Mrs Darcy vs The Aliens

Elizabeth broke her fast alone the next day. Charlotte was still regrettably preoccupied, and the mysterious Mr Byron was nowhere to be seen. Mrs Garson had walked in just as he was about to demonstrate his bouzouki technique to her and he had immediately put it away, deciding that an early night would be beneficial to his muse. Mrs Garson had given Elizabeth a look that suggested she would do well to steer clear of this extraordinary gentleman, and later reflection suggested that she would probably be wise to heed this advice.

Fortunately a distraction arrived in the shape of a letter from Jane.

“My Dearest Lizzie,

I hope that this reaches you. I trust that all is well and that Charlotte remains in high spirits. Have you visited Lady Catherine yet? I do so look forward to hearing all your news, as does Little Lydia, although of course she does not read yet or even understand the finer nuances of everyday speech.

We have the Hursts staying with us at present, and it is good to see Louisa again, although Mr Hurst remains generally disagreeable. I have to say that their Damian is an unusual child. He seems to be forever making queer works of art out of anything he finds lying around. Only the other day he was asking cook for a sheep’s carcass – can you imagine that?

Charlie is tolerably well, although his business venture with Mr Bradford seems to be running into difficulties already. To be perfectly honest, I am beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea for him to get involved with the man in the first place, as he keeps coming back to poor Charlie for more and more money in order to fund his mining venture. It would appear that the gold seam near Ashbourne has not yielded quite the amount that they anticipated and more exploratory holes will need to be made. Charlie has of course provided the funds, although I do wonder if he is a little too trusting sometimes.

But dearest Lizzie, the most extraordinary thing has happened in the last week, because an African Princess has sent us a letter! Can you credit this? Apparently, she has been left an absolutely enormous fortune by her father, but it all seems to be tied up in groundnuts and the poor woman has medical bills to pay in the meantime. However, if Charlie can help her in the short term, she has offered to give him ten per cent of everything she owns! To be perfectly honest, I was unsure as to whether he should help the poor woman, but Charlie told me that it was our Christian duty to do so. Mr Hurst also pointed out that he could make enough out of his ten per cent to pay Mr Bradford. This would be useful, as his communications to Charlie are often brought to Netherfield by disagreeable men carrying big sticks.

Well, I must be going now. Damian and Lydia are playing at artists and models and I think I should perhaps make sure that they behaving themselves. I do hope you are well, and I look forward to hearing again from you soon.”

Elizabeth put the letter down and smiled. Lucky Charlie. So good-natured and generous, and yet always falling on his feet. She wondered if she should write to Jane immediately, but then decided that she should wait until they had dined at Rosings later in the week. Something told her that it was going to be an interesting occasion. As she stood up, she caught sight of a labourer walking past the window, heading up the drive towards the great house. There was something oddly familiar about him …