Page 100 of The Mistress of All & Torn

Now, his concern was mostly for her sentiments, for her struggles, for her happiness. Regardless of his wishes, he had decided to offer her the liberty he believed she needed, for an entire year.

She watched him talking to his sister and his friends. He appeared at ease, resigned to his resolution.

And, as much as she had missed him, and thought of him and desired his return, she could not reject the wisdom of his words. Undoubtedly, her feelings for him were strong and genuine and she hoped he would always be part of her life. But the nature of those feelings and in what way she wished to be connected to him in the future was still unclear to her.

On that warm autumn day, on Oakham Mount, Elizabeth decided to respect his desire and not insist further. At least not until she knew her heart and her mind beyond any doubt, even if it took a week or an entire year.

She could only hope that, when they eventually resumed that conversation, there would be no misunderstandings and no uncertainties left between them.

Chapter 30

Elizabeth remained at Longbourn for ten more pleasant days, surrounded by her family and friends.

Mr. Bennet wrote Colonel Forster a warning regarding Wickham, at Elizabeth’s request. Darcy added a few words of his own, offering to provide more evidence of the man’s questionable behavior, if necessary.

Elizabeth’s bond with Miss Darcy strengthened, as well as Darcy’s connection with her family. Mr. Bennet and Darcy enjoyed each other’s company and benefited from it as much as possible.

Her relationship with Darcy slowly returned to the friendship they had enjoyed before their distressing conversation, with lengthy discussions regarding her plans for each estate. Such encounters occurred usually in the Longbourn library, with Mr. Bennet and Cece assisting.

Dinners were mostly hosted at Longbourn, for Mr. Bennet’s comfort. He had regained most of his past strength but his recovery was not complete yet. Days were spent walking, in conversation and making plans for the future. Evenings were filled with tasty dishes and the exquisite sound of the pianoforte and the nights allowed Elizabeth more and more sleep.

Her sleep became more and more filled with dreams of Darcy; some of them were so...peculiar, that she barely dared to remember them the next morning and they made her blush when she had to face him.

To her astonishment, more than once she found herself staring at him, at his small gestures, his smiles, his figure—and those observations returned to invade her dreams. She remembered how he used to stare at her when they first met and how wrongly she had judged his interest. They were in Hertfordshire again, in completely different circumstances, so changed in behaviour, yet very much the same in essence.

Among her usual correspondence from the Sedgewick properties, a letter signed by Mr. Reeves, Mr. Thorn and Mr. Hoskins urged Lady Barrington to return to London.

The gentlemen informed her that recent events had made a meeting with her mother-in-law, Lady Augusta, and her solicitor, Mr. Wood, urgent and imperative.

She replied, requesting a meeting with all interested parties at her townhouse, in two days time, at noon.

∞∞∞

Elizabeth’s return—together with Cece, Jane and Bingley—was welcomed with many smiles from the servants gathered in the main hall to greet her.

She was happy to see Sarah in good health and invited the newest maid to a meeting even before dinner. She was a young girl, of around Sarah’s age, with brown hair and brown eyes, who stood in front of the mistress shyly, waiting for her fate to be decided.

“My dear, please sit.”

“Oh no, Lady Barrington, thank you!”

“As you wish. Is your daughter well, I hope?”

“Oh yes, ma’am, very well. Thank you.”

“How old is she?”

“She is not eight months yet.”

“How lovely. What is your name?”

“Peggy Barnes.”

“And your daughter’s?”

“My daughter? Oh...Lucy Barnes, ma’am.”

“Very well, Peggy. I understand Jacob is your cousin. May I ask, how long did you work in the Barrington’s household?”