“Daughters keep you on your toes, gentlemen,” Papa said proudly. “But I have not lost a single step, as you can see.”
He seemed inordinately pleased with himself. “Did you stop anywhere else in town?” Elizabeth inquired.
“We spoke with Colonel Forster, Lizzy, but I am afraid I found him a rather stupid man.” He leaned forward to address Maria. “You should not repeat that, Miss Maria. My apologies for saying it aloud.”
Charlotte sent Papa a reproachful look, but there was no stopping him when he was in a mood such as this.
“I am certain Miss Maria knows when it is wise to speak,” Mr. Fitzwilliam said, and Maria’s face reddened again.
So did Charlotte’s, but not for the same reason.
Why was Maria flushed? The answer came to Elizabeth so swiftly she nearly kicked herself for being a dullard. Maria was infatuated with Mr. Fitzwilliam. And why not? He was always a gentleman, but sometimes his flirting was a bit excessive, especially for a girl as young and inexperienced as Maria. No wonder Charlotte was annoyed with him. Elizabeth did not believe he had ever directed his considerable charms to any particular lady, but a direct address was not required to engage a young girl’s fancy.
“When we are finished with our tea, perhaps we might all take a stroll in the garden,” Charlotte suggested. Better to allow her to have her say with Mr. Fitzwilliam in relative privacy.
“Oh, I would like that,” Mary said. “Maria, I will show you where Jane means to plant the medicinal garden this spring. She is enlarging it, and I am to help her.”
Maria nodded.
They soon finished their tea. With Mr. Collins out on his visit, Papa was happy to wander back to his book room and engage in whatever work he had left to do. Elizabeth was bemused. Why was he so smug and satisfied when Colonel Forster had not been receptive?
They stepped out into the garden where the air was cold but fresh. Everyone paired off naturally. The younger girls strolled over to the plot where Jane was planning her garden for the spring, and Mary pointed out each proposed section as Maria asked questions. Mr. Bingley and Jane wandered over to a bench near the rose garden. Charlotte had already moved to the opposite end of the garden where she was now speaking seriously with Mr. Fitzwilliam. He appeared flustered.
Mr. Darcy fell into step with Elizabeth. She hoped it was not because no one else was left.
“Well, Mr. Darcy, I expect you to explain my father’s exuberance. Normally he reserves that sort of giddiness for when he has vanquished another gentleman at chess or resolved a particularly thorny problem.”
Mr. Darcy cocked his head. “That is precisely what he has done. With the use of one well-meaning gossip, he intends to sour the militia’s welcome in town.”
“I am not certain that the incident in question required such a strong response,” she said.
He frowned. “Unfortunately, Colonel Forster was rather unhelpful. He offended your father and refused to consider taking any action against his officers.”
“Oh dear, that was unwise on Colonel Forster’s part,” Elizabeth mused. “Given that Papa remembered Mary’s thread, may I presume it was Mrs. Hobart you visited?”
Mr. Darcy laughed. “Indeed it was. She was in the tailor’s shop nearly the instant we left her establishment.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Papa chooses his strategies quite exactly. That has never changed.”
“I am happy that you have him watching over you and your sisters, Miss Elizabeth. Your father is the best of men.”
“He has his flaws, like the rest of us,” she said affectionately. “Myself more than most. But as it happens, I quite agree with you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Twonightsaftertheirvisit to Mrs. Hobart, Bennet waved them off to an evening card party at his brother Phillips’s house.
Darcy and his cousin were being sent to escort Mr. Collins and the Bennet daughters—all of them—but he could not feel misused. Bennet had offered to teach Mr. Collins about the estate and then done so without involving Fitzwilliam or him.
Bennet had also discreetly made inquiries about any men seen with Mr. Todd. Though there had been no results, Darcy and Fitzwilliam agreed that the general had earned an evening of peace with his books and his port.
“Jane,” he heard Miss Elizabeth murmur softly, “are you well?”
No one else had heard her, and Darcy casually glanced back at the pair of them. Miss Bennet was not moving, and Darcy suddenly recalled that this would be her first time in a carriage since her accident. Before he could offer his assistance, Miss Bennet straightened and nodded. “I am quite well, Lizzy, thank you. Shall we?”
Darcy hid a smile. Miss Bennet was gentle and kind to a fault, but in the end, she was her father’s daughter.
Miss Bennet allowed her cousin Collins to hand her up into the coach, though she did not seem to notice who it was holding her hand, and Collins rudely entered behind her, leaving four of his cousins still outside.