Page 92 of A Most Beloved Sister
As promised, Darcy arrived the next morning promptly as visiting hours began. Mrs. Gardiner was eager to make the acquaintance of someone from the county of her childhood, and the two spoke fondly of their shared acquaintances from Lambton.
“I was pleasantly surprised to hear Miss Bennet singing a familiar lullaby to the new baby yesterday,” Darcy said. “I am assuming she learned it from you?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Gardiner smiled broadly. “I was never sure whether to believe my grandmother when she told me that the song was made up by her friend’s mother, whose family lived in a tree after being evicted from their cottage.”
“I heard that tale as well,” Darcy said, “but I never gave it much credence.”
“In any case, the lyrics are lovely, and the tune is soothing,” Elizabeth said. “I’ve yet to meet a baby who didn’t settle almost immediately when I sang it.”
After a few more minutes of pleasant, yet somewhat trivial, conversation, a maid entered to inform Mrs. Gardiner thather presence was required by her children in the nursery. She excused herself but left the maid behind, along with the door open for propriety’s sake. The maid immediately occupied herself in the corner with some mending, leaving Darcy and Elizabeth to converse in relative privacy.
Lowering her voice, Elizabeth said, “Mr. Darcy, I cannot go another day without taking the time to once again apologize to you for my words.”
“You have already done so, Miss Bennet. There is no need—”
“But there is every need! I knew I had been harsh that day on Oakham Mount, but then when I read…” Her eyes darted over to the maid, who was steadfastly fixated on her work. “That is, when I knew all the pertinent facts, I became aware of exactly how unjust I had been.”
“Did it… did it soon make you think better of me? Did you, on reading it, give any credit to its contents?”
“How could I have doubted it?” she exclaimed in a near whisper. “That you would fabricate such dreadful slander about your own father! No, I knew it must be true from the moment I read it. Then when Major Wickham told me how you had made reparations—”
At this, Darcy looked alarmed. “I had not thought him to be so little trusted; it was not meant to be publicly known. You… you seem to be quite knowledgeable about the private details of his life.”
Elizabeth gave him a strange look. “I’m not sure I follow. The major has not shared his information with anyone other than myself, and he only did so because he felt it important that I knew the truth about your character. Otherwise I doubt he would have shared his good fortune with me, as we scarcely know one another. He only spoke to me the one time about his past with you because he had been surprised by your suddenreappearance back into his life, and I was a convenient listening ear.”
Darcy’s shoulders seemed to lift about two inches above his already tall frame. “I must admit to having wondered about the nature of your… relationship.”
“There is no relationship,” Elizabeth said firmly, looking him directly in the eye. “He is an indifferent acquaintance, nothing more.”
The hallway clock’s chiming put an end to the conversation. Mrs. Gardiner bustled into the room, looking rather scattered. “My apologies for my absence,” she said. “One of the children scraped their knee and wouldn’t be consoled for anything.”
“Not at all,” Darcy replied, rising to his feet. “Regrettably, it is long past time for me to depart. I should like to return tomorrow, if I may.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I’m afraid I will be at the Home for Disabled Children again tomorrow in the morning. I try to visit three days a week, and with baby Angela doing so poorly…” her voice trailed off.
“Then perhaps I might escort you there?”
She looked at her aunt, who nodded. “I would be delighted to have your company, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said.
“Until then, Miss Bennet.”
He bowed in farewell and lifted her hand, bestowing a kiss on her gloveless knuckles. The tingling from the touch of his lips on her bare skin lasted for the remainder of the afternoon and long into the night.
Chapter 25
Thus began a pattern over the following weeks. On the days that Elizabeth went to the disability home, Darcy would escort her there and back. While she worked with the babies and girls, Darcy eventually brought different servants from his household to instruct the boys in all manner of duties, from the stables to the kitchens to the parlors.
When Elizabeth expressed her surprise at his involvement on one walk home, Darcy replied, “It is all thanks to you. It had not occurred to me that the lads would be lacking in instructors until I observed you the first few visits teaching the girls. I realized how few manservants or gentlemen volunteers were seen, including myself. I donated money, but it never occurred to me to donate time as well. You showed me how insufficient all my charity truly was.”
She blushed and looked down. “I can hardly claim the credit for it, when my aunt Gardiner has long been my guide and greatest support.”
“You give yourself too little credit, I think. I had not known you for more than an hour when I began to realize you were one of the most admirable women of my acquaintance. Your behavior towards your sister at Netherfield was further evidence of that.”
“Dearest Jane! Who could have done less for her? But make a virtue of it by all means.” Elizabeth’s discomfort at his praise gave rise to her playful nature. “My good qualities are under your protection, and you are to thus exaggerate them as much as possible. I shall not stop you.”
“There are some of us who have done quite less for a sibling,” Darcy said seriously. “You have been your sister’s defender, even at the risk of frightening off suitors or rejecting a comfortable living for yourself. Not many women would give the cut direct to a man of ten thousand a year for insulting their sister. I’ve known many women who give the insults themselves, all in the name of securing a husband of good fortune and connection. Your kind of integrity and virtue truly is a price far above rubies.”
Elizabeth felt as if her face would burst into flames.
