Darcy and the others with him noted the instant Miss Bingley got a predatory gleam in her eyes and was obviously preparing herself to jump at Darcy to attempt a compromise. Darcy glared at the virago with his most stern, disdainful look. It seemed to give her pause, if only for some moments.
“If you think I will ever submit to a compromise, you are sorely mistaken. The only one who will be compromised, if you lower yourself to make such an attempt, is yourself. You are thelastwoman in the world who I would agree to marry, under any circumstances! In fact, if we were the only two people left on earth and the fate of humanity depended on our marrying, I still would not marry you.” Darcy glared at the woman.
Leaving her standing in the middle of the bedchamber, her aunt, brother, and the two cousins turned and filed out of her room. Miss Bingley heard the lock click as the key was turned once the door had been pulled closed.
Within an hour she had erased the words from herconsciousness and was again planning to find a way to compromise Mr. Darcy that night.
It would be after one in the morning, when she was sure the footmen would be tired, and not vigilant enough. They would never suspect her of using the servants’ door and hallway to escape her chambers, of that she was certain.
She would be engaged to Mr. Darcy by the morning, or her name was not Caroline Maleficent Bingley.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Wickham sat in the taproom of an inn near the university in Oxford.
If it were not for bad luck, he would have no luck at all. He had selected this inn for its proximity to the university, thinking he would be able to win easy money from the young toffs who attended. So far he had lost much more than he had won.
He would keep using his charm to tell the young men he would pay them as soon as his inheritance, which was tied up in probate, was released. It was the same thing he was telling the merchants who were beginning to demand payment. Thankfully Oxford was large enough so he did not have a balance so much at any single shop that they would contact Colonel Forster.
He had hoped to be away from Oxford for a few weeks by joining the group of officers to travel to the town in Hertfordshire to scout locations for the encampment. His bad luck had struck again. The Colonel had thanked him for being willing to volunteer, but he would take more experienced officers with him. Denny was one of those who had been chosen. They would depart on the morrow.
Damn stupid Karen for failing to attain the position of companion to Miss Darcy. He had, of course, intended to double cross the Younges and keep all the dowry of thirty thousand pounds for himself. He would have been on his wayto the Americas before they realised he had gone. More bad luck! It should have worked.
Thankfully when they moved to Hertfordshire, he was going to a place where he would be unknown, and no Darcys or Fitzwilliams would be close to him.
Chapter 27
Caroline Bingley waited until she heard a clock somewhere in the bowels of the house strike one in the morning. Wearing nothing but her sheerest nightgown, candle in hand, she slowly opened the door the servants used.
Knowing she was in a corner room told her the direction she was walking was the right way. She walked until she found the stairs. She could have entered one of the unoccupied chambers on the same floor as the room in which she had been imprisoned, but she was well aware if the footman on guard was awake, she would be seen and then everything would be for nought. Her brother was sure to send her back to London later that morning, so she had to succeed!
She gingerly walked down one flight of stairs to reach the floor below. She knew there was one level between where she was currently standing, and where everyone else was sleeping, including Mr. Darcy.
Miss Bingley entered the first chamber she reached. As she was sure it would be, it was quite empty. The furniture in the suite was not even uncovered. Reaching the door which would allow her to exit the room, she cracked it and slowly stuck her head out a little. The moonlit hallway was deserted.
Leaving the now extinguished candle on a table in the suite’s sitting room, Caroline slid out of the door into the hallway. Just to be extra vigilant, she looked both ways to verify she was alone and saw not a living soul.
Feeling secure, she padded over to the grand staircase.As silently as she was able, using the light from the moon, Miss Bingley descended the stairs cautiously one at a time. With each step, she halted and listened. On hearing no sounds or footfalls anywhere in the house, she continued to the next step and repeated the process. She was too close to her goal not to be as careful as possible. It would not do to get caught at this juncture.
Eventually, Miss Bingley arrived on the second floor. Now her problem was to determine which suite was Mr. Darcy’s. She had to admit the lack of that knowledge was a flaw in her plan. She stood in the hallway which was lighted by the pale glow of moonlight which streamed through the windows on the side of the hallway facing the park.
Then it hit her, of course! The servants’ doors!
Slowly she padded in her soft slippers to the last chamber in the hallway. She had to hope she had not gone the wrong way and was about to open the master suite’s door. Gingerly and as slowly as possible to mitigate any possible creak or squeak, Miss Bingley slowly turned the handle and opened the door. To her relief the chambers were empty, and the furniture was covered in the same manner as in the suite one floor above. She entered the rooms with speed and carefully pushed the door closed.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily she had turned towards the guest chambers, not the family suites.
Safe inside the rooms, she walked quickly to the servants’ door and pulled it open. On entering the hallway beyond the door, Caroline had to stand for some minutes so her eyes would adjust to the reduced light. There were some small windows, high up on the wall opposite which allowed some moonlight to permeate the blackness of the dingy hallway.
With her eyes adjusted to the low amount of light, Miss Bingley made for the door closest to her leading into abedchamber in the direction of the stairs. As slowly as she could, she pushed the door open. She slipped inside and found it was another unused chamber, but this one was prepared as if more guests were expected. Everything was uncovered and had been thoroughly cleaned.
The next two doors she entered led to empty suites as well which were also prepared for future occupants.
The fourth room she entered was occupied. Caroline felt the thrill of her desires about to be realised as she crept into the room. There was enough light for her to see the back of the person lying in the bed had dark hair, not lighter hair like Mr. Fitzwilliam.
Providence had guided her into her future husband’s chamber. Miss Bingley shrugged out of her thin nightrail. She calmed herself and then slipped under the covers. She draped her arm over her victim seductively, and fit her body to Mr. Darcy’s so they were touching on every plane. She knew she was successful when she felt the man next to her tense up.
As soon as she was ready, she started to screech. “But Mr. Darcy, we are not yet married.”
