She spoke with more emotion than he would have expected, and the admiring look she gave him made it difficult to speak. “I hope,” he said and then swallowed thickly, “I hope your visit to Derbyshire gives you the opportunity to properly sketch my character.”
“I think I already have, and you have my good opinion,” she said smilingly.
He might have said more, but then one of his tenants touched his hat in obeisance. This was hardly the place to learn if Elizabeth’s good opinion might extend to a more tender emotion. As they waited, Darcy greeted several of his tenants, asking their children which of them would be king of the sports today, and gave his best wishes for a better yield than the cold, wet weather gave them all reason to hope for.
“Oh, look at the tasteful design of it!” Elizabeth cried as she was standing next to the board that surrounded the well. “The vivid colouring and mosaic patterns are beautiful.”
“It is no surprise to me that you are awed and charmed by anything having to do with nature. For myself, I have always enjoyed the fellowship in the neighbourhood that accompanies a well dressing.”
“All the wells were charmingly decorated, but I think my favourite was the one by the fountain. It was enchanting to see the water flowing from above, surrounded by a mosaic of flowers,” she said to him later, once she had insisted on seeing each of the wells a second time. “The daisies and buttercups around the edge gave it the look of a gilded frame, and the foliage arranged into verses from scripture are exquisite!”
The effect of Old and New Testament images and scripture verses, along with the favourite scenes of nature that graced all of Bakewell’s well dressings, was beautiful, but seeing them through Elizabeth’s eyes made them more fascinating to him. “I am glad you came today, Miss Bennet.”
The remainder of the afternoon was spent in rural festivity. They often saw Bingley and his wife, at a booth sampling plain fare or watching the various feats of agility and skill displayed by the villageboys, but the majority of the day was happily spent walking Bakewell with Elizabeth and speaking with her.
Upon hearing the cheers and shouts that attended the competitors, Elizabeth’s spirits seemed to rise in playfulness when she said, “The athletic rivalry seems quite heightened. Did you compete when you were a boy?”
“I had my share of merry-making when I was young, but I knew well enough not to win whatever the prize effort was.”
“You hardly strike me as the sort not to try your best in every endeavour as a matter of principle.”
He shrugged good-naturedly. “It would hardly do to have Master Fitzwilliam come into Bakewell and win a prize the sons of my father’s tenants wished to win.” Elizabeth was looking at him with a soft look in her eyes. “However, I gave my very best to every game of leapfrog and ball.”
She laughed, and held his arm a little tighter. The happiness he felt in this moment was clouded only by the realisation that if he had not acted so meanly in the past, had he not been too proud, he might have been walking this festival with his wife rather than his friend’s sister-in-law. Still, their conversation in the curricle gave him reason to think Elizabeth could love him.I ought not to speak of my own attachment yet.Perhaps her esteem for him was of too recent a date for her to be certain of her own feelings.
As the afternoon grew late, they soon met with Bingley and his wife and, although dancing had begun at Bath Garden, they decided to return to Pemberley. On their way down Bath Street, they saw Balfour riding towards them.
“How d’ye do?” he called. “I have had a dull day. A shame we cannot shoot birds yet, although I am dreadful. I found but one dice game near the green, and only the pawnshop was open today.” Balfour brought out his pocket watch, and Darcy saw it was enamel with pearls, with a painting on the case. He noticed Darcy’s attention and, as though he had been waiting for it to be admired, said, “Do you like it? This was the only pledged watch she had. I thought I may as well buy it as not since it was finer than mine.”
“Why buy it at all when there was nothing wrong with your gold one?” Bingley asked as he handed Mrs Bingley into his chaise.
“Because I am a gentleman, and a gentleman spends his money whenever he can.”
Bingley only laughed, but Darcy thought it foolish to spend simply because one had money in his pockets. Balfour would always be careless with his money. It was fortunate he would inherit an estate worth five thousand a year.
The Bingleys began the drive to Pemberley, and Balfour said, “I rode to Ashford, but there was not even a pawnbroker open there today. Do other villages have these well festivals?”
“Yes, Buxton, Matlock, Tissington.”
“All today?”
“Between Holy Thursday and Michaelmas,” Darcy said whilst handing Elizabeth into the curricle. “Some are later this year because the weather has been so cold and wet.”
“Yes, only such a particular, ancient custom of showing thanks for water could continue in a season as wet as this one. These small Peak villages have little to occupy me, my friend.”
“Buxton and Matlock are larger and might be more to your liking.”
“I shall have to spend my time and my money there. I must find Hester,” Balfour said as he touched his hat and was gone.
“Your friend would rather spend freely in town rather than walk freely through the countryside,” Elizabeth said when they drove down Bath Street and out of the village.
He thought this an incredibly fitting description of his cheerful friend who spent half the year in London. “Not everyone has your appreciation for beautiful country or the charms of a village festival.”
She looked over her shoulder towards Bath Garden and the people near the well and in the garden.
“Thank you for bringing us, Mr Darcy.” She turned back around and gave him a beatific smile. “The village looks lovely, does it not?”
At first glance, Elizabeth was tolerably pretty, but he had soon noticed that when emotion moved her, her face came to life, showing all her liveliness and intelligence. Now, Darcy thought her beautiful.Without looking away from her, he said, “It is the most pleasing sight I ever beheld.”
