Chapter 5
Richard
Richard turned down Darcy’s offer of another night of talking and drinking. Instead, he stayed at Matlock House and sat alone in his room, pounding down several bottles from his father’s wine cellar.
The entire bottle of brandy might have been overkill. Luckily, he tried to eat something to sop up some of the alcohol, and it hadn’t gone at all to plan, with the result that he cast up much of the brandy.
He could not believe what he had done earlier that evening: he had, in essence, set up Elizabeth with another man! And not just any man—his dearest relation and closest friend.
He had not done this deliberately, of course.
The fact is, Darcy was very wealthy and very good looking, but….
Well, there were a lot of buts with which he could finish that thought, if he was thinking at all sharply.
Such as: Elizabeth was far from mercenary. And she likely had no idea—even now—that Darcy was incredibly wealthy.
And Darcy had never before shown an interest in any woman.
No love affairs, no mistresses, not even courtesans.
Richard had long accepted that Darcy either had no urges at all or that his shyness dictated that he handle urges without…
any other person. He had no judgment (well, not much judgment, at least), but he also had no comprehension of how a lack of interest in something so fundamental could be possible.
Basically, he had never dreamt of seeing Darcy react to a woman as he did that evening.
And speaking of shyness…. Richard was friendly and lively, and he had always wished for someone as friendly and lively as him.
That was one of the reasons that Elizabeth seemed perfect for him.
He thought he could count on Elizabeth to share his taste; she would never wish to align herself with a silent, solemn fellow like Darcy.
And he was positive he could count on Darcy being unsmiling and quiet; Elizabeth would almost certainly interpret Darcy’s reticence as arrogance.
Most people thought that a rich, good looking man who neither smiled nor spoke felt himself to be far and away above his company.
Arrogance was not something Elizabeth would appreciate at all!
But Elizabeth had been her smiling and friendly self, and Darcy had just…transformed!
How had that happened?
Richard supposed he should be happy for his cousin. He supposed he should be happy for his friend, Elizabeth, that she may have found a prudent love match, after all.
But what he felt did not seem to be happiness. It was more akin to nausea.
Richard decided to go to Madame Bertin’s and ask for two girls. And maybe skip the brunette thing altogether. Might he not be better off with a redhead and a blonde?
He was still trying to make such decisions when, as he took a break from trying to pull his second boot back onto his foot, he passed out.