“Mrs. Darcy, I have shown Evans to the study as you instructed.”
Selkirk rose. “I will meet with him now. Mrs. Darcy, I will see myself out once I have finished speaking with the gamekeeper.”
“Thank you, sir. We shall look forward to your company at dinner.”
That night, as the three women climbed the stairs to their bedchambers, Kitty said, “Lizzy, I believe Mr. Selkirk spent a great deal of time looking at me.”
Elizabeth laughed. “He did, Kitty. I believe that gentleman may wish to become better acquainted with you.”
Georgiana took Kitty's hand, and both girls giggled.
“Lizzy, thank you for inviting him to dine with us. He is the handsomest man I have ever met, and if he truly has his eye upon me, I shall be forever grateful.”
Over the summer months, Mr. Selkirk spent a great deal of time at Pemberley for one reason or another. At first, he worked with Mr. Darcy and several neighboring landowners to devise a plan for eradicating the rabies outbreak. Three additional infected wild animals had been dispatched on nearby estates. Once rabies no longer posed a threat, the gentleman came to discuss drainage concerns affecting the adjoining properties.
Then Mr. Darcy, seeing how matters stood, invited him to dine with the family twice each week.
The summer passed peacefully for the family.
One evening in mid-August, Elizabeth said, “Fitzwilliam, it appears to me that Mr. Selkirk has fallen in love with Kitty, but he has not offered for her.”
Darcy drew Elizabeth close, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“He has spoken to me, Elizabeth. He wishes to marry her, but because she is only seventeen, he has agreed to proceed slowly. He will continue his attentions in this informal manner for the next six months, and when she turns eighteen, he will be free to make her an offer of marriage. Does she not strike you as a trifle immature, dearest?”
Elizabeth tilted her head to the side and considered his words.
“What you say is true, but the death of our sister and then Mr. Collins awakened her to the sorrows and uncertainties of life. The care she has devoted to the twins has also helped her mature. Sir, I shall begin working with her starting tomorrow. We can begin with the household ledgers, and she may assist in planning the menus.”
She raised her face and kissed him.
“Fitzwilliam, Darling, you have a tempting mouth, especially that lower lip of yours.”
His low laugh rumbled in his chest. He kissed her more thoroughly, and when he drew back, she said, “Thank you for thinking of my sister, sir. I shall work with her so that, when he offers for her, she will make him a good wife and capably manage his household.”
Chapter 57: Netherfield
Elizabeth gazed out the carriage window. September was almost spent. The harvest had largely been completed. Golden stubble covered many of the fields, while neat stacks of grain stood near the barns awaiting threshing. The sight filled Elizabeth with melancholy. She thought of Lydia, Mrs. Jenkinson, Lady Catherine, and now Mr. Collins. Life was uncertain. Those who were present one day could be gone the next, and no one knew what the future might bring.
Hedgerows heavy with blackberries and scarlet hips bordered the lanes. Though the countryside still wore its summer green, here and there a chestnut tree had begun to don its autumn colors. Summer was drawing to a close.
Her gaze settled upon Mary. She was nursing baby Edward while Kitty held Thomas. Georgiana slept in the corner of the carriage.
Mary spent nearly all of each day in the nursery with her babies. Now, as they traveled south to Longbourn, she passed the hours holding one or both of her sons in her arms. She was utterly devoted to the boys and was contented in a way Elizabeth had never before seen in her sister.
Both Elizabeth and Kitty had laid aside their black mourning gowns, but Mary still dressed in deep black.
One afternoon, Mary had said, “Lizzy, I must remind myself not to laugh and not to appear too cheerful. I am a newly widowed wife, and people expect to find me brought low, but I cannot oblige them. I feel a profound sense of relief that I need not spend the next forty years living with Mr. Collins.”
There was nothing Elizabeth could say that she had not already said. She had great faith that their father would help Marythrough this difficult season of her life. She only hoped it would not prove too trying for her widowed sister to live under the same roof with their mother.
The carriage stopped at Netherfield Park first, as it lay off the main road. Darcy opened the carriage door and handed Elizabeth, Kitty, and Georgiana down. Their trunks were unloaded, and the Miller brothers attended the coach for the final three miles to Longbourn.
Darcy led Elizabeth forward and said, "Charles, thank you for opening your home to us."
Mr. Bingley bowed. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Darcy."
He then addressed his friend. "The pleasure is mine, Darcy."
