Bingley had the insight to blush. “I would not say that all five daughters are similar. What say you, Darcy?”
Darcy pressed his lips together, pondering how he could change the topic of conversation.
Before he could reply, Richard asked, “In what way do they differ? Darcy?”
Darcy wanted to put his hand over Richard’s mouth. “Meryton contains a collection of people in whom there is little beauty and no fashion. I have paid little attention to them. But I…well, I agree with Bingley that the Bennets are each quite different. Miss Bennet would be considered a classic beauty by most, I believe. Nevertheless, she smiles too much. The three youngest lack proper training for being out.”
“Does this include Miss Elizabeth? What of her?” Richard pressed to Darcy’s irritation.
Before Darcy could defend himself, Hurst blurted, “Darcy and that second Bennet girl? They do nothing but argue.”
“Argue? We most certainly do not argue.” Irritation at Hurst’s observation sharpened Darcy’s tone.
“Balderdash! Call it what you may, Darcy. We know the truth. Why, Colonel, they abhor each other. The three days she was here caring for her sister, the two of them bickered like an old married couple. If he said he liked something, she loathed it. If she said she liked something, Darcy denigrated it. I say, it was highly diverting having them both in the same room.”
Darcy barely kept his mouth from gaping open. “If you understood our characters, you would recognize our conversations for what they were: a debate.”
Bingley said, “If you ask me, which nobody has, I agree with Hurst. There was no peace between them.”
“Interesting,” Richard mused as Darcy felt heat creep up his neck.
Blast it!During Darcy’s adolescence, that telltale crimson only appeared with any attempts at telling a fib.
He did not hate Elizabeth Bennet. In fact, he did not hate her so much that his dreams the past two nights were vivid portrayals of a life together with her.
He quickly reassured his cousin. “There is nothing of interest. She expressed opinions that were not her own for the sole purpose of breaking the monotony of the drawing room. I did the same.”
“Bah!” Hurst was unwilling to give up. “You will see on the eve of the ball, Colonel, that he will refuse to dance with her. Instead, he will watch her from the corner like a lion does its prey as she bounces across the floor with one partner after the other. The only thing you will see in Darcy’s expression is utter loathing.” He stood. “Enough about the ladies. Is anyone for a game of billiards before we need to return to the shrews in Netherfield’s parlor?”
“Those are my sisters,” Bingley defended.
“Shrews, I say.” Hurst vacated the room, seemingly without a care whether anyone followed him or not.
CHAPTER 6
The countryside had pockets of fog floating up from the chilled earth. As Elizabeth made her way along the pathway to Oakham Mount, she regretted that her sisters were not yet awake for the day. They were missing out on the best of the autumn splendor.
Climbing the hillside, she noted the changes the recent weather made to the landscape. Across the valley, smoke rose from chimney tops, warming the residents within the cottages. Orange, gold, yellow, and red leaves valiantly fought to remain on the branches of the oaks lining the meandering brook. A glimpse of sunlight reflected on the water in the streams. Harvested earth provided a rich dark brown foundation to the bucolic scenery.Glorious!
When she reached the crest of the hill, she was shocked to see four horsemen still astride their mounts, standing in her favorite place. In her almost twenty-one years, she rarely encountered another soul at the location. Never could she have imagined seeing others studying the landscape as she often did.
Even with their hats pulled low and their collars covering their chins, she recognized the intruders as Mr. Bingley, Mr. Hurst, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Darcy. Dipping into acurtsey, she focused on the colonel. “Gentlemen, this is a pleasure.”
The colonel teased, “We appear to be anunexpectedpleasure.”
“But no less welcome,” Elizabeth hurried to explain. Gesturing behind her, she said, “Do you not feel the peacefulness of the setting?”
Mr. Bingley quickly replied, “Why, I do not recall seeing anything as lovely.” He glanced at his friend. “I do not mean to imply that Derbyshire is wanting in anything by any means. Of course, the lands surrounding Pemberley and Matlock are stunningly beautiful.”
Elizabeth laughed. “What are people to rocks and mountains!”
The colonel chuckled. “I find that those who recognize beauty in whatever surroundings they are in are happy people as a whole. That you have this place of refuge and peace close to your home means that you are particularly favored.”
It was her turn for the heat of a blush to rise to her cheeks. “I thank you for the compliment, sir.” Tilting her head slightly to the side, she boldly asked, “I will not ask if you are like-minded, Colonel, since you chose to speak humorously of a pup instead of the horrors of war. Might it be that we are kindred spirits, sir? That you, too, try to see the good in whatever circumstance or situation you are in?”
One side of his mouth turned up. “You have caught me out, madam.” The colonel tipped his hat to her. “Are you here solely for the scenery? Or was privacy your intent?”
“Neither,” she replied. “You see, when I was barely five years old, I found a magnificent oak close to the boundary between Longbourn and Netherfield Park that had limbs low enough for me to climb. As I aged, the tree became my refuge, the place where I could enjoy the sounds of nature while burying my nosein a book or dreaming of adventure. With the winds from the past weeks, I needed to see if there had been damage, for there are now young children belonging to Longbourn’s tenants who might use the tree for the same purpose as I once did. This vantage point allows me to look for any injury to my favored refuge.”
