Page 80 of An Accidental Meeting
Darcy had read transcriptions of the lecture. Light without flame was a noble pursuit. He wondered if anything would ever come of it.
“Frederick may help us prepare, as he is the eldest.”
Frederick stood a little straighter. “I would be pleased to be of assistance, Cousin Caroline.”
“I would rather play pirates anyway,” Silas declared. He lowered his voice. “Perhaps some of Grandfather’s coins are still hidden about.”
Darcy had invited Mr. Gardiner’s shipwrights to Pemberley after the wedding, and while he had only required the use of the secure room in the attic for a year or so, he was grateful that all Osmont’s belongings had at last been restored to their rightful owner.
“It is entirely possible,” Elizabeth said to Silas in a conspiratorial whisper. “And when Janie and Fitzwilliam have returned to the nursery, we shall go hunting for them.”
Silas’s eyes lit up.
“No, Mamma,” Janie complained. “I want to come too.”
“You and I will have our own treasure hunt when you have had a nap,” Elizabeth promised their adventurous child.
Jane scuffed the toe of her shoe on the floor.
“I will wait for you, Janie,” Silas promised her. “And we shall go together.”
Darcy’s daughter threw her arms around Silas, and the boy patted her back awkwardly.
When, after a quarter of an hour or more, the adults had all declared their approbation, the children had all devised their plans for the day, and the crowd began to thin as they went downstairs to tea, Mrs. Reynolds at last stepped up to have a look. She took her time, gazing at each countenance in turn, and Darcy wrapped one arm around Elizabeth’s waist.
“How do you like it, Mrs. Reynolds?” Darcy asked as they looked on.
She studied the Pemberley family very closely. “It is very fine indeed, sir,” she said with a sigh. “Just perfect.”
She stepped back and examined it from farther away. “So many Darcys now,” she said. “Your father would be proud.”
“He would.”
Elizabeth took Darcy’s arm. They were alone in the long gallery, the three of them, and Darcy kissed his wife’s hand.
“You know,” Mrs. Reynolds said, reaching forward, “it is just a little crooked. Let me . . .”
The End
