Chapter Two #2
Darcy echoed her in a slightly less enthusiastic tone, "Richard, indeed."
The butler appeared first, looking resigned rather than flustered. "Colonel Fitzwilliam."
Richard was already stepping around him. "There now, Wilson. You see? We have both accomplished our purpose."
Colonel Fitzwilliam still wore his regimentals.
The gold braid caught the morning light as he removed his gloves and tossed them carelessly upon the nearest chair.
His fair hair, never inclined to obedience, had escaped beneath his hat during the ride and there was a smear of dust across one polished boot.
He grinned broadly. "Now this is a cosy scene! "
"Good morning, Darcy," he said, grasping his cousin's hand and pumping it up and down.
Before Darcy could respond, he crossed the room in three long strides and kissed Georgiana upon the cheek loudly.
"And here is my favourite cousin! Georgie, you are looking remarkably well.
I swear you have grown three inches since Christmas. "
She looked fondly at her boisterous relation. "It is very good to see you, Richard. Would you like some breakfast? There are fresh rolls and coffee on the side."
"I knew Pemberley remained the best house in England. Still got that mad cook? The one who threatens to leave every month but produces the best fare this side of Paris?"
He did not wait for an answer, and filled a plate, buttering a roll with enthusiasm before throwing up a hand mid-chew as he seemingly remembered the reason for his visit.
"I have not come merely to eat your food, though that would have been reason enough," he said, brushing crumbs from his trousers onto Darcy’s rug.
"Something exceedingly curious has happened. "
He reached into the breast of his coat and produced a thick cream envelope, though instead of handing it over immediately he turned it over thoughtfully in his fingers.
"It arrived yesterday by special messenger. My first thought was that Aunt Catherine had discovered some fresh offence I had committed. My second was that I had somehow been summoned back to the continent. I assure you, I opened it with an intense feeling of dread."
"And instead?" asked Georgiana.
"Instead I found myself invited to spend a fortnight at Chaffley Hall by a lady I have never met."
He laid the invitation upon Darcy's desk. "Lady Hortensia Settle."
Darcy looked briefly at the letter. "The name is familiar."
"It ought to be. My mother talked of Lady Hortensia often enough. She maintained there had never been a house party to compare with hers, though she always had a wistful look in her eye when she mentioned it. I always thought it must have been the scene of some youthful romantic escapade."
Richard settled back in his chair, warming now to his story.
"Lady Hortensia had the most extraordinary notion some decades back that the only sensible way to introduce young ladies and gentlemen was to make them compete with one another.
There were races, debates, archery, music, treasure hunts—anything she could devise that proved the superiority of one sex over the other.
From what I have heard she enjoyed weighting the competition in favour of the ladies. "
Georgiana laughed. "It sounds terrifying."
"On the contrary. By all accounts it was enormous fun. The ton declared it shockingly improper, while doing everything in their power to secure an invitation."
Richard tapped the envelope lightly. "I cannot imagine what possessed the old lady.
And she must be quite elderly now. My mother always said that when Sir Malcolm died, Chaffley Hall seemed to disappear from the world with him.
Nobody went there any longer and Lady Settle retired from society. I wonder…"
Richard reached idly towards the neat pile of unopened letters on Darcy’s desk and started rifling through them.
"Richard," Darcy said, a hint of warning in his tone.
"I am only looking," he replied with no contrition whatsoever.
"You are meddling," Darcy growled, reaching over to stay his cousin’s hands.
Colonel Fitzwilliam simply batted him away. He grabbed a pile of envelopes from the table and walked to the other side of the room, where he threw any correspondence that did not interest him into an untidy pile on the floor. "Lord, Darcy, you really do live a dull existence."
Darcy repeated his cousin’s name and was decidedly ignored. He stood, wondering if it was appropriate to bodily remove his meddlesome cousin from the room with Georgiana present.
"Aha!" shouted the colonel, dropping the rest of the pile and holding up one letter in triumph. "Well, well, well… that makes things much more interesting. Unless Pemberley receives an extraordinary number of invitations from elderly ladies named Hortensia..."
Darcy crossed the room and snatched the envelope from him. It was the same heavy cream paper, the same deep green seal, the same bold hand that Richard had brought into the library only moments before.
"Are you invited, brother?" said Georgiana, clapping her hands together in glee.
"I thought you said it sounded terrifying," shot back Darcy, now in no mood for teasing.
"Well, terrifying for me. But you and Richard are much braver than I, and you shall return with the most wonderful stories!"
Richard's grin returned at once. "My dear Darcy, it appears you are coming with me to join in the fun. And I know how dearly you love fun."
Darcy sank into the chair behind his desk and lowered his forehead to the cool wood while his sister and cousin continued discussing the Challenge with so much enthusiasm that his silence went entirely unnoticed.