Charlotte winced at the casual cruelty of this note, but truly rejoiced for her friend. Fortunately, her husband seemed to take the advice it contained at face value, and after a few days of listening to Lady Catherine rage with unpleasant bitterness, he proposed that they pay Charlotte’s family a visit until the storm had passed, a plan she agreed to with alacrity. She did not anticipate much pleasure from the journey, nauseous as she was, but she welcomed the thought of resting at Lucas Lodge, and partaking of the festivities and general joy that accompanied the news of the elder Bennet girls’ engagements – Mr Bingley had returned to pay his addresses to Jane, and requested her hand in matrimony only days before Mr Darcy and Elizabeth announced their betrothal. Jane and Lizzy were well loved and valued in their neighbourhood, and Charlotte looked forward to being able to give free rein to congratulation and celebration.

They were all soon reunited, and Charlotte’s sincere delight in the match was met by the equally sincere delight Lizzy took in sharing her joy with her old friend. They both had moments of discomfort: Sir William’s studied compliments, Mr Collins’s obsequiousness to Mr Darcy, and Mrs Bennet’s tendency to prattle on about exactly how much pin money Lizzy might expect to enjoy; all exacted a tax of mortification. But unlike the previous winter, neither woman – nor indeed Jane – had anything to fear from their relations and connections. They had done their worst; and yet Charlotte was safely married, and Jane and Elizabeth were soon to enter that state.

1819

CHAPTER XXVII

CHARLOTTE LOOKED AROUND THE VARIETY of vegetal greens offered by the grounds of Pemberley; clouds had advanced overhead, and while the air remained warm and soft, a few spits of moisture promised rain. It was time to detach the children from their pursuits and take them indoors.

‘I hope I have not been too dull in my recounting, Herr Rosenstein. I seem to have spoken as much of Mr and Mrs Darcy’s courtship as my own.’

Herr Rosenstein smiled as he helped her to gather cloths and cushions. ‘It is certainly of interest to learn how my kind absent host and Frau Darcy came to marry one another. But your own story is no less interesting, Frau Collins. You must not underrate yourself, or your capacity to captivate.’

He scooped up her sewing basket with one arm, and offered her the other for the walk back to the house. The girls ran on ahead, darting here and there as various objects caught their interest – a lizard drawing up warmth from a stone, a water-lily closing against the darkening sky. Laura, puffed up by her military prowess, turned a few celebratory cartwheels and, once upright again, she planted her hands on her hips and called out, ‘I am so happy here! Look, I am a horse!’ before prancing on, snorting and whinnying.