Chapter Nine
Darcy sat by the window, watching the torrential rain pelting the beach, the horizon blurred and hazy grey. He had intended on accompanying his sister to join Mr. Marsh’s naturalist expedition that afternoon, but Georgiana received a note from Miss Bennet that morning which explained that the excursion had been postponed due to the weather.
Instead, Miss Bennet invited her new friend to take tea with her and pass an afternoon “playing the pianoforte very poorly, making mediocre attempts at various crafts, and generally indulging in such excessively diverting indolence as the dismal weather demands of a fine lady and her faithful companion.”
While Darcy found himself sulking over the exclusion of the gentlemen in this curiously worded invitation, he nearly missed his sister amusing Richard with a retelling of how Anne had as good as called Miss Bennet a servant. Richard had been heartily offended on Georgiana and Miss Bennet’s behalf and was resolved that Darcy should be equally indignant.
When Richard had gone on to suggest that Anne’s incivility must be further proof of some little envy, Darcy had quit the room in frustration. He had remained above an hour in the smaller parlor that looked down on the beach, brooding with a book in his lap.
“A classic Darcy pose,” Richard drawled as he sauntered into the room. “Does the rain not heighten your pensive sentiments? Do you even now ponder the merits of my argument that Anne’s behavior suggests jealousy over your affection, despite her marked preference for another?”
Darcy had indeed been thinking of Anne, though the direction of his thoughts had been kinder. He had worried for her, fearing her recent prickliness belied some private turmoil or unhappiness. Perhaps Sir Sidney’s luster had begun to lose its shine, or Lady Catherine’s domineering disapproval had become unbearable.
“I have no wish to taunt her so maliciously.”
Richard screwed up his face as he lunged back into a chair on the other side of the window and kicked his feet up on the table between them. “She taunts you with her new attachment.”
“I hardly believe she has set out to wound me. She has fallen prey to a practiced seducer, that is all. He is more affable and popular than I, which may hold some initial allure, but I know her to be a lady of substance, and superficial charms will not hold her regard. And a man of Sir Sidney’s disposition cannot long deceive a lady of Anne’s discernment; he will expose himself in some way, and she will see his true motives in pursuing her, amongst his other failings.”
“If only you could win her heart by apologizing for her failings. But I have presented you with a clear path to victory – I am put out that you will not even consider it.” As if to emphasize his wounded sensibilities, Richard brought his hand to his heart in a dramatic flourish.
“Can you not simply rejoice that Georgiana has made an excellent new friend in Miss Bennet? I have no wish to spoil it, as surely I would, in pretending to woo the lady. What if the scheme prevented her from finding a true suitor?”
“Georgie says Miss Bennet has no wish to find a suitor. I cannot say that I blame her, having seen the local supply. And she claims to be perfectly content with her life as it is, assisting her uncle in his great venture at the hotel, playing with her young cousins, and living a life of comfort in a beautiful place. You see, Georgie has told me all about the lady – we are a fount of useful information. Georgie would not mind at all, for I daresay she should rather like to have her Lizzy as a sister.”
The appellation Miss Bennet had seemed to suit the present Mrs. Bingley much better, when they had met years ago in Meryton. But such a title now seemed far too formal, when Lizzy conveyed all the irreverent mirth and irrepressible energy of Georgiana’s new friend.
Darcy sighed. “Would you have me then dash Georgiana’s hopes when your brilliant ruse works, and Anne and I are reconciled?”
“No indeed – I should rather think long and hard about why such an eventuality would be a disappointment to our dearest girl. My brilliant ruse – and indeed it is a stroke of genius – already has Georgie’s approval. Before she departed, she tasked me with persuading you. It is a noble quest, to be sure, but….”
“You have corrupted her thoroughly.” Darcy gave his cousin a wry smile.
Richard ignored him. “As protective as you are of our ward, I wonder that you should seek to marry a woman she despises.”
“Georgiana has not come to know Anne as I have, though she will in time see her as I do. She takes offense at Anne’s temporary distraction out of a misplaced sense of gratitude to me for caring for her as I did in Scotland. I had always meant to spend some time there improving the old pile for you, and I acted toward her as any good brother would, but I believe she feels obligated to resent Anne. It will pass.”
Richard only snorted, then crossed the room to pour a glass of brandy. He gestured with the decanter; Darcy gave a slight nod, and Richard poured a second glass. Then he stepped over to a mirror that hung on the wall and began to flirt with his own reflection. “And while we are entertaining absurd delusions, perhaps I might pay court to Lizzy myself.”
“Miss Bennet.”
“Oh come, come, we are practically family already.”
Darcy accepted the drink from Richard, who then resumed his seat nearby. “I think that unwise.”
“I shall not use her Christian name in company! But in private….” Richard waggled his eyebrows.
“I think it unwise of you to court her at all,” Darcy hissed, frowning into his glass of brandy.
“I do not believe you are in a strong position to call any courtship unwise, Darcy. Recommending myself to a beautiful, artless, and unattached lady who is already on intimate terms with my favorite relations seems to me an infinitely better idea than… whatever it is you are doing.”
“I am not entirely convinced Miss Bennet is unattached. I have heard that Sir Anthony Denham is interested in her.”
Richard rolled his eyes. “You heard that at dinner, when she called him a peacock and declared that she thought his very presence would spoil her fun. Then again, I can understand how you might interpret such protestations as confirmation of some secret tendre. You clearly have no notion of when a lady wishes to discourage a gentleman’s attentions.”
“My fault of understanding lies with the lady herself – we hardly know her.”
“Georgiana trusts her enough to have confided her secret, and that alone is a testament to her character.”
Darcy had been shocked to learn that Georgiana had shared such a sensitive piece of her history on so short an acquaintance, though he was strangely certain of Miss Bennet’s secrecy – in more ways than one. “When I was helping Georgiana to bed the night of the dinner party, I saw a bundle of letters on Miss Bennet’s table, and she made such haste to conceal them that I suspect they are of a romantic nature. She is certainly lovely and charming enough to have a beau already, even if she had chosen not to be equally forthcoming to Georgiana.”
“She is lovely and charming – I am glad you approve of her this much. I believe I shall commence making love to her directly.” Richard finished his brandy and stood, gazing out the window to assess whether the rain had grown any lighter.
Darcy bristled at his cousin. “What, now? In such weather as this?”
Richard picked up the book in Darcy’s lap and examined it. “Perhaps you ought to do more than pretend to read novels. Anybody who reads them knows that it would be excessively romantic if I were to go to her in the rain, perhaps with my damp shirt clinging to my chest – if there were sufficient thunder and lightning, we should be most passionately obliged to wed immediately – perhaps a few ghosts in the hotel would be so overwhelming that she would swoon directly into childbed.”
“That is vulgar – how dare you.”
“And now you are a valiant defender of ladies’ virtue? Shocking that the fairer sex is not falling at your feet.”
Darcy was at the end of his patience. “It is no shock that you are acting quite the ass, Richard!”
“I am only bored and annoyed at your stubbornness.”
“If you are in want of occupation, perhaps you might try reading. I presume you do know how.”
“Read a novel? Yes, and then I shall mend my bonnet!”
A wicked smile began to tug at Darcy’s lips. “Scoff all you like, but I will have something to say tomorrow at Mrs. Bevan’s reading, and you will have only your japes to recommend you to the ladies.”
“A mark ever in my favor. But I suppose you must genuinely enjoy novels, else one might suggest your interest in them now is only meant to impress Anne tomorrow. But that would be just the sort of ruse you should abhor.”
Darcy glowered, and Richard took a few steps toward the door. “Well, Miss Bennet seemed very fond of Mrs. Bevan’s novels. Perhaps I shall go and ask if I might borrow one.”
“I hope you would not flirt with her on a lark, if you mean nothing by it. From what I understood of her circumstances when we met in Meryton, she is no heiress – and her uncle has children of his own to consider.”
“Darcy, you snob!” Richard guffawed. “I have the Scottish pile you were so good as to improve for me during Georgie’s ordeal.”
Darcy frowned, speaking his thought aloud in a moment of regrettable pique. “It would be a pity to confine such a bright, warm creature to such a cold, remote place.”
“Indeed it would,” Richard agreed with a grin. “But I could always sell the place and invest the profits here.”
Darcy set the book aside and gaped at his cousin. “You are serious.”
Again Richard shrugged. “There are any number of pretty girls here in Sanditon, as she is as good as any of them. Perhaps one with more money would be better, but I am not handsome enough to be as picky as that.”
“I should hardly class Miss Bennet with the other young ladies we have seen here – nor would I consider it a punishment to choose her over a dowry.”
“Yes, exactly.” Richard looked as if he would say more, but they were interrupted by a footman who had come from the hotel with a message. Georgiana meant to remain at the Gardiner loft for dinner that evening, and the gentlemen at the cottage had been invited to join them at seven o’clock.
Richard said no more of Miss Bennet that afternoon, leaving Darcy to his book, but it was impossible that the lady should be far from Darcy’s thoughts in the hours that seemed to drag, until finally it was time to attend their engagement.
At the appointed hour, Darcy was vexed to see Richard so finely attired; he resolved to watch his cousin closely throughout the meal. It was an intimate dinner, and though the Gardiner apartment was elegantly appointed and the cuisine was exceptional, the conversation was informal. To Darcy’s relief, Richard’s air was not overly flirtatious.
Initially, Miss Bennet did a great deal of speaking, and soon managed to soften her uncle’s sober demeanor, coaxing him into sharing anecdotes about the hotel which were rendered more amusing by her own witty contribution to the conversation. Richard and Darcy listened with equal attention when Mr. Gardiner spoke of his late wife’s fondness for Sanditon, which rivaled the affection she held for her childhood home, the small village of Lambton situated not five miles from Pemberley.
Darcy passed a happy hour listening to the lively banter of his companions, and even speaking a little more than was usually his wont. He slowly forgot his intention to determine whether Richard was seriously interested in courting Miss Bennet, or if he meant only to badger Darcy into doing so, either in earnest or as a ruse to woo Anne. Richard paid Miss Bennet no particular attention, and neither did Darcy, though both gentlemen reveled in Georgiana’s evident pleasure at having found such an easy and open friendship.
By the end of the meal, when Darcy was certain that Richard had merely concocted a red herring scheme out of sheer boredom, he found he was not ready for the ladies to withdraw. Richard wished to hear more of Mr. Gardiner’s other ventures in Sanditon, and seemed adamant that Darcy should listen with the same enthusiasm, but this proved impossible when the sounds of laughter and intermittent tinkling of piano keys drifted down the corridor.
Eventually Darcy excused himself to join the ladies, but he got no further than the doorway for a full quarter of an hour. He leaned against the door jam, silently observing his sister play a duet with her new friend; it was the first time he had ever seen her do such a thing. Miss Bennet played well, though she was not as fine a performer as Georgiana. She was bolder where his sister was timid, and seemed more inclined to make mistakes simply so that she could laugh at them.
The pair whispered between themselves, giggling over private jokes and switching between complex arias and what sounded like jaunty tavern ballads, completely unaware of Darcy’s presence in the corridor. He would have been content to remain there much longer, until Richard very smugly discovered him in such a posture, with an expression that promised to tease him thoroughly at the first opportunity.
***
Mrs. Bevan’s reading reception was held at Sanditon House the following afternoon, and Georgiana asked if she could join Miss Bennet in one of the phaetons the hotel had on hand for let. Darcy was inclined to suggest they all ride together in his barouche, but Richard gave permission with alacrity. “Excellent idea, Georgie!”
Darcy looked askance at his daft cousin. “I cannot agree that it is. I fear the ground may be too soft after yesterday’s rain.”
“But the sun is out, and I am an excellent driver!” Georgiana bounced up on her toes and moved closer to Richard, her hands pressed together as she waited for her brother to capitulate.
Richard rested a hand on Georgiana’s shoulder in support. “Surely we could go on horseback, Darcy, and ride alongside them?”
“And arrive so filthy with mud that we are not fit to be seen?”
“Pah, perhaps it is a foolish notion.” Richard gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “After hearing of Anne’s sudden equestrian fascination, I thought… well, forget it.”
Darcy was not too foolish to see through the manipulation, but Georgiana’s enthusiasm was sincere enough, and he had never been able to deny her anything she desired. He glanced out the window, studying the sunlit countryside. “You must keep close to us for safety, and do not allow yourself to become distracted, no matter how amusing your passenger is.”
Darcy winced at his sister’s squeal of glee and allowed her to throw her arms around him. “Thank you, brother! A brief ride in the sunshine will be just the thing for all of us.”
After dressing themselves for the occasion, the trio walked along the cliffs to the hotel and met Miss Bennet by the fountain in the courtyard. “I have just sent Larkins to bring the phaeton round for us,” she told them cheerfully. “There may be a short wait, as I believe a few other carriages have been sent for with the same destination as our own, and I insist on always being last, after the guests of the hotel.”
She sat down on the stone bench that encircled the large fountain, and gestured for her companions to do likewise. Georgiana perched on one side of Miss Bennet and Richard took the other side, asking, “Are you often using the phaetons the hotel has on offer?”
Miss Bennet gave a rueful shake of her head. “It is seldom that I do not walk to my destination, for there is no place in Sanditon that is further from the hotel than I should like to ramble, anyhow. If weather is any impediment, or speed a consideration, my uncle has a very fine barouche that is always at my disposal. I daresay he wishes we used it more, but I am very fond of walking.”
Darcy had not seated himself with the others, but stood at some remove, as was his wont. “Do you ride, Miss Bennet?”
The lady seemed to grow a little paler as she answered him. “No, not at all. In truth, I am rather frightened of horses. I can tolerate the phaeton well enough, and I am sure I shall even learn to like such open equipages, for I shall have little choice in that matter. Sir Thomas has just gifted Charlotte – Lady Parker – a very fine gig as a gift upon the birth of their daughter. He thinks her a remarkable genius for so prudently delivering their child in April, so that she shall be recovered in time to enjoy all the festivities of summer.”
Georgiana perked up at the mention of one of her favorite topics, and Darcy was pleased to see her so expansive. “The more you tell me of Sanditon, the more I am certain I shall never wish to leave! Nearly three months of picnics and sea-bathing, natural exploration and dinner parties! Oh, and the assemblies – and surely there must be a private ball or two! You will practice all the steps with me, will you not, Lizzy?”
“Have I any choice?”
Georgiana laughed, a sound still miraculous to Darcy even though it had become a common thing since coming to Sanditon. “No indeed!”
Richard feigned indignation. “Now Georgie, you must be fair – you shall have one perfectly willing partner at the cottage.”
Miss Bennet arched an eyebrow as she peered up at Darcy. “Only one? My, my. I know two things about Mr. Darcy with absolute certainty – he is a devoted brother, and a most reluctant dancer. And now these two notions are at a variance. I wonder, sir, how you shall act.”
Richard guffawed. “Ha! She has certainly taken your likeness, Darcy! But you know, Miss Bennet, you have never seen Darcy when he is wooing a lady. Come to think of it, neither have I! Ha!”
“Oh, I had not considered that – surely it must be a very tempting inducement.” Miss Bennet gave him a perfectly innocent smile, all the wickedness of her mischief sparkling in her eyes.
Darcy gave a little chuckle, stalling for a moment as he attempted to conjure some clever reply. “I imagine that the assemblies here are lively affairs, which do not often see the ladies slighted by any of the gentlemen, and so you need not fear on my account. Indeed, any lady in want of a partner had better prepare herself for my gallantry – I tell you this now, Miss Bennet, so that you will not faint away from astonishment on Thursday next, and thus miss out on that activity you are so fond of.”
Richard smirked. “I expect to see you dancing every dance, cousin.”
Nearly at the same moment, Georgiana said, “But Lizzy has been slighted already! Next week is the very first assembly of the summer, and nobody has yet claimed her first dance. I shall hardly enjoy standing up with Mr. Marsh if she is sitting out.”
Darcy frowned. “Mr. Marsh has already asked for your opening set?”
“Not yet, but Lizzy is certain he shall. I intend to think of it very hard when we are speaking together this afternoon.”
Miss Bennet glanced up at Darcy again, this time a look of bemusement in her eye, as if she half expected him to disapprove of the expectations she had raised in his sister. Taking leave entirely of his senses, Darcy only winked at her.
Richard had thankfully not observed this, but encouraged Georgiana with a gentle pat on the shoulder. “I am sure he shall ask you, even if the bookworm may need a little nudge.” He looked at Darcy expectantly.
As if still in some trance of sociable silkiness, Darcy gave a little bow. “I shall allay any anxiety you may feel, Georgie, by asking Miss Bennet for her opening set directly.”
Darcy was as astonished by his words as his companions appeared to be. And yet, it was a fine idea. There was perhaps a modicum of merit in Richard’s notion of arousing a little envy in Anne, and standing up with a beautiful woman would certainly assuage his own dismay when Anne inevitably danced the first with Sir Sidney.
Miss Bennet blushed very prettily as she accepted and began to fidget with a bundle of books she held in her lap. Darcy suspected he knew the answer, but to dispel the awkwardness he asked, “What have you there?”
“I am bringing all my novels by Mrs. Bevan for her to sign. I have wished to invite her for tea and ask her more privately for such a favor, but my uncle does not allow guests of the hotel at our private home. How fortunate that you are all not actually guests of the hotel, but of the cottage, which has proved in yet another way exceptional.”
Georgiana nodded her agreement. “Indeed it is, and what a relief that there was no room at the hotel, for I intend to visit every day!”