What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? (18 page)

Mr Bennet eyed her with an indulgent smile. ‘Lizzy, my dearest girl – haven’t you learned anything yet?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean,’ he said dryly, ‘that you shouldn’t make promises you can’t possibly keep.’

***

‘What a lovely day for the regatta,’ Lady de Byrne pronounced.

Holly, buying herself a cup of lemonade at one of the booths lining the street, turned to see Hugh’s godmother standing behind her in white trousers and a boat-necked, blue-and-white-striped bateau.

‘Lady Georgina,’ she said, and smiled. ‘You look very nautical today. It suits you.’

‘Thank you, my dear. I thought it appropriate under the circumstances.’ She glanced over Holly’s shoulder. ‘Where is Hugh? Did he not come along with you today? You shouldn’t be managing those crutches on your own, particularly not in this crowd.’

‘Oh, that’s kind, but I’m fine. Hugh’s just gone to get us something to eat. Would you like a lemonade?’ she offered.

Lady de Byrne declined. She dug in her purse – a vintage straw handbag – and thrust on a pair of white cat’s-eye sunglasses. ‘I think I’ll go and watch the race. Quite an exhilarating spectacle, isn’t it, with those billowing sails and prows slicing through the water. I do hope the
Pemberley
wins.’

‘I do, too.’ Holly paused. ‘You know Ciaran Duncan’s in the race as well, don’t you? He and Harry are neck and neck so far.’

‘Ah, yes, the
Meryton
. An impressive vessel,’ she noted dismissively, ‘but not half so impressive as the Darcy yacht.’ She tilted her head back and added, ‘I shouldn’t worry. Mark my words – young Harry will win the race. He’ll make us all proud.’

‘He’s quite the sailor, according to Hugh. Even if he’s not actually sailing the ship, only crewing.’ She sighed. ‘I can’t imagine ever being half as intrepid as Harry. He’s amazing.’

‘You like him, don’t you?’

Holly glanced at her in surprise. ‘Yes, of course I like him. He’s looked after me since I arrived, visiting me at Rosings when I sprained my ankle, making me laugh at the silliest things, and…’ she stopped, and blushed. ‘And commiserating with me about his mother,’ she admitted.

‘Yes, Lady Darcy can be quite intimidating when she wishes,’ Lady de Byrne agreed. ‘Harry’s an impressive young man, considerate and loyal, if a bit less serious-minded than his brother.’

‘They’re like chalk and cheese,’ Holly agreed. ‘Hard to believe sometimes that they’re brothers.’

‘I wonder… do you think, perhaps, that you might feel a bit more for Harry than friendship?’

Holly stared at Hugh’s godmother. ‘What do you mean? You’re not saying what I think you are…?’

‘I’m saying I think you’d best be careful, Miss James,’ Lady de Byrne said, her words measured, ‘or Hugh’s heart won’t be the only one that gets broken.’

And with a polite nod, she turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

Chapter 24

When Lizzy arrived at Longbourne a short time later, there was nowhere to park. Thank goodness Mrs Cusack had driven her and dropped her off on a side street.

‘If you need a ride home afterwards,’ she called out as Lizzy opened the car door and got out, ‘give me a bell. I’ll be at the church fête all day.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Cusack. That’s very kind. But getting a ride back home shouldn’t be a problem.’

At least, she hoped it wouldn’t.

‘Very good, then. Have fun!’ And with a smile and a waggle of her fingers, she left.

‘Lizzy.’ Hugh Darcy, just leaving a booth and holding a tray with paper containers of fried shrimp, chips, and slaw salad in his hands, approached her. ‘I didn’t expect to see you here.’

‘I was helping my father at St Mark’s.’ No need to tell him
why
she’d been stuck at the church fête, she reasoned. She wouldn’t be able to bear Hugh’s disapproval if he knew what a stupid thing she’d done.

‘Yes, I know all about it.’

She couldn’t see his eyes behind those aviator sunglasses. But he definitely
wasn’t
smiling.
Uh-oh.
‘You do?’

‘I know you insisted Holly ride Thor when you know perfectly well he’s difficult to manage, and you did so even after she asked you to let her take Lady instead.’

Lizzy was silent. There was nothing she could say in her defence.

‘And I know your actions were intended to show your superior horsemanship and make Holly look bad,’ he went on, his expression grim. ‘Which actions, I might add, led to her being thrown from the horse, and injured.’ He stepped closer. ‘She might have been badly hurt, Lizzy. How could you do such an irresponsible and reckless thing?’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, and felt her throat thicken. ‘I’ve apologised to Holly.’

‘Yes, she told me.’ He paused. ‘I know about it only because she blurted the story out to me by accident a few minutes ago, and begged me not to say anything to you.’

‘It was stupid of me.’

He let out a short breath. ‘Let’s forget it, then, shall we? It’s over now.’

‘Thanks, Hugh.’ Lizzy drew in a breath of relief. ‘I’ll never do anything so stupid again.’

‘I trust that you won’t.’ Darcy studied her, his expression unreadable, and added, ‘I’m disappointed in you, Elizabeth. I never would have expected such behaviour from you, of all people.’

Lizzy blinked. She felt a flare of anger, as sudden as it was strong, at his words. ‘I’ve told you I’m sorry,’ she returned evenly, ‘and I’ve apologised to Holly, and been punished for what I did. And I
am
sorry.’ Her arms tensed at her sides. ‘But my actions, no matter how stupid or ill conceived, were never maliciously intended. I might ask you to remember that before you rush to judgement.’

So saying, she turned on her heel and left Darcy standing alone in the street, holding his tray and staring after her in shock, and went to find her sister Emma.

***

As the yachts rounded the point late that afternoon and sluiced through the waves to head into the final stretch back to port, Harry eyed the
Meryton
uneasily.

‘We have the lead, but only just,’ he told the ship’s captain. ‘We’ve been neck and neck since we crossed the starting line.’

Captain Kearns nodded. ‘She’s running close, a bit too close for my comfort. I’m keeping an eye on her.’

‘Good. I don’t trust Duncan. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and disqualify us.’

‘Oh, aye, that he will, if he can. I’ll see his arse disqualified afore we are, though,’ Kearns growled. ‘You can count on that.’

***

Excitement was palpable in the air as the yachts raced into the harbour and the last stretch before the finish line. Several vessels had been disqualified due to right of way and other infractions, Holly knew; but thankfully, the
Pemberley
wasn’t one of them.

Unfortunately, neither was Ciaran’s yacht, the
Meryton
.

Both vessels sailed neck and neck back to port, with the
Meryton
having a slight – very slight – advantage.

‘Oh, I do hope Harry wins!’ Lizzy exclaimed as she joined them on the boardwalk. ‘Come on, Darcy!’ she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth as she leant against the railing. ‘Let’s win that cup!’

‘Oh, Lizzy – you’re here,’ Holly said. ‘Good. I thought – well, that is…’ she lowered her voice. ‘I thought you were stuck at St Mark’s.’

‘It’s all been sorted,’ she told Holly. ‘Hugh knows what happened, and Daddy knows, too, and everything’s forgiven. He let me leave the fête early so I could see the end of the race.’

‘I’m glad.’ Holly squeezed her hand. ‘I hope Hugh wasn’t too hard on you,’ she murmured. ‘I didn’t mean to tell him, it just sort of – slipped out.’

‘He was livid, and I don’t blame him. He’s right – it was a stupid, reckless thing to do, and I’m truly sorry.’ She glanced at Hugh, who returned her glance without expression and turned back to the race.

‘He can be a bit… judgemental,’ Holly agreed in a low voice. ‘He has impossibly high standards. But he means well, I think.’

‘He does, and he is. Judgemental, that is. And sometimes it infuriates me. But I confess that Hugh’s approval means everything,’ Lizzy admitted. ‘I can’t bear to be angry with him, or him with me. I never could.’

Although she smiled and turned her attention back to the race, Holly felt a pang at Lizzy’s confession. After all, Hugh and Lizzy had a history together; they’d known each other since they were children. They’d practically grown up together.

She’d barely known him for a year.

‘Look,’ Hugh cried, his face suffused with excitement as he pointed. ‘The
Pemberley
’s just taken the lead!’

Indeed, the Darcy yacht’s bowsprit edged forward as the
Pemberley
surged ahead of the
Meryton
and sailed triumphantly over the finish line.

The crowds erupted into cheers and clapping, and Holly, Lizzy and Hugh flung their arms around one another, laughing and cheering as the winner was announced over the loudspeaker.

‘I’m so proud of Harry,’ Holly said.

‘He didn’t skipper the ship, the captain did,’ Lizzy reminded her. ‘Still – well done to the both of them.’

‘This is only the semi-final,’ Hugh pointed out. ‘The final race next weekend determines who wins the regatta cup and the prize money.’ He grinned. ‘But I must admit, right now, I’m pretty damned proud of my little brother.’

***

They celebrated the
Pemberley
’s win at the Three-Legged Dog in Longbourne. ‘Let’s raise a glass to Captain Kearns, and Harry Darcy and crew,’ Hugh called out as he stood up, ‘for placing first in the semi-finals. Cheers and well done!’

‘Cheers,’ Holly echoed as she raised her half-pint. ‘Well done, Harry!’

As Hugh and Harry and his captain and crew congratulated one another and began discussing the race in incomprehensible nautical detail, Holly sipped her beer and glanced at Harry. His face was flushed and he couldn’t stop grinning as he responded to well wishes and back slapping from the other patrons in the pub.

‘Glad you beat that film star bastard,’ the barman said as he pulled a pint. ‘He couldn’t sail a toy boat across a mud puddle.’

‘Nor could I,’ Harry agreed, ‘without this bloke’s efforts.’ He laughed and clapped Kearns on the shoulder.

‘It was a perfect day for sailing, just the right amount of wind,’ the captain said modestly. ‘And this lot made it easy – they were one hell of a good crew.’

More cheers, raised glasses, and ‘here, heres’ followed his words.

‘Since the
Meryton
placed second, will it compete against the
Pemberley
again next weekend?’ Holly asked Hugh as they threw around incomprehensible terms (to her at least) like luffing and barging and tacking.

He nodded. ‘Every boat that placed, from first through sixth, will run in the Challenge Cup race on Saturday.’

‘I can’t wait.’

‘Should be fun,’ he agreed. He glanced down as his mobile phone buzzed, and frowned as he looked at the screen. ‘It’s the office,’ he said, and pushed back his chair. ‘I have to take it. Excuse me – I’ll be right back.’

‘But Hugh,’ Holly protested, ‘can’t it wait? You’re on holiday, and we’re celebrating your brother’s win!’

But he was already turning to go, and held up an apologetic hand. ‘I won’t be a moment,’ he promised. ‘Sorry, darling,’ and he left.

As Holly watched him go, silently damning the demands of the law and of the Darcy family law office in particular, someone dropped down next to her in Hugh’s seat.

‘It’s not so bad as all that, Hols, is it?’ Harry asked softly, and lifted his brow. ‘You look like you just discovered your roommate ate the last biscuit in the tin.’

For some reason, instead of making her laugh, his nearness, and the teasing kindness behind his words, brought the unexpected sting of tears to her eyes.

His smile fled. ‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, concerned. ‘What’s happened?’

‘N-nothing,’ Holly managed, and took the couple of cocktail napkins he held out to her and dabbed at her eyes. ‘Sorry, I always seem to be crying when you’re around. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Just tired, I expect. It’s been a long day.’

‘I’m sure that’s all it is.’ But the teasing tone was gone, and he leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table as he searched her eyes. ‘I can take you back to Cleremont if you like.’

She shook her head. ‘No, I’m fine. Go and bask in your well-deserved glory. I’m sure Hugh will be back in a minute. His office rang, and he had to take the call.’

He nodded. ‘Okay.’ He hesitated. ‘Are things – are things all right between you two? Do you want me to speak to him? Because I will…’

‘No,’ Holly said quickly. ‘Everything’s fine. I think it’s all just caught up with me – getting thrown from that horse, the sprained ankle, all of it. I’m just tired. Thanks for asking. But I’m okay, honestly.’

‘Everything all right?’ Hugh asked as he returned, and eyed Harry as he slid his mobile back in his pocket.

‘I think Holly’s a bit tired. You might want to take her home soon.’ Harry rose and clapped his brother on the shoulder. ‘I’ll see you both later. Bye, Hols.’

‘Bye,’ she echoed as he returned to his table. ‘And thanks.’

Hugh resumed his seat and studied her. ‘You’ve been crying. Are you sure you’re all right? Harry didn’t upset you, did he?’

‘No!’ she snapped. She let out a short breath at his startled expression and added, ‘Sorry. No, he only asked if I was all right, that’s all. I told him the truth – walking on crutches all day proved a bit too much for me, I think.’

‘Why didn’t you say something earlier? Let’s get you back to Cleremont.’ Hugh pushed his chair back once again and helped her up. ‘Let me just settle the bill and then we’ll go.’

She nodded and made her way past Harry’s table, smiling at him briefly as she followed Hugh out.

‘Thanks again,’ she called out. ‘See you tomorrow.’

He raised his glass. ‘You can count on it. Get some rest, and you’ll feel better in the morning.’

She nodded and made her awkward way to the door, aware as she did of Harry’s gaze following her.

Chapter 25

The race was over at last. Had the
Meryton
won?