Page 54 of Miss Gardiner
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That evening, Richard peered at his cousin in the dining room after the ladies withdrew. Darcy recognized his cousin’s observations and remained silent until he judged Richard was reaching the end of his patience.
Colonel Fitzwilliam asked, “What do you know about this Charles Bingley? You left him on the list but now I discover you have objections to him as a potential husband.”
“I left him on the list because I wished to hear his reasons for interest in Anne de Bourgh. Of course, this was before I knew Miss Elizabeth was in the neighbourhood,” Darcy explained. “It would cause her pain if he were at Rosings, and she learned of his presence or crossed paths with the man in the park.”
Richard sat his finger of brandy on the table and demanded, “What has the man done?”
“Last fall, I went with Charles when he took a possession of an estate in Hertfordshire. There was a family in the town with one particularly beautiful English rose that Bingley courted. After a month, everyone in the community expected them to marry. But the morning after he hosted a ball at his manor, Charles suddenly decamped and returned to London, leaving the girl with no recourse. Her father discovered that his daughter was despoiled and cast her from the house.”
He caught his cousin’s eye and continued, “I understand Miss Elizabeth appeared in Hertfordshire and rescued her sister from the hedgerows and carried her back to safety in London.”
“And this sister…”
“Her name was Jane, Miss Jane Bennet,” Darcy replied. “And she died of a broken heart in June.”
Like his own lost love, the beautiful young woman had been cast aside by her family and died. With too many memories in his heart, Richard bowed his head and left the room, retiring for the evening. Mr Darcy made Richard’s excuses to Aunt Catherine, Anne, and Mr George Clark, who was visiting.
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Elizabeth’s visit with Mrs Collins was everything her relatives hoped, restful and healing. Mr Darcy’s sudden appearance contributed to the healing in her heart. The prospect of his company for the remainder of the month left a smile on her face at the oddest moments. Even Mr Collins noticed the change in his cousin and spoke of it to his wife saying, “Mrs Collins, I believe Cousin Elizabeth has begun to set aside her grief.”
“You are correct, sir,” Mrs Collins replied simply.
“I am certain this sudden change can be attributed to the beauty of Rosings Park and the fresh airs in Kent as opposed tocrowded, noisy London.”
Charlotte wisely agreed with her husband and did not discuss Mr Darcy’s attentions to Elizabeth when she informed him that Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Darcy had called at the parsonage in his absence.
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The next morning, Elizabeth Bennet and Henry Jones were surprized to find Mr Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam approaching them on the path from Rosings Park.
“It’s the colonel his self!” declared Henry seeing Colonel Fitzwilliam’s red coat in the morning mists. “Can I ask him about battles, miss? About cannons and swords?”
“I am certain the colonel will be glad to discuss those things with you, Henry,” Elizabeth assured him.
When the two gentlemen reached the waiting woman and boy, Mr Darcy doffed his hat to Elizabeth and offered his arm, saying, “Shall we continue your walk, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Good morning, young fellow,” the colonel addressed the boy. “And what is your name?”
“I am Henry Jones, me da is Tim Jones and he farms Runnin’ Lamb Farm,” the boy replied.
“And you are the guide for Miss Bennet through the woods and meadows?”
“Yes sir. I get a penny and lunch every day for walking with the miss.”
“Well paid and well fed!” Colonel Fitzwilliam declared. During the walk, the colonel told the young boy about battles and cannon fire. The highlight of Henry’s day came when the man allowed Henry to wave his sword about at the duck pond. Richard laughed along with the sword-wielding boy as the flock flew away.
“They always come back,” Henry informed the colonel as Elizabeth and Darcy walked nearby.
“But we must stop scaring them,” Richard said. “Otherwise, this fall when a gentlemen comes to shoot some to eat, they will fly away before his gun is ready.”
Henry’s attention turned to the prospect of lunch as the party reached the edge of the park and turned to begin tracing their route back to the parsonage. Colonel Fitzwilliam moved closer to the right side of Miss Elizabeth and began his inquiry.
“Miss Elizabeth, last night my cousin and I discussed several of the candidates selected by Lady Catherine to be her daughter’s husband. Darcy informed me that you would have a strong opinion about one of the gentlemen that my aunt invited to visit.”
“Richard, I do not think this is the time or place to discuss this!” Darcy declared but Colonel Fitzwilliam ignored his cousin.
