“As you will not accompany me—you detested the country and everything about it—you must determine where you will go. You shall not remain in London, at least not in this house. If youinsist upon staying in town, you must secure lodgings you can afford. Still, I would recommend Bath. Scarborough would be better still, but Bath will at least afford you society. One may be reasonably important there for very little.”
Caroline stared at him. “You cannot be serious.”
For a moment he almost wished he had spoken less decisively, yet he forced himself to meet her gaze. “I am.”
“You would send me away,” she said coolly, “merely because Mr Darcy is temporarily absent from society?”
“I am sending you away because you have become fixed upon something that will never come to pass, no matter how much you attempt to demand it. Now, if you will excuse me, I have much to attend to this afternoon.”
He waited only a moment to observe her reaction before rising and escorting her from the room himself. She appeared stunned by his words, and he watched as she moved through the passage and towards the stairs without speaking.
After observing her a moment longer, he rang for the housekeeper and the butler and gave instructions for preparations to be made towards closing the house. He wrote to Hurst to inform him that he would return to Netherfield before long.
Finally, he wrote to his man of business, requesting that enquiries be made regarding rooms or houses to let in London and Scarborough, along with those he already had for Bath. These would need to be within the limits of the allowance he would settle upon her and fine enough to please her. If she would agree to go to Scarborough, he would purchase a small house for her outright, sparing her the expense of rent.
If only she would agree and go. Since their father’s death, he had never prevailed upon her in anything she did not already desire. Still, he hoped that this time might be different.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“What did you mean by that wink at Miss Elizabeth earlier?” Darcy very nearly demanded some hours later, when the two gentlemen found themselves alone in the billiards room after the Bennets had departed.
He could hardly object to their visits, for Georgiana genuinely enjoyed Miss Mary’s company, and their presence had at least prevented his cousin from directing too much attention towards Elizabeth. Mrs Bennet was still a trial, but he was bearing it well, he thought.
“Ah,” Fitzwilliam said, a slow grin spreading across his face, “so you did see it.”
He chose his cue with what Darcy considered infuriating deliberation. “Did you remark how charmingly distracted she was afterwards? She entirely lost track of the conversation around her for some time.”
“Enough, Richard,” Darcy said sharply. “You pay court to Miss Jane Bennet when she is present, yet the moment she is absent you transfer your attentions to Elizabeth. It is hardly fair to either lady—particularly when you know very well the only reason you do not pursue Miss Jane Bennet in earnest is her want of fortune. Granfield selected you for Elizabeth’s husband in part because he trusted you would not be tempted by it.”
Fitzwilliam’s expression sobered although Darcy could see the humour had not entirely left his eyes.
“I have always known I must choose a wife with care,” he said after a momentary pause. “I might wish to follow my inclinations wherever they lead, but a second son must be at least a little mercenary. One cannot live upon charm and good intentions.”
“You would not have to,” Darcy began, but fell silent at a warning motion from his cousin.
“I am well aware of your offer,” Fitzwilliam said. “But I have little intention of accepting it.”
He exhaled and, for once, did not smile. “Yes, I was baiting you this afternoon, and I ought not to have done it. “
Darcy closed his eyes briefly. “No,” he said at last, “you should not.”
“While I do not believe Miss Elizabeth was truly distressed by my actions—her distraction seemed born of something else—it was unfair of me to act in that manner.”
Darcy acknowledged his cousin’s words with a moment of silence and then spoke again. “Tell me honestly, Richard—do you think Miss Elizabeth regards me with any degree of kindness, or dare I say anything approaching affection? The twoof us have spoken often since my coming here, yet I find myself at a loss. I have never attempted to court a lady before. I am not even certain whether that is what I am doing, and if it is, I do not know how best to make my intentions understood. Ought I to ask her directly, or continue as I have been?”
He hesitated, then added more quietly, “I already know Granfield will not entirely approve of my suit. Still, he has said he will allow Elizabeth her choice.”
“She does look at you kindly, Darcy, and she is devoted to Georgiana, which can only recommend you,” Fitzwilliam said with a wink.
He met Darcy’s scowl with a smirk, which did nothing whatsoever to improve matters.
“In truth,” he continued more seriously, “I believe that if you were to speak to her as plainly on this subject as you do on every other, you would discover she is at least willing to see where matters might lead. Candour about your intentions can hardly do you harm.”
Darcy considered this for several moments, turning the idea over as though it were a problem in need of solving.
“So I am to tell her that I wish to pursue her?” he said at last. “To ask whether she might permit it?” He released a quiet breath. “Richard, you know how diligently I have avoided the ladies of the Ton. Now that I would like to actually know one better, I find myself entirely at a loss.”
“At least since we have been here, you have never had any difficulty speaking to Miss Elizabeth,” Fitzwilliam said. “You are thinking about this entirely too much.”
