Mr. Darcy Takes the Plunge (3 page)

Darcy apologized on his sister's behalf and added, "Georgiana is a dear girl, though I must admit she has frightened off an alarming number of eligible suitors lately. Nevertheless, those blokes ultimately proved unworthy by not possessing sufficient intestinal fortitude to withstand a bit of temper from a mere chit. Regardless, I rather doubt she will end up as a tabby. Georgie's dowry, accomplishments, and beauty ensure her eventual marriage. Most importantly, she is a wonderful young lady; and I do not say so only because she is my sister. Truthfully, she is a treasure."

"Oh, yes, indeed, Miss Darcy is absolute perfection," Ellis Fleming was quick to agree.

The other three gentlemen shared amused looks; then Charles Bingley enthusiastically asked, "Speaking of absolute perfection, did any of you happen to notice her two new acquaintances?"

Fleming snorted, Darcy raised his brows, and Colonel Fitzwilliam replied, "We
have
eyes, Bingley; so how could we possibly not notice when so much beauty was before us? The Bennet ladies are undoubtedly diamonds of the first water, and I cannot believe I made such a complete mull of meeting them. I would have cut a much finer figure in my red coat than in the green slime I wore today, and you chaps would have been quite invisible to the ladies had I been wearing regimentals."

Darcy rolled his eyes and said, "I rather imagine invisibility would have been preferable over our earlier indecorous appearances. Be that as it may, I happen to know for a fact that I was quite embarrassingly visible to the pretty brunette with the sparkling, intelligent eyes. Miss Elizabeth is obviously not shy," Darcy said with a smirk. Although he grinned, Fitzwilliam Darcy silently reproached himself for the lapse in judgment that had resulted in such an improper encounter with members of the opposite sex. Anything less than perfection was unacceptable to the idealist, and he usually attempted to avoid situations in which he might appear to be flawed. Darcy felt the need to be above criticism; and although he would not admit it, Georgiana's public censure had wounded him. He was quite resolved to do everything in his power to project the image of a perfect gentleman if ever again in the company of his sisters' new friends.

Charles Bingley interrupted Darcy's self-castigation when he said, "Miss Elizabeth may not be shy; however, her angelic sister is perfectly proper and demure."

"And once again, Bingley, you are making a claim based upon a mere moment's observation. Are you such an exceptional judge of character your first impression cannot be mistaken?"

"You saw Miss Bennet, Darcy; she is the most exquisite creature, and I think ... "

A knock upon the library door was answered by Darcy's command to enter. A footman announced, "Mr. George Wickham to see you, sir." Smiles lit up the faces of the four friends as the visitor appeared in the doorway.

"George! Come in, come in, you mangy scoundrel," Darcy invited. "Gentlemen, look what foul vermin the accursed cat dragged into the house."

With a swagger and a wide grin, Wickham entered the room and exclaimed, "Cripes, man! How could you thus pollute the shades of our beloved Pemberley with the likes of this trio of depraved reprobates?"

"Yes, sorry, old chap. As the estate's future steward, I know you only have its best interests at heart. So we must see about having such unworthy degenerates evicted immediately from these hallowed halls," Darcy bantered. Greetings and more teasing ensued as the quintet of comrades settled into the easy friendship of many years' standing.

At five and twenty, the same age as Bingley and Fleming, the devilishly handsome George was the son of Pemberley's steward, Hugh Wickham, a widower. He was also George Darcy's godchild and namesake and had the privilege of being educated alongside the other occupants of the room. They had all attended Cambridge for one overlapping term and became quite a formidable coterie. Wickham was being trained by his father to take over the reins as Pemberley's steward as soon as the elder relinquished the position later that same year after decades of service. Like his parent, the young man was of an honest and hard-working character; however, unlike his father, the son was a skirt-chasing roue.

"Would any of you chaps happen to know the identity of two gorgeous females, a blonde and a brunette? I noticed them stepping into a carriage out front over an hour ago and have been speculating on the purpose of their visit. I suppose they must be the latest conquests of two of you fortunate, although undeserving, blokes."

Richard Fitzwilliam responded, "By coincidence, we were just discussing those very same
gentleladies
when your unwelcome carcass most rudely imposed itself upon our very refined presence here, Wickham. That the ladies have left already is unfortunate news, indeed. I had planned to impress them with my much-improved appearance before they departed."

"Still making a valiant effort to live up to your 'stud-muffin' reputation, I see, Colonel Fitz. It must be quite an arduous struggle for you, but some things never change. Regardless, have you purposely evaded answering my query about the females? Shame, shame, you must share the wealth, you know, gentlemen. I assume the
ladies
were here because your parents are not, Darce."

Pemberley's heir shot out of his chair and glowered. "You know, one must never assume, George. And you are both disgustingly crude and very wide of the mark, my friend. Those genteel ladies are merely newly formed acquaintances of my dear sisters."

"My apologies, then. But are these women of virtue, whom you seem reluctant to name, returning any time soon, perchance?"

Darcy sat back down, crossed his legs, flicked a nonexistent speck of lint from his knee, and nonchalantly replied, "I really have no idea whatsoever, Wickham; and honestly, I do not care a groat."

Edward Gardiner's carriage had returned to Pemberley for his wife and nieces shortly after the disastrous encounter on the lawn. While their aunt and uncle bade farewell to Mrs. Reynolds, Jane and Elizabeth took leave of their new friends. Georgiana and Anna whispered profuse apologies again and were relieved to receive assurances the incident had not tainted the visit. The four young ladies made promises to correspond faithfully and hoped to possibly meet in the near future in London, should their visits ever coincide. The Bennets renewed their invitation for the Darcy family to visit Longbourn the next time they found themselves in Hertfordshire.

On the nearly five-mile ride between Pemberley and Lambton, the sisters enthusiastically praised Georgiana, Anna, and their family's grand estate. Jane gushed, "Oh Uncle, I know your fondness for little dogs, so I must tell you we saw Miss Darcy's two adorable puppies, a Maltese and a Pug."

Mr. Gardiner smiled and said, "Well, Jane, I daresay those fortunate pets, with such a rich mistress, are often sitting in the lap of luxury."

"Now, Uncle, I happen to be aware that even your cat sleeps on a fluffy, down-filled pillow."

"Yes, we have always had a soft spot for Mrs. Sourpuss."

Elizabeth laughed appreciatively and then scolded Jane for mentioning the animals before alluding to the gentlemen they had encountered. She then told the Gardiners they had met the Darcy heir, his army-officer cousin, and two of his friends. Lizzy smiled and arched a brow as she added, "They were all very attractive fellows, were they not, Jane? Although the gents were, perhaps, a little rough around the hedges and a little less than formally attired."

The two young ladies blushed and suppressed giggles whenever they looked at one another for the remainder of the trip to the inn; their aunt and uncle rolled their eyes and grinned at their nieces' baffling and rather uncharacteristic giddiness.

The Darcy sisters wished desperately to atone for the embarrassment the Bennets had suffered at Pemberley, so a hastily jotted note was quickly dispatched to the inn at Lambton inviting and imploring Jane and Elizabeth to agree to return the next day. As their relatives had plans to visit an elderly cousin of Mrs. Gardiner, the recipients gladly sent their acceptance with the messenger and eagerly anticipated spending another pleasant day with Georgiana and Anna at their impressive estate.

So it was that the modest Gardiner carriage pulled up to the magnificent manor's front entry for the second time in as many days. Jane and Elizabeth alit and waved goodbye to their aunt and uncle while Miss Darcy and Miss Anna patiently waited on the steps and their older brother surreptitiously watched from between the curtains of an upstairs hallway window.

"Jane, Elizabeth, welcome back. We are very happy you agreed to return, and Anna and I apologize again for the awkward situation that occurred here yesterday. Please be assured the debacle was the exception rather than the rule at Pemberley, and we shall have a perfect time today to make amends for the fiasco."

Miss Anna added, "Yes, the sun is shining; and we have planned a nice ride around the park followed by refreshments. Perhaps we shall also have an opportunity to play the pianoforte for one another, if time permits. Does this agenda meet with your approval? If not, we can alter it to accommodate whatever activities you would prefer in order to make your stay here more enjoyable."

Elizabeth laughed with delight and said, "Georgiana and Anna, please relax. Jane and I are not, whatsoever, upset over the previous afternoon's ... hmm ... let us frivolously refer to it as entertainment henceforth, rather than fiasco. There may have been a modicum of embarrassment at the onset; still and all, we are resilient women and have recovered quickly. So you must promise to not think again on the incident."

Jane agreed, "Oh, yes, please do not worry yourselves any further on our account. We are very happy to be here again and shall derive pleasure in whatever occupations and pursuits you have scheduled for our day together."

The four linked arms and made their way to the sitting room, where they chatted and sipped tea while the landau was made ready for their afternoon outing. As Elizabeth brought the delicate teacup to her lips, a mysterious noise erupted from the direction of an overturned sewing basket on the floor next to her chair. She glanced toward the contents but was only able to distinguish spools of embroidery thread.

Purr, whistle, snuffle.

Her eyebrows lifted, her eyes widened, and she looked to her sister as if to ask whether she had also heard the peculiar sound.

"Lizzy, are you well?"

Purr, whistle, snuffle.

Elizabeth gracefully lowered the teacup to its saucer, smiled serenely, and calmly replied, "Yes, Jane, thank you. I am fine."

Purr, whistle, snuffle.

On pins and needles with curiosity, Elizabeth placed her cup and saucer on a nearby table and then dropped her napkin as close to the noise as possible without being too obvious. "Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. A footman started to cross the floor to assist, but she waved him away. The intrepid Lizzy Bennet crouched down beside the basket, peered inside, and inched her hand toward the back, hoping to discover the origin of the curious little sounds no one else seemed able to hear.

Snort, puff, grunt!

"Ouch! Eeek!" Lizzy promptly withdrew her hand and stood up with a startled, bewildered look on her face.

"Elizabeth!" Georgiana exclaimed and came swiftly to her guest's side. "Whatever happened? Have you pricked your poor finger on a needle in my sewing basket?"

"I am uncertain. Does your pincushion happen to purr, whistle, snuffle, snort, puff and grunt?"

Miss Anna rushed forward. "Oh, thank you, Elizabeth! You have found Barbara Thorne. I spent most of the morning searching for her, but ... Oh, I am sorry. Did she startle you? Barb is quite harmless, really. Does your hand require attention? Please allow me to ring for assistance." The flustered girl began to turn away.

Elizabeth stopped Anna with a gentle touch on her arm and insisted she was fine. "Truly, my friend, I was merely startled."

Jane joined them and looked at her sister with protective concern. "Lizzy, are you certain you have not been injured?"

"I am perfectly fine, Jane; and if I am not mistaken, your solicitude should be for a prickly little hedgehog by the name of Barbara Thorne, who is most likely very upset and frightened by now."