Mr. Bennet said, “You must also sing The Two Magicians, my girl. I have not heard you sing in months, not since before your Mamma’s passing.”
Kitty added eagerly, “My favorite is The Cruel Brother. Lizzy, will you sing that one as well?”
“Mr. Allen, I hope you possess a fondness for music, for it appears you are now committed to hearing me.” Laughing, Elizabeth crossed to the far corner of the room and opened the pianoforte. She sat and began to play, then lifted her voice in song. Her clear soprano rose with ease, and as the haunting melodies filled the room, the little party fell silent while she sang.
As the music continued, a melancholy stirred within her, and she realized that she mourned Mr. Darcy. The depth of that feeling trembled through the notes she sang. When the final song ended, she remained seated for a moment, working to collect herself.
The three young ladies dabbed at their eyes, and Mr. Bennet wiped at his face with his handkerchief. Mr. Allen walked to her and took her hand.
“Miss Bennet, you pierce my soul. Only a woman of deep feeling could impart such emotion to her voice. I am humbled to have been privileged to hear so fine a performance.”
Elizabeth met his gaze with warmth in her own.
“Thank you, sir. If you continue with such praise, I shall soon become insufferable.”
Mr. Bennet chuckled.
“Allen, allow me to assist you in placing matters in their proper light. My little Lizzy was a most adventurous child. When she was about eight years old, she was, in truth, something of a hoyden. She could outrun the boys, climb the tallest tree, and perform every manner of exploit better than any lad in the neighborhood. I need not add that she was the only girl among them.”
Elizabeth covered her eyes with one hand and bowed her head with a quiet groan.
“Papa, must you tell this story?”
“I must, Elizabeth, or Mr. Allen will conclude that you are an angel sent down to sing to us poor mortals, and you are no such thing, my girl.”
He turned again to Allen.
“One day, my little daughter resolved to take the boat out upon the pond for a day of fishing, despite my express command that she should do no such thing. We had endured several days of heavy rain, and the pond was overflowing while the creek nearly ran its banks. Such conditions, as you may suppose, only increased the attraction of the scheme.”
Elizabeth bowed her head lower and covered her eyes with her hand while the others listened with growing interest.
“Nevertheless, she and her particular friend Charlotte Lucas armed themselves with rods and tackle and launched the boat with great determination. They rowed to the middle of the pond and passed several hours in what they considered very serious angling. To their credit, they had already secured three or four fish, which they had placed in a bucket.”
“The consequence of the adventure was that she hooked a pike of nearly four feet, which promptly pulled her out of the boat, for in those days my little Lizzy was as thin as a rail. She went in headfirst but refused to release the rod.”
Mr. Allen laughed.
“Did you lose the pike, Miss Bennet?”
She lowered her hand and met his gaze.
“No, sir. I brought the pike home.”
Bennet was laughing now.
“Allen, you would scarcely have recognized Elizabeth as a girl that day. Her hair was caked with mud, her dress was streaked with muck, she had lost both shoes, and to complete the spectacle, the two girls were burned to a crisp by the sun. Their skin was so red one might have feared it would ignite.”
Elizabeth groaned softly.
“Well, sir, I need not tell you that Mrs. Bennet was quite livid. The dress was beyond saving. Yet we dined very well that evening upon the pike, and I have never forgotten the sight of my bedraggled daughter, nor the excellent fish she brought home.”
Mr. Allen grinned.
“And your rod and tackle, sir?”
“She returned with the whole apparatus. I suffered no loss that day, except her poor dress and missing shoes.”
Mrs. Talbot laughed, the three young ladies clapped their hands gleefully, and Mr. Allen regarded Elizabeth with clear amusement.
