“Mrs Annesley has said that she and I can ride in Mr Balfour’s new travelling chariot,” Miss Darcy added, “if you and he approve, of course.”
Darcy’s voice was cold when he said, “No.”
He is afraid to leave his sister alone with Mr Balfour or Mr Utterson.How was he to put Miss Darcy in a carriage with someone he fears murdered his servant for a coral ring? Elizabeth saw the startled expressions on Mrs Lanyon’s and Miss Darcy’s faces. His being unduly protective of his sister, along with his abruptness, was out of character. She felt certain that had they been less reserved or less shy, both ladies would have remarked upon it.
“Come now,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said, giving Darcy an emphatic look, “what could be said against respectable young men and women driving in the country together? Mrs Annesley would be with her.”
“Mr Darcy must decide if it would be indecorous or not,” Hester said primly. “You must not press him.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam gripped Darcy’s arm and spoke directly into his ear. Darcy clenched his jaw and nodded once. Whatever the colonel said made an impression; although he still looked a little pained, he said that he could have no objection if Georgiana wanted to ride in the new coach so long as Mrs Annesley accompanied her.
Darcy would make a terrible actor.
After he had assured his sister that he had no reservations, she said, “Fitzwilliam, shall we take your friends towards Milldale?” Miss Darcy turned to Elizabeth and Hester. “There are many interesting rocks and caves along the way.”
“Yes,” Colonel Fitzwilliam agreed. “You must walk the steps at Lover’s Leap, and we must show you Reynard’s Cave and all the rest.”
“How far is it?” Hester asked.
“Perhaps three miles to Milldale, a mile to Lover’s Leap.”
Whilst they discussed the distances and what they might see along the way, Elizabeth looked at Thorpe Cloud again.
“Are you ready to press on, Miss Bennet?” Darcy asked.
“Yes, I suppose so.”
He looked at her for a moment and then said, “Would you rather climb Thorpe Cloud instead and see the view?”
Elizabeth smiled sheepishly and said that she would. “But I do not want to take anyone away from a walk along the river.”
“I shall climb with you,” he said. In a louder voice he said to the others, “Are any of you intrepid enough to join us?”
“If you prefer to climb Thorpe Cloud,” began Miss Darcy, “we could all?—”
Colonel Fitzwilliam put a hand on her arm and then looked pointedly at Hester.
“It shall be too much for any of us,” Hester said, “but you must climb it with Mr Darcy.”
“We shall go ahead to Lover’s Leap,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam, already leading Miss Darcy away, “and you can meet us back here when you have seen all there is to see.”
The others followed the river, and she was left only with Darcy. She had been wanting to engage a moment of his attention all week, but it was clear from his pensive look that his mind was still on other matters.How much can I cheer a person whose income this year is not guaranteed and whose friend might be a killer?
Forcing a smile, she said, “Thank you for bringing us. I know you have a great deal on your mind.” She wondered if he wanted to talk more about Carew’s death and what it would mean if one of his friends had caused it. “What occupies you now?”
“A variety of important occurrences, continually interposing to distract my mind and withdraw my attention, must explain my seeming neglect of–of my friends.”
Elizabeth did not see how she could force him to speak about his suspicion that his friend killed someone. “I know you did not wish to come today, so you need not pretend for my sake, but you can speak of those demands and occurrences if you like.”
Darcy was silent so long that she wondered if he was going to answer. “I have many demands on me, and my tenants seem to think it is but for them to ask and everything they want is done, and when it is not done directly, they grow frustrated. And I grow frustrated when I am powerless to do more.”
He paused to gesture where they ought to ascend the hill. “The sides of this valley are in almost every part steep and craggy; however, there is a tolerably good ascent this way.” After a moment he added, “I am afraid I shall not appear to my advantage if it is known that I spent a day sightseeing whilst my tenants are rebuilding.”
His honesty both surprised her and flattered her. “None blame you for this tragedy, you know,” she said.
“Yes, I know it was the misfortune of weather and chance, but the end result will still prevent us from making tolerable crops this year. I shall be in arrears; it is only a matter of how much. I did not have debt before this and refuse to run to debt now. I can weather the—” Darcy winced. “I can help my tenants and remain solvent if I retrench.”
They left the shallow section beneath Thorpe Cloud and were now climbing higher. “You are unused to financial travails, that is clear,” she said. “But you appear to have a plan to manage the disaster, and so long as you meet your tenants’ immediate needs, I do not think they will begrudge you a moment of recreation now and then.”
