by Anna Harlow
“Well, you have now, and I am surprised he did not think to ask you himself,” Georgiana scoffed. “That’s my brother—generous to a fault, but always missing the little details.”
“Our engagement—indeed, our acquaintance—is quite new,” Elizabeth excused him. “We know very little about one another.”
“But Miss Elizabeth, that only means that you must learn.”
“Indeed, yes,” she agreed, and chuckled as she watched Darcy set Fanny down on the floor. With ardent eyes, she soon began to roll, over and over, to get back to where she and Georgiana now stood. Landing at Elizabeth’s feet, she threw up her arms, asking to be held. Elizabeth chuckled as she lifted her up, and the sweet baby kissed her on her cheek.
“Oh, Darcy, she’s so adorable!”
“Will,” Georgiana reminded her.
“Will,” she repeated dutifully, blushing all the while.
“I did not think I could be jealous of my own daughter,” he teased.
Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat at the gleam in his eyes, which reminded her too much of earlier, when the two of them had been alone.
“What do you mean, sir?” asked Georgiana with a chuckle. “Because she actually kissed her?”
“No, not at all,” he said, mischievous look in full force. “Because I want to kiss her too.”
“No more laudanum for you, sir,” Elizabeth scolded him.
“I have not had any since noon,” he defended himself. “The desire is not drug-induced, I assure you.”
She giggled. “I did not think so.
“Come back over, my dear, and sit with me here,” he entreated her. “Francesca needs to exercise if she is ever to walk properly.”
“If she has been standing, she may well figure out how to walk soon enough. But it is certainly something that should be encouraged.”
As Elizabeth reached the sofa, her intention was to take the chair nearby, yet this plan was circumvented by Darcy, who brought her down with a wicked lack of ceremony right by his side. The pair of them laughed together, and he wrapped an arm around her middle to hold her there.
“Sir, it cannot work,” she protested. “My seat is precarious at best, and our company must surely find it shocking to behold.”
“This is my convalescence, and you are my fiancé,” he said with a smirk. “I shall treat them each exactly how I please. There is no person currently in this room I do not consider a part of my family, my dear.”
“Even Jane?” she teased him.
“Is she not to be my sister?” he asked, smiling at Jane and casting her a wink. “She must soon learn that there are times when my mischievous beast comes out to play.”
Jane laughed at this. “Mr. Darcy, you are most certainly nothing at all like we perceived you to be on the night you would not dance with anyone and soon left the assembly. I am happy to learn of your more playful nature.”
He blushed at this, saying, “I was not myself that night. You cannot begin to perceive what it feels like, being so uncomfortable in a room. Nothing like here, where I know I am with friends. A room filled with strangers is—well, something I rarely care to endure.”
“I must agree with my brother,” said Georgiana. “Though I have speculated on the reason for it. After our mother died while birthing me, our father saw no occasion to bother himself with balls or parties, and so, other than when we were sent off to school, we were seldom forced to endure such company. Perhaps if we had been less sheltered as children, meeting strangers might be done more easily.”
Elizabeth felt a wave of sympathy for the Darcy siblings. Death and loss in their lives seemed to be something of a theme—one which she hoped would now be ending.
Chapter Eighteen
Other than his blasted ankle, Darcy was feeling particularly satisfied with his new lot in life. Though he and Elizabeth had yet to determine when and how their marriage should be accomplished, just knowing he would soon be married to such a kind, caring, and strong young woman left him practically giddy with happiness. And he could hardly wait for his leg to mend, for that young woman tempted him in other ways which would most certainly require them to be alone.
“Sir, you must know I cannot sit idly all the time,” she told him early the next day. “I should like to go out with Jane and Bingley and explore the garden, but I do not wish to abandon you if you would not like to be alone.”
He smiled warmly at her. “But for my ankle, my dear, I would have loved to come along. I am quite fond of walking myself. You must not feel tethered to me, Lizzy, but know that I will miss having you near while you are gone. But I assure you, the anticipation of your returning shall help me to endure.”
Elizabeth grinned at this statement, though he could hardly tell if his words were believed, or if she believed he was simply attempting to be pleasing. In any case, it earned him a kiss on the cheek, which caused both Georgiana and Mrs. Avery to glance up, smiling knowingly.
“If you are going to kiss me, love, you may as well do it properly,” he told her, capturing her face and drawing her mouth to his own. Her offering was short, but sweet, and would surely tide him over until her return. He watched her departure and marveled at the butterflies in his gut—before he’d met Elizabeth Bennet, he’d always believed that particular reaction to someone’s touch must surely be a myth. Now, he was quite pleased to have learned otherwise.
“Brother, what is that little smile about your lips?” Georgiana teased, bringing him out of his reverie.
“None of your sass, imp,” he told her as he laid back into his pillows. “I believe I shall take a nap for a while.”
“Shall we take the children into the main salon, sir?” asked Mrs. Avery.
“Nay, indeed,” he told her. “None of you are bothering me.”
Darcy did not know how long he slept before being awakened by a shrill exclamation. “Mr. Darcy? Whatever has happened to you, sir?”
It was Caroline Bingley, back from all her visiting. Butterflies of a different kind now assailed him as he prepared to endure her.
“I should think it obvious what has happened, Caroline,” he replied tiredly. “My ankle has been broken, and I have been deposited here so I need not mount the stairs.”
“Goodness, sir, why did you not write to tell me?” she scolded him. “I was enjoying my time with Louisa, but had I known of your injury, I could certainly have been spared.”
“The injury is but three days old,” Darcy replied, shrugging. “Besides, I have been tended to quite well by my fiancée, you can be sure.”
“Your—fiancée—sir?” she gasped. “Forgive me, but have I not been gone just six days? When I left, I had no notion you even liked anybody. Where did you get a fiancée, sir?”
Georgiana chuckled. “The leg and the girl were all part of the same adventure, Miss Bingley. It is quite romantic, really.”
“Hush, imp, she need not know everything.”
“And who is this girl you wish to marry, Mr. Darcy? Is she known to me?”
“I am to marry Miss Elizabeth Bennet as soon as may be,” Darcy explained.
“What? The girl you told me had ‘fine eyes’?” she asked, smirking. “Perhaps you liked her more than I had perceived. After all, you did seem to enjoy her company during the card games. But I had it from Mr. Collins that the two of them would soon marry. You have not stolen her away, have you, Darcy?”
“Indeed, I have,” he said, smirking. “Though she did not appear unwilling.”
“But sir, such a mousy little thing. And you must be aware the family is in want of the proper connections. I have heard their uncle is in trade, and keeps both his home and his shop near Cheapside. What will Lady Catherine say?”
“Since I have no notion of telling her aught ahead of time, what else can she say other than that she wishes me happy? And do you know something, Caroline? For the first time in my life, I actually believe I shall be.”
“Everyone has their own tastes, to be sure,” she sniffed
disdainfully. “For my own part, I have never seen anything unusual about her eyes, which you profess to be fine. Her hair is particularly ordinary, and all that walking about has left her skin somewhat brown and coarse. And in her manner of address, there is a want for decorum as well. She has a certain sort of conceited independence which I cannot like. Now her sister, Jane, on the other hand, is quite lovely. It is unfortunate for her that she has been burdened with such a family.”
“Miss Jane has come to stay at Netherfield too,” said Georgiana, smirking. “She and your brother seem to be getting on famously, from what I have seen. Perhaps if the two marry, Miss Elizabeth’s want of connections will be fixed through your own family.”
Caroline’s face fell. “I am sure, madam, that my brother would not be lured into a marriage involving that family himself. He is not so well set up as Darcy, who has a fine house, and nobody to tell him how to conduct himself now that his wife is gone. It is quite shocking, really, but I suppose if he has set his course, there is nothing that can be done to dissuade him.”
“That is correct,” Darcy replied. This conversation soon ended as the Bennet sisters and Mr. Bingley entered the room, all three smiling at some joke one of them must have told.
“Ah, Caroline, I see that you have discovered the invalid,” said Bingley. “I trust he has explained everything?”
“I believe the important bits have been disclosed, sir,” she replied, attempting at civility. “Miss Eliza, it seems I am to wish you happy. I have ordered some refreshments to be sent soon. Perhaps you will wish to pour out the tea this afternoon? I am certain that if you are to marry Mr. Darcy that you must soon learn all his preferences, and as I have been friends with him for years, I could be a great help, if you will allow me to instruct you.”
“Indeed, madam, I have been enjoying the process of discovering his preferences on my own,” Elizabeth replied, smiling sweetly at her. Darcy had the distinct impression there was about to be a cat fight quite soon. The two women were certainly baring their claws, and to be the prize over which they would fight was just a little gratifying, even though he knew he must nip it in the bud.
“Ladies, please,” he admonished them. “Caroline, Elizabeth and I are quite capable of learning to get on well together, I can assure you. What knowledge she might lack of my desires will quite soon be made known to her.”
“Indeed?” Caroline scoffed. “And when is the wedding to be?”
“I have been thinking on it a great deal,” said Darcy. “Though my leg would prove too much of a difficulty to hold an actual wedding ceremony, there is no reason why Elizabeth and I cannot marry privately, and hold the celebration when I am once again able to use both legs. If that would be agreeable to you, Lizzy?”
“It is not me you will be disappointing, but my mother, if you deprive her of all her planning,” said Elizabeth. “To see all her daughters marry has long been her dream, but I believe in large part it was because then she could have a hand in planning the weddings. She has, on many occasions, been asked to help design gowns for her friends, and arrange the flowers and designs for their banquets, and other such things. Now, at the first real excuse she would have in her own family, she will be disheartened at the lack of need.”
“I shall placate her with promises of the future event,” said Darcy, smiling. “For, there are many people who would be quite put out if we do not hold some kind of a party. Both among your friends and family, and mine.”
“Sir, do not let my sister fool you,” said Jane, smiling. “Her romantical notions of being in love, wearing a fine white gown, and speaking her vows from her heart, will not be put to rest so easily. I can only hope you will not completely deny her in it.”
“Indeed, not,” Darcy agreed. “I shall dress her in the finest wedding gown ever created just as soon as I am ready. And for the rest of it, I will endeavor to be worthy.”
Chapter Nineteen
Over the next four days, Darcy began to make attempts to walk a little, though not very far, so that he could stretch his limbs and make proper use of the water closet. Elizabeth was always on hand to assist him in getting up, and handing him the cane Mr. Bingley had bought.
“Tonight, I shall certainly manage to walk to the dining hall, and be seated among the guests for the meal,” said Darcy with a hopeful smile.
“Though you shall not sit with your leg hanging down, sir,” Elizabeth scolded. “We must bring in a stool for it to rest upon while you are there, for I’ll not have you hurting yourself.”
He cast her an amused glace. “Oh, you won’t?”
“Certainly not,” she persisted. “Would you like your leg to remain lame? I do not think so!”
“You’re quite right, my dear,” he agreed. “But, if we are to have such a stool, perhaps it ought to be added to the room now, before the guests begin to arrive.”
“Of course it must,” she agreed. “I shall tell Miss Bingley right away.”
“Hold on, my dear, had you not noticed we are the only two here?” he teased her, capturing her hand and drawing her in closer.
“Sir, I begin to fear you shall corrupt me completely,” she teased him, bending down to kiss his forehead.”
“Lower, sweetheart,” he told her.
Giggling, she sat down at his side, fitting her lips to his. Darcy’s hand came up around the back of her neck, holding her there while he ravaged her with his tongue. Elizabeth gasped softly into his mouth, meeting the invasion in full force. Darcy leaned backwards, causing her to fall on top of him. Though she giggled, Elizabeth did not stop kissing him.
The door opened, followed by a masculine chuckle. “You two must marry soon. That much is clear,” said Bingley as he came more fully into the room.
Darcy let go, and a blushing Elizabeth sat up and looked at the intruder. “Sir, perhaps you could make my suggestion for me? I was about to tell Caroline that Will could use a stool in the dining room, so he might rest his foot upon it tonight during our dinner.”
“Yes, you really look as though you were headed for the door,” he teased her. “I think it may be better that you go, if this is to be the result of leaving the two of you alone. I needed to speak with my friend anyway.”
Elizabeth sighed. “Yes, sir.”
She cast Darcy an amused, somewhat embarrassed glance as she headed out into the hall, and shut the door behind her. It was likely that Miss Bingley and the others were in the main parlor, which seemed to be where the household usually gathered before Darcy had hurt himself. Discovering them there, she smiled warmly.
“Is Jane not among you?” asked Elizabeth curiously.
“We have not seen her all day,” said Georgiana with a little smirk. “Though I know this morning she was out walking with Bingley yet again. I wonder at the two of them; what can they find to talk about?”
Elizabeth hid a smile, for she knew that the attraction between Jane and Bingley was growing almost as quickly as hers and Darcy’s, though whether or not the two of them had been kissing each other in quite the manner as she and her fiancé, she had yet to determine. She only knew that it was obvious that they wanted to.
Her parents had sent Jane along to lend propriety to the situation, yet it did not seem as though it had helped. Instead, she was often alone with Darcy, and Jane was often alone with Bingley. If she did not miss her guess, Bingley would very soon make an offer for her sister.
Remembering what she had come in here for, she said to Caroline, “Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley have sent me to look for you, Miss Bingley. I believe Darcy will wish to have his leg elevated during the meal. Might you instruct one of the servants to set up a stool of some kind, so that he may use it.”
“That is an excellent idea,” she agreed, nodding. “It must surely be Darcy’s.”
“Yes, of course it is,” Elizabeth agreed, for it was certain if she claimed it herself the woman’s attitude would change drastically. “I pray you will make certain of it before the guests start coming.”
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“I will, indeed,” she said, smiling. “Darcy should then be well pleased. And has it been determined how he shall make his way in to eat? We must surely have a couple of the male servants to help him, I think.”
“He should only need myself, and Mr. Bingley,” said Elizabeth .
“Yes, since we know how much you like to carry him,” Caroline scoffed. “I think Stafford should do nicely. And maybe Harding. They are both strapping young men, who could support him easily.”
“I suppose you could have them on hand, just in case,” Elizabeth conceded. “Though, in truth, I believe Darcy is more like to try to attempt the journey by himself. You know very well he will not want the help.”
“Yes, that I can well believe,” Caroline agreed.