Chapter 14 #2
“They may not like it, but remind them that the decision is mutual, and they’ll come around.
” I hoped. I hadn’t missed how Mrs. Trent had backed me in getting the vote taken and in becoming king.
Once she discovered that her daughter and I had decided not to get married, it probably was the last time she’d vote for anything that I suggested.
Rosalie smiled. “I want something real anyway, not something that feels forced. Like what you have with Lizzy.”
I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say. “I—”
“Ah, don’t deny it. I wish you luck.” She waved as she sauntered down the street.
The next morning, I read over the note from Lizzy a final time as I finished packing my bags. She’d dropped the message off last night before I got home. I held the queen chess piece in my hand that she’d sent with it.
Have fun with your new queen. Thanks again for everything. I wish you well in your future endeavors.
So simple and formal. Hardly a confession of love.
But what was I expecting? I was lucky we were still friends after everything my family had done to hers.
Part of me wanted to text her and tell her I was no longer engaged, but I didn’t want to presume it mattered to her.
Besides, the news would get around to her soon enough.
This was Austen Heights after all, where gossip spread faster than wildfire.
I lifted my suitcase, snatched up my laptop bag, and headed downstairs. I set my luggage by the door and swung into the kitchen where Georgiana, Henry, Charles, Jane, Lydia and Wickham sat sharing breakfast together.
“You’re going to Pemberley on Valentine’s Day?” Wickham demanded. “Can’t I talk you into staying?”
“There’s work to complete. I need to ensure that the new batches of potions for Moonrot are done correctly before they’re administered.”
“Darcy, the council is here. Work won’t get started on that until at least tomorrow.” Charles frowned at me. “Come to Club Meryton with us tonight.”
Georgiana set down her mug of steaming tea. “Everyone will be there celebrating the fact that we found the cure. You were instrumental in that. You should be there.”
I looked around at all the couples at the table.
The last thing I wanted to be was a seventh wheel on Valentine’s Day.
I wished them well and desired happiness for every one of them, but being with them today would only make me feel more alone.
“No thanks. It’s better for me to go.” I gave Georgiana a hug and gazed into her eyes.
She offered me a small nod to tell me she was okay.
With that reassurance, I turned and headed for the door. I reached for my luggage when the front doors of Netherfield burst open.
Aunt Catherine bustled in, her expression meaning business. “Come, my nephew, we must speak.”
I stumbled back, letting my bags drop to the floor. “Good morning, Aunt Catherine.”
“Don’t good morning me, boy, I’m in no mood. Now come.”
She marched into the back sitting area, and noticing my friends in the adjoining kitchen, shooed them away. Georgiana cast me a worried glance and mouthed, “Good luck.”
Aunt Catherine seemed to be in a state. Was this about my breakup with Rosalie? I likely ought to have departed when the opportunity presented itself.
She set herself down in a chair, shoulders back, and looked around the room. “The decor here is quite outdated. You should ask Caroline to do a makeover. Isn’t she Charles’s sister? I’m surprised she hasn’t already.”
“Netherfield has a mind of its own.” In fact, I’d seen Caroline redecorate this room several times, but there were just certain aspects that the house kept switching back into place.
“Aunt Catherine, it’s good to see you. But from the way you burst in and demanded that we speak, I’m assuming there’s something you want to talk with me about? ”
“Yes, you broke off your engagement with the Trent girl.”
Here it was. I was hoping to get out of town before being forced to deal with my aunt’s wrath. “We both decided it wouldn’t work.”
“And how long did you spend getting to know each other?”
“Aunt, it wasn’t going to work out.”
“And now, half the town is saying that you are engaged to that girl.”
I stared at her in confusion. “Engaged? To what girl? Rosalie?”
“Elizabeth Bennet! I knew the moment I met her that she would be trouble. And when you went off with her in that coach without a glance or consideration for your betrothed…” She shook her head. “It is most unbecoming behavior for a king.”
I sat there, trying to process it. Everyone thought I was engaged to Lizzy? I almost wanted to laugh at the irony.
“That upstart of a girl thinks she can steal you and make herself queen.” Aunt Catherine stood up and paced in front of me. “Of course, I knew it was a false rumor from the start. My nephew wouldn’t have the gall to propose to another woman the day after he broke off his engagement.”
“Well—”
“But when I went to prove the rumor false, Lizzy was very disrespectful. That obstinate, headstrong girl.”
I froze. “You spoke to Lizzy?”
“Such a rude little thing. After much coaxing, which someone of my station shouldn’t be reduced to, she finally denied being engaged to you.”
I ran a hand over my face. “Aunt Catherine, you really shouldn’t have—”
“And then, when I asked her if she would agree never to become engaged to you, she had the nerve to refuse me.”
I stared at her. Then I rose from my seat, my heart racing in my chest. “She said that?”
“Of course she did. She is a very unkind young lady who has no respect for position or seniority.”
I stepped closer to her, a hope I didn’t dare trust sparking inside me. “Just to be clear. You asked Lizzy never to accept my proposal, and she said she wouldn’t do that.”
“Yes.” Aunt Catherine's eyes flashed with anger. “Which is why I’ve come here to ensure that you won’t be silly enough to propose to her this Valentine’s Day. You are king, Fitzwilliam, and you need to think wisely about who you are going to marry.”
Aunt Catherine’s words rolled into me like a piercing ray of sunshine cutting through the mist. Lizzy had refused my aunt. Was there a chance that she’d changed her mind about me?
Knowing Lizzy, she might’ve said that to my aunt to spite her since the two didn’t get along, but even so, I couldn’t stop the bit of hope springing in me.
I’d hate myself forever if I didn’t try.
“Fitzwilliam Valemont, are you listening to me?”
“Sorry, Aunt, I need to go take care of some things.” I hurried from the room, my mind spinning, my heart lighter than it had felt in weeks. Netherfield cast a shadow of Lizzy on the wall, and I smiled, knowing the house approved.
Aunt Catherine followed. “Where are you going? Surely you can’t be thinking about proposing to that girl.”
“Charles! Georgiana!” I yelled down the hall before turning back to my aunt. “She’s not ‘that girl’. She is the woman I love, and I might have one last chance to convince her to be mine.”
Fury shone on Aunt Catherine’s face. “You will regret this.”
“The only thing I’ll regret is doing nothing.” I hurried toward the foyer, where my friends met me with worried looks on their faces. It wasn’t like me to run through the house shouting names. “Is everything all right?” Charles asked.
“If you guys don’t mind a slight change to your plans,” I said. “I need your help to plan one more thing for Valentine’s Day.”
Charles, Jane, Wickham, Lydia, Henry, and Georgiana looked at each other, smiles on their faces as if they already knew. Georgiana grasped my hand and squeezed. “We’re in.”