Chapter Nine #2
“You say that now, but you will soon defect when the Bingleys arrive, which will be in less than a fortnight. They have rented the very finest townhouse on Grand Avenue – the one you pointed out when we were walking along the beach.”
“The yellow one with the darling gazebo overlooking the water?”
“The very one. I confess to some little wickedness in offering you the cottage, for I feared that in suggesting you let a house, you might have selected the one I wanted Lady Denham to save for Jane and Charles.”
Darcy took a step closer to the fountain. “The Bingleys are coming to Sanditon? I suppose you have a more faithful correspondent in the Missus than I have in the Mister .”
Miss Bennet smiled at Darcy once again. “I shall give you the credit of being too much a gentleman to deny me the satisfaction of making such an announcement, even if you were as well-informed as I am. But it is little wonder – I believe that most ladies are better correspondents than their male counterparts.”
Georgiana gasped. “Oh no, Lizzy – our first disagreement! I cannot share your view, for I know my brother places perhaps too much faith in his own correspondence.”
“Quite right.” Richard agreed.
Darcy paced, knowing they were baiting him. “Despite the heavy praise from my relations, I cannot imagine any means of declaring my earnest regard for a well-written letter without sounding hopelessly stodgy.”
“But Lizzy, you must know some gentlemen to be capable of corresponding, for I saw you trying to hide a packet of letters on the night I stayed with you.” Georgiana clamped a hand over her mouth at her careless comment, and Miss Bennet turned a violent shade of scarlet.
It was then that Larkins finally arrived with the phaeton, a groom leading two very fine horses behind the equipage. “Well, we had best be off, then,” Miss Bennet said briskly. “It is beginning to cloud over, and but we may yet arrive before it begins to rain.”
“It cannot rain,” Georgiana insisted. “There is some blue sky in the west – we shall have to chase it.”
They set off on the gravelly road that led westward along the cliffs. Darcy and Richard rode behind the phaeton to allow the ladies an unobstructed view, which was a very fine one, despite all the mud that Darcy had feared. It was no more than ten minutes before Sanditon House came into view, a small but stately manor about half the size of Netherfield.
A bend in the road brought a wide expanse of thick mud into view, obstructing their approach to the manor. There were deep ruts in the grass along the side of the road; Darcy hoped his sister would see them, and swerve around the mud as the other carriages before them must have done. He heard feminine laughter from the phaeton ahead and called out to them, advising his sister to bear toward the right, but instead she drove straight through the large muddy patch.
His heart sank into his stomach at the loud crack. One of the wheels broke as the phaeton became stuck, its seating lurching precariously to one side. Georgiana and Miss Bennet tumbled into one another as they clung to the seat, trying not to tumble down into the mud several feet below them.
Darcy was off his horse in an instant. He ran to their aid and was a few paces away from the phaeton when the ground beneath his feet dropped sharply, the mud so deep he slid and landed on his backside with an indecorous squelch. Richard edged his own horse closer, howling with laughter.
Still clinging to one another in the precariously positioned seat of the phaeton, Georgiana and Miss Bennet called out their assurances that they were unharmed. Darcy fumbled for his footing but was unable to extricate himself from the muck without accidentally kicking at the broken wheel, causing the phaeton to shift again. Georgiana squealed; Miss Bennet actually tumbled out of the equipage.
She landed with her legs in the mud and the rest of her body in Darcy’s lap, and burst into riotous laughter. “I beg your finest pardon, sir.”
Darcy managed to sit up and looked down at Miss Bennet who had managed to smear mud across her face despite landing on her back. He reflexively cradled her in his arms. For a moment he could only look down at her in wonder, at the fullness of her bosom and the wildness of her blowsy hair – and the beguiling amusement in her mud-spattered countenance. She was exquisite, and he was mortified. “Are you hurt?”
She tried to sit up, and Darcy gently helped her acclimate herself. She gave every part of herself a wiggle as if to determine whether she had been injured, and then winced. “My ankle – I think I struck a stone that was buried beneath the mud. Oh dear, and my books are all ruined. They landed on my leg, it is sure to bruise.” She tugged at her skirts, smearing mud once more as she searched for the injury in question. Her stocking was torn away in one small area, revealing a jagged cut just above the top of her ankle boot.
“Can you move it?”
She turned her foot to the right, then to the left, and cried out sharply. As she recoiled, she brought a hand behind herself, clutching at her lower back. “I think I landed directly atop your knee.”
By now, Richard had maneuvered his horse carefully through the mud and gotten close enough to the phaeton to lift Georgiana out of harm’s way without either of them dirtying themselves.
“Oh Lizzy, I am so sorry! Can you ever forgive me? I did not mean to hurt you!”
Miss Bennet smiled bravely at Georgiana. “I know, dearest – I am not cross with you. Indeed, it is a very fortuitous place to have such an accident, for Charlotte shall dote and fuss until I am right as rain.”
“Speaking of….” Darcy groaned. Grey clouds had begun to gather, and he felt the first droplets of rain on his face. “We ought to get indoors before we all catch cold.”
Darcy shambled to his feet and then extended his hands down to Miss Bennet, helping her to her feet. He clasped her hands in his as she slowly hopped forward, shifting her weight from the injured ankle. After a few steps she stumbled into him, the mud of her dress transferring onto the front of his clothing. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and she grasped at his shoulders, her face again turning a most becoming shade of pink.
“Sorry,” she murmured, averting her gaze.
“My apologies,” Darcy said at the same moment. He took a slight step back, his hands bracing her arms. “Let me help you up onto my horse. We are nearly there.”
“No!” The color drained from her face and she looked at him in wide-eyed horror. “I was not exaggerating my fear of horses – if anything, I understated the matter. I am sure I can manage on foot.”
“You are injured. I could not possibly allow it.” As if to emphasize his point, the rain began to fall faster.
“Do let him help you, Miss Bennet,” Richard said. “We will ride on to the manor and let them know to prepare a hot bath for you, and whatever else you require.”
“Georgie can take my horse,” Darcy said, still holding onto Miss Bennet for support. “If Miss Bennet will not ride, I shall carry her.”
“That is not necessary. If you will hold onto one of my arms, I shall be able to walk the rest of the way to the house.” Miss Bennet shifted in his arms, glancing over at her ruined books with a heavy sigh.
Richard maneuvered his horse toward Darcy’s and took the reins in hand, bearing Georgiana in his arms as he steered both animals onward to the manor. Darcy watched them go before attempting to guide Miss Bennet, but it was no use. She could only take small, uneven steps, and wobbled a great deal. At this rate, the rain would drench them completely before they reached their destination.
Without another word, Darcy simply scooped her up and began talking wide strides forward, rather enjoying the feel of her in his arms.
“Mr. Darcy!”
“Miss Bennet, I do not lightly request the opening set of any dance. Having done so not a half hour ago, I cannot bear the indignity of my partner being unable to stand up with me.”
She laughed, her damp hair falling loose against his chest. Her grey eyes darkened as the sun slipped fully behind the rain clouds, and the skies opened up at last. Rain fell over them in a heavy sheet, and Miss Bennet gave a little squeal at the chill of it. She nuzzled into him, undoubtedly for the warmth, and Darcy fixed his gaze at the manor ahead, but his heart and mind had begun to run wild.
“You smell nice.”
“Pardon?” Darcy willed himself not to glance down at her again.
“I – I said I shall need some ice. For my ankle.”
“I am certain Lady Parker shall prove eminently resourceful.”
“This is heavy praise, sir.”
“Well, you do have excellent taste in friends.” He could feel the rumbling of laughter in her body as he drew her closer into his chest.
When they reached the manor, the front doors were thrown open for them. The Parkers and all their guests had come into the spacious vestibule, aflutter with excitement. Richard and Georgiana already had blankets wrapped about their shoulders, and Sir Thomas Parker had two more for Darcy and Miss Bennet.
Anne lingered at the periphery of the noisy crowd, clutching Miss Lovelace’s arm as she scoffed at the muddy state of the latest arrivals. Sir Sidney stood at her side, looking amused. “What jolly good fun! Playing in the mud was vastly amusing when I was a child – I reckon it must be just the same even now, mucking about as wild as you like! What do you think, Anne?”
Anne sniffed, then trilled with haughty laughter. “I have always said you have a filthy mind!”
Lady Parker rushed forward, taking the extra blankets from her husband. “Oh dear, you look like you have been through quite the ordeal.”
“They look far too cozy, if you ask me.” Sir Anthony Denham swaggered forward with a covetous gaze, raking his eyes over Miss Bennet’s wet form, still in Darcy’s arms.
Lady Parker shoved him aside. “We did not ask you.”
Sir Anthony grimaced at his hostess and persisted in haranguing Darcy. “Where is her uncle? I daresay he would call you out for taking such liberties!”
“Perhaps you should go and fetch him, then,” Miss Bennet quipped.
“Her ankle is injured, and perhaps her leg,” Darcy said to Lady Parker.
“The colonel told us. The servants are drawing hot baths for both of you upstairs, and Sir Thomas and I shall loan you some fresh clothing.”
Sir Anthony had not ceased his blustering. “Go and fetch Sir Edward in this beastly weather? I could not possibly! But what you really require in a physician – this brute may have even worsened your injuries, fair Miss Bennet.”
“What a pity you are far too finely dressed to trouble yourself in fetching the doctor,” Miss Bennet drawled.
Lady Parker began to drape the blankets over Darcy and Miss Bennet, both of whom had begun to shiver a little. Sir Anthony gasped. “Lady Parker, that is hardly decent! Have you no regard for your friend’s reputation? For her modesty?”
“Yes, and thus I cannot allow anybody to gape at her in a wet gown,” Lady Parker hissed at the dandy.
“I am not the one making such an indecent display!”
“Come now, the crisis will pass more quickly if we leave them be.” Sir Thomas came forward and clapped Sir Anthony on the shoulder in an attempt to steer him away from Miss Bennet.
And then Richard entered the fray, giving Darcy a feral grin before he announced in a booming voice, “There is no impropriety here. Mr. Darcy is courting Miss Bennet, and doing a rather fine job of it by coming to her rescue so valiantly! Perhaps the excellent Mrs. Bevan ought to take notes – is it not exceedingly romantic, Madam?”
Mrs. Bevan’s fervent agreement was almost lost in the chaos that erupted. Sir Thomas fairly shoved Sir Anthony out of the room amidst grumbling of “call him out” and “speak to her uncle.” Anne gaped at Darcy from across the room, insensible to whatever drivel Sir Sidney was babbling into her ear. Richard and Georgiana stood side by side, looking very well pleased with themselves as they followed the other guests back into the parlor.
But all this Darcy ignored when he realized that Miss Bennet had fainted in his arms. Lady Parker gave her friend a gentle slap on the cheek, and when Miss Bennet stirred, Lady Parker leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Shall I fetch the smelling salts?”
Miss Bennet laughed a little dazedly and then looked up at Darcy. “I ought to ask you to put me down, but I must admit I do not think it practical or advisable. You shall have to carry me upstairs, Mr. Darcy.”
She draped her arms about his neck, and Darcy felt his blood quicken. He thought he might be the next to faint, but rallied himself to follow Lady Parker up the stairs.
She opened the door to the first guest chamber and said, “You may set her down on the chair just there. I can manage to get her into the bath, and there is one waiting for you in the room across the hall, along with some garments Tom laid out – you and he seem to be a near size.”
“And the physician?”
“My husband will see to it once he has subdued Sir Anthony and calmed the other guests.”
Darcy did as he was bid. He intended to remain in the bath only long enough to thoroughly wash away the mud, but as the warm, aromatic water eased the ache in his muscles, he allowed his mind to drift. He felt he ought to be angrier at Richard’s trick and the likely complicity of his sister; it was against his principles to be relieved the decision had been taken out of his hands, and yet a smile curled up from the corners of his lips as he closed his eyes and savored the warm bath.
The look on Anne’s face had been gratifying indeed, but Darcy struggled to conjure the image in his mind. The brief hope of what her reaction might portend was slipping away like dissipating smoke, vanishing before he could catch hold of it. But he had certainly held Miss Bennet….
When thoughts of how she had felt in his arms began to overpower him, Darcy concluded his bath and dressed in the clothes Sir Thomas Parker had provided. He would not allow his fancy to be carried away by the events of the afternoon; he did not think he could even countenance perpetuating Richard’s lie about courting Miss Bennet. It had been a pleasant flight of fancy, but nothing more.
Darcy found Miss Bennet in the corridor, exiting the other guest room as Lady Parker helped her slowly hobble on her injured ankle. “Here is my handsome beau to the rescue again,” she said with a breathy giggle, reaching her arms out toward him as if she were a small child who wished to be picked up.
Darcy was so stunned that he almost obliged her, but Lady Parker swatted at her friend’s outstretched arms. “The doctor has been sent for, and in the meanwhile I have given some of the elixir I used last time I was in a great deal of pain.”
Miss Bennet gasped, looking at her friend as though the lady had been mortally wounded. “Oh Charlotte, if my ankle hurts this badly, whatever will I do when I have a baby?”
“How rapidly you leap from courtship to motherhood,” Lady Parker said drily. “Look at what you have done to poor Mr. Darcy.”
He knew it was the blush that was hot on his cheeks that Lady Parker referred to, but Miss Bennet did not come to the same conclusion. She shambled away from Lady Parker and latched on to Darcy’s arm. “Poor Mr. Darcy,” she repeated. “I am very sorry that your fiancée is so horrid. I hope I helped a little when I did not contradict your impudent cousin. Whatever possessed him to say that we are courting? Ah, no, I see. It is clever.”
As Miss Bennet dissolved in giggles, Darcy held her by the elbows, wishing to steady her without taking any liberties in the presence of her protective friend, who was observing them with a shrewd eye that wavered between indulgence and apprehension.
“I apologize, Miss Bennet. Richard contrived – entirely against my expressed wishes – to concoct a false courtship purely for the sake of inspiring jealousy in our cousin Anne.”
“You ought to have warned me first, so that I could make it more convincing. I am not often speechless.” Miss Bennet chortled again, then reached out to stroke Lady Parker’s face and coo over its loveliness.
“She is never ill, has never even been the least bit injured – I ought to have known to give her a smaller dose of the medicine.” Lady Parker smiled apologetically at Darcy.
He gave an appreciative nod. “Shall I carry her downstairs? I do not think it wise for her to walk – if she feels little or no pain at present, there is greater risk she could aggravate her injury without realizing it.”
“I begin to think it unwise for her to be in company at all.” Lady Parker gave her friend a skeptical frown as Miss Bennet nuzzled her head against Darcy’s shoulder.
“Very gallant,” Miss Bennet said airily, tapping his chest with exaggerated flourish. “Just the sort of beau I like. I will go to sleep now, and you can make a great show of fretting and worrying over me, which will vex your frigid lady. And then she will say something spiky about how I will be unable to perform my servant’s duties, and Sir Sidney will make an absolutely mad observation about his own odd behavior and she will congratulate him on his incomparable perfection, and then your ghastly aunt will pop out of a closet and beat them both about the head with an umbrella.”
As much for Lady Parker’s sake as Miss Bennet’s, Darcy said, “My cousin spoke out of turn – I have no intention of perpetuating a false courtship. I would certainly never ask such a thing of any respectable lady, let alone my sister’s particular friend.”
“Oh, but it would be excessively diverting,” Miss Bennet crooned. She paused to yawn, swaying as she turned to Lady Parker. “He reminds me of Mr. Penny.”
“Me too, dearest, but you are entirely out of your senses.” Lady Parker attempted to guide her friend away from Darcy, but Miss Bennet resisted.
She stood up on her toes, her body brushing clumsily against Darcy as she attempted to whisper. “But do not let Georgie fret over me or blame herself for our mishap. I am sure I distracted her.” Miss Bennet withdrew and allowed Lady Parker to wrap an arm around her waist. “We were speaking of Miss Bingley, Charlotte. Georgie despises her, too! Did you know that being disdained by her is not half as bad as her actually liking you? Ugh!”
“That is very true, dearest. We shall talk about it more later, but first you must sleep. In fact, I think you should stay the night.” Lady Parker glanced over her shoulder and gave him a nod of thanks that he knew to be a dismissal as well.
Darcy bowed and walked toward the stairs. He paused just long enough to turn back and glance at the retreating ladies. Out of her right mind from the doctor’s elixir, Miss Bennet clumsily blew him a kiss and attempted to wink with both eyes at once. It was the most nonsensical, inelegant, and utterly bewitching sight Darcy had ever seen.