Page 8 of Till Death Us Do Part: Book 2
“If you say so, I must agree; but if you have no objections, I will keep most of it handy, just in case.”
Elizabeth smiled. “You never know what will happen in life. A month ago, you and I were both in between one life and another. We have begun a journey, but I have no idea where it will end.”
“Will Mr Darcy be joining us any time soon?”
“Apparently not. He is off on some critical family business. I would not want you to gossip, per se, but if peoplehappenedto believe he was engaged in business for the Crown, the war effort, or something similarly heroic, it might not be the worst rumour. I suppose speculation on some vague connexion between my mourning and his mission would not be terrible either. There will be speculation, so we may as well try for the least damage.”
“I will do my best. Have you engaged Mrs Reynolds?”
“I have.”
“Who would have thought I would be sharing a task with Mrs Reynolds? I feel like a courtier to the Queen.”
Elizabeth laughed and they talked of this and that for a while, which mostly amounted to a discussion of Molly’s family, since Elizabeth still could not speak of hers without abusing the poor girl’s ears. The young woman was mostly alone, with both parents dead, and four brothers scattered around the world in the Navy. She did have a few aunts, uncles, and the like that she visited occasionally, but not often.
Two hours later, Elizabeth returned to find the mistress’ suitemuchimproved. Mrs Reynolds was examining the work with satisfaction, and watched Elizabeth carefully to see her reaction.
“Mrs Reynolds, this is wonderful.”
“It will do for the moment. When shall we start redecorating?”
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “What redecorating is that?”
The housekeeper shook her head. “Mr Darcy explicitly said that you were to redecorate the mistress’ suite to your preferences.”
Elizabeth laughed. “That he did. Your footmen just did that. We are done.”
“What do you mean, done? Done for now?”
“I meandone. I am entirely satisfied. If I need a piece or two moved here or there, I will ask a footman, but otherwise, all is well. To be honest, I could not have chosen better anyway.”
Mrs Reynolds shook her head in confusion, but finally decided that either Mrs Darcy was somewhat peculiar, or she was stepping very lightly in the master’s absence. It was obvious that something was not right between master and mistress, but she saw no way for that to be resolved before the master returned. It seemed they were destined to maintain the status quo during his absence, and the new Mrs Darcy was biding hertime. At least, that was the only explanation Mrs Reynolds could produce.
Elizabeth said, “I presume it must be about time for supper?”
“You are certain you do not wish to eat in the dining room?”
“Absolutely! I hope you can explain my reasoning to the staff adequately.”
“Leave that to me. As you suggested, your mourning can explain quite a lot. How shall we serve it?”
“Molly needs to eat as well. She should dine with the staff occasionally, but more often than not she will just eat in the maid’s chambers after I finish, since I might need her to help me prepare for bed. She should just bring meals for both.”
“Very well, madam. I assume this means you will not be dressing for dinner?”
“That is correct. Pray explain it as part of my mourning ritual. It is unconventional, but hopefully it will not seem terribly odd.”
“As you say. Come along, Molly. Let us get you a tray.”
With that, housekeeper and maid left the room, and Elizabeth wandered over to a window to enjoy its prospect. The hill, crowned with wood, which they had descended, receiving increased abruptness from the distance, was a beautiful object, even in the dead of winter, and she assumed it would be stunning in spring or summer. Every disposition of the ground was good; and she looked on the whole scene, the river, the trees scattered on its banks, and the winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it, with what would, in better times, have been absolute delight.
There was no doubt that Mr Darcy was entitled to some pride. He had been a very clever boy, who chose his ancestors extremely well. The niggling thought that he carried the heavy weight of being responsible for maintaining it all and passing it on either whole or improved to his heirs, only briefly occurredto her; but while it flitted through her mind, she fleetingly tried to think better of her husband. It was, however, a small success, unlikely to be repeated.
She still stood looking out the window and brooding when Molly returned with supper. She had told Mrs Reynolds Molly would eat in the maid’s chambers, simply because she did not want the housekeeper to die of any more shocks for the day. However, now that they were alone, she told her they would eat together, and she was not to be dissuaded. Her eating alone while Molly ate cold food made no sense whatsoever. They spent the meal talking about general subjects and the neighbourhood.
After supper, Elizabeth asked, “Did you keep up your lessons?”
Molly smiled brightly. “Yes! Mr Bartlet set me a course of study, though I am not doing so well now that I have employment.”
