Page 10 of The Gossip War (Pride and Prejudice Shorts #1)
I will not say how precisely I knew, but I did.
The moment I saw the way Lizzy looked at my new brother’s eyes, I knew they had not only come to an understanding, but gone well beyond that and quite a long way into the path of true love—perhaps all the way.
She certainly looked at him in a way that was unmistakable and not the least bit subtle. Lizzy had always been a woman of extremes, and it seemed she was only capable of two emotions regarding Mr Darcy. I vastly preferred her current state.
I welcomed him as the brother I now considered him, and he replied exactly as a brother should. “Thank you, Jane. I am the luckiest man alive.”
Feeling astoundingly forward, I ran the two steps that separated us and threw him into a most indecorous, brotherly hug. “You have no idea.”
He smiled at me and returned the hug, although since he had a death grip on Lizzy with his other arm, it ended up being more of a group effort.
Poor Simon looked like he was vacillating between annoyance at being dragged from his bed at three in the morning, and excitement that he was seeing something no other servant would be allowed to even hear about.
He was only fifteen, and as the fourth son of a tenant, who had been nursed by Lizzy and me many times during his rather sickly childhood, he was as trustworthy as the moon or stars.
I saw Mr Darcy and Lizzy starting to lose themselves in their own gazes again, so decided to move things along.
“Mr Darcy,” I began but was surprised when he held up his hand.
“William, please. My given name is Fitzwilliam, as the Darcy tradition is to name the first son with his mother’s family name. My present sister calls me William, and I would prefer my future sisters do likewise.”
I nodded, unaccountably happy about having such a simple pleasure. I suspected I would be only one of three privileged to use that name. “Well, I am obviously Jane to you… it is hard to shorten that to a diminutive, although Lizzy calls me Janey sometimes.”
Then getting down to business, I pulled Simon forward. “William, this is Simon. He is entirely trustworthy and silent as a tomb. He will return Miss Bingley’s horse before anyone notices its absence, but then—”
William caught the import of my suggestion easily.
“Simon, can you get into Netherfield and to my apartment with nobody but servants the wiser?”
Simon, to his credit, thought about it before giving a flippant answer and finally looked up at him.
“If I wait ‘til five, I can go through the kitchen quietly. I worked in Netherfield as a footman a few times when they had big gatherings. I can even put on spare livery if you need me to move about more.”
“Good… good… If you please, find Mr Samson. He is my valet and is fully aware of all that happens. He is my eyes and ears in Netherfield. If you would be so good as to be at his disposal, you can run messages back and forth or fetch and carry, as necessary. While I am happy for you to use my horse, it might be better if you took Jane’s and staked her out in the South pasture.
Samson will give you a handful of shillings, and a few crowns, in case you need it to convince others to help.
Spend as freely as you feel you ought to carry out your tasks and ask Samson for more if need be. ”
Simon’s face lit up like the sunrise.
“Naturally, I will be in your debt, young man. We shall discuss later how it will be paid. At the very least, I owe you a better position or an apprenticeship, but you shall name your price after the dust settles.”
Simon nodded, while Elizabeth beamed with pleasure at the interaction. For myself, I was so-so happy for Lizzy and proud that neither man nor boy felt the need to say the story was private. I assumed William trusted my judgement, much to his credit.
Simon ran back in to saddle my horse to take in case he needed to return quickly, and we headed for the house.
Lizzy took William’s arm in a very proprietary fashion, and he wrapped her hand with his other as we went to the house to prepare for our first battle.
“I am so happy, William!”