Fitzwilliam had tried to content himself with watching Georgiana, but a minute whiff of air behind him kept tickling his neck. “Darcy,dosit down!” he finally snapped. He craned his head to stare down his restless cousin, who had been pacing the floor for the last ten minutes.
Bingley looked up from the fire he had been stoking with an amused expression. “It is just as I have said before. There is no more awful object than Darcy on a lazy afternoon when he has nothing to do.”
“Indeed, but normally he just sits as a great black cloud in the corner of a room with a book in his hand.”
Darcy’s gaze switched to his cousin and sister. Wordlessly, he stooped to resume his seat. Before he could regain it, Miss Bingley’s voice chimed in. “I dososympathize, Mr Darcy! Truly, one feels restless when the weather is so unpromising. You know how I adorea lovely stroll out of doors! It is not as though we can plan a great deal of entertainment either, what with such atedious evening to look forward to.”
She frowned, then rounded on her sister. “Louisa, would you favour us all with some music? We could all do with a diversion, and does not dancing sound lovely?” She rose, extending her arm expectantly to an unwilling Darcy. He could not refuse her gracefully. “Brother, Miss Georgiana, will you join us?”
Georgiana shrank a little. Bingley crossed his arms, hovering resolutely by the fireplace with a defiant look toward his sister. Smilingly, the Colonel rose and offered Georgiana his hand. Mrs Hurst opened the instrument and began a lively tune, to which the two present couples commenced to dance.
Darcy could not keep his eyes on his partner, hard as that lady was obviously trying to attract his notice. As they passed during the dance, her hands grasped his a little too warmly, lingering a little too long; his thoughts, however, were miles away... three miles, to be precise. With his mind so occupied, the dance passed in blissful oblivion.
As soon as Mrs Hurst plucked the last bar, and before Miss Bingley could request another song, he firmly disengaged himself. “Excuse me, there is a matter I promised to attend to, and I ought to do it before I retire to dress.” He left the room briskly, leaving the knowing smiles of Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam in his wake.
Frustrated, Caroline flopped back into her seat with a petulant frown. Mrs Hurst began to rise, but the Colonel petitioned her to remain at the instrument. “Come, Georgie, I will teach you to dance the reel. William would certainly mock my taste, but here is not here to disapprove for a few moments!” He winked at his young cousin and drew her into a lively spin, evoking a girlish squeal of delight.
Bingley chuckled to himself. He had a sneaking suspicion that Darcy would not disapprove of the reel so heartily as the colonel suggested if only a certain dark-haired lass were present to partner with.
Wickhamhadspenthisday quietly observing the town of Meryton. Gathering information without attracting undue attention to himself was the object of his current occupation. One thing he had ascertained was that Colonel Forster had someone perpetually at his heels.
The current tail was young Marshall, nonchalantly standing about twenty paces away but glancing his direction a little too often. Forster had indeed listened to Fitzwilliam, but he might have used more experienced spies. Wickham would have little trouble disappearing if need be.
Currently, he amused himself by listening to a few of the young shoppers outside the millinery. He recognized one of them as the niece of Mrs Long, a particular friend of Mrs Bennet, so he attended the girl’s conversations with interest. As he might have suspected, there was a good deal of chatter about the Bennet family, particularly that saucy Miss Elizabeth.
Wickham smirked a little. Despite how her modesty had led her to demur during their conversation, the lady’s discomfiture over the town’s presumption of her engagement to Darcy had been clearly evident. In short, she was furious, and she despised the man. The more he thought about it, the more firmly he concluded that Darcy might have finally bitten off more than he could chew. If there was one thing Wickham understood, it was how to read a woman. He grinned a little to himself. This particular woman possessed the unique ability to make his old companion miserable.
Little Elizabeth Bennet was more clever and more spirited than most, but ultimately, she was naive and sheltered, just as society demanded of a maiden. She had swallowed his charmingly woven tale hook, line, and sinker, and he had no doubt the lady was firmly on his side of matters.How clever of me to have early engaged her sympathies!
Though he had never formed designs on Miss Elizabeth’s person—could not have afforded to have—he had been delighted to make an ally where Darcy had made an enemy. In addition, she was well respected in the little community. Securing her good opinion of him had bought him introductions to many of the better houses in Meryton. Of course, as an officer of the regiment, he was automatically welcome in most drawing rooms, but his gambling habits often lost him their favour quickly. Miss Elizabeth’s staunch friendship had resulted in protracted sympathies toward him from the general populace.
He had not been surprised to note, on more than one occasion, his old companion’s gaze lingering on the Hertfordshire beauty. Any man could see her appeal, but, though for different reasons, Darcy could not afford her any more than he himself could. It had never truly occurred to him that Darcy might become entangled with the little spitfire.
In digging a little more deeply than most, he had uncovered the rumours that Darcy had acted to interrupt that parson’s proposal. He knew his old friend too well, however, to attribute purely selfless motives to Fitzwilliam George Richard Darcy. The man had lost his head over a pert smile and a pair of sparkling eyes.
What luck for me!Somehow, he sensed that there was an advantage to be exploited here. Colonel Fitzwilliam, ever Darcy’s pet, had been willing to pay handsomely for him to stay away. If so much was offered so easily, more was most certainly available if he made them desperate. Darcy evidently wanted to purchase his silence.
Aha…apleasing idea came to him.Georgiana.A slow smile spread over his face. Darcy would never have dared breathe a word of Georgiana’s little indiscretions to anyone but Fitzwilliam, and he certainly would shield that precious little brat from the wild Bennet family. That information was a bombshell, one he believed he could set off right in the middle of Darcy’s plans for domestic felicity.The old sod, he’s gone romantic.
Miss Elizabeth was the key. He sensed in her a tendency to flout convention, but she was still a lady. She could not afford to associate with a fallen woman such as Georgiana Darcy, and she already had a low opinion of the family to start with. All he truly needed to do was succeed in turning her suspicions against the little heiress, a job which was already half done. If he could discredit Georgiana openly in Miss Bennet’s face, but not so irreparably that a few well-placed words and perhaps an offer of marriage would not restore her respectability... Darcy would pay a small fortune to both protect his sister and win the affections of his fair lady.
If that failed… well, there were still other options.
“Now,Lizzy,”MrsGardinerinstructed her niece, “In the quarter-hour before your company arrive, I want you to tell me everything you have not yet told me about Mr Darcy, Mr Collins, Jane, Mr Bingley, and your father.”
Elizabeth’s downcast visage became overspread with a sly look. “That is a tall order, Aunt. Would you like me to take breaths between my sentences or merely to wave my hands as punctuation?”
Mrs Gardiner laughed lightly. “First, perhaps we should discuss your papa. You mentioned his nurse. Has he had a doctor?”
“No, Mrs Cooper’s husband is normally the nearest doctor, and her son as well, but they have been away in London. She expects them back by tomorrow. Our apothecary has been tending to him, but both assure me that at present, there is little a doctor could do for Papa. He does appear to be mending a little every day.”
“That is good news. While I am sure your uncle will arrive as soon as possible to lend whatever aid necessary, of course, we would all prefer to see your papa up and well again. Are there any immediate concerns for the estate?”
Elizabeth sighed. “One of the tenant families, the Browns, may have to remove. I have been taking baskets to them for a while—in fact, I should have gone this morning. Their need has become rather great, for Mr Brown had a terrible accident behind his plough last spring. Both his legs were broken and a few ribs. Mr Jones has seen him and believes in some time he may recover, but never with his full strength, as the bones in one leg did not set at all properly. He has a wife and three young children to support, so naturally, he wishes to keep his lease and farm again next year. At present, I do not think he can possibly continue.”
“You would not bring such a concern up to me without already having thought of a solution. What do you propose, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth gave a little chuckle. “You mistake me, Aunt, for in this situation, I have not an answer. You know Papa has long done without a steward, as he knows as much about managing an estate as anyone. I know he wished to spare the rather large expense, but under such circumstances, I wish he had retained someone.”
