Page 88 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
But he couldn’t wait to see what was next in their future. He didn’t care what Lord Atwood or Sir Humphrey thought. This woman was as pure as the water splashing in the fountain. And someone he’d like to kiss as Mr. Darcy kissed his new wife. One day.
Chapter 19
“How is it going?”
Another Sunday talk with her family, catching them up in recent happenings. “It’s been huge. Seeing it’s summer, we decided to open the house and gardens more often, so now they’re open Wednesday to Saturday, with the gardens only open from twelve on Sunday.” When Richard was available to help. God bless him.
“We’re so grateful for the new volunteers who have helped with that. Oh, and Marge has finally had the go-ahead to start the café, so that’s great. She should start serving in the last week of August, which is good.” The last week of many people’s vacation time. Still, anything was better than nothing. And having the café open when the cooler months hit was probably a good thing for when coffee and ice cream vans wouldn’t cut it anymore.
“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” Dad said.
She nodded. “So busy. Let’s see, what else? We’ve also cleared out the library of all these old books that we’re going to sell in a secondhand bookstore in the room next to the gift shop. You’d like this, Katie. We’re going to have special surprise books, wrapped up in plain paper, that people purchase like a lucky dip. Isn’t that clever?” One of Patricia’s ideas. A good one, that Liv had been relieved to use after knocking so many others on the head.
“Will you have an Austen section?” Mum asked.
“Actually, Gran suggested we include some of those books in the gift shop, like in a Mr. Darcy display. We have a local lady who does candles who has created a Mr. Darcy fragrance, and a Pemberley one.”
EJ laughed. “So what does Mr. Darcy smell like?”
“Bergamot, white lily, and sandalwood.”
“In other words, expensive.”
Liv nodded. She loved the scent, but it might be too much for everyday use. She preferred a more honest scent, like earth and eucalyptus. Or English oak.
“And did my map work out okay?” Elinor asked.
“Yes! We got them printed, and it’s now on the website too. It looks fantastic. See?”
She held up a printed copy of the map that Elinor had created, a fabulous three-part overview that showed the estate walks, including the path that led all the way to the village church, then a close-up of the house and gardens, and then a close inset of the house, café, gift shop, and bookstore. “Ellie designed this. Isn’t she amazing?”
“Your sister is very talented,” her mother said indulgently.
“I’m hoping we can get the library included in the tour, but we may have to wait.”
“And visitor numbers?”
Liv beamed. “August has been a great month for visitors. So thank you for praying. I’m sure that’s helped.” If this kept up, they might even have enough to pay for a part-time administration assistant. Stella Banks, Joe’s great-niece and a recent business college graduate, had volunteered a few times, and Liv was quietly impressed.
“Don’t forget your social media posts have helped too,” EJ said.
“I’m so thankful I can schedule them. There’s always so much to do, that if I wasn’t organized with them I don’t think I’d remember.”
“And regular posting helps keep those algorithms working for you,” Elinor said.
They chatted for a little while longer; then the usual yawns and comments about the late hour in Australia preceded departures from the joint video call.
Apart from EJ. “So, now they’re all gone, let’s talk about the fundraising ball.”
The two of them had decided that planning the ball was best without their mother, who likely would try to sidetrack them into expressed wishes to attend herself.
“And are you still wanting the Regency theme?” EJ asked.
“Absolutely. The more we can lean into the Mr. Darcy connection the better.”
They discussed more details—ticketing, fundraising donor accounts, the various aspects of the setup to be considered. “Now all we need to do is have you find your own Mr. Darcy.”
Her cheeks heated. When August departed, so would George, back to London to continue her studies. “Don’t have too much fun without me,” she’d said, winking at Liam.
