“Do not forget a viscount when Andy arrives.” Elizabeth paused. “I pray for his safe return almost as much as Jane, because I do not want to see how devastated my sister would be if something should happen to him.”
“I also pray for Andy’s safe return, but for different reasons than Cousin Jane,” Darcy clarified.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
At that moment, Andrew Fitzwilliam was standing on the quarterdeck of the ship bearing him home and, more importantly, to Jane. He desired to speak to the Captain about how close they were to England, but was waiting for him to finish conferring with one of his officers.
Some days more than a sennight past they had left the Canary Islands, where they had put into port on the north-western end of Gran Canaria. After taking on fresh water and food, they had set sail once again. There had been much beauty in the islands, but all Andrew was concentrating on was arriving home, seeing his family, and reuniting with Jane.
“Do you see the light there to the northwest?” the Captain asked after he dismissed the officer. The Viscount shook his head. The officer handed him his telescope and pointed him in the right direction.
“Yes, yes, I do,” Andrew acknowledged. “Where is that?”
“That is one of the coastal towns on the Bay of Biscay in France. Do not be concerned with the tyrant’s navy, Lord Hilldale. Ever since the late Lord Nelson bloodied them at Trafalgar, their navy prefers to remain in port. Add to that the Royal Navy’s blockade is in full force. That also induces the French to keep away.”
“How long from here until we reach London?”
“A sennight or less; we have had favourable winds since we departed Gran Canaria.” The Captain paused as he looked out into the blackness. “We are fortunate the little tyrant betrayed Spain and they switched sides; otherwise we would not have been welcome flying England’s flag in the Canary Islands. In fact, they would have thrown us into the brig and taken the ship and her cargo.”
“Then one day we will have to thank that Corsican for being so power hungry that he turns on his allies. Thank you for the update, Captain. Nothing against you and your exemplary crew, but if I never step on board a ship again, it will be too soon.” Andrew shook the Captain’s hand and walked over to the starboard railing.
He looked up at the millions of brilliant, twinkling stars and wondered what Jane was doing at that moment.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As none of them danced the final set, the four Bennet siblings who attended the assembly, and their newly met cousin, were seated on benches in the small garden and grassy area adjacent to the assembly hall, due to the oppressive heat in the hall, and it being a mild evening.
The bad mood he had felt thanks to being in Miss Bingley’s company had been banished by his cousins, especially Elizabeth. Darcy could not remember ever before having such an enjoyable evening at a ball—public or private. He felt the beginnings of an attraction to Cousin Elizabeth, but it was far too early to know if it was an infatuation or something more substantial.
Cousin Liam had been a revelation to Elizabeth. She had watched him become far easier among those he did not know than what had been told of him. Not only that, but thanks to him, Pru, Esmé, Jenny, and Penny had all enjoyed the assembly far more than any other in the past. Rather than dance with two of them as she had challenged him to do, Liam had danced with all four, as well as with Jane and Mary. He had asked Mama for a set, but she had demurred, saying she preferred to sit with Papa. Elizabeth did not know if things would go anywhere between them, but she decided that he was a very good and intelligent man. She looked over and saw Janey’s eyes lifted to the skies, as she was wont to do at times.
Jane had been staring at the stars on this cloudless night. For some reason, whenever she did, she felt closer to Andrew. She turned to her brother, sisters, and Cousin Liam, as Lizzy had dubbed Fitzwilliam Darcy. “Is Mr Bingley deficient of understanding?” she huffed. “No matter how many timesI indicated my disinterest in his company, he never ceased importuning me for another dance or to tell me what anangelI am. Miss Bingley was no better; even after Henry’s setdown, she did not stop promoting herself as my friend or her brother as a suitor.”
“Whenever you are away from home, you need Brian or John and at least one other guard with you. Had Mama and Papa known that the Bingleys would behave as they have towards you, they would never have allowed Mr Bingley the lease,” Elizabeth opined. She looked at her cousin, as she did not know if he was aware Netherfield Park was theirs.
“Your parents revealed their ownership of the estate to me,” Darcy stated. “Personally, I am very disappointed in my friend’s behaviour. Until Miss Bingley discovered your presence in the neighbourhood, she had decided that her brother must marry Giana, as she was under the illusion that one wedding would lead to another. I would haveneverallowed either. It seems that she is now pushing him at Cousin Jane, and Bingley is too weak to resist his much more forceful sister. I do not excuse his behaviour; I tell you, so you are able to understand the dynamic between them.” Darcy remembered something Cousin Elizabeth had said. “Who are Brian and John?”
“Father employed footmen-guards, thanks to Richard’s recommendation, former soldiers and marines, and the two we named are in charge of them. They are also the strongest, largest men I have ever encountered,” Henry told him. “By now there are close to twenty guards employed. Some of them are outriders when we travel. When I was at Cambridge, I had two with me, and when Tommy returns for his final year at Eton, he too will have two men watching over him.”
“As you have described them,” Darcy grinned, “theymaybe enough to deter Bingley…Miss Bingley, though I am not sosure of. As long as she believes there is a chance that you will help her reach the first circles, she will not give up her chase.” He did not want to tempt fate, but based on her switched allegiance during the ball, Darcy believed Miss Bingley had given up her hunt of him.
“The Bingleys had better be careful in their behaviour, else they will find themselves evicted from Tommy’s estate,” Mary added. Her brother and sisters nodded their agreement.
The strains of music from inside the hall began to wane. “It is time for us to go back inside,” Jane stated as she stood.
On entering the hall, they encountered their grandmother, who was making her way back to her son and daughter. Elizabeth used the opportunity to introduce Cousin Liam to Grandmama Beth.
Seeing his cousin’s grandmother revealed to Darcy from where the shade and texture of Elizabeth’s hair and the colour of her eyes came.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Charles, you did not do enough to attract Miss Bennet’s interest tonight,” Miss Bingley berated him once they were on the way back to Netherfield Park.
“Bingley, Miss Bingley, please excuse me if I overstep. Bingley, Cousin Jane has no interest in you. As I told you, she is being courted by my cousin, Lord Hilldale, and it is dishonourable in the extreme to continue your pursuit of her knowing that,” Darcy tutted. “Do not forget that they can have you ruined in society as easily as snapping their fingers.
“So she prefers a title to a tradesman’s son,” Bingley spat out bitterly.
“Bingley, she knows you not, and she has known Andrew since she could speak, and I understand that they are in love,” Darcy contradicted.
