Page 57 of The Heroic Mr Darcy's Bad Manners
“If you want to accept, allow me to aid you from your horse,” Mr Darcy spoke from below. He had dismounted, tethered his horse, and come to be of assistance. “There is no mounting block here.”
“Yes, I would like that very much,” Elizabeth agreed.
“Do you permit me to put my hands upon your waist and aid you to the ground?” Mr Darcy enquired ever so politely.
Elizabeth nodded and relished the large and comfortable hands that enveloped her and brought her safely down from her perched position.
“Thank you,” she breathed but dared not meet his eyes. If she had, he might correctly assume how affected she was by the small gesture. Instead, she hastened after her sister and left it to Mr Darcy to tie up her horse. Jane had disappeared, but in the yard, a sergeant was teaching a sword exercise to a group of new recruits. It was entertaining, and Elizabeth watched in awe.
“Pay attention! Draw your swords by taking a firm grip on the hilt. At the same time, throw the sheath smartly backwards like this.” The sergeant showed the ensigns how it was done, but not one managed to imitate him, and they all appeared quite forgetful of his warnings.
“Steady there, Barnstable! You never grip the blade with your fingers, you clod-pate.”
The solemn-looking sergeant had his ensigns drawing their swords perfectly ere long. Elizabeth accepted Mr Darcy’s arm and entered the accommodations, where Jane was inspecting Colonel Fitzwilliam’s unimpressive room from the threshold. It was square with a large trunk, a cot, a small desk, and nothing else. She had imagined that a colonel’s quarters would have been better furnished. The colonel used Jane’s distraction to withdraw something from his trunk, small enough to be concealed in his hand, and he hid it in his pocket before Elizabeth could see what it was.
“You must excuse the poor conditions. I do not sleep here very often,” the colonel explained.
“No. Usually I find him in my study sipping my best port.” Mr Darcy grinned, surprising Elizabeth with his wry comment.
“I am simply doing my duty to my ward,” Colonel Fitzwilliam replied, unperturbed.
“You must show me where in my father’s will it says,must drink copious amounts of Darcy’s port. I missed that paragraph,” Mr Darcy drawled.
“Certainly. If you lend me a quill, ink, your father’s will, and five minutes alone with all three items, it can be arranged.”
Mr Darcy smiled. “We are happy to have you, even if you empty my wine cellar. We are quite dull when it is just my taciturn self and my reserved sister.”
“It must be blissfully quiet,” Jane remarked.
The colonel looked askance at her, and Jane could not keep a straight face. She giggled, and the colonel erupted in a wide grin.
Had he believed Jane to be deprived of humour? If so, he was in for a shocking surprise because Jane could be just as wry and witty as Elizabeth, though she only displayed it to those she was particularly familiar with, which showed her marked preference for the colonel, who was neither handsome nor plain. Remarkable, Elizabeth decided was the best term to describe him, and most certainly a gentleman. She could not fault his impeccable manners.
“What is taking you so long?” Mr Bingley had come to find his wayward lady, and the viscount followed at a leisurely pace.
“Did you meet the general?” Elizabeth enquired.
“No.” Mr Bingley sighed dejectedly. “He was already gone when we turned the corner.”
“Shall we proceed to the park?” the colonel suggested. “Leave the horses,” he commanded. “It is not far.” He hastened to offer Jane his arm before any of the other gentlemen had the opportunity to do so, and Elizabeth followed quickly behind before anyone had the time to offer her the same.
“Far to what?” Mr Bingley asked. “Have you not noticed that the ground is covered in snow?”
“I have arranged a little surprise for the ladies,” the colonel said but could not be cajoled into telling them what it was.
They proceeded the short distance to St James’s Park, which lay directly behind the Horse Guards’ barracks. The snow- and frost-covered park sparkled in the sun, creating the perfect backdrop for romance. A group of recruits marched a path through the snow so that the ladies’ boots would not suffer the wetness. A tent had been erected by a small copse of trees, probably to allow some privacy from the hundreds of people gathered in the park, and it was thither that the colonel escorted them.
Inside the tent, three sleighs fully equipped with furs and blankets stood in a row, and three footmen were ready to serve them from overflowing baskets.
Elizabeth was impressed by the colonel’s clever and inventive efforts.
“A picnic!” Jane exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with joy.
“In the dead of winter,” Mr Bingley muttered disapprovingly.
“I cannot take all the credit,” Colonel Fitzwilliam demurred.
“Yes, you can,” Mr Darcy insisted.
