Finally, voices in the corridor announced their arrival. Mr. Collins entered first, his usual obsequious smile firmly in place, his wife behind him, and her youngest sister trailing at the rear.
Darcy waited. Any moment Elizabeth would appear in the doorway, and he would suggest a stroll in the garden where he could begin the most important conversation of his life.
But no familiar figure followed. The doorway remained empty.
“Where is Miss Bennet?” Lady Catherine’s imperious voice cut through the room. “Has she taken it upon herself to ignore my invitation? Does she consider her country manners superior to proper respect for her betters?”
Predictably, Mr. Collins groveled. “I beg your pardon, my lady. My cousin surely meant no disrespect to her condescension of your Ladyship. She…”
“Then where is she?” His aunt’s fan snapped open.
Mrs. Collins, with admirable calm, provided the answer that made Darcy’s world tilt. “She received an express from Mr. Bennet early this morning requiring her immediate return to Hertfordshire. She departed as soonas the cart was available, catching the post coach at the inn.”
Gone.The word echoed in Darcy’s mind like a death knell. All his careful plans, his rehearsed words, and his imagined joy at her acceptance crumbled to dust. Fighting the urge to demand details, he gripped his hands behind his back until the signet ring he always wore pressed into his palm. Why had she left? Why the urgency? Would she return?
His cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, asked the questions that plagued Darcy. “Is her family well? Was there a difficulty that drew her home?”
A hint of a smile crossed Mrs. Collins’ lips. “In his letter, Mr. Bennet assured his daughter that all was well at Longbourn before requesting her immediate presence to help him implement positive changes in the household.”
“I see.”
Lady Catherine rapped her fan on the arm of her chair. “This is intolerable! Young people these days, always galivanting about the countryside. When I was her age, I had responsibilities.”
Pride kept Darcy silent. He would not expose his disappointment.
Why did I not speak yesterday?The question tormented him. He had walked with her through the grove, enjoying her company in companionable silence. The perfect opportunity, and excessive caution caused him to squander it. Now she was fifty miles away. He would need to leave Kent immediately after writing to request an invitation to Netherfield Park from Bingley.Blast!
The butler’s entrance provided a welcome distractionfrom his self-recrimination. “Mr. Darcy, an express has arrived for you. The rider first stopped at Darcy House in London before being redirected here. According to him, the sender instructed him to await your response.”
An express? Darcy’s stomach clenched.Georgiana!Was his sister unwell? Had a tragedy happened? He excused himself quickly. Richard followed him, concerned. The two men shared guardianship of Georgiana Darcy, who was not yet seventeen. During the past summer, he had rescued her from eloping with George Wickham, a former friend who had the morals of a snake. Was Wickham again making demands?
The letter bore the Cambridge coat of arms. Not news about his sister, then. Breaking the seal, Darcy found the spidery handwriting of Phineas Drye, his former professor.
Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy,
I trust this letter finds you in good health and spirits. I write on a matter of utmost urgency and extraordinary opportunity that requires men of both intellectual distinction and practical capability.
A recent discovery promises to yield the greatest treasure ever found. I cannot elaborate in correspondence, but I assure you this venture is legitimate, and the potential is staggering. The expedition requires several months in the Mediterranean, departing from London as soon as you can.
Darcy scowled. Archaeological fantasy was the last thing he needed right now. Pemberley required his attention. More importantly, he needed to find Elizabeth.
He stopped on the next paragraph.
I extend this invitation to only three gentlemen: yourself,Mr. Thomas Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire, and Lord Marcus Burton of Waverly Park in Yorkshire.
Elizabeth’s father?
Given the complexities of extended travel, you are welcome to include a family member, should circumstances permit. If I may make a suggestion, your cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, would be particularly valuable, given his military expertise.
The implications struck him like lightning. If Mr. Bennet accepted, he would bring his second daughter along. Elizabeth was his only child with the intelligence and spirit for such an adventure. Jane was newly married; Mary, too bookish and timid; Kitty and Lydia, too frivolous.
Elizabeth on a dangerous expedition with only Mr. Bennet’s inadequate protection?The thought sent a chill through Darcy’s veins. Mr. Bennet was not a man of action. His neighbors knew him for his indifference to his family’s welfare. He would be so absorbed in ancient texts and discoveries that he would never notice the countless dangers surrounding his daughter.
Not if I can help it.If Elizabeth were to be placed in jeopardy, he would be there to ensure her protection. And maybe…maybe in foreign lands, away from the rigid society of his peers, he would find the opportunity he had missed in Kent to speak the words he was too proud to say the day prior.
“Richard, what say you for a journey to the Mediterranean?”
His cousin took the proffered letter and read it twice. “Treasure hunting with old Drye-as-Dust? It sounds like madness.” He folded it carefully and held it out. “You actually mean to go?”
