The Lady Sleuth of Longbourn: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Amelia Westerly

Author:Amelia Westerly [Westerly, Amelia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Mystery, Alternate Universe, Not in Amazon Library, To Transfer
Goodreads: 222432457
Publisher: Song Sparrow Press
Published: 2024-12-09T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Sensible as it was, Jane’s pronouncement was to be proven mistaken not many days later. When a gentleman was seen approaching Longbourn on a fine horse and wearing a blue coat, Kitty and Lydia instantly proclaimed it to be Mr Bingley, as Mr Denny would have been wearing a red one. When the gentleman came nearer, however, his dark hair and greater stature showed him to be no one other than Mr Darcy.

“What can Mr Darcy, of all people, have to do here?” Mrs Bennet exclaimed, rushing from one side of the drawing room to the other, first straightening a fold out of Kitty’s shawl and then instructing Mary to hide away the great tome of sermons from which she had been reading. “Mr Darcy, come to Longbourn, and without Mr Bingley or Colonel Fitzwilliam? Whatever can he mean by it?”

“Perhaps he brings a message, Mama,” Elizabeth suggested. Privately, she could not account for it at all. Could there be a less likely candidate for helpfully carrying along a friend’s message than Mr Darcy? Yet any other explanation seemed still less plausible. Mr Darcy certainly did not find their society pleasing, and after their disastrous last meeting, she would have thought him eager to avoid a repeat of it.

By the time Mr Darcy was ushered into the drawing room, they presented a coldly decorous scene, with all the cosy mess and comfort of domesticity tidied away. Elizabeth noted with satisfaction that even Lydia’s bow could not be faulted, though it must be admitted that her youngest sister thereafter fled to the window with Kitty. If their whispers did not meet her own standards of politeness, they were at least unobtrusive.

“It is kind of you to visit us, Mr Darcy,” Jane said sweetly. “May I inquire, is the Netherfield party all in good health?”

“Yes, indeed,” Mr Darcy said. Though he looked a little embarrassed at recognising the implied question, he did not choose to answer it, and Jane was far too well-bred to continue on any line of questioning which seemed to embarrass. “I thank you, they are all well. I believe my cousin and Bingley intend to go out shooting today.”

This begged the question of why Mr Darcy had not accompanied them.

“Do you not care for hunting, Mr Darcy?” Elizabeth inquired delicately.

He looked at her with more surprise than the simple question seemed to justify. “I carry a gun sometimes, but I must confess it is not my preferred sport. I prefer fishing. Or simply walking or riding. One can see so much more, without the distraction of trying for game.”

It was a more sympathetic answer than Elizabeth would have expected from him, and surprised her into replying more openly than she had intended.

“There is a hill near Netherfield with a very fine prospect, Mr Darcy. Perhaps you have noticed it?”

“Indeed, I have.”

“On the far side of the hill, there is a little wooded area with many fine paths. I think you would enjoy it prodigiously.”

“Thank you, I shall look forward to visiting it,” he replied.

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