Page 18 of Eavesdroppers Never Hear
Jane looked suspicious, while Elizabeth looked perplexed.
Darcy said, “Should we throw the poor analogy in first. It seems a shame to waste a fine grave.”
Elizabeth laughed gaily, while Mary and Jane joined in a moment later.
Mary said, “On the one hand, it seems appropriate—but on the other, I wonder if it is fair to bury poor Mr Bingley with our dead analogy.”
Jane frowned. “He can get himself out! Mr Darcy has done all the heavy digging.”
Elizabeth and Mary nodded, though whether in agreement or simple acknowledgement was not clear.
“Perhaps you might take pity on me and explain what you mean in terms simple enough for even a lunkhead like me to understand?”
Mary glared at Elizabeth disconcertingly for the space of half a minute.
Elizabeth finally sighed. “I believe you have the right of it.”
Jane queried, “I presume you know what you are doing, as I certainly do not.”
“Nor I,” Darcy said.
Elizabeth laughed and moved over to stand beside him.
“Come with me and follow my lead, Mr Darcy. We are going to rehabilitate your reputation.”
“How?” he asked in puzzlement.
“Watch and learn, sir. Watch and learn.”
10.Rehabilitation
Elizabeth gestured for the man to follow her as Mary and Jane turned to walk toward Charlotte. Darcy gamely kept pace with a look of confusion.
She asked in a quiet voice, “May I assume you can speak in depth about wheat, barley, oats, crop rotation, drainage, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, horses, the war, parliament, and the like?”
“Any or all of those,” he replied gently.
“Excellent!” she said as they approached a couple in their forties standing next to a young lady of about Elizabeth’s age and a boy of ten.
Elizabeth gathered the group’s attention. “May I introduce Mr Darcy? Sir, these are Mr and Mrs Schotte, their daughter, Clara, and son Isaac. The Schutte’s have an estate much like Longbourn five miles the other side of Netherfield.”
Everyone bowed, curtsied, and replied with the standard introductions allowing for general happiness at the acquaintance.
Elizabeth said, “Are you not having some problems with your sheep, Mr Schotte?” Then she turned to Darcy and explained, “He has Derbyshire Gritstones, and if I remember correctly, there are some types of parasites that are more common in Hertfordshire than in Derbyshire, or perhaps it is something with the differences in climate or feed. I hoped you could help him.”
With that, she stepped to the side slightly, pulling Mrs Schotte and Clara’s attention along with her. They could hear the men perfectly but did not want to intrude on their conversation. Elizabeth’s motivation was a genuine desire to allow the gentleman to engage with a peer just to prove that he could do so with decorum and amiability. Her removal was not the least bit influenced by finding the subject dull as dirt.
As per plan, the men quickly fell into a brief discussion, culminating a mere five minutes later with an invitation to dine and examine the herds two days hence. Much to her relief, it seemed likely the Derbyshire gentleman did know more than a little about the sheep named after the county his family had occupied for centuries.
Once Elizabeth was satisfied Mr Darcy had proved he knew which end of an ewe a lamb emerged from, she continued Mary’s plan. She found it interesting that she intuitively knew what Mary had in mind with just a few words; but then reckoned the necessity was so obvious her sister need not have spoken at all.
She quietly apologised for dragging the man away for more introductions and hoped the Schottes would find the rest of their day satisfactory.
With polite thanks, Darcy took his leave of the family, said he anticipated his visit with pleasure, and thanked them for the acquaintance.
As they started to move, Darcy reflexively offered his arm. Elizabeth gave the matter some thought and eventually took it, believing it was a poor time to take up churlishness. The whole exchange did not take long as her next victim was only fifteen yards away.
She approached a couple closer to their sixties than forties, who smiled broadly.
