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“What has you so glum?”
I looked up to see Hartley enter my study. He dropped into the chair on the other side of the desk and laced his fingers across his stomach like he hadn’t a care in the world. Perhaps he did not.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I grumbled.
“You made a mess of things with Miss Bennet, did you not?”
“How did you know?”
“Very few things make a man look like that. No one has died, and you are not prone to gambling, so I doubt you lost a great deal of money. That leaves a woman.”
I sighed. “I have lost her.”
“What did you do?”
“She asked if she could trust me with a confidence. I said she could, then when she told me, I accused her of lying in the harshest possible way. Minutes later, it was proven unequivocally that she wasnotlying, but by then she had realized I was not worth the trouble.”
“Oh, Fitz.” He sighed. “I will never understand how you get yourself into these sorts of things.”
“I do not do it on purpose!”
“No, but you are so sure you are right that you blast away anything that contradicts your opinion. People do not enjoy such antics, especially women you want to convince to marry you.”
I dropped my head back. I had made a complete hash of things.
“Thank you for the helpful advice,” I said dryly, “but it is no matter now. She does not want to see me.”
“Do you know that for certain?”
“I went to her aunt’s a few hours after it happened and was told she was not seeing visitors. Her aunt spoke to me and basically said she was terribly disappointed in me and that I had thrown away a good thing.”
Hartley winced. “I am sorry, Darcy. I liked Miss Bennet. But at least you have learned your lesson for the next lady who catches your eye.”
“I do not think there will be a next lady for a long time, cousin. Miss Bennet is…one of a kind.”
“You could try again, you know. Give her some time for the anger to pass, then apologize.”
“I have already apologized.”
He sighed again. “Darcy, you must understand something about women. One apology is never enough. She will be constantly thinking about whatever it is you have done, and you must apologize for each time it crosses her mind.”
“I cannot read her mind!”
“I am not suggesting you try. Merely saying one apology is not enough. She will think of this for some time and it will lose its hold on her if she knows you are genuinely sorry.”
“I wrote her a letter. I apologized profusely in it. Perhaps I will be lucky and that will be enough.”You are not that lucky.
I ran my hand through my hair. “If that is all, I must get back to my letters,” I said. I wanted him to leave. I wanted to be alone with my thoughts so I could wallow in my grief.
“Very well, Darcy, I will leave you to your pain. But remember, there is no shame in trying again. She may forgive you in time. If you can refrain from insulting her, that is.”
“You are not funny, Alistair.”
He smiled and shrugged. “No one is to everyone’s taste.”
I shook my head as he walked out the door. Perhaps he was right and I should try again. It had only been a few days. She might soften and be willing to speak to me if I gave her a little more time.
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