Page 8 of Elizabeth in Scotland (Elizabeth and Darcy Abroad #2)
The young woman looked almost as if she would argue. After a tense pause, she looked away, no doubt chastised. “I am sorry you’ve had to wait so long, Mr…?”
“Darcy,” he said curtly. The least she could have done was remember his name when the servant had alerted her to his coming. “Will you show my sister to her room? As you must realise, she is in need of rest after the long journey.”
The young woman looked at Georgiana. Her face softened.
“Your sister does look rather tired,” she said, frowning deeply when she met his gaze again.
No doubt she was annoyed with his harshness.
Then again, she should not have been surprised.
Mrs Reynolds would have been appalled had guests been kept waiting half so long at Pemberley.
His housekeeper took matters of hospitality seriously.
But perhaps the housekeeper of Strathalt House was too young and inexperienced to have such standards.
“Thank you,” Darcy said. “I will speak with Mr Campbell about this incident, mind you. This is not the kind of first impression I would like to have associated with any house for which I was responsible.”
Georgiana placed a hand on his arm as the woman turned and motioned for them to follow her.
“Do not worry on my account,” she whispered, smiling shyly at the housekeeper.
Georgiana was too accommodating, fearing to inconvenience others even when caring for her was their occupation.
She would have to learn to wield a stronger hand in running her own home in the future.
“A woman of her calibre should know better,” he replied, not even trying to keep his voice down. In the future, he hoped the young woman would learn her lesson and be the better for it.
After the door had closed, Darcy went back over to the hearth to warm his hands. It was an unusually sunny day, but it did not show any signs of getting warm. He sat down to wait for Mr Campbell, hoping that, now that Mrs Graham had finally come, he would not have much longer to wait.
Only a few moments later, the door reopened, and a woman entered.
Her severe black dress and white cap showed her to be some sort of upper servant, while the greying hair at her temples and the lines about her eyes showed her age.
“Mr Darcy? Please forgive me for having taken so long in coming. I was dealing with a minor injury in the servants’ hall.
” She came over to the sitting area and curtsied. “I am Mrs Graham, the housekeeper.”
Darcy stood suddenly, his eyes going wide. “You are Mrs Graham?” he asked in astonishment. “Then who was the young woman who was just here?”
Mrs Graham frowned slightly and looked toward the door to which he had motioned.
“I am not sure. There are no other young women in the house, save for the upstairs maids and the kitchen staff. All were downstairs when I left.” She looked thoughtful.
“Perhaps it was Miss Elizabeth Bennet? She is the daughter of the other potential heir.”
For a moment, Darcy was too shocked to speak.
He had been appallingly rude. Taxing a young lady who knew nothing of him with having kept him waiting, demanding that she serve them, mistaking her for a servant in the first place…
if he had ever made a worse faux pas in his life, the incident mercifully escaped him.
He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.
As he regained control over himself, Darcy realised that Mrs Graham had, in fact, relayed two shocking pieces of information. He was not the only potential heir to the property? The letter had said nothing of it. “I was not aware there was another claimant to the estate.”
“Oh, I beg your pardon, sir. Mr Campbell only learned of the other gentleman after he had sent the letter to you. He is Mr Bennet of Hertfordshire, a very fine gentleman.” She cocked her head to the side and clicked her tongue.
“I am sure it is a surprise. But Mr Campbell will find a satisfactory solution, have no fear.”
“Yes, I am sure he will,” Darcy said, doing his best to conceal his distress.
He was not worried about the estate, for he had no need for the income nor an additional house.
The embarrassment of having treated a fellow guest, and a young lady at that, so harshly was far more distressing.
She must be thinking him at best a fool, and more likely an utter boor.
“Have Mr Bennet and his daughter been here long?”
“They just arrived yesterday afternoon.” Mrs Graham looked about the room, confused. “The footman informed me that your sister was with you. Is she taking some air in the gardens?”
Darcy could feel the heat rising over his chest and creeping into his neck. “Ah, no. That is, she did come with me. But I am afraid I mistook Miss Bennet for you, and asked her to show Georgiana to her room so she could rest.”
“Oh, dear,” Mrs Graham breathed, in as tidy a confirmation of how his mistake was likely to be received as Darcy could have feared.
She rallied quickly, doing her best to look as though it were of little matter.
“Well, Miss Bennet will certainly be able to help her, for I gave her a full tour of the house when she arrived. She knows where the guest rooms are.” Mrs Graham smoothed down her black dress and stood at attention.
“May I show you your room now? I will send a footman when Mr Campbell returns, but there is no reason for you to wait here in the drawing room until then. I believe your luggage has been seen to.” She motioned for him to follow her out of the drawing room.
“I will check on Miss Darcy and see if she requires anything after I show you to your room.”
“Yes, thank you, that would be most appreciated,” Darcy replied. He said nothing else as they climbed the stairs, and sent Mrs Graham away as quickly as possible once she had shown him to the room. When she had gone, he sat heavily on the bed.
Darcy closed his eyes to blot out the world.
It did not seem to help. Having mistaken Miss Bennet for the housekeeper could be nothing less than mortifying.
Of course, she was much too young to be a housekeeper and dressed much too high for her supposed station.
Of course, she did not have the proper deference of manner that a servant ought to have for a guest she had kept waiting for a full hour — for it was not she who had kept them waiting, and she was not a servant at all.
His mistake had been almost unforgivable. All the same, he would apologise to the young lady at the earliest opportunity. He could only hope she would be gracious enough to forgive him.