Ten Days with Mr Darcy (on hold)

Chapter seventeen - The show must go on

"Miss Bennet, have you exhausted our poor Mr. Darcy?" Mr. Gardener stuffed another fork full of breakfast into his mouth. A trickle of mingled egg yolk and bacon fat ran down his chin, as Mrs Gardiner observed, yet again, that he ate like a pig.

Jess sighed and shook her head. "I went straight to bed last night." When Mr. Gardiner grinned, she added, "On my own. I didn't see Sebastian after he left here last night."

Not that she hadn't wanted to. After finding the brooch, Jess had hoped she might have the chance to express her gratitude, but there had been no sign of him, either last night or at breakfast. When Sebastian still hadn't appeared by half-past eight, Trevor went to check upstairs, thinking he'd overslept.

He returned to report Sebastian's room empty.

As the hairdresser worked on pinning Elizabeth's hair up and creating the ringlets that framed her face, Jessica dwelled often on the reflection of the door, replying absently to the conversations that flew around her. The last time he'd missed breakfast was due to a stomach upset, but they'd checked both bathrooms and there was still no sign of him.

When Sebastian finally wandered into the dressing room it was nine thirty. Mandy had been panicking about his disappearance for at least three-quarters of an hour. "Where have you been?" she said, her eyes wild as she stabbed at her watch.

He gave her a smile guaranteed to melt anyone's heart before addressing the group. "I apologise, ladies and gents, if you were concerned by my absence. I took an early drive into Lambley because I needed to go to the bank. I would have been back sooner, but I was stuck behind a slow-moving tractor." He exchanged a few words with Mr. Gardiner before sitting in his usual chair, next to Jessica. Leaning closer, he said, "Were you worried about me too?"

She couldn't be annoyed with him when he was so close. "Maybe a little." It had felt odd sitting down to breakfast without him there, swapping jokes and telling stories. He never ate much, but she'd missed his company.

The wardrobe mistress and her staff were all more than happy to work their magic on Mr. Darcy-regardless of what time he arrived, which meant that by ten o'clock he was immaculately dressed in blue coat and buff breeches and was ready to go.

The day looked set to be a busy one as the visitors poured through the turnstiles. Around the area, local newspapers had included coverage of the event in their weekly columns and the better weather had brought out a large number of people who wanted to visit the second day of the Regency fair and see the much-publicised re-enactments for themselves. The grounds were full from ten o'clock and Jessica plunged into her first scene without having had any opportunity to discuss either the brooch or the curious invitation that came with it.

Their last performance before lunch was also the one that included the largest number of cast members on stage at the same time. The script described it as 'The second Lambton Inn (invitation) scene', where Mr. and Mrs Gardiner and Elizabeth were visited by Darcy, Bingley and Georgiana. A large audience waited to see them perform—the most Jessica had seen behind the red rope all week—and an air of anticipation filled the room as they watched the actors take their places.

Darcy spoke the first line as he encouraged Miss Darcy to step forward. "Miss Bennet, may I introduce my sister? Georgiana, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet."

Dipping her knee into a curtsey, Jessica smiled at her. "How do you do? I'm very pleased to meet you, Miss Darcy."

Georgiana looked up shyly from underneath the brim of her bonnet, but only managed to raise her gaze as far as Jessica's chin. "And I you."

As the introductions continued between Miss Darcy and the Gardiners, she caught a movement amongst the audience. Two teenage girls weaving through the otherwise attentive group, trying to get nearer to Mr. Darcy.