“Darcy, I apologize for my sister.” Bingley shook his head in frustration. “Though I sent her to the north, it seems she had other plans, and those plans appear to be aimed at frustrating my designs.”
“The question is, Bingley,” said Fitzwilliam before Darcy could respond, “is there any chance she can confound your efforts at lovemaking?”
“Caroline believes it to be so,” said Bingley, making a face. “Her insistence there is nothing of importance here tells that story without the possibility of misunderstanding.”
“This I understand. I was asking if you mean to allow her to gain the upper hand.”
“I do not.” Bingley's reply was far curter than usual. “As I spoke with Miss Bennet and comprehend her feelings, I have confirmation that Caroline’s opinion is in error.”
“It is not only in error, Bingley,” said Darcy. “She is being willfully blind.”
“That much is apparent,” said Bingley with a grimace. Bingley turned his attention back to Fitzwilliam. “The short answer to your question is that I will pursue Miss Bennet until she gives me her consent to an engagement. I do not think it will take long at all; in fact, I mean to be about the business in the most expeditious manner possible without being unseemly.”
“Then if you hold to your purpose,” said Fitzwilliam, lining up a shot, “there is no need to concern yourself with what she might do. Darcy here is the one who must be wary of her machinations.”
“Aye, that is the truth,” said Hurst, then draining his glass, he reached for the decanter and poured himself another portion.“If you had listened to Caroline’s diatribes these past days, you would know that her brother’s fascination with Miss Bennet is a distant second to her concerns regarding Darcy.”
He turned to peer at Darcy. “Did you know she suspects you of harboring ‘improper interest’—her words—in Miss Elizabeth Bennet?”
“That is interesting,” said Darcy, feeling the urge to find the house’s mistress and throttle her himself, “for she has no right to determine what is proper for me.”
Hurst shrugged and sipped his drink again. “Who can understand the mind of a woman? Caroline is worse than most, for she always sees what she wishes colored by the brush of self-interest.”
“I suppose she refused to go to the north?” asked Bingley.
“You are well enough aware of her character to understand exactly what happened.” Hurst glared at Bingley. “I apologize for saying it, Bingley, but Caroline isyourconcern, notmine. While she gets on with Louisa and prefers to be in her company,youare her brother and control her dowry until she marries. As I have a healthy respect for her ability to make my life miserable, I shall not force her to go where she does not wish, for I will suffer the consequences.”
“I never said shewasyour responsibility,” grumbled Bingley.
“No, you did not,” replied Hurst agreeably. “Yet when you discovered their duplicity, you immediately took yourself from their company so you could return here. You should have known Caroline would not go easily to York, especially since she suspected Darcy would accompany you.”
Darcy eyed Hurst for a long moment. “Can you tell me how far Miss Bingley means to take this determination to prevent me from offering for another woman?”
“If you are asking if she would attempt a compromise,” replied Hurst, “the simple answer is that I do not know. My previousmethod of gaining information from the ladies no longer works, for they always check the room now before they plot.”
Bingley laughed. “I am not surprised they would. That scene in my house was mortifying for Caroline.”
“If she possessed any shame I would agree,” retorted Hurst.
“Agreed,” replied Bingley.
With a nod, Hurst returned his attention to Darcy. “I suspect Caroline is far too confident in her abilities to contemplate such a step as a compromise, and your aunt’s presence may provide an additional check. If she felt her defeat was imminent, I cannot say how far she will go.”
“I shall alert the housekeeper,” said Bingley. “Mrs. Nichols cannot hold back the keys to the estate should my sister request them, but she can watch for anything untoward.”
“She could refuse your sister if you instructed her to do so,” said Darcy.
“It would be better,” said Fitzwilliam, “to allow Miss Bingley to believe she has some possibility of success should her thoughts turn in that direction. Warning your housekeeper and ensuring she comes to you should Miss Bingley act will be sufficient to foil whatever she plans.”
“And it would prevent my sister from contemplating even more drastic actions,” mused Bingley. “If she requests the keys and does not get them, she might contemplate stratagems we cannot predict.”
“That is the spirit, Bingley,” said Fitzwilliam. “Spoken like a master tactician.”
Bingley grinned and agreed, stooping over the table to take his shot. For some time thereafter, they concentrated on the game, though it would not be correct to say they did not consider the situation with Bingley’s sister. Darcy had no concern that Miss Bingley would prevail, for even if she should compromise him in the middle of Meryton’s town square it would avail her nothing.The gossip would stain her much more than him if it even made its way to London. That was no certainty, given the sleepy nature of this town, where the only connections to town—the Bennets to their relations and Sir William with his knighthood—were so tenuous as to be almost nonexistent.
Darcy had been in society since about a year following his father’s passing, and he had become adept at not only spotting fortune hunters but eluding the traps they set for him. Miss Bingley was more his personal nemesis rather than a truly dangerous woman, for there were far more predatory ladies by far, and more conniving. If Darcy could avoid alltheirmachinations, he suspected he could avoid Miss Bingley with little trouble.
“To own the truth,” said Fitzwilliam after a time, “I am quite looking forward to the upcoming dance. Darcy has long avoided those ladies who wish to dispense with his single status—I cannot wait to see what methods he employs to evade your sister.”
