Mary Bennet and the Shades of Pemberley by Joyce Harmon

Author:Joyce Harmon [Harmon, Joyce]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-22T06:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

Sally got a holiday from class the next day, as the others of the party were too eager to search the attics to wait; they must be up and at it immediately after breakfast.

Everyone joined the attic expedition. Every one of us wanted an attractive and memorable costume for the masquerade. Direct from the breakfast room, we made for the stairs. Clarissa and Georgiana lead the charge, racing up the steps like excited children. David and the Army were close behind, with Elizabeth and I following. Darcy stopped back for a word with his steward, but promised to be up directly.

As we trudged up the stairs, I asked softly, “Will the attic ghost bother us, do you suppose?”

“No,” she murmured back. “We will be searching the large attic rooms; that is where most of the household goods from past generations are stored. The ghost is in a smaller room further down the hall. Those were the servants quarters before the new wing was built fifty years ago. The small rooms are empty now; I suppose the overflow will reach there eventually.”

We entered the main attic space now, a cavernous room that covered half the floor space of the main block of the house. The others were already darting from place to place, flinging open chests and wardrooms and calling out their finds.

“Nothing but books and paper here,” Georgiana reported. “Dusty!” She sneezed.

I took a moment to look over the room. There must have been a dozen wardrobes, dark massive things from an earlier era, as well as over a score of large trunks. The light was surprisingly good. Under the eaves, the windows were low, but they were not grimy. “You are to be congratulated on the diligence of your housekeeper,” I told Elizabeth. “The windows are quite clean, and the surface dust is not insupportable.”

“The attic rooms are a monthly chore,” she said. “I believe Mrs. Reynolds assigns it to the maids who have disappointed her in the past month.”

“Ruthlessly clever,” I said. “Now let us see what we have to work with.”

And Elizabeth and I dived into the fray, doing our own search for the perfect masquerade costume.

“Enjoying yourselves, children?” The indulgent question heralded Darcy’s joining us.

“Ah, Fitzwilliam, you are just in time!” Elizabeth said. “I have found your costume!”

With a flourish, she drew from the wardrobe a gentleman’s dress coat. We stared at it in awe. From perhaps a hundred years ago, it was broad skirted and lavish with lace, with deep cuffs. The fabric was velvet and the color was lavender. The lace at neck, front and cuffs was silver.

Darcy stared at it in horror. “You are jesting, surely, my dear?”

“Isn’t it absurd?” Lizzie said with a merry gurgle. “Oh, do try it on!”

Darcy demonstrated the depths of his affection for her by trying it on. He shed his usual coat and Elizabeth helped him into the extravagant confection. It fit him perfectly.

Elizabeth stepped back and we all looked at Darcy in the absurd coat. I gasped and I wasn’t the only one.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.