“I believe I can thankyoufor this civility, Elizabeth,” she replied. “Mr. Darcy would not come so soon to wait uponme.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “You are imagining things. Mr. Darcy does not care one jot for my company. Did you see his scowl when he saw me last night?”
“I did not notice. We departed so soon after their arrival, you know; there was not time to renew old acquaintances.” Jane heard the knocker on the door and Mr. Collins’s words of welcome as their guests entered the room.
She stood to greet them, smiling cheerfully. “Sir Andrew, Mr. Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, welcome.” She gestured to the empty seats. “Will you not sit down?”
“Mrs. Collins, it is a pleasure to see you again so soon. Dinner last night was very entertaining, was it not?”
Sir Andrew’s mischief-filled grin irked Jane, though she kept her calm smile in place. “Indeed, I have scarcely been so… entertained.”
“What a shame our evening had to be curtailed due to the arrival of Lady Catherine’s nephews. She did not tell us Darcyand Fitzwilliam were to visit.” Sir Andrew’s tone mocked the other gentlemen, and Jane did not like it.
Martha brought in the tea service, and Jane hastened to busy herself preparing tea. She did not feel equal to Sir Andrew’s apparently combative mood. All she wished for was peace in her own home. Rosings Park could stay a battleground for all she cared.
Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Darcy sat near Elizabeth. The colonel immediately began conversing with Jane’s sister, their lively personalities shining through their conversation. Mr. Darcy sat silently, glaring at Elizabeth throughout. Jane had been too preoccupied with Mr. Bingley to watch his friend’s behavior when they were all in Hertfordshire, but now she was afforded the opportunity to do so. Sir Andrew had engaged Charlotte in a discussion, though the latter looked as if she would rather do anything else.
After considering the man’s expression for a time, Jane reasoned that Mr. Darcy did notglareat Elizabeth. He wasstaringat her intently. She noted the admiration in his gaze—it was obvious to her. There, also, in his manner and posture, was irritation or vexation. At what, she did not know. He ran his hands down his thighs, leaning toward Elizabeth as if trying to partake in the discussion in which she and the colonel were engaged.
Mr. Darcy isattractedto Elizabeth?After his deplorable insult at the Meryton Assembly, Jane would not have thought it possible. Yet, there it appeared, in his eyes, his movements.It is unlikely he will condescend to offer her his hand in marriage. Though if he did so, it would be a boon to our family. Papa is not well.Jane shook herself mentally. Men of Mr. Darcy’s status did not offer for penniless country ladies. Just like Mr. Bingley, such gentlemen admired from afar, but they did not marry them.
I married for love,Jane reminded herself again.Just not love for my husband.
Charlotte
“Darcy is smitten with your friend.” Sir Andrew leaned close to Charlotte and spoke softly so as not to be overheard.
“He stares at her a great deal.” Charlotte acknowledged his words with neutrality. Long had she thought Mr. Darcy admired Elizabeth, but she did not wish to be in accord with Sir Andrew.
“He met you all in Hertfordshire, did he not? Did he behave in a like manner while there?” Sir Andrew sounded curious.
“Mr. Darcy insulted Elizabeth at their first meeting, calling her tolerable and not handsome enough to tempt him,” Charlotte confessed quietly. “She has despised him ever since. Eliza believes he looks to find fault.”
Sir Andrew scoffed quietly. “A gentleman does not stare at a lady he does not like.”
“I surmised as much. Elizabeth stays oblivious.” Charlotte shrugged.
“Lady Catherine wishes him to marry Anne.”
Charlotte nodded. “We are aware of the engagement. We learned of it in Hertfordshire.”
“You mistake me. Anne and Darcy arenotengaged, though Lady Catherine desires the match. My dear cousin will not do for Darcy, of course, for he needs a bride that can bear him an heir. Anne is not well enough to do so.” Sir Andrew sounded a little sad.
Charlotte was incredulous. “Why would Lady Catherine insist upon the match? Does she not value her daughter’s life?” She paused. “Forgive me. It is not my place to ask such questions. We are barely acquainted, and your aunt’s business is her own.”
“It is no great secret.” He chuckled quietly, and Charlotte felt a thrill at the rich, deep sound. “Sir Lewis was baronet before my father. He did not intend to marry and saw no reason to do so since my grandmother had another son and a grandson to carry on the family name. I was twelve when he married Lady Catherine Fitzwilliam. As you learned last night, her family approached him to broker the arrangement. Lady Catherine had had six seasons in town and no offers. My father told me once that her features were too manly for gentlemen to countenance. She is tall, broad-shouldered, and stubborn. Very frustrating for her, I am certain, since her younger sister was so handsome. One might think her dowry would attract a suitor, regardless of her physical appearance, but Lady Catherine’s brusque and commanding manner, along with her refusal to submit to anyone’s will other than her own, deterred even the most desperate pockets-to-let gentlemen.”
Sir Andrew took another sip of tea. “Her dowry settled gambling debts he had accrued. Did you know he won Rosings Park in a game of cards? No? Lady Catherine does not like that knowledge to be known.”
He next nibbled on a biscuit, his expression thoughtful. “Anne’s birth came when I was fifteen. Sir Lewis died five years later. I doubt she remembers him much. My father inherited the baronetcy and he moved from London to Kent. I was at university by then and had intended to study the law. Instead, I completed the studies my father felt necessary and then attended him to learn estate management at Briar Court. He died just five years later, leaving me heir to my estate and a baronet at five-and-twenty years of age.”
“That is why Rosings Park is not part of the baronetcy?” Charlotte asked curiously.
“Yes.” Sir Andrew nodded and continued. “Sir Lewis happily willed the estate to his only child. I understand his wife was livid upon learning Rosings Park had not been left to her. Her brother, the Earl of Matlock, is the trustee. Coincidentally, Mr. Darcy and the colonel are here to review the estate books. They apparently do so once a year.”
Charlotte looked over at her friend and the other gentlemen. Elizabeth and the colonel conversed pleasantly, though she glanced at Mr. Darcy in consternation every so often. Jane joined their discussion, having completed her duties as hostess.
“Will you walk with me tomorrow, Miss Lucas?”
