Burke looked towards the fire. "Just nineteen," he said softly. "But there were people depending on him. Mr Darcy has always taken that sort of thing serious like."
Elizabeth found herself thinking of Netherfield. Of the countless occasions she had caught him watching everything and everyone with that stern, assessing expression she disliked so much. Had he been judging them? Or simply paying attention? The thought was an uncomfortable one.
Burke rose to his feet. "Dinner is at six. Mrs Goose says she expects to see you downstairs."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then she'll come up and fetch you herself," he said with a smile.
After he had gone, she remained by the fire for some time, listening to the rain and thinking. Burke had not told her very much, but somehow it felt like more than she had learnt about Mr Darcy during all the weeks they had spent beneath the same roof at Netherfield. The discovery that he didn’t fit neatly into the image she had formed for him was irritating. She couldn’t decide who he was and it was deeply unsettling.
???
The dining room was larger than Elizabeth expected, but it was packed with travellers of all shapes and sizes. Two long tables had been pushed together to accommodate the unexpected influx. Wet cloaks hung from pegs beside the door, dripping steadily onto ancient flagstones, while boots in varying states of ruin had been abandoned close to the large fireplace. The windows had long since steamed over from the heat of the room and several candles burned low in their sconces.
Elizabeth paused in the doorway just long enough to discover that Mr Darcy was already seated at the long central table. There was only one vacant chair beside him.
His eyes lifted immediately and met hers. For one absurd moment she considered retreating upstairs. Mrs Gooseappeared at her shoulder. "There you are, Mrs Darcy. Your husband's been looking towards the door every thirty seconds."
Elizabeth closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, Mr Darcy was studying the ceiling with the expression of a man praying for strength.
"Thank you, Mrs Goose," she said tightly.
"My pleasure, dear."
By the time Elizabeth reached the table, several people were looking curiously at her. She felt heat creeping up her neck as she sat down beside Mr Darcy and accepted a bowl of soup from a passing maid.
"You are late," he murmured.
"You are fortunate I came at all."
Before he could respond, the lady seated opposite leaned forward eagerly. Mrs Prentice was a widow of perhaps sixty years with bright eyes and a garish green gown in the style of twenty years earlier. She introduced herself cheerfully and clearly knew who Elizabeth was already.
"My dear, it is lovely to see you looking so much improved. Your husband was quite beside himself last night."
Elizabeth nearly choked on her soup.
Across the table Mr Darcy clenched his fist around his spoon. "I assure you, madam—"
"I have never seen a man more concerned for his wife," continued Mrs Prentice.
"Mrs Prentice—"
"He carried you in as though the hounds of hell were after him. It was most romantic." The older lady beamed at Mr Darcy, while he stared with great concentration at his soup.
Elizabeth looked at him curiously. Surely not. Were his ears turning pink?
The gentleman nearest Mrs Prentice introduced himself as Mr Crabtree, a wool merchant travelling north on business. He was a broad, ruddy-faced man of about fifty with thick grey side-whiskers. Having established that Mrs Prentice's late husband had once owned a farm near Ripon, he immediately embarked upon a detailed discussion of breeding stock and the decline of agricultural standards. Mrs Prentice appeared delighted by the topic and contributed several strong opinions of her own.
Elizabeth and Mr Darcy ate quietly, both pleased for their fellow travellers to carry the weight of conversation.
As the main course arrived, the door opened and a tall gentleman entered wearing military dress. He was perhaps five-and-twenty, broad-shouldered and with damp blonde hairpushed back from a fine-boned face. He moved with easy confidence that contrasted sharply with Mr Darcy's reserve.
Mrs Goose greeted him warmly. "Captain Henderson. We were beginning to think the flood had carried you away."
Henderson laughed and took a now vacant place beside Mrs Prentice. Introductions were made around the table and when his turn came he inclined his head politely to Elizabeth.
"Mrs Darcy."
