driver. He will not allow us to spill.”
I held on in terror, for I had not the confidence she possessed. Unknowingly, I grabbed the side of the phaeton with one hand and Mr. Darcy’s arm with the other. Within moments, he turned the conveyance to the left as we rounded a sharp curve, consequently causing both my companions to swerve to my side. Once more, his face appeared alarmingly close to mine. I felt his breath warm on my cheek and heard him chuckle before we turned back onto a straighter path.
“You are welcome to hold on, Elizabeth, but when you clamp my arm that tightly, it does hinder my driving somewhat.”
Immediately, I withdrew my hand from his arm, shocked that I had touched him unawares.
“Do take care,” Georgiana cautioned. “I fear you frighten Elizabeth.”
“Are you afraid?”
“Of course not,” I lied, straightening my spine and sitting as tall as I might. Within moments, he rounded another curve, and I found myself clinging to him with both hands. I heard him laugh softly in spite of Georgiana’s gleeful screams.
“You are incorrigible, sir,” I declared. “You drive like Jehu!”
At last, to my great relief, he slowed the horse to a gentle trot. I reached for my hat to make certain it did not sit askew and pulled the cover back into place, for it had slipped loose in all the twists and turns. I felt my heart beating furiously and took a deep breath of the cold, frosty air. The remains of my breath hovered about like miniature clouds.
“Shall we drive by Lady Margaret Willoughby’s house?” Georgiana asked. “It lies directly around the next bend in the road.”
Within a few moments, we came upon a large manor house set far back from the road, surrounded by the forest. It almost appeared a part of the wood, for what park surrounded the house was untended, allowed to grow wild, obviously abandoned.
“That is Bridesgate Manor,” Mr. Darcy said.
“Is her ladyship away, for it appears vacant?”
“Oh, Lady Margaret no longer lives there,” said Georgiana. “She died years back before I was born, did she not, Wills?”
He nodded. “Since her son had died before her, the estate passed to her grandson, and he has let the house to a family named Denison. I hear they shall take possession by Lady Day.”
“I do hope we shall like them,” Georgiana said. “Perhaps they have a daughter near my age and sons to court Elizabeth. Would it not be lovely if she were to marry and live nearby? Then, we would not have to travel to Hertfordshire to visit her.”
I swallowed at the thought. “Georgiana…”
“Do not speak nonsense,” Mr. Darcy said.
“Is that not one reason we invited Elizabeth to Pemberley—to find her a husband?”
“I am in no hurry to find a husband.”
“Of course not,” Mr. Darcy agreed. “And I know little of the family other than Mr. Denison is a retired admiral in the King’s Navy. They certainly do not dwell on Lady Margaret’s level.”
“Even though they shall now dwell in her house,” I murmured.
“You may scoff, but the Willoughby family was the reigning aristocracy in the neighbourhood when I was a lad. I recall my parents often dined at the old lady’s table. ’Tis a pity her grandson has not taken better care of the place.”
He turned and drove the horse up the long path leading to the house. Brambles wound through the wild bushes that lined the drive. The beautiful old trees appeared almost bent under the weight of vines grown unchecked for years. It would take a prodigious amount of work to clean the grounds. One could only hope the inside of the house had been better preserved.
“Shall we walk for a bit?” Mr. Darcy asked. When Georgiana and I agreed, he stepped down and assisted us from the carriage. I missed the warmth of his body next to mine and shivered slightly as the wind came up.
We began to walk about the property, the paths covered in snow, and I could see the estate compared poorly to Pemberley. The house
I held on in terror, for I had not the confidence she possessed. Unknowingly, I grabbed the side of the phaeton with one hand and Mr. Darcy’s arm with the other. Within moments, he turned the conveyance to the left as we rounded a sharp curve, consequently causing both my companions to swerve to my side. Once more, his face appeared alarmingly close to mine. I felt his breath warm on my cheek and heard him chuckle before we turned back onto a straighter path.
“You are welcome to hold on, Elizabeth, but when you clamp my arm that tightly, it does hinder my driving somewhat.”
Immediately, I withdrew my hand from his arm, shocked that I had touched him unawares.
“Do take care,” Georgiana cautioned. “I fear you frighten Elizabeth.”
“Are you afraid?”
“Of course not,” I lied, straightening my spine and sitting as tall as I might. Within moments, he rounded another curve, and I found myself clinging to him with both hands. I heard him laugh softly in spite of Georgiana’s gleeful screams.
“You are incorrigible, sir,” I declared. “You drive like Jehu!”
At last, to my great relief, he slowed the horse to a gentle trot. I reached for my hat to make certain it did not sit askew and pulled the cover back into place, for it had slipped loose in all the twists and turns. I felt my heart beating furiously and took a deep breath of the cold, frosty air. The remains of my breath hovered about like miniature clouds.
“Shall we drive by Lady Margaret Willoughby’s house?” Georgiana asked. “It lies directly around the next bend in the road.”
Within a few moments, we came upon a large manor house set far back from the road, surrounded by the forest. It almost appeared a part of the wood, for what park surrounded the house was untended, allowed to grow wild, obviously abandoned.
“That is Bridesgate Manor,” Mr. Darcy said.
“Is her ladyship away, for it appears vacant?”
“Oh, Lady Margaret no longer lives there,” said Georgiana. “She died years back before I was born, did she not, Wills?”
He nodded. “Since her son had died before her, the estate passed to her grandson, and he has let the house to a family named Denison. I hear they shall take possession by Lady Day.”
“I do hope we shall like them,” Georgiana said. “Perhaps they have a daughter near my age and sons to court Elizabeth. Would it not be lovely if she were to marry and live nearby? Then, we would not have to travel to Hertfordshire to visit her.”
I swallowed at the thought. “Georgiana…”
“Do not speak nonsense,” Mr. Darcy said.
“Is that not one reason we invited Elizabeth to Pemberley—to find her a husband?”
“I am in no hurry to find a husband.”
“Of course not,” Mr. Darcy agreed. “And I know little of the family other than Mr. Denison is a retired admiral in the King’s Navy. They certainly do not dwell on Lady Margaret’s level.”
“Even though they shall now dwell in her house,” I murmured.
“You may scoff, but the Willoughby family was the reigning aristocracy in the neighbourhood when I was a lad. I recall my parents often dined at the old lady’s table. ’Tis a pity her grandson has not taken better care of the place.”
He turned and drove the horse up the long path leading to the house. Brambles wound through the wild bushes that lined the drive. The beautiful old trees appeared almost bent under the weight of vines grown unchecked for years. It would take a prodigious amount of work to clean the grounds. One could only hope the inside of the house had been better preserved.
“Shall we walk for a bit?” Mr. Darcy asked. When Georgiana and I agreed, he stepped down and assisted us from the carriage. I missed the warmth of his body next to mine and shivered slightly as the wind came up.
We began to walk about the property, the paths covered in snow, and I could see the estate compared poorly to Pemberley. The house
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