Chapter 18 Midnight Confessions #3
Darcy sat staring at his cousin, shock all over his face.
Was he truly so much like Miss Bennet? It would certainly explain why Elizabeth seemed to understand him so well, and why Bingley felt so comfortable with Miss Bennet, but it painted him in a less favorable light.
If Miss Bennet was as reserved as he himself was, she would feel more than she showed.
Significantly more. Which meant that when he separated Bingley from her, he had broken her heart.
Aghast, he looked up into the shrewd eyes of his cousin.
“Stop right there, Darcy. I can see you taking on more responsibility as you sit there.”
Darcy glared at him. “I am doing no such thing.”
“No? You are not heaping an extra helping of blame on yourself for your role in separating Bingley from Miss Jane Bennet?”
Darcy opened his mouth, then closed it with a snap.
“I thought so.”
“How do you know so much about Miss Bennet, anyhow? You only met her two days ago.”
“Miss Elizabeth told me.”
Darcy’s eyes widened at this.
“And if you ever listened to Bingley when he is waxing on about his angel instead of composing letters in your mind, you would know a great deal more about the lady.”
Darcy looked away and exhaled heavily. His cousin was right, but he did not have to like it.
“Come now, do not sulk,” chided Fitzwilliam.
“I am not sulking.”
“Of course not. You are merely sitting sullenly in your banyan, drinking brandy, and staring into the fire.”
Darcy glared at him. “You were not there, Fitz. You did not see how awful it was.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam softened his voice and looked at his cousin with compassion. “What shall you do to remedy the situation?”
“For starters, I will apologize to the ladies. Aunt was terribly rude to Mrs. Gardiner on top of the inquisition she levelled at Elizabeth.”
Fitzwilliam shook his head. “Did no one acquit themselves well?”
“Sir Daniel was kind to Elizabeth. She seems to have won him over.”
“That is not surprising. More than anyone else in the family, he values character over connections.”
“Yes. And Lady Clara was welcoming to both Miss Bennet and Elizabeth, but I do not know if it will be enough to counteract the rudeness of her parents and brother.”
Fitzwilliam grimaced. “You have an uphill climb, that is certain.”
“Might your family receive them better, do you think?”
“I cannot say. I would normally say yes, but then I would have thought Lady Hopewell would behave better towards the lady you hope to wed.”
“I had thought so, too.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes against the approaching headache. “I have never been so ashamed of my family in my life.”
Fitzwilliam smiled sadly. “I am sorry, Cousin. How did you leave it with Elizabeth?”
“Begging her not to break with me.”
Fitzwilliam spluttered on his brandy. “Truly?”
Darcy levelled serious eyes at him. “I am in earnest.”
Fitzwilliam sank back into his chair. “I am sorry, Darcy.”
Darcy pinched his nose again. “As am I, Fitz.”
They drank together in silence until Darcy shook himself a little and said, “Enough of this. Let us speak of something else. Is your mother still throwing ladies at you like a cricket bowler?”
Fitzwilliam chuckled darkly. “Yes. I do wish she would stop. Harry should wed before me—he is four years older and has a house.”
“That your parents gifted him last year. I had thought it might be because he had found someone he wished to wed, but no announcement has been forthcoming.”
“No, Harry has proven even more reluctant to wed than I am. I had thought he might settle down last autumn, but the lady he was paying attention to went back to the country and he has said nothing more about it. But we have never been particularly close. I do not expect him to confide such things to me.”
“Would it be so terrible if he never wed? Timothy is married and his wife is fecund, and your father has two other younger sons to inherit if needed. It is hardly necessary for Harry to continue the line.”
“True, but you know Mother has always had a soft spot for him. She would like to see grandchildren before she is much older.”
“She has five grandchildren and another due in summer!”
“Ah, but they are not Harry’s children,” replied Fitzwilliam with a knowing smile.
Darcy rolled his eyes. “I will never understand my aunts. Your mother has Timothy and Judith’s children to dote on, yet she will not be happy until Harry has his own.
Lady Clara is a perfectly good daughter, doing just as she ought, but Lady Hopewell does nothing but criticize her while letting Winters get away with anything and everything. ”
“Impossible women.”
Darcy stared darkly into his brandy. “I am thinking of speaking to your mother tomorrow.”
“Oh?”
“I want to ask her to be kind to Elizabeth. If she cannot do that, I think it best if we forego introductions until we are wed.”
Fitzwilliam sat up straighter. “Truly? Mother will be furious if you hide your bride from her.”
“I will be furious if I lose the woman I love to my family’s bad manners.”
Fitzwilliam winced. “Do you really think Elizabeth would break with you over such a thing?”
“She does not love me, Fitz.”
His cousin’s brows shot up at the easy admission.
“She has been nothing but honest with me from the beginning. She wishes to progress slowly so that she could come to know me and care for me. She does not wish for a marriage without affection.”
“You are in love with her. That is the opposite of without affection.”
“I know that, but I can hardly complain when she says she hopes to fall in love with me.”
Fitzwilliam nodded. “That is hard to argue with.”
“But she is not in love with me yet, and my family treating her like a milkmaid who wandered into the house will hardly encourage her.”
Fitzwilliam stifled a laugh. He knew it was not funny, not truly, but his cousin was so rarely out of sorts, it was somewhat amusing. “I will put in a good word with my parents.”
“Thank you, Fitz.” Darcy leaned back into his chair and rubbed his forehead tiredly. “Whatever happened to the lady you were so enamored of? What was her name? Miss Corning? Cartwright?”
“Emma Covington.” Fitzwilliam took a large swallow of his brandy.
“Yes, Miss Covington. Whatever happened to her? You seemed quite mad about her.”
“That was nearly two years ago, Darcy. Much has changed.” Fitzwilliam’s voice lowered and his expression darkened.
Darcy’s curiosity was piqued. “What has changed? Did the lady marry and I did not hear of it?”
“No, nothing like that.” Fitzwilliam stared at the fire, then finally turned back to face his cousin. “Her father invested unwisely. When he realized the investment was failing, he attempted to gamble his way out.”
“Oh, Fitz,” Darcy said compassionately. Financial ruin was one of the worst things that could happen to a family. He would not wish it on anyone. “Is all lost then?”
“The estate was not entailed, so they were able to sell it and recoup their losses. Her father died not a month afterward—he could not stand the shame of it.”
“I can imagine.”
“Her brother has let out the house in Town and they have been staying with Mrs. Partridge, their mother’s sister.”
“Is their mother still alive?”
“Yes, but she rarely goes out and has not been seen in some time. It is hardly surprising.”
“It was only Miss Covington and her brother, was it not?”
“Yes, thankfully. As I understand it, the sale of their home was enough to recoup some of the mother’s settlement and Miss Covington’s dowry, but nowhere near all.”
“Do you know what her dowry is now?”
“I had heard it was near ten thousand pounds, but I am not certain.”
“That is not insignificant.”
“No, but hardly enough to live on if one were to have a family.”
“It would not be easy, but with some assistance from your father, and your pay—”
“Darcy, Miss Bennet has turned you into a romantic! If we had had this conversation three months ago, you would have told me it was an unlucky turn and that I would find another lady I could tolerate enough to marry.”
Darcy looked at him with a wry grin. “I know. I have changed my tune rather spectacularly, have I not?”
Fitzwilliam chuckled. “That is a gross understatement. Father will not recognize you.”
“I hardly think that!”
“Think what you will, but you do smile an inordinate amount these days.”
“Elizabeth makes me happy,” he shrugged nonchalantly.
Fitzwilliam sighed. “May we all be so lucky, Cousin.”
Darcy looked at him with sympathy. “Is there no way to make it work with Miss Covington?”
“You know my situation. Unlike you, I am dependent on my father’s approval for my future prospects.”
“I thought your father had decided to settle some property on you.”
“He has. But it is not without conditions.”
“Ah.”
“Exactly.”
“He would not approve of Miss Covington? She was acceptable two years ago. Has she not maintained some connections?”
“I am sure she has, but Father is notoriously difficult to please, you know that.”
“Surely he would not withhold your birthright if you wished to marry,” said Darcy.
“If I married a woman he approved of, he would not. The irony, of course, if that if I married an heiress, I would not need my legacy.”
“That is ludicrous! Lord Blackburn’s investments are doing well, his eldest son is not a spendthrift or a gambler, and the harvest has been strong several years in a row now. He could well afford to give you a small estate in Staffordshire.”
“Unfortunately, what he can afford and what he will afford are two different things.”
Darcy shook his head. “If there is anything I can do, promise you will tell me.”
“I promise, but I doubt there is much you can do besides convince Father I have not lost my head entirely.”