Page 20 of An Accidental Meeting
She nodded. “Then all is well.”
“My uncle and aunt were just coming down when we heard you were arriving. We shall all break our fast together.” Mr. Darcy offered Aunt Gardiner his arm.
“Oh, that will be lovely,” Aunt Gardiner said as she took it.
“Perhaps Hugh and I will get out to the stream today,” Uncle Gardiner said. He grinned as he offered Elizabeth his arm. “Unless you require his presence when the Bingley party arrives?”
“That you may arrange between yourselves,” Mr. Darcy said with a chuckle. “I admit I will be surprised if you are both not out the door the moment you finish your meal, and if I know my uncle, quite possibly before.”
Uncle Gardiner laughed.
“Is it likely that the fish will be biting so late in the day?” Elizabeth asked.
“Not at all,” Mr. Darcy said. “But truly, the catching of fish is not required.”
“Then what is the purpose of standing on the bank with your line in the water?”
Mr. Darcy chuckled. “It gives a man time to think.”
“And this time he does not have in other places?”
“Surelyyouwould understand, Miss Bennet,” he told her amiably. “There is one sort of contemplation that is best accomplished inside the house, and another entirely when out of doors.”
“Forgive me, Mr. Darcy,” she said as they crossed the threshold into the house. “You are quite right.”
“Gardiner!” The voice preceded Judge Darcy out into the hall, but the man himself was not far behind. “You are here already! Splendid!”
Mr. Darcy’s Aunt Nora followed in her husband’s wake. “Good morning. Come, the cook has prepared a lovely breakfast for us all.” She linked arms with Mrs. Gardiner, and the two began to speak as they followed their husbands back into the breakfast room. Elizabeth trailed behind with Mr. Darcy.
“Is it impolite to tell you that I greatly enjoy the company of Judge Darcy and Aunt Nora?” Elizabeth inquired.
Mr. Darcy’s brow creased. “How could it be?”
“No one has asked for my opinion, though, as your aunt Lady Catherine says, I give it rather freely.”
He chuckled. “The difference is that you offer friendly opinions, and Lady Catherine has the ability to make a compliment sound like an insult.”
“Oh, my opinions are not always friendly, sir, as you well know. But I give you leave to believe they are.”
“Very kind of you, I am sure.”
“I do attempt to please.”
At this quip, Mr. Darcy fell silent.
When Elizabeth entered the room slightly ahead of Mr. Darcy, the sight of a table groaning with food made her stop suddenly, forcing him to quickly step around her.
“My apologies, sir,” she mumbled. “I was only . . .” Words failed her, and she gestured minutely at the table. “It is a prodigious amount of food.”
“Yes, I believe my cook is happy to have guests again. I wish I could say that it was all for us,” Mr. Darcy replied, “but Bingley will have hurried everyone out this morning to complete the final part of their journey. They will all be hungry when they arrive.”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together. It would not be politic to say that Mr. Bingley was probably wild to be out of a carriage that carried his sisters and brother in such confined quarters.
“Bingley always rides, when the weather is good,” Mr. Darcy continued, as though he could read her thoughts. “But then, he is an active sort of fellow, and the patience that is often required when travelling with others is sometimes difficult for him.”
“I see,” she said. She wished she knew whether Mr. Darcy had spoken to his friend about her sister.
“He has been travelling a great deal this year,” Mr. Darcy continued. “We met in Northampton, after he and his family departed a house party. I have not seen him for any length of time since before I departed for Rosings, and we have not had much privacy since.”
