Page 28 of The Blackmail of Mr. Darcy
“Oh! Uncle Henry! Aunt Helen!” Georgiana had already suffered the separate losses of both of her parents; Elizabeth was not surprised that her mind had leapt to distressing theories of what was in that express.
“I do not believe it was too serious a matter, Georgiana. I heard the colonel say something about it not being an emergency. But you might try to ask your cousin or brother if you like.”
Georgiana grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and dragged her towards the head of the stairs. From that vantage point, they could see Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. and Miss Bingley, and Mrs. Hurst all dressed in robes of one sort or another.
Now Elizabeth could hear the colonel perfectly. He said, “Darcy, this is a family matter; nobody has died, but—” he paused, and when he continued his voice sounded pained. “Well, it can wait until morning, but it is a matter that requires discretion. Bingley, would your study be available at some time tomorrow morning for a private meeting between Darcy and me?”
“Certainly,” Mr. Bingley answered promptly. “I was going to consult with the steward at 10:00; should I arrange my meeting in the library, instead, or would you want to set your meeting for 11:00?”
“Do not change your meeting, Bingley. Ours can be in the study at 11:00. My apologies to everyone for the noisy disruption.”
“You see, Georgiana?” Elizabeth whispered. “The colonel said nobody has died.”
Mr. Darcy could not have heard her over the others wishing each other a good night, but as he started up the stairs, he lifted his eyes and met Elizabeth’s. Something clicked within her, a certainty that he was attempting to assure her that everything was well and that all was going to plan.
She became quite certain that the express and the private meeting that had just been set up was all a part ofherplan to bait Miss Bingley into ruining her own reputation. She felt a moment of panic—she did not like the feeling that she was scheming against a fellow human being, let alone another woman. But as she tore her eyes away from Mr. Darcy’s, she noticed that Miss Bingley, still standing in the hallway, was looking upon him with naked covetousness. She did not look yearning so much as grasping, proprietorial. Half-crazed, really.
Elizabeth shuddered and decided that scheming was not quite the right word for acting to protect others from such a ruling passion.
At that point, Mr. Darcy had reached them and was hugging his sister in reassurance. Elizabeth said good night to both and hastened down the corridor towards her own room. She looked in on Jane and Molly, saw that neither was awake, and she retired once more to her room.
Chapter 18
Darcy
The meeting with Richard went off without a hitch. His cousin had wordlessly shown him the express, which was his mother’s approval of the plan to start a rumour that she was having a secret affair with an unnamed duke, and the confirmation of the dates and places they planned to mention in regards to her supposed trysts with said duke. The two men stuck to the script they had planned the day before, and Darcy felt confident anyone listening in would believe every word uttered.
He entertained a vague thought that his cousin could have a second career as an actor.
The specifics of two assignations between the countess and the duke, one in the past and the other in the future (and both, of course, completely untrue), were trotted out with attention to clarity of speech and at the same volume as the rest of the meeting.IfMiss Bingley was eavesdropping, andifshe decided to spread rumours about a woman who was many rungs above her on the social-hierarchy ladder, andifshe spread the dates and places they specified, the rumours would easily be refuted, and Miss Bingley’s reputation would thus be damaged, possibly irreparably.
But that was a lot ofifs!
When they emerged from the study, it was time to prepare for luncheon. Darcy knocked on Georgiana’s door and asked how her morning had been.
“Quiet,” she said. Darcy reflected on the fact that many people had decried his not-very-informative one-word answers to queries, in the past, and he could see the point; such responses could, indeed, be frustrating.
“Well, I am off to tidy up for luncheon. Will you be looking in on Elizabeth and her sister?”
Georgiana smiled, looking amused, and asked, “Do you meanMissElizabeth, brother?”
He blushed and nodded quickly.
“I have spent the past hour with them and only came away to get ready for luncheon.” She met his eyes and then said, “Elizabeth is planning to join us.”
He tried valiantly to keep his face in a neutral expression as he nodded and turned away to go to his rooms to freshen up.
When he entered the drawing room, he found Richard, Elizabeth, and Georgiana already there, although no Bingleys or Hursts had yet made an appearance. Richard was, of course, telling a story with great energy, and both of his listeners seemed vastly entertained. He felt an immediate jolt of envy, accompanied by a bit of anger directed at both his cousin (for flirting again with a woman he had admitted liking) and himself (for harbouring such an unsuitable attraction to Elizabeth and such an ugly emotion for Richard).
The three turned towards him, and Darcy’s mood flipped entirely. Richard smiled his warmest smile and gave Darcy a wink, and both Georgiana and Elizabeth smiled at him in…. Well, he thought he saw admiration in their eyes.
“What is going on here?” he asked lightly, feeling that whatever Richard had been relaying must have concerned him, in a good way.
Georgiana gushed, “Richard was just telling us more stories about your childhoods. And you have always been such a hero! He told us about a time you rescued an entire cat family—five kittens plus their mama—and then he told us about a flash flood and how you managed to get you and your playmates safely across a stream that had turned into a raging torrent.”
Darcy felt warmth in his cheeks and knew that he was blushing.
Elizabeth interjected, “I remember a certain recent memorable night when you guided an entire household to safety and successfully prevented a small disaster from becoming an enormous one. And I believe you rescued another cat family that night, as well, did you not?”
