Page 22 of Affectations of Candour

“She has gone to confer with Mrs Carter regarding light refreshments for tomorrow. Miss Hughes and Miss Bennet are coming over for the day, and it will be such fun! Miss Darcy and I are eager to become friends with both ladies, and we have the entire day already planned. First, we shall play lawn games. Then we shall walk along the shore and collect seashells and fossils at low water. Do not fret. Mr Darcy consulted the tide table. Of course, Meg prefers to ride again and will not come. But will you join us?”

Keeping a rival close might be a good scheme, but Hannah could think of nothing more detestable than trudging along a muddy beach with Elizabeth Bennet and handling shells formerly inhabited by slimy molluscs. We might even encounter those horrid seaweed gatherers!

“No, I certainly shall not grub about on the beach.” Joining her sister on the settee, she spoke in hushed tones, for the door was closed but the window open. “Now listen carefully. If Miss Darcy is intent on befriending that Bennet person, you must discreetly discourage her, for she has her cap set at my Mr Darcy.” Under her breath, she added, “She had much better buy herself a new bonnet and set her cap at someone else, or it will be hair-pins at dawn.”

“I beg your pardon. What am I to do with hair-pins in the morning?”

“Never mind that. Simply disparage Miss Bennet to both of the Darcys. Invent some on dit about her if you must, but it is imperative that we put a damper on the gentleman’s interest.” Perhaps throw some cold water on him. “The injudicious man has been dazzled by her light, I fear.”

“What do you mean by some on dit? What would you have me say?”

“Honestly, Thea, have you not improved your mind from all the reading you do?” Hannah gave a huff of annoyance, then spoke as though without prior thought. “I suppose you could say that Miss Bennet possesses a degree of captivating deceit. Or that sobriety is not amongst her most charming qualities.”

“What? No!” cried Althea, eyes wide. “You cannot ask me to do that. Besides, I shall not put my friendship with Miss Darcy at risk. She is the only friend I have left because of all the on dits about our own family.” Crossing her arms, she glared at Hannah. “Why must I always tell falsehoods for you? It is wrong, and I do not want to be caught doing so. Mr Darcy might send us all packing, and I am having such fun here. There are so many books to be read, and there is so much else to do. I wish this summer could last forever.” Leaning her head against the back of the settee, Althea tightly shut her eyes, a few tears glistening on her lashes. “Please,” she said in a small voice, “do not force me to choose between family and friend.”

“Selfish girl!” On her feet then, Hannah lowered her voice to a hiss. “What will happen to me, to Meg, and to you should Papa lose Barleybrae and our London leasehold? Where shall we live?” She paced to and fro. “I must marry well and marry soon to ensure we three girls have a home. James is a hopeless case. No sensible woman will marry a penniless man and take in his sisters. Besides, my stupid brother will be fortunate if he does not end up in a sponging house, squeezed for money. Or sent to debtors’ prison. He could be pressed into naval service, or he might have to flee the country. Already shopkeepers have refused him credit, demanding ready money. Acquaintances have given him the cut direct.”

“Surely it cannot be as dire as all that.” Tears trickled down Althea’s cheeks and dripped from her chin.

“Here.” Grimacing, Hannah passed her a handkerchief. “Weeping serves no purpose other than making one’s countenance blotchy. And, as I was saying, our brother is in desperate straits. Not honouring gaming debts is considered theft, and such a moral failing is a grave matter, bringing dishonour and shame to our family.” In a rare display of sisterly affection, Hannah crouched and grasped Althea’s hand. “Materially, we face ruin. Loss of our estate will result in loss of income. Dowries for you and Meg are all but gone and our brother’s inheritance likely lost. We might have to sell our belongings and other assets. We face poverty, Thea.”

If the seriousness of their pecuniary distress was being overstated, so be it. By summering here while leasing both Barleybrae and our London house, Papa must have paid off some of his own debt.

Standing then, hands on hips, Hannah loomed over Althea. “So, will you do your part to preserve whatever we can of our reputation and dignity? Will you help me secure a prosperous future?” And enhance my chances of ridding myself of the whole lot of you. Her family had become an anchor, weighing her down.

And why was Mr Darcy not madly in love with her yet?

CHAPTER ELEVEN

During a misty morning ride along the cliff, while regretting all the various demands upon his time, Darcy was grateful for a solitary hour of freedom. Georgiana and his guests may have looked upon their summer sojourn at Strandsmere as a lark, but he enjoyed little in the way of leisure. For him, there was no exemption from duties and obligations. He had three properties to oversee, investments to be considered, his sister’s welfare and future to be protected, his guests’ comfort and safety to be ensured, and what seemed to be a mountain of correspondence to be read and written. Once again, he could almost hear Wickham sneering, ‘poor little rich boy’.

If not for such pressing concerns, Darcy would be angling at Willow Bourn, or reading books rather than correspondence, or, preferably, calling at Cliff House nearly every day and rejoicing in such occasions of joy and gaiety.

A wife. He wanted a wife. Perhaps more than wanting one, he needed one to share his burdens and run his households. Miss Wright knew how to do the latter, and she also was accomplished in the more frivolous requirements for a bride. On those occasions when it would be necessary to make an appearance for appearance’s sake, he would be proud to have such a woman on his arm.

Alas, his heartstrings pulled him in an entirely different direction, a little farther along the precipice. With that young lady in mind, he turned his spirited blood bay towards the villa. Miss Elizabeth was to arrive in a matter of hours.

Having finished breakfast, Darcy set about performing his ablutions with a woody-spicy soap, scraped stubble from his face, and donned a fresh set of clothing. Then he stood patiently while his scrupulously efficient valet completed the finishing touch to his employer’s toilette: an immaculate cravat tied with precision.

“What is your opinion, Graham?” Turning this way and that, Darcy studied the mirror’s reflection. “Should more have been trimmed from these side whiskers?”

“From my careful observations, sir, they are shaped according to the prevailing new tendency, and according to Mr Wright, you are the epitome of sartorial elegance and gentlemanly refinement.”

“About that… I hope he, upon his departure, will remember to pay vails in appreciation of your attendance upon him. What kind of gentleman does not bring his own valet when spending two months as one’s guest? You may speak freely.”

“One in pecuniary distress, I fear, sir.” Graham helped his master into a tight-fitting coat. “It is not my place to express an opinion, of course, but the tittle-tattle below stairs is that Mr Wright and his heir share the services of one valet and that the son insisted he had more urgent need of a gentleman’s gentleman in London than his father would have here.”

“Do you happen to know the current whereabouts of the senior Mr Wright?” Darcy hoped his guest was not suffering from ennui arising from a lack of occupation. The house had no billiards table, and the man had yet to take him up on offers of fishing or fencing. Other than reading newspapers with stale reports and gossip from London, the gentleman seemed content to occupy himself with a succession of busy nothings. And writing letters. Lots and lots of letters. “Oh and Graham, send someone to the village to purchase more writing paper.”

“Yes, sir. I have heard that Mr Wright will be occupied with correspondence the entire day and is not to be disturbed.”

At the door, Darcy accepted his hat and gloves. “Rest assured, my good man, that there will be a substantial increase in your next quarterly pay. I truly appreciate you agreeing to oversee the male domestics here and attending to the personal needs of our guest. And let us pray that if the younger Mr Wright arrives, he will bring the valet with him, lest I end up in pecuniary distress from having to pay you exorbitant wages.”

“I shall remember to mention such in my prayers, sir.”

Having impatiently looked forward to the hour when Miss Elizabeth and her friend would arrive at Strandsmere Park, Darcy had not anticipated that the two ladies would come rattling up to the main entrance in the same manner as Miss Hughes’s uncle had done when he had called, which was in a donkey carriage pulled by a greyish-brown jenny named, by some imaginative soul, Jenny. Mr Baker owned horses and a full-sized coach for longer journeys, but the gig was his preferred mode for jaunting about Wyman’s Cove.

With her friend beside her, Miss Hughes deftly handled the reins, and together they presented a pretty picture, one worthy of being captured upon canvas.