“I am, and yet I am not,” Elizabeth admitted. “I wish I did not know that there was something I do not know.”
“Yes, exactly,” Miss Morland agreed. “But I suppose if we follow Mr. Tilney’s plan, and allow him to stall his father until the royals arrive, we may never know. It will all go away, but I suppose it is happy news for them.”
“Was it not odd that Mrs. Rushworth complained so loudly, but then declined to leave until the royals arrive?”
“I suppose it would be an inconvenience.”
Cathy waggled her brows. “I suppose it had something to do with the plain, short man that was so attentive to her, though he is not her husband.”
Elizabeth smiled sadly before finishing her glass of wine. She nearly poured another, but stayed herself. She could not summon the same levity as her new friend, and feared she would not be entirely herself until she spoke with her uncle. Perhaps he hoped that whatever secret the general held over him might be hushed up, for Mr. Tilney had promised that once the prince and princess were apprised of the general’s other misdeeds, he would be beyond extorting those he held such power over. If this was the case, he could have nothing to say to her, nothing to distress her with.
“Perhaps itisfor the best,” Elizabeth sighed.
“But then what a merry time we shall have! I hope we might stay awhile, for I am sure this castle is deliciously haunted, and of course I should like to know Mr. Tilney better.” Miss Morland fidgeted with the fringe on her dressing gown for a moment, then gave Elizabeth a bright, devious smile. “Mr. Darcy is very handsome.”
“I suppose he is, but I know very well he would not say the same of me.” Finally indulging in a third glass of wine, Elizabeth moved a little closer to her friend as she imparted the tale of her first encounter with Mr. Darcy, and given the current circumstances, she took the liberty of comedic embellishments that were surely appreciated.
“And have you never seen him since his friend married your sister?”
Elizabeth scoffed. “In truth, my new brother is a little put out about it, for they have lately welcomed a baby girl, and wished him to act as godfather. But I suppose he was toobusy committing whatever secret misdeeds the general holds over him, and could not be bothered to revisit the town that displeased him the first time.”
Miss Morland arched an eyebrow at Elizabeth. “If you are going to tease me about Mr. Tilney, I must pay you back in kind and observe that you would not be half so cross about his insult if he were not quite so handsome.”
Elizabeth felt her face grow hot, and she swatted at her friend. “No, indeed! Even if he had warts and a leer, I should object to him disparaging me where any of my neighbors and relations might have heard! And I have other reasons to dislike him, trust me. I am sure I think him very ill-featured!”
“Do you think his secret is a very bad one?”
Elizabeth had heard enough of Mr. Darcy’s character from poor Lieutenant Wickham, before he was reassigned to a post as aide to some colonel or general. She was quite certain that Mr. Darcy was capable of anything. Perhaps she only wished some distraction from whatever it was that her uncle was hiding, for Elizabeth found herself troubled indeed by the notion of Mr. Darcy. He was not only the handsomest man she had ever met, but also the most brooding and mysterious, and she had drunk just enough wine to find it an intriguing thread to pull.
Chapter Two
Elizabeth woke a little later than usual the next morning, but was still resolved to take a walk before breaking her fast. As she finished dressing, Catherine Morland knocked on the door that led to their shared parlor, scarcely waiting for admittance before she came skipping into the room. “Are you walking out this morning? Do let us ramble through the meadow to the east, for I saw Mr. Tilney and Mr. Darcy walking that way from my window.”
Elizabeth scrunched her nose, having no wish to encounter Mr. Darcy. If he was keeping company with Mr. Tilney, so much the better. Perhaps he would not remain determined to attach himself to her. “Does it not seem a bit too obvious?”
Miss Morland gave a ponderous pose for a moment. “Well, perhaps, but I have nothing to conceal. Crumbs, I ought not to have mentioned Mr. Darcy, since you dislike him.”
“You face an unhappy decision now, my friend, for you must choose whether you shall seek Mr. Tilney, or walk with me.”
“I should hate to wound you in choosinghiscompany, but if I choose to walk withyou, Mr. Tilney need never know,” Miss Morland replied with a teasing smile.
“Your practicality does you credit, I am sure,” Elizabeth said drily. She retrieved her favorite bonnet, another new purchase, and the two ladies made their way out of the castle.
They crossed the open drawbridge and stopped on the wide stone kemp. Miss Morland approached the railing and leaned over for a better look; Elizabeth moved to do the same, but froze with panic a few feet from the railing. Miss Morland turned to look at her with concern.
“Are you frightened of heights?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Especially when there is cold, deep water involved. But my courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me. I am sure it is a fine view.”
She forced herself to take the final few steps and placed her hands atop the railing at once. She was a little shorter than Miss Morland, and was obliged to stand up on her toes to peer over. Twenty feet below, the dark water sparkled in the morning sun, and a duck swam out from below the kelp, followed by a trail of ducklings. Elizabeth tipped her face forward a few cautious inches, and smiled down at the sight.
“Lovely,” she said briskly. “Shall we?”
They linked arms and walked on together. The castle was surrounded by hilly meadows for at least a quarter mile in every direction, but beyond that, a dense forest encircled the property, evergreens blending with barren branches and the last golden leaves of autumn. Cool mist seemed to cling to the snarled foliage at the edge of the tree line; the countryside was far wilder here than the sunny forests in Hertfordshire.
They strolled a comfortable distance from the ominous perimeter, chatting idly about the landscape and how it compared to their native homes. Elizabeth belatedly realized that she had been distracted, and Miss Morland had guided their course to the east, the direction she had observed the gentlemen heading.
Unfortunately, this realization came only moments before the gentlemen themselves came into view, and then it was too late for Elizabeth to divert their path. Indeed, she was struck dumb by the spectacle, and quite incapable of doing anything but gaping as she beheld Mr. Darcy chopping wood at the edge of the forest.
