Chapter 1
Fitzwilliam Darcy was at a local assembly, the very last place he wanted to be. No, if he were honest with himself, it would be the second to last place. The distinction of being the absolute last place belonged to remaining at his friend’s leased estatealonewith only Bingley’s youngest sister, Miss Caroline Bingley, for company.
As he surveyed the locals, all were staring at the Netherfield Park party to the extent they had ceased dancing when he, along with the two Bingleys and two Hursts, entered the room. Granted, they were late thanks to Miss Bingley who still clung to her belief it was acceptable to be, as she called it,fashionably late.
Darcy was sure he was being sized up like he was at any event he attended in London as a potential husband for some insipid woman of large dowry and no sense. In this little market town of Meryton he was sure the large dowry was lacking, but the rest held true.
How he wished his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam, a Colonel in the Royal Dragoons and co-guardian of his much younger sister, Georgiana Darcy, would have been granted leave from his regiment and able to accompany him into Hertfordshire.
Richard was an aimable man, similar to Bingley, but unlike Bingley, he was not at all capricious. Had he joined Darcy, he would have been able to deflect the cloying attention of Miss Bingley away from himself. His cousin was adept at redirecting the woman’s fake fawning over Giana in London.
As annoying as Miss Bingley was, Darcy valued his friendship with Bingley too highly to allow his sister to cause a break between them.
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Notwithstanding his father had been active in trade, Bingley had become one of Darcy’s best friends after the two met in Darcy’s final year at Cambridge, which was Bingley’s first year.
At first, Darcy had kept his distance knowing of the family being in trade. They had met while sparring at the fencing club at university. Darcy had been in the highest echelon of fencers, and strangely enough, so was Bingley. He had always had a natural flair for the sport which had been developed with training.
Over the months a most unlikely, yet strong friendship had grown. Where Darcy assisted Bingley with his scholastic endeavours, the latter smoothed the former’s way in social situations.
After he graduated, Darcy dealt with the death of his father and then less than a year later, the Bingleys buried both of their parents who had been murdered by highwaymen in Yorkshire.
Both of the men being orphans brought Darcy and Bingley much closer together as friends. The only drawback was Bingley’s sisters and brother-in-law. Bingley had two sisters. Louisa, three years his senior and married to Harold Hurst, the heir to a rather minor estate in Surrey. Three years younger than Bingley was the youngest, and most spoilt in the family, Miss Caroline Bingley.
The sisters thought themselves far higher in society than they were. At least when Louisa married Mr. Hurst, she was elevated to the rank of gentlewoman, even if only a member of the third circle.
The younger sister thought she was as high as a duchess and behaved in the same manner. She had set her cap for Darcy the first time Bingley introduced his friend to his family. Darcy had never done anything to encourage Miss Bingley, but that had not deterred her from her course.
Only his friendship with Bingley had stayed him from giving the woman the cut direct. She always inserted herself whenever he invited Bingley to one of his homes. It was the reason he had never invited Bingley to Pemberley after the first time and why he hardly ever invited his friend to Darcy House. More often than not they met at one of their clubs—Bingley had only gained membership thanks to Darcy’s sponsorship—in London, a place Miss Bingley could not enter.
In his will, Bingley’s father had recommended he purchase an estate. He left his son over a hundred thousand pounds for that purpose, while settling twenty thousand pounds on each of his two daughters in the way of a dowry.
That had led Bingley to Netherfield Park near Meryton in Hertfordshire. He had been willing to jump in and purchase an estate until Darcy had recommended leasing first. Bingley’s man of business had found the estate no more than twenty miles from London.
The two friends had viewed the estate and that same day Bingley, being somewhat precipitous at times, signed the lease at the office of Mr. Frank Philips in Meryton. The solicitor was the unknown owner’s local agent.
His promise to assist Bingley, even with Miss Bingley installed as the mistress of the estate, had brought Darcy to the area, and the assembly on this evening in November 1810.
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As he stood looking down on the locals, Darcy could only pray Giana was doing better. He had almost broken his word to Bingley and remained in London to be close to his much younger—by twelve years—sister.
Aunt Elaine, Richard’s mother, the Countess of Matlock, had thought it was a better idea for Giana to remain at Matlock House with her and her slightly older cousin, Tiffany. In Lady Matlock’s opinion, his sister had a better chance of beginning to recover without him constantly hovering over her. Hence she had convinced her nephew to join his friend.
The almost disaster from which he had rescued Giana—her full name was Georgiana—was a contributing factor to his bad mood and desire not to be at the ball. He and his sister were the only ones who remained alive bearing the name Darcy.
Their mother had passed away before Giana’s fifth birthday and five years ago their father, Robert Darcy, who had never recovered from the loss of his beloved Anne, had joined her in heaven.
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He could not but feel guilt over Giana’s brush with ruin. Yes, Richard was a co-guardian, but his father had trusted him, and it was he who had made so many errors. He was the one who had employed Mrs. Younge without verifying her characters while Richard had been away on a training assignment. It was he who had not told his little sister the truth about the miscreant George Wickham thus leaving her defenceless when he had imposed himself on her in Ramsgate. Richard had advocated against Darcy’s assertion he was only protecting Giana’s sensibilities. Richard had been proved right.
The companion had suggested a summer trip to the Darcys’ house in Ramsgate so her charge could draw some seascapes and additionally the sea air would be healthy for Miss Darcy.
Her two guardians had escorted their ward and her companion along with several other servants to the house. They had remained for a sennight before one had to return to his regiment and the other to business concerns in London.
Duty had made it so Richard would have to remain in London, but Darcy had planned to join Giana in just over three weeks at the end of July. As it happened his feelings of missing his sister spurred Darcy to accelerate the schedule of his business so he had been able to depart for Ramsgate almost ten days earlier than had been planned.
