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She said, “Fitzwilliam, if someone walks in…”

“They will be very shocked,” he completed her sentence, his lips exploring the angles of her face. “Elizabeth, my love, tomorrow you will be my wife.”

Torn between anxiety that they would be discovered and her hunger for his touch, she hesitated until at last his mouth met hers again and any remaining rational thought fled her mind. The intoxicating feeling of his hands pressing her close to him made her tremble as she lost herself in the pleasure of his kisses. Fortunately, no one did walk in.

Chapter 12

When the gentlemen retired for port after dinner, Mrs. Bennet was left to hold forth at length to the ladies about the plans for Elizabeth’s wedding. This was more tolerable to her daughter than it might have been otherwise, since it was her first opportunity to hear from Mrs. Gardiner what plans had been made. Mary was to assist Elizabeth in her preparations, since Jane would not arrive until the actual time of the ceremony; while Kitty and Georgiana were to gather the last flowers of the season to decorate the church early in the morning. Georgiana, to no one’s great surprise, had accepted an invitation to remain at Longbourn for an additional week before returning to London in order to give the newlyweds some privacy.

A knock was heard at the front door, and a few moments later, Hill entered the drawing room. “There is a gentleman to see Miss Elizabeth,” she announced, managing to imply through her tone that no unknown man who called so late in the day could truly be deemed a gentleman. Curious, Elizabeth bade her to show him in, and shortly after, Hill announced the mysterious gentleman.

“Colonel Fitzwilliam!” cried Elizabeth. “This is indeed a surprise!”

“As was the express I received yesterday from Darcy, I assure you,” he responded. “It is most delightful to see you again, Miss Bennet.” He spotted Georgiana and, with an expression of surprise, greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

Elizabeth introduced the colonel to her mother, sisters, and aunt, and asked Hill to request that Mr. Darcy join them at his earliest convenience.

“So he is here,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “I must apologize for the hour of my call, but when I presented myself at Netherfield looking for my cousin, I was told in no uncertain terms by the servants that not only was Darcy absent, but that Bingley was not receiving guests since it was his wedding day. Since you, Miss Bennet, are the sole acquaintance I can claim in Hertfordshire apart from Bingley and Darcy, I decided to throw myself on your mercy in hopes that you could direct me to my cousin, and the Netherfield staff were so kind as to provide me an escort here.”

“Very wise, Colonel,” laughed Elizabeth. “It is certainly the case that Mr. Darcy is generally here if he is not at Netherfield, and we are all avoiding Netherfield today! But please, will you join us? I would imagine you would be in need of some refreshment after your journey—have you come from London?”

“Yes, fortunately I was in town to receive the post. So, I understand I must offer you my felicitations, Miss Bennet. I must say that Darcy has been more sly than usual; I admit that I had no inkling that the wind was blowing in this direction.”

At that moment, Darcy himself entered and greeted his cousin heartily. “So you did make it, Fitzwilliam,” he said, “I doubted you would be able to come on such short notice.”

“Well, it is traditional to give more than one day’s notice on a wedding invitation,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam with a laugh. “You should have heard my mother on the subject!”

“I am just as happy I did not,” said Darcy dryly. “Sometimes it is best to hope for forgiveness after the fact.”

“Well, Father was quite entertained, I must say—he said immediately, ‘Well, we know where he gets that from. I don’t want to be the one to tell Catherine, though.’” His imitation brought a delighted smile to Georgiana’s face.

“So, Mr. Darcy, where do you get that from?” asked Elizabeth archly.

“I see no reason to dredge up old family stories for you until we are actually married, my dear,” said Darcy austerely, “no matter how much my cousin chooses to embarrass me.”

“Well, I shall take pity on you, Miss Bennet,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Let me just say that his father was known for his, um, forthrightness and persistence in his courtship of my aunt.”

“I see,” said Elizabeth with a sparkle in her eyes. “I shall look forward to hearing the full story someday.”

The conversation continued in this vein for some time, until the colonel remarked, “Well, I am sure it is past time for me to take my leave. Darcy, I wonder if you would be so kind as to direct me to a nearby inn. I confess that I had planned to throw myself on Bingley’s mercy for the night, but under the circumstances, I believe I should make other arrangements.”

Elizabeth cast a significant look at her mother, who, quite overwhelmed by having the son of an earl in her home, had said barely a word. Thus prodded, Mrs. Bennet said, “Oh, Colonel Fitzwilliam, there is no need for that! The inn at Meryton is hardly suitable for a gentleman such as yourself. We would be most honored if you would consent to stay here.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam looked at her in surprise. “That is a most gracious offer, madam, but I am well aware that, with your daughter’s wedding tomorrow, you must have quite enough without a guest, as well,” he said courteously.

Mr. Bennet said dryly, “Although it is true that we have a wedding tomorrow, it is hardly an unusual burden; we marry off daughters nearly every day here—Jane today, Lizzy tomorrow, and I am certain that Kitty or Mary will have found someone by the end of the week. So you can see, sir, it will not put us out in the least.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam looked puzzled, and Elizabeth took mercy on him. “Mr. Bingley’s bride is my eldest sister, Colonel Fitzwilliam, so you see that it is indeed quite a week for weddings here.” A look of understanding passed over his face, followed immediately by a quickly veiled doubtful look directed first at Darcy, then at Elizabeth. Clearly he recalled all too well Darcy’s confidences about Bingley, and was drawing some interesting conclusions.

“Indeed, Colonel Fitzwilliam, it would be no trouble. As you can see, we already have the Gardiners and Georgiana as houseguests, and one more would make little difference,” said Elizabeth warmly.

“Yes, do stay,” Georgiana added. “I have so much to tell you about!”

“In that case, I gratefully accept your offer of hospitality, Mrs. Bennet,” he said.

The addition of Colonel Fitzwilliam to the party added a certain liveliness; he entered into the conversation directly and talked very pleasantly. Elizabeth found she enjoyed his company as much as she had in Kent, and she was pleased to see Georgiana was well entertained as well. Kitty was clearly quite taken with his manners and demeanor, and indulged herself in the occasional fluttering of eyelashes in his direction, though, fortunately, without the blatancy that characterized her behavior when the regiment was in Meryton. The colonel had a well-informed mind which allowed him to challenge Mr. Bennet to a degree that intrigued the latter, who for once chose to remain in company rather than retreat to his library.