by Leenie Brown
“No.”
“Very well. Do have a good rest.” He caught her hand and lifted it to his lips.
She shook her head as she watched him leave. They were having such a pleasant time in the library. Why did he have to ruin that with talking? She entered her room and pushed her door closed rather loudly. She liked herself just fine! She tossed her book on the table next to the bed and slipped off her shoes before flopping onto the mattress and staring up at the canopy above her. Resting would be impossible with his words about kindness and thinking well of one’s self chasing each other around her mind. She draped an arm over her tear-filled eyes. Why must he be so disagreeable? And why, oh, why must her heart care so much about what he thought?
Chapter 6
“You have been spending a great deal of time with Caroline.” Darcy took a relaxed position in front of the fire in Richard’s room two days after Christmas. The two of them had retired there before eventually finding their way to their respective beds and seeking sleep.
Richard tossed aside his jacket and began unfastening his waistcoat. “You have been busy elsewhere as you should be, and Georgiana has happily followed along with you. It is good to see her making friends and returning to her former self.” He stopped in his progress of shrugging out of his waistcoat. “You have not mentioned Wickham. I assume he has not been in attendance at Longbourn?”
“We have not seen him.”
“Good.” Richard’s waistcoat joined his jacket in a pile on his bed. “Have you spoken to Mr. Bennet about him?”
Darcy nodded. “I have. Today. Georgiana insisted on accompanying me to the interview.”
“She did?” Richard asked from inside his shirt as he pulled it over his head.
“She did, and I believe her presence made the meeting far more successful than it would have been.” Darcy’s lips tipped up into a half smile.
“How so?”
“Mr. Bennet is not immune to tears.”
“Georgie cried?”
Darcy shook his head. “No, but she did dab her eyes a number of times, and it was enough to unsettle the gentleman.”
“She was well after?” Richard, wearing only his breeches and socks took a seat across from his cousin. Georgiana’s need to tell people about her ordeal did not sit well with him, and he hated to see her hurt or even upset.
“She was.”
“Good.” Richard pulled his nightshirt over his head. He would keep his breeches and sock on until he climbed into bed. There was no need to get unduly chilled.
“Now, about Miss Bingley.”
Richard’s brows furrowed. “What about her?”
“It is unlike you to spend any amount of time with her. In fact, you usually attempt to avoid her at all costs.”
“There have been few others around.”
Darcy’s brow rose. Skepticism suffused his face.
Richard shrugged. “I needed something with which to occupy my time. So, I have been attempting to understand her.”
Skepticism changed to amusement as Darcy shook his head.
“It is not my fault that your betrothed put the notion in my mind.” He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I think I have figured her out — Miss Bingley that is.”
“You have?”
Richard nodded. “I have. She wants improvement in a few areas, so I have set myself to the task.”
“And this is that with which you have decided to occupy yourself? Improving Caroline Bingley?”
Richard chuckled. “Whether she wishes it or not.”
“We will go riding tomorrow,” Darcy said decisively. “You should not torment our host’s sister even if that sister is Caroline.”
“I am not tormenting her,” Richard scoffed. “I am acknowledging her proficiencies much to her bemusement.” And he was enjoying it. Caroline’s look of confusion when he complimented her hair this morning was delightful. But the combs she wore did, in fact, match the colour of her eyes. He was not concocting frivolous flattery. He was not the sort to do that. He was only pointing out her worth so that she could see it. At least, that is what he hoped he was doing. “She is not so bad actually.”
“Are you smitten with her?”
“No,” Richard said, turning his eyes away from his cousin and toward the fire. “I am not ready to marry.” If he were, he might allow his appreciation of her figure and his enjoyment in causing her to become flustered to sway his heart in her direction. However, as it was, he was in no position to be smitten with anyone.
“But if you were ready to marry?”
Richard shrugged. “She has a fortune. Not so large as I might like, but not insignificant. And she is tolerable when she is not cross.” And if he were honest, which he would not be with his cousin just yet, at least, not about this, Caroline was rather more than tolerable when she was cross at him. He liked the way she crossed her arm and narrowed her eyes as she glared at him. She also tended to step much closer to him than was entirely proper when she was put out. Even without such an admission, Darcy’s mouth had dropped open. “She is pretty.”
“So, you like her?”
“I do not dislike her, and you may thank your lovely Miss Elizabeth for that.”
Darcy shook his head. “You do not dislike Caroline Bingley?”
“That is what I said.”
“Why?”
Richard shrugged. “I’ll be hanged if I know.” He rose, and Darcy followed suit. “We’ll ride before breakfast?”
Darcy nodded. “I prefer it.”
“As do I.” Richard opened the door for his cousin. “Until the morning,” he said as Darcy exited. Then, he leaned against the door frame watching his cousin shake his head and imagined him muttering as he made his way to his room.
“Ah, Miss Bingley,” Richard said as he turned his head to see who was walking so lightly on the carpet behind him. “Have a pleasant night.” He pushed from the wall and gave her a nod before turning to close his door. He had his door nearly shut before a thought occurred to him.
“Miss Bingley,” he said as he pulled his door open once again.
“Yes.”
“I… you…” he stammered. She had pulled those two combs out of her hair, and it was spilling down her back in soft amber waves. “Your hair,” he said, finally managing to put two words together.
She blushed. “I did not expect to encounter anyone.” She gathered her tempting tresses in her hand and began twisting them.
“No, no. I did not mean to say it was improper.” Somehow, he had left the open door of his room behind and was now standing near enough to her that he could touch those flowing locks if she were not winding them up. “It is beautiful,” he whispered. “Magnificent.” He stopped her hands and pulled them away from their work so that her hair would once again tumble down her back.
“Did you want something?” She made no move to pull her hands free from his hold.
Richard’s brows drew together. There had been a reason he had called to her; now what was it? He had just been thinking about Darcy and — ah, that was it! “Do you ride?”
Caroline nodded.
“I am going riding with my cousin tomorrow morning, but if you wished, perhaps you could accompany me for a second ride later in the day when the sun has had a chance to warm things a bit.”
“Alone?” Her eyes were wide with surprise.
His brows drew together once again. “Blast. I had not considered that you are a lady.”
“Indeed?” she said, snatching her hands away from him.
“It is not that I do not know you are a lady.” He allowed himself to take a sweeping, appreciative look at her very lady-like figure. He knew very well that she was a lady. “I had forgotten that you would wish for a chaperone.” He tipped his head. “Does Louisa ride?”
Caroline laughed lightly, if a bit uneasily. “Louisa despises the activity. The horses smell too horse-like for her.”
Richard chuckled. “They do tend to smell like anima
ls. Then, perhaps Georgiana will join us.” His brows knit together for the third time. “You do not despise riding, do you?”
“No. I enjoy it very much, so if Miss Darcy wishes to accompany us, I would be happy to join you for a ride.”
“Very good. Until tomorrow then.” He should return to his room now. He should turn himself about and leave her. He should not continue staring at her. He should turn away. However, no matter how many things he told himself what he should do, his feet did not seem to wish to do as he knew they should. Instead, they kept him rooted like a fool to that spot in the hall while he watched her dress sway from left to right to left again as she walked down the hall to her room. Finally, as the click of her door closing rang through the hall, he blew out a breath and forced his feet to carry him to his room and not hers. Perhaps it was time to resign his commission.
~*~*~
Richard tried to avoid allowing Darcy to see him yawning the next morning as they began their ride.
“Tired?”
Drat. He had not turned his head away from his all-too-perceptive cousin in time. “A trifle.” That is if a trifle was the same as being ready to dismount his horse and use the nearest rock as a pillow. “I assume you will be going to Longbourn again today?” Changing the subject should keep Darcy from questioning him about being exhausted.
Darcy assured him that he was and then asked, “Did you not sleep well?”
Richard blew out a breath. His cousin was not only perceptive, he was also far too persistent. “No, I slept very ill, if you must know. Now, might we ride. If I wished for tea and a chat, I would not be out here on the back of an animal which is as desirous of exercise as I am.”
“You are more than a trifle tired,” Darcy said with a grin. “There are only two times when Richard Fitzwilliam tends to become excessively irascible — one, when he is in company with those whom he does not enjoy and two, when he is bone-weary.”
“I assure you there are more than two times when I become cantankerous.” Richard glowered at Darcy.
“Those trees.” Darcy nodded toward a stand of trees to his left and down a small hill. “If you reach them first, I will say no more about your lack of sleep. However, if I reach them ahead of you, you will tell me what kept you from your repose.”
Before Richard could mount a protest of the terms, Darcy was off.
“Of all the rotten things.” Richard roared into the wind as he urged his horse to run faster and faster. Darcy had always used this very technique to weasel information out of him. His cousin never attempted anything so devious with anyone else but Richard, which was likely due to it being the only way Darcy could force anything out of Richard.
“Does your lady love know how vexing you can be?” Richard growled as he circled the four trees before coming to a stop beside Darcy.
“She likely does. I have not acquitted myself very well on several occasions.” Darcy nudged his horse to walk. “Now, tell me, Colonel. What has been robbing you of sleep?”
“I did not agree to your terms.”
“You did not disagree.”
“You did not give me a chance!”
“I know.” Darcy’s grin grew. “At least, you will not have a headache tomorrow from too much drink as I always do when you wish to extract information from me.”
Richard rode in silence for a full two minutes before deciding that it was best just to lay out the whole sorry business before his cousin and endure whatever teasing might come. “I am considering selling my commission and applying to my father for the land he has promised me.”
“Have you had your fill of military life or is it more than that?”
Richard rolled his eyes both at the question and the way his cousin was tipping his head and studying him. That look always said that Darcy already knew the answer. “I do not wish to ask a wife to either follow the drum or wait for whatever remains of me to be returned to her, nor do I wish to leave fatherless children if there should be any such blessings to come our way.”
Richard cast a wary sidelong glance at Darcy, expecting his cousin to have some comment, but Darcy did not. Instead, Darcy just rode on, looking forward with an occasional glance in Richard’s direction.
Richard blew out a breath. “It was likely three or four o’clock this morning when I came to the realization that following a lady around and studying her finer qualities to assure her of her worth was not a good way to keep one’s heart from becoming attached to that lady.”
A lifted brow? That was all the response he was going to get? He sighed. Very well, he would continue as Darcy expected him to do. “In battle, it is good to scout out the enemy, study their tactics, and make notes of their strengths and weaknesses. It is not the same with ladies.”
Darcy nodded silently.
He pulled his horse to a stop and turned toward his cousin. “You remember when Elizabeth challenged me to see Caroline in a different light?”
“I do.”
“I have always found Caroline’s looks appealing. I will not deny I have been attracted to her features and found it challenging to keep my distance from her. However, focusing on her sharp tongue and unkind ways allowed me to keep my baser desires in check. Elizabeth’s challenge removed my safeguard.” He looked past his cousin. “When I arrived at Netherfield, I knew my best option was to avoid Caroline as much as possible, but not because I could not tolerate her.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I did try to avoid her, but staying out in the garden for the duration of my stay is not feasible, nor is skulking about the house.”
“No, it is not.”
“So instead of hiding, I decided to help her improve, so that when she returned to town for the season, she would be ready to find a husband. If she was married to another, then there would be no danger to me. A diversionary tactic to ensure the enemy’s success in attacking someone else instead of one’s self, as it were.”
“Not your best strategy?”
Richard shook his head. “If I continue on my path, she will improve, and some gentleman will be happy to have her for a wife.”
“And you no longer wish for any other gentleman to have her?”
He nodded. That is exactly what he wished, but…
“I am only a second son. I do not have what she seeks.” Richard blew out a great breath. “I shall retain my commission.”
“No,” Darcy replied, “you will not.”
Richard’s brow drew together. “It is for the best.”
Darcy chuckled. “Just as my fleeing Netherfield was for the best?” Darcy reached over and clapped him on the shoulder. “You are the second son of an earl. That will hold some weight, and even if your fortune and estate are not large, you are not penniless. Added to that, you are a good man.” He shook his head. “I do not see what you see in her, but if Caroline Bingley is the lady who will bring you love and joy, then I will help you win her. Just tell me what you need, and it will be done.”
“Thank you, but I would not wish to be accepted for anything less than love.” He smiled sheepishly at Darcy. “I sound like a sentimental fool, do I not?”
“You do,” Darcy replied with a grin, “but it happens to us all when our hearts decide on a particular lady.” Darcy nudged his horse, and the pair began their journey back toward Netherfield. “I promise not to tell anyone that you are besotted. I will leave it up to you to make a cake out of yourself and reveal it to all.”
“Your support is so greatly appreciated,” Richard replied sardonically as Darcy laughed and assured him that making a spectacle of one’s self was also part of losing one’s heart and securing one’s happiness.
Chapter 7
Caroline stilled her hand and removed it from fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. Fidgeting was a sign of one who lacked self-assurance. It would not do for the colonel to see her fidgeting like an anxious schoolgirl. And since when, she scolded herself, did she fidget or grow anxious while waiting for a gentleman to arrive to claim her for anything? Never. She ha
d never suffered from flutters of nerves before. Oh, she was not unfamiliar with the feeling of wishing to present herself to best advantage, but she had always carried a list of the other person’s imperfections in her mind to use as a sort of salve. However, she very much doubted that the colonel would give two figs whether she found his attire to be fashionable or not. His manners were not so refined as most men who had called on her, so again, she doubted very much if pointing out such flaws would cause the colonel to do anything more than laugh or lecture. He did not seem to be afraid to do either in her presence.
She blew out a slow calming breath when she heard him whistling as he approached the sitting room. It had been most trying to see him at breakfast in his riding clothes and not imagine him as he had been last night in the hall in such a state of undress as he had been. Her heart fluttered once again at the memory, and her cheeks heated just as he entered the room.
“Georgiana is getting her gloves,” he said in greeting. He held a hand out to her to assist her from her seat. “You do not wish to join us do you, Mrs. Hurst?” He winked at Caroline as he asked it, causing her to smile.
“Oh, heavens, no! I have no idea why Caroline enjoys sitting up on those great smelly beasts.” Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought. “However, if you decide to take a drive. I will gladly join you. In a carriage, behind a horse, is a far better means of travel.”
“Perhaps Monday we could take a drive?” Richard offered.
Caroline drew a breath. “And call at Longbourn.”
“Longbourn?” The word flew out of Louisa’s mouth, laced with incredulity.
“It is our place to be welcoming to our new sister and neighbourly to her family.” Caroline’s cheeks, which had been warm a moment ago, felt as if they might ignite from the heat that flooded them.
“That is a fine idea.”
A ripple of pleasure spread through Caroline at Richard’s pleased tone.
“Well,” Louisa said with a shake of her head, “I suppose it is the right thing to do, but I cannot say that I wish to do it.”