“Professor Phineas Drye must be eighty if he is a day. He is serious-minded and devoted to scholarly achievement. Of all the subjects I studied, his class was the most interesting. He made ancient languages come alive.” He began sorting through the papers and books covering his desk.
“But is he of sound mind? Have you stayed in contact all these years? Are you confident that his request is not fanciful? Papa, a journey of this distance will take months.”
Holding up another sheet of paper, he showed Elizabeth the outline of a map. “What if it does? As we speak, your uncle Gardiner is arranging shipboard accommodation for us. Bingley promised to oversee Longbourn and entertain his new mother-in-law while we are away. I even purchased a pony and cart for your mother. Once she has learned to drive, she will undoubtedly flit from one end of Meryton to the other. Not since I inherited have I had the wherewithal and a valid reason to be away from this estate for any length of time. As for you, Lizzy girl, do you have important events planned that will prevent you from joining me?”
“I do not. But what of Mary, Kitty, and Lydia? To leave them under Mama’s sole supervision for so long would be catastrophic.”
“I agree. Although my habit has been to ignore everyone, my family included, I noted how poorly my two youngest behaved at Bingley and Jane’s wedding breakfast. Even Mary—whom I once credited with more sense than Kitty and Lydia—displayed a marked deficiency of discernment and an unseemly amount of vanity. She believes her performance at the pianoforte was excellent when, in truth, the dogs could sing better. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to…” He plucked another sheet of paper from the chaos and waved it in the air victoriously. “My three youngest will be attending Miss Peabody’s Academy for Young Ladies in London, and there they will remain until they can comport themselves properly at home and in company.” With a grin, he added, “They do not know it yet, but we leave in two days.”
Elizabeth was stunned that he had taken steps toeducate his youngest daughters. “What about Mama and Jane?”
“They are well enough. Mrs. Bennet has a new purpose in life—that of disturbing the newlyweds daily. Jane bears up well, ignoring everything her mother says in favor of gazing adoringly at her husband.”
Elizabeth’s sensibilities warred with a yearning she had carried since childhood for horizons beyond Hertfordshire’s gentle hills. “The expense alone…”
“I sold the distant fields on the southern border that are not part of the entail to Goulding for a pretty price. I also parted with several of my first editions. Since they were not my favorites, they will grace the library of another literary connoisseur. This pays for one year of schooling, the monthly expenses for Longbourn for the same period, and I can leave enough with Bingley for your mother. The rest, which is considerable, is for our journey.”
He leaned closer. “Lizzy, I want to do this. I feel the need to stand in the same places the pharaohs stood and where the Caesars rode their chariots. I want to sit where ancient, learned men discussed the meaning of life. If I do not do this now, I will never have the opportunity again. I would regret missing this journey for the rest of my lifetime, however long that may be.”
Elizabeth knew not whether she should reject or embrace the idea. Her fingers worried the edge of her sleeve.
“And if this Professor Drye proves to be a madman? If there is no lost library? If we find ourselves stranded in some foreign port with nothing but empty promises?”
“Then we will have had a grand adventure trying.” Heplaced both hands on the desk. “I have spent almost thirty years managing this estate, indulging your mother’s vapors, and seeing my daughters grow up. I have been a son, a student, a husband, and a father. I have never been an explorer. I have never stood at the edge of the world and wondered what lay beyond.”
The passion in his voice caught her off guard. This was not her languid father speaking, but a man hungry for more than books and solitude.
“Please come with me. If not, I will go alone. I have decided.”
Although Elizabeth took a breath to voice additional concerns, she thought better of it, knowing where the problem lay. Her rational brain struggled with her willing heart.
With his last plea, she no longer had a choice. His tendency toward indolence and his habit of becoming so absorbed in scholarly pursuits that the rest of the world ceased to exist required a practical-minded companion. “Someone must keep you from trading Longbourn for a handful of magic beans, Papa. I will be happy to accompany you.”
His face lit up like a boy who had caught his first fish. He glanced out of the window. “Then I suggest you stroll to Netherfield Park to spend the night with your favorite sister. You will not want to be here when I inform your mother and sisters of the change in their circumstances, although three miles may not be distant enough to avoid the volume of their complaints. They should return from your aunt Phillips’s shortly.” He bent toward her. “As mentioned, we depart Hertfordshire in two days. You and I are to be at the London Docks exactly one week afterleaving the girls at the academy, the second of April. High tide is at eight o’clock in the morning .”
“Is that enough time?”
“I believe we have little to pack.”
“One more question, if I may. The letter says that Professor Drye extended three invitations. Did he include the identities of the other gentlemen with the first clue? Will we be traveling with them?”
He shrugged. “Whether or not we know them is unimportant. I trust Professor Drye. He will have carefully curated these individuals. No doubt they will be of similar age to me. For a certainty, they will be honorable, and respectable. That is the professor’s nature.”
Elizabeth felt as though she stood at the edge of a precipice. Behind her lay everything familiar and safe. Ahead lay uncertainty, danger, and the sort of experiences she had only read about in books.
“Very well.” She started to rise from her seat but settled back down. Despite her reservations, she could not suppress her elation. This opportunity represented everything Longbourn lacked: adventure, mystery, the unknown. She did not doubt that, were she to look in a mirror, she would sparkle even as she mentally protested the sensibility of it all. “Papa, we are truly going on a quest unlike anything I ever expected.”
“I know, dear girl. As the bard says, ‘The anticipation of pleasure is often as good as the pleasure itself.’ We will see for ourselves if this is true, shall we not?”
“I expect we shall.” When she had awakened that morning in the guest room of Hunsford Cottage, she could never have imagined she would be returning to Longbourn before dusk.
Two days until London. Seven days to prepare.Nine days until she would abandon everything familiar for the utterly unknown.
Gathering her bonnet,Elizabeth quickly covered the three miles to Netherfield Park, using the distance to reflect upon the weeks she had spent in Kent. The visit would have been delightful had it consisted only of Charlotte’s companionship. Still, Mr. Collins’s servile attentions to his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the grand lady’s overbearing interference, and her nephew, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, considerably diminished Elizabeth’s enjoyment.
Mr. Darcy arrived in company with Colonel Fitzwilliam, who made the perfect foil to his arrogant cousin. Where Mr. Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire brooded in contemplative silence, as he had done during his stay of two months at Bingley’s estate the prior autumn, the colonel filled every room with his presence. He was quick to laugh and quicker still to provoke his solemn relative.
Though Elizabeth’s hasty departure from Kent meant disappointing farewells to Charlotte and Colonel Fitzwilliam, she experienced no regret at the prospect of never encountering Lady Catherine or Mr. Darcy again.
