Her hair seemed neater, although the curls around her face were still abundant. She was wearing a fresh, clean dress, so apparently the carriage had returned with clothing for the sisters.
“Miss Elizabeth!” Bingley was saying. “How does your sister feel?”
“She is coughing a good deal,” she responded. “But she has no fever, and her cough is not deep.”
“That sounds like a very good report,” Darcy said.
“Yes, I am glad to hear that she is not fevered,” Bingley said.
“Getting back to thesepeople who matter….” Miss Elizabeth turned to Miss Bingley. “I suppose you are aware that people who do not matter toyoustill, somehow, matter to themselves, their friends, and their loved ones?”
While she confronted Miss Bingley’s slight, Miss Elizabeth gave her a faint but steady smile. Her chin was lifted up the tiniest bit, and one eyebrow was arched as if she was aware of the irony of her polite demeanour yet resolute words. Darcy caught his breath at the sight.
“Well, I…I just meant….” Miss Bingley spluttered.
“I am certain my sister meant no insult, Miss Elizabeth,” Bingley said. “I believe she is missing her friends.”
Darcy could not help his eyes rolling a bit at his friend’s attempt to gloss over his sister’s incivility.
At that moment, Mr Evans entered and announced, “Dinner is served.”
Darcy wished he could usher Miss Elizabeth in, but he knew it would be an insult; the correct procession order would be him escorting Miss Bingley. He sent a smile to Miss Elizabeth but offered his arm to Miss Bingley.
“We should sit informally,” Bingley said as he entered the room with Miss Elizabeth. Darcy was still seating Miss Caroline, and Bingley deliberately walked Miss Elizabeth to the seat at his own right, so that Darcy would be able to sit next to her. Darcy shot him a nod of thanks.
“How far away is your father’s estate, Miss Elizabeth?” Darcy asked as soup was brought in.
“Longbourn is four miles away by road, but whenever I walk here, I cut across our shared forest and one fallow field. It is only about three miles that way.”
Darcy was surprised. “Do you walk here often?”
“Two of my sisters and I try to look in on the tenants when the estate is not let. The closest cottage is but two miles from Longbourn, but the farthest is five miles.”
Darcy gaped, saw his friend’s astonished expression, as well, and swiftly covered his own with a more neutral mien. “That you take the trouble to do this is surprising, but estimable. I take it that you also visit Longbourn’s tenants?”
“Of course.”
Darcy told her about the Marshalls’ smoking fireplace and their neighbours, the Garretts, taking in the family while the chimney was cleaned and inspected. “We will be working with these tenants again tomorrow, to make certain the Marshalls’ home is safe and to check in with the Garretts’ needs.”
Miss Elizabeth nodded. “Before I was born, a neglectful Longbourn tenant put off cleaning his chimney and lost everything. Cottage, possessions, family, his own life. We always mention the sad fate of the Cooper family as we remind tenants to clean their chimneys twice a year.”
Darcy could not help cringing.
“Forgive me for relating such a horrible story at dinner,” Miss Elizabeth murmured.
“No need for forgiveness. At my estate, about a year ago, one of my families incurred the sort of loss that cannot be replaced,” he said as quietly. “Everyone insisted that it was in no way my fault, but I had not thought to remind people to tend to their chimneys, so I insisted on taking responsibility.”
She put her spoon down and turned to him. “You may take responsibility just enough to be a reminder to you of something you and your steward can do better in the future. But you may not take so much responsibility that it robs you of your sleep, that it erodes your self-confidence, that it eats away at your soul.”
Darcy found himself staring at her with so many emotions swirling through his mind—but he remembered what Bingley had advised, and he attempted togazerather than stare. “Thank you,” he whispered. At a more normal volume, he asked, “How are you so wise at such a young age?”
She laughed. “Do you know my age?”
“I do not. But given my experience with my sister’s friends and my cousin, I would guess you are between nineteen and one and twenty.”
“Well done, sir. I am the ageexactlybetween the two.”
He smiled. “And the source of your wisdom?”
