Page 88 of I Thee Wed
Elizabeth asked, “And did it?”
Darcy shrugged his shoulders. “It has only been three years, and he is still living abroad, so that remains to be seen. As for Miss Winston, she carried on with her dance master for nearly two years. He is the handsome, third son of a Yorkshire squire who was hoping to marry an heiress. She did not fall with child, and the family was able to cover up the indiscretion. Her loss of virtue has never been discovered.” He grimaced. “Some poor sod will discover it on their wedding night.”
Elizabeth shook her head, resigned. “How much easier life would be if people were kind. Instead, we are compelled to wield secrets like weapons, merely to defend ourselves against injurious tongues.”
“If any of them trouble you again,” Darcy said, “you now know enough to silence them. Though I hope it never comes to that.”
There was a quiet moment in which the sounds of the horses’ hooves and carriage wheels were all that could be heard. Then Georgiana said, “Brother, who was the lady in the scarlet gown? I cannot believe Aunt Helen invited a woman of ill repute to your ball. She told Elizabeth she had been your lover for years and would not give you up just because you were married.”
Darcy turned sharply. “What woman? Elizabeth, a scarlet woman?”
Elizabeth hesitated. “She came to me near the end of the evening. Since she didn’t come through the receiving line, I did not know who she was, but she was as bold as brass, and her dress was seductive. She said things about you that I knew were false, but she did manage to unsettle me. She claimed she had been your mistress for seven years.”
Fitzwilliam shook his head. “My mistress? I have never had a mistress. I do not know of whom you can be speaking. What did this woman look like? Was she young or old?”
Elizabeth answered. “She is beautiful, with raven-black hair, a striking figure, and she is at least forty years old, if she is a day. There was something theatrical about her. I assumed she was someone you once rejected.”
Darcy stared out the window, silent for a moment. Then he chuckled. “It had to have been Lady Selkirk. When I was a boyof nineteen, she was already a widow, though she was only one and thirty. She propositioned me to be her lover. I have since learned that she has propositioned many men over the years. I was young and impolitic.” He looked at Elizabeth and grinned. “Darling, you know firsthand how my tongue has landed me in trouble.”
He shook his head. “I called her a fossil. I remember how stunned she looked. And just that fast, she flushed with embarrassment, and then she was purple with rage. Lady Selkirk was used to getting what she wanted, and what she wanted was very young men. She has hated me ever since, because I walked away from her in front of a group of my friends and she lost face with them on account of my rejection.”
He looked at the two women. “I meant no disrespect or insult. I merely didn’t think, and what popped into my head popped right out of my mouth, and she has never forgotten.” He added, “Aunt Helen would never have invited Lady Selkirk to her ball. Katerina is a pariah, and my aunt will not have her near either of my two cousins. She must have stolen into the house after the ball was at its height.”
Elizabeth sighed. “She said cruel, hurtful things, Fitzwilliam. I did not believe anything she said of you, but she made me feel like I was not woman enough to hold on to you.” Elizabeth’s eyes began to sting.
“Then Elizabeth called her a liar. And something much worse,” Georgiana added.
Darcy raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Elizabeth replied, her voice thickened, “A liar and a strumpet.”
Darcy laughed, and he threw an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders and drew her closer. “Well, well. Our ball was far more exciting than I could have imagined, but we managed to survive it.”
Chapter 66: A Match for Phillip
The rain beat against the windows of Darcy House and showed no sign of abating. Elizabeth bent over her journal, polishing her latest verse, while Georgiana sat sketching by the hearth. Both heard the sound of carriage wheels before the front entrance, and Elizabeth looked at her sister in puzzlement.
“I wonder who that could be. Surely the rain has kept Jane from venturing out today, unless she has had a letter from home and the saga of the angry Lucas ladies has taken another turn.”
Georgiana skipped to the window and peered out, then turned back in surprise. “It is Aunt Helen!”
Without waiting, she hurried from the room and ran down the stairs. Elizabeth set aside her book and rose to receive their visitor. Moments later, Lady Helen was announced.
The butler bowed. “Shall I notify Mr. Darcy of your arrival, my lady?”
The Countess waved a gloved hand with mild impatience. “No need to trouble my nephew, Higgins. I am here to visit Mrs. Darcy.”
Elizabeth stepped forward with a welcoming smile. As they seated themselves, she asked, “Is everything well? I hope this business with those three women has not taken a new turn.”
Lady Helen clucked her tongue. “No, my dear. Nothing is amiss. Those three will not breathe a word to anyone. Their secrets are well guarded, and they are determined that they should remain so. Those hateful cats will not dare trouble you again.”
Elizabeth exhaled the breath she had been holding. “I am very glad to hear it.”
Lady Helen then explained the reason for her visit. “I came for an entirely different purpose. I am here because of Phillip. He admires you, Elizabeth, and now insists that he will not marry until he can find a woman who is like you.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Lady Helen, I must confess I am astonished.”
“He told me you have no unmarried sisters, but I wondered whether you might have friends brought up in the same manner that you were, sensible, kind, properly guided, and of good character. He is interested in a woman with a strong moral foundation. He loathes women who are tiresome or affected. And he likes that you are clever, my dear. He says you understand all his jokes and can offer quip for quip. My son would never endure a silly wife.” Lady Helen fixed her with an expectant look. “Do you know any clever women, my dear?”
