Elizabeth did not speak to Mr. Darcy before he left. She did see him, or at least his coach, leave – by the time she joined Mr. and Mrs. Smithers on the front steps his coach was already proceeding down the drive. She did not see him looking back, if he even did at all, and so she did not wave good-bye. But she stood there watching him leave; stood there a long time, long after Mr. and Mrs. Smithers had gone inside; stood there a long time, long after he was out of sight; stood there a long time, long after all hope had died.
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Over the next month three more possible purchasers visited to view the estate. None of them stayed as long as Mr. Darcy had. Elizabeth met none of them. For her, life continued on, almost unvarying, the only variation being that Elizabeth looked forward to the delivery of the post each day. A week after Mr. Darcy had left, and after about two dozen drafts (she quite depleted the store of the estate's stationery she found in the library), Elizabeth had finally written to Jane and her Aunt Gardiner. So far, she had not received replies, and she was starting to worry that none would be forthcoming.
Then, just after Lady Day, with about a month left until Elizabeth collected the bonus for lasting a full year complete as companion to the Dowager Countess, and she could shake the dust of Quickentree Abbey from her feet, Mr. Smithers announced that one of the potential purchasers was bringing his wife, and his sisters, to view the estate. If this Mrs. Purchaser approved, it was likely the sale and purchase would be concluded by Midsummer Day. He indicated to Elizabeth that, in that case, the Dowager Countess and her retinue, meaning Elizabeth and the nurses, would be leaving for Yorkshire about the middle of June. Elizabeth received this last with equanimity, knowing that long before then she would be long gone, with her well-earned bonus in hand.
Elizabeth quickly eliminated Mr. Darcy as the prospective purchaser. He was not married. Was he? He would have said, wouldn't he? And if he was married – he wasn't, was he? – why would he bring his wife to view this possible purchase? They'd be living at Pemberley, or their house in town – he'd just be buying this estate as an investment, like the Earl of Jeltotford had, he wouldn't involve his wife in such decision, would he? That's if he was married, which he wasn't – was he? Elizabeth knew that if it were her Uncle Gardiner, he'd involve her Aunt Gardiner in the decision; on the other hand, if her father had ever made any investments (other than in books and port she snorted), he never involved her mother. She had a strong suspicion that Mr. Darcy was more like her uncle than her father. But he couldn't be married, could he?
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Given that a wife was coming to view the estate, and her sharp and critical eyes, not to mention those of her sisters, would spot motes her husband had not even suspected existed, a second army of cleaners, greater than the one that had cleaned the great house not two months before, descended on it and dusted and washed and waxed and polished until it could only shine brighter if it were gilded. Even the omnipresent odour of orange and jasmine was overwhelmed by the fresh and clean scent of lemon oil. And the cleaning continued to the moment the prospective purchasing couple arrived – the last cleaners left by the laundry door in back as the expected coach was pulling up to the doors in front.
Elizabeth had meant to be there, at the front doors, to greet the visitors but one thing delayed another and she was just minutes late. But by the time she got there, it was obvious that two men had accompanied the coach on horseback – they had already dismounted and were about to help the ladies exit the coaches. One of the men must have heard her arrive because he turned and looked at her.
It was Mr. Darcy.
He must be married. His wife was about to get out of the coach. Elizabeth almost lost control of her – she tightened her innards, took a deep breath, and turned away, thinking to slip back in the house and hide somewhere, anywhere. Maybe she wouldn't give her notice after she received the bonus, maybe the Earl would pay another, larger, bonus if she stayed on a second full year complete.
Elizabeth heard someone call her name. 'Lizzy'. She turned back.