Chapter 13
During the homily at Sunday Services, Darcy couldn’t resist stealing a fleeting glance or two at Elizabeth.
Although he admired her, he wasn’t foolish enough to be caught watching her, but he couldn’t deny that he missed being in her company.
This revelation had taken him by surprise.
Those three days had been the best since he had arrived at Netherfield – that is, if one didn’t consider the fact that he was trapped in another man’s body.
He had enjoyed sitting beside her at meals, watching her quietly read and embroider, listening to her play pianoforte. Her smiles, her gentle manner, her soft blushes, her bewitching eyes.
Dear Lord. Instead of pining for a woman well beyond his reach, he ought to be praying for deliverance from his present difficulties.
What’s more, he ought to apply himself more fully to the problem at hand.
He would have no chance of attaining any goals to which he might aspire without resuming his true form.
He could never take a wife or have a family of his own; it would be fraudulent to marry with a false name.
He couldn’t spend time with his family or celebrate the holidays with them.
What fate would befall his estates if he were unable to see to their upkeep?
Would he have to rely on Georgiana to ensure that Pemberley didn’t fall into ruin?
He’d never thought to prepare her for such an eventuality.
He was jolted from these dark thoughts when the entire congregation stood to recite a prayer. He quickly joined them, chiding himself for allowing his mind to wander and imagining the worst possible outcome.
After Services, he followed Charles, who greeted the other parishioners by name.
How he managed to recall all their names, Darcy couldn’t fathom.
Naturally, he recalled the Bennets and the Lucases, the two prominent families in the community.
He also knew the officers’ names with ease, since he had recently dined with them, but most of the other names escaped him.
“Good morning, Mr and Mrs Goulding,” Charles said, deftly identifying the couple for Darcy.
“We enjoyed having you at Haye Park a fortnight ago, Mr Darcy,” Mr Goulding said, shaking Charles’s hand.
“You recall Mr and Mrs Harrington, don’t you, Charles?” Bingley said, gesturing to the couple.
Although Darcy recalled dining with the family recently, he wouldn’t have remembered their names without Charles’s assistance.
Charles continued in this same vein with other neighbours, saving Darcy the embarrassment of forgetting their names.
However, when it came to the merchants’ names, Darcy was at a complete loss.
When the green grocer, the milliner, and the dry goods proprietor greeted him, all he could do was bow and smile in Charles’s amiable manner, while pressing on towards the door.
Naturally, Caroline and Louisa ignored everyone except Jane Bennet.
Charles appeared overjoyed to be near his favourite. “I hope you are fully restored to good health, Miss Bennet,” he said with far more enthusiasm than Darcy would have preferred.
Jane offered a polite smile. “Thank you, Mr Darcy, I am much improved.”
“And you must be relieved to be back home, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said.
“Indeed, we both—”
“Oh, Mr Bingley,” Mrs Bennet said, barging into the group and curtsying grandly. “How grateful we are for your tender care of our dear Jane. As you see, she is nearly restored to her full beauty.”
Yes, matchmaking is definitely on her agenda, Darcy thought. “We are all delighted, Mrs Bennet,” he said, knowing Charles would have said something to that effect.
Once outside, Sir William Lucas greeted him with his usual jovial reserve. “A fine morning, is it not?”
Darcy despaired at the threatening grey clouds overhead for failing to serve their proper function. If they had done what God intended, everyone would be dashing off to their conveyances to avoid being drenched rather than casually socialising with the other parishioners.
Mrs Long brought her two nieces forward and repeated their names with such frequency that Darcy couldn’t help but remember them. Unfortunately, he doubted he would be able to recall which was Julia and which was Lavinia.
“You remember Mr Robinson, of course,” Sir William said, gesturing to an elderly man leaning on a walking stick.
Darcy vaguely recalled speaking to the man at the assembly.
Mrs Finch proclaimed her delight in their patronage at the Meryton Inn yesterday. “Two more distinguished gentlemen have never been seen in our coffee room.”
When Mr Fletcher thanked him for his frequent orders from his butcher shop, Darcy shook the man’s hand and thanked him for his excellent service.
“The monthly assembly is scheduled for Tuesday sennight, and I shall hope to see you all there,” Sir William said with a merry laugh.
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Charles said, to which Darcy smiled and nodded while groaning internally.
He couldn’t imagine what had come over Charles, to make such a statement on his behalf. Assemblies were the worst form of drudgery imaginable. Once he changed back to his true self, he would make his excuses, escape back to town, and avoid the whole lot of them.
Relieved that he and Charles had managed to get through the morning without incident, he boarded the chaise and headed back to Netherfield with his housemates.
“Mrs Bennet was in rare form,” Caroline said. “There’s a matchmaker if I ever saw one.”
Despite having drawn this exact same conclusion, Darcy shot her a warning glance. Thinking it was one thing, but saying it aloud was another.
Caroline ignored his hint. “You can’t deny that she has her eye on you for Jane, Charles.”
“Perhaps, but I am well able to handle any matchmaking mama,” Darcy said. “Every mother of young daughters is the same, and I’m accustomed to appeasing them.”
“Perhaps, but I believe Mr Darcy may supplant you, Charles,” Caroline said with a snide smirk. “He watched Jane most carefully during the entire service.”
Charles fixed an angry scowl on his sister. “Aren’t you clever.”
Undeterred by this remark, Caroline continued. “I’ll not deny that she’s a fetching creature, but I suspect this is nothing but another of Charles’s infatuations. In another week, he’ll likely forget her like he did with Lady Alice and Destiny Haversham.”
“I’ve grown weary of this topic,” Charles said.
Disregarding his similar remarks to Charles during the ride to the Blue Goose, Darcy instantly rose to his friend’s defence.
“No, by all means, let’s discuss my interest in Jane Bennet, and Lady Alice, and anyone else who strikes your fancy.
Then, perhaps we might next discuss why you haven’t secured a match since you came out to society two years ago. Nearly three, if I’m not mistaken.”
The teasing glint in Caroline’s eyes vanished, replaced by a scathing glare.
“You need not be so unkind, Charles,” Louisa said, prompting an awkward silence.
As usual, Henry grinned like a fool. “Is it just me, or is it a trifle warm in here?”
Not a moment too soon for Darcy’s comfort, the carriage turned into Netherfield’s cobblestone driveway.
He began to hope for rain so he and Charles could go outdoors and execute their plan. They’d had no success without it, and it had become even more evident that the reversal was dependant on the weather.
Naturally, the rain failed to cooperate with their plans.
***
The ladies retired shortly after supper that evening, and the men took the opportunity to escape the house.
Armed with lanterns and a bottle of wine, they returned to the brook to fortify themselves and discuss the next phase of the plan.
Charles couldn’t help noticing that despite wanting to be master of his own manor house these past two years, he felt more comfortable away from the house than he did inside.
After arranging the lanterns near the bench, Charles drank from the bottle, then passed it to Darcy.
“We carried ourselves off quite well today at church, don’t you think?” Darcy said. “No one suspected anything was amiss.”
Charles shook his head at the memory of the encounter with the neighbours. “It’s no wonder the gods are angry with me, since I’ve been lying through my teeth this past week.”
“The gods wouldn’t punish us for lying since they’re guilty of it themselves,” Darcy said, passing the wine to Henry.
“I still say it’s witchcraft or the dark arts, like an evil wizard or a warlock,” Henry said with a careless shrug.
Darcy sprang up from the bench. “I saw a man like that—twice. Do you remember the ancient hooded man at Vauxhall Gardens, Charles?”
“The crazed man with the flowing white beard? I thought he was dressed as a monk.”
Darcy paced, scattering the fallen leaves. “I first saw him on St James’s Street in August. He warned me that Georgiana was in danger, saying that the wolf was at the door.”
“Sounds ominous,” Henry said, to which Charles heartily agreed.
“Naturally, I thought he was insane and didn’t believe him, but he couldn’t have been more accurate.
As a precaution, I travelled to Ramsgate and found a fortune hunter attempting to court her,” Darcy said, then stopped abruptly to face the bench.
“Then I saw him again in the gardens that night in September. I’m absolutely certain it was the same man.
In both occasions, he was accompanied by thunder and lightning, and he vanished in an instant. ”
A cold shiver ran through Charles’s spine. “Just like the night we changed places.”
“Did you see him that night, Henry?” Darcy inquired.
“I couldn’t see anything with the rain pelting my face.”