“Oh, do not blame my poor maid, Luisa, for repeating what she has been told, Sir. Her English is not as good as mine andperhaps she misunderstands. The Darcy maid, Tabitha, told her that her mistress has come into the country to mend her broken heart. She is desperately in love with a Mr Digby Frobisher and Tabitha was sure that an announcement was about to be made when some argument occurred. He apparently asked for her sister’s hand, was refused and left Pemberley very abruptly.
“Poor Jane. She looks so wan and unhappy and now we must understand why. To be heartbroken is a dreadful thing, to be made so by your sister is even worse. But I am sure that it was all some sort of confusion and that the young man will soon appear on the scene to make Jane happy once more. True love will never be overcome.”
Archer did not reply. Digby Frobisher! He remembered a young puppy flirting with Anne Darcy at a soirée one evening in London. A shallow, worthless sort of youth, as far as he could recall, no occupation except to spend his parents’ money and enjoy himself. Lord knows why he thought Anne would have accepted his proposal.
Well, Jane and Frobisher! It made it very apparent to him just what her character must be like if she had fallen in love with such a man. They were, in his opinion, very suited to each other and he wished them a happy reunion and much joy!
7
Jane found it difficult during the following days to sort out her feelings for all that had happened since her arrival at Deerwood Park. Her unhappiness over her sister’s betrayal and Digby’s dreadful behaviour was still there, of course,because she refused to acknowledge that from a distance it now looked less important than she had first imagined. It was Celeste’s revelations which caused her to lay awake at night, not memories of Digby’s fair hair and warm smile.
She longed to confide in Susannah about the Colonel’s affections for his distant cousin, but knew she could not break a confidence once given. She had to admit that to her eyes, the Colonel seemed extremely happy; he was busy designing a herb garden that he planned to grow outside the kitchen area.
At breakfast every morning, Celeste was full of good intentions and ideas, but measuring out pathways and helping the gardeners transplant sturdy bushes of mint, rosemary and comfrey soon paled and Susannah, who had established a flourishing herb garden of her own in Derbyshire, had beencalled into action to give advice to the Colonel whilst the Italian girl spent her days sorting out her wardrobe and embellishing her hats with new nets and ribbons.
To Jane’s surprise, her godfather did not seem to mind being left to his own devices by Celeste and she could only suppose that theirs was a relationship which survived being apart quite happily, unlike her own parents who always seemed slightly unhappy when their partner was not at their side.
She had asked the Colonel if he had any objection to her telling her parents about their cousin’s sudden arrival and had been cheered when he said he thought that was a good idea.
“Indeed I have been meaning to write myself. It is very remiss of me, but Celeste was most anxious that she get used to our English ways before meeting up with other members of the family, especially my cousin, the Earl. She wanted to improve her English, and you must admit that every day she gets better and better. And I do declare I believe she is a little scared of visiting Pemberley.
“Of course, Jane, for a girl from a small Sicilian town, a vast estate and great house would be very daunting. We, of course, are quite used to the size and splendour, but Celeste is nervous. Why, she even found Deerwood quite intimidating when she first arrived in England.”
Jane, who could see no sign at all of trepidation in the girl’s demeanour, found she had no sensible reply to this but was glad when her letter home was sent, telling of Celeste’s history and arrival, suggesting that she be invited to visit the Darcys as soon as possible. She felt she had done all she could to safeguard the young woman’s reputation and save her godfather from gossip.
Andrew Moore had ridden over from Robyns twice since their eventful day out but there had been no sign of Mr Maitland whom she was told was busy with his grandmother’s business affairs.
Jane enjoyed Andrew’s company but there were times when she wished he would speak of events that were happening in the world today and not constantly wish to lecture her about ancient civilisations!
This morning she had sat, trying not to fidget whilst he expounded on the wonders of Ancient Greece and had been naughtily very relieved when Celeste insisted that the young doctor escorted her to inspect the late fruit that was being brought to perfection in the glass houses.
“I think you have made a conquest, Jane,” Susannah said as they waved goodbye to the young man from the driveway of Deerwood as he rode off after luncheon, waving his hat in the air with one hand and clutching desperately at his saddle with the other because his riding skills had not yet increased. “And forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I think you might be just the slightest bit interested in the gentleman!”
Jane laughed and linked arms with her as they walked round the house towards the kitchen gardens where the Colonel, his waistcoat discarded, was supervising the laying of little gravel paths between the hedges of new lavender plants, with Bates, the gloomy faced head-gardener.
Celeste was sitting under an archway of late flowering honeysuckle, eating a peach which Andrew had picked for her earlier, juice running down her chin, laughing at some remark the Colonel had just made.
Susannah turned to Jane to comment and realised there had been a big improvement in her demeanour over the past few days. If the pale faced, unhappy girl who had left Derbyshire hadn’t completely vanished, then she was well on the way. There was more colour in Jane’s cheeks and even her hairstyle was less severe than usual.
Susannah felt a sense of relief; obviously the memory of Digby was slowly being eroded by the attentions of the youngarchaeologist! Elizabeth Darcy would be delighted and she decided to write to Pemberley that very evening with the news.
“Oh Susannah, just because two people are comfortable in each other’s company, does not mean they have romantic feelings for each other.”
“Although feeling comfortable with someone is surely a great asset in a relationship.” The older woman looked suddenly thoughtful as she gazed across the garden. “Having a liking for the same things, knowing your minds match on many matters, all that is important, I believe. I have seen what a happy state of affairs that can create with my own brothers and their wives.”
“You are quite correct but I am quite certain there is more to love than both having a fondness for gooseberry cream, which is one of the few areas where Dr Moore and I are in complete agreement!”
“And do you have anything as exciting as gooseberry cream in common with Mr Maitland?”
“Archer Maitland? Goodness me, no. We argue every time we meet. Well, he argues and I refrain from being rude because he is my godfather’s friend and I have no wish for any bad feeling at Deerwood! But you must admit he is an objectionable fellow.”
Susannah shook her head. “I disagree. I find him knowledgeable and forthright, that is all. True, he does have a very straight forward manner of speaking, but I find that refreshing these days when so many gentlemen can spend several minutes and all their breath in just asking for another cup of tea.”
“I am intrigued to meet his grandmother tomorrow night. Lady Goddard sounds a formidable old lady.”
“Indeed she does. Dr Moore told me she frightens him into dropping things—plates, knives, forks, books! He was laughing when he spoke, but I feel there is probably more than a grain of truth in his remarks.”
She shivered suddenly as a few leaves came tumbling down in gust of wind. “Autumn, I fear is finally with us. Mrs Oxley will no doubt be ordering the fires to be lit soon. I expect poor Celeste will notice the change in temperature more than us, especially coming from all that Italian sunshine.”
