“No, I did not.” She glanced away nervously in the direction of the others. “I remain at my companions’ pleasure. It has not been decided as yet when we shall leave.”
“I see.” He paused. What else to say? “And your parents, they are well?”
She did smile fully at that and even looked him directly in the face. A breeze played with the curls about her temple, and the color or style of her bonnet, he knew not which, did lovely things to her eyes and enhanced the radiance of her face. Good Lord, it was a wonderful sight! “To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Darcy,” came her reply. He smiled back. She looked away. Was it distress that wrinkled her brow? Had he said something wrong? Perhaps it was himself, his present unkempt appearance. Did she doubt her welcome? She must never think that! If he said nothing more, he must assure her at least of that.
“You are very welcome to Pemberley, Miss Elizabeth, you and your companions.” He bowed. “Please, take all the time you desire to walk the park and grounds. Simon knows all the best views and the most pleasant walks. You are in excellent hands with him. If you will excuse me, I have just arrived and must attend to some business.” He bowed again, receiving this time her soft leave of his departure.
Moving past her, he continued on, the exultation in his heart at her presence at his home vying with embarrassment with his miserable performance and, he looked down in dismay, his disheveled appearance. What must she think of him? With a groan, he hurried on. If only Fletcher had accompanied him! Under his valet’s care, he could have been presentable in a quarter hour. It could not be helped. He ran up the steps and into the hall, surprising Mrs. Reynolds as she was locking up one of the public rooms.
“Mr. Darcy, sir!”
“Mrs. Reynolds! Yes, I arrived not long ago.” He flashed her the smile that had served him well with her for twenty-four years. “How long would it take for hot water to be sent up?”
“Fifteen minutes, sir, unless you desire a bath.” She looked at him curiously.
“No, that will not be necessary. Make it warm and in ten minutes and send up one of the footmen to help me dress, if you please!” he said as he made for the staircase. He stopped halfway to the top and looked back down the hall. “Oh, and Mrs. Reynolds, Trafalgar is with me or, rather, somewhere. Perhaps a boy should be sent to the garden?”
“Yes, sir. We shall attend to Master Trafalgar.” Mrs. Reynolds looked up wonderingly at him.
“Excellent! Ten minutes, Mrs. Reynolds!” He continued up the stairs and all but ran to his dressing room. He shed the dusty clothes of his morning while at the same time searching through the neatly hung and ordered garments. Good Heavens, what should he wear? Nothing too imposing. Would hunting attire be too casual? Would she regard it an insult? His gaze ranged over the choices before him. “Fletcher!” he groaned aloud. “What in blazes should I —” A knock at the door interrupted his plea. “Enter!”
“Mr. Darcy, sir! Is there aught amiss?” Mr. Reynolds poked his head in first and then, seeing his master’s distraction, entered. “You required a footman, sir. Is Mr. Fletcher not with you or shortly to arrive?”
“No, Sherrill’s note brought me ahead on horseback, but it is very urgent now that I attend to my guests.”
“Guests, sir?” Reynolds was confused. “None of your guests have — Oh, the visitors! But they are out in the park, sir; you need not trouble yourself.” Another knock sounded.
“The water!” Darcy jumped to the door, much to Reynolds’s surprise. “Come in; pour some in the basin and set the rest over there,” he directed the brawny youth. “Very good; that will be all.” He turned his attention back to his astonished butler. “It is of incalculable importance that I trouble myself for these particular visitors. If I can prevail upon them to return to the house, they should be treated with the utmost courtesy.” A sudden anxiety seized him. “They were well cared for earlier, I trust?”
“Yes, sir. Mrs. Reynolds conducted them personally. The young lady claimed some little acquaintance,” he offered.
“Yes, that is true…” Darcy turned back to his wardrobe and stared at its contents.
“May I help you, sir?” Reynolds briskly stepped forward. “I believe I may be of equal or better service than a footman.”
Surprised at such condescension, Darcy turned to his butler, a man he had known most of his life, to behold one still possessed of all the dignity of his office but with an understanding twinkle in his eye. “Yes, you may.” He nodded toward the wardrobe. “The doeskin breeches, I think, the tan waistcoat and dark brown coat. A plain neckcloth, mind you, and shirt. The brown-topped boots…and a clean set of all else.”
“Very good, sir. All shall be ready.” The old man straightened his shoulders before this new duty.
“Thank you, Reynolds.” Darcy’s lips twitched against an incipient grin. “I will not be long.”
Despite his impatient speed and Reynolds’s surprising alacrity with his clothes, it was almost a half hour before Darcy clattered down the courtyard’s steps and onto the drive. Where Elizabeth was now in the vast expanse of the park had occupied his thoughts as he had finished dressing. Old Simon would keep them to the usual paths shown to visitors, but where exactly might they be? He scanned the perimeter of the wood that girdled the near park. Knowing her stamina, they might be anywhere, but he doubted the endurance of her older companions. He narrowed his search. There! A flash of color among the trees that overhung the path meandering by the river gave him his course. He set off, judging that even at such a pace he had a quarter hour in which to prepare to meet her.
They had made a beginning, but he was in no position to say how good a one. It was very possible he was striding toward a woman who would rather he were at the Antipodes than coming to escort her to his home. He called up the emotions that had crossed her countenance as they had spoken. Confusion, embarrassment, both had cast their shades over her loveliness, but there had been no trace of aversion or the cool politeness he had feared in an imagined encounter. Nor welcome either, he reminded himself. Well, there was no help for it! He could not stay away from her, not here on his own lands, where he had the best chance of showing her, expressing to her, his gratitude for what she had done for him. A fullness of heart came hard on the heels of that thought, and the incredible good fortune of her visiting Pemberley seized him again. He strode on until, rounding a curve in the walk, he came upon them.
This time she was able to greet his arrival with her usual self-possession. He had hardly risen from his bow when he heard the words “charming” and “delightful” applied to all she had surveyed. Schooling his features to display a more moderate pleasure at her words than he would have liked, he thanked her. “Charming” and “delightful” were commonly ascribed to Pemberley by visitors, but never before had the accolades held such significance. Elizabeth found his home charming and delightful. Better and better. His elation was short-lived, however; for no sooner had he thanked her than she colored and fell silent. At a loss for the change in her demeanor, he hesitated. He must engage her again, restore her ease in speaking to him. What? Her companions! How could he have ignored them for so long! They must think him…
“Miss Elizabeth, would you do me the honor of introducing me to your friends?” The look she returned him to this request was a curious mixture of surprise and amusement. Whatever it meant, he promised himself as he followed her to where her friends awaited, he would meet it with credit.
“Aunt Gardiner, Uncle Gardiner, may I present Mr. Darcy? Mr. Darcy, my uncle and aunt, Mr. Edward Gardiner and Mrs. Edward Gardiner.”