Page 2 of Mr. Darcy and the Mysterious "Miss B"
As the small party moved away from the graveside—Papa now committed to earth with all the ceremony befittinga gentleman of modest estate—Elizabeth walked beside Uncle Morton.
“Uncle Morton,” she said, making sure they couldn’t be overheard. “You need not concern yourself overmuch with James’s observations. We shall find our way forward.”
The old gentleman paused, turning to study her with eyes that held both wisdom and sadness. “You are very like your father, my dear. He too preferred to shoulder burdens alone rather than trouble others.” He glanced towards where James walked ahead of them, deep in conversation with Mr Phillips. “But you must know that you need not face the future without allies. Whatever may come, you have friends who will not abandon you to uncertainty. And James does not mean to be quite so brusque. He was raised without the good counsel of my brother and his mother, as you know. He was an orphan and I have not been as involved as I should have been to shape him. He has a tender heart, however.”
She did not believe her uncle’s assessment of her cousin in the least, but was not going to correct him.
As they approached the churchyard gates, where carriages waited to take the mourning party back to Longbourn for the funeral breakfast, she allowed herself one backward glance at the fresh grave that held all that remained of her father’s earthly presence.
The Hertfordshire sun beat down mercilessly on the black-clad figures, and Elizabeth pulled her veil forward again. The future stretched ahead like unknown territory, full of hidden dangers and possibilities. But for today, at least, they were still the Bennet family of Longbourn. Tomorrow’s worries could wait their turn.
Whatever storms lay ahead, they would weather them as they always had—together, with whatever wit and courage they could manage. Papa, for all his faults, had taught them that much.
Chapter 1
Darcy
30th March 1811
Netherfield
The carriage wheels rumbled against the cobbled road as they approached Meryton, and Fitzwilliam Darcy tried to ignore the mounting sense of dread settling in his chest. Hertfordshire countryside stretched endlessly in every direction—fields of brown stubble and bare hedgerows that reminded him why he preferred London. At least in town, one could find intelligent conversation and proper society. Here, he would be subjected to an evening of country dancing with farmers’ daughters and shopkeepers’ wives.
“There it is!” Bingley pressed his face to the window. “The assembly rooms. I can see carriages already arriving.”
“Calm yourself, Charles,” Caroline Bingley said from her seat across from Darcy. “One would think you’d never attended a ball before.”
Darcy watched his friend’s enthusiasm with barely concealed irritation. For the past two days, Bingley had spoken of nothing but this country assembly and the possibility of seeing Miss Jane Bennet again. The woman he had met at some bookshop and who had apparently bewitched him with a single conversation about novels.
“You must tell me again about this Miss Bennet,” Darcy said, adjusting his cravat. “I confess I cannot understandyour fascination with someone you’ve spoken to for all of ten minutes.”
“Twenty minutes, actually,” Bingley grinned. “And what twenty minutes it was. She’s the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, Darcy. Golden hair, the sweetest disposition, and when she smiled…” he sighed. “I’ve been counting the hours until tonight.”
Caroline sniffed. “How romantic. Though I do hope you will remember what I told you about her circumstances. Five daughters, all unmarried, and their estate entailed away to some relation or other. They only came out of mourning two weeks ago.”
“Mourning?” Darcy’s attention sharpened. “Who died?”
“Their father,” Louisa Hurst supplied from her corner of the carriage. “Apparently, it was quite sudden. The family is in rather reduced circumstances now, from what I understand.”
Darcy frowned. A household of five unmarried daughters with no male protection and limited funds sounded like exactly the sort of family that would set their caps at any gentleman with a decent income. He made a note to keep Bingley from making any rash decisions.
“That only makes me more eager to see her,” Bingley said, his voice growing tender. “She must be bearing such a heavy burden, helping to care for her younger sisters. I admire that in a woman.”
The carriage drew to a halt outside the assembly rooms, and Darcy could already hear music drifting through the windows. Through the lit windows, he glimpsed the silhouettes of dancers and felt his spirits sink even lower. An evening ofstilted conversation with provincial gentlemen and their eager wives stretched ahead of him.
“Come now, Darcy,” Bingley said, climbing down from the carriage. “Try to enjoy yourself. When was the last time you danced with someone who was not a duke’s daughter or an earl’s niece?”
“There’s a reason I prefer such company,” Darcy muttered, but he followed his friend towards the entrance. There, the Hursts and Caroline parted from them.
The assembly rooms were smaller than he had expected, with low-beamed ceilings and walls painted a cheerful yellow that somehow made the whole space feel cramped. The air was thick with the scent of beeswax candles, and too many people crowded into too small a space. Ladies in their finest gowns—which would have been laughably out of fashion in London—twirled across the dance floor with their partners.
“Mr Bingley!” A woman’s voice called out, and Darcy turned to see an elderly gentleman approaching with a lady on his arm.
“Mr Phillips,” Bingley said with a smile. “How good to see you again. May I present my friend, Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy? Darcy, this is Mr Phillips, the local solicitor, and his wife. They are the Bennet sisters’ aunt and uncle. We met at the book shop. Surely you remember that I told you about its Darcy.”
How could he forget?
Mrs Phillips curtsied with obvious delight. “Oh, Mr Darcy! What an honour. We so rarely see gentlemen of your standing in our little corner of Hertfordshire. You must be presented to our young ladies immediately.”
