Elizabeth had not had any such difficulties, and she had given Beth a hug. Darcy had been charmed, despite the feeling that it was wrong for someone as august as Miss Elizabeth Darcy to crow with delight as her mother, the equally august Mrs Elizabeth Darcy, tickled her and teased her. But then he had been overcome with love and affection and he had succumbed entirely.
The Darcys’ room had become more and more crowded in the mornings as further children had arrived, until the older children had started to feel it was beneath their dignity to cavort in such a manner and had gradually absented themselves from the proceedings. Now Beth and William never came, John seldom, and even Laurence and Jane only whirled into the room about three mornings out of five. But Margaret always came. And yet here it was, past seven o’clock, and there was no sign of her.
Fearing that Margaret was ill, Elizabeth slipped out of bed and, throwing a wrapper round her shoulders, went along the splendid landing and into Margaret’s room. She need not have worried. The early morning sunlight, creeping in through a crack in the curtains, illuminated a peaceful scene. Margaret was sound asleep, clutching her Egyptian doll, and judging by the murmurs that came from her cherubic lips, she was dreaming.
A slight creak alerted Elizabeth to the fact that someone else was walking along the landing and a moment later Darcy entered the room and put his arm round her.
“I thought I would find you here. It is not the same without Meg climbing on the bed, is it, my love? I am glad she has not outgrown the habit. She must be worn out after yesterday’s excitement.”
“Edward certainly knows how to exhilarate people,” Elizabeth agreed.
“He does. He has always been carried away by his enthusiasms.”
“Which is no bad thing,” said Elizabeth. “I have been thinking for some time that I would like an adventure and Edward, with his talk of Egypt, is the next best thing.”
“An adventure? Do I bore you, my love?” asked Darcy teasingly.
She put her hand up to his face. “Never. But we have spent a great many years having our family—wonderful years and I would not change them for anything—and yet now that the children are older, I find myself thinking of all the places I have never seen. When I was younger, a trip to the Lake District seemed like an adventure, but now the Lake District is familiar and I find myself longing for that sense of excitement again, the feeling that I am going somewhere different, to see something new. To be transported beyond the confines of my normal life, to experience something that cannot be foreseen.”
“Then it is a good thing we are going to the British Museum. You can feast your eyes upon the Egyptian artefacts and imagine yourself exploring the pyramids!” he teased her.
Margaret stirred and then settled again.
“Let her sleep,” said Elizabeth. “It will be a busy day for her.”
“For all of us,” said Darcy.
***
The busyness was already apparent when Elizabeth walked into the drawing room an hour later to find the boys already up and dressed, surrounded by books.
Edward, who was pointing out something of interest in one of them, looked up with a laugh and said, “We breakfasted early, and ever since then we have been raiding the library for books on Egypt. Darcy has a fine collection.”
Elizabeth was used to seeing William with a book, but it was rare to see either John or Laurence anywhere near one by choice, and she thought with satisfaction that Edward’s visit had already been good for them.
Although she would never admit as much to Darcy, she did sometimes think that Laurence would benefit from school, but she hated the thought of losing him. He was her youngest son and she wanted to keep him with her. Now, seeing him so happy and engaged at home, she felt her somewhat guilty conscience being appeased.
“There are all sorts of interesting things in the museum,” said William. “Did you know it was opened over fifty years ago and that it has lots of Egyptian artefacts in it?”
“The Rosetta Stone was found by a soldier,” said John proudly.
“Only a French soldier,” said Laurence scathingly.
“Some of the French fought bravely. Colonel Fitzwilliam said so,” returned John. “I expect the Stone was found by one of the brave ones. The French invaded Egypt and they were working on the defences at Fort Julien when one of the soldiers saw the Stone sticking out of the ground,” he explained to his mama. “It was near a place called Rosetta, which is why they called it the Rosetta Stone.”
“But what is important,” said William, “is that it has some writing on it, and the writing says the same thing but in three different kinds of writing. One of them is in Greek writing, and one of them is ordinary Egyptian writing, and one of them is hiero… hiero… hieroglyphs, which are a kind of pictures. I can read and write Greek, so if I could make a copy of the Stone, I might be able to work out what the hieroglyphs mean.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” said Laurence. “No one can read the hieroglyphs yet, not even Cousin Edward.”
“And if not even Edward can read them, what hope is there for anyone else?” asked Elizabeth.
Edward laughed and moved some books so that she could sit down.
“I appear to have taken over your drawing room,” he said.
“Never mind, I do not have time to sit down anyway,” she said. “It is time we were all getting ready for our outing. Fitzwilliam has given orders for the carriages to be brought round and they will be at the door in half an hour.”
“Then we had better be ready for them,” said Edward.
There was a flurry of activity, but by the time thirty minutes had passed, everyone was ready; even Margaret, who had at last roused herself and who was holding her doll tightly in her hand.
Edward delighted the children by suggesting that he should go in the carriage with them while Darcy should drive Elizabeth in his new phaeton. The suggestion delighted Darcy and Elizabeth almost as much as it delighted the children, for as much as they loved their offspring, they valued having time alone together.
The morning was bright and sunny, with the first feeling of spring in the air, and Elizabeth could not have been happier as she took her place beside her husband. The two-seater carriage, which had an open top, was pulled by a pair of matched bays, and they cut quite a dash as they moved out into the road.
Darcy drove with skill through the London traffic, past brewers’ carts, hackney carriages, and ponderous coaches, while Elizabeth revelled in the feel of the soft air on her cheeks. By the time they arrived at Montague House, which housed the museum, she had a healthy glow to her skin and her eyes were bright, prompting Darcy to seize her hand and kiss it as he helped her out of the phaeton.
She had a sudden memory of the first time he had helped her out of a carriage, and she saw by his expression that he remembered it, too. She looked down at their joined hands and then looked at Darcy, whose eyes were full of his love for her. Thinking herself the luckiest woman in the world, she took his arm and looked up at the splendid museum.
Ahead of them, the children were spilling out of the Darcy coach. They had all been given strict instructions by Elizabeth to be on their best behaviour, but she need not have worried: the large and imposing building had its effect on them and they went quietly inside.
As they did so, she noticed the effect Beth had on everyone they passed. Without ever trying, Beth managed to charm people. They looked at her quiet, self-assured figure and felt the goodness she radiated. Coupled with her undoubted beauty, it entranced them, young and old. And yet Beth was unaware of it.
William looked around him with interest, while John’s eyes searched for any display of weapons the museum might have. Laurence, for once overawed, held Jane’s hand, and Margaret followed on behind as Edward led them to the Rosetta Stone.