Page 46 of Sweet on Mr Darcy

“I miss playing when we were girls,” Lydia went back to her rug and her sketches. “We should arrange a ladies’ match before we leave Ramsgate.”

The ladies dispersed to their planned sketching locations, and the gentlemen followed, as willing to praise as they had been to collect it themselves. Everyone relaxed as the afternoon passed. Charlotte, Priscilla, and Mr Darcy dozed under the canopies. Mr Bennet read from a book as the other two fathers discussed their estate methods. The Misses Hatton and Osbourne took turns playing their harp lutes.

Miss de Bourgh, who was usually as quiet and reserved as a spectre, noticed Lydia’s stack of fashion plates and instantly came to life.

“What are those, Miss Lydia?” she asked in curiosity.

Lydia brightened at the prospect of having someone new to discuss fashion with, even someone as ill-dressed as this young lady. “Those are French plates from last month. Would you like to see them?”

“Thank you, I would!” Anne moved closer and the two began to discuss the gowns and their merits or defects.

Within moments, the two were bent over Lydia’s magazines like a pair of generals, every bit as serious as Darcy organising a game of cricket.

“No, Miss de Bourgh. That shape would drown you entirely,” Lydia said to her new friend.

Anne nodded. “I feared I would be terrible at chusing clothes.”

“All you need is someone who can advise you, and then you will get better, once you learn what becomes you,” Lydia reassured her as she pulled out her pad and began to draw. “Allow me to show you. You need narrower sleeves, like this. And a cleaner line down the bodice.”

Anne leaned closer. “Oh, that is much better!”

“Of course it is,” Lydia said confidently. “You are much too small for those dreadful drooping things your mother chooses for you.”

“Perhaps you could come with me next week when I go to the modiste with my cousins.” Anne looked about. “Priscilla, could I invite Miss Lydia to join us next week?”

“Of course you can,” Priscilla answered drowsily. “We are shopping for your clothes, and Miss Lydia has good instincts when it comes to fashion.”

Darcy and Elizabeth strolled near the cliffs.

“Dare I ask if you found the match tolerable?” he asked hopefully.

“You seemed to require little praise,” Elizabeth teased.

“I find myself in desperate hopes of receiving yours,” he said with a smile.

Elizabeth looked at him for just a second too long. “I found it much more tolerable than any other cricket match I have observed before.”

“I shall take that as a compliment.” He grinned. Then suddenly, he blushed.

Elizabeth giggled, not knowing what to say next.

“I am so happy that you came,” he said, suddenly sounding unsure of himself.

Elizabeth blushed as well, bringing his smile back just as quickly as it had deserted him. “I am very glad of it too.”

The day ended when, at Darcy’s indication, a footman produced a pair of small pipes⁠1. The Bennet ladies nor the Osbournes had not heard the instrument played before, for they were mostly popular in the far north.

Darcy Senior humbly demurred. “I have not played in too long, I fear.”

“Please, Father! It has been so long since I have heard you play!” Georgiana begged.

Chaos ensued as the guests begged Darcy Senior to honour them with a performance.

He sighed with theatrical reluctance. “It appears that I shall have no peace until I agree.”

The guests applauded this and settled down to observe.

The gentleman accepted his small pipes from the footman and began to perform. The music was different from any Elizabeth had heard before, something like a cross between a flute and a fiddle. He played a melodic tune that made Kitty get up and attempt a little reel, and soon, the youngest members of their party were reeling over the grass.