Page 11 of Blessed Interference (Pride and Prejudice Variations #1)

She was surprised when her hands tingled from his touch, and she was even more surprised when her fingers tightened around his instinctively. There was something between them – perhaps there had always been something between them, yet she had been too foolish to notice.

“Sir,” she said, “I am greatly honored, but I confess to having some concerns about Lady Catherine. I think we ought not to tell her, or Mr. and Mrs. Collins, about our arrangement. Your aunt will be furious, and Mr. Collins would tell his patroness the instant he learned of our courtship, and Mrs. Collins would feel obligated to tell her husband. It would make for an unpleasant and difficult situation.”

“You are correct, of course,” Darcy said. He was still holding her hands, and she found she did not dislike it. “Very well, we will keep it a secret for now. I understand you walk in the park often; perhaps we could arrange to meet here on every good day?”

“I would like that very much,” Elizabeth said and then realized, rather to her surprise, that she was speaking truthfully.

***

On the Paths of Rosings

The Next Day

Elizabeth hurried around a corner and discovered her suitor standing under an elm tree.

“Miss Bennet,” he said, smiling adoringly at her.

“Mr. Darcy,” she replied, feeling her cheeks turn pink. “I hope you were not waiting long. My cousin was eager to speak of Lady Catherine’s upcoming dinner tonight, and it took a fortuitous interruption by the maid, Anna, to allow me to creep away.”

Darcy laughed and said, “I only arrived five minutes ago, as Lady Catherine was anxious to discuss my supposed engagement with Anne. In my case, it was Colonel Fitzwilliam who distracted my aunt, so that I was able to escape.”

Elizabeth laughed with him, and the gentleman held out his arm, and she tucked her hand onto it. The pair began wandering down the path, away from the great mansion, and the lady said, “Do you think Miss de Bourgh will be upset if we do indeed marry?”

“I do not know,” Darcy said after a moment’s thought.

“She has been sickly her entire life and, unfortunately, very much under the thumb of my aunt. I do not feel I know her well enough to guess her views of the supposed engagement. She is a quiet soul, and I am also not loquacious; for that reason alone, I think we would not be well matched. The last thing Pemberley needs is three quiet people wandering its halls.”

“Three?” Elizabeth asked, turning to look up into Darcy’s face.

“I was speaking of my sister, Georgiana,” Darcy explained. “She is only sixteen years old and extremely shy. My father was an outgoing man, much like Charles Bingley, but my sister and I seem to take after our mother, Lady Anne, who was a gentle and soft-spoken soul.”

“Can you tell me more about Miss Darcy?” Elizabeth asked with keen interest. She had heard much about the girl, but not from anyone who was reliable.

The foul Wickham had described her as proud and unpleasant, but that was doubtless a lie.

Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst had heaped praises on the only daughter of Pemberley, but they had hoped that their brother would marry Darcy’s sister, and thus they were predisposed to speak well of her.

“She plays the pianoforte and harp very well already and works hard at both. She enjoys many other activities, and I think she is a delightful young lady, but she is, as I said, extremely shy, and that is partially because of what happened last summer.”

Elizabeth could hear the new concern in her suitor’s tone. “What happened last summer?”

Darcy stopped walking, gulped and then turned to face her.

“She was living in London with a governess companion named Mrs. Younge, who suggested that she and Georgiana journey to Ramsgate to enjoy the cooler temperatures and summer breezes off the water. I consented, and they went to the sea. What I did not know was that Mrs. Younge was a close friend to George Wickham, who followed them there and, with the help of the governess, convinced Georgiana that she was in love with him, and she agreed to run away to Scotland to marry over the anvil.”

Elizabeth felt her knees weaken at these words, and when she spoke, it was but a whisper. “What happened?”

“By God’s grace, I decided to journey to Ramsgate unexpectedly to visit her, and she told me all. I was furious, of course, but also worried about her reputation. I regret that I only sent Wickham and Mrs. Younge away instead of dealing more vigorously with the rogues.”

“Your priority was your sister, of course,” Elizabeth said, and then, after thinking for another minute, continued, “Did you ever think that Mr. Wickham was, erm, violent?”

Darcy shook his head earnestly and said, “I did not, no. I was truly startled, as I ... well, the truth is that Wickham has such charm and good looks that in the past, he has, as far as I knew, never needed force to ruin a girl. But he has always been of the view that his cravings are greater importance than those of anyone else in the world, and I presume the girl refused him, and his selfish and evil desires drove him to vile actions.”

“Very likely,” Elizabeth agreed, grinding her teeth. “It brings me great satisfaction to know that he is safely confined in prison.”

“Absolutely,” Darcy said, his eyes flashing.