Page 42 of Bella Darcy is on the Run

"You do not wish to be parted from her?" Darcy repeated, his lips pulling into a tight line. "My daughter is not yet of age and she remains under my protection. It is for me to determine whether I allow you to continue any sort of friendship with her."

"And does she have a say in any of this?" George asked. "She does not seem the type of woman who likes to be commanded, particularly in matters of the heart."

"Matters of the heart?" Mr Darcy's expression hardened. "What do you know of matters of the heart? How long have you known my daughter? A week? Two weeks, if that? You may have spent an unusual amount of time in her company, Captain, but you speak very boldly for a man with such a slight acquaintance."

"It is not a slight acquaintance," George said before he could stop himself. "I have spent more hours speaking to your daughter than many couples do in the course of an entire courtship. I know the contents of her heart, and she knows the contents of mine."

Mr Darcy stared at him for a long moment before pushing back his chair and standing. He walked towards the window and looked out across the harbour, clasping his hands behind his back. "Have you any experience in running an estate, Captain Harwood?"

George stumbled over his answer, unsure what had prompted the sudden change of subject. "Very little, sir. My father was a country squire, but unfortunately he managed his estate very poorly and it was eventually given up to cover his debts. I was still a boy when this occurred."

Darcy did not turn towards him. "Bella is the heiress of one of the greatest estates in the country, Pemberley. That is not to mention the other Darcy properties in London and several smaller estates spread across the country. The man who will one day stand beside her must be capable of helping her manage those interests."

George shifted in his chair. "I understand."

"Do you?" There was no mockery in Mr Darcy's voice now, and George suddenly felt very small.

"And how do you propose to support her until such time as she comes into her majority and eventually takes up her role as mistress of Pemberley?"

"I have a small nest egg, enough to support a modest life, and the Customs Office has offered me a permanent role travelling around the country and advising ports on suspected smuggling activity. It is not the income of a great estate, certainly, but it is honest work. I have worked since I was fifteen, Mr Darcy, and I do not believe there is any skill I cannot learn if it is required to support my wife."

Mr Darcy turned at that. "She is not your wife, Captain. She is not your intended. As of this moment, she is nothing to you."

He felt the blood drain from his face.

Mr Darcy's expression softened only slightly. "Do you understand the pressures placed upon a person at this level of society? Bella has already felt the weight of them, and those pressures have influenced her into unwise actions. I had imagined her supported by a partner who understood this world and could help her navigate it, not a retired sailor travelling from port to port and coming into constant contact with dangerous men."

George said nothing, examining the material of his breeches very closely.

"Would you want that for your daughter, sir?" Darcy asked. "Or your sister? Any woman in your family whom you cared for deeply?"

George did not look up. "No, sir."

"Then how can you possibly expect me to welcome your suit?"

Darcy returned to his desk. "You have known her but a very short time. You are not her match in income or society. You have admitted that you have just accepted a position that will see you travelling around the country, very likely staying in accommodations I would never choose for my daughter, and it would take her away from the business of learning how to manage the estate she will one day inherit."

"Perhaps there is some compromise," George began.

"There is no compromise," Darcy said sharply. "This is madness. I fear that you have both been deeply affected by what you endured together, and as I have already said, emotions have run high. I will not permit either of you to make a decision of such consequence while still caught up in the aftermath of it. Now please leave this house, sir. I have a daughter to attend to and a family who require me."

George stood, feeling strangely numb, and bowed. "I see. Good day, Mr Darcy."

He walked from the room in a daze. Mr Darcy had been stiff and unpleasant, certainly, but was he wrong? His objections had sounded perfectly reasonable when laid out so logically. If George looked at the matter as he looked at every other important part of his life, it was incredible that he should be asking for the hand of one of the most eligible heiresses in the country, and even more incredible that he should feel ready to marry a woman after less than two weeks of acquaintance.

He turned towards the front door just as footsteps rattled down the staircase. George paused and looked back. Bella stood at the bottom of the stairs, her hair still loose around her shoulders, her face clean and bright and her large eyes sparkling at him with expectation.

"George," she said softly. "You have spoken to my father."

"I have had an interview with your father, yes."

"And?"

Her eyes were teasing at first, then hopeful, and George looked at her and felt his heart shatter. He could not find the words to tell her that he was not good enough for her, that what they had shared had perhaps been a moment born of fear and danger, and that there was no way he could become the sort of partner she needed.

"I must go, Miss Darcy," he said, willing his voice not to shake. "I am needed at the Customs Office. I bid you good day."

Her smile slowly faded. She reached out and touched his sleeve, but before either of them could say another word, Mr Darcy appeared in the corridor behind her.