As the appointed day approached for Colonel Fitzwilliam’s leave-taking, he was prevented from doing so by Mary’s entreaties that he delay his departure by a few inconsequential days, so that they might all visit the ancient manor at Penshurst Place near-by. The old house was presently in a most fortunate state of rehabilitation, and Colonel Fitzwilliam and the Crawfords were able to view the Tapestry Room and the Long Gallery, full of royal and family portraits, and the State Dining room, which formed a part of the old mediæval manor-house. The next day, it was deemed insupportable that the Colonel could not grant his old friends some little extra time so as to allow them the pleasure of a visit to Knole. Thus evolved his days; the Colonel’s departure from Tunbridge was never so compelling as to disallow further alteration to his itinerary.

Tunbridge Wells was agreeably situated to encompass many interesting diversions, all of which afforded Mary Crawford innumerable opportunities to prevent the flight of her captive. In the next days, which stretched into weeks, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mary, and sometimes Mr. Crawford went forth on long and short journeys to the various attractions in that neighbourhood of Kent, exploring down the shady lanes or along the mill-streams, eating a pic-nick on Rushmore Hill, visiting Hever and Sissinghurst, travelling through the Wealden towns of Cranbrook and Tenterden, and strolling out to the ruins of the old castle at Scotney. And so on it went—at the close of each day an insuperable summons for the pleasures of the next, invariably requiring an additional delay for the Colonel’s departure to meet the Darcys. Instead of a week, Colonel Fitzwilliam tarried in Tunbridge for well over a month.

In the end, it was necessary to write thrice to the Darcys, announcing his delay. His letters were unusually brief and mentioned only that he had met up unexpectedly with a friend at Tunbridge, and would be obliged, out of civility, to delay his departure. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were much perplexed at what could detain Colonel Fitzwilliam for such an enormous time, but Georgiana, privy to the Colonel’s flirtation with Mary Crawford before their meeting at Christmas, felt to a certainty that there was only one plausible motive which could account for his mysterious deferrals, but had no real evidence upon which to base her surmise. She was understandably loath to impute such a reason to his behaviour without any corroborating explanation, and so kept both her conjectures and her increasing misery of protracted disappointment to herself.

Colonel Fitzwilliam never reached Geneva, Milan, or even Calais. Indeed, his next journey took him in the opposite direction: to London.

CHAP. 23.