Chapter 15 #2
Elizabeth sighed. “I have been beset by too many memories of late, and the dance I shared with my cousin was one Henry particularly enjoyed. With my already melancholic state over returning to London, it was enough to cause the storm of despair you just witnessed.”
“I admire your courage. You have endured much, Lady Courtenay.”
Elizabeth heaved a great sigh at the appellation. “I am not feeling very courageous at the present time. I want to go home and hide.”
“Perhaps you should do just that. I shall tell Mr and Miss Bingley you took ill if you would like.”
It was an appealing idea, but Elizabeth was disappointed in herself for failing to achieve the two sets she had sworn to endure. Temptation won out, and she smiled at the colonel. “I believe I shall. My appearance is surely beyond repair.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam gave her a kindly smile. “It would take more than a bit of weeping to mar your beauty. Well! I must be of use here. May I call your carriage?” At Elizabeth’s grateful nod, he was off, and she, after a quick look around to be sure none had observed them, hastened towards home.
In the ballroom, Darcy was eagerly anticipating his dance with Miss Elizabeth. Where is she? The dance should begin soon.
Ten minutes later, Darcy still did not see her. He circled the ballroom, growing increasingly anxious. He had seen most of her friends, but she was with none of them, nor her sisters or parents. Does she avoid me?
After several minutes, he concluded she was avoiding him. She did not want to dance with him, but instead of refusing and being forced to sit out the rest of the evening, she had accepted him and then absented herself. Such cunning! It enraged him.
Ridiculous, vulgar girl. It is insupportable to treat a man of my consequence in such an infamous way.
Sudden realisation caught him short. Where is Fitzwilliam? He is never one to miss a dance.
Darcy recalled the easy conversation between his cousin and Miss Elizabeth at Oakham Mount, and he wondered whether the two of them might be off somewhere sharing a private moment. The very thought of it raised his anger to near apoplectic levels.
Miss Bennet stood with the Bingleys in the corner by the refreshment table, smiling demurely as Bingley fawned over her.
Darcy frowned as he strode towards them, realising he needed to take more notice of his friend’s situation before Bingley found himself bound to a woman who barely tolerated him and whose family scorned him.
Colonel Fitzwilliam entered the room just as Darcy was approaching Bingley, and he also walked in that direction. He and Darcy converged upon the group nearly simultaneously.
“Bingley, I have been asked to pass along the regrets of Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She was taken ill and has returned to her home.”
Darcy stared at his cousin in fury as Bingley made the appropriate noises of dismay about Miss Elizabeth’s purported illness.
He did not miss the look of concern on Miss Bennet’s countenance or the way she excused herself to hurry over to her parents, but he was too filled with anger to comprehend it.
Fitzwilliam’s nose and cheeks appeared a bit red, as though he had been out of doors for some time.
As an entire set had passed since Darcy first began to look for Miss Elizabeth, it was likely they had been on the balcony the whole time, which would indeed make one cold, standing in the chill of late November for nearly half an hour.
Darcy inhaled deeply, steadying himself and balling his shaking hands into fists at his side. Was it a planned assignation? Or did Fitzwilliam just go outside and brazenly approach her? Had he forced himself on her in some way? Stolen kisses perhaps?
Fitzwilliam caught Darcy’s black look, and his eyes widened. “Miss Bingley, if you would excuse me, I believe I must find—”
“Fitzwilliam, a word please. The library?” Darcy spoke to his cousin through clenched teeth.
“Certainly.” The two men excused themselves and strode towards the library, Colonel Fitzwilliam quickening his step to keep apace of his taller cousin’s infuriated stride.
Darcy closed the library door behind them, and reached for Bingley’s decanter. He poured two brandies and, handing one to Fitzwilliam, muttered, “Something to warm you, Cousin, or shall I say, something else to warm you?”
Colonel Fitzwilliam took the glass and found a comfortable chair. “I have not the pleasure of understanding you.”
Darcy crossed the room with quick paces. Looming over his cousin, he demanded, “What did you do?”
“What do you mean?” Fitzwilliam calmly sipped his drink.
“Do not play me for a fool!” Darcy thundered, blood pounding in his veins. “You made her leave. Did you attempt to seduce her? Impose yourself on her? Or perhaps the whole thing is an assignation? Maybe you are planning to be off to call on her while the rest of her family remains here?”
Colonel Fitzwilliam stared agape at Darcy and with no little anger in his eyes. “I would hope you know me better than to accuse me of such vile doings, but I certainly shall not stand here awaiting more.” He placed his glass down firmly on a nearby table and stood to quit the room.
“Can you deny you were outside on the terrace with Miss Elizabeth?”
“And if I was?”
“What were you doing out there?”
“What is it to you?” Fitzwilliam glared at him fiercely. “How dare you say such things to me. While I would never deny that I enjoy the company of a beautiful woman, never have I been dishonourable, and I would expect you to know that better than anyone.”
It was a silent standoff until, at length, reason intruded, slowly dimming Darcy’s ire. He took a step back and a deep breath. He sank into a chair and raked his hand through his hair with a heaving sigh. “My apologies,” he muttered.
“What is this about?”
“I hardly know.”
Fitzwilliam sat in the chair next to his cousin. “I went outside to get some air and saw her weeping. I spoke with her briefly and, considering her distress, assisted her in calling for her carriage to take her home.”
“Why was she upset?”
Fitzwilliam hesitated. “What she told me was in confidence though she did not necessarily intend to confide in me. I happened to be there in a vulnerable moment.” He paused a minute and then added, “She is a magnificent creature, is she not?”
Darcy sighed, disgusted with himself for his unreserved and undignified behaviour but grateful that it had only been his cousin who had witnessed it. Any other man would have called me out by now.
“Magnificent or not, Fitzwilliam, she is completely unsuitable. I cannot have designs on a penniless country miss. It is for the best that we did not dance; it would make it that much more difficult to put her behind me.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam leant back, crossing an ankle over his leg. “So, were she not a penniless country miss, you would do what? Marry her?”
Darcy rolled his eyes. “Were the situation different, I would offer for her immediately. It cannot be though. I must be reconciled to that fact. and I must forget her. I must forget that she is the only woman I have ever met who makes me feel truly alive.”
To his surprise, Fitzwilliam chuckled. “Do not be so gloomy. These things have a way of working out, you know.”