“What right do any of them have to care on the subject? They have not visited since Georgiana’s pregnancy was unhideable.”
“Miss Bennet. A charming girl. I would never have expectedyouwith a woman such as her.”
Darcy grimaced and nodded in agreement. He drank more, the smooth alcohol burning a line down his throat and into his gut. One of the lamps guttered as its oil ran out. He rang for the servant, and silently pointed.
“You are torn up over it,” Richard said once the man had left to fetch oil to refill all of the lamps. “You made a mistake, letting her go so easily, since you feel so strongly yet. I remember Miss Bennet. I’d not have lost a woman like that on any account. A fine, fine lady.”
“She ended our engagement.”
“Really?” Richard’s eyes were a little skeptical. “You mean to say you had no part in it.”
“She went so far as to take the ring from her finger and throw it upon the table. I don’t even know where it bounced to. Shethrewmy ring upon the table. On thetable.” Darcy angrily shot, missing both Richard’s ball and the newly placed red ball. That was two points to Richard for the miss. Not that Darcy cared who won their damned game.
Richard made another shot. It was a cannon, bouncing off Darcy’s completely white cue ball, with only Richard’s cue ball ending up in the pocket. “It sounds to me,” Richard stepped back from the table, and leaned against his cue stick, “as though you are trying to convince yourself of something. Ha! I’dwonderedwhat you’d say if I could get you to admit where that simmering anger towards the miss came from. Threw your ring to ground! I can picture her pretty face, angry and hurling. What a woman!” Richard whistled.
“Damnation, what do you mean to say?”
“I want to help you. You were always a fool about women.”
“I should be angry. I amrightto be angry.”
“If your happiness is constituted in anger.”
“Why? I cannot understandwhy. How could I have been so mistaken by her character? No respectable woman would have treated me in that way. I don’t understand.”
Richard rolled his eyes. But he didn’t say anything. Darcy got the decided impression that his cousin did not take his side in his dispute with Elizabeth. The two of them traded rounds, and Darcy’s play had deteriorated substantially. He missed both shots. Perhaps that had been Richard’s goal when he brought her up: To ensure Darcy could not catch his lead. The servant returned with oil and filled up all of the lamps, and then filled the half emptied decanter of cognac.
“Georgiana isn’t excessively unhappy,” Darcy said once the man left. “She never talks about Mr. Peake.”
Richard skeptically stared at Darcy from over his nose. He took a sip from his glass. “I was glad to see her. She does not seem cut up. Women can hide things. She’s hiding something.”
“Georgiana? She knows to obey me. I’d know if she hid anything.”
“Darcy, do you want my advice, or my agreement? We do not see matters face to face in this.” Richard grinned. “I’ll not yell at you when you ignore me this time. You do not even need to hear my thoughts if you do not ask.”
“A false pretense of my being allowed to hold back. After you have said so much, I would be quite incurious not to ask more.” Darcy sighed. “What would you have me do with Georgiana?”
“Let her marry that tradesman.”
“She is half Fitzwilliam blood. I did not expect that from you.”
“If you gave a damn about herrespectability,you would have made her marry Carteret. You were right not to. I have a perfect picture of that day. Georgiana sobbing, and me angry. But I cannot recall what possibly made me think we should force her to marry him. I said earlier, it was spite, because neither of you needed to return to Spain.”
Darcy grunted.
“Women are…damnation, you don’t try to control women. They do as they will. Pull together, life is well. Pull apart, life turns to hell.”
“Women need protection. I protected her. I told you, she understands.”
“Has Georgiana said that to you? That she thinks you were right?”
Darcy grimaced. He knew she did not.
“Just whatdidyou do to make Miss Bennet so angry?”
“Are you purposely trying to annoy me? So that I realize I had nothing to miss during those years?”
Richard laughed and made another high scoring shot. “Little chance of you catching menow.”
