The Beginning of Hope

Part 13

Trenholme was nestled amid a large, green estate, and Elizabeth could not help but admire its aspect as their carriage pulled up outside. What fine walks there must be here! she thought, already tracing a winding path towards the trees that bordered the garden, before snatching her attention back. She was here to see friends and to enjoy their time together, not to dream of slipping away for a solitary explore.

"Isn't it lovely?" Jane asked, as the sisters disembarked, falling obediently into line behind their parents as the family moved as one towards the entrance.

Elizabeth nodded, noticing Mary, whose eyes were as round as saucers as she examined the high-ceilinged hall, crammed full of finery. Even Elizabeth was a little surprised, for although she recognised a few pieces of furniture as belonging to Mr Simms, who had leased the estate, many treasures were entirely new to her. She was so busy examining as she passed that she almost collided with her sister, who had stopped still before a grand painting.

"Oh, sorry, Mary!" Elizabeth extricated herself from Jane, allowing the rest of their family to move on ahead without them. She looked up at the portrait that had caught her sister's attention and was surprised to recognise its subject as Mr Egerton. He was younger, that much was plain, but it was more than the absence of years in his smooth, unlined face. Gone was the care that misfortune had doubtless caused. He was mounted astride his horse, and Elizabeth realised, all of a sudden, that he must once have been a very active, adventurous young gentleman before injury and illness had forced him to stay at home. With a wave of sympathy, she turned to Mary, eager to say something encouraging but not sure what words would best help her sister at that moment.

"It is a fine likeness, even now," she murmured, her lips only inches from Mary's ear. "He is very handsome."

"Is he?" Mary tossed her head, an affectation of disinterest that would have fooled others who were not as perceptive as Elizabeth, or who were not watching her so very carefully. "I had not noticed."

"Ah, ladies, ladies, let us not dawdle!"

Elizabeth's smile slipped. She had forgotten Mr Collins accompanied, which was in itself no small feat, for their father's cousin seemed scarcely to allow a moment to pass without inserting himself into their conversation whether they wished him to or not.

Mr Collins did not seem to entertain the notion that he would not be welcomed to join his cousins. He made what he evidently thought was an amusing show of offering one arm to Mary and another to Elizabeth, who drew a fortifying breath and accepted it, allowing him to escort both ladies into the parlour to join the reset of the Egerton's guests.

"Miss Mary!"

Mr Egerton's sister's enthusiasm was plain in greeting at least one of their guests, but Elizabeth did not mind it. It cheered her to see the way Sally promptly walked away from the corner she had been occupying, speaking to Mr and Mrs Hurst, and greeted Mary with a warm embrace.

Mary seemed likewise charmed by this greeting and slipped free of Mr Collins, allowing Sally to drag her away and converse in whispers about things Elizabeth could only imagine. Her delight in seeing her sister so warmly welcomed must have shown on her face, for Mr Collins chose to remark upon it, lowering his voice as if the two were sharing a particularly sensitive secret.

"I am pleased, Miss Elizabeth, to see how well received each of you are amongst the families of Meryton. Truly, it is an encouragement to me, as a clergyman." He chuckled. "I might say such popularity is a family trait that has been passed to me as well, through your father's and my shared line..."

He continued speaking, but Elizabeth ceased listening, affixing a smile that was all politeness to her face and wondering how soon she could manage to extricate herself from her cousin's attentions and find a better companion. Her gaze strayed around the room, spying Jane already in close conversation with Mr Bingley, which was another point of relief for Elizabeth. How easily love seemed to go for Jane, and how rightfully she deserved it! Elizabeth liked Mr Bingley all the more for his immediate and steadfast affection for her sister, despite the opposition she felt certain he must face from certain quarters. Her gaze rested on Caroline, whose own expression soured as she glared at the happy pair. Caroline is not as pleased by the pairing as I am, I wager.

"Ah, and here is another friend! Yes, I say again, Miss Elizabeth, how delightful it is to be welcomed into the very midst of so lively a group. Miss Lucas! Oh, Miss Lucas!"

Elizabeth snapped her gaze back just in time to identify the figure of her friend drawing close to them.

"Hello, Elizabeth!" Charlotte grinned, her eyes widening a little as she acknowledged the fact that Elizabeth was standing with Mr Collins. Recalling her friend's previous mistake, Elizabeth hurried to her other side, pleased to put a barrier between herself and her cousin, although feeling a little guilty that she had put Charlotte to such use. Charlotte Lucas did not seem to mind it, though, turning with a polite smile to Mr Collins and enquiring of him as to his opinion of Meryton society.

"You are certainly experiencing a great deal of it of late!"

"Ah, now that is something to take pleasure in, Miss Lucas! My parish is considerably smaller, and as a bachelor clergyman I assure you it can be a rather lonely existence..."

These words were directed at Elizabeth pointedly enough, but her attention had already drifted away again, caught by a movement at another doorway in the parlour. There seemed to be a second door, not one that led to the hallway but a small ante-room adjacent to the parlour. Two gentlemen stepped back through it, their expressions serious, and Elizabeth recognised them immediately. Mr Egerton, his hand on the door-frame, feeling his way carefully along its edge and into the room. Beside him, Mr Darcy watched his friend's progress carefully, allowing him to make his way but poised, it seemed to her, to intervene at a moment, if necessary. It was not necessary, however, for Mr Egerton had made it but a few paces into the room when his sister spotted him and attached herself to his side, tugging Mary along with her.

"There you are, Sidney! I thought it quite ungentlemanly for you to desert me in my hour of need."

"Your hour of need?" Mr Egerton's lips quirked and Lizzy was given to realise he was teasing her. This made her like the fellow all the more, for he was not merely brave for bearing with his affliction, but good-humoured too. And wealthy, she thought, if this house is anything to judge by.

"Since when has it been a trial to you to be surrounded by people, friends and strangers alike?"

"You see, Miss Mary, how this dreadful boy treats his own dear sister? I have said it before and I shall say again that you are blessed indeed to have only sisters, who are much kinder playmates."

"If you think that, Miss Sally, I would suggest you have had a very limited sampling of sisters."

This was uttered with a smile, evidently intended for a joke and taken as such by both Mr and Miss Egerton, but Lizzy could not help but feel a prick of conscience at witnessing her sister's words. Mary had been on the receiving end of no small measure of unkindness from some of her sisters, and Lizzy was forced to include herself in that. How often had she spoken sharply to Mary, or mocked her for her piety even before Mr Collins arrived and offered a second, better foil for her teasing? How often have I failed to notice her at all?

"Is something the matter, Elizabeth?"

Charlotte's voice was sharp enough to draw Lizzy's attention back to her small corner of the room, and she glanced up, realising that both Mr Collins and her friend were looking at her expectantly, as if waiting for a response.

"I'm sorry, I was distracted. What did you say?"

"I said nothing." Charlotte's smile fell into something that might have been reproach. "Mr Collins asked you whether you think the Egertons have made changes to the grounds here at Trenholme. You are the expert, after all, being found so often out of doors..."