Page 1 of Darcy’s Guarded Heart

Elizabeth

“C arriages! Four of them, I saw them coming up the London Road,” an excitable young voice called, and Elizabeth raised her eyes, drawn from her reverie at the sound.

She had not realised there was anyone else about.

It was early afternoon, usually an ideal time to walk as it tended to be quiet.

Not that it ever got too busy in their corner of the world.

Still, having just returned from a visit to London, she’d longed for a little peace—something not easily found at Longbourn.

Alas, her quiet walk was not to be as three young boys ran towards her.

She recognised them at once. Peter Lucas, her friend Charlotte’s youngest brother, and Harold and Charlie Parks, his cousins.

She glanced in the direction they were pointing, and sure enough, there was something akin to a caravan travelling down the road from London towards Netherfield.

She spotted three stately carriages, followed by another plainer vehicle—one that perhaps carried servants or luggage.

All four carriages were loaded down with trunks and portmanteaus, so many that she could only assume a family of ten was moving into the place that had stood empty for so long, or a few people with rather extravagant tastes.

“Miss Bennet,” Peter called. “Do you see them?”

“I assure you, Master Lucas, my eyes function perfectly.” She raised a hand to her forehead to shield against the low, autumn sun and squinted, hoping to catch a glimpse of the passengers, but the carriages were too far away.

“I did not know Netherfield was let again,” she murmured, more to herself than to the boys. However, evidently Harold Parks felt as though she had addressed him, for he immediately replied.

“Mama said that a gentleman from the north has taken it. A Mr Bingler,” the boy explained.

“The servants arrived on Monday. I did not see those carriages arrive, but Mama said there were at least five that brought servants and trunks and provisions. She was quite upset, saying they ought to have hired from Meryton, not brought their own servants,” he added.

“I imagine they desired those they were already acquainted with,” Elizabeth remarked, though it was a shame when grand houses like Netherfield were opened again only to be staffed by strangers, when so many in Meryton were in want of employment.

She sighed. It could not be helped. People, especially those who could afford to rent a place like Netherfield Park, tended to be less concerned with such matters.

Still, she could not deny her curiosity about the new inhabitants.

Their carriages certainly were rather impressive, with their shimmering black exteriors and door handles that had glimmered in the sunshine.

The horses, too, appeared to be of the sort only those of substantial means could afford.

“Peter!” Charlotte Lucas called then, and Elizabeth turned to face her friend.

“Charlotte,” she smiled at her dearest companion, who came rushing down the road, cheeks flushed and hair bobbing beneath her bonnet.

“Eliza, how good it is to see you. I feel as though it has been weeks,” she said, pausing for breath.

“A fortnight at least. I was in London visiting Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. I meant to call on you when I returned but I have not yet found the time.” She nodded at the young boy. “Your brother was just telling me about the new tenants.”

“Ah yes, Peter delights in disseminating all manner of news. He is like a sponge for gossip. I daresay Mama will yet despair of him.” She turned to her brother and cousins then.

“What are you doing here? Mama and Aunt Beth are awaiting you at the house. Off you go,” she urged the boys who swiftly fell into step and hurried towards Lucas Lodge.

“I wish Kitty, Lydia, and Mary were as obedient as those three,” Elizabeth said with a laugh.

“They are somewhat older, my dear. I daresay the older they are, the less they listen,” Charlotte sighed, slipping her arm under Elizabeth’s as they walked away from Netherfield and the carriages.

“You possess all the wisdom, do you not?” Elizabeth chuckled. “You will make a very good mother one day, bringing them all to heel with the snap of a finger.”

“I wish. Oh Eliza, I do wish that so. But I must admit, I am seven-and-twenty—chances of my finding a husband are growing slimmer with each passing day. I shall end up an ape leader yet,” she said.

Even though she knew this to be a possibility, Elizabeth shook her head, unwilling to let her friend admit such defeat just yet.

“Charlotte do not speak thus. You are still lovely and young, you shall find someone. Perhaps even among the Netherfield party,” she said, nudging her friend playfully.

“I believe if there is a gentleman to be had amongst them, your mother will claim him for you or your sisters at once,” Charlotte replied wryly, and Elizabeth could not deny that this might indeed be the case.

“Well, Mama does not control the hearts and minds of every person in her vicinity, even if she wishes it so. In any event, what do you know of the party? Anything of note?”

Charlotte shook her head. “Nothing of particular interest, save that they are from the north and staying from now through to Christmas and into the summer.”

“That is certainly a long time to become acquainted, especially with any eligible gentleman.”

“I daresay, given my fortunes, they will turn out to be an old married man with four sons, all of them wed to beautiful highborn ladies. The best I can hope for then is a posting as a governess,” she said, but chuckled, letting Elizabeth know that despite her tone, she was jesting somewhat.

“Perhaps they will be young and dashing, however, and entirely unwed. In which case, I am sure they will come to the assembly. What do you say, Charlotte? Shall we set our caps for them if they are indeed handsome and unwed?”

Charlotte turned to her and took her hands. “You are a dear friend, Eliza. Yes, we shall. Perhaps the two of us will be engaged come Christmastide!”

“Perhaps we shall,” Elizabeth replied, and the two giggled as they made their way down the road towards Lucas Lodge.

***

After parting with Charlotte, Elizabeth made her way down the lane at a brisk pace, arriving at the house a little out of breath.

The sun was beginning to set, and a sharp breeze reminded her that it was already late October.

Before she knew it, the long dark days of winter would be upon her.

Not that she minded. She had always been fond of the cold season, especially when it snowed.

There was something singularly enchanting about Christmastide in the snow.

And after that, her other favourite season would follow spring.

She loved how the world awakened anew after the cold of winter.

There was something peaceful about it.

She narrowed her eyes when a decidedly unpeaceful sound spilled from the open windows of the drawing room. Her mother’s shrill voice.

Elizabeth could not yet distinguish her words, but she did not need to. Those high, urgent notes could belong to no other. No doubt she had just received news of the new occupant at Netherfield Park. It would be a long evening indeed if her mother had made such a discovery.

And if the new arrivals proved to be bachelors?

There would be no end to her mother’s raptures.

Not that Elizabeth could wholly blame her.

Any woman with five daughters must, inevitably, concern herself with securing them respectable husbands.

As much as she had hesitated to say so to Charlotte, there came a point when a woman without a prospect might indeed find herself looking at the dreaded shelf.

Not that she or her sisters were yet in danger of such a fate—none of them had yet passed one-and-twenty.

She took a steadying breath as she neared the door, bracing herself for whatever storm brewed within—only for the door to spring open and Thomas, the family’s ward, to run out. Without preamble, he seized her wrist and pulled her away.

“And pray, where do you think we are going?” she protested, though she did not resist as he hurried her across the courtyard.

“Trust that I am doing you a kindness, Lizzy. You do not wish to go inside just now. Your mother is in fine form.”

“I heard her voice as I approached, so I already suspected as much. Is it about the new neighbours?”

“Indeed, it is.”

They made their way across the yard to the stables, passing the groom and a stable hand, both of whom cast them curious glances but said nothing.

It was hardly unusual for Thomas to be found here, after all.

He pulled open the door, and the familiar scent of hay and horse met Elizabeth’s senses.

Only then did Thomas finally release her wrist, waving her inside before shutting the door firmly behind them.

“You will thank me later,” he said. “Your mother has already repeated the same speech twice—once for Jane, once for Kitty. She is now on her third repetition, as Mary and Lydia have just returned from Meryton. I daresay she will not wish to repeat herself a fourth time for you.”

“And what, pray, is all this excitement about? I saw a procession of carriages arrive earlier. I trust they are all young gentlemen in desperate need of wives?” she teased, dropping onto a bale of hay. The horses nickered nearby.

Thomas sat beside her and leaned back, letting his legs dangle from the haystack as he had done since childhood.

Elizabeth smiled, suddenly reminded of a day almost fifteen years past, when six-year-old Thomas had first come to live with them.

She had just celebrated her fifth birthday when he arrived, and though she had been too young to fully comprehend his circumstances, she had been delighted, nonetheless.

It had been her fondest wish to have a brother.