Page 48 of Miss Gardiner
“My uncle is always looking for new workmen. It means hard work but not outside in rain or snow. And if you are smart, you will get promoted.”
The three men left the stagecoach in Ashford with a short note from Elizabeth Bennet to her uncle, Mr Edward Gardiner, in London asking him to put them to work. They led her to the local livery where they arranged for a pony cart to carry her to the parsonage in Hunsford.
“We’ll be in London next week and call on your Uncle Gardiner,” Billy said after she was seated in the cart. All the young men tipped their hats as they said, “Thanks Miss Bennet.”
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The sun was low in the sky when the cottage came into view; before the pony came to a stop, the door opened and Charlotte Collins emerged, her face alight with a smile and her arms soon wrapped around her friend. Two maids followed and took the trunk from the pony cart driver, before they disappeared back into the house. Now, Mr Collins, the mysterious cousin appeared from inside the house.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet?” he inquired.
“Mr Collins, this is indeed, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, your cousin from Hertfordshire. I have known her all my life and she is as good a woman as ever walked God’s earth.”
“Welcome to our humble home, Miss Elizabeth.”
Mr Collins then took Elizabeth and Charlotte on a tour of the house, pointing out features such as the front staircase, the bedrooms above stairs, and the large kitchen with rooms for the servants. He concluded his narrative saying, “And Lady Catherine ordered new mantles above each of the fireplaces.”
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At the manor house the next morning, Richard suggested to his cousin that they ride the horses across the pastures after breaking their fast.
“Is there anything in particular you want to observe?” asked Darcy.
“No, the steward has Rosings well in hand,” Richard replied. “I just need the excursion to burn off the fire Lady Catherine lights in my belly each day with her demands and complaints.”
The cousins spent the rest of the morning on horseback, racing across the meadows, jumping a few fences, and then walking the horses back to the stables. The last mile, they dismounted and walked beside the horses to stretch their leg muscles after the extended time in the saddle.
“Good horse flesh here Darcy,” complimented Richard. “I knew you would bring good mounts in the stable if you stayed the month.”
“And thus, your scheme is revealed; you begged for my assistance just to gain access to my stable.”
“Exactly. My father’s stable grows leaner as he ages, and my brother will never share his mounts when I am in London.”
“I thought you had a good horse last time you went to war,” Darcy remembered.
Nodding, Richard replied, “I did but she was shot out from under me at Battle of Orthez.”
Stopping Darcy insisted on knowing, “Were you injured?”
“Just bruises. But I loved that mare; she followed my commands with just the touch of my knee. Now when I return to London in September, I must sit on different beasts each day until I find one that suits me again.”
“I would provide a horse for you…”
“Your mounts are not trained to endure cannon fire and rifle shot,” Richard replied. He patted his mount’s neck and said, “Zeus is a good mount for racing across the countryside, but in a battle, he would break and run in the first five minutes.”
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After luncheon, Darcy joined Richard in the library to review the list of gentlemen that Lady Catherine selected as candidates for Anne de Bourgh’s hand and legacy. Richard handed over a list of names saying, “These are the men that Lady Catherine and her attorney selected based on their reported wealth and marital status.”
“And Lady Catherine’s requirements; does she expect her future son-in-law to father a child?”
“She prefers two; an heir and the spare,” Richard remarked sourly. “Speaking as the ‘spare’ for the Matlock side of the family, it is a poor title to bear.”
Ignoring his cousin’s lament, Darcy continued, “Then we can eliminate Cooper, he is sixty; Moore, he is in his fifties; and Watson has gout and cannot mount a horselet alone a bride.”
Richard sputtered with laughter and from behind a closed door, the two men heard a muffled cry of outrage. Darcy whispered, “She is listening. Good…”
“Why good,” Richard asked.
