Mr. and Mrs. Hurst
"Mr. Hurst!" The sound came so softly that he wasn't sure he heard it at first. He looked up and saw his wife beaconing toward him. As he came nearer, she said, "I have found our perfect hideaway. Come quick while Caroline is playing the piano. I told her she should be prepared to show these country girls what an accomplished lady from London can do and she immediately ran to the piano to practice."
Although they had only been at Netherfield for a few days, Louisa had already explored all the rooms, looking for the perfect spot where they could be together without the interference of either Charles or Caroline. They quickly and quietly went up to the third floor and turned down the guest wing. "It is eight doors down on the left," whispered Louisa.
When they got to the door and Mr. Hurst opened it up, he was pleasantly surprised. It was clean with a cheery fire warming up the room. There were two chairs by the fireplace with a small table between them, perfect to hold a book or play a game of backgammon.
Against the window was a long table with two chairs. "I thought we could sit in those chairs and look out the window while we work. There is also better light for our work."
"Louise, remember, we are not calling it work! Caroline would have a fit!" reminded Mr. Hurst.
"Oh, of course, you are correct. I meant to say there would be good light while you read and I sew." Louisa smirked as she answered. They both knew that if Caroline knew that Mr. and Mrs. Hurst were working, the tantrum would be such that everyone for miles around would hear it. They also knew that they could not tell Charles. As soon as he knew, Caroline would know. Charles could not keep a secret from Caroline at all. He had trouble keeping a secret from anyone.
What was this deep dark secret? Well, Mr. and Mrs. Hurst collaborated on writing books. Mr. Hurst contributed by writing about outdoor sport, from guns to fishing poles, discussed topography, weather, and a host of other details that an outdoor man would want to know. Their books talked about various types of game in different parts of the country. Mrs. Hurst contributed by adding items of interest to women, from use of plants in healing to different types of herbs to season game. Their books, written under the pseudonym Mr. H. Dorman (H for Hurst and Dorman was a shortened version of outdoorsman). They thought it was clever and hid their own names quite well. They had written quite a few books already (thus substantially increasing their personal income) and were considering ideas for more books.
They also knew the temperaments of their siblings. If Caroline knew that her sister had not cast off the stench of trade, there would be no end to her rants. Louisa felt that Caroline would even go so far as to try to sabotage their work, by tearing up their source material, obstructing their travel, hiding mail, and in general making everybody miserable. While they knew Charles would mind less about their occupation, they knew he could not keep it a secret. He would tell everyone at their club about his brother and all the books he had written along with his dear sister Louisa. He would be so excited that he would probably carry one of their books around with him to show to all of his friends. Louisa was sure that he would never actually read the book, but would make sure he showed it to anyone and everyone.
They were also unsure about Mr. Darcy. Would he look down on them for still being considered in trade? Or would he be excited about the idea of a new book to read. Since they were unsure, they felt it best to tell no one of their activities.
"Oh, Mr. Hurst! I have some ideas for new books."
"As do I, my dear. Let us discuss them."
"Let us sit and have some tea while we do that," Mrs. Hurst said. "I have discussed this hideaway with Mrs. Nichols and she has agreed to not tell my siblings and to only let one maid know. She will bring us our tea in a few minutes. Mrs. Nichols also showed me how to get here through the servant passages. Now we will be able to escape whenever we want to."
"That is true, my dear. We just have to be careful not to do it too often. We do not want to make the others suspicious," replied Mr. Hurst.
"You are correct. I will still plan on giving Caroline two hours in the morning and then we will be with them in the evening after dining. That should be sufficient so that we will be able to absent ourselves during the afternoons and no one will be any wiser."
Mr. Hurst felt that schedule was workable so they walked over to the table by the window and sat down. Mr. Hurst pulled a piece of paper and prepared to write down their ideas. "Tell me, Mrs. Hurst, what you would like us to do."
"I thought that we could include more things that women enjoy, thus increasing sales. We could add sections regarding outdoor activities that are suitable for children and for ladies in each of the areas that we write about."
"That is a very clever idea, Louisa. Increasing our readership would also increase our pocketbooks. I also was thinking that we could print excerpts from our books in the newspaper, also increasing sales."
"What a great way to increase readers. We could also consider adding sections just for children, thus encouraging them to be outdoors more and to educate them about their country."
Mr. Hurst was busy jotting down her thoughts. "That is also a great idea. I have also thought about expanding beyond England, maybe taking a trip to Scotland. We could discuss fishing in lochs, the challenges of fishing from boats rather than from the shore. We could discuss differences in fishing in streams, lakes, and even the ocean. If we are going to Scotland, we could also visit the Orkney Islands."
"Oh, Mr. Hurst, that sounds very exciting. We could also introduce people to the game of golf. That would be interesting to see." With a smirk, she added, "We would, of course, be forced to learn to play the game, too."
"Well, my dear, I think we should begin planning our next set of books. I will send a letter to the publisher and set up a meeting to talk about our ideas. Maybe we can tell Charles and Caroline that you feel ill and I want to take you to a doctor in town. We have to make the trip sound boring so neither of them will want to come along."
"I can be pretending to vomit when I am around Caroline. That should guarantee that she will not want to share a carriage with us. We can tell Charles that the ladies in the area all look very favorably upon him and that he needs to stay here so he can enjoy their adulation." Louisa started to laugh as she said that last sentence. She knew that Charles would need no encouragement to approach the ladies.
They were then able to spend many pleasant afternoons reading, writing, and discussing their next series of books. When it came time to make their trip to Scotland, Mr. Hurst told Charles that he was taking Louisa on a trip to help her overcome her "disappointment" in not having a child yet. Thus they were able to spend some months in Scotland preparing their new book for publication, just in time for Christmas!
What a wonderful gift for the two of them.