Page 26 of Gold and Good Sense

“Was he a plantation owner, then?” asked Mr. Darcy. “I have heard there was a great deal of opportunity in the former colonies for growing wealth by growing tobacco or cotton.”

“He did own a large farm, though he never called it a plantation,” said Elizabeth. “I do not know what he grew at first, but for the last fifteen years, his primary crop was gold rocks.”

“Gold!” said Mr. Darcy.

“Yes, gold,” said Elizabeth with a laugh. “They were just sitting there throughout his field. He eventually discovered that they had been deposited there when the river flooded, so he began searching the river as well.”

“I had not heard that gold was found anywhere in North America,” said Mr. Darcy, “though I have certainly heard of the gold mines in South America.”

“It was the quietest, calmest gold rush in history,” she said. “I suspect that eventually someone will begin mining the hills where that river springs from to find the source of the gold, but no one has done so yet.”

“I would never have imagined such a thing was even possible,” said Mr. Darcy. “How could the farmers who lived along that river not have recognized that they had gold on their land or that there was gold in the river?”

“I asked my uncle the same question,” said Elizabeth. “He said that in its raw form, gold is not particularly remarkable. An uneducated farmer who seldom sees any kind of gold would almost certainly not recognize it. Even he did not realize what it was at first, only when he picked it up and felt how very heavy it was. Now, Mr. Darcy, I have told you a bit about my home and my history. It is your turn. Do tell me of Pemberley. I have heard it is in Derbyshire, but I know nothing else.”

“Pemberley has been the home of the Darcys for nearly three centuries,” said Mr. Darcy. “Kympton, the village which houses its tenants, is made up of over one hundred cottages as well as a small general store. Derbyshire is far more hilly than Hertfordshire, making it nearly impossible for typical crops to grow in any large quantities. Most of my tenants are sheep herders or they raise cattle.”

Chapter 13

Once Elizabeth managed to get Mr. Darcy to actually speak, he turned out to be a pleasant conversationalist, enough so that when the next course was served and politeness required her to turn her attention once again to Baron Chithers, Elizabeth was rather disappointed.

Mr. Darcy had a way of speaking while mostly avoiding looking directly at her. He looked at his plate or his napkin, but not at her face. He occasionally looked in her direction, but his gaze was focused on her sleeve or something just behind her.

Only once in their conversation did he look directly in her eyes, and the feeling was unexpectedly intense. His gaze was piercing as though by simply looking at her eyes, he could see every minute detail about her. It was impossible to look away, and she was unaccountably both relieved and disappointed when he broke their connection.

When dessert was finally served, Elizabeth was grateful to be able to return her attention to Mr. Darcy, hoping to pick up their conversation once again, but he had returned to his taciturn silence.

This time, Elizabeth did nothing to combat it. She just stared at her dessert and played with her fork, feeling inexplicably lonely.

Dinner came to an end without another word between her and Mr. Darcy other than a brief farewell as Elizabeth left for the drawing room while he stayed behind to enjoy port with the gentlemen.

Elizabeth wished to find Jane to tell her all about her dinner partner, but when she arrived in the drawing room, Jane was already speaking with Mrs. Hudson on a sofa. So, Elizabeth looked around for Mary.

Mary was standing by the fire, looking pensively into the flames.

“I hope you are enjoying your evening so far,” Elizabeth said to her sister as she approached.

Mary shrugged a little, though she did not look up at Elizabeth. “Dinner was delicious, and my dinner partners were kind enough. I am afraid I must have annoyed them, though, with my discussion of the newspaper, for neither of them spoke to me for long, at least not on any subject worth mentioning.”

“What did they speak of?” asked Elizabeth.

“Hunting and cards,” said Mary. “I suppose they were attempting to brag about their gambling prowess or the quality of their hunting dogs, but it didn’t interest me, so I stopped listening after a while.”

“Do you suppose that’s how they felt about your discussion of the newspaper?” asked Elizabeth.

“Very likely,” said Mary, “and I understand what you are implying. If I wish for gentlemen to listen to me, I must speak on topics that interest them. However, I must insist on drawing a line. While I can understand that a gentleman might not be well versed in Fordyce’s sermons, any gentleman who does not pay attention to the news is not a gentleman I would wish to associate with.”

“I am certain Lady Esther would agree with you,” said Elizabeth. “I agree as well to a degree. However, I can’t deny that it hurts me to see you ignored and unhappy.”

Mary shrugged again. “Do not concern yourself overmuch,” she said. “I am annoyed more than I am unhappy. I understand that at the moment my primary attraction is my fortune, but I absolutely refuse to compromise my expectations of gentlemen simply to accommodate their interest in my money. Besides, Papa doesn’t truly wish us to even think about courtship or marriage, yet. No, Elizabeth. You need not concern yourself with me. I will be well, I assure you.”

“If you are certain, then I will say no more about it,” said Elizabeth. She looked out over the room at the various ladies both old and young and said, “I suppose I should mingle a bit, but I am somewhat overwhelmed at the prospect of meeting so many new people all at once.”

“I thought you would relish such a thing,” said Mary. “You always seem to know exactly what to say to everyone, whether lifelong friend or complete stranger.”

“That is exactly the illusion I wish to cultivate,” said Elizabeth, “for I truly do love to meet new people, to learn more of the world and of humanity. At the same time, however, even I have my limits as to how much I can learn in a single evening.” She sighed. “Even so, if we are to establish ourselves amongst our new peers, it must be done.”

Elizabeth squared her shoulders just a bit and said, “Wish me luck.”