Page 39 of Mr. Darcy's Complex Courtship

“I understand Mrs. Perry will allow you to spend the evening with us tonight. Please show her that she made the right decision by remaining on your best behaviour. After all, you will meet Mr. Darcy’s cousin, and you want to make a good impression.”

“I am not a dunderhead.” She assumed a rigid posture. “I can pretend to be a prim, proper, and dull lady in order to avoid having my dinner in the nursery.”

“You fail to appreciate how fortunate you are to benefit from Mrs. Perry’s wisdom. She has been devoting this time to you out of the goodness of her heart.”

“Oh pish! I wish she would direct her tiresome lectures to someone else. I ought to have stayed at home. If I had, I could be attending a party with the militia officers or playing lottery tickets with Kitty.”

“Come now, Mrs. Perry has told me that you are a bright student, and you are making progress on the pianoforte like a natural musician.”

She shrugged. “Well, I do not mind learning to read and play music as much as I should have expected, and I can tolerate the Italian lessons. But Ihatealgebra, and I shall go distracted if I cannot attend a ball or party soon.”

“One step at a time—first, you must get through this evening without major missteps.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Lydia spun away from me and marched through the doorway.

An hour later, Fitzwilliam entered the drawing-room along with his sister and a brown-haired stranger. My heart fluttered, and I resisted the inclination to rush to my intended; rather, I hung back as my aunt and uncle made their greetings. Despite my curiosity, I spared the newcomer no more than a brief glance before my sight returned to Fitzwilliam. The past few days had crawled by. Nothing, not even the pleasant afternoon spent with Miss Darcy on Friday, could make up for his absence.

Fitzwilliam introduced his sister to Mrs. Perry. Whilst he presented Mr. Miles Wood to my aunt and Mrs. Perry, Miss Darcy made her way to Lydia and me, and we exchanged greetings.

Then Fitzwilliam led Mr. Wood towards me, and Miss Darcy moved aside to make room for them. Lydia, though, brushed past my shoulder, blocking me with her larger form. After amoment’s hesitation, Mr. Darcy raised his brows at her. “Good evening, Miss Lydia. Perhaps you would like to meet my cousin, Mr. Miles Wood.”

My sister moved closer, a bittooclose, to Mr. Wood. She curtsied and offered her hand. “It is a great pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wood.” And then she froze, ogling Mr. Wood as though in a trance.

Oh dear, what a wretched beginning—Lydia could not even complete the introductions without mortifying me! To my right, Mrs. Perry looked on with a deepening frown.

Mr. Wood took Lydia’s hand and bowed. “The pleasure is mine, Miss Lydia.” He retracted his hand, but my sister failed to release her grip. With a second attempt, he freed himself from her hold.

My chin sank. What must Mr. Wood think of her? And I could not bear to peek in Fitzwilliam’s direction.

Aunt Gardiner went to Lydia and took her by the arm. “Pardon me, but I need a word with my niece.” My aunt forced Lydia to the other side of the room. Mrs. Perry hied towards them for an impromptu conference.

“Miss Bennet, it is a pleasure to see you again.”

Fitzwilliam’s melodious voice drew my gaze, and with his fervent expression before me, my chagrin lessened. “And I am very glad you are returned to London, Mr. Darcy.”

“May I present Mr. Miles Wood?”

I wrested my gaze from him and curtsied to the other man. “I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Wood.” For the first time, I gave Fitzwilliam’s ‘cousin’ a proper study. He presented a unique picture with his vari-coloured eyes. His well-formed features, so like those of Fitzwilliam, lent him a familiar, yet singular, attractiveness.

“I am delighted to meet you, Miss Bennet.” He bowed, beaming at me, and gave Fitzwilliam a quick look. “My cousinhas praised you to the skies, which is impressive since I do not believe he is prone to exaggeration.”

“As a general rule, that is true.” I directed an arch glance to Fitzwilliam. “But if he has extolled my musical talent, you are bound for disappointment.” I shifted to include Miss Darcy in my field of vision. “I do not know if you have been fortunate enough to hear Miss Darcy perform, but she is a far superior player.”

“My sis—um…mycousinis indeed a gifted musician.” Mr. Wood’s complexion took on a crimson hue.

“Thank you, Miles.” Miss Darcy patted Mr. Wood’s arm.

Lydia reappeared beside me with Mrs. Perry and Aunt Gardiner nearby. My sister continued to watch Mr. Wood to the exclusion of everyone else. “Do you have a favourite song?” For the moment at least, she maintained a proper distance from her quarry.

“I am fond of many”—Mr. Wood set his gaze upon Lydia—“but a sentimental favourite is ‘Greensleeves’. My late mother had a lovely voice and often sang the tune.”

“That is an excellent choice. ‘Greensleeves’, is one of my favourites as well.” Lydia uttered the apparent falsehood with avidity; she had disparaged the song in the past.

At my aunt’s suggestion, we moved towards the furniture; she and Mrs. Perry guided Lydia to a seat between them on the sofa.

Fitzwilliam sat beside me on the settee. “Thank you for calling upon my sister on Friday.” He glanced at Miss Darcy, seated opposite us next to Mr. Wood.

“You need not thank me. We had a delightful time. I returned the final volumes ofCorinne, or Italyas well as Mary Russell Mitford’s collection of poems, and your sister insisted upon giving me two more books to read.”

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