Page 65 of New World Tea Company
Elizabeth nodded, remembering Mr Collins repeating the names of everyone in Hunsford incessantly when he arrived at Longbourn the previous autumn. She explained, “Mr Collins mentioned your aunt and cousin quite frequently during his visit.”
After a moment, she asked, “Mr Darcy, is Rosings Park truly as beautiful as Mr Collins claimed?”
Darcy’s gaze never left Elizabeth’s when he replied, “Rosings Park is particularly beautiful in the spring. The blooming flowers among the shrubberies are lovely. If you visit the manor house, stroll through the garden on the west side. The perfume from the shrubbery will be particularly nice in a few more days.”
“I shall make the effort to walk there, thank you, sir,” Elizabeth replied.
“Tonight, make certain you block the door with any chairs or other items in the room before you fall asleep,” he added beforehe and his valet departed for the stable. When Darcy opened the door, he glanced back at Elizabeth and nodded. The rain had stopped, so the man did not get wet again as he made his way to his bed of straw and hay.
Shortly after that, Elizabeth and her companion climbed the stairs to their small bedchamber. The bed was certainly not wide enough for two persons. But before Elizabeth could discuss the sleeping arrangements, the older woman stated she would sleep in the only chair in the room. She did not comment when Elizabeth moved the chair in front of the door to block anyone attempting to enter during the night.
Glad not to share the bed, Elizabeth climbed under the covers in her clothes. As she lay in bed, Elizabeth’s mind was restless, thinking about Mr Darcy’s fleeting smile and blue eyes.
‘That he should have inquired after my safety was good of him.’Then she realised,‘He said he would return to Rosings after the business in London was complete. That will not require a month complete. Mayhap I shall see him again in Hunsford.’
Elizabeth’s heart and mind examined her mixed emotions and feelings regarding Fitzwilliam Darcy for almost an hour before she fell asleep.
~~~
In the hayloft of the stable, Fitzwilliam Darcy found himself thinking about pretty eyes.‘Even when tired, she was lovely. And she had managed her travel well enough without a suitable chaperone. Her parents are negligent in allowing her to travel on public coaches.’
‘And she will be in Hunsford the whole of April. Once I settle the Prime Minister’s worry about the bill, I shall not delay my return to Rosings. Perhaps my morning walks will be more enjoyable with intelligent conversation.’
The gentleman’s thoughts dwelt on the lovely girl as he tried to dismiss from his life completely after last December. His heart refused to listen to the reasoning of his mind. He would spend time with the young woman and continue their friendship.
~~~
In the early morning light, Elizabeth walked from the tavern to the stagecoach in the company of the elderly woman and the other passengers–men in rumpled clothes after their night sleeping on the tables in the common room. She glanced toward the stable but did not see Mr Darcy in the courtyard.
‘I do not know if he rides horseback or in his carriage,’she realised. The coachman climbed into the box and set the carriage in motion, leaving the Bull’s Horn behind.
When she spoke with the old woman, there were remarks about the handsome gentleman from the night before and who he was. With a serious tone, Mrs Cutter, said, “The dandies know they can turn any girl’s head. Remember that young miss–handsome faces don’t tell ye what de heart be like. Guard yer heart and virtue from men.”
To change the subject, Elizabeth asked, “Where are you travelling, Mrs Cutter?”
The woman replied, “To my son in Maidstone. He works in a mill there, grinding corn. My last position ended just ten days ago. I’m too old to keep working.”
~~~
Just after the middle of the day, the stagecoach arrived in Maidstone, where Mrs Cutter departed Elizabeth’s company, looking for her son’s place of employment. The stagecoach did not stop for lunch and continued; the coachman determined to make Dover before the end of the day. He almost drove through the village of Hunsford, but the shouts of men inside the coach made the driver stop the horses. The boy got Elizabeth’s smalltrunk down, but they were forced to walk back to the small livery stable in the village. The boy had one handle while Elizabeth struggled with the other handle. The moment he sat the trunk on the ground at the livery, the boy took off at a run back to the coach that was set in motion as he climbed up.
The local blacksmith nodded, “Mr Collins was frantic when you didn’t arrive yesterday. There’s a cart to carry your trunk, but you’ll have to walk to the parsonage.”
“How far is it to the parsonage?” asked Elizabeth.
“Only a mile or two,” the man replied as a stableboy brought out the pony cart. The two men loaded the trunk into the small cart, and the boy led the pony down the road with Elizabeth following.
Smiling, Elizabeth thought,‘I am glad the pony is old. She sets a pace I can meet this afternoon.’
With a walk of almost two miles, they arrived at the parsonage in Hunsford in the middle of the afternoon. Hearing the approach of the pony cart, Charlotte Collins rushed from the cottage to hug Eliza and give the stableboy a penny as gratuity for bringing her friend with her trunk to the parsonage. The boy carried the trunk into the house, but the housemaid struggled to get the trunk above the stairs. It took assistance from Charlotte and Elizabeth to finally get the trunk into the bedroom.
~~~
“My dear? Mrs Collins where are you?” called William Collins when he walked into the parlour.
Coming through the kitchen door into the dining room and then the hall, Charlotte replied, “Here, Mr Collins. We were in the kitchens discussing the menus.”
“Did our guest arrive?”
