Chapter Twenty Six
Once the letter to Edmund was written and sent express to Blake's London home address, Darcy could no longer sit still. He collected another pastry from the trays and placed it in his pocket. A trait he had developed since he was a child when he would ride out early with his father and munch on whatever delicacies the Pemberley cooks had prepared, for they were fond of their young ward and would relish in treating him when they could.
He donned his overcoat and asked a footman to have Zelus ready for him to ride. He looked forward to exploring the countryside that he had had a glimpse of the previous day and also to try and clear his head. He was worried about Edmund but realised there was no reason to fret until he had more facts than the pieces of information from the gossip rags. He also felt that the ride might help quell the nervous anticipation he was feeling at the days meeting with the Bennet family. He had no idea what he would expect. He hoped that they were similar to Elizabeth and that he would be put at ease, somehow after the performance at dinner the night before he did not think that Bingley and Richard would be particularly helpful in his endeavour to remain composed that afternoon. Striding into the stables and seeing that Zelus was ready, Darcy hoisted himself into the seat and set off at a steady pace to the hill he could see in the distance.
Elizabeth, as was her want was already up and ready before the rest of her family had stirred from their slumber. She quietly dressed and made her way down to the kitchen where a muffin was wrapped in a cloth ready for her customary morning excursion to Oakham Mount.
Whilst ambling along the familiar path she mused at the new addition to the neighbourhood. It was just as she expected, Jane and Mr Bingley had instantly been drawn to each other and to her, it was plain to see by any common observer that they were very much on their way to falling in love with each other. She sighed wistfully. She was undeniably pleased for her most beloved sister, from a young age they had always vowed to only marry for the deepest of love, and Elizabeth was glad that Jane had the potential to do so with such an amiable and well positioned man. It was at this point that the unbidden image of Mr Darcy came into her mind. She rapidly shook her head-that was enough of such nonsense. There was no reason for her thoughts to betray her like that, especially after the way he had treated her the last weeks of her stay in London, aloof and wary instead of the warm and gentle man she had caught glimpses of in the middle of their acquaintance. And in your tete-a-tete during the Matlock's ball, well at least for a while. Lizzy had managed to almost push all thought of the ball and Mr Darcy's strange behaviour from her memory, she had busied herself since being back home, with her family and chores and would command her thoughts to turn elsewhere should they start to wander into dangerous territory. There was no hope in that department, they were barely friends, just the brother of her dear, new friend, there was no plausible reason why she should be (not) thinking of him so often.
Annoyed at her thoughts almost turning into the familiar direction again Lizzy set about amusing herself with speculation as to what the new arrivals to the village would be like. When Mr Bingley had dined with them he had stated that he was excited for his best friend, his sister and their cousin to be joining him in a matter of days.
Hopefully they would be a diversion. Her patience with Mr Collins was wearing dangerously thin. She could not understand how Mary could stand his presence for more than half an hour at a time. She checked herself for her unkind remarks. True enough he was harmless and Mary seemed quite happy in his company. Lizzy put this down to their different dreams and expectations when it came to matrimony. She also imagined if they were wed Mary would be able to use some of her sensibilities to lesson his more…effusive characteristics.
She had just arrived at Oakham mount when she noticed that a horse was already stationed there. A very fine specimen from her amateur opinion but it nevertheless put her on guard. Horses were not a favourite of hers- especially such a substantial beast as that!
As she edged closer to the animal she saw the back if its rider sat on the ground, his greatcoat underneath him looking out at the distance. Something seemed familiar about the profile but she dismissed the thought.
Not wanting to disturb the stranger who was obviously deep in contemplation, she started to back away planning to take her break slightly down the road in another secluded area.
It seemed as though the world had other ideas though, as she stepped back the sound of a twig breaking reverberated throughout the small enclosure, instantly showing her the familiar yet shocked face of Fitzwilliam Darcy.
They both started then stilled, staring at each other in complete surprise. Elizabeth was beyond confused, what on earth was he doing in Hertfordshire and Oakham Mount of all places? Gathering her wits she stepped forward and smiled brightly, dismissing the slight dizziness that had started as soon as she realised who was near.
"Why Mr Darcy, what an unexpected turn of events?!"
Darcy who was still in a state of surprise could not believe his luck. He and Zelus and come across this little grove quite by accident and he could not but stop when he saw the view. He was just mediating on a certain pair of fine eyes when he heard the sound that brought the object of his thoughts before him.
Realising he was, in fact, still sitting on the floor when she addressed him he hurriedly scrambled up and donned his coat once more. He would later fervently deny that he in any way resembled a lovesick school boy in his haste to be before the lady of his affections.
Once he had righted himself and moved towards Elizabeth he was hit with the full force of her attractiveness. Her smile almost blinded him into a stupor and he nearly forgot that she was expecting a reply. Luckily her arched eyebrow and amused smile quickly righted his thoughts back on task, once he had finished admiring the glow of her countenance from her walk, of course.
"Miss Elizabeth, I must confess that although I am pleasantly surprised to come across you this morning, I am not altogether unprepared for such an eventuality."
This cryptic answer did nothing to assuage Elizabeth's curiosity and Darcy saw her face scrunch into an adorable state of confusion before it cleared with a satisfied expression.
"Ah, I now know why the name Bingley sounded so familiar. You must be the guests that he was telling my family about the other day."
Darcy bowed his head in acquiescence as Elizabeth followed through with her thoughts.
"Oh! That also means that Georgiana is also here? And I presume it is Colonel Fitzwilliam that is accompanying you?"
Seeing her heartfelt pleasure at the knowledge of his sister's presence could only endear her more to him- he gallantly tried to quell the petulant jealousy that he felt as Elizabeth was evidently more excited to see his sister than himself, so he instead gave her a boyish grin.
"Indeed Miss Elizabeth, I have had an exuberant sister for the past few days, barely able to contain her excitement at seeing you again." He said this whilst looking at her in such a way that she could not help but blush.
"Georgiana is such a sweet girl; I am glad that we are friends."
"As am I. You can not imagine the difference I have seen in her since your acquaintance began. She is practically back to the lively young girl that she was in her youth."
Elizabeth's curiosity was aroused by such a statement and she wondered what had happened to Georgie for there to be such a dramatic difference in her. Darcy, who had seen and heard the closeness between the two, assumed that his sister had already told Elizabeth of the Wickham affair and thought nothing of his slip.
There was a not quite comfortable silence as the pair stood awkwardly looking anywhere but each other now that they had exhausted their mutual talk regarding Georgiana. Both were too self-conscious of the other not knowing quite how to tackle the silence.
Fortunately Zelus took this opportunity to remind Darcy and Elizabeth of his presence and he gently whinnied to garner his master's attention.
"It seems my horse does not want to be ignored Miss Elizabeth. Please allow me to introduce Zelus, a most faithful companion of mine"
Elizabeth smiled at the relaxed Darcy before her and dropped into her most elegant curtsey but made no move to come closer.
"A pleasure Sir. I am glad to see you are so dedicated to your master."
Darcy could not hide the beam that erupted on his face as Lizzy said the words and drew Zelus closer.
"I should have known that you would be knowledgeable on the subject of Greek mythology Miss Elizabeth. He is indeed a most dedicated steed and also lives up to his namesake by getting quite put out if he has to share my attention with someone else, even someone as pretty as you."
The words easily slipped through his mouth before he registered saying them and the air was once more filled with tension. Darcy turned a shade of red that was only rivalled by the blush that now adorned Elizabeth's cheeks.
This is just ridiculous Darcy thought as silence once more descended upon them. How are you ever to get her to marry you if you turn mute whenever you unintentionally show her your preference for her?
Zelus once more decided to interrupt the awkward pair my moving forward and attempting to nuzzle Darcy's face. Lizzy was startled by the sudden
movement of the animal and backed away a little. Darcy, who had seen her slightly nervous glance tried to put her at ease using her usual tactics. He smirked and a playful light entered his eyes.
"Why Miss Elizabeth, I do believe I have finally found a weakness of yours. Surely you are not afraid of little Zelus here?"
Lizzy mock harrumphed and tartly replied,
"That Sir, is anything but little. I can admire him from a distance thank you very much."
Adopting a more gentle expression, Darcy smiled and slowly led his horse towards Elizabeth.
"You have nothing to fear. He may be a giant but he would not harm a fly. Come, he just wants to say hello." And observe the competition Darcy thought wryly. He fondly patted his neck and hoped that he would be able to coax Elizabeth towards him. He was soon triumphant as Lizzy squared her shoulders and moved her hand slowly towards the patient steed. Carefully stroking Zelus's mane she turned to Darcy with an impish grin.
"You see Mr Darcy, every attempt to intimidate me, makes me stronger. I will not be cowered by you or your horse."
"I expected no less Miss Elizabeth."
Lizzy let out an unladylike "Hmphh" she could not explain it but she was irrationally annoyed at the smug look that adorned Mr Darcy's face when she caved to his beseeching. She decided it was best to leave before her emotions became more unstable. She refused to fathom why the man in front of her had the ability to throw her whole countenance off within a span of ten minutes! Insufferable man! She had to make a hasty exist otherwise she might say something she would regret. She had many retorts about his changing attitudes towards her and she did not want to upset her friend's brother the morning after their arrival in the county. Collecting her thoughts she made a curtsey to the gentleman, a wary look at his mount and a flimsy excuse about her family waiting to break fast with her and was gone.
Darcy stood in the same spot for a minute after her departure wondering what on earth had gone wrong. He hung is head and kicked a nearby pebble that was before him. He thought they were getting on well until Elizabeth's expression plummeted. He had no idea what he had said wrong. It seemed as though his quest to secure the second Bennet's hand was going to be even tougher than what he had imagined.
Hello you lovely people! Thank you so much for the response from last chapter, I'm so relieved and grateful that so many of you have stuck around or just began An Unpopular Notion! I managed to write half this chapter in my breaks during work and I'm finishing writing it now instead of watching 'Parades End' so you better appreciate it! :-p Joking aside, I really am pleased that so many of you are enjoying the story so far and love to hear your views on the progress of AUN!
Amy