Page 14 of Mr. Darcy Comes to Town

“By Inti’s hairy toes,” Jeffry said, closing his eyes and trembling with exhausted exasperation. “I won’t get a nap in here.” He rubbed his front paws together and disappeared.

“Where did he go?” Carl asked. “How is he getting out?”

“It must be…magic,” Pickle whispered. The idea startled him so much that he slipped off the edge of his trough pond and swam into the reeds.

“Who is Inti?” Mrs. Annie, a large and venerable hedgehog, queried. “Does anyone know?”

An “I don’t know” chorus filled the orangery.

*

Lizzy slipped into the breakfast room where they ate their early afternoon meals. The room had been decorated with violet prints, and painted a gentle white. The two sofas had been upholstered in a soft green. The table at one end held enough places for ten, allowing room for a few guests if they happened to have some. She always found the room cheery, since it faced southeast.

Her four sisters, her father, and her mother stood near the table. They turned to observe her entrance. Jane smiled in welcome, Mary raised an eyebrow, Kitty and Lydia—funny how she always thought of them as one person—looked annoyed. Her father smiled and waved at the table.

“Let us sit,” he murmured, holding the chair for his wife.

“You should not make people wait for you, even when they are only your family,” Mary preached. “I am starving.”

“You should have eaten more when you woke,” Jane said in a gentle voice.

“I beg your pardon for making you wait,” Lizzy said, finding her seat next to Jane. “I had to take a moment to change.”

“Thank you,” her father said as he took his seat, his manner cordial. “How are all your animals?”

“Oh, Lord,” Lydia groaned, rolling her eyes.

Their father raised his eyebrows at his youngest daughter, and she lowered her gaze to her lap.

“Harry brought me a new creature,” Lizzy announced, grinning at everyone around the table. “He is a guinea pig. Jane named him Jeffry.”

“Another rodent,” her mother moaned. Hill brought in the food, setting the platters and bowls on the table so they might serve themselves, family style. “Pass me the beef tongue, please, Kitty.”

“Yes, Mama,” Kitty said, sending the platter of sliced tongue in pan sauce down the table.

“And how could you stand around talking to Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy wearing that old dress?” her fond mother asked, shaking her head as though Lizzy had caused all the hopes of heaven to disappear. “Anyone can see your ankles in that dress, too. What will they think of you? How many eligible gentlemen do you think will come your way? And when they do, you will probably be dressed like a hoyden.”

“I did not act like a hoyden, however,” Lizzy pointed out. She explained about Mr. Bingley’s errand. “Gerty accepted the lamb easily, too. Yes, I will have some beetroot, Mary.”

“I am sure Mr. Bingley took no notice of dear Lizzy’s dress, Mama,” Jane said in her soothing way. “His kindness would prevent it.”

“Yes, yes, he is a delightful man,” their mother said, nodding emphatically. “If you can catch him, dear Jane—and why should you not when you are so beautiful—then that would be an exceedingly fine thing. But I cannot imagine that your sister does us credit when she dresses the way she does.”

“I have never seen Lizzy dressed in any way to cause us shame when she goes into company,” her father interjected. “Roasted parsnips, please. Thank you, Mary. Now, Bingley and this Darcy fellow arrived unannounced—perfectly acceptable considering their errand. If people come around without an invitation, then they must take us as they find us.”

“You are quite right, Papa,” Mary said as she reached next for a bowl of mashed squash. “Besides—”

“I do not wish to listen to you moralizing today, Mary,” their mother snapped.

Lizzy watched Mary’s shoulders slump beneath their mother’s harsh words. She patted her sister’s arm, smiling sympathetically.

“Were you going to say that I dress sensibly when I am with my animals?” Lizzy asked kindly. “Because, you are quite right.”

“Thank you,” Mary said in a subdued voice.

“Can we speak of something other than Lizzy’s choice of clothing?” Lydia demanded.

“Well, I was going to beg you all to ask your friends and the people you may meet if they know who Jeffry might belong to,” Lizzy explained.