Within moments James and Patrick returned, accompanied by a servant laden with a tray bearing tea things and a platter of fruit cake.
“We have seen Lady Gwendolyn, Mama,” said James as he placed a cup on the table in front of his mother. “And she wished me to pass on her best wishes. She will call upon you in the morning before we leave for Somerset.”
“The Bland-Williams are here also,” added Patrick who performed the same service for Serena and Elizabeth. He dropped into the empty chair beside the latter. “Mrs Bland-Williams says she wished to send an invitation to dinner, but I told her your stay was but of short duration. She hopes to see you during the afternoon.”
“And Admiral Davies has button-holed Papa as usual! Nicholas remained behind to assist in retrieving him should the service be required,” added James as he placed the platter of cake in the centre of the table before seating himself. “Oh – and we saw an acquaintance of mine that I reconnected with only the other day, Mama.”
Elizabeth paid little mind to James’ dialogue with his mother and reached for her cup only to drop it back into the saucer with a clatter as she heard the word ‘Darcy’ pass his lips.
“Forgive me.” Having garnered the attention of the entire party, Elizabeth could feel her cheeks colouring, but Serena aided her in mopping up the few splashes of tea that had spattered the table and saucer, and James turned back to Mrs Harington. She was not to be spared the conversation, however, for within minutes he turned to include Serena in his discussion.
“Darcy was with his cousin, whose acquaintance I made but the other day, but as they were on their way to join the remainder of their party, we did no more than exchange greetings. However, it has made me think. He has a large estate in Derbyshire, and I am certain that it is not far from Lambton. Are you familiar with the family, Serena?”
The lurch of her insides was now so customary that Elizabeth barely heeded it as she threw Serena a quick glance.
“I am not personally, no, though I know the name. But then, Papa only returned to Lambton so very recently, and I have not spent much time there as of yet.”
Elizabeth picked up her cup a little more slowly this time and cradled it in her hands, appreciative of the warmth it exuded. Sipping the hot tea, she assessed her feelings. Knowing that Mr Darcy was definitely here in the gardens at least stopped her from speculating upon that very fact. It did not, however, cause her much respite, for now her mind was engaged not upon whether he was there, but where in the gardens he was at that particular moment and how she might possibly contrive to speak to him.
~o0o~
Seated under a hastily erected canopy, that she and her daughter might be sheltered from the sun’s rays, Lady Catherine surveyed those around her with beady eyes.
“Anne, tuck that blanket securely about your legs. You must not take cold.”
“Aunt, it is sufficiently warm. I am certain Anne will come to no harm.”
“I do not know why I allowed you to persuade me to come, I really do not,” she went on as if the Colonel had not spoken at all. “It is an odd way to be entertaining folks, by making them sit in the outdoors and be exposed to the elements.”
The Colonel rolled his eyes at Darcy, who smiled before turning his attention to his sister.
“Are you quite comfortable, Georgie?”
She nodded happily, smiling up at him from the seat placed to Anne’s right. “I am perfectly content, Fitz.”
There was some disturbance whilst servants bustled about on Lady Catherine’s barked instructions, fetching all manner of rugs, blankets and cushions from the carriage, and then retrieving a large wicker basket filled with flasks of hot chocolate, several slabs of pound cake and a bowl of fruit. Once these were all arranged to her satisfaction, she dismissed all but one servant and ordered her guests to partake.
Taking a seat on the other side of his sister but outside the canopy, Darcy looked up at the sky. Earlier, it had been a rich cerulean blue, but the clouds had steadily increased. Despite this, and the sun disappearing behind them with growing regularity, the heat did not subside, and he sighed. A storm brewed, if he was not mistaken. He glanced around at the hordes of people out enjoying the day, and could not help but wonder whereabouts Elizabeth sat, and whether or not she enjoyed herself; then, he pushed the thought ruthlessly aside. Having just encountered James Harington, he needed no further reminder of her tenancy within that family or of its permanence.
Turning down an offer of a hot drink from his sister, he accepted a tot of brandy from the Colonel, clinked glasses with him in a silent toast and knocked the liquid back, letting it run down his throat before handing the glass back.
~o0o~
As the afternoon progressed there came some change to the Harington party. Mr Harington had returned with Nicholas at last, and the former and Mrs Harington were soon well entertained by a stream of visitors to their small seating area and had no need of family for company. As such, the others left them well stocked with refreshments and set out to explore the gardens, enjoying the music and merriment around them as they went.
Patrick and James soon happened upon some young men with whom they were acquainted, and leaving them to it, Nicholas, Serena and Elizabeth continued in their walk. Though ostensibly acting as chaperone, it was not long before Elizabeth out-stripped her companions and, bearing in mind the public location, none of them was particularly disturbed by the fact.
Elizabeth was grateful for the opportunity to be alone for a while, though she seemed unable to cease her self-imposed task whenever out in public of late of looking for Mr Darcy’s face in every corner. She longed to come across him, hoped most anxiously to be able to explain the truth of the matter in relation to the rumour that existed, but she had no notion how she might begin such a dialogue.
Thus it was, she wandered from path to lawn, aimless in her direction, but her gaze constantly seeking him.
~o0o~
The Harington party was not the only one that had seen some alteration. Lady Catherine, who had bemoaned the growing heat for more than an hour, had finally been persuaded to return to the shade of her hearth in Great Pulteney Street. The breaking up of the party, along with the removal of the canopy and the servants, whom Darcy and the Colonel eschewed as unnecessary, did however benefit Anne. With her cousins’ support, she was able to stay behind with the promise that she would be dropped home by the Darcy carriage before dusk.
Five o’clock had long passed, the hour marked by the bells of the nearest church and those of the Abbey, which resonated from the city centre nearby. Darcy and the Colonel had gone to stretch their legs, their intent being to view the new canal that had been engineered through the gardens on its way to join the River Avon further downstream, and Georgiana and Anne had been enjoying a stroll about the gardens, stopping now and again to listen to the music and occasionally visiting the stalls and barrows set up near the entrance gates and making a purchase or two.
Georgiana had been pleased to see her brother showing an interest in something, for last evening, he had appeared somewhat distracted, particularly when they had dined before returning Anne home and heading to the recital. Much as she liked Bath, she could not wait for them to leave, that they might make their intended journey to Dublin, where all possible reminders of Miss Elizabeth Bennet were behind them.
Before returning to their seats with their packages, Anne had suggested that they sit near the bandstand for a while and listen to the music, and Georgiana had happily complied, and they had soon secured a nearby bench shrouded by thick hedging.
Anne released a sigh, and Georgiana sat back on the bench and eyed her older cousin for a moment. “Are you tiring?”
“No indeed. Quite the contrary, my dear. I am enjoying the solitude.”
Georgiana frowned. “But you are not alone.”
Anne let out a short laugh. “You cannot imagine how pleasurable it is to escape my mother’s presence. Oh, she means well enough,” she waved a dismissive hand. “She thinks to protect me; yet I am in more danger of being stifled by her than under threat of anything else! I believe-”
“Anne! Look!”
Georgiana's low and urgent voice caused Anne to follow the direction of her gaze. Though she had not detected their presence, tucked away as they were beside the hedge, Miss Elizabeth Bennet could be seen walking away from them down the path that led to the rear of the gardens.
~o0o~
Darcy and the Colonel had eschewed the loftier view of the canal for a walk along the towpath, and as the air was a little fresher by the water and the noise less intrusive, bordering open countryside as this end of the gardens did, they lingered for quite a while, talking of the feat of engineering that it was, admiring the neatly constructed walls of the tunnels, the creative planting of verges by the towpath and the elegance of what was essentially a working waterway, as stylish here as it was functional along the stretch that penetrated Sydney Gardens.
That the topic of conversation was not entirely to his taste, the Colonel chose not to own. He could tell that Darcy wished to talk of anything, and once the subject had been exhausted, the Colonel had taken a quick glance at his pocket watch before suggesting that they begin to make preparations to depart. Leaving Darcy behind, his attention allegedly on a barge as it negotiated its way along the canal, the Colonel set off to track down his cousins and shepherd them back to their carriage where Darcy had agreed to join them directly.
He stepped through the gate into the uniform terraces of the gardens and had not gone far before he discerned both Anne and Georgiana up ahead. They were walking up one of the gentle rises towards one of the wrought-iron railed bridges that spanned the canal and, putting on a spurt of speed, he cut across a neatly tended lawn and fetched up beside them, amused at their reaction, for he had clearly surprised them with his sudden appearance.
~o0o~
It does, of course, behove those in such a state of mutual happiness as Serena and Nicholas to wish the same felicity upon all their acquaintance, and though he knew little of Darcy, Nicholas was sensible enough to see in him a well-respected gentleman with a somewhat quiet but pleasant demeanour, admired by their Cheapside relations and further, the object of Elizabeth’s affections.
He had considered, throughout the previous evening, Serena’s wish that he do something to aid their friend. A desire to concede to her plea as well as lifting some of the obvious oppression from Elizabeth’s shoulders was sufficient for him to be certain that action was warranted, and thus it was that, no sooner had she disappeared from view, they turned their minds to locating where precisely in Sydney Gardens Mr Darcy or any of his party might be at that moment.
“Should we explore the labyrinth?” Serena indicated the part of the garden behind them. “If Lizzy has ploughed on ahead, then perhaps we should look where she is not?”
Nicholas’s gaze roamed over the faces of those passing by. Serena was relatively unfamiliar with any of those they sought, having seen only Darcy, and that for a passing moment, and thus it was that the search was down to him, but before they had need of further reflection over which direction to take, he happened to see a familiar figure walking away from a gateway in the hedge directly opposite.
“Look.” Nicholas’ mutter caused Serena to turn her head.
She followed his gaze to the man but then frowned and looked up at him. “Who is it?”
“Darcy’s cousin, the Colonel.” They watched him for a second; he seemed to be walking with some purpose, and Nicholas, following a hunch, tucked Serena’s hand through his arm and quickly led her over towards the hedge and peered through the gate.
“He is there – alone.”
“He must have been by the canal all this time,” said Serena softly. “No wonder we have not seen him until now.”
Nicholas looked down at her affectionately. “Why are you whispering? He will not hear you; he must be at least twenty paces away.” He peered through the gate once more. “And I will wager from his stance his mind is many more miles distant.”
“What shall we do?”
Nicholas said nothing for a moment, merely kept his gaze upon the solitary figure. Then, he shrugged and looked back at Serena.
“We will go and speak to him.”
“But what shall we say?”
Nicholas laughed, shrugged his shoulders again and then smiled at her. “I have no notion, but doubtless something will come to us at the given time!” With that, he opened the gate, which wheezed on its hinges, and waved her through before stepping onto the towpath to join her.