Chapter Three
Darcy had to admit to a bit of surprise at the efficiency of Longbourn’s grooms, two of whom met them on the drive without being forewarned. Miss Elizabeth had handed off the little rig, and his own mount had been seen to swiftly at her confident direction.
“Mr. Hill,” Miss Elizabeth said as they entered the hall, “Mr. Darcy is here to see his friend. Will you take him up to Mr. Bingley?” She removed her bonnet, mussing her hair in the process.
Then she yanked at her very long scarf. Her father’s butler took her cloak and Darcy’s greatcoat and busied himself putting them away, but she did not wait for him.
Instead, she tried to lift the scarf over her head without success.
It was a little like the string on a spinning top, and he had to stop himself from smiling. “May I assist you, Miss Elizabeth?” he inquired politely.
“No, thank you,” she replied, before accidentally winding the scarf a bit tighter. “Oh dear,” she said with a sigh.
He took a half-step forward and asked again. “Will you allow me?”
Miss Elizabeth paused to give him a rather appraising look, and then handed him one end of the offending article.
Darcy took it, and an electric sort of shock coursed through his body. He cursed himself silently. He had not taken into account how it might affect him to have her so near.
“A moment, please,” he told her, his voice unusually hoarse.
Miss Elizabeth took his request to wait as a sign he could not help her, and she began to twist to the right just as he pulled the scarf to the left. She made a little strangling noise and twisted to the left just as he corrected his motion and tugged the scarf to the right.
Miss Elizabeth huffed—she did even that prettily—and glared up at him.
He did not laugh, but it was a near thing. He placed one hand briefly atop her head and said, “Do not move, Miss Elizabeth, I beg you.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she offered him one quick nod before folding her arms across her chest.
Being tall gave him an advantage, for he had a better view of how the garment had been tucked and twisted. He quickly had it unwound and was able to pass it over to the returning Mr. Hill, who, Darcy noted, was watching him rather closely.
“Thank you,” Miss Elizabeth said when he had done. She quickly removed her gloves. She shivered, which made him frown. “I hope you will excuse me.”
“Of course,” Darcy said, taking her hand to offer a little bow. “Your skin is like ice!” he cried.
She met his gaze. “Yes, thank you, Mr. Darcy,” she said pointedly, as though she believed him to be scolding her rather than expressing concern. “I have been out longer than I might wish today.”
Darcy did not attempt to delay her as she hurried into the sitting room where he presumed there was a fire already burning.
Satisfied that she would soon be warm and feeling all the guilt of not being present to help his friend while the inhabitants of Longbourn had been forced out into the elements to do so, Darcy turned to face the butler, who silently took his hat and gloves.
Darcy followed behind Mr. Hill as they climbed a wide oak staircase.
Although the light outside was fading, they were still able to see because of the numerous tall windows on the walls nearest them.
In between the windows were alcoves where various small but substantial sculptures were placed.
If Darcy had the time, he would have stopped to examine them, for they appeared, at first glance, to be very fine.
There were two wings that diverged at the top of the stairs. Mr. Hill led him to the left. They stopped at the first door, though there were two more on one side and three on the other down a long hall. The butler knocked twice, and the door was opened from inside.
“Mr. Darcy to see Mr. Bingley,” Mr. Hill said, speaking in Darcy’s presence for the first time. If he was not mistaken, the butler sounded . . . disapproving. Perhaps he thought Darcy was rather behind time to be visiting. Had he known, he would have come straight away.
“Darcy,” he heard his friend call from inside. “Come in, man.”
Bingley was not himself, that much was certain. His voice was weak and strained.
“Bingley,” Darcy said immediately, stepping inside. “I must offer my apologies.” His friend was sitting up in bed, his left arm bent across his chest and bound there, his left leg propped up on a pillow. His countenance was wan, his eyes pained. “I had not heard you were injured.”
“Miss Elizabeth sent off a note not long after we arrived, or so I was told,” Bingley said. “Was I misinformed?”
“I do not believe so, but . . .” He glanced back at the manservant who had been tending Bingley.
He was even now discreetly slipping out of the room.
When the door shut softly behind him, Darcy drew a chair over to the side of Bingley’s bed and sat.
“Miss Bingley did not see fit to read anything arriving from Longbourn.”
Bingley’s eyes narrowed. “My sisters have no idea I am here?”
Darcy shook his head. “Had I not met Miss Elizabeth on her way to give us the news in person, I should not know, either.”
“Miss Elizabeth went out in this cold again?” Bingley inquired, then answered his own question. “Of course she did. She is a rather determined creature.”
She was indeed. “How are you?” Darcy asked, intent on changing the subject. There was no splint on Bingley’s arm or leg, which was promising.
“Dislocated my shoulder. Hurts like the devil, though not nearly as much as it did before Mr. Jones corrected it. In that way, being out in the cold was a blessing, for it apparently kept the arm from swelling overmuch and making it more difficult to repair.”
“And the leg?”
“Bruised. Should be able to walk all right in a day or two, but the shoulder will take a few weeks, and a long carriage ride may be a trial for longer than that. I will not be riding to London any time soon.”
Darcy would have to tell him, but first, he had a few more questions. “How did it happen?”
“Mischief slipped on some ice and pitched me right off into a ditch.”
Bingley’s horse was aptly named. “It was frigid today.”
“It was. By the time I had recovered my wits I was too cold and drowsy to make any attempt to stand. Miss Elizabeth removed her own cloak to keep me warm while we waited. Made me feel a bit like a damsel in distress, but I will not deny I required the warmth.”
Poor Miss Elizabeth must have been frozen though, and then to head out again tonight when no one arrived from Netherfield in response to her summons? The difference between a woman of worth and a woman who merely believed in her own worth had never been more clearly drawn.
“You ought not to have gone alone,” Darcy told Bingley.
“You offered, but I was using you to keep my sisters here in Hertfordshire,” Bingley said with a weary grin.
“I beg your pardon,” Darcy replied with a shake of his head, “but I was not enough of an inducement. They are even now closing the house and preparing to return to London in your wake.”
“They are closing the house? Without asking for my consent?” He struggled to sit up but groaned. Darcy helped him to lie back.
When Bingley was settled again, Darcy nodded.
“I did say they should wait for you, but they were determined.” He paused before saying, “Though I disagree with their methods, I do understand why they feel compelled to keep you away from here, Bingley. Are you aware that you have raised expectations? It was quite clear at the ball that the neighbours expect you to offer for Miss Bennet. Your presence here at Longbourn will only have confirmed that report.”
“Darcy,” Bingley said wearily, “I do know you have my best interests at heart. Indeed, part of the reason I was off to London was to offer myself a bit of distance to think on what I should do. Miss Bennet is the most beautiful woman I have ever known, but I also require a strong woman and one who genuinely cares for me.” He met Darcy’s gaze. “She showed me both today.”
Darcy had meant to wait, but he could not. “Are you certain she returns your affections? I watched her rather closely last night and could observe no admiration of you that she does not also show to others.”
Bingley held his gaze. “I have been thinking on it the past few hours. Miss Bennet has been everything proper, which can make it difficult to discern a woman’s true feelings.
Perhaps if I had continued to London without incident, I should never have known.
But she could not hide herself today, Darcy.
You ought to have seen her, so anxious for me, yet issuing commands for my benefit like a general.
” He smiled wanly. “She cares for me as I do her, and as soon as I am out of this damned bed, I plan to make her an offer.”
Darcy sat back. Bingley had not yet done anything irreparable.
“All I ask, Bingley, is that you take this time to fully consider what marrying a woman like Miss Bennet will mean for you. It will not raise you in the ton, though she is a gentlewoman, for she will bring neither a fortune nor connections. Your sisters will not approve, which may create difficulties for Miss Bennet. And if she does not feel a real affection for you, or you for her, you may one day find yourself resentful of what you have given up.” He leaned forward and said, earnestly, “I would not wish that for either of you.”
Bingley was clearly fighting the pain of his injuries, but he said, firmly, “You are a good man, Darcy, and a good friend. But do you really consider yourself qualified to offer advice to a man in love?”
Darcy leaned back in his chair, surprise making him chuckle. Bingley always knew how to make him laugh at himself. “Perhaps not.”
His friend tried to straighten, and grimaced. He hated to see Bingley laid so low. “Can I do anything for you?”
“Yes. Stay for a while and entertain me, for I cannot make my way downstairs.”