~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Without knowing it, and at almost the same moment that Jane’s younger sister was wondering if she had read her letter, which had only been delivered that morning, Jane was about to break the seal. Her hand was arrested in the air, and she smiled widely as she thought about how pleasant a time she enjoyed each time Lord Hadlock called.
They spoke about so many things, and in so doing had discovered, they had quite a few interests in common. One thing the viscount never did was hold discourse on her beauty as if that was all she was. When she had been in Mr Bingley’s company her beauty was almost the only thing he had wanted to discuss. Even when she had attempted to direct them to another subject, he would always return to her looks within a few moments.
It was only a few days, and the last thing Jane wanted to do was rush and force feelings like she had with Mr Bingley. She realised there was one big difference. Mamma was not here to push her and extol her attributes, mainly her looks, which allowed the forming relationship to take its natural course.
For years Jane had worn blinders about her family’s faults, but now that the scales had fallen from her eyes, she saw each of them for who they were.
That included Lizzy who was too quick to make judgements, take them as facts, and far too slow to revise her opinions. She loved Lizzy dearly, but now she also knew that loving her did not mean she should be blind to her dearest sister’s foibles. Thinking of Lizzy reminded Jane of the yet unopened letter in her hand. She broke the seal and smoothed the paper before reading what her sister wrote.
28 March 1812
The Parsonage
Hunsford
Kent
My dearest sister, Jane,
Please pardon the delay in writing this reply to your letter. I have no excuse other than being distracted by the nature hereabouts.
You know how much I love you so please know that you do not need to be brave for me. Only you would try and absolve Mr Bingley’s sisters and his hateful friend of their part in keeping Mr Bingley, who I am convinced loves you as much as he ever did, from you.
You heard from me how dishonourable Mr Darcy is after Lieutenant Wickham told me all. Why would you doubt him incapable of engineering your heartbreak out of malice and spite? All those times he looked at me to find fault have been used to keep you apart from Mr Bingley.
“Oh, Lizzy. You call Mr Darcy proud, but you are very similar with your pride and in your prejudices. You are so determined to paint Mr Darcy a villain that you ignore what I saw. You only heard Mr Wickham’s side. At the time, I told you that it must have been some great misunderstanding and tried to make them both good. Now that I am seeing more clearly, the fact that Mr Wickham related all to you the day you met is suspect. Recall that when he saw Mr Darcy he was at first frightened and Mr Darcy angry. That insult at the assembly, while badly done by Mr Darcy, has coloured all your interactions with him. It did not help that his words reinforced the untruths Mamma repeats about our relative beauty to each other, or the value thereof,” Jane mused aloud. Her eyes slidback to the epistle.
You will not believe how ill my luck is! The insufferable Mr Darcy arrived at Rosings Park on the Friday after I joined Charlotte. He is here to visit his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr Darcy was not alone, he was accompanied by his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, who thankfully is not anything like his proud and arrogant cousin. The colonel speaks to us all, and even though he is the son of an earl (a second son) he never looks down on us and is a very pleasant man.
I made a point of telling Mr Darcy where I ramble so he would avoid the area, but no! He is determined to discompose me and has, until recently, waited for me each morning. He still stares at me to find fault when we are in company together.
“Lizzy, how can you be so blind! The man has a tendre for you! No man stares at a woman looking for faults, and I dare say you are wrong about his motivations for walking with you in the mornings. Thanks to Aunt Maddie, my eyes are open now. You need to open yours!” Jane shook her head at her younger sister’s obstinacy and continued to read.
On Monday past, Colonel Fitzwilliam’s parents and possibly his brother (earl, countess, and viscount) arrived at Rosings Park. I am sure they will be as proud and dismissive as Mr Darcy, if they lower themselves to be in our company, that is. However, I seriously doubt that will come to pass. I am certain they are as bad as Lady Catherine and Mr Darcy.
After Mr Darcy tells them how vulgar we are and about our ties to trade, any chance ofbeing in their company will be lost, if there was ever one in the first place.
“Your prejudices run so deep that now you are judging people you have not even met by the perceived ills of their relatives. You are better than that, Lizzy.” Jane shook her head again. She put the missive down as all that remained was Lizzy’s salutation.
Jane thought about the Carringtons. They were an old, ennobled family with the same rank as the one Lizzy mentioned. They did not act above their company, were pleasant, welcoming, and never flaunted their rank. She wondered what Lizzy would say when confronted with solid, irrefutable proof of her mistaken assumptions.
She had not mentioned Mr Bingley to Viscount Hadlock yet, but she would on his next call. She wanted to be open and honest with the man for whom she was slowly developing tender feelings.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Hadlock arrived at the Gardiners’ house just after two that afternoon. He had four nosegays with him. The largest one was presented to Jane, one was for the lady of the house, and the other two for Lilly and May who were smitten with the man who took the trouble to give them flowers.
To Jane, it showed how Viscount Hadlock considered others and it only raised him in her estimation.
Once he had handed out the nosegays, and the twin girls had gone to the nursery chatting away about the gallant man who had gifted them flowers, Hadlock turned to Miss Bennet. “It is a pleasant day today. Would you like to walk in the park across from the house?” With a grin he continued. “I can guarantee that neither of my sisters are waiting in the park to run you over while they chase after a kite.”
Jane looked at Aunt Maddie who nodded her permission. After donning her light pelisse, gloves, and a bonnet, Jane exited the house on her caller’s arm. A footman was waiting for them on the path below the steps.
With the footman trailing them, the couple crossed Gracechurch Street to the modest park—compared to Hyde Park it was very small—and they began to stroll on the circular path which went around the pond and fountain in the centre of the green area. There were a few boys sailing toy boats on the water and other children feeding the ducks. All the attendant nursemaids and governesses were keeping a close watch on their charges.
“When I was a lad of that age, I used to sail my toy boats on the small lake at Holder Heights,” Hadlock said as he inclined his head to two boys and their toy ships.
