“Your pleasure exponentially increases my own.”
He smiled at me tenderly, and I tried to revel in this incredible moment. Because although “I am most enchanted by you” wasn’t quiteas passionate as“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you,”it was still the single most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. And so I ignored the Fear, who was cartwheeling across the floor, telling me that I was being insane, the challenges of keeping Mr. Darcy a secret in London were going to be insurmountable, and if he knew the secret I was keeping, then he’d want nothing to do with me. Because right now, all that mattered was that Mr. Darcy wanted to be with me, and I wasn’t going to let anything ruin that.
Chapter Fourteen
I texted Bianca to tell her I’d taken her advice and Will had said he wanted to stay, and she replied with a series of smiley face, crying, and eggplant emojis. She also repeated her suggestion that I bring him to the engagement party. I was about to reply saying he was definitely busy on Friday, but then I paused. Should I invite Darcy? On the one hand, it was an absurd idea: He was a Regency gentleman who talked like he’d swallowed a thesaurus and had some seriously outdated ideas. But equally, if he really was going to stay here with me in my world, then I could hardly keep him locked away in my flat forever. At some point, he was going to have to start venturing out and meeting people, and given how relaxed he’d been on the bus and in Camden on Sunday, he was clearly much more comfortable than when he’d first arrived. So maybe a quick visit to Bianca’s party was a good opportunity to start exposing Darcy to a bit more of twenty-first-century London.
The bigger question was whether he would want to come. After all, this was a man whose whole raison d’être inPride and Prejudicewas as the seemingly-proud-but-actually-shy-hater-of-dancing-and-small-talkguy. But if he and I were going to stand any chance of having a real relationship outside the walls of my flat, I had to at least ask.
I waited until breakfast the following morning, when Darcy was eating a piece of toast covered in an inch-thick layer of Nutella.
“Darcy, I don’t suppose you fancy coming to my best friend’s engagement party on Friday evening, do you?”
He paused mid-mouthful. “What form will this party take? Will it be a salon or a ball?”
“I’d say it’s going to be more like something you’d see onLove Island, although people will be wearing more clothes.”
“Hmm…”
“It’s OK, honestly,” I said quickly. “You don’t have to come. I know you’re an introvert who hates parties.”
Darcy cocked his head to one side. “How are you cognizant of that, for I am certain I have never mentioned such a fact to you?”
Shit! “Oh…eh, I just guessed. You don’t strike me as the party type, that’s all.”
“You are correct in that assumption. I find little pleasure in dancing and shallow conversation. But I suppose I am curious as to what a contemporary party would be like, so if you wish me to attend, then I am willing to make an exception on this occasion.”
“Really? That’s brilliant!” I grinned and grabbed my phone to text Bianca.
It was all very well, Darcy agreeing to join me, but I soon realized there were still several obstacles to overcome. For one, while it was easy enough to physically disguise him with some new clothes, the second he opened his mouth, people were going to work out something weird was going on. Also, we had to establish an entire backstory for “Will” that wouldn’t give away the fact that he was actually one of the mostfamous fictional characters of all time. Thankfully, Darcy seemed up for the challenge, and when I got home from work on Thursday evening, he was full of ideas.
“I have spent the day making a study of contemporary language,” he said when I walked through the door. “I am aware that my speech may appear antiquated, and to that end, Mrs. Atallah has been assisting me in modernizing my vocabulary.”
The thought of an eccentric seventy-six-year-old teaching Darcy how to speak was slightly terrifying, but I took off my shoes and sat down. “That’s great. Do you want to try out what you’ve learned on me now?”
He paused, looking self-conscious. “But I have only just commenced my studies.”
“Sure, but I can help too. Why don’t we start with something easy? How about you greet me and ask how I am.”
Darcy nodded, his brow furrowed adorably in concentration. And then he pulled back his shoulders and flashed me a grimace of a smile that showed all his teeth.
“All right, babe? How’s it going?” This was said in a terrible faux-Essex accent.
“Erm…good, thanks. How about you?”
“I’m vibing. Just been hanging with the lads, catching some rays.”
It was such an absurd statement, coming from a man dressed in a tailcoat and florid white cravat, that I snorted. Darcy’s face fell.
“Was I inadequate?”
“No!” I said, swallowing my laugh. “It’s just, I’m not sure anyone actually speaks like that.”
“But inLove Island—”
“Darcy, I don’t think theLove Islandcast are the best role modelsfor the English language. Maybe it would be easier if you speak like you do now, only just make it a bit simpler?” I suddenly remembered Mr. Bingley’s line inPride and Prejudiceabout Darcy always looking for four-syllable words. “Perhaps you could start by trying to use shorter words?”
“I can certainly endeav—try to do that.”
