A Fortunate Compromise (Sweet Standalone Pride and Prejudice Variations #6)

Chapter 8

The next day, Darcy found it difficult to settle down to any occupation. He shook his head ruefully at himself. It was not like him. He could usually count on his powers of concentration, no matter his surroundings. Today, however, his thoughts seemed to stray continuously to the visit the two eldest Bennet sisters would pay that day — and the investigations that he and Elizabeth would begin under cover of that visit. Inviting his fiancée and her sister to tea would do very well to throw the others off the scent – especially the nosey Miss Bingley. Since his engagement to Elizabeth, she had been more sharp-tongued than ever. A good thing that it was not within her power to limit who he invited to Netherfield. Darcy would never have to worry about Bingley when it came to inviting guests of his own, and that went doubly for Miss Bennet. His friend had been all for the idea, stating that it would be wonderful for Darcy to get to know his soon-to-be bride a little better before the wedding was to take place. If he had more personal reasons for his enthusiasm, he chose not to mention them in front of his sister.

Understandably so. Caroline Bingley was less than enthusiastic. “ Really, I cannot believe we are obliged to entertain today. Are we not still recovering from the ball?”

To judge by her upright posture as she sat on the drawing room sofa, anyone would have thought Miss Bingley in the peak of health and strength. For his part, Darcy felt no wish for a delay. His heart beat wildly with anticipation. Odd, that. He had always seen himself as a serious man. Who could have guessed that he would so greatly enjoy dabbling in intrigue? Perhaps it was the personal connection that made it so intriguing. He felt a strange thrill, knowing that he and Elizabeth would be working closely together.

Admittedly, Darcy had chosen to be somewhat less than open with his fiancée. He had little hope they could prove the situation had been orchestrated. While Elizabeth seemed sanguine in her hopes that their reputations could be saved, Darcy thought it a vain hope.

That did not mean the effort would be wasted. If someone had acted so villainously against them, Darcy wanted to know who. And if their efforts came to nothing, he would have at least learned more about his betrothed. Elizabeth was rapidly becoming a fascination for him. She was so determined, so forthright, and yet she expressed the characteristics with true feminine delicacy. The very essence of her nature seemed to be sweetness, her smile made his heart beat faster, and —

“ Are you well, Mr Darcy? You have been pacing about like a nervous cat,” Miss Bingley observed. “ Shall we tell the ladies that you are not receiving visitors, after all?”

“ No!” Darcy said a little too quickly. He took a deep breath and glanced at Bingley, who gave a short laugh. “ No, I am well, Miss Bingley. Do not worry about me.”

Bingley walked over to his sister ’ s side and offered her his arm. She took it hesitantly, not being much given to sisterly shows of affection. “ Yes, do not fret about Darcy. He is a man of impeccable composure, is he not?” Bingley winked at Darcy but kept his sister from seeing the gesture.

Thankfully, the Bennets’ coach was then pulling up to the front of the house. Miss Bingley rolled her eyes heavenward, let go of her brother ’ s arm, and walked to the window. “ Hmm,” she said thoughtfully, but did not reveal the insults that were sure to be bouncing around her head. Darcy was grateful for her forbearance, though aware it was likely only momentary. Miss Bingley did not seem to have anything nice to say about the Bennets lately. Indeed, nor had she since their first meeting.

The door soon opened and the three of them stood together to greet the sisters as they were announced by the butler.

“ How good of you to come, ladies. We are delighted to have you. Please,” Mr Bingley greeted them first, then waved to Darcy and Miss Bingley. Darcy bowed, and Miss Bingley gave a slight dip by way of a curtsy.

“ It was so good of you to invite us,” Miss Bennet said. Darcy noticed the brightness of her smile at Bingley with pleasure for his friend’s sake. That was not the smile of an indifferent woman. “ I was sure you would need a few days at least to recuperate from the ball.”

“ Yes, so was I,” Miss Bingley replied, dryly.

Darcy stepped forward and offered Elizabeth his arm. “ How are you this afternoon, Miss Elizabeth?”

“ I am well, thank you.” Darcy frowned in concern. Despite the reassuring works, she did not seem quite herself. Elizabeth seemed a bit aloof. Or was it that she was nervous, too?

Miss Bingley waved them to follow and led them all into the parlour. She turned slightly to speak with Elizabeth over her shoulder.

“ It is a wonder you did not opt for your long walk, Miss Elizabeth. I half expected you to arrive with mud caked to the soles of your boots, as you have been wont to do in the past.” Darcy stiffened, astonished and angry that she would dare to insult his fiancée to her face, but Elizabeth did not show any signs that the comment had offended her.

On the contrary, Elizabeth was smiling sweetly. “ Oh, to be sure, so I would have done, Miss Bingley. However, I believe that Mr Darcy and I have a good deal to discuss regarding our upcoming nuptials.” At the reminder, Miss Bingley ’ s face fell. She said nothing more while everyone else was settled. Miss Bennet and Mr Bingley shared the settee, and he and Miss Elizabeth sat across from them in two chairs, while Miss Bingley had to sit kitty-corner to the rest of them, dull and silent.

Miss Bingley seemed aware that she had lost the battle and was well on the way to losing the war, for tea was a tolerably polite affair. She seemed content to sit aloof and judge the company. Darcy felt heartily that as long as she would do so in silence, she might judge them as much as she liked. The rest of them had a wonderful time talking about the weather, the upcoming Christmas festivities, and any number of subjects ranging from politics to how their families were faring.

“ Do you like children, Miss Elizabeth? You have mentioned your cousins several times. Are you very close to them?” Darcy asked.

“ I do. It is a pity we do not have the pleasure of seeing them more often, but then my aunt and uncle, Mr and Mrs Gardiner, make their home in London.”

“ Do you never visit London, then, Miss Elizabeth Bennet?” Miss Bingley asked with highly suspect civility. To judge by her tone, Elizabeth might have been a country bumpkin who would faint if she ever saw the great metropolis.

“ My aunt and uncle have been good enough to host me in London several times, but I never see them so much as I would like. I am sure my mother would love the prospect of visiting London. But my father does not care for Town.” Elizabeth folded her hands demurely in her lap. “ During the summer months, our young cousins come to visit for several weeks at a time, for their health.”

Miss Bingley gave a short, mocking laugh. “ Ah, yes, if the vapours in Town do not kill them, let the tedium of country life bore them to death.”

Elizabeth frowned but said nothing more. Darcy was surprised at Miss Bingley ’ s venom. She had always prided herself on presenting a well-bred, genteel lady. No evidence of that good breeding could be seen now. She was acting like a jealous cat, baring teeth and claws.

There was no need to continue subjecting Elizabeth to such unpleasantness. They had spoken with the others long enough for civility, and by the looks of things, Bingley would be entirely capable of amusing Miss Bennet without them. He stood and offered Elizabeth his hand. “ Shall we begin?” he asked.

For a moment, Elizabeth looked stricken. He thought furiously, trying to imagine what might have put such a look on her face —

“ Begin?” Miss Bingley asked.

He had forgotten that they had to hide their mission from the others. “ I, ahh, well… That is —” Darcy fumbled.

“ What Mr Darcy means to say is that we had agreed to start going over the ins and outs of how he should like Pemberley to be run, once we are married,” Elizabeth cut in smoothly. “He had a splendid idea to take me on a tour of Netherfield, since it is a large house, and discuss how it compares to Pemberley.” She glanced at her sister. “ It is, after all, going to be my home shortly. I want to be as prepared as possible when I arrive there as its new mistress.”

Darcy let out a sigh of relief. “ Yes, that is it precisely,” he agreed. It was hardly a surprise to be given fresh evidence of Elizabeth’s quick wit, but he found himself surprised and pleased at how well they worked together.

Miss Bingley shot Elizabeth an annoyed look as she rose and took his hand. He eyed his fiancée with some curiosity, waiting for her response. He had never seen anything of incivility or arrogance in Elizabeth, but after Miss Bingley’s behaviour towards her, he would not have begrudged her a private glimmer of triumph.

Elizabeth’s smile in return was merely polite. She seemed to have no interest in crossing swords with Miss Bingley, a choice for which he commended her. He could not help but think how exquisite she was. She had been gracious while Miss Bingley had been petty. And her ready wit was never absent.

Darcy could not deceive himself. From the brilliancy of her eyes and her warm smile to her elegant, pleasing figure, he found Elizabeth’s person every bit as entrancing as her character. Though he might have wished for a wife of greater fortune and better connections, there was nothing to object to about Elizabeth herself.

He glanced over at her as they walked. Perhaps that was not quite accurate. If there was anything he could change about her, it would be the coldness he had so often felt aimed at himself. Or at least, to know what he had done to cause her such offense. But that was on his own shoulders. At least if Bingley was correct, he well knew what he had done to displease her.

“Miss Elizabeth, I think I owe you an apology,” Darcy said suddenly, surprising even himself.

Elizabeth looked nonplussed. “You have already apologised for falling on me, Mr Darcy. In any case, I know it was not your intention.”

“I had no intention of apologising for that,” Darcy began, before realising that his words were rather less than gentlemanly. “Excuse me, I fear I am expressing myself rather badly. I meant to say that I am sorry for my uncouth, untrue remark at the Meryton assembly the night we first met. Am I mistaken in believing that you heard me?”

“You are not mistaken, sir,” Elizabeth said quietly.

“Please believe me, I regret it most sincerely. I ought not to have said any such thing about a lady. It was very badly done of me indeed.” And he had since learned that Elizabeth was indeed handsome enough to tempt him, but to say such a thing to her when there was even the most minute chance that their engagement could be temporary would be more ungentlemanly still.

“I accept your apology,” Elizabeth said simply, “and I thank you for offering it.” She offered him a friendly smile, but was that a hint of sadness he saw in her eyes? Surely she could not think his opinion unchanged. To judge by Elizabeth’s eagerness to escape the engagement, it would not matter to her if it was.

Such thoughts could lead nowhere constructive. He would do better to keep his mind on their task. “ I thought we might begin in the ballroom,” Darcy said, leading her through the long, well-lit hall. The sunshine coming in through the glass-paned windows gave him hope that they might have a chance of finding some evidence before the rain fell again.

When Elizabeth merely nodded, he looked over at her and asked, “ How is your family bearing up under the ordeal? I am sure it was a shock to all of them?”

“ Indeed, it was. My father is doing well, under the circumstances. He is grateful that you did not choose to leave me stranded — without protection. In his eyes, you can do no wrong,” Elizabeth said. Darcy had not been fishing for a compliment, but it made him feel a little better that he was in good standing with her father.

“ And the rest of your family?”

Elizabeth sighed, flashing a sad smile at him, and looking at him with those big brown eyes. He almost felt he might lose himself in their depths. “ My youngest sisters think it is all very romantic. And Mary, well, she has said little on the subject. I believe she is ashamed of me.” She gave a shallow shrug. “ My mother is delighted to be rid of me, I think. Or at least, to have me finally engaged so she can move on to the next of her unmarried daughters.”

Darcy chuckled. “Yes, I rather thought that was a particular preoccupation of hers.” It was no secret that Mrs Bennet was obsessed with getting her daughters married off. He could almost suspect her of orchestrating the compromise herself…

Darcy abruptly stopped walking, surprised by his thoughts. It was an ugly thought to have of his future mother-in-law. Elizabeth halted as well, giving him a concerned look. “ Are you well, Mr Darcy?”

“ Yes, of course. I was only thinking,” he replied. He tried to give a smile in return to put her at ease. “ If someone did set us up, what would be their motive? Why go through an elaborate charade to force us into an engagement?”

She only shook her head. “I have been trying and trying to think of an answer, but everything fails me. I have no enemies — certainly no one who dislikes me enough to ruin my entire family, as would surely have been the case had you not saved me by announcing our engagement. And if our unseen enemy wished to harm you, forcing you to either ruin or marry me seems like a rather odd punishment. I cannot seem to find a solution.”

Darcy could only agree. Yet as they walked through the ballroom and out into the hall toward the study, he could not shake the feeling of unease rising in his stomach. There was one person who seemed delighted by the outcome of the events — Mrs Bennet.

Surely she could not be responsible. It would take a desperate woman to put her daughter through the ordeal Elizabeth was experiencing. First, it had brought Elizabeth no little embarrassment. Far worse, there was the risk that Darcy would not have offered for her. If Mrs Bennet was indeed to blame, she had risked all five of her daughters for the chance of marrying off one. Darcy shook his head. No, Mrs Bennet was not a sensible woman, but surely she would not do such a thing.

“ I received my note at approximately the same time as you, I assume?” Elizabeth inquired. “Since we arrived in the library around the same time, that seems a logical conclusion.” Elizabeth walked through the study, looking at the desk. It had been cleared of all papers by Mr Bingley ’ s steward. Even so, she touched nothing. Likely she intended to respect Bingley ’ s privacy, not knowing how little he would have cared.

“ I am not sure of the timeline. I was in the ballroom when I received my note.”

“ And I, in one of the side rooms.”

“ What were you doing in the side room?”

Elizabeth gave a sheepish smile. “ My friend Miss Lucas and I were taking a respite.” She stopped. “ Well, that might not be exactly accurate. I was avoiding Mr Collins, if I am being wholly truthful.”

Darcy relished her openness with him. Surely, it deserved his openness in return. “ I had noticed you were not pleased to be dancing with him.”

She halted as they went back into the hall and started toward the library. “ You were watching me?”

Darcy grimaced. How easily he misspoke when Elizabeth was concerned. “ I would not say it like that, exactly.”

“ Then how would you describe it?” Elizabeth did not seem annoyed, only curious, even a little amused.

“ Perhaps I would describe it as watching over you?” he replied.

“ Ah, I see,” Elizabeth said. “ Well, I am beholden to you yet again, it would seem.” She wrung her hands. “ I did not wish to be rude that evening. But I was growing increasingly desperate to discourage Mr Collins.”

“ Well, now that we are engaged, you will no longer need to worry.”

“ Indeed,” Elizabeth said with a mischievous smile. “ The morning after the ball, he announced he could not stay under the same roof as someone as loose as I.”

Darcy took immediate offense. “ He did not,” he said in disbelief.

“ He did. However, do not be upset on my account. I think it was a relief for all of us when he departed. I wish him well, of course, but I shall be glad to wish him well from a greater distance. From Hertfordshire to Kent will do nicely.”

Opening the door to the library, Darcy turned to Elizabeth. “Shall we stand in the places we were when we first noticed each other?” he suggested.

“Yes, let’s,” Elizabeth agreed readily, and moved to the shelf she had been perusing that night. Darcy watched her go. She was just as lovely among the shelves in the daylight streaming through the windows as she had been bathed in the soft glow of the candlelight on the night of the ball. “ Is this correct?” Elizabeth asked, abruptly bringing him back to the present.

Darcy shook his head to chase away the distracting thoughts of how very beautiful she looked. “ Yes, I believe so. And I was here when I noticed you. I thought to come over and ensure you were well. You looked as if something had upset you.”

He said this as he walked the same path he had that night, looking carefully at their surroundings.

“ I was a little nervous,” Elizabeth commented. “I was unsure of whether I ought to trust this ‘Mrs X’. With good reason, as we now know.”

Darcy replayed the whole incident in his mind. “ I wonder if something tripped me? I would not say I am above stumbling. However, the ground is even here — no steps, no carpets. I —” Darcy stopped next to the bookshelf directly in front of Elizabeth. Light glinted off something that appeared to be metal. He knelt to inspect it. “ A hook!”

Elizabeth came to his side and knelt as well. “ What? A hook? I never noticed it before.”

“ And in the dark, I never would have,” Darcy agreed. “ Look at the corner of the shelf.” He pointed out the spot, then ran his finger over the indent. “ It looks like a wire of some kind has dug into the wood.”

Elizabeth gasped. “ Do you think someone set up a wire to trip you?”

“ It seems possible,” Darcy replied. He pulled the hook out of the wood and secreted it away in his pocket. “ I want to keep this for evidence. Obviously, whoever planned this took the wire, but forgot the hook in their haste.”

He straightened and placed a hand under Elizabeth ’ s elbow to steady her as she did the same. “ Well, at least it is something. But not enough to clear our names, I do not think,” she said, disappointed.

Darcy nodded, disappointed by her disappointment. “ Look. There is a side door just there. Shall we take a look outside and see if there are any more clues that might be helpful?”

“ Yes, that is a good idea,” she said softly. She walked over to the door and he opened it for her. They walked along the little path leading from the library out to one of the Roman follies. There was nothing of interest until they rounded a corner, and he saw an imprint in the mud under one of the bushes near the house.

“ There. What is that?” Darcy asked. He led her over to the imprint, and they both studied it. “ It looks like a boot print.”

“ Ah, yes, I see it,” Elizabeth said.

“It is not conclusive evidence,” Darcy began, “but I find it rather interesting. Someone could have planned our little mishap, then waited in the dark recesses of the library while we were trying to explain to everyone. Once the excitement died down, they could have taken the wire and left by the side door.”

“ It is possible,” Elizabeth said, worry still lining her face. “ However, it proves nothing. We will have to find more substantial evidence if we are to clear our names. Indeed, we cannot even know who would want to do this.”

Darcy thought again of the ugly suspicion that had crossed his mind — of Mrs Bennet, scheming and bribing servants to make her daughter a brilliant match.

Looking at Elizabeth’s lovely face, he could not bring himself to speak of it. What daughter could believe such a thing of her mother? Instead, he agreed. “You are quite right. And not only do we not know who would do such a thing, we do not even know why.”