Page 46 of Mr. Darcy and the Mysterious "Miss B"
“I am sorry, Darcy, but what choice do you have? Caroline’s reputation is as compromised as yours now. If you do not marry her, who will have her? And your own standing in society—” Bingley leaned forward. “At least we know she would make you a proper wife. She understands your position, your responsibilities.”
Bile rose in his throat. The thought of spending his life bound to Caroline Bingley, listening to her empty chatter, enduring her grasping ambition disguised as devotion—it was a fate worse than social ruin.
“My reputation be damned!” The words exploded from him with unexpected force. “I will not be manipulated into marriage, no matter the consequences.”
“At least consider it, for my sake,” Bingley said. “I do not want my sister ruined.”
The arrival of Morrison, his butler, saved him.
“Sir,” Morrison appeared in the doorway, his usual composure somewhat ruffled. “Mrs Gardiner and Miss Elizabeth Bennet request an audience. I informed them you were not receiving callers, but the lady insisted the matter was urgent.”
Darcy gulped. Elizabeth. Here. Now, when his world was crumbling around him.
“Show them to the morning room,” he managed. “I shall be along presently.”
After Morrison departed, Bingley raised an eyebrow. “Miss Elizabeth Bennet? I thought you said we would never see that family again.”
“So did I.” Darcy straightened his waistcoat with hands that trembled slightly. He had not told Bingley about his encounter with them and Georgiana—who had seen Lydia Bennet several more times, much to his chagrin—had not either.
“I saw the young Miss Bennets a few days ago but was told Miss Jane Bennet was not in residence, so saw no need to tell you. You had decided to sever your ties anyhow, had you not?”
Bingley gulped but nodded. “Although at times I wonder if I was hasty. I do miss her terribly. She is not here, you said?”
“I do not believe so. I was told only the younger four are. Although I had not seen Miss Elizabeth of yet. Georgiana heard Jane Bennet may join them in due course.”
Bingley’s eyes widened. “Jane, here?”
“Yes,” he said, and saw the thoughts racing behind his friend’s head. It had occurred to him that Bingley was miserable because of this separation but he had not allowed himself to dwell on it.
“I think of her day and night,” Bingley said then. Darcy opened his mouth but could utter no words as footsteps sounded and then, Elizabeth and her aunt were in the doorway.
“Miss Bennet, Mrs…” Bingley started.
“Gardiner,” Darcy said as Bingley bowed but then excused himself.
The morning room felt smaller with Elizabeth in it. She stood near the fireplace, her travelling dress simple but elegant, her eyes holding the same fire that had both fascinated and frustrated him at Netherfield. Mrs Gardiner sat nearby, her expression neutral.
“Miss Bennet.” He bowed with formal politeness. “Mrs Gardiner. This is rather unexpected.”
“Mr Darcy.” Elizabeth’s voice carried a chill that could freeze brandy. “I hope you will forgive the intrusion. I have come because of what I have seen in the papers.”
His chest tightened. Of course she had seen the scandal sheets. All of London had seen them by now.
“I see. And what precisely—”
“Oh, do not play the innocent with me, sir.” Elizabeth’s eyes flashed with indignation. “The entire ton is discussing your impending marriage to Miss Bingley. I came to discover if the reports are true.”
“They are not,” he said without hesitation. “I am not engaged to Miss Bingley, nor do I intend to become so.”
“Yet the papers suggest otherwise.”
“The papers,” Darcy said through gritted teeth, “are fabricating scandal for their own amusement. Someone placed that original notice without my knowledge or consent. I am attempting to discover who and why.”
Elizabeth studied his face with uncomfortable intensity. “That may be true, Mr Darcy, but it no longer signifies. Unless you present a different Miss B—someone you are actuallyengaged to—the rumours will continue to grow. Miss Bingley’s version of events will gain credibility with each passing day.”
The truth of her words struck him with uncomfortable force. “What are you suggesting?”
“I am suggesting,” Elizabeth said with deliberate calm, “that you need a Miss B who is not Miss Bingley. And I am suggesting that I might serve that purpose.”
