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“I am afraid so, Uncle. Did you think I could be happy with any other?”
“Lord, Darcy! Cissy will be so disappointed! She was all for Lady Sophia Amberley!”
“I expect Aunt will get over it, especially once she meets Elizabeth. Nor will I have Lady Sophia’s brothers making demands on my purse.”
The earl nodded sagely at that before shifting on his feet in an agitated manner. Then, after a pause: “Lord! What will I tell Catherine?”
“I shall leave that to you. Nothing I have said in the past seems to have made the slightest difference. I cannot marry Anne.”
Defeated, the earl heaved a sigh.
“Do I have your permission to marry now, or must we wait until I am thirty?” asked Darcy.
“I will not stand in the way of your happiness, Darcy,” said the earl, rubbing the shadow of a beard. Clearly, he had been set upon by his sister before his valet had been able to shave him. “I have an idea for mollifying Catherine. Leave it to me!”
With that he was off, and Farley was summoned to return Darcy to the dining room.
The ladies were talking in hushed tones when Darcy was pushed back into the room. Darcy’s smile attested to his success. Reaching the table, he held his hand out to Elizabeth who grasped it.
“Farley, summon Mr Finn immediately. I have a mission for him to Doctors’ Commons.”
A shout of joy escaped Georgie.
Thus did Caroline’s arrows fall short.
Chapter 46: Rules of engagement
“Oh, this is wonderful!” cried Georgie. “Now, I will be related to both my best friends! We can go shopping every day!”
Fitzwilliam frowned and Elizabeth laughed: “Goodness, Georgie! The way you shop, there will be nothing left in Bond Street within a month! But tell me, is the princess’s marriage finally to go ahead?”
“Ah, yes,” conceded Georgie with some confusion, “I am to attend the engagement party this afternoon.”
“That is excellent news!” cried Elizabeth.
“Yes,” replied Darcy, “more excellent than we previously supposed, for it is Richard who will marry Princess Brunhilda not Robert.”
Startled, Elizabeth hesitated over her words. “I hope nothing untoward has happened to the viscount?”
Civility forbade Darcy to express the retort that popped into his head, which was: We wish. “Nothing like that,” he said aloud. “Merely, Robert’s reluctance has translated into Richard’s good fortune. The princess decided she preferred the younger brother. As she has a sizeable independence, Richard has now made an enviable match.”
“I am so glad for them!” said Elizabeth.
To celebrate the speedy resolution of Darcy and Elizabeth’s betrothal, the ladies’ shopping expedition was subsequently abandoned. A very pleasant morning was spent in the Darcy saloon. Georgie went straight to the pianoforte. When Elizabeth agreed to sing after an instrumental piece, Darcy discovered that his fiancée had yet another talent.
“You sing like a nightingale!” Darcy exclaimed, possessively taking hold of Elizabeth’s hand as she relinquished her place standing next to Georgie at the keyboard to sit down next to him.
“You speak too soon!” Elizabeth scoffed. “You have not yet heard my aunt!”
Indeed, when Mrs Gardiner sang Se Tu M’Ami, Se Sospiri, Darcy was astonished to find she had a voice worthy of the stage. His fingers slowly stroked Elizabeth’s as he listened to the performance.
Increasingly feeling the effects of Darcy’s simple caress and becoming embarrassed by it, Elizabeth realised she was holding her breath. “You see?” she laughed nervously after her aunt sang the last bars. “Aunt Gardiner taught me everything I know, and she has a much better voice besides!”
Not wishing to impose upon Georgiana’s preparations for her cousin’s engagement party, Elizabeth’s aunt expressed a wish to depart early but agreed to take a nuncheon before leaving. While this was being set upon the table, Darcy requested some time alone with his fiancée. Elizabeth was surprised when her aunt acquiesced with the scheme.
After steering Darcy to the study, Elizabeth sat down with him in front of the hearth. Reaching for her hand, Darcy grasped it and planted a kiss on her knuckles. “Elizabeth, while I yearn to have you near to me, I had hoped to delay our nuptials a little until I had recovered more of my strength; but in the circumstances I think it would be wise to marry as soon as Finn can obtain the Special Licence, which should be ready by tomorrow.”
“You think your uncle will change his mind?”
