Not just for herself, of course. Caroline could never be so selfish and self-interested. No, even if Darcy did not marry her, as a friend, she could not sit by while he made a dreadful mistake he would regret all his life. Poor Darcy would be the laughing stock of the ton if word got out that he had thrown himself away on some grubby miss who did not know how to dress her hair and who preferred rambling about the countryside over improving her accomplishments. How humiliated Darcy would be if such a wife was left in charge of entertaining his friends. She would not know how to do it. No, Caroline was not about to allow Darcy to make such a mistake. He might be captivated by Eliza Bennet but once he became aware of her flaws, he would come to his senses and know it was a foolish passion, not meant to be taken seriously.
And perhaps it would work in Caroline’s favour. Most men nursed foolish passions before turning their attention to finding a suitable wife. It helped them appreciate when they had found the right person by having the wrong person to compare them to. Once she and Darcy were wed, they would laugh together about the time he had his head turned by a girl in muddy hems and no style. He would confess how glad he was that he had not thrown himself away on a disgraceful match and he would hold Caroline in his arms and tell her she was the only woman he would ever have married. Then he would kiss her, and…
“Caroline? Caroline!”
Caroline blinked, pulling herself out of her daydream to see Louisa standing at her elbow. She was looking at the pianoforte where Elizabeth and Georgiana sat together while Darcy stood beside them, turning the pages.
“What do you make of this?” she asked. “This Miss Bennet has her feet firmly under the table. I cannot work out why. Mr Darcy has never welcomed strangers with open arms but here he is, hanging about her and inviting her to all but live at Pemberley.”
Caroline stared at her sister. “What do you mean? He has not asked her to stay here as his guest?”
Louisa shrugged. “No. Not yet anyway. Who knows how matters might stand by the end of the week at this rate. But he has asked her to come again tomorrow morning and spend the day here. Or at least he has encouraged little Miss to ask.”
Caroline pursed her lips. “I do not like it. She is using poor Miss Darcy for her own gains. Look at her. She hangs about her and cries her up, all as a way to get closer to her brother. I hate such cheap tricks. I wonder Darcy does not see through them.”
“He does seem very taken with her. Though, for my part, I see nothing so very extraordinary in her. She is tolerable but I would not have thought her handsome enough to tempt him. And the way he met her! Covered in mud, running about his woods with his dog.” Louisa sniffed. “I suppose every man likes an oddity now and then. But I would not distress yourself, sister. Do you really think Darcy, a man famously particular and who never looks at a lady but to see a flaw, would think seriously about such a woman?” She shook her head decisively. “He is a clever man. He knows she would embarrass him. Imagine having her as mistress during the London season?”
Caroline laughed out loud at the thought as the discomfort in her chest released. Of course Louisa was right. Darcy was merely enjoying a harmless flirtation. Why, it was probably the very fact that he would never marry Miss Eliza Bennet that made him feel at ease to flirt with her so. He would enjoy her smiles and her strange manner and then she would return home where she belonged and Darcy would offer for Caroline as he should.
Her gaze drifted back to Darcy who was staring at Elizabeth. Elizabeth was laughing and making some comment Caroline was sure was delightfully witty in some savage, rustic sort of way and Darcy was looking at her as though she was the answer to all his prayers. His usually stern face was soft and a gentle smile played about his lips. He could not take his eyes from her. The throb of unease returned.
“Men have been known to make foolish choices in their brides,” she murmured. “We cannot be too sure Darcy would not do the same. Our own Prince married an actress, do not forget. And Lord Sydney found his wife in a brothel. Darcy would not be the first man to propose on a whim only to spend the rest of his life regretting his choice.”
Louisa sighed and nodded. “But what can we do apart from point out the certain evils in his choice, if indeed she is his choice? He is a proud man. He will not like to feel as though he is being manoeuvred.”
Caroline narrowed her eyes. She did not know what she could do. She never anticipated being in this situation, especially not with a girl without a penny to her name. Even if she was a gentleman’s daughter and therefore of the same rank as Darcy, which Caroline certainly was not. That ugly worm of envy squirmed in her until she could hardly bear it. But she would find a way to prevent Darcy from making the worst mistake of his life. He needed her now more than ever.
Darcy walked Elizabeth to the door when the carriage arrived.
“I want to thank you for your friendship to my sister. I have never seen her so light and happy. She is an altered creature.”
Elizabeth smiled at Georgiana who was speaking with Mr and Mrs Gardiner in an animated manner.
“I have done very little. Those qualities were there already. All I did was allow her room to bring them out. She is a dear girl.”
“She is. She is very important to me.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I think you are also quite an altered creature.”
Darcy stared down at her. “Me? You think I am altered?”
“Very much. When I met you, you were stern and forbidding. Now, you look at your sister and talk about how much she means to you. I think perhaps you are kinder than you allow people to see.”
Darcy smiled down at her. “Miss Bennet,” he began. “Do you think…”
“Do I think what?”
Darcy shook his head. “It is no matter. The carriage is here. I will send it for you again tomorrow. There are some places in the garden I would like to show you. I think they would appeal to your taste for wilderness. You have seen all over the house and the woods but the park is still unexplored. We shall remedy it if it agrees with you.”
“I would like that more than anything. You already know me too well.”
Darcy did not respond as Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst joined them. Miss Bingley stood next to Darcy as though she was united with him in seeing off their guests.
“Thank you for dining with us this evening, Miss Eliza,” she said. If she could have linked her arm through Darcy’s, Elizabeth suspected she would have done it. “It was good of you to grace us with your company.” She smiled up at Darcy as though she had performed her services as mistress admirably. Darcy was not looking at her. His eyes were fixed on Elizabeth’s face.
“If you are agreeable, I can send the carriage early, that you might have breakfast with us,” he suggested.
Miss Bingley’s smile froze on her face.
“Do you think that is a good idea,” she said. “I am sure you said something about having letters to write to London. Is that not why you returned to Pemberley earlier then you originally planned?”
“I have already attended to my business, Miss Bingley” Darcy said in a terse. “You do not need to remind me of my duties.”
Miss Bingley’s smile was still frozen in place. “Of course not. I would never presume… Miss Eliza, I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. We did not have a chance to speak much tonight. I hope we might remedy that tomorrow.”
“I can hardly wait, Miss Bingley,” said Elizabeth with a bemused look at her aunt.
Miss Bingley stayed next to Darcy as they waved the carriage away. Miss Bingley sighed when it rounded the corner and disappeared from view.
“Visitors are all very well, but it is so much better to have one’s home to oneself. Miss Eliza is a good sort of girl. I daresay there is no real harm in her.”
Darcy ignored her as he continued to look down the path where Elizabeth’s carriage had disappeared. Miss Bingley stared at him, scarcely able to believe he was ignoring her. When she made an offended huff and returned to the hou
se, he still did not look away.
26
Elizabeth leaned her head on her hand as she read over her letter to Jane. Since she had arrived in Lambton, she had filled it in with little accounts of her explorations and how their aunt and uncle enjoyed themselves. But this morning, she found there was only one person she wanted to write about. She tried to sound indifferent but she found it impossible to mention anything without including Mr Darcy in some way. Either he was there, or he said or did something that was relevant to whatever she discussed. He filled her head and she was still not sure how it had happened or when. All she knew was that his face had been before her when she closed her eyes the night before and she awoke with a smile this morning. She had been chewing her lip and glancing at the clock to see how much closer it was to when his carriage would arrive to bring her to Pemberley.
Do not be foolish, Lizzy, she told herself. He will not think of you seriously as a bride. He likes you as a friend for his sister but he is not about to fall in love with you. Guard your heart against him.
Elizabeth did not mean to be unhappy about him but she found it hard not to smile when her mind wandered to him as it did whenever she left it unguarded for a moment. Was he thinking about her?
No, she was doing it again. Daydreaming about a man who, for all his pleasantness, was not about to look for a bride with no money of her own. She would do her best to see it as a harmless flirtation and leave it at that. And though Darcy showed no love for Miss Bingley despite the lady’s best efforts, Elizabeth was honest enough to admit she was exactly the sort of woman a Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley was sure to marry. She had fortune and all the training to run a great house like Pemberley. Though Elizabeth was sure Darcy could not love Miss Bingley, she knew men like him put duty before their hearts.
But none of her scoldings or good intentions stopped her heart from pounding with joy when she heard Darcy’s carriage arrive in the courtyard outside her window. She leaned out to double check it was his and her face burst into a smile when Darcy himself jumped out. As if he sensed her eyes on him, he turned in her direction. Elizabeth gasped and drew back, desperately hoping he had not seen her stare out at him. She chanced looking out again but she could not see him.
A moment later, her aunt knocked on her door.
“Come, Lizzy,” she cried. “We are all waiting for you.”
“Coming.” Elizabeth checked her face in the mirror one last time. She touched her hair to ensure her unruly curls were still pinned where they belonged and ran her hands nervously over the folds of her gown. She had dressed with more than usual care that morning. But was it too much? She did not want to seem obvious, and a woman like Miss Bingley was bound to notice the extra effort even if no one else did.
Well, it was too late to change now. She grabbed her shawl, threw it around her shoulders and hurried to join her family.
Darcy was conversing in a quiet voice with the Gardiners. Matthew Thompson watched him with a jealous eye and when he turned to look at Elizabeth, his face lit up. Elizabeth suppressed a groan as she smiled at him. Much as she liked him, he did not affect her heart as Mr Darcy did.
Darcy also turned. His eyes lit up and he smiled. He held out his hand to her and bowed over hers when she offered it.
“My sister is eager for you to join us,” he said.
“Did Georgiana come with you?”
Darcy hesitated. A faint colour spread across his face. “Er — no. I did not know I was coming myself until the last moment. It was a whim, and —“ He coughed. “Shall we?”
As he escorted Elizabeth to the courtyard, Elizabeth caught the significant smile that passed between her aunt and uncle. They, at any rate, had great hopes for the two of them. Elizabeth wished she could share in them.
Georgiana ran down the steps to greet them. “You did not tell me you were going to Lambton,” she told her brother accusingly.
“Did I not? Forgive me,” said Darcy. Georgiana looked as though she might be cross but she turned away with a smile.
“I am so glad you are here to spend the day. Come. I want to show you some of the new music that has just arrived from London.”
“May I play it?” asked Elizabeth. “I will not get a chance for some months otherwise.”
“Of course.”
Caroline Bingley watched as Elizabeth and Georgiana disappeared to the drawing room arm in arm, leaving Darcy in the courtyard. The Gardiners said something to him and she saw him smile and nod. The couple walked towards the gardens.
Darcy stared after them with a curious look of longing on his handsome face. Caroline could not see what might have caused him to yearn so. The Gardiners were leaning in close to one another as they talked quietly and laughed. There was nothing remarkable about them from what she could see. What might have struck Darcy so?
She would not worry about that for now. Darcy was alone, something she had not expected to happen that day. She had expected Miss Eliza to cling to him like the grasping barnacle she was. If Miss Eliza was foolish enough to leave Mr Darcy unattended while she fawned about his sister, Caroline was not about to make the same error.
“Mr Darcy,” she called. She ran down the steps daintily. Her new bonnet was perched fetchingly over one eye, the height of fashion in London. Her new gown flattered her complexion and showed off her curves. What man could resist her? She paused as Darcy turned to her to enjoy the impact she might have on him.
She might have been wearing rags for all he cared. His eyes were troubled and he looked through her. What was the matter?
“Are you well, sir?” she said in a soft voice. “You look as though something worries you.”
“Nothing at all, Miss Bingley,” he replied in a distracted tone. He glanced towards the Gardiners again. Caroline smiled. She thought she understood him. It had finally hit him that he had allowed people who were not worthy of his presence to have the run of Pemberley. He had been kind and thoughtful but in doing so, he had blurred the lines between what was proper. The Gardiners and Miss Eliza were people he should always be polite to, but he should encourage no greater intimacy than that. And in his kindness, he had forgot himself. Poor Darcy.
“Will you not walk with me?” she asked. “I should like a turn around the garden.”
Darcy paused. He looked as though he might refuse. Caroline pouted. “It has been so long since I have seen them. I should love nothing better than to have you show me around.”
Reluctance warred with courtesy on Darcy’s face and courtesy won.
“Of course. Where would you like to see first?”
Caroline could not recall the first thing about Pemberley’s gardens apart from one location on the lawn by the lake where she promised herself she would build a gazebo once she was mistress of Pemberley. But the Gardiners had walked in that direction and she was not about to run into them.
“Won’t you show me your favourite place?” She smiled winningly. He did not return it but he did not refuse either.
Caroline sighed as they strolled along an elm grove. “I declare, there is no finer place in the world than Pemberley. If I were fortunate enough to have it for my own, I should never want to leave it.”
“Would you not?” Darcy looked down at her, his eyebrows raised. “It surprises me to hear that. I thought you hated leaving London.”
“Who told you that?”
“Your brother. He said you considered it a punishment to leave Mayfair and you thought the countryside was filled with nothing but fields and savages.”
Charles. What on earth was he about? Did he not understand that as her older brother, he owed it to her to do all in his power to promote her to every wealthy, eligible young man he came across? Especially when that wealthy, eligible young man was Mr Darcy. It was fortunate she was willing to take matters into her own hands or she should never find a husband.
“Charles can be rather provoking,” she said. “It is possible I said something like that years ago when I was a green girl. But
it has been years now since I came to realise that an estate in the country where I can be of use to my family, would be my greatest joy. I should like nothing better.”
“I am surprised to hear that. I suppose we all start to question what we truly want and what will really make us happy as we grow older.”
“Oh, we do,” said Caroline quickly. She pressed her fingers into Darcy’s arm. “And we must be careful we do not have our heads turned towards that which might seem exciting right now but would not satisfy us forever. That is how I have come to feel about London.”
“I see.”
They strolled on in silence. Caroline idly plucked at a small blossom from a shrub and hummed softly to herself. She hoped Darcy noticed how at home she looked.
“Miss Eliza is a curious girl,” she ventured. “I find her rather extraordinary. I cannot make out what will become of her.”
“What do you mean?”
Caroline shrugged and tickled the flower along her hand. “I mean, she is of an age where she must marry. Yet I cannot imagine what sort of man would marry her. She is a gentleman’s daughter, yes, but her connections to trade are unfortunate.” She glanced up at Darcy cautiously, worried he might spring to her defence as he had done the night before. He said nothing. Encouraged, Caroline pressed on. “I suppose she must marry wealth due to her family’s unfortunate situation.”
Darcy frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, you know how these things fly about. Miss Eliza has stirred up much interest in Lambton with your attentions to her. I know you do not mean to single her out for any special notice, but you know how people like to gossip. They will be thrilled that Mr Darcy is finally considering marriage, though the girl they suspect is your choice might not be the person they imagined you would choose.” She gave a little laugh which he did not share. She cleared her throat. “Well, naturally, people have discussed Miss Eliza’s situation. She is the second of five daughters.”
An Engagement at Pemberley Page 12