He smiled at the woman and then bent to tend the coals for her. Glancing up, he spotted Elizabeth through the doorway.
Caught staring at him, Elizabeth turned her face away, embarrassed.
“Miss Elizabeth, do join us if you are able. The sun is shining, and the breeze is slight.” He donned his jacket after rolling down his sleeves. Approaching him, she wrapped her fingers around the arm he offered.
“I thank you, sir. Indeed, the air is fresh and crisp.” Glancing away from him at her surroundings, she said, “Mr. Bingley’s servants have been busy. When we first left the cellar, I could see there was debris on the lawn. It looks to be almost gone.”
He directed her attention to a growing pile on the far side of the dower house. “There is still much to accomplish.” Shaking his head, he admitted, “I fear the house will be rendered uninhabitable.”
When she pointed to his carriage, she asked, “How did your coachman find the buildings at Lucas Lodge, Longbourn, and Meryton?”
He was unsurprised by her query. “As with Longbourn and Mrs. Hammond’s houses, most of the older buildings are made of stone and brick. Therefore, I am able to pass on my coachman’s report that there are slate tiles and thatching missing from the roofs. Some of the windows are intact while others are not, but the buildings remain standing.”
Her hand went to her chest. “Thank the heavens!”
“Yes, it truly was a miracle for some. For others like the Long family and your aunt and uncle in Meryton, they will need to be housed at the Inn or with someone else until they rebuild. Every property has trees lying hither and thither, as well as outbuildings that will need to be replaced. The innkeeper reported that the only injury he heard about was the blacksmith, who failed to secure his tools. Apparently, it will be a long recovery, but eventually, he should be able to swing his hammer again.”
“I am grateful to hear it, sir. We can only hope the succeeding reports are as positive, though I fear for those who were unprepared.”
He glanced at where Cook tended the teapot. “Mrs. Nicholls and Cook mentioned that they started sending out food baskets at the end of the third day after the wind started three weeks ago.They asked the tenants to be ready should things worsen and be ready to celebrate if they did not. It is a lesson in preparedness that we practice in Derbyshire. At my London house, valuable artwork is stored in the hidden passageways on the main floor of the house during a storm. We keep enough blankets and food items stored in the wine cellar for everyone’s use.”
Intrigued, she asked, “You have hidden passageways? What a wonderful discovery when you were a child. Did you and your cousin hide away in them?”
“Ha! Wickham and Richard would hide from Father after causing mischief. When they turned fifteen, that changed. George Wickham started associating with an unsavory crowd by the docks, where he learned things that no responsible lad should know. From then on, we avoided each other like the plague. As it was, by then, I had far too much to do to play games in the passageways.”
Darcy could not stop himself from searching the road to Meryton.
She lightly tugged at his arm, stopping him. “You are concerned about him.”
He sighed. If she only knew. He wished he could tell her the truth. “I am concerned about the whole regiment. According to the innkeeper, many of them took refuge in the back rooms of the inn. I was not able to find out if Wickham was amongst them.”
“I do hope they are all in good health. You know, Lydia said the oddest thing while we were in the cellar. She asked if we could select which of you two men were cousins if the three of you, yourself, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Mr. Wickham, were placed within a group of strangers. She commented on the similarity between the other two, that Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Wickham’s coloring and some of their expressions were the same. Then, instead of choosing you and Colonel Fitzwilliamas cousins, she grouped you with Mr. Wickham since your countenance and eyebrows are similar.”
He stared at her, each observation she uttered chilling his insides. It took a moment for him to compose himself enough to speak. “And, how did you reply?”
Never was he more grateful when she laughed. “I told her that no one could pick me out of a crowd to be a Bennet daughter since I am the only one with dark hair and eyes. Rather, they might choose Maria Lucas since her hair is almost the same shade as Kitty’s.”
Had she figured it out? Before he gave in to the temptation to confide in her, he suggested they return to the house. On the way to the door, a gust of wind caught her hem and the tails of his coat. Immediately following it was a blast of air that extinguished Cook’s fire, blowing dangerous coals about. Gratefully, the ground was still soaked. The approaching roar of tempestuous, unstable air almost deafened them.
“Get inside!” he yelled to anyone who could hear. “Run to safety! Now!”
Grabbing Cook’s arm on their way to the house, he hustled both women ahead of him. When she stopped to grab the hot pot of water, he pushed her from behind. “No, go!”
Footsteps pounded behind him. Richard yelled, “Move!”
Darcy felt his cousin’s hand at his back, clutching the fabric of his coat. Once the ladies crossed the threshold, he flung his arm back to pull his cousin, Bingley, and Hurst into the kitchen.
“Good lord! Where did that come from?” Hurst blurted as he attempted to smooth the few hairs he had remaining on his head. “Where is my wife?”
“In the small sitting room next to the library.”
Hurst scoffed, dismissing the woman he wed. “I’m for the cellar, gents. Feel free to join me. With the officers and that clergyman gone, there will be more for us to drink.”
Bingley followed his brother-in-law. Darcy and Richard escorted Cook and Elizabeth to the library, where the others were already gathered.
CHAPTER 23
The library was a welcoming sight after the fright they had. Elizabeth was still disturbed by how quickly the clouds moved and the wind stirred.
