“Butyoudid not have one, I think?” Miss Darcy argued.
“No, indeed, I did not, as my family simply could not afford it. But you are in the happy circumstance of not having that difficulty.”
Mr. Darcy nodded, enthusiastically. “I have been trying to persuade Mother to hire a companion for you ever since Mrs. Walker left. Elizabeth, could you find someone?”
“Oh, nothing would be easier. My Aunt Gardiner would know someone suitable.”
Miss Darcy’s face showed her confusion, then her unhappiness. She burst out, “I do not want a companion, I do not want a Season, and you shall not make me have one!”
“Georgiana, for shame!” Mr. Darcy’s voice revealed his shock.
Miss Darcy promptly burst into tears and left the room, knocking over her own chair. The same footman stepped forward to right it.
After a moment, Elizabeth remarked, “I think we need heavier chairs.”
And despite the difficulties of the morning, Mr. Darcy burst out laughing. He reached across the table and took her hand.
***
Mrs. Reynolds appeared in the breakfast room just as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy finished their coffee. “You wanted to see me, Mrs. Darcy?”
“Yes, Mrs. Reynolds; thank you for coming on such short notice.”
“Of course, Mrs. Darcy.”
“I had hoped to meet the house servants today.”
“All of them?” Mrs. Reynolds brows rose high.
“Well, as many as possible. Lady Anne did not see fit to have the servants presented to me upon my arrival, as is customary, so we must do this differently.”
“Of course; it is just that there are over a hundred servants in the house, and that does not include the outside workers.”
“Over a hundred?” Elizabeth’s voice reflected her disbelief.
“One hundred and twelve,” the housekeeper confirmed.
“I see. Well, then, as many each day as you can fit into your schedule, Mrs. Reynolds. I do not wish to interrupt your own duties, nor the smooth operation of the household.”
Mrs. Reynolds thought for a minute. “Let us start with the upstairs maids. They will be in a taking if the downstairs maids are introduced first.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I trust you to manage this with your usual aplomb, Mrs. Reynolds.”
“Would two o’clock suit, Mrs. Darcy? I can bring them all into the green drawing room.”
“That suits me very well; thank you, Mrs. Reynolds.”
The housekeeper curtsied and departed; Mr. Darcy motioned to the two footmen with a quick jerk of his chin, and they followed suit.
“I will have to learn how to do that,” Elizabeth said, teasing him.
“I do not doubt that you will, but it will be far more dignified.”
“Like the lift of an eyebrow?’
“The merest twitch of an eyebrow will have the footmen running,” he confirmed. “Elizabeth, I wish to tell you…”
“Yes?” she prompted.
