He helped Bingley outside to his equipage, instructing the groomsmen to take it slow. His own carriage followed behind to take him back to Darcy House once Bingley was safely home.
~ / ~
Elizabeth and Jane had been busy inside Carrington House. Elizabeth attempted to make sense of the estates the Carrington’s owned, whilst Jane catalogued the items they wished to sell through Mr Gardiner’s contact.
Elizabeth sat hunched over her desk, her head slumped into her hands.
“Lizzy,” Jane entered the study, “Since you will not come for tea, tea will come to you.”
“Bless you, Jane. My head feels as if it is about to fall off.”
Jane poured their tea, and she sat down on the other side of the desk. Elizabeth watched her sister chew on her bottom lip. “Speak freely, Jane.”
“Do you not think this is too much? Everything you need to oversee, I mean. One estate would be a lot of work. How many do the Carrington holdings own?”
“Eight.”
“Eight? And they have all been poorly managed?”
“I do not think the former earl or the viscount cared much for their responsibilities. They did nothing much but drain the accounts.” Elizabeth leant back in her chair. “I know you are correct, but until we sell the gaudy artifacts there is no money to hire anyone.”
Jane opened her mouth as though to speak but stopped herself.
“You have an idea?”
“You will not like it.”
Elizabeth could not help but laugh, “There is a lot I have not liked about this whole affair. I assure you, one more consideration will not break me.”
“Mr Darcy.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“He is an experienced landowner. Surely, he will have an idea or two to help you.”
“Jane, I cannot expect Mr Darcy to dig me out of the mud every time I end up six inches deep in it.”
“Not expect, no. I believe Mr Darcy would be quite happy to help you out of any mud you might get stuck in.”
They giggled together, enjoying the sisterly connection. Then, Elizabeth straightened in her seat. “I am an intelligent, competent woman. All I need is enough time with all this,” she indicated all the papers lying on the desk, “to understand what each estate requires.”
As she gave her sister a long look, Jane kept her peace. When she spoke, it was to offer support, but also to impart some wisdom. “You are all that, Lizzy. You have been for most of your life. You are also very stubborn, and sometimes too independent.”
She looked down at her hands holding her still warm teacup. Hesitatingly, she continued, “I learned the other day, after we, um, spoke… No one needs to carry their burdens alone. Sharing them does not make the burden disappear, it… makes the difficulty of carrying them a little easier.” Her eyes were glistening with tears when she looked up at Elizabeth again. “Half the heartache I had, I caused myself. By thinking it was my burden to bear. If I had spoken with our aunt sooner…” she finished in a whisper.
“Jane, no. Perhaps you were not ready. This incident, which caused you such a strong reaction, happened outside of Meryton. I tend to think it came at exactly the correct time.” Elizabeth placed her teacup on the desk and rose out of her chair to walk around the desk. She pulled Jane to her feet and enveloped Jane in a firm hug, holding her close. Breaking apart, they dabbed at their eyes and moved to sit on comfortable chairs by the unlit hearth.
“Iamstubborn, and independent. I loathe to take advantage of Mr Darcy’s good nature.”
“I do not think Mr Darcy would think it as taking advantage. I think he likes you. He certainly looks at you a great deal.”
It was difficult to meet Jane’s gaze. “Perhaps, I too have difficulty trusting. Even before Lydia, our parents were not fine examples of reliability.” She took Jane’s hand in hers and smiled into her most precious sister’s face. “Mayhap it is something we both need to work on.”
Elizabeth leant towards her sister, as Jane moved her body to lean against Elizabeth. They sat thus quietly, providing a comfort each sought and found in the other. Neither moved until someone knocked on the study door.
~ / ~
Mr Pikewell entered with a silver tray resting on his hand. “This just arrived, Ma’am.”
