Page 57 of Affectations of Candour

“Please do not make it a habit to use my own words against me, Mr Darcy. But, yes, for her sake, I shall paint. But only if we make it a joint effort.”

To Elizabeth’s surprise, he agreed, and, to her further surprise, Miss Darcy, Miss Hughes, and Miss Althea were not at their tables as they had been just minutes prior. Their three paintings remained drying in place, held down by weights.

“Most likely they are inside enjoying refreshments.” Mr Darcy looked round. “Would you rather we take your paraphernalia to the garden, away from prying eyes?”

“Prying eyes? There is no one else about. And all we intend to do is paint, unless you have an ulterior motive for making such a suggestion.”

“Me? I was not the one who stole a kiss.”

Disregarding that reminder of her earlier audaciousness, Elizabeth contemplated the house, picturing in her mind where Miss Wright’s bedchamber was located. She is probably up there somewhere, harassing the maid trying to pack all those costly silk gowns of hers into a trunk. “Do the guest rooms not overlook the garden?”

“Yes.” He seemed disappointed. “I thought the laurels, yews, sweetbriar roses, and lavender might have created a romantic background for your watercolour. But perhaps it would be best if we remain here.”

“Good thinking, sir.” She smiled to herself as Mr Darcy fetched his sister’s stool and placed it close beside her own. His shoulder pressed against hers when they sat. “You begin.”

He removed his gloves, dipped a squirrel brush into the pot of water, and washed the top third of the paper with light blue paint for the sky. Blue and green were mixed for the Bristol Channel, which filled the middle. The bottom was painted grass green.

Once the entire paper had dried, Mr Darcy exchanged the broad brush for a finer sable one and depicted a perfect rainbow with a pink setting sun beneath it, touching the horizon and casting a rosy glow across the water.

Elizabeth beamed at him. “That is what I would call a stroke of genius.”

“While not true to life, it is colourful.” He dipped the sable bristles into water. “Now, your turn to finally paint something.”

Their fingers lingered as Elizabeth took the brush from him. Above the arc, she added two ‘m’ shapes soaring together. “You cannot tell by looking at them, but they are a couple of very happy birds.”

“And what a stroke of luck that they found their way to one another.” Mr Darcy smiled into her eyes. “Now that they have done so, they should discuss a wedding.”

Elizabeth reminded him that the male had yet to ask the female a certain question.

“A mere formality, Miss Bennet.” He set little weights on the corners of their creation. “However, when I spoke of a short engagement, the truth of the matter is that I must be at Pemberley early in September. But I will not go there without you. Which presents a dilemma, for I must speak to your father.”

Elizabeth told him she was twenty-one. He asked what she was suggesting, and she said she hardly knew.

“You will want to marry from Longbourn, yes?”

“We both have resided in Wyman’s Cove for a longer duration than is required for a common licence, and it matters little where we are wed. What greatly matters to me is that my family be present. I wish there existed some magic method of instantly sending and receiving messages between here and Longbourn. And while I am imagining such incredible wonders, would it not be convenient if travel between Hertfordshire and Somerset took only three or four hours?”

“The latter may be nigh, thanks to James Watt and others before him. Steam engines are the way of the future. But,” he whispered, leaning closer, “I would rather speak of our future.”

They both jumped as Miss Darcy spoke. “Brother, Mrs Carter would like a word with us both. And the Wrights are preparing for departure. Miss Bennet, would you also like to come and wish them a safe journey? Be forewarned that the lamentations presently resounding within Strandsmere’s halls may be somewhat disturbing. Speaking of which,” she added with a grin, “did I just interrupt something?”

Upon entering the vestibule, Mr Darcy asked whether she would be at ease until he returned from speaking with the housekeeper. He twitched his head towards the sitting room from whence the volubility of the Wrights, united in their indignation, had reached a state of extreme agitation. Elizabeth nodded her acquiescence, all the while wanting nothing more than to cover her ears until the coach waiting in the drive carried the whole lot of them away. They were hardly even listening to one another.

“If word of our difficulties spreads, our importance and our respectability in the world will be affected.”

“By Jove! Is that a worry line between my eyebrows?”

“Whatever shall we do if those people at Barleybrae do not vacate our home before we arrive?”

“…and he, all male pride and stupidity, and half out of his senses from having two women fawning over him, had better not dare speak to me or I shall scream.”

“Hush! Will you all please shut your mouths before either of the Darcys hear you. I do not want them to be angry with me.”

“We shall have to evict those people from Barleybrae on the spot! Then they, not us, can be the ones looking for a place to live.”

“…and could that Bennet chit not have confined herself to the sort of honest flirtation that satisfies most people? Instead she aspired to the more delicious gratification of making me miserable.”

“What a sad state all of you are in! Think of me! I need to go into hiding somewhere. Come, let us go immediately!”