Page 29 of Requirements for Love (Love in London with Mr Darcy #3)
He seemed astonished on finding her alone. “I am sorry,” he said on entering. “I had understood all the ladies to be within. Is this not Miss Darcy’s morning at home?”
“It is, but it was so late in the afternoon and she did not expect anyone else, so she and Mrs Annesley went for a short walk. You are welcome to wait for them. I expect they will be back before it gets too dark and they will want to dress for dinner.”
“If you do not mind my intrusion,” he said. “However, I should admit that I did not come to see Miss Darcy. I had hoped to visit with you—I just did not expect to find you alone,” he added.
She assured him his mistake did not offend her and asked him how he spent his day.
“My company demanded my attention today, and I am afraid, aside from fencing tomorrow, I shall have no amusements of any kind for the rest of the week. Dashed regimental responsibilities are taking time from a fine race I might have had,” he said with a grin.
“What a trial for a young man,” she said, laughing. “Denied his pleasures by his promising army career when he might have raced about London instead.”
“But you do not want to hear about my natty gig and fine trotter, I am sure,” he said. His wry glance shone with amusement. “I know better than to bore a lady with that sort of talk. Are you fond of an open carriage, Miss Bennet?”
“I have hardly an opportunity of being in one, but I am fond of it.”
“Perhaps you might have the chance to drive while you are in town?” he suggested.
“You are the only one I know in town with an open carriage, Captain Peck.”
“Perhaps you could join me?” he asked, giving her a meaningful look. “I promise not to drive fast with you as a passenger.”
His invitation flattered her as much as it startled her. “Such schemes are not at all the thing,” she said, smiling, “at least not where I live. Young ladies are not driven about in an open carriage by young men to whom they are not related.”
Captain Peck nodded. “I heartily agree. However, if after you returned to Gracechurch Street and I made the acquaintance of the friends you are staying with, we could all drive together. Someone could misconstrue nothing improper from that.”
“If my aunt approves, I would enjoy a drive. When would this excursion be planned for?”
“Not until you are fully healed, and I have had the pleasure of meeting your friends.” With a casual air, Captain Peck added, “It might be more pleasant for everyone if the weather was fairer. It would not do to go out in an open carriage and catch your death of cold.”
“I am only in town until March, you remember?” In less than two months, she would go to Kent to visit Charlotte Collins.
“That is ample time for the weather to warm up and to decide if we would like to go for a drive.”
“And where would this calm, slow drive with my aunt and me take place?”
He grinned. “A steady drive through Hyde Park, I promise. No racing, although I assure you I am a perfect hero with the whip.”
Elizabeth felt her lips matching his wide smile.
Riding around Hyde Park at the fashionable hour in an open carriage, even if her aunt joined them, was a clear indication that Captain Peck admired her.
He was not inviting her on a drive now, but the hint that he might spoke to his interest. He wanted to know her better, to see if there was any hope for a future between them.
If Darcy was now lost to her, she must look elsewhere.
“Then you must call in Gracechurch Street next week so I can present you to my aunt and uncle.” She need not worry about the Gardiners not showing her to advantage. Even Darcy had liked them. It might be possible to make a match while she was in London and away from her nearer relations, after all.
“I look forward to it,” he said, his voice heavy with meaning.
There was a quick tread up the stairs that Elizabeth immediately recognised.
The door opened, and Darcy’s expectant look fell as his gaze shifted quickly between her and Captain Peck.
Chagrin and embarrassment overcame her as he took in the scene.
There was nothing inherently wrong in her receiving Captain Peck alone, but it spoke to a regard between them that did not yet exist.
“Where is my sister?” he asked instantly.
“She and Mrs Annesley went for a walk after her calls. I think she wanted to stretch her legs, and Captain Peck arrived just after they left. I am sure they will be back at any moment. They were only walking in the square.”
Darcy settled a sharp look on his friend as he slowly stepped toward him.
“Did you watch my sister leave?” he asked evenly. “Did you call on Miss Bennet knowing she would be alone?”
“No,” Captain Peck cried. “I meant to visit with all the ladies. I understood it was your sister’s morning at home. I thought they were all within when I was shown up.”
“And you stayed after you realised your error?”
Captain Peck ducked his head and gave an embarrassed smile. “It would have been rude to turn around and walk right out again, Darcy.”
While he may not have set out to see her alone, he took advantage of the situation. Elizabeth could not fault him for it, but the look on Darcy’s face said he certainly did .
“You may call again when she is available to receive visitors,” Darcy said coldly. “I will not have Miss Bennet’s reputation materially injured while she stays in my house.”
Captain Peck was on his feet in an instant. “I will leave, but I promise it is unnecessary.”
“I say it is,” Darcy said, gesturing toward the door. “I would want for nothing to ruin her reputation, her peace of mind, and her hopes of a proper establishment.”
Elizabeth scoffed. That was rather a lot for a woman to lose because of eight minutes alone with a respectable soldier, in a public room in the home of a mutual friend, but Captain Peck showed no sign of arguing.
“I agree,” he said earnestly. “I have an interest in preserving Miss Bennet from a loss of those things.”
Darcy started, and Elizabeth grew embarrassed. Captain Peck had all but announced it was possible he might marry her and be the one to preserve her reputation and peace of mind for the rest of her life. It was possible that might someday happen, but it was far too soon to tell.
And it was still too soon since Darcy still had a hold on her heart, for all the good it did her.
He was at a complete loss for words. He gaped at his friend and struggled for composure.
Captain Peck waited to see if his friend would reply, and when Darcy said nothing, he turned to her.
“I will call on you in Cheapside next week. I hope I warrant a mention in your daily letters to your sister until then. Darcy, I am sorry for how this appears, but you have my word it was innocently done. I will see you at Angelo’s tomorrow. ”
He wished them both a good day before he left. When the door shut behind him, Darcy turned to her, his face pale even as he tried to appear at ease.
“We were here together for less than ten minutes, Mr Darcy,” she stated. “Not a single untoward thing happened. It surprised him to find me alone, I assure you.”
She strove to seem calm. Being alone with a gentleman caller was hardly a scandal, but the man she had fallen in love with this past week had caught her.
Darcy nodded as though he heard her, but he did not seem to agree with her. “Are you,” he asked after he took a deep breath and sat, “are you interested in knowing Peck better?”
He watched her as though he needed to know her thoughts and emotions, along with her words. It made his question, this entire encounter, even more distressing. Captain Peck paid attention when she spoke; Darcy always looked at her as though his next breath depended on her answer.
That did not mean she was anything more to him than a friend with an embarrassing family.
“Captain Peck is a sensible, agreeable person with a great deal of good humour. Why would I not want to know him better?”
At length, in a voice of forced calmness, he muttered, “I would not say fastidiousness is in his composition.”
She could not help but smile. “I wonder if anyone would be careful enough in your eyes, but he is still your friend.”
“He is everyone’s friend,” he cried. “And, and I do not think he would be a devoted husband.”
She gasped. “You think he would be unfaithful? How could you be friends with a man who would not be faithful to his wife?”
He now looked embarrassed. “I do not mean that sort of devoted,” he said hurriedly. “I mean, he would not commit himself wholeheartedly to your happiness, and you deserve a better husband than that, even if he meets every requirement on your list.”
She knew her mouth fell open, and she saw in Darcy’s face that he regretted his candour. They both heard ladies’ voices in the entrance hall, and he immediately rose. “Is that Georgiana? I will greet her, and then I am going out for the evening.”
That puzzled her. “I thought you were going to be more at home in the evenings?”
Darcy only bowed. She heard him take the stairs two at a time and exchange a few words with his sister, then open the front door and quit the house.