Page 124 of Near Pemberley

The thought appeared so unexpectedly that he frowned.

Large enough for the Bennets.

His fingers stilled upon the paper.

Hertfordshire was not the whole world. No. Only the part in which they lived. Earlier that morning, Elizabeth had said much the same.

They would never have a clean slate there.

At the time, he had sympathised. Now, for the first time, he wondered whether the problem might have a practical solution.

For several moments, Darcy sat motionless.

The idea was absurd. The Bennets belonged in Hertfordshire. Longbourn had been their home for generations.

And yet… Did they?

The estate would remain. Its income would remain. Mr. Bennet could continue to oversee it if he wished.

But must the family remain where every neighbour knew the scandal? Where every assembly would revive it? Where the stain of the scandal would follow them for years?

Darcy leant back slowly.

The idea was still shapeless. Half-formed.

But for the first time since he met Lydia Bennet in London, he glimpsed the outline of a future in which her sisters might not forever pay the price of her mistakes, a future where she could start anew, too.

His eyes returned to the report. Ramsgate House seemed to possess a purpose again.

Chapter XXVI

The following morning, Darcy’s note reached Gracechurch Street just as its inhabitants sat down for breakfast.

Its contents were brief. He proposed bringing Lydia to visit her father that morning. Afterwards, if agreeable to all parties, he wondered whether the ladies might enjoy an excursion to Kew Gardens.

The suggestion produced considerably more excitement than he had anticipated. By the time he arrived, Mrs. Gardiner had already decided that if one was to visit Kew Gardens, one ought to do so properly.

The four Gardiner children were to accompany them. Mr. Gardiner had laughingly surrendered all authority in the matter almost immediately.

When Darcy entered the drawing room, he found plans already underway.

“I see I have created chaos,” he observed.

“You have,” Mrs. Gardiner agreed cheerfully. “The children have been discussing nothing else for the last half hour.”

“I regret my recklessness.”

“No, please do not. It is a wonderful idea.” Elizabeth spoke for the first time.

“Although I do not believe you accounted for the Gardiners and their children, so you may come to regret it, but I assure you, they are lovely.”

The smile she gave him was enough to make him regret nothing. He returned her smile. “Lovely?”

“Well, they will behave because their favourite aunt is here.”

“You are a favourite, Miss Bennet, are you?”

“Of course, I am the best at making up stories.”