Chapter Fifteen #2
“Hum us a tune, Miss Bennet, for our rhythm is dismal and dizzy!” Sir Sidney barked out a drunken laugh, then lifted his arm as Marianne twirled beneath it.
As Marianne spun, she nearly collided with Miss de Bourgh. She managed to stop herself, but Sir Sidney’s reflexes were not as quick. He staggered into Miss de Bourgh, causing her to spill dark wine all over her gown. She screeched.
“Oh, do forgive me, darling. Back into the sea, then, that will have the stain rinsed clean in a trice.” Sir Sidney grimaced and then gave an indecorous belch.
Miss de Bourgh closed her eyes and let out a slow huff and she clenched her fists at her side. “This is my favorite new gown! Penelope and I chose it together on my first day in Sanditon, and this is my first time wearing it!”
Miss Lovelace began dabbing at the stain with a handkerchief. “Annie, hush, your mother is coming over – we were having such fun before….”
“ He is certainly having fun! Perhaps we ought to leave him to it,” Miss de Bourgh hissed. “You are quite welcome to him, Miss – oh, I do not care!”
Lady Catherine was indeed moving that way, but others were faster. Charlotte was walking with alacrity toward them, and from the other direction, Georgiana called out and waved as she approached.
“Cousin Anne, what a pretty dress. Hello Lizzy! Is this your stepsister?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, once again flustered as she saw Mr. Darcy hasten after his aunt, toward the commotion. She managed to perform all the introductions, including Miss de Bourgh, who sniffled and shed a few tears as she clung to her companion. Marianne moved away from Sir Sidney, looking very smug about what she had accomplished in her little charade.
Georgiana eyed Sir Sidney warily but appeared undaunted by Marianne’s share in the indecorous display. “I am pleased to meet you at last, Miss Dashwood. I am already quite devoted to Lizzy, who has sung your praises to me. But we come with an invitation! Mr. Marsh has settled on a new date for our naturalist excursion, and we must pray it does not rain again!”
Charlotte had joined them and was quietly whispering something placating to Miss de Bourgh.
“Yes,” Mr. Marsh said with a smile for Georgiana. “We are to go on the twenty-sixth to explore a particularly scenic tidal marsh near Bunbury, the next town over. Do you know of it?”
Elizabeth and Charlotte exchanged a significant look. They may not be familiar with the marsh in question, but they had often gone to Bunbury together. Not wishing Elizabeth’s secret correspondence to be discovered in Sanditon, the letters were sent to Charlotte Lucas in Bunbury for the sake of discretion, after the two friends had left Meryton.
“Bunbury? I have an old acquaintance there,” Miss Lovelace said. “I should love to be one of the party.” At this, she whispered to Miss de Bourgh and resumed fussing over the stained gown.
“We would be delighted to attend,” Marianne said with zeal. “Lizzy and I delight in lengthy perambulations when there is fine scenery to be had!”
The colonel smiled broadly at Marianne. “Do you paint or draw, Miss Dashwood? I am hoping to persuade my cousin to do some sketching during the excursion, and she would be less shy about it if other talented young ladies took up the same endeavor.”
“I might make some feeble attempt; surely Lizzy has told you I am more musically inclined.”
Elizabeth had once again ceased to listen to what was passing. Instead she watched as Charlotte led Miss de Bourgh and her companion away to don a loaned gown at Trafalgar House. “I will look in on the baby while your maid attends you; I believe I have a very fine sprigged muslin from last summer that will fit you very well.”
Though Elizabeth could not make out Miss de Bourgh’s reply, the tone was not uncivil. And then Charlotte spoke again, sending a shiver down Elizabeth’s spine. “I know my brother-in-law may not make the best husband. Sir Thomas and I would bear you no ill will if you were to return to your previous engagement. Have you communicated with Mr. Darcy lately?”
This was all Elizabeth could hear before Charlotte was too far away, and a moment later Mr. Darcy and his aunt stopped to speak with Miss de Bourgh. Elizabeth watched them but could glean nothing. She could only think of what Charlotte might have meant by making such a speech.
Perhaps Charlotte supposed that recommending Mr. Darcy might have the reverse effect – but she may have meant what she said. Her friend had not been keen on Elizabeth’s ruse with Mr. Darcy, just as Elizabeth was loath to admit that Charlotte’s apprehensions were not unfounded. Charlotte may see it as a blessing to have Mr. Darcy and Miss de Bourgh reconciled more expeditiously, before any further damage could be done to Elizabeth’s heart.
As Sir Sidney shambled away and Georgiana was escorted to the refreshment table by Mr. Marsh and the colonel, Marianne let out a sigh of relief and squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. “I believe you were about to tell me something of great import, before we were waylaid so strangely.”
“Oh, Marianne. I have been such a fool. After the letters with Mr. Penny, I ought to have known better. I did know better, but I deluded myself into believing that I might be content with the inevitable outcome. But I wanted to grasp at that feeling, at what I had – to feel loved and admired…. I know it was not me that Mr. Penny loved, but sometimes it felt like – and with Mr. Darcy, I had a chance to experience that sensation….” Elizabeth choked back a sob.
“I believe he does care for you, Lizzy. He clearly admires you.”
“I have allowed myself to be deceived into imagining that he does – he is so very handsome, and there is something charmingly blunderous about him – I thought it would be great fun to flirt with such a man. He is the finest man I have ever seen, and one of the kindest I have ever known.”
“He is kind and charming to you because he is in love with you,” Marianne cried.
Elizabeth only gaped at her. Could it be possible? Why did her first burst of love give way to such immediate sorrow? She presumed her feelings must be unrequited, utterly doomed. And yet she had privately hoped, at the beginning of it all, that as her feelings grew, so too would his.“Could he be as reckless with his own heart as I have been?”
“Now that I have met the lady he claims he wishes to woo… he would be a fool not to prefer you! Only think of this – if his attentions to you were really meant only to inspire her envy, why did he dance with you in the gazebo? She was not present, there was no need. He wanted to.”
“I wanted to,” Elizabeth breathed. “Oh, Marianne, it was so perfectly wonderful! Can it be real? Could there be hope for Mr. Darcy and I?”
Marianne gave a playful roll of her eyes. “I can think of nobody acquainted with you that would be the least bit surprised if Mr. Darcy comes to his senses and courts you in earnest. Even now he is gazing at you with longing from down the beach. Do not look!”
Elizabeth laughed giddily. “What am I to do, Marianne? I fear that by daring to hope, I will somehow bring about some dreadful reversal. And yet… he did almost kiss me – I lied when I denied it. I would very much like him to kiss me.” She flexed her hand, remembering the feel of his lips there.
The two ladies began to turn back toward the rest of their party, and Elizabeth saw Sir Sidney approaching Mr. Darcy and his friends. “I ought to rescue the poor man – I did promise I would speak to him later.”
“About your passionate embrace in the gazebo?”
“No, not yet.” Elizabeth was filled with a rush of anticipation for the assembly. It would be another occasion where her feelings would be intensified by their flirtatious displays of affection, and she began to fear that it would only be a performance for him. The ruse may end a success, for Miss de Bourgh was plainly tiring of her other suitor.
She vowed to herself that she would indulge in the charade for one more day, and after the assembly she would tell him the truth. If he chose to pursue his cousin, at least she would be free of the suspense. In two days’ time it would be over, one way or another.
For now, Elizabeth was resolved to enjoy his company and the comforting illusion of ardent affection.
***
“I believe I can guess your thoughts, Darcy.”
Darcy tore his eyes away from the distant figure walking along the beach. “Pardon?”
“You are hoping that if you stare at her long enough, she will come and speak with you.”
Knightley and Bingley chuckled. Darcy frowned. “She said that she would; she is only waiting for Anne to return from the manor in a fresh gown.”
“I will tell you exactly what she is doing,” Richard drawled, laying back on several plush cushions that he had piled up on the rug beneath their tent. “She is telling her fetching friend all about that little waltz in the gazebo, and what genuine sentiments you have aroused in her heart.”
Bingley took a sip of wine as he attempted to glower at Richard. “Do remember Lizzy is my sister. I would not have her injured by this charade.”
“Yes, but Darcy is also thinking of their little interlude, which has nothing at all to do with their allegedly false courtship.”
Darcy scowled at his cousin, who had guessed very near the mark. “I got carried away and have likely frightened her out of her wits.”
“One of you is out of their wits,” Richard quipped. “And speaking of….”
Sir Sidney Parker rambled over, having obtained another bottle of wine. He called out a merry greeting, which only Bingley returned with any gusto. Undeterred by such a tepid reception, Sir Sidney sat down amongst them and began to remark on what a fine day it was. Such trite commentary rendered him almost bearable, until he addressed Darcy directly.
“I do hope there shall be no awkwardness between us, my good fellow. You need not despise me with such a severe look about you, Darcy, when you have clearly found a woman far better than the one I stole away from you.”
The four sober gentlemen all regarded Sir Sidney with raised brows; he was not wrong, though it would not be right to agree with his summation.
“Perhaps I ought to thank you,” Darcy said drily. “Her preference for a drunken wretch has certainly illuminated my cousin Anne’s character more than I ever imagined possible.”
Sir Sidney laughed. “Just as the fact that she could fancy such an uptight bore is the reason I have no interest in wooing Miss Bennet away from you.”
Bingley grimaced. “That is my sister you speak of, sir.”
“And well done to you for marrying the prettier sister of the lot. I daresay Miss Lizzy must be the mad one of the family, with her tastes being as such. She never did think much of me, though her dear friend, my sister by marriage, wished her to fancy me last summer when we all became acquainted.”
“Miss Bennet ,” Darcy corrected the drunken letch.
“Aye, she is an odd one, to be sure – a fine complement for your staggering absence of a personality, Darcy, eh? Working at the hotel like a businessman, cavorting with an authoress, and never able to rid herself of that prancing ninny Sir Anthony! Most unusual, if I do say so myself – but then, at least I have no secrets amongst my many idiosyncrasies. But her maid told my valet that she has a drawer full of secret letters from some fancy man she is or was engaged to. I thought you ought to know, old chap.”
Darcy was on the point of challenging the blathering fool to fisticuffs and was stunned silent by this final piece of information. He knew she had loved and lost, but she never told him she had actually been engaged. Something like jealousy stirred within him, not only because she had once been promised to another, but because Elizabeth had not confided as much in him, despite knowing all of his own shameful woes.
Bingley was not often driven to anger, but after a quick glance about to see that the rest of their friends were distracted in their own amusements, he slapped Sir Sidney across the face. “I daresay you are too drunk to feel that, but I hope you take my meaning, sir. I will not tolerate such rumors about my sister by marriage. Next time, I will call you out, when you are sober.”
“Then your wife and child need not fear for you,” Richard drawled.
Knightley held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “There is no need for violence – temperance, perhaps. I believe Sir Sidney has had enough wine, and wishes to convey that he bears you no ill will, Darcy. Any further speculation about the ladies is most unnecessary.” He eased the bottle of wine out of Sir Sidney’s grasp and set it aside.
Darcy glared at Sir Sidney with distaste, wishing the miserable ass would leave him to the company of his friends. “I suppose you deserve no further punishment than the woman you have chosen. But though she has wounded me with her inferior preference, she does not deserve the punishment of a life with you.”
“Probably,” Sir Sidney agreed. “But that is why the good Lord invented mistresses, eh? We shall both need one, ill-suited as we are. What a miscalculation.”
Richard sneered at the wretch, and had opened his mouth to speak, but was prevented by the approach of a young man Darcy vaguely recognized.
Sir Sidney shambled to his feet and shook hands with the fellow. “Mr. Horne, how do you do? Give us all a good word, then – the life of a happily shackled newlywed must inspire hope for us all.”
Mr. Horne’s face turned bright red. “Er… well… ahem. You are lately married, are you not, Mr. Knightley?”
“Yes, my Emma has made me the happiest of men,” Knightley said with a smile, gesturing for Mr. Horne to sit with them.
Mr. Horne stepped further into their tent, his posture cowed and his brow furrowed as he reached for the wine they had taken from Sir Sidney. He took a swig and then eyed Knightley with hesitant curiosity. “And have you… have you made her the happiest of ladies?”
“I hope I have,” Knightley said gravely. “It is true we have had our quarrels, and I have challenged her to alter her thinking at times, but I believe we understand one another perfectly.”
Richard gave a low chuckle. “I do not think that is what Mr. Horne was asking. You wish to properly please your lady, eh?”
The young fellow averted his gaze and nodded. “I never – you know – and of course she never… I do not know if perhaps my understanding of nature is not adequate….”
Bingley and Richard guffawed, and even Knightley cracked a smile. “It may take some time to acquaint yourselves intimately, but I have witnessed your affection for one another. Trust and communication are vital in those private matters.”
“I find it is better not to think at all,” Bingley chortled, reaching for Horne’s wine and having a drink of it. “Act naturally, but endeavor to, ah, prolong the experience.”
Sir Sidney was the last to comprehend Mr. Horne’s meaning, but he responded with enthusiasm. “You have done well to seek advice, my good man! As a man of great wisdom, I can inform you that if she has not yet enjoyed marital bliss , as it were, then you have not, either. What I am about to demonstrate will change your life. Now, come over here, you be Mrs. Horne. What you want to do….”
Sir Sidney seized Mr. Horne by the hips and began an edifying instruction. Bingley and Richard laughed but rose to their feet to restrict the view of Sir Sidney’s demonstration, looking rather interested themselves.
“And then, if you flip her around like so, and find an advantageous angle….” Sir Sidney and an exceedingly mortified Mr. Horne tumbled over as the strange exhibition continued.
Darcy and Knightley exchanged wary glances. “Sir Sidney, I believe he comprehends you. That is enough; there are ladies nearby.” Knightley stood and hauled Sir Sidney off of Mr. Horne, who laughed and thanked them all for their assistance.
Darcy also rose to his feet as Elizabeth and Miss Dashwood approached from one direction, and Anne and Miss Lovelace from the other, whispering with great animation together.
The latter pair reached the gentlemen first, and Anne bobbed into a curtsey while staring icily at Sir Sidney. “I hope Sir Sidney is not being too much of an ass, gentlemen. Lady Parker has sent for some coffee, and I thought certain persons might benefit from the fortification.”
“I am thoroughly fortified already, my darling,” Sir Sidney replied. “And if you had come upon us a little sooner, you might have truly understood my abilities.”
“Remember yourself,” Darcy said sternly, exchanging a glance with Richard. Whatever else he felt, Anne was still a lady, and family.
“I am perpetually far too aware,” Sir Sidney spluttered, laughing as he reached for the wine again. “Shall we depart these dull companions and partake of the gaieties my perfect brother has arranged, my muse? Can your devoted maid spare you, that I might have a turn at whispering in your ear?”
Miss Lovelace let out a squeak of protest and Anne sneered at Sir Sidney. “Not if you are resolved to embarrass me!”
“Nothing of the kind! Are we not the happy couple, nary a quarrel?” Sir Sidney bent and kissed Anne’s hand, wobbling as he righted himself.
Darcy braced the wastrel by the shoulder, looking to his friends for aid. “Perhaps a stroll to the refreshment table for some coffee is just the thing. You need not mortify my cousin any further.”
“Pay him no mind,” Sir Sidney said to Anne. “He plays your champion now, but before his concern was all for Miss Bennet.”
Anne glared at them both. “Perhaps I ought to have remained up at the manor. Penny and I will return indoors. Sir Sidney, we shall speak later, when you are less….” She frowned, waving vaguely at the sorry state of him. “And, Darcy, I would thank you to detain my mother for a while, if you would be so kind. The respite would be very welcome.”
Darcy had no intention of doing anything of the kind. He merely stared at her; in the periphery of his gaze, he could see Elizabeth and Miss Dashwood approaching the tent. Anne glanced that way and then took a step closer to Darcy. She laid a hand on his arm, offering him a rare smile. “You deserve better than a fortune hunter, cousin,” she whispered.
“I could say the same to you,” Darcy said coldly. He withdrew his arm and gave a stiff bow before stalking away to speak with Elizabeth at last.
Elizabeth smiled as Darcy drew near, and Miss Dashwood waved at him. “I have just been telling Lizzy how much I like your sister, and wish to become better acquainted with her. In fact, I find that I can wait no longer. Do excuse me.” She grinned and bobbed into a curtsey before hastening away from them.
Darcy offered Elizabeth his arm and began to lead her along the beach. Her shoulder brushed his as the breeze buffeted them, and she laughed. “Sir Sidney has been in fine form today. Has your cousin begun to tire of him?”
“It would seem so,” Darcy said. He found himself suddenly tired of the subject – and tired of the charade. As he looked over at Elizabeth, who fairly glowed in the sunlight as a few wisps of dark hair blew about her face, Darcy found that he wished never to think of Anne and Sir Sidney again.
“I suppose we are to be congratulated – or you are, at least.” She looked intently at him, and Darcy wondered if she was attempting to determine whether his regard for his cousin had waned.
He was in dangerous waters, for his feelings were of secondary concern, as much as they consumed him. The way she was gazing at him was entirely too bewitching; he wished to declare himself at once, to throw himself on her mercy and pray that she was not genuinely pleased at the prospect of his reconciling with Anne.
Cowardice and caution prevailed, and he guided their path toward another of the large canvas tents. They joined Knightley and Bingley, who had sought out their wives, and passed a happy hour in conversation together. And how perfect it was! Darcy allowed himself to imagine that they were three happily wed couples, and it felt so natural that the pretense was forgotten. The ladies were all delighted with one another, but amongst them Elizabeth shined like a diamond, enchanting them all.
When the event came to its conclusion, Darcy made a private bargain with himself. He would give himself one more day to indulge in this fantasy, and then he must be finished, before he was too far gone, before Elizabeth was affected by his unwilling ardor.
Anne was losing interest in Sir Sidney, just as Darcy had hoped when he agreed to his charade with Elizabeth; the assembly was sure to be just the thing to drive his cousin’s envy to its zenith. Perhaps Anne would return to her former self, the charming and affectionate lady who had written him such loving letters, once she had broken with Sir Sidney. And then, his fortnight of infatuation with Elizabeth would pale in comparison to the deep and abiding love he had nurtured for so long. That was what he wanted, he told himself. It was what must be.