Page 85 of The Long Road Back to Yesterday

Mrs. Radcliff laughed. “I did, my girl. Elizabeth, it is nearly ten o’clock. Run upstairs, my dear, and wash your face and hands. Ask Anna to arrange your hair. You must look elegant when that fine man makes his visit. You know he never has a hair out of place and always appears to perfection, as does his sister. He must be assured his wife will uphold the family name and appearances.”

Elizabeth kept her expression placid, though inwardly she cringed. She could never marry Mr. Darcy, for she had come to love him too well to bring him low.

She excused herself and hurried upstairs to do as she was bid, but the Radcliffs found her chastened and subdued when the siblings appeared.

Mr. Radcliff joined them in the drawing room when the Darcys were announced, and the two men fell into conversation over Mr. Radcliff’s sheep. Elizabeth became interested in the subject.

“Darcy, two of my ewes have died, and several others have sickened. They have not gained weight, and their bellies are distended.”

Darcy listened before asking, “Have the animals grazed upon low-lying, poorly drained ground?”

Mr. Radcliff considered the question. “I do not believe so, but I shall ask the husbandman. Perhaps the fences need repair.”

“If the land is wet and infested with pennygrass, perhaps that is the cause.”

Mrs. Radcliff asked, “Elizabeth, have you any brothers?”

“No, ma’am. When my father died, the estate passed to a distant cousin. We never met, for he died a few months before my father from an unknown illness.”

“And your mother?”

“We are orphaned, Mrs. Radcliff.”

Elizabeth sought some means of changing the subject, for she did not wish to admit before the Darcys that her father had met a violent end.

“I have three sisters, ma’am. My eldest is Jane, who has lately turned two and twenty, and my two younger sisters are seventeen and nineteen. Sadly, we are orphaned, but we have family who have come to our aid and whom we love dearly.”

The tea tray arrived, and relief swept through Elizabeth. Once they had taken their tea and pudding, she and Georgiana could retire to her corner, beyond the reach of Mrs. Radcliff’s questions.

Had Aunt Maddie told her nothing? How much should she divulge if her hostess continued to pry?

The pudding proved a success. Mr. Darcy ate his portion, and Elizabeth suppressed her amusement when he scraped the bowl clean. Mrs. Radcliff must have observed it, for she offered him another serving. Elizabeth wondered if he would consider himself too elegant to accept, but he did not. He accepted the second helping with evident pleasure and heartfelt thanks.

When Mr. Darcy finished his pudding, Mr. Radcliff rose. “My dear, I am certain Elizabeth longs to return to her books. Let us repair to the library for half an hour so they may settle to their work.”

Elizabeth detected Mrs. Radcliff’s reluctance to leave, but her husband took her by the elbow and escorted her from the room.

Until then, Elizabeth had liked the woman very much, but Mrs. Radcliff now appeared to regard matchmaking as a duty not to be neglected, and Elizabeth feared both she and Mr. Darcy might suffer for it.

The two young women settled down to read while Mr. Darcy examined each of Elizabeth’s books. They had occupied themselves for about half an hour when Georgiana looked to Elizabeth.

“Lizzy, I am feeling sick to my stomach.”

Elizabeth rose. “Do you think you can make it to my bedchamber?”

“No.”

Elizabeth picked up the wooden box she used as a wastebasket and handed it to her. “Here, hold this. We shall use the servants’ stair.”

Mr. Darcy also rose, concern wrinkling his brow.

“We shall be back presently, sir.”

They hurried from the room. Georgiana was sick twice while ascending the stairs. Moisture gathered upon her brow, and she rested against the wall until the nausea passed.

She straightened. “Lizzy, I am much better. But look at this mess.”

Elizabeth took the box from her. “Never mind, dear. Let us go first to the water closet and then to my room so you may freshen up.”