Page 33 of Till Death Us Do Part
Feeling exhausted, and expecting a horrible reunion at Longbourn, Elizabeth did her best to get an hour or two of sleep. She was at that point completely out of ideas, and for the first time, really contemplated that the dreaded event was inevitable.
14.Ultimatums
“Darcy, Bingley, come in gentlemen, come in.”
Fitzwilliam Darcy and Charles Bingley stepped into Darcy’s uncle’s library and gave their greetings.
“Uncle.”
“My lord, thank you for having me.”
The Earl chuckled, which shortly turned into a hacking cough, but eventually rallied. “I am your uncle now, Mr Bingley. How about if you call me Uncle or Uncle Hugh in private.”
“It would be my privilege, sir. I would like it very much if you called me Bingley.”
“Of course! You are stepping in at a most opportune time, son. It will be my pleasure. I suspect you and I will see a lot of each other over the next year, yes?”
Bingley blinked in surprise, and the Earl continued.
“Come, come, young man. Let us not be awkward. You are stepping into a snake pit of my family’s making, and I will be there to help you in any way I can. Just to be clear, I will not direct you or even advise you per se. I will simply be available to discuss anything where I might help, man to man. If nothing else, I may remember how some debacle came about or have connexions that can aid you. In the best case, mayhap I can save you from repeating some of my stupider mistakes.”
Darcy chuckled, and Bingley said, “I would very much appreciate it, Uncle.”
The Earl nodded. “So, Bingley—how do you find my sister? Has she driven you insane yet?”
“I take it you are not acquainted withmy sisters?”
“Cannot say that I am.”
“Let us just say that I barely noticed a difference adding Lady Catherine to the mix.”
The Earl threw his head back and laughed. It brought on another coughing fit but was well worth the price.
He took a small sip of brandy, which may or may not have had a few drops of laudanum. “I had an amusing experience today.”
“How so?” Darcy asked.
“I was going out to visit Harcourt. You know him Darcy, and I will introduce you, Bingley. He is worth knowing, as long as you know which half of what he says is utter nonsense, and which half is the wisest of proclamations.”
“I shall look forward to it and keep a coin handy.”
“As I was going to my carriage, some young woman came out of the park, walking at speed directly toward me and staring me in the eyes as if she meant to accost me right there in front of my own home.”
Both men gave gasps of surprise, but they were more for form than anything else, since any gentleman of means was occasionally accosted by some sort of rabble.
“What did she have to say?” Darcy asked.
“No idea! She was just coming within hailing distance, and I could see her opening her mouth to say something, when her father caught up. He grabbed her about the waist, gave her a setdown that would make a drunken sailor blush, and dragged her back into the shrubbery.”
All three men chuckled, as there were not all that many amusing anecdotes in their lives that week.
Bingley asked curiously. “What did this woman look like?”
“She was dressed as a lady, but not first circles. She had a very particular shade of brunette hair, quite lovely and somewhat distinctive. Not very tall, and otherwise unremarkable. She was wearing a muslin walking dress that had seen better days, and a man’s overcoat. It was most peculiar.”
“Interesting. Well, I suppose we shall never know.”
“I suppose not. I was tempted to follow the pair just to find out, but by the time I got my wits about me and sent a footman to investigate, they were gone.”
