“You could do far worse,” Fitzwilliam reasoned. “If you ask me, it is you who are being impossible, not she. She did, after all, give you the information you sought, and she was perfectly in the right about speaking to strange gentlemen on the street. You must confess, she is not unpleasant to look at, she is most interesting to talk to, and she holds the key to your independence from Anne.”
“A fine sort of independence you speak of. You would have me bound to a nobody from Hertfordshire. Have you any idea the mockery such a union would be in the sight of theton?”
“When have you ever cared about offending theton? You despise most of them. I think rather that you delight in frustrating them by doing precisely as you please and watching them fall over themselves to placate you anyway.”
“That is only because I have remained a bachelor. They will be less forbearing when that circumstance changes. Do not forget, Richard, that I have Georgiana’s future to secure as well.”
“Darcy,” Fitzwilliam caught his arm again, looking over his shoulder, “she is nearly gone! By thunder, man, if you do not do an about-face this instant, I shall drag you by your lapels!”
“Do not change the subject! I spoke of Georgiana—”
“Who needs a sister more than she needs a husband at the moment. You happen to have stumbled upon a pretty one who willingly spends time with young children and has a sense of humour, though you are too daft to see it. What more do you require?”
“Do not be such a simpleton. You know my requirements perfectly well.”
“I know that if you go back to your house just now, you will be given a bride whether she meets your requirements or no. At least take the lady’s hint and seek out her uncle on High Street.Iwould like an introduction to him, even if you do not.”
Darcy glared at his cousin but was not afforded an opportunity to make the indignant reply he would have liked.
“Darcy? Darcy, itisyou!” a passer-by stopped and offered them a short bow. “And Colonel Fitzwilliam, it is a pleasure.”
Darcy’s eyes widened to a panicked glare at his cousin.Damnation!He turned slowly, swallowing his frustration, to make a polite response. “Mr Dalrymple. How do you do, sir?”
“Capital! Darcy, I understand congratulations are in order. I imagine Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lord Matlock must be pleased. May I extend my well wishes to you and Miss de Bourgh?”
“There has been some mistake, sir,” Darcy spoke quickly. “I am not betrothed. It is a rumour, sir, nothing more.”
“A rumour! That is unfortunate. Why, I have just come from my club, and it is commonly spoken of as a fact.”
“It is!” Darcy paled slightly. “Mr Dalrymple, there is no truth in it. The gossip is in exceedingly poor taste. And you say it is commonly accepted?”
“Indeed, it is the talk of the club this morning, even more so than Lord Wharton’s betrothal. That much has been long overdue for months, if you take my meaning.” Dalrymple grinned suggestively, nudging Fitzwilliam with a low chuckle which he must have imagined to be discreet.
“The rumour in the paper,” Darcy insisted, “does no one doubt its veracity?”
“Papers, my good man, for I have seen it in at least two publications, and certainly there are more. Let me see…” Dalrymple scratched his cheek in thought, then shook his head. “None that I recall. There were not a few comments that you buckled to your aunt’s wishes at last—”
“I did no such thing! It is a sham, I tell you. I am not betrothed to my cousin. It is a shameful falsehood, and I shall depend upon you to set right anyone who repeats it in your hearing!”
Dalrymple rolled his eyes uncertainly to Fitzwilliam and pursed his lips in the way of a man who wishes to affect surrender, merelyto escape. “Naturally, Darcy, naturally. Oh, dear!” He tugged the pocket watch from his waistcoat, scarcely glancing at it but professing full knowledge of its information. “I am expected! Pardon me, Darcy, Fitzwilliam, but I really must go. Good day!” Dalrymple sped away, seemingly sorry that he had stopped.
“There, you have gone and done it, Darcy. Now, Dalrymple and anyone he comes upon will think you touched in the head. I understand your frustration, old boy, but you harm yourself by this obstinacy. Are you certain you cannot swallow your pride and go after your rescuer?”
Darcy leaned heavily on his walking stick, flexing his fingers over the silver knob and muttering his thoughts. Fitzwilliam could not make out his words, but he suspected they ought not to be repeated in polite company.
The manservant glanced over Darcy’s apparel, obviously recognising him from the kitchens that morning and still slightly miffed at their last conversation a quarter of an hour earlier. It was clearly written in his eyes that he wondered the same of Darcy that would have puzzled anyone else of sense, but he answered the question willingly enough. “Sir, the lady has not yet returned to the house.”
“That is impossible. I spoke with her not a moment ago on the street, and she was walking this way. Is she disinclined to speak with me again?” Darcy felt the annoyance rising in his chest again. Blast the woman! Why must she be so bleeding difficult?
“I saw her as well, sir, approaching up the street with the children. She did not care to enter with them. As another caller had just arrived at the house, it was not possible for me to make inquiries of her. I believe she has gone walking.”
Darcy’s eyes widened incredulously.Again?Never had he known a lady who did not stay at home for even an hour in the morning. “Do you know where she might have gone?”
The manservant blinked and refused to answer.
“I mean the lady no harm,” Darcy insisted. “But it is of the utmost importance that I speak with her. Or… with any lady of the house, if the master is not at home. I understand they would all recognise me.”
“Mrs Gardiner is indisposed at present sir, but Miss Catherine might be willing to receive you.”
