Page 6 of An Accidental Meeting
Her aunt and uncle chuckled pleasantly and assured him they would wait. As he strode away, Aunt Gardiner took Elizabeth’s arm. “He is not at all what I expected, Lizzy.”
Their guide smiled and moved far enough in front of them to lead without overhearing.
“He is quite changed from when I saw him last,” Elizabeth said, hoping that her aunt would accept this without question.
A vain hope, of course. Aunt Gardiner always knew precisely what question to ask next.
“And when was that, dear?”
Uncle Gardiner’s brows pinched together until they nearly touched.
Elizabeth could not meet their eyes. “In Kent, while I visited Charlotte. His aunt lives at Rosings, which is just across the lane from the parsonage.”
“I see,” her aunt said.
“I do not,” Uncle Gardiner said. “Why is this significant?”
“Only that Elizabeth knows Mr. Darcy rather better than I might have supposed, had their acquaintance ended in Hertfordshire last November.”
Her uncle thought about this for a moment before asking, “Lizzy, were you much in Mr. Darcy’s company while visiting Mrs. Collins?”
Elizabeth’s attention was fixed on the river as it rushed and gurgled its way past. “I was. Though his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam visited the parsonage more often than Mr. Darcy.”
This seemed to satisfy her uncle.
The path they were following began to rise, and Aunt Gardiner, who was not a great walker, did not speak for a time, as she was catching her breath.
Elizabeth looked out through an opening of the trees to the long valley below and the wooded hills opposite them. If she moved her head just so, she could also see the stream that fed the river.
Her aunt asked for her husband’s arm. “Edward, do not you think Mr. Darcy’s great civility towards us might have something to do with an admiration for our niece?”
Uncle Gardiner’s expression grew serious. “I would wonder if he did not think highly of our Lizzy despite his haughtiness last year, my dear, but could the admiration of such a man signify anything?” He patted his wife’s hand. “After all, she has relatives in trade.”
“At this moment I think the more pertinent question is how Lizzy now feels about Mr. Darcy. If she does not care for him, there is nothing more to be said.”
Her uncle and aunt looked at Elizabeth expectantly. But she had nothing to offer, for she was as perplexed by Mr. Darcy’s behaviour as her relations. Even if Mr. Darcy had been inclined to offer for her once, a man such as he would never deign to do so twice. That being the case, she could not fathom why he was behaving so civilly to her and her relations. Not just civilly, either, but truly courteous.
“I do not dislike him anymore, but . . .”
Her companions waited patiently.
“It is nothing, really. A few minutes after you walked out of doors, Mrs. Reynolds had an accident, and Mr. Darcy was just coming up the stairs. I am still recovering from the surprise, I suppose.”
“Goodness,” Uncle Gardiner said, concerned. “Is she well?”
“I believe so,” Elizabeth said. “Though Mr. Darcy has called for a physician. I suspect he will speak with the man once he completes his examination, so his return to us may be delayed.”
“I am sorry we abandoned you,” her aunt said seriously. “You were quite intrigued by Mr. Darcy’s portrait, and we did not wish to call you away.” Her countenance brightened. “He called a physician for his housekeeper? He is rather singular in that, I daresay. I quite approve.”
“Not that Mr. Darcy is in need of our approbation,” Uncle Gardiner said, amused.
Her aunt only smiled, as though she suspected something Elizabeth had no desire to admit. “And Mr. Darcy was walking up the stairs just then?”
“He heard me call for help. Perhaps he is being so kind because I assisted Mrs. Reynolds. He does seem to think highly of her.”
“Their admiration is mutual, then,” Aunt Gardiner said.
“If she has known him since he was four, she may be the only one remaining at Pemberley who can remember him as a child, or both of his parents when they were alive,” Uncle Gardiner said. “That is enough to make even a solemn man rather sentimental.”
