The Houseguest A Pride and Prejudice Vagary (5 page)

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The next two days were spent in similar fashion, only
minus the company of Colonel Fitzwilliam. The two ladies would have breakfast
together, and then Elizabeth would take a carriage to visit her aunt in
Cheapside, while Georgiana did her studies with Mrs. Annesley. She would come
back in time for tea and the two would go upstairs and dress for dinner,
Georgiana receiving the same feminine pleasure from the ritual as she had the
first time. They would have dinner with Mr. Darcy, and afterward they would
take turns playing for him in the music room. 
Elizabeth had decided to heed her aunt's words and observe Mr. Darcy with an
open mind. She found that he was improving upon acquaintance and that he was
not as disagreeable as she had found him before in Hertfordshire, but she still
wouldn’t describe him as amiable. He seemed too often to be brooding. One
moment he was agreeable, the next he stopped talking altogether. She caught him
staring at her sometimes the way he had in Hertfordshire. What was he looking
for? She tried to ignore him and focus on something else, and on occasion would
ask him a question, ending his reverie. Surely he had found all the fault he
was going to find by now? 
But overall, his manners were improved. She wasn’t sure if this had anything to
do with him being in his own home, but she was beginning to wonder if he was
rather like Georgiana and reserved in company. Only in Georgiana, it came
across as a sweet shyness; in Mr. Darcy, it was a reticent haughtiness. Only
time would tell his true nature.
Wednesday afternoon, as Elizabeth's carriage pulled up to the Darcy doorstep,
she saw another pulling away and wondered who it was that had just left. She
stepped into the hall and handed her things to the footman. She went straight
to the drawing room, hoping Georgiana was still there.
"Hello, Miss Darcy. Did you have a pleasant morning?"
Georgiana looked up when Elizabeth spoke her name. "I suppose it was
pleasant enough. Miss Bingley just left. It's too bad you missed her."
"Yes, it is too bad," Elizabeth said ruefully. “Did you entertain her
on your own?”
“Yes. She does not know Fitzwilliam is back yet. He is trying to get his work
done without the interruption of callers. He always leaves the knocker off the
door the first week after he returns from a trip.”
“I suppose that makes sense. Was your visit pleasant?”
"Pleasant enough.” Georgiana looked uneasy and twisted her hands in front
of her. “Miss Bennet, may I ask you a question? Are you good friends with Miss
Bingley?"
"I wouldn't say we were good friends, no, not exactly. We are more
acquaintances," she said uncomfortably.
"If I were to confess something to you, would you think me terribly horrible?"
Miss Darcy asked nervously.
"Miss Darcy! I doubt there is anything you could confess to me that would
make me think you terribly horrible."
Georgiana paused, then said, “Very well, then. Miss Bennet, I find that I am
not desirous of meeting with Miss Bingley too often and that I am fearful of
being thrown continually into her company.” She released all the words in one
breath and heaved out a long sigh at the end of her speech, her shoulders
slouching.
Elizabeth stifled a laugh but composed herself enough to respond. “Miss Darcy,
whatever would make you think you might be thrown continually into her
company?”
“Miss Bingley seems desirous of an alliance with my family,” Georgiana replied
quietly, looking at her feet, twisting her hands again.
“Oh, I see. You are afraid Mr. Darcy will marry Miss Bingley and you will have
to live with her?” Georgiana nodded slightly. “Oh, dear! Miss Darcy, how can I
comfort you? I understand your concern, and I can only try to assuage your
doubts as best I can. From my observations, you are correct; Miss Bingley does
desire a greater connection to your family. But without overstepping propriety,
may I also say that my observations showed that feeling to be unreciprocated.”
At this, Georgiana’s head flew up and she smiled brightly. “Really, Miss
Bennet? Do you really think so?”
“Yes, I think so. I may be incorrect of course, but it would appear that your
‘family’ is not desirous of the connection. Does that make you any easier?”
“Yes, it does. Thank you, Miss Bennet!” 
With that, Georgiana squeezed her hand and flew from the room. 
Elizabeth looked out the window, and noticing that the sun was still shining
brightly, she decided to take a short stroll to the park to get a bit of fresh
air. After collecting her things from her room, she headed downstairs.
She was almost to the bottom step when she was arrested by male voices coming
towards the entry.
“Good to see you again, Darcy.”
“You too, Malcolm.” They were shaking hands and about to part at the door when
they noticed her waiting on the stairs. The man called Malcolm eyed her
appreciatively, but as Darcy did not offer an introduction, he merely stepped
out the door with a nod of his head in her direction.
“Miss Bennet, are you just arrived?” Darcy asked her.
“No, I am actually on my way out. I thought I’d enjoy the sunshine while it
lasted with a turn in the park.” 
“Does Georgiana accompany you?” he asked.
“No, I go alone.”
“Alone?”
“Yes, sir, alone. Good afternoon, Mr. Darcy.” She made for the door but was
blocked by him standing in her path.
“Miss Bennet, I cannot allow you to walk in the park alone,” he said stiffly.
“Allow me, Mr. Darcy?” She raised a brow and looked up at him, her ire
beginning to rise. Darcy fought the smile tugging at his lips and pressed his
case. 
“Miss Bennet, while you are staying at Darcy House, you are under my
protection,” Elizabeth felt her cheeks growing hot, “and as such I cannot
simply watch you go off on your own into a busy city park. This is not
Hertfordshire where you are known to every neighbor. Someone should accompany
you.” 
Elizabeth knew that in a way he was right, but for some reason, she did not
want to capitulate to this overbearing man. 
“And who would you have accompany me, sir? I find my stride is too quick for
both Miss Darcy and Mrs. Annesley and neither likes to walk as far as I do.
Thus, I walk alone,” she stated clearly.
“I will accompany you,” he declared.
Elizabeth started and looked up at him quizzically. Why would he want to
accompany her? She knew very well he didn’t like her. Could he possibly take
his role as protector that seriously? 
“Mr. Darcy, that is quite unnecessary. As you well know, I am accustomed to
walking alone and am not afraid of being on my own. I do not require an
escort.” She was becoming seriously annoyed now, and Darcy could tell by the
look in her eyes that she meant what she said.
“Miss Bennet, I am entirely aware of your walking prowess. However, I would
feel much more at ease if I accompanied you. Besides, I have been inside all
day and could use a little fresh air and exercise.” He gave her a small smile,
intending to put her at ease, but only confused her as to his purpose.
“Are you sure you can spare your business that long, Mr. Darcy? I do not intend
to take a short walk.”
Is she always this stubborn?
 He
looked directly into her eyes, causing her resolve to retreat slightly, and
said, “I never thought you would, Miss Bennet. Shall we?”
In a moment he had slipped on his great coat, gloves, and hat and collected a
rather ostentatious brass-topped walking stick from a footman. He saw Elizabeth
eying it and holding back a smirk, and quickly handed it back to the footman.
“I won’t be needing this today, Causer.” 
He turned to Elizabeth and saw the mirth dancing in her eyes.
 At least she does not stay angry long
,
he thought. 
“Something amusing, Miss Bennet?”
“No, Mr. Darcy, not at all. I must say I am rather surprised at your going out
without a walking stick, though,” she replied with mock solemnity as they
headed out the door. Why could she not resist an opportunity to tease him?
“Yes, well, I thought I wouldn’t really need it today.” Her teasing tone was
putting him on edge, but he found that he liked the feeling of anticipation it
gave him.
“What if you should lose your footing sir? Would such a fine cane not help you
to right yourself?” She looked completely innocent, but he could see a hint of
mirth behind her staid gaze.
“Possibly, Miss Bennet. I guess now I shall have to hold on to you.” He smiled
a little devilishly at her and she started in surprise. 
Two can play this game, Elizabeth.
 
Was Mr. Darcy teasing her? And so wickedly? She hadn’t thought him capable.
What had Colonel Fitzwilliam said? That he had played a practical joke on his
brother with Darcy as his accomplice? She would have to find out the
particulars of that. But how?
As Mr. Darcy held out his arm to her outside the front door, she eyed him
carefully and said, “Mr. Darcy, if I am to lend my arm for your support, then I
wish to receive something in return.” His brow shot up at her statement.
“And what is your request Miss Bennet?” he asked in mock seriousness. 
“I wish to be entertained, Mr. Darcy.”
“Entertained?” 
“Yes, I was thinking you could tell me a story, about a joke you played on a
certain cousin of yours?” As his eyes grew wider and his brow shot up, she
added, “Or you could sing to me.” An impish smirk played on her lips as she
awaited his answer. 
“Miss Bennet, you drive a hard bargain.”
“Yes, sir.”
She clearly was not backing down. Darcy looked into her determined eyes and
smiled. If he was going to be humiliated, better to take his cousins with him.
“Very well, Miss Bennet. But I warn you, you may not like what you hear. I am
afraid it’s not fit for the ears of a lady, and I will have to ask you not to
tell Georgiana.”
“Of course, sir. You have my word.” She offered a charming smile in reward for
his surrender. 
See Aunt, I’m being
nice.
As they entered the park gates, Darcy began his story. “Several years ago, when
we were all just boys together, my cousins and I used to indulge in racing.”
Elizabeth couldn’t hide her triumph in getting the impenetrable Mr. Darcy to
divulge information he didn’t want to part with; she could hardly keep the
smile off her face. Mr. Darcy caught her look, and thinking it was for him,
continued with new enthusiasm and uncommon openness.
“I had gotten a new horse for my fifteenth birthday as a gift from my father.
As a sort of initiation ritual, Richard, Cyril and I decided to race our stallions
through Pemberley’s meadows, down a small hill to a river in the valley. The
whole distance was about two miles. As we started off, everything was as it
usually was. Richard was in the lead, being more daring than his brother, even
though Cyril is his senior by two years and mine by three. Cyril and I were
right behind Richard, neck and neck. Then out of nowhere, Richard’s mount
seemed to startle and veer to the right, directly in front of me. We almost
collided, but Richard was quick enough to get him back on track and avoid
disaster. It was enough of a distraction for Cyril to pull ahead. He ended up
beating us by a hair.”
Elizabeth was so caught up in the story that she didn’t realize she was staring
up at Mr. Darcy’s profile raptly. When he looked down at her and met her eyes,
she smiled eagerly at him and said, “And then what happened?”
Darcy chuckled softly at her enthusiasm and continued, “Knowing Cyril as we
did, we suspected he’d somehow made Richard’s horse startle. So while he was
down at the river, we looked into his saddlebags. Sure enough, there was a blow
gun.”
“A blow gun?” She peered at him with a confused look on her face. He lifted his
hand to smooth her brow, but stopped himself just in time. Luckily she didn’t
seem to notice his slip.
“Yes. A blow gun is a hollowed out stick or pole in which you place a stone or
a dart of some kind. You then put it to your mouth and blow, pointing it in the
direction you wish to shoot. In this case, to the hind quarters of Richard’s
mount. It’s not enough to hurt the animal, just startle it off its course. So
we decided to get revenge.”
Elizabeth’s eyes were wide as she looked up at him expectantly.
“It was a hot day in early summer, and we were a little worse for the wear. So
we suggested to Cyril that we take a dip in the river. It was not so unusual,
we’d done it several times in years past, though not recently. So we all went
for a swim and as Cyril was leaning against the banks with his eyes closed,
after an hour of bragging about his winning the race I might add, Richard and I
gathered up his clothes, quickly mounted our horses and headed back to the
stables, leaving a rather bare Cyril with nothing but his stallion for cover.”
Miss Bennet’s gasp brought him back to the present and he looked down at her
shocked face. He was grinning mischievously (and not a little proudly) as she
stared up at him with wide eyes. “You mean you were swimming without, without
your… I mean you didn’t have, you weren’t wearing any…” she stammered and
trailed off. As Darcy tried to catch her meaning, she blushed and looked
down. 
“Oh!” he exclaimed as realization hit him. “Yes, I suppose we were. Forgive me,
Miss Bennet. This story really isn’t at all appropriate for a young lady’s
ears.” He flushed and looked away, embarrassed. He hadn’t meant to get so
carried away.
“No, Mr. Darcy, you gave me fair warning and I insisted. I was just a little
surprised. I am quite collected now. Pray, do continue your story. I’m most
interested to hear how it ends.” She looked at him playfully and he carried on.
“Well, Richard and I made it back in good time, but we didn’t know when Cyril
would arrive, or even if he would. We’d left his horse tied to a tree, although
Richard did consider sending it off as well, but thought better of it. We
thought he might head to a barn or try to sneak in through one of the servants’
entrances. We certainly didn’t expect him at the stables. So we sat in the
courtyard, laughing and congratulating ourselves, when in rode Cyril, bare as
the day he was born, red in the face and swearing at the top of his lungs. He
lunged straight for us on that enormous stallion and would have trampled us if
we hadn’t jumped out of the way.