Page 51 of Miss Gardiner
Henry whispered, “Wanna see ‘em fly?”
The boy bent over, slipped closer to the pond and then rose with shout while flinging his arms upwards. Startled, the entire flock of ducks rose from the water, filling the morning air with their raucous calls and the sound of beating wings.
Elizabeth turned to watch the ducks fly off.
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Then a familiar voice called out, “Miss Elizabeth? Miss Bennet, what are you doing in Kent?”
Turning toward the sound, Elizabeth froze, thinking she imaged Mr Darcy’s tall figure here, but then seeing he was truly standing on the path before her, she smiled and beckoned him closer with her open hand. The man’s steps lengthened until he stood in front of her for a moment, then he lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss on the back of her glove. His eyes raised to search her face for a moment and all he could see find was joy and happiness in her eyes.
“Mr Darcy…I…what are you doing in Kent?” she stuttered in surprize.
“Mr Darcy come down from Londontown to help the colonel find Miss de Bourgh a husband,” Henry announced. “Everyone hears Lady Catherine gave up marrying her daughter t’ Mr Darcy and now she’ll pick a name from a hat and marry her daughter to money.”
“What?” Elizabeth asked horrified by the boy’s tale. “Is this true?”
Darcy stared at the farm boy for a moment before he turned to Elizabeth and explained, “My cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, is here to interview and select a gentleman to marry our cousin, Anne. He asked me to come and aid with interviewing the gentlemen.”
Then he turned to the boy and asked, “Young man, how did you come to be so well informed?”
Henry looked confused until Elizabeth asked, “How did you know what Mr Darcy is to do?”
“Mr Collins…” Henry replied.
Elizabeth intervened, “Mr Darcy, this is Henry Jones from the farm next to the parsonage.”
“Is your father Tim Jones?”
“Yes, sir.”
“He is an excellent farmer,” Darcy replied. “He can take a weak calf and raise it to be a strong ox, save lambs in the middle of winter, and make certain sows do not roll over their piglets.”
Elizabeth’s face reflected her confusion at Mr Darcy’s choice of complements but then she noticed how the boy’s face burst with pride to hear his father spoken of so highly by a man such as Mr Darcy. She watched the man again, as he asked, “Did Mr Collins tell your father about the…gentlemen coming to Rosings Park?”
“Yes sir. Mr Collins tells me da all about Colonels Fitzwilliams and Mr Darcy Fitzwilliams coming to Rosings Park to pick out a husband forMiss de Bourgh.”
Henry looked at Elizabeth and asked, “Miss, why do the swells use the same names over and over? It makes it hard to tell ‘em apart most times.”
Grinning, Elizabeth agreed, “You are correct, Henry. It does make it difficult to keep them separate sometimes.”
“May I join you in your walk?” Darcy asked, offering Elizabeth his arm.
“I should be pleased,” Elizabeth replied and then corrected herself. “Henry and I should be pleased if you would walk with us Mr Darcy. My escort knows every turn and every tree along this path, but we would welcome your company and conversation.”
As they strolled along, Elizabeth coaxed the story from Mr Darcy about the ‘search of a suitable husband’ for Miss de Bourgh. The gentleman explained, “My cousin asked for my aid, and I set out for Kent the same day. I arrived two days ago.”
“And what brought you out for a walk so early in the morning?” she asked, curious about the circumstances that brought them together.
“My sister wrote Richard and insisted that I walk out…” he explained but then stopped as Elizabeth began giggling. Pleased to hear her happy, Darcy waited patiently though he noticed Henry watched them carefully.
“Mr Darcy…your sister…I must write her this afternoon,” Elizabeth tried to explain between bouts of giggles.
“Miss Bennet sounds like my sister when Tom Brown comes round with his wagon of wood for the fire in the kitchen,” Henry complained.
“Women are very hard to understand, Mr Jones, but never forget they are God’s most wonderful creatures on the entire earth.”
“That was a very pretty speech, Mr Darcy,” Elizabeth said as they began walking again.
