Darcy was a little maudlin that he was residing at his own house and no longer in the same abode as the Bennets. He was sitting in his study mindlessly playing with the stem of a quill, rolling it between his fingers. He had attempted to respond to some business correspondence a few times already, but each time, he saw Elizabeth’s face swimming before him.
He sighed as he stared blankly out of the nearest floor to ceiling window, which looked out onto the green in the middle of the square. The drapes were rippling in the weak breeze thanks to the top third of the window being opened, but he noticed none of it.
The truth was that he missed seeing Elizabeth every day and knew that he was falling in love with the second Bennet daughter. He admitted to himself that it was futile to attempt to write coherent replies to any of the letters waiting for him. Thankfully, he had the services of a secretary. He usually responded personally to certain men with whom he did business, and three such letters were on his desk. When he could think a little more clearly, he would make notes for Johnston and have him reply on his behalf.
It was no longer a question of what he was feeling for Elizabeth. Nor was it any longer an infatuation, of that he was sure. However, he did not know how she felt about him—he was relatively sure she was not indifferent to him—and the last thing Darcy wanted to do was overwhelm Elizabeth with his desires before she was prepared to accept his suit. There was a knock on the door. “Come,” Darcy called out.
Giana skipped into the study. “I cannot wait to go to Devonshire House on the morrow,” she enthused. “I like all of them so much, especially Lizzy, even though I am with Mary and Ellie most of the time.”
He schooled his features because Darcy did not want Giana to see envy on his face. Rather than thinking about not residing at Devonshire House himself, Darcy concentrated on the pleasure of his sister making so many good friends and how much she enjoyed spending time with girls close to her own age. “I have some errands I must see to after I convey you to Piccadilly Square on the morrow. However, Zeus and I will join you all after I have completed my errands, so we will be with you for a ride in Hyde Park.”
“Richard and Invictus will be with us as well,” Georgiana noted, her eyes shining with happiness. “Have you seen how much time he spends in Mary’s company? I heard he reservedsome of her dances months ago to share with her at her coming out ball.”
“Yes,” Darcy replied, “I have observed that, and Rich may have mentioned justonce or twicehis pleasure at dancing two sets with our cousin at her ball.” As he said the last, he reached a decision. He would request the first set from Elizabeth, and based on her reaction, he would enquire if her supper set was open as well. All he could do was hope. After all, when they had danced at the assembly, and from everything he could tell, she enjoyed the set as much as he had.
“Fit…sorry, Liam, are you attracted to Lizzy?” As soon as she asked, what for her was a very impertinent question, Giana clapped her hand over her mouth.
Darcy was not displeased; it seemed that spending time with all of the cousins, especially the Bennets, had helped build his sister’s confidence, so the last thing he wanted to do was squelch it. “You are very observant,” he chuckled. “That is a very good trait, especially once you enter society. I am pleased to see that our cousins have drawn you out nicely.”
“So you are not upset?” Georgiana asked tentatively.
“Not at all. I never want you to feel like you need to censor yourself when you want to ask me a question. My hope is that we can learn to be open and honest with one another just like we saw among our cousins at Longbourn. To your question, yes, I am attracted to Elizabeth.”
“I thought so.” Georgiana paused. “Liam, are you aware that Tommy and Ian will not be in London as they are at Eton?”
There was no missing the disappointment in her voice when his sister mentioned the younger Bennet son. Both Giana and her cousin were full young, so it would be years before anything would occur between them, if anything at all. Tommywas a handsome young man, so, at this point, it could not be anything more than an infatuation. The last thing Darcy would do was mention what he observed and embarrass his sister. “I am aware. They will not be here, as neither is old enough to be out in society.”
“I will leave you to return to your work.” Georgiana turned to depart the study.
“Wait for me, Sweetling. I have no more to do at this moment. Will you play something for me?”
“It will be my pleasure,” Georgiana beamed.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Reggie, when will you and Rich make for Rosings Park? And will you have Liam join you?” Lady Elaine asked her husband that evening after dinner when the three Fitzwilliams were relaxing in their sitting room on the family floor while she poured tea for her husband and younger son.
“It is my plan to remain in London for the remainder of this week. With Collins on his way to Bedlam and Catherine being unaware of that fact, it is not like she will attempt to appoint a new sycophant to replace him,” Matlock responded. “Even if she attempted to do so, the Bishop of Kent has been apprised of the Archbishop’s decision. Hence, no matter how much Catherine demands it, he will not send her any candidates.”
“Catherine will have an apoplexy when she loses all of her perceived power,” Lady Elaine opined.
“Will you move her to the dower house, Father?” Richard enquired.
“No, she will be moving further than that,” Matlock replied. “If she is allowed to remain close to Rosings Park, she will discover ways to make mischief.” The Earl paused as hecogitated. “As executor, I had the power to remove Catherine from her fiefdom before this. After she sent that insane parson of hers on his mission to Longbourn spouting her ridiculous advice, I realised that it is past the time to take care of her and her pretensions once and for all.”
As much as Matlock knew what had to be done, he had stayed his hand because regardless of how ridiculous she could be, Catherine was still his sister. However, he could no longer make excuses for her; it was simply dangerous to allow her to proceed as she had up until now.
“As to your question, Elaine,” Matlock remembered he had not replied to his wife. “Yes, I will be requesting that Liam accompany us. Until Catherine attempted to compromise him and Anne during his stay in Kent over Eastertide of ’10, he went to Rosings to correct Catherine’s errors. Therefore, he is very familiar with the proper running of the estate. In addition, unless you have too much to do to assist with planning Mary’s ball, I would like you to join us as well, Elaine.”
“Becca and Anna have everything well in hand, so yes, Husband, I will gladly accompany you and the boys, Lady Elaine agreed.
“But Father, what if Anne is not well enough to manage her estate? That is at least the excuse Aunt Cat used when we asked why Anne was not involved in learning how to run Rosings Park,” Richard related. “I know my aunt has things wrong most of the time, but in this, I would have to agree with her assessment. My cousin’s maladies and weaknesses are not one of my aunt’s imagined things.”
“You are correct, Richard,” Lady Elaine agreed. “Anne is very weak physically. We know from her late father that the scarlet fever she was afflicted with when she was five almostended her life. It did leave her with a seriously weakened heart and lungs.”
“And because my late brother was aware of the reality, not the fiction my sister spouts when she tells of how, on the one hand, Anne is improved to the extent she can marry your cousin, but not enough to be able to manage her inheritance. Knowing the truth of his daughter’s conditions, De Bourgh made provisions for the eventuality that if Anne either passed before she was married, as well as one covering the case of her being physically unable to take charge of her inheritance as needed when the time came,” Matlock revealed.
“What provisions?” Richard wondered aloud.
