“Yes, and no.” Darcy sighed. “We cannot let him anywhere near Georgiana, but the rascal has done plenty of damage already.”
“Aye, that it would seem. So,” he leaned forward, the seasoned battlefield commander replacing the worried guardian. “Wickham has been sowing seeds of discord with your lovely lady, and she heartily dislikes you. The problem is,” he looked up, verifying his facts, “now the entire town of Meryton believes you both to be engaged, and given your decided lack of finesse with the ladies, I am guessing your ‘betrothed’ will not speak to you. Yet you seem inordinately fond of her. Does that about sum it up?”
Darcy nodded wearily, his head throbbing. “Remind me never to try to keep a secret from you. It is not worth the effort.”
Fitzwilliam grinned rakishly. “What would be the point of being older and wiser if I could not weasel a confession out of you every time? Now,” he clapped his hands together and rubbed them briskly, as though he were planning a grand entertainment rather than counselling a heartbroken cousin. “First things first. Bingley has you fooled, by the way, Cousin.”
At Darcy’s startled questioning glance, Fitzwilliam smirked and continued. “He is not quite as oblivious as some might think. The fellow is a genius. You could learn a thing or two. He wrote for Georgiana’s help, hoping that her presence would help this lovely Elizabeth, of whom you are so enamoured, to possibly see your good side. You do have one if I remember correctly.”
Darcy looked daggers at him. “If you think I will place Georgiana in the company of… of some of the local populace here, trotting her out as if she were some peace offering, you had better get back in your coach and return to London!” he snarled.
“Very well, but it was your coach I brought. As for Georgie, good luck getting her to return with me. She was very insistent upon meeting this Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She said you had previously written about her, and you were even very complimentary? My word, Darcy, I believe I must meet her as well!”
“Is it your intention to uselessly aggravate me, Richard?” Darcy grumbled.
“Well, you must admit, I have never had such a golden opportunity to do so. Now, quite seriously, once you have made yourself human again with your coffee, Georgiana is waiting most anxiously to speak to you. I believe,” he gestured with his chin over his shoulder, “she was going to try to remain in her private room unless Miss Bingley has already forced her out.” Richard suppressed a shudder.
Darcy sighed, nodded, and picked his nearly empty cup back up. It was useless to argue when he was still so muddled, and Richard was enjoying himself far too much.
Richard propped his chin on his hand meditatively, waiting for his cousin to finish. “What of this other fellow, Collins, Bingley wrote about? Who is he? The heir, he said it was?”
“A cousin. Unpleasant, as most cousins are,” Darcy shot him a sardonic look over the rim of his cup.
“Touché. Perhaps you are not so impaired as I thought. But from where does he come? Why would he be staying with the Bennets just now?”
“He is… Oh…” Darcy reddened and swore. “He is our aunt Catherine’s new rector at Rosings.” Darcy jumped from his chair and began to pace, for the moment ignoring the clamouring of his head.
“You don’t say! Well, this is rich!” The colonel began laughing, shaking his head.
“You do not understand, Richard,” Darcy breezed by him, suddenly energized by his frustration. His words came in bursts as he pounded the carpet. “He panders to Aunt Catherine utterly—you would not believe it. I can easily see why she offered him the preferment. He considers it his duty to compliment her unceasingly. Surely, he wrote to her immediately. He was not only offended because Elizabeth refused him but also because he has been listening a little too much to Aunt Catherine. You know her expectations.” He ground his teeth, scowling.
Fitzwilliam held up his hands. “I am a step or two ahead of you, Cousin.” Darcy stopped and regarded him expectantly. The colonel smiled, relishing his moment of cleverness. “I imagined if word of your engagement got out, there might be repercussions in certain branches of the family. I happened to mention to your coachman and butler in London that perhaps a relative or two might be expected to be passing through within the next few days.
“I thought someone might show up, for example, demanding to see you or Georgie. Should anyone pay a call, they will bepersuaded,rather firmly, to take accommodations for the night. You know how persuasive old Drake can be. I imagine he is up to the task. In addition, I recommended their coach should bethoroughlygone over. It would not do for any safety issues to go undetected, putting any of our family at risk, would it? As I have taken your last coach from the London house, there are no others available. You know how some of our relations feel about a hired carriage. I expect any needed repairs, you know, if any issues are discovered, may take at least a day, perhaps two.”
Darcy smiled weakly, his first of the day. “You are devious, you know.” He began pacing again, more slowly. “Surely, she would not give herself the trouble of travelling so far, but I can imagine some rather strongly worded letters—both to myself and to your father.”
“I am a soldier. I take precautions.” Richard stood. “Go see Georgie. You have kept her waiting long enough.”
Chapter 8
“William!”Georgianarushedintoher brother’s arms with relief.
Darcy pressed his baby sister close. It had been over two months since he had last seen her. He had been a fool to leave her alone so long, but the alternative would have been to bring her along. He knew she would have been uncomfortable spending so much time with Caroline, and she had truly begged him to go as Bingley had asked.
“Georgie… why, I believe you have grown!” He held her back at arm’s length to inspect her. She blushed, smiling shyly up at the brother who was more like a father.
“Bingley said you were ill. What is the matter?” He looked away, trying to evade her penetrating gaze, but did not have the heart to try very hard. She cocked her head, inspecting his bloodshot eyes and weary face. “William?”
“I am well. Truly, Georgie,” he replied gently but firmly, taking her small hands in his own. “I want to hear about you. How are you finding your new painting master?”
She narrowed her eyes sceptically, a perfect imitation of himself. “William,” she spoke softly, “will you not tell me how it is with Miss Elizabeth? You wrote so well of her. I was so hoping to meet her. Mr Bingley’s letter said… well, I was worried.” Georgiana cast her eyes down bashfully.
“Georgie…” he sighed, pulling her to the small sofa in her dressing room. “I cannot say what will happen with Miss Elizabeth. I have offended her greatly, you must know.”
“How could you possibly? You are the kindest and most wonderful of men, William! Can she not see that?” Georgiana’s lip quivered slightly. In her innocent mind, there was no better man than her brother, who had been everything to her for nearly as long as she could remember. Even before their father’s death, William had been her companion, advisor, and protector. It was impossible for her to fathom that any woman could fail to see his worth.
“Georgie, it is more complicated than that. I put her in a most unforgivable position yesterday.”
