Page 2 of Bella Darcy is on the Run

Her mama sat on her papa's other side, her head bent away from him and towards Bella's middle sister, Kate. Katherine was named for her Aunt Kitty, who had passed when Bella was still a toddler, and she was the most serious-minded of the sisters, always with her head in some academic tome or other. A book lay open between them on the table, and they were chatting happily, occasionally pointing out some passage or diagram as they sipped steaming cups of tea.

As Bella stood before the table, she felt strangely apart from the rest of her family. As though she had awkwardly shuffled into a scene in a play before her cue. Her mama looked up at her, and her eyes widened slightly, but her lips quickly broadened into a smile.

"Good morning, my love. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Mama," Bella said, dropping into a chair.

Mina looked towards her and let out a small gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. Even Kate looked up from the book she had been discussing with their mother and gawped at her.

"Whatever is the matter with you all?" Bella said irritably.

Her father stood from his seat, dropping his paper onto the table.

"Can I get you a plate, sweet..." He stopped suddenly. His expression was so reminiscent of Kate's that Bella began to worry in earnest.

"Have I something on my face?" she asked, swiping at her cheek.

"No," said Mina, a gurgle of laughter escaping. "It is just your hair. It is so... so..." She struggled to get the words out clearly. "So tall." She dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"It does look rather like you have been attacked with a curling iron," said Kate with a frown. "Why is the front part so poofy?" She examined her sister closely as though she were one of her specimens.

"Girls," said their mother firmly. "I am certain it is very à la mode."

"Marie insisted on it," said Bella glumly. "I feel like I am carrying a ship on my head. It is very heavy."

"I believe you would look perfectly charming if you had a whole fleet on your head," said her father indulgently, walking around the table to kiss her on the cheek. "Now, let me fix you a plate."

He went over to the sideboard and added coddled eggs and ham to her plate, along with a slice of toast. He knew all of their favourites and always insisted that ladies did not fill their own plates when there was a gentleman nearby. She had a sudden memory of herself clamped onto his back as a small girl, directing him to build a plate of such enormous proportions and unusual combinations that she could never hope to finish it. He had declared they would share it and sat her on his knee as he announced that kippers with plum preserve was a wondrous new concoction. Her mother had laughed so hard that hot chocolate had spurted out of her nose. Bella smiled at the memory and felt a sudden rush of longing to go back to the simplicity of that time.

Mina roused her from her reverie. "Can I paint you this morning? The whole confection is most architectural." She tilted her head as though trying to better assess the proportions of Bella's coiffure.

Her father set Bella's plate in front of her and answered before the sharp retort could leave her tongue, resting a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Not today, my Mina," he said, tugging a curl affectionately as he passed. "Today, Bella is needed at the steward's office with me. We still have much to cover after our curtailed session yesterday."

"Must we, Papa?" she pleaded. She desperately longed to pull the pins from her aching head and walk the trails of Pemberley. She had a new novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and wanted to only find a quiet place to enjoy it, ideally with a freshly baked roll and an apple swiped from the kitchen.

"Bella, we must. You cannot keep avoiding your responsibilities. I was only a few years older than you when I became master of Pemberley, and I know Anne has spoken with you of the difficulties that can come with asserting authority as a mistress. It is your birthright and your duty to Pemberley's past and future."

It was a well-worn conversation, and Bella felt ire bubble inside her. "I did not ask for it to be my birthright," she said, pushing her eggs around the plate.

Her father shared a worried glance with her mother.

"Last year Parliament passed the Reform Act because everyone agreed the old system was unfair. More men were given the vote, and all anybody could speak of was representation. But women are still excluded entirely, and thousands of ordinary men have no vote at all. Yet I am to inherit thousands of acres and all the influence that comes with them simply because I happened to be born here and now. I have done nothing to earn it."

"Bella..."

"Does not Reverend Hedges preach every week that all men are equal in the eyes of God? Why, then, should I inherit all this wealth and influence, or be expected to follow one narrow path through life, simply because I happened to be born the eldest Darcy?"

Her father stood from his chair. He rarely lost his temper, but his voice now dropped dangerously low. Bella wondered if he regretted allowing her to read his newspapers so voraciously.

"I visited a tenant on the Whitmore estate last week who was living in a leaking cottage with a sick wife and baby and scarcely enough food to feed them. Do you understand the privilege you were born into, Bella? The safety and security you enjoy? Do you know how cruel the world can be beyond these walls? We all have responsibilities. We cannot simply flit about and be answerable only to ourselves. The only reason you are able to enjoy those privileges is because of this estate and the hundreds of people who support it. They fulfil their responsibilities. Do you not think they deserve the same courtesy from you?"

Bella's face grew hot. "I know my responsibility, Papa, and I will take my place when the time comes. But how can I be satisfied with seeing nothing of the world? With spending my whole life here, learning estate accounts and searching for a suitable husband among the crowd of insipid imbeciles in London?" She shook her head. "It is not enough. I want to see something beyond Pemberley before it becomes the whole of my life."

"Stop it, Bella," hissed Mina. "You will only make everyone cross."

"You may not have that choice!" her father roared, causing everyone to sit back in their chairs. If it was rare for her father to become angry, it was almost unheard of for him to raise his voice. "What if something were to happen to me? No one knows what the future holds. My father did not have time to teach me all I needed to know, and I spent many years learning at his side. You do not show an ounce of interest or application. When I try to share that knowledge with you, it is as though you are not even in the room. Do you want Pemberley to go to ruin under your stewardship?"