“It is no trouble. Just because you were not expected... there is plenty of room.” He turned away to hide a wince. He now soundedboastful, rather than welcoming.How am I to show her that I attended to her reproofs if I say such things?
“Mr Darcy? I am all gratitude to you for your kindness to Jane.” Darcy looked at her, and before he could refute anything remarkable in his notice of her sister, she added, “And your notice of me. You cannot have wanted, let alone expected to find me to be one of the party. I am certain the sight of me must be... distressing. What you must have felt when?—”
“I assure you I felt only surprise.” She pressed her lips together and looked away. “You—so—your sister said you did not know that you would be staying at Pemberley?”
She shook her head. “Until this morning, I thought we were staying at the home of Mr Utterson, and Jane thought we would be at the home of Mr Balfour.” Elizabeth looked around the room, shaking her head.
“You appear unhappy, Miss Bennet,” he said softly. “I assure you that you are welcome at Pemberley.”
“Thank you,” she murmured.
He was very much concerned with the idea of making her stay at Pemberley a pleasant one. “You are naturally a cheerful person, and I hope that the next fortnight will pass happily for you.”
She tried to brighten, and she finally looked him in the eye. “Yes, I am determined to be happy and cheerful in whatever situation I may be. Happiness or misery depends on our dispositions as well as our circumstances, after all.”
“Misery!” he cried.The idea of staying at Pemberley, at spending a fortnight in my company, makes her miserable?He had thought it was merely overwhelming surprise that caused her distress, that the awkward moment might be passed over and he could be secure in the knowledge that his civility would be noticed, that she might think better of him.
“I, no, I hardly meant... I am sorry?—”
Mrs Reynolds entered the hall, and Darcy gave her a nod to show that he had seen her. She waited by the door, and he turned back to Elizabeth. It would be a long and difficult fortnight, but he would show her that her admonitions at Hunsfordhad worked a change. Any other wishes were best to be disregarded.
“Let us hope,” he said so only she could hear, “that since they are not a permanent situation for you, neither my company nor my home should occasion misery to you.”
He bowed and left her to the care of the housekeeper, more wounded than he had a right to feel.
Elizabeth had been placedin a yellow bedroom, with Chinese paper, mahogany furniture, and silk drapery on the bed. It was like the other rooms she had seen into today, lofty and handsome, with furniture suitable to Darcy’s fortune. Words like “beautiful” and “charming” failed to do justice to Pemberley’s merits.
But more striking than the house or the grounds was Darcy’s manner. He showed particular notice to Jane, and he was concerned forElizabeth’shappiness whilst at Pemberley. Elizabeth felt amazed that he should even speak to her.
When she had met the other ladies in the saloon, her eyes were drawn to the magnificent plasterwork on the ceiling before she sat in what she assumed was a Robert Adam chair near to Miss Darcy. There had been a formal introduction between her and Jane and Miss Darcy, Mrs Annesley, and Mrs Lanyon. The latter was refined and reserved whilst Miss Darcy was uniformly silent.
“This is a marvellous chamber, Miss Darcy,” Elizabeth had said to her as soon as Caroline stopped monopolising her attention. “Did you select the furniture?”
She had shaken her head and, at Mrs Annesley’s prompting, answered something or other about it being her mother’s favourite room and not wanting to change it.
Her conversation with Mrs Lanyon had been even more commonplace. They had exchanged a few words, that “the weather ought to be more settled for this time of year,” and “the roads were good, and the travelling pleasant despite the rain,” and “let us hope that August would not be rainy and cool like July and June.”
Elizabeth moved aside the pelisse she had tossed on the chaise lounge in her bedchamber and sat. It was time to dress for dinner, although it would put her back in Darcy’s company. She had hoped her summer travels would distract her from all of her confusion about him since Hunsford, and here she was, in his house. The minutes in which they were alone in the entrance hall were some of the most uncomfortable of her life, and he did not seem at ease either.
And he now has the impression that I am miserable here.She had seen the flash of sorrow in his eyes when she said that. What followed was an uncharitable rebuke, but she had deserved it. Still, she had always known that he was not a good-tempered man, and his words in the entrance hall showed how angry he still was at her rejection.
There was a knock, and a servant entered and immediately opened the wardrobe to sort through her gowns. “Good evening, Miss Bennet. I am Carew, Miss Darcy’s lady. She sent me to help you dress.”
Elizabeth stood in surprised silence whilst Carew swiftly selected a gown, and then put away her pelisse and began to organise her toilette table.
“I admire your purple pelisse, but you ought not to let merino wool lie about. How unfortunate the weather is so cold that you still need it in August.”
This young woman, who was scarcely older than she, was bustling about her room and handling her things with authority. “Carew, you don’t—that is, I thank you, but your help is not necessary. I can see to myself and my own things. And the lady who waits on my sister comes whenever there is an evening party or a ball.”
Carew nodded before striding towards her and untying her gown. Out of habit, and a small amount of trepidation, Elizabeth raised her arms and let the purposeful woman go about her work. “Yes, ma’am, but Mrs Bingley’s lady won’t want to tend to both of you at Pemberley, not if she wants her new mistress to appear to an advantage. Mrs Hurst, Mrs Lanyon, and Miss Bingley all have their own ladies, and it won’t impress anyone if it seems as though her duties must be shared.”
“And will not Miss Darcy feel the same slight? Is she not as concerned with rank and appearances as her brother?”
The maid tugged too sharply on her ties, and the ring she wore scraped Elizabeth’s skin. “No, she has no such pride, and neither does he. And it was the master who asked her if she could spare me for your sake when he realised you did not have your own. Odd that he asked Reynolds if your maid’s chamber would be too far if you were put in this room. Anyway, neither of them wanted you or Mrs Bingley to appear at a disadvantage.”
Elizabeth felt the unexpected compliment and consideration of Darcy’s insistence. “You must thank Miss Darcy for me. I will try to do it this evening, if she will speak with me.”
“You ought to thank the master, too.”
