Page 6 of Stranded at Michaelmas

“Forgive me,” she said when she had sufficiently recovered her senses. “I did not see you there.”

She felt a little foolish for making such an obvious statement, but it was the best her scrambled mind could produce at that moment.

“Nor did I see you,” he replied, a slight rasp in his voice. He cleared his throat before speaking again. “But as neither of us is injured, I believe no harm was done. I have just come from the stables, where I spoke with my coachman, and yours—” he glanced towards her aunt “—agreed with mine that the roads should be dry enough in a few hours for us to continue our journeys. We will still be required to proceed slowly, but I believe we shall both reach our destinations without difficulty.”

“Thank you, Mr Darcy,” Aunt Gardiner answered. “Since we still have several hours before we can depart, Lizzy and I thought we would take a brief walk before breakfast. Would you care to join us?”

“I would,” Mr Darcy replied, his expression brightening.

He offered an arm to each lady, and Elizabeth hesitated only a moment before placing her hand upon his. Once again, she felt a small thrill at the contact and found herself wondering whether he noticed it too.

For several minutes, the trio walked in silence, simply enjoying the morning. The sky had cleared after the heavy rain of the day before, and the sun now shone brightly. The path was covered with pebbles, allowing the ladies to walk without too much concern for their skirts, though they occasionally had to step around a lingering puddle.

Before they had gone very far, Aunt Gardiner excused herself and returned to the inn, leaving the footman to accompany Elizabeth.

Elizabeth cast a suspicious glance after her aunt. Aunt Gardiner had shown no sign of wishing to abandon their walk until that moment, and Elizabeth strongly suspected she knew precisely what she was doing.

The footman remained only a few paces behind them, so there could be no concern for propriety. Still, Elizabeth found herself rather more conscious of the gentleman beside her now that her aunt was no longer there to fill any inconvenient silences.

“If you need to return to the inn, Mr Darcy, do not feel obligated to remain with me if you would prefer otherwise,” she said, warmth creeping up her neck and into her cheeks as she considered that he might not wish to stay with her.

“I am happy to walk with you, Miss Bennet,” Mr Darcy said, his tone still kind and perhaps a little amused. It was difficult to say whether that was truly what she detected in his voice or something else entirely, but at least he did not appear displeased by the position in which her aunt’s departure had left them.

“Besides, we did not have much opportunity to speak last night of Netherfield,” he continued after a moment. “You said you were familiar with the estate. Can you tell me if there is anything my friend ought to know?”

“As you said, the estate is well run, even with an absentee landowner,” Elizabeth replied. “The servants are well trained and were entirely trusted by the gentleman who last resided there.”

“Yes, I had that impression after meeting them,” Mr Darcy answered, appearing thoughtful. “Do you know who owns Netherfield? Bingley never mentioned from whom he was leasing the estate. He said only that he had dealt with the solicitor.”

“My Uncle Philips is the Meryton solicitor responsible for the lease, and he is the person Mr Bingley should speak to if there are any difficulties,” Elizabeth answered. She debated how much more to say but settled upon her usual response. “I do know who owns Netherfield, but he prefers that his affairs not be publicly discussed.”

If Mr Darcy thought the situation odd, he did not comment and allowed the matter to drop.

“With the estate so well run, I cannot imagine there are many vacancies among the tenant cottages, but do you know of any matters my friend ought to address?” Mr Darcy asked after a moment. “Since he is only leasing the estate, Bingley has no obligation to undertake anything beyond the terms of his lease, but I would still like to see him visit the tenants. Perhaps he might even persuade his sisters to do something kind for the families. Is there some sort of harvest celebration for Michaelmas?”

“For the last several years, a number of families in the neighbourhood have held a Harvest Home celebration for the tenants,” Elizabeth replied. “They work together to provide the food and entertainment so that everyone may attend. This year, the celebration is to be held at Netherfield. There is a large area beside the main barn with room enough for everyone, and while the families responsible for the various estates are generally present at the beginning, they usually leave soon afterwards.”

Mr Darcy nodded, appearing thoughtful. They walked in silence for several minutes, and Elizabeth found she did not feel at all uncomfortable with it. Instead, she simply enjoyed the sunshine and the presence of the gentleman beside her.

A few minutes later, Elizabeth heard her aunt calling her name.

“I imagine our breakfast is ready,” Elizabeth said, feeling strangely reluctant for their walk to end. “Perhaps you might join us—that is, unless you have already eaten?”

“I have not, and I would be delighted to join you for the meal, Miss Bennet,” Mr Darcy replied, and something in his tone made her suddenly conscious of how much she welcomed the answer.

Once again, Elizabeth enjoyed the meal and the time spent in Mr Darcy’s company. He was well spoken, obviously educated, and, most importantly, kind. He did not speak down to her but rather seemed to enjoy the company of both her and her aunt nearly as much as she enjoyed his.

The night before, Aunt Gardiner had made a few comments about Pemberley that led Elizabeth to believe the estate was large—far larger than Longbourn—and that Mr Darcy’s position in society was considerably above her own. Until then, Elizabeth had given little thought to the difference between them. He had simply been a gentleman whose company she enjoyed.

Now, however, she could not help imagining what might happen when he came to Hertfordshire and met the rest of her family. The thought made her uneasy. Jane was everything lovely, of course, and no one could find fault with her appearance or behaviour. Papa would likely find Mr Darcy interesting if he could be persuaded to leave his library long enough to speak with him, but would a man like Mr Darcy be impressed by her father’s somewhat indolent manner? She had long since realised that he was not an involved father, and his comments about her and her sisters sometimes mortified her.

Her younger sisters were another matter entirely, and Mama… Elizabeth suppressed a sigh. She found herself dreading the prospect of introducing Mr Darcy to them, convinced that once he witnessed her family in all its glory, he might decide he wished to have very little to do with her. With Mama having decided that his friend was destined for Jane, would her insistence on the match cause them all to pack up and leave Hertfordshire abruptly?

Of course, Elizabeth had already realised that she could not allow herself any serious inclination towards Mr Darcy. Her aunt’s description of Pemberley, together with the obvious extent of his wealth and consequence, made the difference in their situations perfectly clear. She was a gentleman’s daughter and therefore could meet him without impropriety, but she was not foolish enough to imagine that made them equals in every respect. Whatever pleasure she found in his company, it would be much wiser to regard him only as a new acquaintance—one she happened to like rather more than was entirely convenient.

Unfortunately, knowing that did very little to lessen her enjoyment of his company. She told herself that she ought simply to enjoy it while she could.

As breakfast continued, their conversation canvassed books once again before turning to Derbyshire, prompted by a passage in Cowper that Mr Darcy declared a grave injustice. From there, he began asking Elizabeth about Hertfordshire and the people he might expect to meet when he returned with Mr Bingley, as well as what sorts of entertainments were common in the neighbourhood.