“Nonsense, Mr Brown, you always fear such for me, and it has never yet occurred!” Elizabeth teased. “It is a very light snow and not threatening more at the moment.” She turned her sparkling eyes back to Darcy, arching her brow expectantly.
“Yes, well,” Darcy straightened his coat, recalling the purpose of his visit. “Miss Bennet, would you despise me very much if I made your favourite tenant an offer of employment?”
The man and his wife turned shocked gazes to one another as Elizabeth’s eyes rounded. “Excuse me, Mr Darcy?”
“Your Mr Brown is quite an expert in an area which intrigues me very much. I have an arborist for my orchards, of course, as well as three assistants for seasonal work, but the grounds at Pemberley are exceedingly large, and their hands are full. Mr Brown has knowledge which none of them possesses, and I imagine when old Stevens seeks to retire in a few years, I shall be looking for a suitable replacement. I believe I have found him; by your leave, of course, Miss Bennet.”
He turned to the man and his wife, still gaping in wonder. “And yours, naturally, Mr and Mrs Brown. It is only fair to warn you that the climate in Derbyshire is somewhat harsher than what you are accustomed to, and I will completely understand if you do not desire the change.”
Mr and Mrs Brown shared the barest of wordless exchanges before their eyes turned back to the oddity before them. Never did it happen that a benevolent stranger strode into the middle of one’s need and simply set all the past on its ear. “I…” Brown choked out a whisper. “I don’ ge’ ‘round s’easy, suhr,” he gestured to his bum leg.
“That is no bother.” Darcy waved. “We have any number of two-wheeled carts for use about the estate. I will see to it you always have one at your disposal and a horse exclusively for your own use. As for your leg, of course, we will want to make sure it continues to heal as much as can be. We do have an apothecary resident in Lambton, as well as a doctor in the next town. It is not necessary for you to decide immediately….”
Brown and his wife glanced at each other once again. “Wi’ respect, suhr, I think we’ve decided. I’d be right pleased. But—” he turned his gaze to Elizabeth—“what of my debt to the Bennets? I can’n leave.”
Elizabeth offered her old friend a shimmering smile. “Fear not, Mr Brown. If I know Mr Darcy, he already has a solution in mind for that as well.” She turned a light expression on the gentleman, who appeared for a moment to have lost whatever ideas he might once have possessed.
“Ah…” he stuttered. Recollecting himself, he started again. “Well, it is quite simple, really. I know the sum required, and I can assure you that your new wages will allow you to repay the debt rather quickly. So that the Bennet family may not suffer by my gain, I shall purchase the debt, and you may settle it with me on very easy terms. Will that be agreeable, Mr Brown?”
Mr Brown straightened to his fullest height for the first time that day, straining on his wounded leg. “Yes, suhr. I’d be right honoured, suhr!”
Darcy smiled. “I will make the necessary arrangements. Can your family be ready to remove by the end of the week?” The man answered tremblingly in the affirmative. Darcy nodded in acknowledgement. He then knelt before the children, his fine buckskin breeches directly on the sod floor. “Well, Master William, it seems you and I will be seeing more of each other. Will you bring your peahens with you to Derbyshire? We can always use some healthy fowl about, as well as clever hands to tend them.”
Willy swallowed, stiffened, and nodded smartly, the mirror image of his father. “Yes, suhr!”
“Good,” Darcy rose. “You will be a most welcomed addition to Pemberley, my good fellow.” He smiled gently at the younger children, sparking return smiles from each of them. With a light heart, he took his leave of the little family and ushered the lady out of the door.
In some hesitation, he offered Elizabeth his elbow once more. Was she pleased? Had he overstepped? Her face was turned from him momentarily; he could not read her feelings. He caught his breath, waiting.
Wondrously, she took a firm, possessive hold of his forearm and drew herself near. Her bonnet tipped out of the way as she raised her face, and Darcy was treated to the most glorious smile he had ever seen. A broad grin split his face, and he gestured gallantly to the road with his free hand. “Shall we, Miss Bennet?”
“By all means, Mr Darcy.” She fell into step beside him as they set out for her home. A light snow salted her clothing, the heavy grey sky muffling all sound save their own breath and the light crunch of frosty ground beneath their feet. Darcy felt he had stepped out of time and space into this private little interval, a respite from the world.
“Miss Bennet,” he began softly, waiting for her to look at him again with those glorious eyes. She did so easily, and he gazed quietly into them before continuing. “I hope you are not displeased by the arrangements we discussed. It was not my wish to subvert your—you father’s—authority where your tenants are concerned.”
She tilted her head, a fine line appearing where a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “And how have you done so, sir? Have you paid other visits I am not aware of? Shall we be growing beans instead of potatoes in the lower field next year?”
He could not help a low laugh. “I believe you know what I mean. The solution seemed very tidy, and I believe all concerned will be the better off for it, but I gave you very little chance to object.”
“I do not see how it would have been my place to do so,” she replied easily. “Have you not the right to offer employment to whomever you wish? If his debt to my father’s estate is to be reconciled, he has no further obligation to my family and may take any situation he chooses. I expect you already have some answer for the problem of our now vacant farm?”
Her suspicions were confirmed with a glance up at his face. A cautious smile wavered, his eyes twinkling significantly. “I believe Mr Bingley might. You are not displeased?”
“Terribly so!”
Darcy froze abruptly in his tracks. “I beg your pardon, Miss Elizabeth. I have not the pleasure of understanding you. What is it, specifically, that displeases you? I beg you would tell me so it can be rectified.”
“Why,” she shrugged dramatically, “I shall be losing my favourite playmates! The Brown children are great companions of mine, you must know, Mr Darcy.”
He started breathing again. “I know,” he answered at length, beginning to walk once more. At her questioning glance, he admitted, “I happened upon you once as you were playing with them. You ought to pay more attention to your surroundings, Miss Elizabeth, as I watched you—not very discreetly either, I daresay—for a very long time without ever attracting your notice.”
“Mr Darcy! You are a sneak!”
“Sneaking, while riding a seventeen-and-a-half hand horse? Impossible!”
“A gentleman would have made his presence known!” she arched a playful look at him.
“And interrupt such a lovely scene? You quite mistake me, Miss Bennet, if you think me capable of that. I am a selfish creature, I am afraid, and I derived much enjoyment from watching you and the children at your sport.”
