Mr Darcy cleared his throat, a rough sound that betrayed his own discomfort. He gestured stiffly to the man standing behind him. “Allow me to introduce my valet. Horlicks.”
Elizabeth blinked rapidly. Gentlemen did not introduce their valets to ladies. It was a breach of etiquette so grand it bordered on madness.
The valet stepped forward. He offered a bow that was somehow even more precise and formal than his master’s.
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss.” Horlicks had a smooth, unruffled cadence.
Elizabeth nodded politely. She then watched in absolute horror as Horlicks pivoted smoothly to the immovable object draped in the grey shawl.
Horlicks offered a second, equally respectful bow to the elderly maid. “Good morning, madam. I trust you are finding the coastal breeze agreeable?”
Elizabeth raised a hand in sudden alarm. She needed to intervene because if Horlicks expected a response, he would stand there until the autumn winds arrived. She opened her mouth to deliver her rehearsed explanation regarding Winslow’s total lack of hearing, sight, and general awareness. She prepared to apologise for her chaperone resembling a dormant shrub.
“It’s salty, Sir.”
Elizabeth snapped her mouth shut. The sound had not come from the seagulls nor from Mr Darcy.
Winslow adjusted the shawl around her shoulders and looked directly at Horlicks. “The salt plays havoc with my joints. It’s, however, better than the smell of boiled cabbage in Hertfordshire.”
Elizabeth stared at her maid, her mouth agape. The world tilted sideways, the wood under her feet suddenly unstable.
Elizabeth pointed a trembling finger at the elderly woman. “You can hear.”
Winslow turned her gaze upon her mistress. The blank, vacant stare vanished, replaced by a look of sharp intelligence.
“My hearing is perfect, Miss Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth gripped her pelisse. “You are deaf. You have been deaf since before Lydia was born!”
Winslow offered a short, dry sniff. “I hear every single word spoken in front of me. I just choose not to respond.”
Elizabeth felt the breath leave her lungs. “You choose! You deliberately choose to be deaf?”
Winslow folded her hands neatly over her crisp white apron. “I have to, Miss. Your mother has a very shrill voice. She suffers from nerves and asks the servants to run about the house to fetch her smelling salts. I’m too old to run like a headless chicken. That’s why I stopped hearing her.”
Elizabeth’s jaw dropped. The magnificent audacity of the deception was staggering. For more than fifteen years, this woman had avoided every unpleasant task, every fit of nerves, and every family dispute by staring blankly at a wall and nodding. She was not a useless piece of furniture; she was a genius of the highest order.
Horlicks took a step closer to the elderly maid. His impassive face transformed, a look of shining reverence washing over his features. He looked at Winslow as though she had just descended from the heavens holding a pressed waistcoat.
Horlicks held a hand flat against his heart. “That is the most magnificent display of personal fortitude I have ever witnessed in my life. You remind me of my late grandfather, madam. He avoided my grandmother for twenty years by pretending he could not hear a thing.”
Winslow offered a firm, approving nod. “Asensible man.”
Elizabeth stared at Horlicks. Then, at the single tooth visible in Winslow’s proud smile. She then turned her head and glanced at Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Mr Darcy was staring at his valet in bewilderment. He looked down at the diminutive, ancient maid and then turned back to Elizabeth.
The corners of his mouth twitched.
Elizabeth felt a bubble of hysterical amusement rise in her chest. The tension of the previous night, the crushing weight of Wickham’s scheming, the awkwardness of the assembly—it all collided with the image of Winslow faking a disability to avoid Mrs Bennet’s nerves.
A laugh escaped Elizabeth’s lips. It was not a polite, drawing-room chuckle, but a snort of utter disbelief and delight.
Mr Darcy’s broad chest shook. He pressed his gloved fist over his mouth, but the effort was useless. A deep, rich laugh broke free, echoing clearly across the empty promenade. It transformed his entire face, revealing a man who fully appreciated the absurdity of the world around him.
They stood there, laughing together, ignoring the strict rules of polite society. Beside them, the two servants solemnly continued to discuss the benefits of feigned ignorance. The ice of the previous evening did not merely melt. It completely evaporated.
The laughter finally subsided, leaving behind a comfortable, sparkling silence.
