“Perhaps not,” Fitz said as he plopped his feet on the seat between the two men opposite him. “Either way, I am determined to get it right.”
“Do not tell me you will plan it?” Darcy teased as he shoved Fitz’s booted feet to the floor.
“I will… that way she does not find herself picking cobwebs from her hair.”
Bingley cackling as they began down the long drive, Darcy lifted his eyes heavenward.Quiet and Elizabeth. Those were all he asked for.
∞∞∞
Entering the drawing room, the three men stilled.
At the far wall nearly every guest hovered around the Bennets, Lord Ramsgate and Mr. Thomson the worst offenders as they fawned over the two younger sisters.
“To think,” Mr. Thomson cooed to Elizabeth, “that you three managed to keep your relations secret until this very morning. A bit of a lark on your part I suppose; Lord Ramsgate here says you are even endowed in more tangible ways–I speak of your inheritance, of course. News of your uncle becoming the Earl of Huntingdon has spread far and wide. How Lord Ramsgate learnt of your inheritance I cannot say.”
Inheritance?Darcy brooded.An uncle in the peerage? Elizabeth never said; never hinted. Perhaps that Thomson fellow was correct. That her withholding it had been a lark. No. She would not have gone so far as to accept his proposal.
Unless it proved a cruel game?
But that is not in her character,he reminded himself.Surely it is not.Turning toward the group, Darcy wore a deep frown, unable to be shaken.
“I learnt of it accidentally,” Lord Ramsgate growled at last; his voice softening as he turned to Miss Mary, “Though, that ones such as these should have connections and wealth as they do is only fitting. Intelligence and beauty deserve such ornaments.”
Sharing a look of confusion with Bingley and Fitz, Darcy’s frown deepened as Lord Brayburn came alongside.
“I hope your trip proved useful,” he said softly as the men crowded around him. “It has been rather peculiar since you three left. First Lady Charmane’s clues, which she had us all following for half the day yesterday, then last evening’s Globe was delivered this morning and these secrets were revealed.” Shaking his head, Lord Brayburn continued, “I am certain the girls knew of it before the news was revealed, yet they equally seemed… as awed at it as any of us. A strange business. Especially as I was paired with Miss Bennet during that game; before we could finish the clue we had in hand, the butler came and whisked her away. When she and her sisters returned later for supper, they all stared at their food, poking at it more than eating. And now, with those two men hunting them, and the rest suddenly behaving as if they were old friends–I pity the Bennet girls.”
Lord Brayburn drifting back into the throng, Darcy moved nearer his cousin and Bingley as he pulled them toward the door.
“I can tell you this. They did not know of an inheritance or the status of their uncle when we left,” Fitz remarked confidently.
Brows pulling, Darcy viewed his cousin incredulously. “Is the word of a peer as strong as that?” Shaking his head, Darcy’s voice grew sharp, “No. I fear we have been played for fools.”
“I did not need Lord Brayburn’s remarks of their behavior to know that they are not liars. I–we–have all spoken to them at length. Spent hours in their company day after day. For all my years in the military, one thing I have learnt is how to read people. My superiors, those under my command… what they say, lie about, or do not say, they all mean something. I have grown skilled enough to know that I would trust Miss Mary and her sisters in all that they have said. With the exception of sisterly rivalries regarding who is the fastest,” he laughed. “That, like our own competitions, is subject to embellishment.”
“I agree,” Bingley said with an easy smile. “They would have told us, or at minimum, not told us what they did. Either way, it is a pleasant surprise for them I should think. Miss Catherine is to be married soon, and with her intended seeking a position as vicar, an earl in the family should increase his chances of getting his preferred parish.”
If Bingley saw the good in this, then there must be something wrong. A good man. Clever at times. He wanted too much to believe the best in people.
And Lord Brayburn. Peers were rarely to be trusted. He had experienced the closed-mindedness of them in London. He would not be taken in by them again. Not even if Fitz believed the man; his heart had been lost to Miss Mary after all, he could not be expected to see things clearly.
But would Elizabeth truly deceive him? Would she have kissed him? Promised to marry him? No.
Yet, his mouth and his heart proved in full opposition, venom spewing before his knowledge of Elizabeth’s true character could travel there. “If you wish to be taken in by these intrigues then by all means, do. I have been a fool long enough.”
Whirling toward the now silent room, Darcy gazed down at Elizabeth, her eyes glistening.
“A fool?” she whispered up at him. “For believing in me? For lov… If you. If that is what you think, I suppose what you asked of me you wish to take back?”
No. He did not wish that. Not at all.
“I…” he began, Mr. Thomson coming to stand between them.
“Miss Elizabeth, perhaps we ought to leave him in peace. He has only just returned; he must be wearied from his trip.”
“Yes,” she nodded, her shoulders sagging as she made her way to the door. “I have not traveled, and I know I am weary. If you do not mind, I shall go to my room to rest.”
Moving to stop her, Darcy glared at the man who blocked his path–Mr. Thomson.
