Mr. Darcy's Refuge (11 page)

Richard doubted that, given how many of them Darcy had managed to offend over the years. “My mother might be willing, given that it would mean she would not have to sponsor Georgiana, since that would necessarily fall to your wife.” He did not particularly like the taste of that phrase in his mouth.

“Georgiana will be delighted in any case, simply because this will mean putting off her come-out for another year,” Darcy said dryly.

“At least someone will profit as a result of this predicament!”

Darcy gave him an odd look. “You refer to presenting Miss Bennet?”

He had not been, but it would hardly be wise to point that out. If Darcy did not already understand the effect his high-handed ways would have on Miss Bennet’s lively spirit, it was not Richard’s place to tell him. The material advantages of the match would certainly outweigh the personal incompatibility, but he doubted Miss Bennet would find pleasure in spending time with her husband. There it was again – another phrase he did not like to consider. He had liked it much better when he had thought that Darcy would find an attachment to Miss Bennet as imprudent as he himself did. In truth, he had not at all minded watching Darcy for once wanting something he could not have.

Instead, he said, “I take it Miss Bennet is unaware of the announcement?”

Darcy looked away. “I have not told her yet. I have been waiting for a calm moment to raise the issue, but there has been a dearth of calm moments. Hopefully she will understand the necessity of it.”

Miss Bennet’s melodic voice came from behind him. “What am I to understand the necessity of?”

Observing the sudden tension in Darcy’s stance, Richard said, “If you will be so kind as to excuse me, I should see to… to my horse.” It was an embarrassingly weak excuse, but he could think of nothing better.

Darcy said, “Richard, it is raining, and I would rather you remained here.”

Elizabeth’s lips twitched. “Perhaps the colonel might find the kitchen or the dining room diverting. The maid is preparing a bedroom for him.”

“I thank you.” Richard wondered how she would adjust to unquestioningly obeying Darcy’s decrees. He had been bred to it. She seemed accustomed to more independence.

Darcy said, “I was not aware that there was another bedroom.”

“There is not, but I can easily return to my old room. Jenny will be happy for the company.”

“Jenny? Who may that be?”

Elizabeth darted a mischievous look at Darcy. “Jenny is the young lady for the sake of whose happiness Mr. Darcy felt it necessary to risk drowning himself.”

Another young lady, one to whom Darcy was apparently attached? This was getting worse and worse.

Darcy, apparently noting his disturbance, said, “Jenny is a child, a peasant girl newly orphaned in the flood. I rescued her favorite toy.” He turned his gaze on Elizabeth. “I had not realized you would object to the prospect, Miss Bennet.”

“I object to foolhardy behavior as a general principle!”

“It was the prospect of my drowning that I thought you would not object to,” Darcy replied dryly.

Elizabeth’s eyes glinted with amusement. “That is indeed a very different question, sir.”

Richard cleared his throat. “Dare I hope that your manservant could assist me in making arrangements for some clean attire? I had not anticipated being away overnight when I left Rosings.”

As he had hoped, this distracted Darcy from dangerous topics. “Unfortunately, there is only the maid and the cook, but if you will accompany me upstairs, perhaps we can arrange for something.”

Darcy without a valet! This had some possibilities for amusement.

***

Elizabeth was relieved when Darcy took himself off to check on the tenants staying in the neighboring barn. He had been oddly Friday-faced since his cousin’s arrival, and she had not missed the warning look he had given Colonel Fitzwilliam just before his departure. Still, the colonel was always agreeable company, and she looked forward to a pleasant hour of conversation with him after the tensions of the last two days.

To her surprise, he fell silent for a few minutes, then said, with an unusually serious countenance, “I have been discussing your future with Darcy.”

“Not that again!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

“I share his concern for your reputation – and for his. I do not wish to see either of you unhappy.”

She strove to keep her tone level. “And you think I could make him happy? Has he told you his opinion of my family, of my low connections which would be such a degradation for him?”

“I am aware of his sentiments toward them. I am also aware that only the strongest of emotions could bring him to overlook them.”

“So, naturally, in deference to his strong emotions, you feel that I should marry him.”

“I did not say that, just that I cannot see any way out of this for you that does not require you to marry.”

Her heart sank. “I believe this is a conversation I should be having with Mr. Darcy.”

“Perhaps. Then again, perhaps not. Perhaps you should be having it with me.”

She shot him a quizzical look. “I appreciate your concern, but I hardly see how it involves you.”

He stood and moved restlessly across the room to the hearth. For a moment he seemed preoccupied with examining the mantelpiece, then he said, “Miss Bennet, you must marry. The question is whether you must marry Darcy, or whether another gentleman would suffice.”

Perhaps all the men in Darcy’s family had a predisposition to ridiculous assumptions. “I have not the pleasure of understanding you,” she said carefully.

He leaned his elbow against the mantelpiece, bearing a striking resemblance to his cousin at that moment. “If marrying Darcy is not palatable to you, I am offering myself as another option.”

Her cheeks grew hot. Could he be serious? Was there something odd about the air in Kent that caused men to propose to her at the drop of a hat? “I fear you are jesting with me, Colonel. Did you not explain to me just a few days ago that you needed to marry an heiress? I have no fortune, as you must know.” It felt as if that conversation had taken place in another lifetime.

“I am aware of that, but in this particular circumstance, that may not be an obstacle. I will admit that I do not at present possess the means necessary to establish a family in the manner which I would prefer, but I think it likely that my father would be prepared to remedy that situation in order to maintain Darcy’s status as an eligible bachelor.”

“Why would your father care about Mr. Darcy’s marital status?”

He sighed. “In a family such as mine, marriages serve as alliances, both financially and politically. Darcy has great value in the marriage mart. He could make a very favorable connection, one which would be to the benefit of my family. It is unlikely that I could find a bride who would offer as much, since I am just one more penniless aristocrat among many. I have no prospect of inheriting, as my elder brother already has three sons and a fecund wife. With no disrespect meant to you, my father would prefer to settle money on me than to give up his plans for Darcy.”

“I might be good enough for his son, but not for his nephew? I find this difficult to credit.” Not to mention that it was hardly complimentary to be told that the earl would pay to remove Darcy from her influence.

He shook his head. “It is not a judgment on you, but rather on what would most benefit the Fitzwilliam family, a matter of practicalities.”

“By those standards, should not
I
do better to marry Mr. Darcy? He does, after all, have a great deal to offer.”

The colonel smiled. “My father would think you a fool not to jump at the opportunity, and if a fortune is what you desire above all, then he would be right. If I thought that was what you wanted, I would not have made this offer. Since you are a lady of good sense, I assume you may have other reasons for refusing my cousin.”

“May I ask on whose behalf are you making this offer? Is it to please your father?”

“Good Lord, no. His attitude makes it possible for me to consider it, but it would not prompt me to anything I did not already wish to do.”

“I see.” Elizabeth did not, in fact, see. While complimented by his offer, she could not help but view the calm nature of his presentation as a suggestion of disinterest on his part. She stabbed the needle into the muslin doll dress.

“Perhaps you wonder at the dispassionate nature of my offer. I am well aware, perhaps more than you are, that you must marry either my cousin or me. Whichever you choose, you will no doubt end up seeing both of us since we are often in company together. I prefer not to say anything that would be difficult for either of us to forget should it turn out that you elect to marry Darcy.”

Elizabeth bit her lip. His words, while spoken lightly, had enough of an edge to make her wonder what lay beneath them. What a strange situation this was – Mr. Collins had said she might never have another offer, yet now she had a choice between the wealthy Mr. Darcy and the son of the Earl of Matlock! In terms of whose company she would enjoy more, there was no question in her mind, yet she felt as if there was more to this than the colonel had said. “Does Mr. Darcy know about your plans?”

“No.” He looked remarkably unconcerned by this. “I doubt the idea has even crossed his mind.”

“I cannot imagine he would be pleased by the intelligence.”

“Most likely not. He seems rather relieved that the matter of marrying you has been decided for him. Poor fellow – he has had a difficult time of it trying to decide what to do about you. He feels the weight of the family’s expectations.”

Elizabeth fixed her eyes on her stitching. “And there is the little matter of his belief that my sister was not good enough for Mr. Bingley.”

“Do we not all have relatives we must blush for?”

Elizabeth noticed he did not seem surprised by this information. “I wonder, then, that you chose to tell me how Mr. Darcy had saved Mr. Bingley from a disadvantageous match, if you knew that the lady involved was my sister.”

He looked chagrined. Taking a seat beside her, he said, “You have caught me out. I told you that story quite deliberately with the intention of turning you against Darcy.”

Her eyes widened at this impudent admission. “I had thought you were fond of him.”

“I am. That does not always mean that I agree with him.”

“And what benefit was it to you that I should be angry with him?”

He drummed his fingers on the edge of the chair. “There was no benefit for me. I hoped only to protect you from a potentially embarrassing situation.”

“I must be particularly slow-witted today, for that makes no sense to me at all.”

“Of course not. In order to explain myself, I would have to raise a subject unfit to discuss with a lady, so instead I am choosing to be obscure.”