His mouth turned up a little more—dash it all, he could not help it. “And what will you think of gentlemen from London?”
She tipped her face up to him with a thoughtful expression, puckering her mouth. Darcy almost chuckled aloud at how the drying mud on her cheek stretched, caked, and cracked as her features moved. “I think they are not all cads, sir. Some of them, but not all.”
“Well, that is a relief. I would hate to have such a remarkable lady alive in the world and thinking ill of me.”
She looked away long enough to take the reins Bingley passed to her, then shot him one final, impish look. “I believe you are assured of my good opinion, sir. Little as that matters, I can at least grant you that. Good day, and thank you again for your kindness.” With that, she turned and made her way toward the house, disappearing around the bend without a backward glance.
Bingley sighed. “It truly is a pity about Netherfield, Darcy. With neighbours such as Miss Bennet, I am certain I would have been quite happy there.”
Darcy shook his head, and this time, he did remove his hat to massage his forehead. “With neighbours such as Miss Bennet, Bingley, you would have found yourself wed before Christmas.”
Elizabeth winced as shestepped out of sight of the gentlemen’s carriage, her ankle throbbing with every movement. Oh, if Mama ever heard of this…
If Mama ever heard of this, Elizabeth would find herself bundled in a fast coach for London with her mother and a clergyman trying to chase those poor gentlemen down.
But they truly had been kind. Certainly, there were worse ruffians a lady could find herself compromised by. She glanced back over her shoulder, ensuring that the gentlemen were well out of sight before letting out a long, painful sigh. The horse, drat him, was all friendliness now, and he nuzzled her hand. She patted his shoulder absently.
“We dodged a bullet, you miscreant. It seems no one saw our little misadventure.”
Limping towards the house, Elizabeth braced herself for the inevitable confrontation with her family. Mr Hill saw her limping up the drive and immediately came to take the horse. “Shall I help you inside, Miss Elizabeth?” he offered. “I shall call Mrs Hill to attend you.”
“No, no, that will not be necessary.” She sucked a breath between her teeth and hopped a little on her good foot to make it up the steps to the house. No sense in exciting Mama more. Let her believe it was no more than the same sore ankle from yesterday.
“Lizzy!” Jane, her eldest sister, exclaimed as she caught sight of Elizabeth’s at the door. “What on earth happened to you? Why, you are covered head to toe!”
Elizabeth grimaced, holding up a hand to halt her sister’s concern. “I know, Jane. It is a long story. Could you help me get cleaned up before Mama sees me? I’d rather not have to explain myself just yet. Or ever, really.”
Jane nodded and quickly ushered Elizabeth upstairs. Together, they worked to remove the mud-caked clothing and tidy Elizabeth’s appearance. It would take a full bath to get some of the slime out from under her nails and the roots of her hair, but hopefully, Mama would not have cause to look too closely. That walking dress, though… she would have to sneak it out to the washbasin herself before Hill had a look at it.
Once presentable, Elizabeth descended the stairs; her breath caught in her throat as she noticed the muddy footprints she had tracked into the hall. Oh, dear… perhaps Mama would be too preoccupied with asking her sisters what they had done in town to notice before Elizabeth could clean it up.
But Mama was not in the sitting room to notice. Nor was she upstairs, nor even in the kitchen talking to Hill. Guilty conscience, perhaps, but Elizabeth could not be easy until she knew precisely where her mother was and if there was any chance the details of her little afternoon outing might have been discovered.
She did not have to look long, however. Elizabeth was just returning to the hall when her mother burst through the door, both hands framed in the air.
“Girls!” she cried, her voice echoing through the house. “Netherfield is let at last!”
Well… This was… fortuitous timing. There was no better way to distract her mother from the fact that she had just ridden home alone in a carriage with two wealthy, single gentlemen than for her mother to have something better to gossip about.
Elizabeth knotted her shaking fingers behind her back, willing the nervousness to remain at bay while she smiled serenely for her mother. “Is that so, Mama? Howthrilling.”
“Aye, and do you not want to know who has taken it, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth sighed. Mama would not rest until she had divulged every last detail of the new tenant. She nodded, resigning herself to the inevitable gossip that would follow. “I am all anticipation.”
“The man has come from the north with a large fortune,” Mrs Bennet proclaimed, her voice filled with barely contained glee. “And his name, girls, is Wickham.”
Chapter Three
“How was Charlotte today?”Jane asked.
Elizabeth fluffed the bedcovers and thrust her chilled legs under them, shivering as she tugged the blankets up to her chin. “The same. Jane, I truly am concerned for her. She hardly eats, she has no interest in anything—even painting screens. You recall how she used to love that?”
Jane nodded as she tucked herself into the other side of the bed they shared. “She took so much pleasure in it. Why, I recall her sitting in the garden for hours, trying to duplicate the look of the spring bulbs or the bumblebees. Has she truly lost interest in even that?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “She says it makes her sad to try because she can never get her paintings to turn out just as she wishes, and she is weary of the attempt.”
“Oh, dear. Surely, there must be something to pique her interest. What about the piano?”
