Page 55 of The Heroic Mr Darcy's Bad Manners
Elizabeth looked in the mirror and was pleased with her new royal-blue riding habit. She donned an embroidered spencer over it, trimmed and finished after the fashion of a uniform, and a little grey fur stable-cap with a blue band. She had dressed warmly but was glad the sun was shining and it was not too frightfully cold.
“You look lovely!”
Jane stood in the doorway, impatient to depart.
“Have the gentlemen arrived?”
“Yes, they are waiting in the blue parlour. Make haste, Lizzy. You look beautiful and need no further embellishment.”
“I suppose I should thank you, and I would, if I did not suspect you are prevaricating in order to greet your suitors more speedily.”
Jane just smiled and waved her sister along.
The gentlemen, in their eagerness, had moved to the entrance hall to wait for them. Mr Bingley, the colonel, and the viscount all competed to gain Jane’s attention whilst Mr Darcy stayed in the background, scowling as usual. Why had he come if it was only to be displeased? Or had he joined his cousins in vying for Jane’s attention?
Dear lord! I hope it is not so…He would eventually find a lady to court and marry, but it was to be hoped it would be someone she did not need to encounter.
She supposed she should count her blessings instead of borrowing tomorrow’s sorrows. After all, Miss Bingley had not joined them.
Lord Limerick owned a small selection of riding horses. Jane, who was the better horsewoman, rode a stallion, while Elizabeth was riding her grandmother’s docile mare.
Instead of turning right towards Hyde Park, the colonel led them in the direction of St James’s Park.
They had ridden but a few hundred yards when Elizabeth’s horse turned abruptly, and no pulling on the reins could persuade the beast to change her course. Elizabeth prepared herself for an early arrival back at Limerick House when pounding hoofs approached from behind. She said a quick prayer and hoped that the cantering horse would not spur her mare into a race. She sat comfortably while the horse walked, but her confidence in her abilities did not stretch to a full gallop.
The high and mighty Mr Darcy rode up beside her and thankfully slowed his pace.
“Pray, have I blundered and offended you in some manner? If so, I swear it was not by intention,” Mr Darcy enquired contritely.
“I assure you, you have not offended me,” she promised. “Of late,” she added as an afterthought.
“Then what is the matter? You turned so abruptly, I assumed…”
“Oh, nothing is the matter,” Elizabeth replied innocently. “Nothing whatsoever, only she apparently preferred to walk this way.” She gestured to her horse.
Mr Darcy laughed heartily. It was a deep, resonating sound that was quite pleasant, Elizabeth mused.
“I beg your pardon, madam. It was ungentlemanly of me to laugh at you.”
“Think nothing of it. For what do we live for but to make sport for our acquaintances and laugh at them in return?” Elizabeth smiled wryly, but Mr Darcy still carried a look of concern about his countenance.
“Do you require any assistance?” he probed.
“Yes, if you do not mind. I would like to join the rest of our party. Poor Jane. I have left her quite alone with her zealous suitors.”
Mr Darcy grabbed the reins and expertly turned the obstinate animal in the right direction.
“Thank you, Mr Darcy,” Elizabeth whispered whilst clutching the pommel. She expected the beast to oppose his heavy-handedness, but the mare followed obediently. “How do you do it?” she questioned, abashed. It was not an everyday occurrence that she needed assistance from a gentleman.
“You must be assertive and not allow the horse to determine in which direction it should turn.”
“You make it sound so easy, but in my limited experience, it is not that simple.” Her fright with the Lambton beast had left her timid of the giant animals, and she had only recently allowed her father to teach her to ride.
“Are you afraid of the horse, Lady Elizabeth?”
“Not at all,” she replied with a confidence that was unfounded. “Or, perhaps a very little,” she hastened to admit lest her boast induce him to let go of the reins. He must think her cowardly, and she glanced at him, but he wore a warm smile for which she could not account.
“May I be so bold as to recommend one of Lady Jane’s suitors?”
