A Dash of Darcy Companions Duo 2

by Leenie Brown

  “It is apparently a travesty of epic proportions for a wife to read a novel – and nearly worthy of a trip to the Tower should that novel be one that her husband has not provided for her.” Bitterness mingled with anger dripped from her tone. “I, knowing his previous thoughts on wishing for a wife with whom to discuss the classics, was shocked and asked, in a fit of pique, if it were acceptable to read a novel if the lady had received it from her mother. You see, I was reading a novel that had been given to me by my mother when he came upon me in the garden. Perhaps if it had been some classic tale by Shakespeare instead of one of those horrid things by Mrs. Radcliffe, I might have never known his opinion on such things until we were married.” She shook her head. “He replied that any lady who would give her daughter a novel without first making sure it was by an author the husband approved was not a fit mother, and her daughter was not the sort of lady he would wish to marry.” She shrugged. “Any possibility of rational discussion dissolved rather quickly, and the meeting ended with my turning him away most severely.” She grimaced. “My tongue can get the best of me at times.”

  Elizabeth laughed lightly. “I believe I understand that.”

  This comment was followed by a short discussion between Elizabeth and Miss Parkes about the dangers of a loose tongue, but Georgiana only heard a word here and there. She was still considering Miss Parkes’ tale.

  “You love Mr. Tibbett?” she asked when the conversation drew to a close.

  “Sadly, yes, and despite his despotic ideals.”

  “How?” Georgiana asked. “He is not what you thought he was.”

  Miss Parkes shook her head. “I do not know. I guess I believe he is still what he was. He just has become so focused on becoming the perfect gentleman that he has forgotten. At least, that is what I hope. He has always wished to be…” She paused as she sought for the right word. “Oh, I do not know how to say it – accepted? Right?”

  “Without fault and attending to duty in the way he thinks is expected?” Elizabeth supplied.

  “Precisely!” Miss Parkes cried. “But he is not viewing things rationally.” She sighed. “I thought my walking away might shake him from it, but it has not.” She rose and smoothed her skirt. “So, I have been attempting to sway him with jealousy.”

  “You have?” Georgiana asked.

  Miss Parkes drew a deep breath and released it. “I fear you will think me horrid and no longer wish to be my friend, but I persuaded Mr. Ralston to play the role of suitor to see if it would spur Mr. Tibbett to view me in a different light. You know — as a woman worthy of an offer. However, it seems it is not working.”

  Georgiana gaped at her. Miss Parkes had persuaded Jack to pretend to court her? Miss Parkes did know that Jack was nothing more than a friend, and he had been completely honest in his replies just as she had suspected and should have known. Her heart sank. There was no denying what had hurt Jack. It was her inability to know whom to trust because he knew she did not trust him.

  “Perhaps I should not confess it, but Mr. Ralston wished me to be successful.” Miss Parkes continued, her eyes focused on the toes of her shoes.

  “Why?” Georgiana asked softly.

  “His affections lie elsewhere.” Miss Parkes looked up at Georgiana. “Mr. Tibbett’s returning to me would protect the lady who holds Mr. Ralston’s heart from marrying before she could see him as more than a friend.”

  Georgiana plopped down on the bench. “He loves me? Jack loves me?” Tears gathered in her eyes. He had left her in such a way just now that she could not doubt he thought he had no chance with her. But then, she had not known she wanted him to have a chance with her. In fact, even now, she was not completely certain what she wanted other than what she had known since yesterday – she did not want to be Mrs. Tibbett.

  “He does.” Miss Parkes sat down beside Georgiana. “Are you well? Have I shared too much?”

  Georgiana made an uncertain sound and shrugged as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I do not know.”

  “I do,” said Elizabeth. “You are not well. Miss Parkes has perhaps shared just enough, and your brother will be pleased to take you home.”

  “He mustn’t know!” Georgiana cried as she brushed frantically at her tears.

  “About what?” Elizabeth asked. “That Mr. Ralston is enamoured with you?”

  Georgiana nodded.

  “My dear,” Elizabeth took Georgiana’s arm and helped her rise, “your brother already suspects as much. I did not until he told me, but it took very little argument to convince me of the veracity of the situation.”

  “Fitzwilliam knows?”

  Elizabeth nodded. “Apparently, some gentlemen think that not-so-accidental meetings in the grove at Rosings and friendly calls made on a lady with no overtures of expectation are to be understood by we ladies as indications of affection.”

  “It is amazing our country runs as well as it does with such foolish creatures at the helm,” Miss Parkes said with a laugh.

  “Oh, they do eventually cotton on,” Elizabeth assured her, “or, at least, the ones that matter do. Now, if I am going to abscond with Mr. Tibbett’s partner for this set, could I prevail upon you, Miss Parkes, to take Georgie’s place?”

  “I would be delighted to be of service as long as I can be assured that I am not harming Miss Darcy in doing so.”

  “Oh, no!” Georgiana cried. “I had determined yesterday that he was not the husband for whom I wished, but I was not certain if I should trust myself with such a decision until I had pondered it for some time. I have been wrong before.”

  Miss Parkes wrapped her arm around Georgiana’s arm which was not being held by Elizabeth. “Then, I will happily stand in for you, Miss Darcy.”

  “That is very good news,” said Elizabeth as they moved to the exit. “After all, I hear tell that often dancing is a good way to encourage affection.”

  Chapter 8

  “Wait here.” Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Miss Parkes had passed one set of doors into the ballroom, and there was a small alcove under the stairs where two chairs flanked a table. “You do not mind sitting here for a moment with her, do you?” she asked Miss Parkes.

  “No, I do not mind at all.” Miss Parkes took a seat.

  “I will get Lady Margaret,” Elizabeth said to Georgiana, “and then we will find my husband and your dance partner,” she said to Miss Parkes.

  Georgiana watched Elizabeth scurry into the ballroom. She willed her tears to stay dried and not gather for a flood as they threatened to do. She had not cried over a gentleman this much since Ramsgate. She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, hoping that it would be impossible to shed tears when one’s eyes were open so wide. If it had not been so painful to refrain from blinking and to hold them in such a position, it might have worked. However, it was painful, and blinking could not be put off forever. So, she dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief and smiled apologetically at Miss Parkes. “I am not normally a watering pot.”

  “Neither am I,” said Miss Parkes, “but I can assure you that I cried for days after that house party in Warwickshire.” She scooted to the edge of her chair and turned toward Georgiana. “I was so distraught at the thought of losing him to some silly notion about the superiority of men in all things.” She paused. “I will grant them superiority in many things, but not all,” she said seriously. “I am not a complete revolutionary.” She gave Georgiana a crooked smile. “Not that Mr. Tibbett would agree.”

  “Indeed,” Georgiana said with a small laugh. “Do you really think he can be brought up to scratch?”

  “I do.” Miss Parkes looked down at her hands, and, for the first time in their short acquaintance, Georgiana saw her blush. “He once told me he loved me. It was on the day before he left for school. He even kissed me, and then he wrote me a letter on my birthday each year he was away.” She peeked up at Georgiana. “I cannot believe a gentleman would forget a love such as that so easily. I have seen how he glares when I am laughing at something Mr. Ralston h
as said. Jealousy beats in his heart. I am almost certain of it.”

  “I wish you well,” Georgiana said. “I wish I could feel so certain of any man.”

  Miss Parkes reached over, placed a hand on Georgiana’s hand, and lowered her voice to a whisper as Lady Margaret approached. “You will. Do consider Jack.”

  Georgiana nodded but did not say a word for she could not if she were to keep from shedding more than one or two tears. Considering Jack was all she had done since he walked out of the ballroom door.

  “My dear girl,” said Lady Margaret. “What have you done to yourself? Elizabeth says you are not feeling quite the thing, and from the looks of you, I would have to say I agree.”

  “Will you see her to the carriage while I find her brother?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I most certainly will,” Lady Margaret said.

  Georgiana rose to leave. “Thank you for sitting with me,” she said to Miss Parkes.

  “Well, seeing as I was part of the reason for your tears, it really was the least I could do.”

  “No,” Georgiana assured her. “I am the reason for my tears. I…” she shrugged as she could not continue to admit her guilt without those tears falling again.

  “We should go find Mr. Tibbett,” Elizabeth interrupted.

  “One moment, Miss Parkes,” Lady Margaret said before Elizabeth and Miss Parkes could leave.

  “Yes, my lady,” Miss Parkes responded with a curtsey.

  “My granddaughter, Mrs. Pratt, informs me that you, for some unknown and inexplicable reason, wish to capture Mr. Tibbett.”

  “I do.” Miss Parkes voice was all earnestness.

  “Then get on with it. There was a loose stone on the paved path to the right in the garden the last time I was here. Perhaps it has not yet been repaired and could cause a lady to lose her footing.” Lady Margaret’s eyebrow and tone of voice both lifted in an indication that she was not merely warning Miss Parkes of a possible hazard.

  “Grandmother!” Georgiana gasped.

  Lady Margaret looked at Georgiana and smiled but made no attempt to excuse herself for suggesting a compromise.

  “I shall bear that in mind,” Miss Parkes said before joining Elizabeth and returning to the ballroom.

  “Games,” Lady Margaret huffed. “As entertaining as they might be to watch, I do not like how they can get so turned about that my granddaughter is in tears.” She took Georgiana by the arm and together, they went to retrieve their wraps.

  “Now,” Lady Margaret said as they descended the steps and began their walk down the carriage line to their vehicle, “tell me what has you in tears. Is this Mr. Ralston’s doing? I shall not abide a gentleman who causes my Georgiana to cry, even if I do enjoy his company as much as I do Mr. Ralston’s.”

  “Oh, Grandmother, it is not his doing. It is mine. Entirely mine.” She waited while her grandmother was handed into the carriage and then she herself was assisted before continuing. “Not a one of these tears are for me,” she said as she settled onto the bench next to Lady Margaret. “They are for Mr. Ralston, but not because of him.”

  “You will have to explain that to me.”

  “While we were dancing, he asked me if I would consider him as a suitor.”

  “And this did not meet with your approval?”

  “Oh, no, I mean, yes.” Georgiana blew out a breath. Her mind was so jumbled. “I was shocked. I had never considered him as anyone who would be interested in me or as someone whom I would wish to have court me, although I do not know why.” She fell silent for a moment.

  Why had she never considered Jack as a possible suitor? She liked him very much. He was so pleasant and always put her at ease. He was handsome, there was no denying that. In fact, as she considered him now, there was absolutely no reason for her to have not considered him before this.

  “One does not always recognize the value of the plate from which she eats every day, until there is no plate from which to eat,” said her grandmother.

  Georgiana nodded. That was it. She had never seen him as anything but a friend.

  “But that cannot be what has led to your tears,” her grandmother prompted.

  It was not. Her tears… Georgiana thought for a moment about their cause, listening again in her mind to the tone of Jack’s voice and watching him leave. “I hurt him,” she blurted. “I questioned him about Miss Parkes and did not readily accept his answers. He left because I was unable to trust him.” She shook her head. That was not true. “No, it was not that I could not trust him; it was that I could not trust myself to trust him.” She turned on the seat and grasped her grandmother’s hands. “I knew he would not lie to me, but I hesitated.”

  “He was playing a part,” Lady Margaret said. “He was not truly courting Miss Parkes.”

  Georgiana smiled. “Yes, yes, I know. He told me, and he would never lie to me.” It was as if a torch had been lit in her heart, and she could see into the dark shadows where she had feared hurt and shame lay waiting for her. “He would never hurt me, Grandmother.” She once again blinked against tears but not tears of sorrow. These were tears of happy realization.

  “And why is that, my dear?” her grandmother prompted.

  Georgiana’s smile grew. “For the same reason you or Fitzwilliam would not hurt me. You love me.”

  “Ah, but your brother or I might cause you pain at some point.”

  Georgiana shook her head. “Not purposefully. You would not purposefully dupe me, and neither would Jack. He loves me.” She flopped back against the bench and clapped her hands. “He loves me,” she said with a sigh. It was a wonderful feeling to know that a gentleman such as Jack Ralston loved her.

  “I am glad you have finally figured that out.”

  Georgiana sat up and looked at her grandmother, who was smirking very much like her cousin Richard did when he felt as if he had outsmarted Fitzwilliam. “You knew?”

  “Yes. I’ve known from the moment he walked into Matlock House when Alistair returned with Anne.”

  “How?”

  “There is no denying the look of a man who is completely smitten when he sees the object of his affection, and Mr. Ralston had that look when he saw you.”

  “Does everyone know?” Georgiana felt somewhat embarrassed at being so blind.

  Her grandmother shrugged. “Most likely.”

  “And you did not tell me?”

  “Why should I tell you?”

  “So, I would know!”

  Lady Margaret shook her head and chuckled. “It is better to discover these things on one’s own than to be told.”

  Georgiana was not at all certain that her grandmother was right. She would have rather known for the past year that the gentleman who was walking with her, calling on her, and dancing with her loved her and was not just playing the part of a kind friend.

  “And what of you? How do you feel about Mr. Ralston?”

  Lady Margaret’s question was to go unanswered for the present for at that moment, the door to the carriage opened, and Elizabeth entered, followed by Darcy.

  “That smile does not look like tears,” Darcy said as he took his seat. “But we are not returning to the ballroom.”

  Georgiana could see his relief in being away from the ball and not finding his sister in tears by the way he settled back against the squabs.

  “There were tears,” his grandmother assured him. “Many tears. However, I am nearly certain we are through with them until she realizes that she may have lost the gentleman she loves.”

  Georgiana gasped. “Do I love him?”

  “I would like to answer no,” Darcy said, “for I do not think I am prepared for you to love any gentleman, but, I would not be doing my duty in seeing you happy if I did. Therefore, I will suggest you spend some time considering life without Mr. Ralston. I have found it to be a very clarifying exercise. If the thought of life without Mr. Ralston does not darken your horizon and colour your existence with a bleakness that feels as if it will crush you, then,
you do not love him. However, if such contemplation does cause such thoughts of desolation, then you may assume you love the chap.”

  Lady Margaret laughed. “That is perhaps a bit extreme,” she said, “but Fitzwilliam has a point. You should take some time to consider carefully how you feel about Mr. Ralston. Marriages are not things which can or should be undone.”

  Oh! The thought of such serious contemplation made Georgiana’s heart quiver. Until just now, she had very much doubted her heart to inform her correctly about anything. Be that as it may, she would at least attempt to do as her brother suggested. “May I apologize to him before I have finished thinking?”

  “Apologize?” Darcy asked.

  “I fear I have hurt him,” Georgiana explained.

  “Yes,” Elizabeth responded, taking her husband’s hand. “It is quite acceptable to apologize to a gentleman you have hurt even if you do not know whether or not you love him.”

  Darcy lifted his wife’s fingers to his lips. “Quite right, my love.”

  “Tonight?” Georgiana asked.

  “No,” her brother responded. “I suspect Mr. Ralston will not be fit for company at present. Maybe tomorrow.”

  Chapter 9

  Jack flopped into his favourite chair near the hearth in his sitting room. With it turned just as it was just now, he could view the blackness of the night outside his window, and tonight that darkness felt like a welcome friend who could understand the bleakness of his life.

  He sighed and wrapped the blanket he had brought with him around his legs. He was heart-sick and exhausted, but he had no desire to find comfort in his bed or to lose himself in sleep, nor did he wish to numb his pain with drink. He did not wish to find comfort.

  He wanted to stew in his misery, to allow it to engulf him, and play itself out. Tomorrow, after a night of feeling each acute pang of rejection, he would pack his things and travel to his father’s hunting lodge. Then, he would allow himself to seek succor for his soul in peace and quiet while tromping about the woods, riding for hours, and collapsing from fatigue into what he hoped would be dreamless sleep.