A/N
A long chapter 16.. hope it makes up for the delay and all those of you who were disappointed by the lack of 'sweet' ODC time.. hope I have addressed your complaints a little :)
I seem to have confused a whole lot of you with my warning about removal of the story – so first and foremost I have no plans to dump the story and no plans to move it elsewhere except KU :). I will be posting the full story here.
So, I was getting a little bogged down. Things were getting delayed, and I was confused whether I am doing the right thing by writing the story the way I had envisaged… so to push myself I put my story for a preorder on KU. End result - I have to finish the story by first week of Oct and remove from here…That's why the early warning.. When last time I removed the Gift, I got quite a few complaints from people who were left hanging in the middle.
Now there are only two (three if I manage to come up with an epilogue) are left. I will post them together, maybe end of this month or first week of Oct…
To Reader Lisa - A heartfelt thank you! Will be waiting for your suggestions
As always, Thank you all for your engagement with my story. I truly appreciate hearing from you guys. Take Care
N
A Chance EncounterCopyright © 2021 by S. Neha
All rights reserved.
Chapter 16The Green Room that Mr Darcy had arranged to be allocated for her use was one of the most comfortable and beautiful room in which Elizabeth had ever stayed. The cream and moss green colour scheme was at once rich to the eyes and soothing to the senses, and the serene view of the impressive garden below engendered a sense of tranquillity. For the past two days, whenever she had woken up, and in whatever temper, a quarter of an hour spent on the settee by the window had not failed to uplift her spirits. Unfortunately, this morning Elizabeth was unable to achieve her usual contentment. A part of the reason was the difficult letter she had written to Charlotte last night – hiding more than revealing. While she had informed her friend about the accident and her stay at Darcy House necessitated by Mr Gardiner's absence, she had completely glossed over their sojourn in Bassingtonstoke. It had left her vaguely dissatisfied. However, the main reason for her melancholy was one that she was very unsuccessfully trying not to acknowledge. It was the awareness that quite soon she would be leaving Darcy House. Maybe as early as tomorrow evening when her Uncle was expected back home. The very thought that she might never meet Mr Darcy again was unbearably painful. 'But I will meet him again. He will never rest until Millie is satisfactorily settled and will be visiting Gracechurch Street at least a few times before then,' she thought. 'But what happens once Millie's future is decided?' The morose thoughts were not ready to subside. "If… if Jane and Mr Bingley are able to successfully settle matters between them, then I will be meeting him occasionally.' Unfortunately, this thought, instead of bringing any relief made her want to weep. She hurriedly pressed her palms to her eyes to stop giving into such pathetic behaviour.
"God, Lizzy! Will you quit moping around in this revolting manner?" It seemed that Miss Pesky had enough of being silent! "You rejected him most emphatically and insultingly just a se'nnight ago. What man would want to renew his proposal after such a miserable experience? Take my advice and please stop hoping for a renewal of his addresses. If I know anything of men it is not going to happen anytime soon."
'But he was so kind and forgiving yesterday,' Elizabeth whispered to herself.
"He is a kind man - as you are so fond of repeating, but since when does being kind also makes one yearn for reliving misery?"
Elizabeth felt too heartsore to continue arguing with her rude inner voice, which so enjoyed bringing to fore all her hidden fears and doubts! Thankfully there was soon a welcome diversion in the form of Millie, who came bearing something which she held behind her back mysteriously. She was accompanied by a smiling Sarah. "Ah it seems I am to get another lovely flower to brighten my day," Elizabeth thought and smiled tenderly.
"Come in sweetheart," she beckoned to Millie. "Please leave her with me, Sarah. I will call if I need you." The maid left with a nod and a curtsey.
"So, what has Millie brought for me? Shall I make a guess?" Elizabeth asked as the child came to stand next to her.
"Yes! " Mille nodded enthusiastically.
"Is it dolly?"
Millie smiled. "No."
"Hmm… a pink dress?" The child shook her head and grinned again.
"Oh, now I know, it's Ginger!" Elizabeth leaned forward excitedly. Millie squealed, "Noo..." then burst out giggling.
"Well then, I am at a loss, sweetheart. You will have to tell what it is that you have brought me?"
Millie immediately whipped out the flower she had been holding behind her back so patiently. It was the beautiful bud of a red rose that had just begun to unfurl. Elizabeth gasped in delight and took it from the excited child.
"Oh, it is so pretty, my dear. Thank you so much," she said as she bent down to bestow a kiss on Millie's forehead. "This time Millie has given the red flower to Beth," she added teasingly.
"Yes, coz' Dawcy take yellow one. He said, red be…comes you." The child struggled with the unfamiliar words. And just like that the Green Room regained its usual serenity and Elizabeth her missing contentment! Unfortunately, not for long.
"You wait here, sweetheart, I'll be back in a moment," Elizabeth got up to take out a small box of sweetmeats that she kept in her valise. She wanted to offer some to Millie as a small gesture of gratitude for the child's gentle affection and for brightening Elizabeth's day with her artlessly revealing talk. Elizabeth carried the valise back to the settee and sat down once again. She opened the valise and absentmindedly took out the book kept at the top and placed it on the settee. She had just put her hand back inside the valise to rummage for the box of sweetmeats when an excited cry from Millie distracted her.
"Gran-ma!" The child cried as she picked up her grandmother's bible that Elizabeth had put down on the settee. 'Oh, Lord, I hope Millie will not start asking for…' Even before Elizabeth could complete the thought, Millie asked, "Where is Gran-ma?"
Elizabeth swallowed hard and said, "Umm… your grandmother is staying with a friend, Millie." She decided to maintain the narrative that Mrs Webster had suggested.
"Bring Gran-ma here."
"Your Gran-ma is not well, child. She would not be able to travel for such a long distance at present," Elizabeth hedged, not knowing what else to do.
"Take Millie there," the child urged and to Elizabeth's horror, her lips started to tremble, eyes glittering with unshed tears.
"The place is very far off, my dear. How will we go there?"
"With Dawcy," Millie replied simply.
"Very well, we all will go in a few days," Elizabeth promised a little desperately.
"No! Na ow! Millie wants her Gran-ma na-ow." And with a wail the child burst into tears. Elizabeth tried her best to distract the little girl. Unfortunately, none of the enticements - from sweetmeat, to toys, to a game of hide and seek were any good. Millie continued to sob pitifully, asking for her grandmother. After a while feeling concerned for the child's health, Elizabeth decided to take her to Mr Darcy. She felt like a failure, seeking Mr Darcy's help to manage a distraught little girl, but Millie had left her no choice.
"All right, let us go and find Mr Darcy and see what he says, shall we?" When the weeping child nodded wordlessly, Elizabeth picked her up and made her way towards the door.
~~~§~~~
When she reached downstairs, she asked the footman in the hall for Mr Darcy and was told that he and Miss Darcy were in the morning room.
Darcy and Georgiana got up from their seats in consternation as Elizabeth entered the morning room with a quietly sobbing Millie.
"What has happened, Elizabeth? Why is Millie crying?" a concerned Georgiana asked, as both siblings swiftly made their way towards Elizabeth.
Elizabeth offered an unhappy glance tinged with guilt for precipitating this situation with her carelessness. "I… Millie wants to be taken to Mrs Dawson. She saw her grandmother's bible and…" Elizabeth broke off, glancing uneasily down at the child in her arms and mouthed, "I am sorry," to her audience.
"There is no need for an apology, E.. Miss Bennet. This was inevitable. If not today, then a few days later," Darcy said quietly, then addressed Millie. "Come here, poppet." And took the child in his arms.
"I… I told Millie that her grandmother is still not well, and she is staying at a place very far from here, but…" Elizabeth hurried to let Darcy know what she had told Millie.
"Hmm… so, Millie knows that her grandmother is not well, does she?" Darcy glanced at Millie enquiringly.
The child nodded unhappily. "Then shall we not first send a message to your grandmother and let her know we want to visit her. What will we do if we reach there and find she is resting? Millie would not want to disturb her Gran-ma, would she?"
Millie shook her head, hesitantly. It was apparent that the child was not happy with the situation and was agreeing to Darcy's suggestion reluctantly. It pained him to put emotional pressure on the small child in addition to concealing the truth, but he really did not know how to handle the situation otherwise. It was getting more and more apparent that they needed to disclose the fact of her grandmother's passing with Millie. However, they could not do so now when the child was already distressed and her future so uncertain.
"Send message now," Millie's voice brought him back from his reverie.
"Very well, sweetheart. I will do so immediately." Darcy perjured his soul with a heavy heart, and with a nod Millie rested her head on his shoulder.
Despite his assurance the child continued to sob intermittently. Darcy sighed, trying to come up with a way to soothe Millie, to bring back the smile on her face. "Would you like to go for a picnic, poppet?" he finally asked.
"Millie raised her head to look at him and for a moment Darcy believed that she was going to refuse, instead the child asked, "Can I take Ginga?"
Darcy had never travelled in a carriage with an animal inside it. Moreover, he was not sure how the kitten would behave cooped up inside a carriage, but as he looked at the hopeful expression on Millie's face he knew he would agree, even if he had to travel the whole distance with a kitten on his lap. This was one wish of the child he could grant, and he did.
"Very well, poppet, you can take Ginger with you," he conceded and was rewarded by a smile. Granted it was a shadow of the child's usual sunny one, but it was a start.
"I will ask Sarah to dress Millie up for the picnic, shall I?" When the child nodded, Darcy immediately sent for the maid.
After Millie left the room with Sarah, all the three adults in the room collectively took a relieved breath. "I must say that you handled an extremely fraught situation rather skilfully, brother. Millie minds you so well that it is difficult to believe that it is not even three full days since you met her," Georgiana said admiringly. At that Darcy and Elizabeth exchanged a quick guilty glance then Darcy cleared his throat. "Yes… well, somehow I have felt a strange bond with Millie from the moment I picked her up from that carriage, mayhap Millie also experiences the same," he said, and Georgiana nodded understandingly.
For a while, there was an uneasy silence in the room as its occupants pondered over the unfortunate events that had brought things to such a pass for them all, but especially for poor Millie. The silence was broken by Darcy as he addressed the room at large, "Although, I have promised a picnic to Millie, I really am not sure where to take her for it. I do not want to visit any place that is teeming with strange people. The little one is already disturbed enough, " he said. While this was one reason he could openly state for not wanting to visit crowded public places, another unstated one was his reluctance to give rise to gossip that would almost certainly raise its head if he was seen publicly accompanying an unknown young woman along with a child to boot.
"I know just the place, Fitzwilliam!" Georgiana said excitedly.
When Darcy looked at her enquiringly she replied with a pleased smile, "We can go to Cranfield Park." Cranfield Park was home to Sebastian Fitzwilliam, Viscount Raymore, the eldest son of Lord Matlock. It was an impressive manor estate located in Surrey, nearly ten miles south of the Darcy house. While it was an inspired choice for a picnic outing, as far as Darcy knew, Sebastian and his wife, Emily were not in Surrey at present. "Umm… I thought Sebastian was planning to go back to Derbyshire for Emily's confinement?"
"Yes, he and Emily did go back, the week before last. I went to visit them just before they left as I wanted to paint the Crepe Myrtle next to Sebastian's study. I had assumed it would be in full bloom, unfortunately quite a lot of green was still visible, and I was unable to get the effect I wanted. Sebastian suggested me to come again after sometime and promised to leave instructions with Matten. So even if Sebastian is not there, Matten would be expecting us."
"Excellent, let us go to Cranfield then. Hopefully Millie would enjoy its wide, beautiful gardens and you would get that tree in exactly the state you want for your sketch," Darcy said in a relieved voice. "Would you be ready to leave in half an hour?" Although he asked Georgiana, his eyes strayed to Elizabeth.
Before Elizabeth could nod in response, Georgiana chirped in with, "Make it an hour, brother, and you will find us ready and at the front door!"
Darcy assumed an expression of long suffering and protested, "I really do not understand why you need so much time to get ready for a small outing to your cousin's home where there would be no one else but family. But I already know from experience that asking you to hurry up is not going to do me any good."
For Elizabeth it was a bittersweet moment to be ever so carelessly included in his family by Mr Darcy. Although she knew it was only a figure of speech and not some hidden message, her poor heart refused to understand that and managed to perform the almost impossible feat of jumping up to her throat. Afraid that her longing would be clearly visible on her face, she hurriedly turned her head to look out of the window, just as Georgiana laughingly replied to her brother's complaint, "I believe one day you would thank me for already preparing you for what is going to be a regular occurrence in your life once you marry - patiently wait for the females in your family to get ready for outings."
Even as Darcy felt surprised at the uncharacteristically bold nature of his sister's teasing, he could not help stealing a glance at Elizabeth at the sudden mention of his marriage. He found her gazing out of the window with a most becoming blush on her face and indulged in some intense gazing of his own. Georgiana observed the stolen glance and the pleasing blush on Elizabeth's face with satisfaction. Things seemed to be progressing well!
~~~§~~~
The journey to Cranfield was accomplished in an uneventful manner. Much to Darcy's relief, Ginger had deigned to travel very peacefully in a basket prepared for him by Mrs Higgins. Millie, though still not back to her usual lively self, had also rallied to a large extent. She spent much of the journey peering interestedly out of the window as was her wont during a carriage ride.
Cranfield was a beautiful estate. Though the manor house itself was not especially large, the well-manicured gardens surrounding it were very impressive as were the outer foliage that seemed to have been maintained in a fashion to give an appearance of being in a completely natural state. Elizabeth looked around with interest as Mr Darcy helped her out of the carriage. 'A walk around the paths through these groves would be very invigorating. I hope I get some time to…'
Darcy leaned towards her and promptly answered her unfinished thoughts. "Do not worry Elizabeth, we will go for a long refreshing walk as soon as we have had something to eat," Elizabeth glanced at him, "Er… how did you know?" she asked in surprise and got a playful smile in response. "You should have seen your face when you were climbing down from the carriage." She flushed at this evidence of his uncanny ability to read her thoughts, but replied with tolerable composure, "I would like that very much."
As they reached the front door they heard the Fitzwilliams' butler, Matten, welcoming Georgiana with a pleased smile. "You have come at a very propitious time miss, that tree of yours is now a riot of colour. I am sure you will be able to finish your painting this time," he said and his smiled widened as Georgiana hurried inside. He then ushered the reset of their party inside. If he was at all curious about an unknown young lady and a child accompanying the Darcy siblings he was too well trained to let it show on his face.
In her eagerness to pick up on her sketch at the earliest, Georgiana proposed that they have the picnic in the garden with the Myrtle crepe and everyone else was happy to go along with her suggestion. By the time they had all had refreshed themselves, Matten had swiftly arranged for some garden chairs and rugs in the particular garden. He had also placed Georgiana's easel and other painting paraphernalia as per her directions. The sumptuous repast they had brought along from Darcy House was spread on a table nearby along with some select offerings from Cranfield - such as the freshly picked strawberries from its gardens and the exotic oranges from its hothouse. As they all stepped out, Elizabeth glanced around curiously. She found the garden to be pretty enough, but there was nothing truly noteworthy there. She had just started to wonder at Georgiana's interest in it when her gaze fell on a tree or rather a large shrub standing proudly a little distance away, and she gasped involuntarily. It appeared as if the shrub was on fire. The whole of its upper part was awash with large clumps of exotic, bright red flowers and there were so many of them that one could make out the leaves hidden behind them only if one was specifically looking for them. "Ah… now I understand…" Elizabeth murmured almost to herself but Darcy standing next to her understood. "Yes… magnificent, isn't it?" he asked, just as Georgiana called out to them to hurry up.
They all enjoyed a leisurely meal, except for Georgiana, who rushed through hers to go and sit at her easel. The eager painter also had a very interested young audience - an extremely fascinated Millie who stared open-mouthed as the fiery images started taking shape on the canvas.
A suitable interval after the meal got over, Darcy asked Elizabeth, "Would you like a tour around the estate now, Miss Bennet?"
Elizabeth smiled. "If you had waited another few moments to ask, I was on the verge of inviting you for the tour, sir," she replied impishly as she got up from the rug and smoothened her dress.
Darcy gave an appreciative chuckle, then asked Mrs Annesley, "Mrs Annesley, we are going for a walk around the estate, would you like to accompany us?"
"I have been meaning to read this book of poems for quite some time, Mr Darcy. I would much rather sit under a tree and enjoy it," Mrs Annesley replied as she pointed to a slim volume in her hand.
"I cannot really fault your choice, ma'am. Please enjoy your book. " Darcy smiled at her as he went to Millie.
"Come, poppet, we will go visit a beautiful pool," he called out to the child.
"Millie and Ginga sit with Miss Dawcy."
Darcy's brow rose at the child's firm tones. He opened his mouth to cajole her when Georgiana interrupted him, "Let her be, brother," she said.
"Are you sure?" Darcy asked doubtfully "You usually do not like distractions while you are painting."
"I will mind her, Mr Darcy, you and Miss Bennet go for your walk with an easy mind," Mrs Annesley assured him in Georgiana's stead.
"Thank you, Mrs Annesley," Darcy bowed to her, then he and Elizabeth made their way out of the garden towards the back of the house.
Had he chosen to look back at that moment he would have been very shocked to see the very dignified and proper Mrs Annesley share a mischievous, conspiratorial smile with his sister.
~~~§~~~
As they came out of the house, Elizabeth paused for a moment and Darcy stopped beside her with his brow raised questioningly. She smiled at him in response and slowly twirled around on the spot where she stood - taking in every little detail of her surroundings. "This place is beautiful, the exceptional manner in which the house and its surroundings blend, gives the onlooker an impression of complete harmony and peace," she murmured softly.
"There is no doubt Cranfield is very pretty and I do not want to take anything away from Sebastian's beautifully maintained estate but just wait till you see Pemberley. I cannot begin to imagine your pleasure as you see for the first time our lake and the dense groves behind it," Darcy replied with a quick smile of anticipation.
There it was once again, the almost careless affirmation that she was more than a casual acquaintance, that her company was sought after and looked forward to. And her foolish heart performed another flip leaving her breathless like earlier. For a moment she found it difficult to speak. She wanted to express her keen desire to visit the home for which his love was so very apparent. However, she did not know how to do that without appearing to be angling for an invitation. After a while, she murmured noncommittally, "I will take your word for it, Alex."
Feeling upset with this strange neediness that appeared to have gripped her ever since she discovered that she had fallen in love, she tried to change the subject. "Cranfield is Lord Raymore's principal estate?" she asked as she once again started to move.
"Ah… no. Being the eldest grandson, Sebastian inherited Cranfield from his mother's father. His principal estate, a much larger one is in Derbyshire," Darcy replied looking at her askance.
"Hmm…"
"What?" Darcy asked.
"Er… what?" Elizabeth feigned surprise.
"Come on Elizabeth, I believe I have now learnt to read your expressions quite well, you wanted to say something then held back. Tell me?"
Elizabeth sighed; it seemed he had learnt to read her well. "I just thought that … while our primogeniture system of inheritance does have its good points, in some ways it is quite unfair."
Darcy raised his brows signalling her to explain her thoughts further.
"At Rosings, Colonel Fitzwilliam once told me that for a second son like him it is imperative that he marry an heiress." As Elizabeth paused for a breath, Darcy's heart twisted in anxiety, 'Why was Richard talking about marriage to Elizabeth? Did he admire her? More importantly, does she admire him?' he thought as he anxiously glanced at her, but his anxiety lessened when she continued with a careless shrug of her shoulders, "At that time, except for a cursory thought that it was the lot of second sons everywhere, I had not paid much attention. But now… now that I see all this…" She gestured vaguely with her hands and continued, "And then hear about another principal estate, I realize that our inheritance laws are quite unfair in some ways." Darcy was quite relieved to notice the almost academic nature of her discourse. There were no personal emotions involved there.
"I suppose what happened with the Websters has made me more conscious about this. One can almost… understand why Cyril Webster did what he did," Elizabeth finished her thought.
"Oh, I grant you that our inheritance laws are quite unfair to the second or any subsequent sons. I will also grant you that there could a justifiable cause of resentment among the aforementioned sons or other relatives, but then nothing can justify criminal behaviour in lieu of that resentment."
"Oh, I never meant…"
"Of course, you did not, Elizabeth," Darcy said and then stopped all of sudden with an expectant smile on his face. Elizabeth had been gazing askance at him, at his sudden change in expression she turned her head to look in the front.
"Oh!" she said as she gazed in delight at the beautiful pool in front of her. "The viscount and his lady are truly blessed to have such natural beauty in and around their home," Elizabeth murmured softly.
"Ah, but this pool is not exactly natural. While a stream did use to flow from here, Sebastian used it to have this pool constructed for Emily," Darcy replied then grinned mischievously. "I never knew my cousin to be such a romantic, but it seems he proposed to her in front of a pool at a friend's estate and got the setting reconstructed just before their marriage."
"How very sweet of him!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she gazed at the clear waters on which sunlight was making beautiful patterns. "Oh, how I wish, I could dip my feet in these cool waters," she said wistfully.
"Why don't you?"
"Er… why don't I do what?"
"Dip your feet in the pool?"
"You cannot be serious, Alex!"
"I am… very"
"But…"
"First listen to what I am suggesting, Elizabeth. Being the thorough gentleman that I am," he quirked his brow at her, and Elizabeth flushed at the reminder of how she had accused him of not being a gentleman, but before she could react he continued, "I would turn my back while you remove your shoes… and…" he coloured and gestured vaguely. Elizabeth grinned at his endearing discomfort, forgetting her own. "When you are ready, and it is safe for me to turn back… just let me know," he said suiting his words to action.
Elizabeth stared at his broad back for a moment, torn between her desire to wade in the pool and her disinclination to appear the hoyden before him. Then she remembered how she had appeared in the Netherfield parlour that morning so long ago, having walked three miles on muddy lanes. For all her out of the ordinary behaviour, he had not held it her against her! She smiled and sat on a nearby boulder to remove her shoes and stockings. She quickly folded the stockings and kept them in her pocket, knowing full well that as difficult as it had been to remove them, putting them on especially on her wet feet would be impossible. 'What would Georgiana and Mrs Annesley think if they notice that I am without my stockings,' she wondered uneasily.
"When do you ever think before you leap, Lizzy?"
"Grr.." An irritated Elizabeth made and inarticulate sound to shoo off Miss Pesky, and just to spite her, got up, lifted her gown to her ankles and waded in the pool. Had it not been so sunny, the cold water would have been shocking, but with the warmth of the sun beating down on her, it was - refreshing. 'Oh, this is heavenly,' she whispered and closed her eyes ecstatically. Then she remembered that poor Mr Darcy was still standing with his back to her! She turned towards him, opened her mouth to call out. However, some imp of mischief made her pick up a handful of water and throw it at him instead. Unfortunately for Darcy, he was standing near enough to her for the cold droplets of water to scatter all over him suddenly.
"What the…" he swivelled towards her in shock and saw her gazing back with an endearing expression in which guilt and mischief were fighting each other for supremacy.
"Really, Miss Bennet? I thought you were intelligent enough to pick up your fights wisely, but it seems I was wrong." He smiled at her wolfishly as he moved towards her.
For almost a se'nnight she had only seen the most gentle and gentlemanly side of Mr Darcy, and therefore quite stupidly she had not expected him to retaliate. Now as she saw him coming forward, she mumbled, "Oh… no… I did not mean it…really, Alex," her voice rose a little at his name. She did not even wait to think what would be his retribution, but instinctively turned to hurry out towards the big boulder sitting in the middle of the pool. Unfortunately, in her hurry, she twisted her foot and started to fall.
"Careful, Elizabeth!" Darcy exclaimed as he lunged forward to catch hold of her. Once he had steadied her he looked down at her upturned face, and his breath hitched. With her wide eyes and softly parted lips, she looked so beautiful and utterly desirable that he almost bent down to taste those pink lips to ascertain if they were really as soft and sweet as they appeared. The urge was so strong that even the thought that he was sure to get a slap for his actions was not enough of a deterrent, and he went ahead and cupped her face in his hands. 'Only a few minutes ago you claimed that you were a thorough gentleman, Darcy!' It was only his sardonic inner voice that finally cut through the haze of desire. With a sigh, he gently brushed his thumbs across her cheek, then dropped his hands and stepped back.
"A… are you well?" he asked huskily, desperately hoping to cover up his gaffe.
Elizabeth, who, till a moment ago had believed she was going to receive her first kiss, and had shocked herself by wantonly desiring it, blinked at him. Confusion and disappointment warred within her at his abrupt withdrawal, and she found herself nodding without thought.
"I… I was only planning to scoop some water and return the favour, but I appeared to have scared you very much, I am sorry, Elizabeth," he said quietly.
He appeared so chastened and woebegone, that Elizabeth found herself wanting to assure him. "You do not have to apologise, Alex, and I was not scared. I was just hoping to escape a well-deserved dunking that I felt was coming my way by rushing out to that boulder there. In fact, I still plan to go and sit on it for a while, if I may?" She asked, abruptly wishing for some distance between them to help her straighten out her muddled thinking.
"Of course, shall I assist you?" He offered his hand all set to lead her to the boulder.
Elizabeth looked down, observed his gleaming boots which he seemed to have completely forgotten, and suddenly grinned up at him. "I do not think Mr Banes would ever forgive me, if I allow you to do so."
"Excuse me?" Darcy asked thunderstruck.
"Yes… well, from Mr Lonsdale at the inn I came to know that Mr Banes is very proud of the exceptional sheen of your boots. I do not think he will forgive me if I am responsible for you ruining yet another pair of Hessians."
"Lonsdale was talking about …. my Hessians at the inn?" Elizabeth looked at his thoroughly befuddled expression and let out an involuntary giggle. "Yes, of course, and the man is so enamoured of their stupendous shine that he got his valet to pump Mr Banes for the secret," she informed him with a straight face.
"Lonsdale always was a numbskull! I hope he was not too disappointed when Banes sent away his man with flea in his ears!"
"How are you so sure that Mr Banes did not share his secret with Mr Lonsdale's man?" she asked curiously.
Darcy grinned at her, then lowered his voice conspiratorially, "Just between you and me, Elizabeth, Banes had not shared his secret even with me!"
"What! You are funning, aren't you?" she asked, grinning back at him."
He shook his head dolefully. "Of course not. Banes guards his secret very zealously."
Elizabeth stared at him in amazement and realizing that he was telling the truth, she burst out in giggles at the ludicrous situation. Very soon his rich baritone voice joined her and just like that the awkwardness that had sprung up between them melted away.
~~~§~~~
Once the recent awkwardness between them had disappeared, they had an extremely interesting conversation across the pool! It was on varied topics like their tastes in literature, the places they would like to visit, friends and families, and even women's rights! Both enjoyed their bantering so much that they completely lost track of the time, and it was getting quite late when they started on their way back to the house.
Darcy had noted the growing amity between them with pleasure, but it also gave rise to a strange restlessness within him. In reality, it was less than a se'nnight since he decided to ask her for a courtship, but to him, it now felt as if he had been waiting forever to do so. And it led to a fierce argument within him for the appropriate course of action. 'Why should I wait anymore when I can see that she is more sympathetic towards me now? But… she is still under your protection, and it is not gentlemanly to take advantage of a lady in this manner. Anyhow, her uncle will be back tomorrow. In only a few more days, you can open up to her. But…what if she goes back to Meryton before I could do that?" Even though the distance between London and Meryton was less than thirty miles, to him, it felt almost like a chasm!
He glanced askance at her as they walked side by side. "Elizabeth?"
"Hmm?"
"In all probability, your uncle would be back home tomorrow. How… how soon would you and Miss Bennet be travelling back to Meryton?"
Elizabeth stopped walking and turned towards him with a surprised look on her face. "But… how can I leave before Millie's future is settled? I am not sure if Jane would want to stay here any further, but I will have to stay for Millie."
A wave of relief passed over Darcy. He had been meaning to ask Elizabeth if she would want to leave Millie at Darcy House under the care of Sarah, Georgie and Mrs Annesley. After all, she was dependent on her uncle's goodwill to keep Millie with her in Gracechurch street. However, now he dropped the idea. Unless Mr Gardiner espoused a reluctance to house an unknown orphan child in his home, he would let things be. It will give him a ready excuse to regularly visit with Elizabeth, and he could then ask for courtship in a more… appropriate manner.
"Of course, how foolish of me to forget," he murmured. As they resumed walking, he observed that Elizabeth appeared subdued all of a sudden. 'Perhaps she is once again worrying over Millie,' he thought and tried to reassure her. "Please do not worry Elizabeth, I will keep you updated about the progress in this matter regularly." Elizabeth smiled at him. "I know that Alex. I just hope Charlotte can provide us with some relevant information," she said.
"I hope so too. Anyhow, we would know soon enough. Stephen should be back from Hunsford latest by tomorrow morning."
Elizabeth had been surprised when Mr Darcy had sent his own footman on the errand of an express messenger to Hunsford this morning. "Are you confident that Stephen would not be recognized by someone at Rosings?" she couldn't help asking him now.
"Oh, yes. I chose Stephens for the task because he has joined the household quite recently. Neither my aunt nor Anne has visited Darcy House since then. I believe Richard is the only one who may know him. Anyhow, my Aunt usually walks with her nose so high in the air that I have my doubts that she will recognize even Higgins if she meets him somewhere outside of my home!"
Elizabeth felt a laugh bubbling up at his words that she swiftly converted into a cough. "Umm... it is a relief to know that." When Darcy grinned at her, she realized how her words were open to misinterpretation and corrected hurriedly, "Erm... I meant it is a relief to know that there is no danger of Stephens being recognized at Rosings,"
His grin widened. "Of course, what else you could have meant, Elizabeth."
"Dawcy, Beth!" They both turned to look in the direction of Millie's voice and saw the little girl hurrying towards them with Ginger in her arms. She was followed more sedately by Georgiana and Mrs Annesley. Millie had somehow cajoled Georgiana to carry Ginger's basket.
"Slow down, poppet, we are coming to you." Darcy cautioned the eager child as he and Elizabeth quickened their pace.
The area where all in the party from Darcy House had unexpectedly converged was near a junction where three paths met. The path on which Darcy and Elizabeth were walking led to the pool, the second one on which Millie and the other two ladies were present led to the manor house. Finally, there was the third one which led to a road leading out of Cranfield. Approximately eighty yards from the junction, the third path curved near a dense grove of shrubs. It made it impossible for anyone on the other two paths to see anything beyond the groves on the third.
Despite Darcy's words, the eager child hurried towards them, and in her excitement, her arms around the kitten loosened. Taking immediate advantage, Ginger jumped down and dashed towards the junction.
With a cry of alarm, Millie immediately tried to give chase. "Stop, Ginga!" she cried as she hurried after the kitten.
For some reason, the kitten halted as soon as it crossed the junction towards the grove. Consequently, Millie soon caught up with it. Darcy, who had also started running towards the kitten, stopped when he saw the truant being picked up. His indulgent smile was however replaced by a look of horror as he first heard the sound of thundering hooves and then saw a large stallion being ridden at high speed - emerging from behind the groves. His blood froze as he recognized that it was 'Thunder' - the newest, most skittish addition to Sebastian's stables!
"Millie, move away from the path! Move, child!" he shouted as he sprinted towards the little girl with all his might. But her fear of horses had already overcome Millie, and she stood motionless, staring in terror at the oncoming horse. The only thing in Darcy's favour as he rushed towards Millie was that the distance between the horse and the child was almost twice that between him and Millie. By then, even the horrified groom on Thunder had noticed the motionless child in his path, and he frantically tried to bring the horse to a halt. Regrettably, the distance was too less and the speed too high.
By the time Darcy desperately dove forward to hurriedly fling Millie away from under the horse's hooves, it was almost on top of them. Unfortunately, he was not as lucky himself. Even as he tried to roll away from its path, the horse' right foreleg glanced by his left temple as it trotted past him. Immediately, there was intense pain, and then… it was all chaos. People were shouting, a horse was shrieking, and there were sounds of running feet.
He heard the panicked cries of 'Fitz!' and 'Alex!' as he was lay on the ground, losing consciousness. The last thing he saw before everything turned black was Mrs Annesley rushing forward to pick up Millie in her arms.
It was not many minutes later that a semiconscious Darcy began to hear an insistent voice. It appeared to be coming from a long distance away. He frowned in concentration and heard it calling him repeatedly. "Alex! Oh, please, wake up, Alex!" The tense voice kept repeating the words almost like a chant. His head was resting on something soft, and he did not feel like opening his eyes, especially as his head ached abominably. But the rising hysteria in the voice above finally forced him to try and open his eyes. However, he failed in his efforts at first.
"Look, Elizabeth, there is a movement under his eyelids! He seems to be waking up." Darcy recognized the excited and hopeful voice of his sister.
"Oh, thank the good Lord! I hope the apothecary comes along soon!" 'Elizabeth!' Darcy thought as the relief in both the voices made him try to open his eyes once again. It was difficult and painful, but finally, he did manage it. He blinked to clear his vision, looked at the face hovering above his own and despite the ache in his head, felt as if he had woken up in his favourite dream!
He was lying with his head in Elizabeth's lap, and the emotions blazing in her eyes were all that he had ever hoped to witness in them. The only thing not to his liking was the tears glistening in her beautiful eyes. Even as he watched in silence, a tear spilt from her right eye and fell on his cheek.
"Please do not cry Elizabeth, I am well," he managed to croak with difficulty.
Like him, Elizabeth seemed to be having trouble speaking. So, she swallowed hard and nodded. And a tremulous smile soon began on her face. Try as he might, Darcy couldn't tear his eyes away from her dear, beautiful face.
When she had seen Elizabeth's reaction to her brother falling unconscious, Georgiana had understood that the older girl loved her brother deeply. However, soon after, the worry for Fitzwilliam had driven all other thoughts from her mind. Now, as she stood blushing at the intense look being exchanged between her brother and Elizabeth, she realized that their feelings were mutual, and felt very happy for them. Feeling almost like a voyeur, she glanced away from them, and her gaze fell on something on the ground that glinted when sunlight fell on it. It was lying very near to where the accident had taken place. Curious, she walked up to it. There, lying on the ground, was a broken gold chain and attached to it was a disfigured locket. The locket seemed to have been hit by something with a large force. Not only was it somewhat mangled, but it had fallen open in two parts! 'The horse seems to have landed on the locket with full force,' Georgiana thought as she bent to pick it up. 'I have seen this locket somewhere… Oh, yes, I saw it on Millie,' she mused as she flipped the locket to see what was on the other side. There was a miniature of a young woman on one side. 'Hmm… mayhap, this is Millie's mother.' She froze as her gaze came to rest on the miniature of a slightly older man on the other side. 'Oh, wait, I know this man!'
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