Chapter Seven #4
“I did not care for the fish at all.” She paused, looking around the table as if unsure she could truly quell the tension.
Richard gave her a nod of encouragement and agreed that it was perhaps a tad too salty.
“There is a buffet at the back of the room with salad, bread, and various cheeses…. so…. I shall go exchange my fish for something lighter. Miss Denham, would you like to take a walk to the other end of the room with me to sample the other savories?”
Richard rose and offered Miss Denham his arm, babbling nonsense as he led her away.
“I did not like the fish, either. Now, this selection of cheeses, on the other hand…. And I am a decent fisherman, which is unfortunate—if one could fish for cheeses, well, I should have amassed an outrageous fortune, and you would be violently in love with my tremendous talent….”
Before Darcy could even begin to fathom how he might placate his aunt after an ordeal such as he had never seen before, she began to lament her ill usage to Sir Beaufort Bollingbroke and anybody else within a distance to hear her; happily, Lady Lambert and her sister had managed to make a discreet escape from the table.
“That obstinate, headstrong girl! I am heartily ashamed of her! Where is the gratitude due to me for everything I have done for her? I made an excellent dynastic match for her—it is what all the family expects and wishes for—they are descended from the same noble line, with a splendid fortune on both sides. And she would throw it all away with her insolence, her abject selfishness! It is not to be borne! I am not in the habit of brooking disappointment, and neither should you be, my nephew!”
How the old baronet had managed to fall asleep in the face of such a tantrum was beyond Darcy’s comprehension.
And this left only himself at the table with his aunt, the unhappy recipient of a lengthy diatribe.
The sum of it was that she did not care how enamored her daughter was of Sir Sidney Parker, for she refused to allow Anne to throw away the engagement that had been years in the making—years Lady Catherine had spent badgering Darcy about the matter before managing to blackmail him at last. Her grasp on Anne was slipping, evidently, but she still held considerable power over her nephew.
“Is your marriage to be prevented by an upstart dandy of inferior birth, of no importance in the world beyond this ridiculous little village? Are the shades of Rosings to be thus polluted? Honor, decorum, and prudence forbid it! They would be censured, slighted, and despised by everybody connected with her family. Their alliance would be a disgrace; their names would never be mentioned by any of us.”
“Heavy misfortunes indeed,” Darcy murmured. He was on the point of mentioning that Sir Sidney was already a friend of Rupert’s when he had to stop and remind himself that the ranting harridan was in fact his only ally in regaining Anne’s affections. He sighed.
“I do not think Sir Sidney cares for such things, Aunt. I might as well inform you that I do not, either. You have widely mistaken my character if you believe I have come here out of duty and honor—I have come out of love for Anne. My regard for her future happiness compels me to object to Sir Sidney—not because of his pedigree, or fortune, or situation in life, and not even because of my own prior claim. I doubt his character, his morals, and his capacity to value the woman I have come to cherish. I will do everything within my power to protect her from anybody unworthy of her affection.”
Darcy stood, gave a curt bow, and strode away from the table.
He was briefly overwhelmed by the scene he had made, feeling as if every pair of eyes in the room was fixed upon him.
But movement and merriment surrounded him, in fact.
He breathed a sigh of relief as the other guests mingled around him, all of them intent on selecting a new table for the third course.
Darcy began to look around the room for his sister, and found her speaking to a singularly handsome young man with a peculiar, nervous air about him.
Georgiana looked loath to part from his company, while her companion looked somewhat baffled that she was speaking to him at all.
Beside them, Miss Bennet was laughing and bobbing her head in cheerful agreement at a jest Darcy felt himself envious not to be a part of.
Georgiana called out to Darcy as he approached his sister and her companions. “William! Oh, do sit with us for dessert; we have been so jolly together.”
Miss Bennet nodded her greeting with a bright smile.
“Your sister is a charming creature, Mr. Darcy.” She sipped at her wine, her grey eyes shining with joy, and Darcy could see that she spoke entirely without guile.
Georgiana mimicked Miss Bennet’s gesture before settling aside an empty champagne flute and crinkling her face in merry laughter.
“I fear the ladies are too delighted with one another to introduce me—Julius Marsh, at your service—Mr. Darcy, I presume?” The younger man gave an awkward sort of bow.
“Oh dear,” Miss Bennet cried. “I have been so excessively diverted that I have entirely forgotten my duties as a hostess. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Marsh has been at the Tremont for about a month now, tending to his ailing mother and making studies of the local wildlife. And Mr. Marsh, you may find a kindred spirit in Mr. Darcy—you shall not be the only wallflower at the next assembly.”
Before Darcy could reply, Georgiana let out a gasp as she looked between him and Mr. Marsh, and then bubbled with laughter.
“Oh, no, Lizzy—we cannot allow either of them to get away with such delinquency! To make my brother stand up with us, we need only compliment Sir Sidney’s superior dancing—and you would surely oblige us, would you not, Mr. Marsh?
You have been a most amusing companion this evening. ”
Miss Bennet cast a nervous glance at Mr. Darcy, who had stiffened his posture at Georgiana’s barb.
It stung, but he could not deny the truth of her words; Sir Sidney brought out a jealous streak in him that Darcy had not known he possessed, and he was certainly not proud of it.
Georgiana belatedly realized she had given offense and furrowed her brows in a glance of contrition.
“Mr. Marsh has indeed been edifying us with information as well as amusement.” Miss Bennet diplomatically gestured for them all to be seated as a few other guests, including Richard, joined their table.
Georgiana sat down beside Mr. Marsh; Miss Bennet, whom Georgiana was already addressing with a charming endearment, hesitated.
She looked as if uncertain where to sit, and seemed to be deferring to Darcy, who would have sat beside his sister had Georgiana not tugged at her new friend’s arm, obliging Miss Bennet to sit beside her.
Darcy sat on Miss Bennet’s other side, ignoring his cousin’s obvious intention to scrutinize them all from across the table.
Miss Bennet turned to him, her eyes sparkling as she tilted her head ever so slightly, as if about to impart some great secret. “Mr. Marsh’s penchant for the natural world has inspired your sister and I to contrive a little game, you see—a talent, if you will permit me to flatter myself….”
The tone of playful challenge in her voice somehow rendered her countenance quite pretty.
He may have found fault with her when first they met, for which Darcy knew he ought to find an appropriate opportunity to apologize, but the unabashed glee on her face was impossible not to admire.
There were traces of such loveliness on Anne’s countenance at times—he had seen her several times this evening bestow such looks upon Sir Sidney and even her faithful companion Miss Lovelace, but never himself.
Miss Bennet was radiant for everyone, cognizant of everyone’s amusement and ease around her; he felt himself an absolute idiot, mistaking her for Anne earlier that morning.
Darcy nodded stupidly at her, waiting for her to elaborate; Miss Bennet arched an eyebrow at him, as if to signify that where he had once insulted her, she had only praise for herself.
“Georgiana and I have discovered we each possess a natural gift for determining what animal a person most resembles. It is an art form, and a very serious one, you see. One must consider not only the obvious factor—appearance—but mannerisms and morals alike. There is a decided stylistic je ne sais quoi involved which Mr. Marsh assures us both we have utterly mastered—we would be happy to demonstrate for you, sir.”
After the awkwardness of Anne’s company and his aunt’s belligerence, this raillery was utterly beguiling, and Darcy shocked even himself with a burst of startled laughter. “Ah, yes, do enlighten me.”
Georgiana clasped onto Miss Bennet’s arm and chortled, bumping her shoulder against her new friend’s with a look of camaraderie.
“Well, Lizzy says I am a starfish, for I am perfectly content on the beach, and I am small and cheerful. Also, starfish signify intuition and regeneration, which I quite like.”
Miss Bennet made a droll face. “And I am apparently an orca.”
“Indeed you are,” Mr. Marsh said with a wry smile. “They are clever and sociable animals with strong, protective family bonds—really fascinating creatures, actually.”
“And what about me?” Across the table, Richard gave them a little wave before taking a sip of his wine.
Georgiana did not hesitate. “Easy—you are an otter. They are playful and devious, yet quite helpful and rather sweet. And of course, their darling whiskers.” She made a silly gesture meant to mimic the moustache Richard had sported since returning from the continent that spring, the subject of tremendous mockery amongst their family.