Page 37 of The Briar Bargain (The Rom Com Collection #3)

"I took a calculated risk," Hurst corrected. "I have watched my wife carefully over the two years of our marriage, and I have concluded that beneath her devotion to Caroline's causes lay a woman of considerably more sense than she has been permitted to display."

"Your faith was rewarded, then?" Darcy asked.

Hurst's smile grew positively predatory.

"Not immediately. Caroline, it seems, had conceived yet another of her elaborate schemes—the game we played an hour ago.

And then she wanted to consult Louisa on another for when we all inevitably returned to London before Christmas, one that involved a planned fainting episode near the Viscountess of Alverstone's prize pugs at the next charitable gathering. While in Darcy’s company, of course, and with any luck, to get him to catch her. "

Bingley stared. "She planned to faint? Deliberately?"

"Complete with a physician paid to ensure the performance appeared authentic," Hurst confirmed.

"Caroline had researched the precise manner of collapse most likely to inspire sympathy rather than suspicion.

She had even selected the optimal location for maximum visibility among the attending worthies. "

Darcy was torn between horror and reluctant admiration for the sheer audacity of the scheme.

Bingley appeared both horrified and intrigued. “And Caroline approached Louisa for assistance with this . . . invention?"

"She required someone to witness the collapse and provide appropriately alarmed commentary," Hurst explained. "Someone whose reputation for truthfulness would lend credibility to the performance. Louisa was to serve as both audience and corroborating witness."

"Good God," Bingley muttered. "Even for Caroline, that seems remarkably . . ."

Ludicrous? Manipulative?

“Potentially disastrous?" Hurst supplied helpfully. "Indeed. But Caroline has never been deterred by the possibility of consequences. She simply finds a way to foist them upon others. Louisa was still angry about Caroline doing just that with your drawing, Darcy.”

Bingley nodded. “Just as when they were children. Nothing has changed.”

Hurst snorted. “I pointed out to Louisa that her own reputation has already been brought into question among my family due to her willingness to support her sister’s plans, and that this new incident would certainly ruin it. That did not sit well. "

Darcy moved to the window, gazing out at the autumn landscape while processing the implications of what he was hearing.

This latest plot of Miss Bingley’s suggested a level of calculation that bordered on the desperate.

And that was how it would be seen by those she wanted so badly to impress.

Even though he was weary of Miss Bingley’s escapades, he did not like to think of her destroying her chances of making a reasonable match.

Her brother was too good a friend for Darcy to wish either of his sisters ill.

"I assume Mrs. Hurst has now declined to participate? " he said.

"She has." Hurst's tone conveyed deep satisfaction. "She informed Caroline that she was her sister, not her accomplice, and that she would no longer put her own good name at risk."

"Direct," Darcy said.

"Admirably so. Caroline, however, as you might expect, did not appreciate it as much as we do.

She responded with what I can only describe as a comprehensive assault upon Louisa's character, intelligence, and loyalty.

She accused her of betrayal, of stupidity, of allowing marriage to me to corrupt her natural understanding of sisterly duty. "

Bingley winced again. "Caroline does possess a remarkable talent for choosing precisely the wrong approach to persuasion."

"In this instance, her talent served my purposes admirably," Hurst said.

"Louisa's response was to open the door, point to the hall, and suggest that Caroline remove herself from our chambers immediately.

The gesture was accompanied by language that I had not previously suspected my wife capable of employing. "

Darcy hid a smile. “Was it something seafaring?”

Bingley barked out a laugh. “Or delightfully French?”

Hurst paused to sip his brandy. "Louisa said that if such transformation involved freedom from her sister’s foolishness, she considered it an excellent exchange. "

"And you believe this state of affairs will prove permanent?" Darcy asked.

"I am confident it will," Hurst replied. "Louisa has only just tasted independence, but after tonight, she finds it agrees with her constitution remarkably well. I expect a prolonged separation will only do Louisa good. I suppose we shall see."

"You have engineered a domestic coup," Darcy declared, rather impressed.

"I have simply provided my wife with the permission to be herself rather than her sister's shadow," Hurst corrected. "The results have thus far exceeded all my hopes."

"And Caroline?” Bingley asked cautiously. “How is she responding after the game this evening?”

"She is oscillating between injured feelings and imperious attempts to reclaim Louisa's support," Hurst said. "She attempted tears. She attempted guilt. By tomorrow, if I am not mistaken, she will have progressed to righteous indignation."

"Well," Bingley said, finally returning his attention to the game, "I must say I am proud of Louisa. And of you, Hurst. It cannot have been easy to confront such an established arrangement."

"It was the easiest thing in the world," Hurst replied. "I am not married to Caroline. I simply needed to remind Louisa of that fact." He lifted the mace, preparing to resume the game that had been suspended by their conversation.

"And now?" Darcy asked.

"Now," Hurst said, moving to the table with renewed energy, "I plan to treat my wife well enough that she will have no wish to be reunited with her sister."

"Well done," Darcy murmured .

Hurst took his shot. The cue ball rolled smoothly across the felt, struck the red with a satisfying click, and sent it gliding directly at its intended target.