Chapter Seventeen
Her cousin blushed a delicious shade of light pink and stared down at her clasped hands.
“There is not much to tell at this juncture.”
“You have been in town nearly a week and he has not called on you?”
“He has…” Jane kept her gaze lowered. “He has been a most proper gentleman.”
“And I am sure under the watchful eye of Aunt Madeline he has been most solicitous in that regard.”
“I will not have you tease me about him. I truly like him.”
“I have only met the man twice myself, so I cannot judge his true character – yet, but I give you leave to like him. You have liked many a stupider person.”
“Lizzy!”
“Oh! you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. You never see a fault in anybody. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life. Not even the supercilious sisters.”
“I would wish not to be hasty in censuring anyone, but I always speak what I think.”
“I know you do and it is what makes you so uniquely Jane. You find the good in everything and willfully disregard the bad. Anyone who cannot see the value of loving you is the world’s worst fool.”
“I have missed you so, Lizzy.”
Jane threw her arms around Elizabeth and hugged her tight.
“You have successfully skirted telling me about you and the colonel. I now expect details. Lots and lots of details.”
“There is not much to tell. Since my arrival on the thirtieth, he has attended every day for tea. We have gone for walks and time slips by so quickly. We talk about everything and nothing. It is the most comfortable friendship I have ever had. That he finds me easy on the eye is apparent, but his wanting to know me… what I think, what I want… it is gloriously freeing.”
“He wishes to know what you want,” Elizabeth whispered.
She felt a pinprick of tears behind her eyelids and in an attempt to calm her frazzled emotions, she fussed over fixing her tea. That Jane was aware of this became obvious when she placed her hand over Elizabeth’s and said, in a quiet voice, “What is it that you want? Is there anything I can do?”
“What I want and what I have do not always align.”
“What do you want?”
“I want a loving marriage. What I have is an uncontested battleground.”
“Then do something about it.”
“If only it was that easy,” she sighed. “He told his family at dinner the other evening he loved me.”
“That is wonderful news!” Jane hesitated. “Is it not?”
“I truly believe he did not mean to say the words. His aunt Catherine had pushed his anger too far, and he said the one thing he knew to stop her cold.”
“Lizzy, no man says he loves a woman in front of family to stop a heated argument.”
“He might have. It most certainly worked.” She gave a wry smile at the memory.
“When he said, I love Elizabeth, you could almost see the wind swoosh out of Lady Catherine’s self-righteous sails.
The only thing that would have made the event more satisfactory was if Caroline Bingley had also been in attendance. ”
“My dear cousin,” Jane admonished gently. “You harbor resentment as skillfully as your husband.”
“It is a required element when next to you, as you do not harbor resentment toward anyone. I take your share and gladly haul that burden around for you.”
A peal of laughter burst from Jane and Elizabeth almost cried at the joy her cousin exhibited. She had been shrouded by sadness for far too long.
“I have missed you, sister of my heart. I am so glad to be in town where I can see you every day, now that your restrictions have been lifted.”
Elizabeth leaned in and whispered, “I would still have seen you, Jane. I had plans in place. Nothing could have kept me from your side.”
“I figured as much. You always were the strategist. It is why you consistently beat Papa at chess.”
“Not always.”
“Do not fudge the truth. My father has not earned a victory since you turned sixteen.”
“True. I have tried to graciously lose, but he chastises me for playing a dishonest game.” Elizabeth noted, with great satisfaction, a sense of fulfillment wreathed around her cousin. A random thought popped into her head. “By chance, did my cousin by marriage attend you in Meryton?”
The blush that spread across Jane’s decolletage was as good as her saying yes.
“You sly thing. When and where – and do not even think about fudging the truth. I know you too well for that kind of deceit.”
“You can never tell Mamma. She would call for the banns, or worse, force Richard to apply for a special license.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened when her cousin unwittingly called him by his given name. Jane reached across and grasped her hand.
“We have not done anything to warrant such, but we did meet at Oakham Mount one morning to greet the sunrise and spend time away from big ears and even bigger mouths.”
“I am the last person in the world to censure anyone over such things. Having said that, I am surprised by your behavior.” Jane gasped and her eyes filled with tears.
Elizabeth mentally kicked herself for giving her cousin even a moment of distress.
“Not for what you think. I am surprised you would rise early enough to see a sunrise. You are notorious for loving the comfort and warmth of your bed.”
Jane swatted at her hand.
“I am not as bad as that.”
“Oh, yes you are. I shared a room with you for over sixteen years and know for a fact you detest waking before the cock crows and adopt town hours when visiting aunt and uncle like a duck takes to water.”
“What can I say?” Jane fussed with her skirts, her cheeks a rosy pink. “I was greatly motivated to bundle up nice and warm and traipse up that blasted hill as though it was something I did regularly.”
“Then, I am pleased to inform you that your motivation is coming tonight at my request.”
“Richard is coming here?”
“Yes, but there is also bad news, I am afraid. The Bingleys are coming tonight as well. It is one of the reasons I asked Mr. Darcy to invite his cousin to bolster our numbers. I did not want you to face Mr. Bingley and the superior sisters without reinforcements.”
“I am glad you told me. This gives me a chance to steady my nerves and prepare my mind.”
“If all else fails, turn your baby blue eyes in the direction of the good colonel and let him come to your rescue.”
“I am surprised you invited them at all.”
“I had no choice. The Bingleys have always attended Darcy House for Twelfth Night. Even Mr. Darcy had forgotten until this morning.”
“Would not the housekeeper have informed you when you met to discuss menus?”
“Oh, my dear Jane. That is another conversation you and I must have.”
Elizabeth then proceeded to tell her, in detail, about her first month at Darcy House.
***
Darcy remained in his study following the arrival of Elizabeth’s cousin.
He did not feel he should intrude on their reunion as he would see Miss Bennet at dinner before the Bingleys arrived.
After spending a good fifteen minutes staring at the same column of figures in his ledger, he gave up, pushed away from his desk, and started for the door.
He may as well change for dinner because he would get no work done today.
He had only made it around his desk when the door opened and Richard walked in.
“Richard! You are here early. I did not expect you until later this evening.”
“You asked for reinforcements, so I came to get the lay of the land.”
“And a certain beautiful lady from the wilds of Hertfordshire had no bearing on your early arrival?”
“Now, Darcy, I would never poach another man’s wife,” Richard teased.
“Do not even entertain a wisp of thought for my wife and you know very well to whom I referred. You made your admiration clear when you returned from Meryton.”
“I still stand by that opinion,” Richard said while he helped himself to a glass of brandy. “She grows more beautiful every time I see her.”
“Every time you what?”
“I may as well tell you now. Otherwise, you will wonder why I attend your house even more than I have before.”
“Am I going to like what you have to say?”
“Frankly, I do not care. I am my own man.”
Richard sat down in one of the comfortable chairs situated near the fireplace and crossed one leg over his knee.
Darcy’s whole body tightened. In dread or anger, he could not ascertain.
He only knew Richard’s flippant attitude made him uncomfortable.
His cousin could very well muddy the waters with his shenanigans and ruin his chance to gain his wife’s favor.
If Richard dallied with Miss Bennet only to leave her high and dry when he took up with his next pretty bird…
At times, Richard was worse than Bingley for falling in and out of love.
How ironic they both were enamored with the same woman.
“Tell me you have not made an offer of marriage.”
“Very well. I have not made an offer of marriage.”
Somehow, that did not make him feel any better, but he had no time to debate the issue as he needed to change for dinner.
“Try not to drink all my brandy while I get ready for this evening.”
“I have no intention of becoming foxed if that is what you are intimating.”
“Not at all, only that good brandy is hard to come by these days and you have an annoying habit of never touching the inferior stuff.”
“I make it a habit to never indulge in inferiority, be it brandy or women.”
Darcy let that oblique statement slide and with a curt nod of his head, left the study and made his way to the master’s bedchamber where his valet awaited.
On his way there, he heard the murmur of female voices coming from the guest room Miss Bennet had been allotted for her stay and smiled when happy laughter filtered out.
What a colossal fool he had been to keep his Elizabeth away from her family. Hearing her laugh was a balm to his soul and he prayed their relationship would only move forward. But first, they had to get through this nightmare of an evening. The beginning of a headache throbbed behind his eyes.
“Jenkins, would you bring up some willow bark tea before I head down for dinner.”