“When did you have this epiphany? You said nothing while we were in route to Pemberley.”
“When I saw Elizabeth. All the things that had been running through my mind helter-skelter came into alignment. This whole marriage business is not about Letitia. It is about Sir John and me. It is not for my personal qualities or rank that he wants me to marry his daughter, although I am sure my name and fortune were part of the equation. He is determined to have me renounce the heresy of my politics. He wants to be able to crow that Sir John Montford was able to show an ardent Whig supporter the error of his ways. Poor Letitia. She has been a pawn in a rather unpleasant game of chess. Torn between father and husband, she would have been perfectly miserable.
“Richard, what is today? Monday? Well, the Gardiners and Elizabeth are leaving on Wednesday, and I shall be right behind them on the road to London. I am going to call on Miss Montford, and I will reassure her that all the blame will fall on me. And I will apologize profusely for misjudging… everything. In trying to do the right thing, I came very close to ruining her life. She would never have been happy with me, nor I with her.”
“Bravo! All I can say is go to it, and the quicker the better.”
“But what do I do in the meantime?”
Fitzwilliam started to kick the gravel, trying to think of how best to proceed. “Egad, what a mess! I suspect Miss Elizabeth knows that you have been courting someone in London, so if you flirt with her, you will appear to be a total cad. On the other hand, you cannot ignore her as she is a guest in your home. Even if we should spend the whole of the day in shooting or riding, we must eat supper together, and then there are the evening’s entertainments.
“I would suggest that you act as you usually do when you are in an uncomfortable situation: be reticent, unavailable, and closemouthed. Keep any conversation civil, but distant, and spend as much time as you can with the uncle,” which was all well and good, but they had neglected to tell Georgiana of their plans.
Shortly after Lizzy returned to her room, Ellie came in followed by two footmen carrying a copper tub, and after setting out everything necessary for the bath, she ordered the young men to carry a screen over to the window. Lizzy was still getting used to the idea of someone other than her sister or mother washing her hair and scrubbing her back, but Ellie executed the task without making her feel uncomfortable. If all of this pampering kept up, she would soon need the servants to spoon feed her her meals.
“What dress should I wear this evening, Ellie?”
“Well, I like the yellow one very much, and Miss Darcy has a rope of pearls that will go with it quite nicely. And with your pretty curls, you might think about wearing it down.”
Lizzy was pretty sure that was Mr. Darcy’s preference as well, and for that reason, she thought it unwise. Why should she do anything to attract his attention? In two days’ time, she would leave Pemberley, and he would return to London—again. And in the near future he might possibly come to visit Mr. Bingley at Netherfield, and then go back to London—again. And the highs and lows she was experiencing as a result of his coming and going were beginning to wear on her.
“I know Colonel Fitzwilliam is partial to ladies who have their hair down,” Ellie said, interrupting her thoughts, “and I wouldn’t mind if someone as handsome as the colonel paid me a bit of attention over supper or cards.”
And then Lizzy thought, why not? If the colonel liked women with their hair down, she would leave it down. What would be the harm in having that gentleman pay her a “bit of attention,” as Ellie put it? Anything beyond a friendship was not possible as he was destined to marry a woman of wealth and rank. But so was Mr. Darcy, and it did not stop him from flirting.
“All right then. I shall wear the yellow dress with Miss Darcy’s pearls.”
“And your hair, Miss?”
“I shall wear it down.”
Chapter 30
“I wish you had said something earlier about playing cards,” Georgiana said to her brother. “I have already planned out the whole evening. Isn’t it the responsibility of the mistress of Pemberley to make all the social arrangements, that is, until you marry?”
That last bit made Darcy smile. His sister had a subtle way of moving him in the direction she wanted him to go.
“Yes, it is, but I absolutely refuse to play charades.”
“I would not ask you to as I know how you detest it. I can assure you it is an entirely musical evening.”
“Which reminds me. I have a bone to pick with you. Why did you tell Miss Elizabeth I play the pianoforte?”
“Because you do.”
“As you well know, I play at the most basic level and only because Mama insisted I should learn and would stay in the room to make sure I practiced.”
“You are not being asked to play Mozart, so please unfurrow your brow. It will be fun. I promise.”
While Darcy was dressing, he was hoping Elizabeth would not wear her hair down because her long dark tresses would make him want to look into her eyes, and his efforts to be anything other than a good host would collapse. Because he did not want to send the wrong signal, he needed to be in complete control tonight. It was only a few more days before he would be able to go to London and sort things out, but his hopes were dashed as soon as she walked into the dining room. He had thought green her best color, but now he decided it was yellow.
While Ellie had been curling her hair, Lizzy was planning how best to act during supper. Of course, she would be civil to Mr. Darcy, but she would look at him only when necessary. Instead, she would concentrate on getting to know the colonel better. However, those plans failed immediately because tonight Mr. Darcy looked as handsome as she had ever seen him. She did not think it possible for him to be more attractive than when he wore his green coat, black waistcoat, and tan breeches, but tonight he had chosen a black coat with trousers, and there was an elegance in his appearance that caused her heart to skip a beat.
“I know your older sister is to marry Mr. Bingley,” the colonel said to Lizzy who was seated next to him at supper, “but do you have any other sisters?”
“Yes, I have three younger sisters, all at home, except my youngest sister, Lydia, who has gone to Brighton as a guest of the wife of the colonel of a militia regiment. However, that is about to change as I have just received a letter from my sister, Jane, saying that our father has sent for her.”
Aunt Gardiner nodded her head in approval at her brother-in-law’s action. In her opinion, Mr. Bennet should never have approved of the scheme in the first place because there was always the possibility of someone of such a tender age getting into trouble in a town filled to overflowing with young men.
“Longbourn must be a positive bevy of beauties if your sisters favor you,” the colonel said.
Lizzy blushed at the compliment, but considering that Colonel Fitzwilliam must have dined with some of the most beautiful women in society, she was quite flattered by his attention. This exchange did not go unnoticed by Darcy, who was trying to catch his cousin’s eye. Since he was prevented from showing any special attention to Elizabeth, he thought Richard should do the same. Instead, Colonel Fitzwilliam was openly flirting with the woman Darcy was in love with.
“Colonel, I know you have an older brother who is the Earl Fitzwilliam, but are there others?” Lizzy asked.
“Yes, I have two sisters, but just the one brother, and with a brother such as him, one is enough. I assume you read The Insider, Miss Bennet?”
“I must confess, with some embarrassment, that I do, but for those of us who live in the country and who go up to town only once or twice a year, we must have some entertainment.”