“Yes; she has taken your dereliction in this regard quite to heart and rather blames me for it.”
“Blames you? The blame is mine, and mine alone. Truth to tell, with everything going on at Kent and then Hertfordshire, I had quite forgotten the matter.”
“But she is happier to blame me than you, so please let me be the one to set the matter right, if it can be done.”
“You hope to entice Master Bianchi to come to Pemberley?”
“Yes, for a week.”
“Georgiana would be overcome with delight.”
“Well, let us say nothing until we know if it can be accomplished. I think these foreign masters are rather proud.”
“Very well. Were you able to meet with the upstairs maids today, as you intended?”
Elizabeth told him of the meeting, saying that she thought it had gone well enough. “There will always be some who look to your mother, rather than to me,” she added. Unless she is at Cresston Hall, she thought, but did not say.
Unless she is at Cresston Hall, Mr. Darcy thought, but did not say.
Elizabeth then brightened. “Oh, I have been waiting to baffle you with a first line!”
“Go on, then,” he said, smiling at her eagerness.
“When once sordid interest seizes on the heart, it freezes up the source of every warm and liberal feeling; it is an enemy alike to virtue and to taste—thisit perverts, andthatit annihilates.” She waited then, her face shining with repressed laughter, certain that she had stumped him.
He laughed at her eagerness. “Romance of the Forest, of course. My sister made me read it some time ago. It was not to my taste, but the style is unforgettable.”
Her face fell, and then brightened again. “It will be your turn to stump me tonight, then.”
***
Abby dressed Elizabeth for dinner in another of her new gowns, this one in the ever-popular Pomona green. “It is a lovely colour, ma’am,” Abby commented.
“Yes, everyone seems to like it. I preferred the American green; sadly, though, it is no longer in fashion.”
“I thought to try something new with your hair; perhaps up in a crown with a few flowers tucked in?”
“That sounds lovely, Abby. And there are flowers enough, heaven knows!” The head gardener was delighted to have a new mistress who appreciated his effort, and had sent flowers to her room. Elizabeth enjoyed their fragrance, and prayed that no one would tell Lady Anne about this special attention, lest the gardener be reproached.
“You should ask Mr. Darcy to give you topaz earrings to match the cross, Mrs. Darcy,” Abbey said. “Or perhaps wear some of the special pieces you mentioned?”
“No, they really are too much for a family dinner, Abby.”
“Where are they, Mrs. Darcy? I did not see them in your jewel case.”
Elizabeth turned her head to look at Abby. There was something in Abby’s face and voice that Elizabeth did not like. I must be imagining it, she thought, but nonetheless replied rather coolly, “I believe they are in Mr. Darcy’s safe.”
The girl’s face fell, and finished Elizabeth’s coiffure in silence.
***
Both Mr. Darcy and Miss Darcy awaited Elizabeth in the drawing room. Her husband rose and bowed when she walked in, and she moved to sit beside him on the sofa. She began, cordially, “Miss Darcy, I apologise for not making time to play a duet with you today. It has been a rather busy one.”
“Oh, I know. You met with the maids in the green drawing room.”
Elizabeth was surprised that Miss Darcy knew of her doings. “Yes, quite right.”
Miss Darcy continued, “The house is abuzz with it, you know.”
