabeth out to the carriage. He felt awkward and uncertain—not unusual for him, even before Hunsford, but he deliberately did not reach for his usual solution. In other words, he did not allow himself to mask his awkwardness with a haughty expression.
Instead, he consulted her in a low voice, “Miss Elizabeth, I do not wish to assume, that is, I do not wish to make your aunt and uncle feel slighted….” He sighed, unsure how to ask what he felt he needed to know in order to behave as well as he wished to.
Elizabeth’s smile was kind rather than teasing. “Sir…isthisthe origin of what I had believed was arrogance? Are you, instead, shy?”
He smiled back, grateful for her warmth. “I believe that, although I was extremely shy as a child, I am merely reticent now. However, there are many situations in which I cannot think how to express myself. I suppose that whatever word means the opposite of smooth and charming…that is what I am.”
She shook her head. “I am certain that is not correct. I myself find a sincere but bumbling statement far more charming than a practiced yet dishonest phrase.”
“Well, if that is the case, be prepared to have your half boots charmed clean off your feet, because I am honest to a fault and often extremely bumbling.”
She chuckled. “Sir, my aunt and uncle will soon join us; is there something you wished to ask? Just say it, and I will assume the best interpretation rather than my usual stance of presuming the worst.”
“Are you travelling in the Gardiners’ carriage? Is your luggage at the inn, and might we pick it up so that you and your relations may stay at Pemberley as long as possible?”
“There, was that so hard?” she asked.
A laugh seemed to be trembling at the corners of her mouth, and Darcy said, “First, it was terribly difficult. And second, go ahead, Miss Elizabeth. You may release your guffaw at my eager and clumsy manner.”
The laughter that bubbled up from her was infectious, and he smiled.
But her relations exited the shop then, and she said to them—but really, he thought, to him—“I suppose we should allow Mr Darcy to take us back to the Lambton Inn so we can fetch our carriage and luggage and then go on to Pemberley?”
“And I hope that you will join Georgiana and I for a late luncheon? Pemberley is approximately an hour away from the inn, so we could plan on eating together in, perhaps, an hour and a half?”
The Gardiners looked at one another and nodded. Elizabeth allowed him to hand her into his carriage and gave him another of those bright, happy smiles.
Darcy remembered the dreadful feeling of being untethered to his body, as if he were looking down at himself—but now he felt awonderfuluntethered feeling, as if his body-and-soul, thankfully united again, could fly.
Two
Georgiana looked downat her plate and took another bite. As she chewed, she continued eying the sliced meats, buttered roll, and hothouse-grown fruits as if she suspected her luncheon might make an escape.
Despite her shyness, Darcy considered that she was doing relatively well, having greeted three strangers with the expected polite greetings and a respectful curtsy. However, chatting with new acquaintances was not easy for her.
Darcy searched his mind for a topic she might feel comfortable with, having just described the fishing opportunities that the men, at least, would enjoy after eating. He scrambled to come up with something he could say about…books? Or music?
