"It looks as though there is not going to be a wedding after all," Miss Bingley said, satisfied by the certain knowledge that should Jane Bennet break her engagement to her brother, Mr. Darcy would have nothing to do with any other Bennet sister.
"Why do you say so?" Mr. Darcy asked, his reverie broken.
"Jane did not look at all happy when she came in just now." Miss Bingley smiled cunningly. "Whatever you said to her yesterday must have upset her a great deal."
"What I said to her yesterday was that I was responsible for four of the most miserable months of her life. I confessed to having separated her and Bingley, and I humbly begged her forgiveness for it," Mr. Darcy stated evenly, although his voice tightened as he spoke. "Consider yourself fortunate, Miss Bingley, that I did not include your name in my confession to Miss Bennet or your brother."
"Well, perhaps she thought better of marrying Charles, anyway," Miss Bingley countered, ignoring his implied threat. "After all, if his best friend disapproves--." Mr. Darcy rose to his feet and threw down his napkin.
"Miss Bingley, I do approve of your brother and Miss Bennet's marriage. Nothing would please me more than to stand at Charles' side as they take their vows, if only to see the look on your face afterward." This was said with a deadly calm that made Miss Bingley's blood run cold. Mr. Darcy strode from the room, where he could not prevent overhearing Jane and Mr. Bingley as they came his way from the opposite wing.
"But Jane, do you have to go to London today? I am sure that Miss Elizabeth is quite safe...." Jane froze in her tracks as her eyes met Mr. Darcy's. Mr. Bingley bumped into Jane and he, too, froze. Mr. Darcy looked at each of them in turn.
"Mr. Darcy," Jane said with a curtsey. "I am afraid that I must leave for London immediately," she glanced at Mr. Bingley, "To see to my sister. I am sorry that we will not be able to spend time together today, but I hope," Jane paused for effect, "I hope to be able to return shortly." Jane curtseyed once more and headed for the door, a tiny smile on her face. Mr. Bingley made as if to follow her, but Mr. Darcy grabbed his arm.
"What has happened to Elizabeth?" Mr. Bingley, taking Jane's cue, played his role to the hilt.
"I do not know. Neither of us will know until Jane arrives in London. Jane has promised to send word...." But Mr. Darcy had already run after Jane, who was being helped onto the back of her mare.
"Miss Bennet! Miss Bennet!" cried the breathless man. "You must tell me. What has happened to your sister?" Jane tried to look troubled.
"I cannot say exactly. She was supposed to leave for London this morning for a planned visit to Olivia Crenshaw, but she disappeared from Longbourn yesterday afternoon."
Mr. Darcy went pale. He turned and ran into the house. Jane worried that she had gone too far, then decided it was for the best. Mr. Darcy abruptly bolted out of the house again. He shouted something to a stable hand and then approached Jane once more, who sat on her mount, confused by Mr. Darcy's erratic behavior. Mr. Bingley had followed Mr. Darcy out of the house and was equally perplexed.
"Miss Bennet, if you wish to go to London, may I offer you the use of my carriage?" Mr. Darcy asked excitedly.
"You are very kind, sir, but I am going to London in the carriage that Miss Crenshaw sent to transport Lizzy." Mr. Darcy nodded absentmindedly. Then he bowed and rushed back into the house, very nearly colliding with Miss Bingley.
• • •
"I think I will go and visit my Aunt and Uncle Gardiner this morning, Elizabeth said over breakfast. "That way if your Colonel Fitzwilliam returns," she smiled at Olivia, who blushed and made a face that her father did not see.
"Oh? Does the Colonel plan on coming by today? I suppose it is to be expected...I should get used to it," Mr. Crenshaw said with a wink to his daughter. Edward, whose two week leave had just begun, could not contain his curiosity.
"Has the Colonel proposed yet?" Mr. Crenshaw gave him a look of warning. "And how come the Little Colonel is here?"
"The Little Colonel--we do have to find another name for that dog--is here because he was the Colonel's gift to me," Olivia said, smiling down at the dog which was at that moment at her foot consuming a sausage.
"Really? I would have thought that he could afford a ring," Edward retorted, and both Olivia and Elizabeth made faces at him.
Mr. Crenshaw reminded Elizabeth to write to her father before she left, and she retired to his study for writing things. She hoped that Olivia's coachman would return soon with her luggage. She had slept in Olivia's nightgown, and was struggling to maintain her dignity in one of Olivia's morning dresses. Elizabeth hoped to retrieve a dress she thought she had left at the Gardiner's. That way, she would be able to breathe normally until her trunk arrived. Later that morning she was received by her surprised aunt, who sternly scolded her for her foolish behavior. Elizabeth accepted the scolding she knew she deserved, and in turn she imparted the entire tale of her relationship with Mr. Darcy.
"And now he is come to Hertfordshire, and I do not know how to face him again. I said such ugly, hateful things to him. He must despise me so," Elizabeth said through her tears.
"That is not what Jane told you. Why do you doubt her?" Mrs. Gardiner said in a soothing tone.
"I do not--I simply cannot believe it." She raised her head from where it lay in her aunt's lap. "It seems too good to be true. And if it is true...I do not know that I am equal to his love."
"Oh tush, child! I never heard such nonsense." Mrs. Gardiner said, handing Elizabeth a second handkerchief.
"I did not know I loved Mr. Darcy until after I thought I had lost him forever. It may all be some sick fantasy of mine, pining for what is no longer within my reach. I am afraid that what I feel for Mr. Darcy is not what it ought to be. His feelings for me are so intense...I--." Mrs. Gardiner drew her niece close and hugged her tightly.
"Nonsense," she repeated.
• • •
The Colonel was admitted to Olivia's presence by Edward, who seemed reluctant to leave the couple alone. Olivia glared at her brother significantly, but it was the Colonel's commanding demeanor that ultimately made him withdraw. Olivia put aside her sewing and the Colonel joined her on the settee. The Little Colonel immediately joined the couple, curling up in the Colonel's lap.
"What has become of Miss Bennet?" the Colonel asked.
"She has gone to visit her aunt," Olivia replied with a blush. "She was most embarrassed by her untimely entrance yesterday and was determined not to repeat it."
"Good," Colonel Fitzwilliam declared, relaxing a bit. "We can discuss her problems in a moment. But first, you and I have some unfinished business." He rose and went to the table where the small box sat. He retrieved the box and opened it, revealing a double strand of pearls. The Colonel held it up before Olivia and said simply, "May I?" She tilted her head forward and the Colonel clasped the pearls around her neck.
"I know it is traditional to offer a ring, but my grandmother made me promise to give these to the lady I marry. You will marry me?" Olivia made a face.
"Is this your idea of a proposal?" she asked tentatively. It was not what she expected, but if this was as good as it was going to be, she was not about to pass up her opportunity.
"Far from it," the Colonel laughed. "But on two occasions I came here ready to propose and failed utterly. I thought I should secure a commitment from you right off, before anything else befell us," the Colonel grinned. "Then I would be more than happy to launch into raptures about the beauty of your hair, the wonderful curve of your throat, the--." Mr. Crenshaw and Edward entered the room at that precise moment. "See?" the Colonel said with a jerk of his head as he picked up the puppy and rose to greet his future father in law.
"Look at my engagement gift, father," Olivia said, as her eyes met the Colonel's. He smiled at her and accepted the congratulations of his future father and brother in law. Olivia went to the mirror above the mantle and peered at the elegant necklace with the diamond-encrusted clasp. She turned around and smiled at the Colonel
, the two of them momentarily oblivious to the activity around them. After a second, they rejoined the conversation and began to discuss their future.
• • •
Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth found the dress they were seeking in the closet of the guestroom, and Mrs. Gardiner went to the attic and found another dress that could be let out slightly to fit Elizabeth, just in case. They repaired to Mrs. Gardiner's room, where good light and a steady breeze could be found. As they sat at their work, a noise was heard in the hallway. A moment later, Jane was announced. Both women were surprised to see her.
"Have you run away as well? You were not expected here for another week," Mrs. Gardiner said as she kissed Jane. But Jane's eyes were fixed on Elizabeth, and Elizabeth rose and blushed as Jane responded to her aunt's question.
"I thought I would come today, Aunt, since there was an empty carriage at my disposal," she said, not taking her eyes off of her sibling. Mrs. Gardiner went to see about arrangements for Jane, tactfully leaving the two ladies to talk.
"Jane, what are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked anxiously. She feared that Jane and Mr. Bingley had gotten into some sort of quarrel. But Jane sat on the edge of the bed and would not be distracted from her own agenda.
"I might ask the same of you, Lizzy," she said defiantly. Elizabeth was slightly amused by Jane's recently developed assertiveness, but she attempted to disarm her nonetheless.
"I am here visiting my aunt. Olivia was to receive a special visitor this morning and I wanted to allow her some privacy..."
"You know full well what I mean, Lizzy," Jane snapped, eyes aflame.
"I know nothing of the kind. You asked me to stay and see Mr. Darcy and I told you that I would think about it. I decided to make my trip to London as planned."
"As planned? As I recall, you had no plans to go slipping off in the dark of night!"
"Oh, Jane, do not be melodramatic! I left in broad daylight in the early afternoon!"
"Do not be coy, Lizzy!'
"Jane! What has got into you? If you are so concerned about Mr. Darcy, you can rest assured that I will speak to him upon my return to Hertfordshire."
"You can rest assured that Mr. Darcy will be in London before nightfall. He knows that you are in town, Lizzy."
"You did not--you could not! Jane," Elizabeth cried. "What have you done?"
"I have done nothing. I simply told Charles that you had gone to London unexpectedly. Mr. Darcy overheard our conversation. He loves you, Lizzy. If you will not see him in Hertfordshire, he will come to London to see you." Elizabeth sat on the bed. She felt faint and numb. An hour earlier she had felt lighthearted and free; now she was trapped. Mr. Darcy had the resources to track her to the ends of the earth. And he had the tenacity to pursue her: Was this love or just an obsession?
Mr. Darcy had, in fact, arrived in London well before Jane. Since she had refused his offer of a carriage, he had ridden on horseback to save time and, to the surprise of his household staff, he appeared at his townhouse before noon. Now he sat in his chambers pondering the very same question as Elizabeth. Had he gone too far? Perhaps he should have waited for her in Hertfordshire. How would Elizabeth react if she knew he had followed her to London like a desperate man?
• • •
Since Jane had intended to come to London in July with her mother to purchase wedding clothes, it was decided that Jane should remain in town and make her purchases early. Mr. Gardiner sent an express to Longbourn with that news and Jane silently prayed that her mother would not choose to drop everything and join her in London. There was enough to worry about with Elizabeth--their mother's presence would only complicate things. Jane asked Mr. Gardiner to include a line in his express to make certain that Mr. Bingley was informed of her change in plans. That taken care of, she turned her attention to Elizabeth's problem.
"Aunt Gardiner," Jane said after Elizabeth returned to the Crenshaw's home, "I am afraid this is all my fault. I am afraid that I frightened Lizzy into leaving Hertfordshire by insisting that she go and speak to Mr. Darcy."
"Lizzy has never been bullied into anything in her life, least of all by you, dear," Mrs. Gardiner laughed. "She has always acted according to her own judgment, though in this case I am not at all certain that she knows what she is doing."
"We have to do something, Aunt," Jane said worriedly. "Two people so much in love should be together."
"Even if one of those people very nearly ruined your chance of happiness with Mr. Bingley?"
"I have forgiven Mr. Darcy. I do not believe he acted out of malice. And even if I did, if Lizzy truly loved him...I would like to think that I would not be so cruel as to begrudge her what was denied me." Mrs. Gardiner looked at her niece indulgently.
"Lizzy is right about you," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "You are too good."
• • •
When Elizabeth reached the Crenshaw's home, she immediately set about unpacking the trunk that had arrived on Olivia's carriage. Olivia popped her head in through the open door. She held out the battered box that she had shown Elizabeth a day earlier.
"Would you like to know what this contains?" she asked coyly. Elizabeth looked up from her task and spying the box, eagerly came forward.
"Yes, please!" she grinned. Olivia made a display of opening the box, withdrawing the velvet pouch and laying the precious pearls in Elizabeth's hands.
"They are beautiful, Livy! I have never held a strand of pearls before."
"They make an unusual engagement gift, do they not?" Olivia said airily, anticipating Elizabeth's reaction. She was not disappointed.
"Engaged! Colonel Fitzwilliam finally proposed?" Olivia showed her a wry smile.
"Well, suffice to say we are engaged." Elizabeth frowned, then pressed Olivia for details.
"Livy, I do not believe one word of what you say!"
"It is true. The Colonel told me that his grandmother left the pearls to him with strict instructions that he was to give them to the lady that he married (otherwise, I suppose, they might have ended up in the hands of some opportunistic showgirl or something). Anyway, the Colonel placed them around my neck and said, 'You will marry me, will you not?' He promised to regale me with the two speeches he wrote earlier and failed to deliver and to devote hours to rhapsodizing on my perfection at another time," Olivia laughed, with a particularly inept imitation of the Colonel's voice.
"And you accepted such a proposal?" Elizabeth managed through her laughter.
"Yes, I did," Olivia said, growing serious. "I am afraid I have fallen hopelessly in love with the man, and there is no way he could have made his proposal that would have prevented me from accepting." Elizabeth got a faraway look in her eye and Olivia, deciding that it was too soon to broach the subject of Mr. Darcy, left Elizabeth to her unpacking.
• • •
As Mr. Darcy made his way downstairs, Mr. Harris, the butler, informed him that Colonel Fitzwilliam was in his study. Surprised, to say the least, Mr. Darcy immediately sought out his cousin. He found the Colonel seated at his desk.
"Fitzwilliam! What on earth are you doing here?" The Colonel glanced up briefly and then continued writing.
"I am writing a letter to Mama," he said brightly.
"You came here to write a letter?" Mr. Darcy was still perplexed.
"I came here to see you, cousin," the Colonel replied as he applied his seal to the hot wax on the missive.
"How did you know I was in town? I only arrived a couple of hours ago," Mr. Darcy asked as the Colonel abandoned the desk and slipped into an armchair. Mr. Darcy poured out two glasses of port and joined him.
"I saw Miss Elizabeth Bennet yesterday." Mr. Darcy immediately tensed. "I do not know whether or not you saw her in Hertfordshire, but either way, it was an even bet that you would follow her to town."
"How did she appear? Was she all right?" Mr. Darcy asked anxiously.
"She was fine, a bit tired perhaps from the journey." He observed Mr. Darcy closely. "What did happ
en in Hertfordshire?"
"Nothing," Mr. Darcy replied, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "I never even saw her. I arrived at Netherfield two days ago and spoke with Jane Bennet--."
"About her sister?" the Colonel interjected.
"No, at least not by design. Miss Bennet greeted me with all the warmth and sincerity of an old friend. I felt so guilty about deceiving her I thought it only fair that she know the truth about my interference in the matter of her and Bingley."
"How did she take the news?"
"She took it better than I had any right to expect. She thought that I was trying to protect my friend." Mr. Darcy paused, uncomfortably, and then pressed on. "She asked about Elizabeth and I told her that Elizabeth knew of my role in separating her and Bingley. She left Netherfield soon after our conversation, and when next I saw her this morning, she informed me that Elizabeth had disappeared from Longbourn."
"Olivia had invited her for a visit. She simply left Hertfordshire a day earlier than planned," the Colonel said, trying to ease his cousin's anxiety.
"Yes, her sister did say that. And yet--." Darcy looked up abruptly. "Since when is Miss Crenshaw 'Olivia' to you, Fitzwilliam. Has something happened?" He could not suppress a smirk as the Colonel blushed slightly.
"Olivia and I are to be married," the Colonel said, feeling himself blush and feeling foolish for blushing. Mr. Darcy's face brightened for the first time in weeks.
"Fitzwilliam! You never told me you were contemplating marriage!"
"Are you not the cousin who has been counseling me to marry Miss Crenshaw for the past four months? I may be slow, cousin, but I know a good idea when I hear one," the Colonel laughed. Mr. Darcy poured out more port and toasted the Colonel.
"This calls for a celebration! I will host a dinner for the two of you. It is official, I take it?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"The banns have not been published and we have not set a date or ordered white soup, or whatever it is that engaged couples do. But I have given her grandmother's pearls." Mr. Darcy emitted a low whistle. He clapped his cousin on the back and went to his desk to prepare a guest list.
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