Free Miss Darcy's Companion: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Joana Starnes Page B

past. Or perhaps their cousin Amelia could be asked to come and stay. And of course there would be a vast number of guests expected for Christmas, as there always were.
    For now, they were quiet and content at Pemberley with their peaceable pursuits that drew them to the library or the music room, and often on long walks. Neither of the young ladies ventured abroad unescorted – that old bone of contention had not emerged again. Sometimes Darcy chose to join them in their explorations, other times they walked with one of the footmen or the grooms, and it was only when they undertook to keep to the gardens or stroll around the lake that the escort requirement was waived.
    One day, on their return from their long lakeside amble, they told Darcy that they had come across a most unusual structure in a glade, a little further uphill from the far end of the lake.
    “It seemed to be some sort of shelter fashioned from large branches and very old rope,” Georgiana added, and Darcy looked up in some surprise.
    “Oh. Is it still standing, then?”
    “Very much so. What is it, Brother?”
    “A den that Fitzwilliam and I built a long time ago, when we were seeking to re-enact the myth of the Noble Savage and Mr Defoe’s writings.”
    Also the spot where his cousin – the only one who knew where to look – had found him hiding, knees huddled to his chest, the day after his mother’s passing. They had abandoned their den after that. The recollections were no longer happy ones.
    Perhaps, when the time came, he would have it rebuilt for his sons and efface old memories with new ones. Or perhaps let them build another elsewhere. A clean slate – a fresh start.
    “Mr Defoe’s? Which writings would they be?”
    Lost in his thoughts, Darcy missed his sister’s question. It was Miss Bennet who replied.
    “ The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe , I should imagine. A tale of shipwrecks, desert islands, cannibals and pirates,” she elaborated for her young friend’s benefit.
    “Strange adventures indeed,” Georgiana observed. “Perhaps too strange for me. I have not come across it in the library, but with so many books…”
    “You could not have,” Darcy rejoined the conversation. “We left it in the woods one day, only to find it soaked and ruined after a rainy night. Father was not best pleased.”
    “Neither was my mother at my reading it,” Miss Bennet cheerfully retorted, “or for that matter all the other books that caused knights and pirates to rampage through our gardens. I fear I had encouraged my sisters in all manner of rambunctious pursuits.”
    “I would not have pictured you for a tomboy, Lizzy,” Georgiana replied with a smile.
    Darcy concealed his. He could, with no effort whatsoever.
    “Yet so I was, at least until the ripe old age of twelve. Presumably the nearest my father ever had for a son. Still, eventually he had to reconcile himself with having five daughters. I was still allowed to read whatever came to hand, but fencing with sticks and besieging the hermitage had to give way to more ladylike pursuits.”
    Despite himself, Darcy’s smile widened. Mr and Mrs Bennet must have had their hands full.
    “Speaking of more ladylike pursuits,” Georgiana mused, “your old den would make a very pretty spot for reading or drawing, I imagine. I have never sketched the lake from that angle and I would dearly like to try. Could we not fill the gaps in the roof with thatch or fir branches or something of that nature? It might come in handy if we are caught in the rain.”
    “If you wish, dearest. I will ask Davies to send someone up.”
    “Would you like to walk with us when we return there with our sketchbooks? We were thinking of going later this afternoon.”
    “Another day perhaps,” Darcy replied evasively, not quite prepared to tread on old paths yet.
    Nevertheless, a few hours later he found himself doing precisely that. It was a long walk to the far end of the lake, long enough for