Chapter 38 The Fishing Party #3
Darcy turned away to look out the window.
“The American will arrive sometime tomorrow afternoon. I will take the men to Kimpton in the morning. Some will go, some will remain. You will not be missed. The haberdasher there has an excellent selection of men’s gloves and other fine leather goods.
” He mused. “And there is also the confectioner with those puddings. We can while away some time there sampling the other varieties. But Richard, do your best to return in time to meet the American. Hurst knows you wanted to see the rifles. He will ask after you.”
“I will,” Richard said. “And Darcy, thank you.”
Darcy clasped his hand. “You have my blessing, cousin. God help us both when Lewis learns of your marriage.”
Mary knocked softly at Elizabeth’s chamber door.
“Come in,” Elizabeth called. Mary found her seated near the fire, drying her hair.
She sat near her, eyes bright, and cheeks glowing. “Lizzy, you will never believe me, but Mr. Lewis has asked to court me.”
Elizabeth looked up, astonished. “Mary! This is all very sudden. He has barely laid eyes on you. I have not seen him speak to you in the time he has been with us. Are you quite sure you want this? Did you not tell me he was rude to you, and that he threw a stone which injured you?”
Mary bit her lip, then said, “Lizzy, that is all forgotten. It was a misunderstanding. He was worried about his sister and kicking stones to vent his ire. He did not see me sitting in the garden on the other side of a thick hedge. We spent some time speaking of his hopes this morning. We walked together, and to say truth, I felt very comfortable in his presence. He is not an ogre. And he says that if, after the courtship, I find that he makes me miserable, I need not marry him.”
Elizabeth covered her mouth to hide a laugh. “Did you tell him you thought he would make you miserable?”
“I did,” Mary said earnestly. “It was what I believed at the time, and I thought it best to tell him the truth. He wishes to take me to meet his mother. He says she will tell me what a wonderful man he is.”
Elizabeth laughed outright. “Well, you are certainly frank with one another. When are you to see his mother?”
“Tomorrow. He said his sister would act as chaperone.”
Elizabeth grew thoughtful. “I shall leave Jane here as hostess and travel with you myself. It is only right that I chaperone my own sister and see for myself what sort of man Mr. Lewis is. Travel has a way of revealing one’s true nature.”
Mary nodded. “That is true. But Lizzy, I really like him. I am of a mind to marry him.”
Elizabeth arched a brow. “You hardly know him, Mary. How can you be certain?”
Her sister’s lips curved into a mischievous smile. “Well, he looks rather like Sir Lancelot.”
Both women broke into laughter.
“And he wants to save me from the thirty-three-year-old widower with four children, who he says, is much too old for me. When he saw that I love children, he said he would give me as many as I desired.”
Elizabeth gasped and laughed harder. “No! Did you blush?”
Mary smiled shyly. “I did not know where to look, but I think I bore it well enough.” She took Elizabeth’s hand in hers.
“I believe what attracts me most to him is his frankness. He is a pragmatic man, Lizzy. He tells me exactly what he thinks. There is no guessing or wondering at hidden meanings, as I must do with Papa. I could never marry a philosopher like Papa, but this man is open and honest, and I shall never have to puzzle over what he means or fear that I am too inane to understand him.”
Elizabeth placed her other hand over her sister’s. “Then I am very happy for you, Mary. I believe you will be a happy woman.”
The sisters talked and laughed together until Ellis entered to dress Elizabeth’s hair.
That evening, Mr. Lewis seated Mary beside him at dinner, and Isabella took the chair on her other side, eager to become better acquainted with her brother’s intended. Both Lewises found Mary amiable and serene, much like her sister Jane.
After dinner, when the men remained at table with their port, Richard sat with Hurst, who passed him the American’s letter.
It contained all the details about the new rifles, their novel locking mechanism, and their precision.
Bingley asked to see it next, and soon the men were deep in discussion over the merits of various hunting pieces.
In the drawing room, Elizabeth and Jane sat with Mrs. Hurst, who read a letter from Caroline aloud.
She wrote how wonderful it was to be married to a gentleman who had ten thousand a year, who owned a fine house in London and an estate in Yorkshire.
“The family is making much of her,” Mrs. Hurst said. “She seems perfectly satisfied.”
Jane and Elizabeth exchanged a look of quiet relief and gratitude. Perhaps, Elizabeth thought, her gentle sister would enjoy a peaceful marriage, free of the harridan.
That evening, when Darcy entered Elizabeth’s bedchamber for their nightly reading ritual, his expression was so dark that she straightened in her chair at once.
“Sir, have I upset you in some way?” she asked quietly.
He reached for her hand. “No, darling. But I am very worried. Come, sit with me on the couch so that we may speak.”
Her heart began to race as she rose. What could be so wrong that he looked as though there had been a death in the family? She sat beside him, her hands folded tightly in her lap, waiting.
Darcy stared into the fire before he spoke. “Richard is leaving in the morning for Matlock. He means to purchase a common license. He and Miss Lewis intend to marry when the seven days have elapsed. I agreed that you and I will stand up with them as witnesses.”
He paused, watching her closely, but she remained silent.
“Lewis has disliked my cousin since our days at university,” he continued. “In truth, I believe he hates him. I cannot comprehend why. We spent every summer together when we were boys and were all good friends. Yet now…” He trailed off, his eyes fixed on the flames.
Elizabeth’s voice trembled slightly. “What is it, Fitzwilliam? What do you fear? Will Mr. Lewis call Richard out? Will he meet him on a field of honor?”
Darcy turned to her. “Lewis can be obstinate. His sister is five and twenty; she is well able to decide her own fate. Both she and Richard have waited for each other these many years. Their attachment is no passing fancy. Richard has been faithful; there has never been anyone else for him.”
Elizabeth pressed a hand to her heart. “Oh, Fitzwilliam, what shall we do? The fault is mine, entirely mine. If someone dies, their blood will be on my hands. I did this. I thought myself so very clever. I asked Richard whether there was a woman he wished to court this summer, and he asked that I invite her. I had no idea there was animosity between the two men.”
Darcy shook his head. “Elizabeth, I believe all will be well if we stand with Richard. But I fear your sister’s courtship with Lewis may be lost over this marriage.
Still, if you, Mary, and I are present when Richard and Isabella announce their marriage, perhaps Lewis will control himself.
Perhaps your sister’s presence will temper him. ”
“Or else,” Elizabeth whispered, “he will disregard us all and behave badly, and she will break with him. Oh, this is very bad, and it is all my fault.” She sat staring at her hands, then looked up and caught his sleeve.
“He will not turn his anger on you, will he? You are his host; he would not call you out?”
Darcy drew her gently into his lap and folded her against his chest. “No, Elizabeth. No man of honor would challenge his host. And Miss Lewis is of age. I believe that if you, Mary, and I stand together, Lewis will behave as a gentleman. He was born and bred to behave as a gentleman; a lifetime of training cannot be so easily set aside. But I did not wish to keep this from you. We promised one another honesty in all things.”
She lifted her face to him. “Fitzwilliam, I am afraid. What if he does hurt you?”
Darcy sighed and stroked her hair. “I did not mean to alarm you, my darling. I truly do not think there is reason to fear the worst. Did I do well to tell you?”
She inhaled a long, slow breath. “Yes. And I am sorry for reacting like a ninny. You did well to tell me, and I will not fear. You are right. All three men are gentlemen. I doubt Richard would accept a challenge, nor would Isabella permit it. And I shall do everything in my power to prevent it.” She caught hold of his lapels.
“But you must promise me you will not accept a challenge, should he turn on you.”
“You have my promise, my darling. I have you and Georgiana both in my care, and I would never risk my life or my health to your harm or sorrow.” Darcy kissed her temple, smiling faintly as he held her close.
What an earnest, sweet woman she was. He saw deep feeling in her eyes.
Was it love? Had she come to care for him already, or was it only common humanity, fear for the life of another?
How he longed to carry her to her bed and love her, but he held himself back, contented for now to be granted unspoken leave to keep her in his arms and offer comfort.