Page 20 of Darcy in Distress (Pride and Prejudice Variation #17)
Netherfield.
“Oh!” Georgiana squeaked. “Oh, that was very sly, Elizabeth!”
Elizabeth chuckled and said, “The only way to win is to be sly, Georgiana. Nonetheless, I think you will win this game. You are doing very well for a beginner!”
“My brother and I play chess and draughts on occasion,” Georgiana explained, glancing at Darcy, who was seated at the table watching his sister and their guest play Fox and Geese together. “This game is very different, of course, but...”
“But there is strategy involved,” Elizabeth agreed. “I guessed that you have played other strategy games in the past. Jane and Mary and I have played Fox and Geese many a time, and even my father does on occasion. I prefer it to chess.”
“Does your father play chess well?” Darcy inquired.
“Yes, he is very skilled,” Elizabeth said with a roll of her eyes. “I do not enjoy playing with him all that much as he always beats me soundly.”
“He should give you a pawn,” Darcy suggested .
His guest laughed, her brown eyes sparkling in a way which, even in the midst of his anxiety over the fate of his mother, caused his heart to leap.
“He generally gives me a rook, sir, and still wins most of the time! I blame myself; I have too many other interests to devote enough time to chess. This game is more pleasurable to me.”
Georgiana moved one of her pieces, and Elizabeth scowled down at the board and moved her fox to jump over one of the geese, thus taking it out of play.
Georgiana responded by moving another goose into position and her opponent grimaced and said, “I see what you are doing and the regrettable thing is that I cannot stop it!”
Darcy could see a way out of the trap which Georgiana had set for Elizabeth, but naturally he said nothing. A few minutes later, the Fox was penned up on one side of the board and Elizabeth was vanquished.
“Very, very good, Georgiana!” she exclaimed.
“Thank you! Considering that I lost the first three games, I have reasons to be proud indeed. Shall we play one more game?”
“My dear, I fear it is very late,” Darcy said with a gesture at the clock ticking sedately away on the mantelpiece. “You and Miss Elizabeth must both be fatigued and ready for bed.”
Georgiana’s eyes widened and, to his horror, her blue orbs were suddenly veiled with tears. “Oh, Fitzwilliam, please, I am certain I cannot sleep a wink with what happened today. Please do not send me above stairs!”
“Might I come up to your room with you, Georgiana?” Elizabeth asked, rising gracefully to her feet. “My sisters and I often spend time in one another’s bedchambers at night, and perhaps if we have a pleasant talk, you will be able to sleep more easily.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful!” the younger girl exclaimed. “That is very kind of you!”
“It is my pleasure, I assure you!” Elizabeth asserted. “Now, I do wish to talk to your brother about a few things, but I will follow you within a few minutes.”
“Come along, Miss Darcy,” Mrs. Younge said cheerfully, guiding her reluctant charge toward the door of the sitting room.
“I will be there very soon,” Elizabeth promised.
Once the girl had vanished into the main corridor, Elizabeth turned her attention on Darcy and said, “I will do my best to make sure Miss Darcy does not fret; indeed, if you are agreeable, perhaps I could spend the night in a truckle bed in her room so she is not fearful of being alone.”
“Oh, that is very generous of you,” Darcy answered, “but I could not ask that of you! ”
“My dear sir, it is no imposition at all! Your sister had a terrible fright today and is naturally very worried about Lady Anne. Furthermore, while I am confident of the security measures in place now at Netherfield, she would probably feel more comfortable with a companion.”
“With you as a companion, certainly,” Darcy said warmly. “I have never seen her take to someone so readily, though that is no particular surprise. You are a most reassuring person, Miss Elizabeth, not to mention a courageous one.”
To her surprise, Elizabeth found herself blushing profusely. From the moment she laid eyes on him, she had been impressed by the good looks of the master of Pemberley, but now, with those dark eyes fixed passionately on her face, she felt somewhat breathless.
“Thank you,” she managed to murmur, and Darcy, aware that he was rather too close, took a slight step backwards. He swallowed hard and turned, heart beating rapidly, in search of a servant to arrange for the truckle bed.
Wickham and Fitzwilliam, who had been standing to one side as interested observers of the scene, exchanged thoughtful looks, and Wickham muttered, “I told you so.”
The colonel murmured back, “Indeed you did.”
His heart lifted a little. He was very fond of Darcy and grieved over his sorrows of the last years.
Richard also knew that his cousin, with his serious, sometimes dour, personality, and his vibrant intelligence, would find it challenging to find a compatible wife.
The colonel did not know Miss Elizabeth well yet, but based on what little he did know, she was charming, effervescent, and intelligent.
She might well be Darcy’s perfect match.
/
Longbourn
“Did Mr. Bingley say anything that would suggest that he will soon make you an offer?” Mrs. Bennet asked fretfully, stirring her porridge with her spoon and then taking a cautious bite.
The mistress of Longbourn was seated on a wingbacked chair next to the fire in her bedchamber, and Jane was relieved to see that her mother’s cheeks had more color then they had the previous evening.
“No, Mama,” Jane said patiently. “We spoke of the weather and riding, nothing more. But then, Mr. Collins was taking part in the conversation as well.”
“Oh, Mr. Collins!” her mother said with a dramatic shudder. “Oh, Jane, I cannot bear to hear his name mentioned! Why must he insist on staying here now, when my health is so dreadful?”
Jane sighed and shook her head dolefully.
“Indeed, Mama, he is determined to stay near Netherfield because his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, wishes him to be standing at the ready to assist the Darcys as needed. However, he visited Lucas Lodge for some hours today and intends to visit again tomorrow, so that is all to the good.”
“The Lucases are quite good neighbors,” her mother admitted. “Not that Lady Lucas prepares nearly as good a table as I do, but with my illness – oh Jane, I do feel dreadful! I would not be surprised at all if I were to die!”
“Mama,” Jane began, and then sighed. “Mama, I am certain you will feel better in a few short weeks.”
“I am not with child, Jane. I am not! It is quite impossible! After Lydia was born, the midwife told me that I would never conceive again!”
Jane, who could see that her mother’s dressing gown was bulging slightly in the bosom and waist, did not attempt to argue. “I hope and pray you feel better soon.”
“Where is Elizabeth?” her mother continued fretfully. “Not that I prefer her to you, Jane, but it is not right that she should be enjoying her own amusements when I am at death’s door! ”
“Miss Darcy has taken a great liking to Elizabeth and asked her to spend the night at Netherfield.”
Mrs. Bennet’s expression shifted from agitated to pleased in an instant.
“Miss Darcy likes Elizabeth! Oh, oh, my dear Jane, that is wonderful news! Mr. Darcy is such a handsome man, and so wealthy. If Elizabeth is good friends with his sister, there is every reason to think he might make her an offer! Oh Jane, if you capture Mr. Bingley and Elizabeth marries Mr. Darcy, I will have nothing more to wish for!”
Jane sighed again and leaned forward to remove the now empty porridge bowl from her mother’s feeble hands. “Mama, let me call Sally and get you to bed.”
“Thank you. I am very tired.”
/
Georgiana’s bedchamber
Netherfield
“I am so worried about my mother,” Georgiana Darcy sobbed .
“Of course you are,” Elizabeth answered from her truckle bed a few feet away from Georgiana’s imposing four poster. “That is natural. But I do urge you not to give way to fear. Remember Christ’s words in the book of Matthew, my dear:
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the dayisthe evil thereof.
I do not pretend to know your brother or Colonel Fitzwilliam yet, but they seem very strong men. Furthermore, your mother is no wilting violet.”
“She is not,” the younger girl agreed in a stronger voice, “but I am afraid my uncle will force her to take laudanum again.”
“If he does, she will merely have to reduce her intake down to nothing again,” Elizabeth said reasonably.
“I do beg of you not to worry about tomorrow. I am confident that everything that can be done, will be done. I am certain that Lady Anne is mostly relieved that you are safe, and is facing her trials with courage.”
Georgiana leaned back in her pillow, suddenly exhausted beyond belief. It had been a terrifying day but Elizabeth was correct. Her brother and cousin would find Lady Anne, and they would be happy and safe together.
For two minutes, the room was silent and Elizabeth allowed her eyelids to close. She was very tired .
“Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth suppressed a sigh and said cheerfully, “Yes?”
“Do you like my brother?”
Drowsiness fled and Elizabeth sat up and turned her head toward the mound of covers which covered Georgiana Darcy.
“Yes, of course,” she replied, and was astonished to realize her face was heating up. “He is a most admirable man, Mr. Darcy, and a most excellent brother and son.”
“That is all true, Elizabeth, but I wondered if you, well, would you ever consider marrying a man like him?”
Elizabeth was thankful for the darkness, as she was almost certainly bright red now.
She hesitated and then said, “I admire your brother very much and yes, he is exactly the kind of man I would like to marry; he is intelligent and well informed, kind, hardworking, and diligent. However, I do not expect that he will wish to marry me. Your family is related closely to the nobility, and I suppose Mr. Darcy could reach very high for a bride.”
“You forget my uncle, the earl of Matlock,” Georgiana said, her tone bitter.
“He has publicly declared my mother to be insane, and my brother, in addition to everything else, is quite cast down by the scandal. I know there has been a great deal of talk about our family among the ton, though Fitzwilliam has shielded my mother and me as much as possible. I know my poor brother feels himself unworthy of mixing societally with individuals untainted by our disgrace; I fear that he does not consider himself worthy of marriage to a good woman at all.”
“That is outrageous!” Elizabeth said warmly. “Your brother is handsome, wealthy, and of good birth. More than that, he has shown himself to be a godly man of excellent character. Regarding your mother – anyone who has spoken to Lady Anne knows that she is entirely in her right mind!”
“Yes, but rumors spread rapidly in London. My mother says that many of the nobility and gentry are bored and eagerly latch onto whispers of dishonor.”
“I suppose that is true here as well,” Elizabeth said with a sigh. “All the same, if London is anything like Meryton, such rumors will diminish with time. I daresay there are always new scandals in Town.”
“That is true enough.”
Silence fell again and within five minutes, Elizabeth could hear Georgiana’s breathing relax as the girl slipped into an exhausted sleep.
As for herself, she found herself now wide awake from Georgiana’s words.
Was it remotely possible that Mr. Darcy of Pemberley might wish to marry the second daughter of a country gentleman?
She liked herself well enough, but she was not showing excessive humility when she spoke of their relatively different stations in life.
As nephew to the earl of Matlock, as master of a great estate, Mr. Darcy could reach very high.
Except, of course, that thanks to that very uncle, the Darcys were in distress.
She need not think about it now. She admired and appreciated Mr. Darcy very much, and both Lady Anne and Georgiana were charming, kindly women caught up in difficult circumstances beyond their control.
She was privileged to be a friend of the Darcys, and if the master of the family decided that he wished for more than friendship, she would address that possibility when it occurred.
Given her admiration for Mr. Darcy, she knew she would receive the man’s attention with enthusiasm and gratitude.
/
“I will leave at first light,” Colonel Fitzwilliam promised.
“I know,” Darcy said. He blew out a breath and turned to peer into his cousin’s eyes. “You know that money is no object, correct? If Matlock will return my mother in exchange for ten thousand pounds, I will pay it.”
“I despise the very thought of giving such funds to my father, but I agree, of course, that my aunt’s health and well-being take precedence. It will be as you wish.”
“Thank you, Richard.”