From Pemberley to Gretna Green: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Laraba Kendig

Author:Laraba Kendig [Kendig, Laraba]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-05T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Sibson Inn

Tuesday, 18th August, 1812

The church clock was chiming eleven as the carriage lurched and rolled out of the inn’s yard and onto the road. It was a late start, but Elizabeth felt disinclined to complain – better a few more hours lingering in the comfortable inn, than wet and cold on the side of the road when a wheel or axle broke in the mud. The weather was not as sunny as one could wish, as heavy clouds obscured the sky in large swathes, granting only brief periods of drying warmth.

Darcy had investigated the trail before setting out and given orders to the coachman to go at an easy pace and plan to only travel twenty, or perhaps five and twenty, miles that day, depending on when they could find an appropriate inn along the road. They hoped that the roads would be drier on the following day.

Elizabeth found herself relaxed and cheerful as the carriage once again wended its way north. The views outside were not particularly interesting, as this part of the country was flat and sparsely settled, but the company was pleasant, and she still relished the pleasure of riding in a carriage with such fine springs and plush seats.

Lydia, too, had managed to maintain improved manners for yet another day, and was currently questioning Captain Scofield about his family’s home in Suffolk.

“I am a fourth son,” the captain explained, “and my father owns a modest estate which is some twenty miles from the ocean.”

“How far is it from Town?” Elizabeth asked before Lydia could.

“It is about one hundred miles, which means that it takes more than a day to travel from my home to London.”

“Do you like London?” Lydia asked timidly.

The captain smiled and said, “I like it well enough, though based on our conversations, not as much as you and Sir Christopher do. I enjoy the theaters and the museums and even some of the parties, but I also enjoy the country and riding and shooting.”

“Are you … do you intend to return to war, sir?” Lydia asked.

“If you and I marry, no. If not, then yes. My father has four daughters, three of whom are not yet married, and thus his savings are set aside for their dowries. I cannot expect my father to support me after purchasing a commission for me.”

Lydia looked thoughtful, and Elizabeth asked, “Did you, perchance, serve with Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy’s cousin?”

“I did. Indeed, we were in adjacent tents in quarters during the winter of 1809-1810.”

“Fitzwilliam has mentioned you more than once as a most effective officer,” Darcy remarked.

Scofield chuckled and said, “I am honored at your cousin’s praise, but I suspect that part of his enthusiasm has to do with my pack of hunting dogs. We spent many an afternoon hunting hares together; they provided much needed meat for the officers’ mess.”

The conversation continued in this vein and then veered back to Suffolk and its coastline, which was, according to the captain, a complex combination of heaths and marshes and rivers and estuaries.

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