Page 19 of The Countess and Her Sister
Darcy sipped at his glass of wine as he considered Lady Gardiner’s generously given information.
“I have lost both my parents, as you must be aware; even now it grieves me to be parted from them. I cannot recall ever having occasion to doubt their affection for me, nor feel as though they had failed my best interest or personal happiness. Miss Bennet – indeed, both of your nieces have experienced the loss of their parents in a way that must be unimaginably painful.”
Lady Gardiner set aside her own empty wine glass and patted Darcy’s hand before hailing a footman and procuring a fresh drink for each of them.
Normally, Darcy might feel some hesitation at growing so candid whilst in his cups – and with a woman keen to spill the proverbial family tea.
His formidable companion seemed to be testing his mettle at every revelation, and she was not a woman he would ever underestimate.
Darcy sat with her for nearly an hour more, relieved to have been apparently forgotten when there were more single gentlemen than available ladies to dance with.
Lady Gardiner told him happier stories after another glass of wine, and after yet another Darcy abandoned any pretense of balancing his fascination with Miss Bennet’s antics, with civil inquiries about Lady Jane.
When the final set of the evening was called, Darcy remembered that he had resolved to dance with Lady Jane.
Sir Edward Gardiner finally made his way to his wife’s side after mingling affably amongst so many new acquaintance who were in awe of him.
“You have been monopolizing the company of the most beautiful woman here, sir, and I have it on good authority that Lady Augusta means to chide you for not amazing the whole room with your superior dancing.”
Lady Gardiner grinned at Darcy. “You have allowed me to speak frankly with you, sir, and I must go on as I have begun. I shall think you a great fool if you do not stand up with the lady you have been staring at all evening.”
Darcy glanced over at the six couples, who were all changing partners amongst themselves. “I see Bingley is too swift for me, in claiming a second set with the countess.”
Lady Gardiner gave him a look that told him she would tolerate none of his deflection. “I am sure you are intelligent enough to sort it all out,” she said briskly, before allowing Sir Edward to lead her away.
Darcy stood, and breathed a deep sigh of relief, and allowed himself to unabashedly stare at Elizabeth Bennet across the room.
Mr. Rushworth hesitated just long enough in asking her for a second set that his mother dragged him off to speak to Richard and Lady Augusta.
Miss Bennet only smirked at the slight and shook her head as she indulged in a private laugh.
Then she looked up at him, and her color rose. It was a sight of magnetic allure.
***
Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat as Mr. Darcy strode toward her, something intense burning in his gaze.
She wondered if he had seen Mr. Rushworth subtly reject her in favor of courting Jane’s good graces through Lady Augusta.
What a reversal, that he should now come to her rescue after such a slight, after atoning for one of his own at the opening of their acquaintance.
He offered her his hand without a word, and Elizabeth suppressed the urge to jest about being handsome enough to tempt him.
Instead, she let the rush of gratification thrill through her.
She had danced with a bore, a babbling bore, a babbling rake, and a man rendered insensible by his recent divorce – only Mr. Bingley had been an agreeable partner.
Mr. Darcy proved to be a magnificent one, and she finally allowed herself to tease him for concealing his greatest accomplishment.
“I do not avoid dancing because I will not trouble myself to perfect the steps,” he said with a gentle laugh.
“This evening has taught me to understand why you generally abstain,” Elizabeth mused. “Poor Jane has been the object of considerable speculation and machination. I imagine you comprehend such circumstances.”
“Your insight does you credit,” Mr. Darcy replied. “As to your compliment, I must reply that one cannot dance well alone. But such praise from you is well worth the earning, after all that I have heard of you from Lady Gardiner.”
“Ah, yes – you have had some additional inducement to refrain from dancing all evening,” Elizabeth said archly. She pressed her hand against his as they moved through the figures of the dance, feeling a little dizzy at the thought of him speaking affably with her aunt – and speaking of her!
Mr. Darcy grew surprisingly loquacious as he repeated all the embellished accounts of her youth that Lady Gardiner had recounted to illustrate Elizabeth’s character to Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth laughed merrily at his easy and open banter about her wildest and most impish childhood shenanigans.
She had consumed perhaps a little too much punch between all her other dances – a paltry recompense for the company she had endured – and Elizabeth was in high spirits.
The dance was an invigorating one, and she began to grow increasingly aware of Mr. Darcy’s physical proximity.
He was taller than any of her previous partners, his shoulders broader, his countenance possessed of greater understanding, his garments tailored more perfectly to his pleasing form – he even smelled better.
“I like his hair so much,” Elizabeth murmured to herself before spinning in time to the music and catching sight of Jane. Recollecting herself, Elizabeth gave her sister’s suitor a placid smile when he said, “Pardon? I did not hear you, Miss Bennet.”
And then his head turned sharply and he missed the next figure of steps. He wrapped one arm around Elizabeth to pull her out of the way before they could collide with the Hursts and Gardiners, who had joined the young people in dancing.
For a moment, Elizabeth presumed that the drunken Mr. Hurst had mis-stepped and caused such a commotion, but Mr. Darcy was staring intently at the open doorway a dozen paces away, and she realized that he was leading her that direction, his hand lingering on her back.
She panicked for a moment, but supposed that she could hardly make a scene by moving away from him; she hurried along at his side, into the dark corridor. “Mr. Darcy, you must mistake me for….”
He raised a finger to his lips, then pointed to another door; it was closed, but a shaft of dim light poured out from the space beneath it.
And then, Elizabeth heard a giggle of a most particular nature.
Her panic boiled into blind terror, and she clasped his hand in alarm.
She tried to envision where she had seen Jane a moment before leaving the ballroom – it could not be her sister within that room.
Her courage rising, she dropped Mr. Darcy’s hand and followed him quietly, instinctively understanding what he intended.
Elizabeth was standing at his side when he opened the door, revealing Miss Isabella Thorpe in a wanton embrace with Captain Tilney.
The latter gave a slow, devilish smile. Miss Thorpe, her hair spilling out of its chignon, hastily stepped away from the rake with a gasp.
Captain Tilney only chuckled, casting such a look between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth that she feared he might suggest they had come into this parlor for the very same purpose. “We were nearly finished, anyhow,” he drawled.
“You are finished,” Mr. Darcy said sternly.
Elizabeth smiled sadly at Miss Thorpe, who had the decency to look ashamed, though she seemed a very willing participant in whatever had transpired before Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy entered the room.
The lovers must have taken advantage of the dance floor becoming more crowded, and snuck off whilst their companions were distracted.
The captain looked as though he were not sorry in the least and would happily do it again. He winked at Elizabeth.
While Elizabeth remained too shocked to speak, Mr. Darcy was entirely in command of himself – and the whole room.
The steel in his voice at once frightened and excited her as he stared at the pair of lovers.
“We will not speak publicly of this, though John Thorpe will be hearing that he ought to watch his sister more closely. And, Tilney, your father may demand some explanation when the countess wishes nothing further to do with you.”
Miss Thorpe crossed her arms in front of her chest, still looking exceedingly disheveled. “But he has compromised me! He cares nothing for the insipid countess – Fred, we must marry.”
Captain Tilney gave a hollow laugh. “You are lucky I even noticed you with a countess in the room. Your assets may be ample, but they are nothing to an earldom.”
Miss Thorpe let out an indignant whimper, while Elizabeth seethed at the insult to her sister. Her hands balled into fists and she took a step closer to the young woman, ready to inform the vicious idiot just how superior a creature Jane was.
Mr. Darcy turned red with rage as he strode across the room and seized Captain Tilney by the cravat.
“You will apologize to my lovely friend Miss Bennet for disparaging her sister, at once – and then you will do the same, Miss Thorpe, if you have any hope for Miss Bennet saving your reputation by walking out of this room with you. You have been foolish and ill-mannered, but ruin is too high a price to pay. Hopefully a stern talking-to from your brother will keep you from any repetition of this calamity.”
Miss Thorpe was pale and shaking as she hugged herself. She met Elizabeth’s eyes with a look of terror. “I apologize, Miss Bennet. I meant no offense – I was very distressed, as you may imagine….”