An Unequalled Affection

Part 11

To Darcy, it felt as if there was no world beyond the walls of the small Netherfield library. He did not want the time he spent there with Lizzy to end, but of course it must and long before either of them were ready to rejoin the rest of their friends, there came a knock at the door, which opened before he could say a word.

"Mr Darcy! Here you are! And...Eliza!"

Caroline could not have been surprised to find Elizabeth in Darcy's company. Surely her brother had told her as much, so it was annoyance and not surprise that coloured her words.

"I did not think to find you here. I hope I am not interrupting anything?" She ground the words out from between clenched teeth, the smile she wore bordering on painful.

"Not at all." Elizabeth laughed, knocking over her queen. "Only Mr Darcy beating me at chess." She peered past his shoulder towards the large clock that dominated one wall of the library and her smile faltered. "I must be getting home."

"You will stay for breakfast first?" Darcy asked, speaking over Caroline who had begun in eagerness to bid Elizabeth a hasty farewell. Now she paused, rearranging her features and her words, her voice flat and devoid of emotion.

"Of course, you are welcome to join us for something to eat." Caroline sniffed. "If you wish."

Elizabeth hesitated and Darcy felt a fleeting concern that she would ignore his offer and retreat, taking his heart and all that had not yet been settled between them with her. In urgency he stood, laying a light hand on her elbow to steer her towards the door.

"You must stay. Breakfast is the least we can offer after this morning's adventures." He drew a breath. "And I know Georgiana will be eager to see you."

"This morning's adventures?" Caroline seized on the words, her eyes darting from Darcy to Elizabeth in search of a story.

"You must ask your brother, Miss Bingley. It is not my tale to tell," Darcy said, firmly ushering them all out of the library and along the corridor to the breakfast room, where Bingley and Georgiana already sat, their heads bent in whispered conversation that stopped as soon as the rest of the Netherfield party arrived to join them.

"Ah, here you are, Darcy! I wondered what had become of you. And Miss Elizabeth is still with us! Splendid. Sit down, won't you? I daresay you are as ravenous as I am." His eyes twinkled with mischief. "Nothing like a morning's adventure to spark one's appetite."

"What is this adventure everyone keeps talking about?" Caroline asked, crossly. "I do hate it when people keep secrets and it seems as if everybody knows except for me." She looked sourly in Georgiana's direction, and Darcy's sister dropped her gaze to her plate, taking a sudden and all-absorbing interest in her meal.

"A small disagreement, Caro, dear, don't fret." Bingley reached for his cup of tea. "All is resolved. Somewhat." He turned to Elizabeth. "You shall want us to escort you home as soon as we are finished eating, Miss Elizabeth. I suppose your family will not object to our calling?"

Elizabeth bit her lip, glancing at Darcy and sharing his concerns. Bingley acted as if nothing was amiss, as if it were perfectly natural that he should have devoted his morning to a duel. A duel that did not happen, of course, but the intent was there. His frown darkened. Did Bingley not recall the despair on Jane Bennet's face when she had witnessed the tableau? Did he not remember the way she had fled, caring little to see or speak to any one of them? He, certainly, had no great desire to present himself before her or her family with any urgency. Likely they had all heard of the morning's foolishness and it would be some slight miracle if Mr Bennet even permitted them to cross the threshold of the house. A further miracle would be needed for Jane to acknowledge them.

"I have an errand to run in Meryton today," Darcy announced, improvising as he went. He turned to Elizabeth, piecing together his plan. "Perhaps I might implore you to accompany me." His eyes met hers and he did his best to communicate his goal without being forced to speak it aloud. He wished to call at the barracks and he doubted any company but Elizabeth would help him in attaining that which he sought: an audience with his cousin.

"Meryton!" Georgiana beamed. "I should certainly like to see it again. Our previous visit was so brief."

Darcy snapped his head around to look at his sister, alarm flooding his body. How could he take Georgiana to the very building that housed her former paramour? Wickham had proven himself unchanged that very morning, would he risk Georgiana seeing him again?

"Oh, but you cannot mean to come with us this morning," Elizabeth stammered, somehow sensing the direction Darcy's thoughts had turned and conjuring the explanation he failed to find. "That is, Mary told me she hopes to see you today and planned to call here to discuss...a new Italian piece she is having trouble with. Oh, Georgiana, she will be so disappointed to come all this way and not find you at home." She slid her gaze over to Caroline. "Nor you, Miss Bingley, for both you and Miss Darcy are so talented when it comes to the piano that Mary is quite eager to learn from you both."

This was a lie and if Georgiana could tell she did not let on. Her lips curved upwards in an amused smile, suggesting she saw right through Lizzy's slight deception but, fancying she could tell the reason, was quite content to play along and accept it. Caroline, always easily swayed by the deployment of compliments, attended to her breakfast with a sniff, but did not pursue the notion of leaving Netherfield that day.

Only Bingley was not so easily put off.

"Well, I suppose I shall be forced to accompany you to Meryton," he said, cheerfully helping himself to seconds. "I dare say Miss Mary has no desire to consult me on the particulars of playing a piano piece, be it Italian or German or Greek or any other." He laughed. "And after that, I shall be able to call at Netherfield as planned." He turned his attention to the door, as a servant entered with a letter for his attention. Dropping his fork, Bingley reached for it, breaking the seal and reading it swiftly, his smile faltering into a frown as he did so. He read it twice, his blue eyes crisscrossing quickly across the page, before dropping it silently on the table and standing to his feet.

"Excuse me," he muttered, leaving his napkin where it fell and striding abruptly from the room.

Silence reigned undisturbed for a moment with no one quite willing to break it, until Caroline leaned across the table and snatched up the letter, reading it through quickly before letting out a squawk of despair.

"A duel!?" She turned to glare at Darcy. "This was the adventure you spoke of? Oh, heavens! Well, it has backfired on him now." With malicious glee she turned back to the letter and read aloud from it, affecting a simpering tone that Darcy supposed was meant to be an imitation of Jane's sweet, gentle voice. "Please do not call on me again. I wish to put an end to any connection we may have shared, lest it cause any further damage."

Darcy turned to Elizabeth whose eyes were wide, her face pale. She had scarcely touched her breakfast. Laying down his knife and fork, he dropped his hand to his side, seeking her hand and squeezing it in a silent show of encouragement. Do not fret, the gesture tried to say. First, we must make amends with my cousin and then your sister. You'll see, Lizzy. All will be well. I shall make all things well.

He did not yet know how, only that he must. His happiness - and Elizabeth's - could never be complete when those they loved were unhappy. And as I am to blame for the mess things are in now, the very least I can do is mend it. The problem did not seem so impossible with Elizabeth Bennet by his side and when she looked at him, a little of the colour had crept back into her cheeks. He smiled and was gratified when she smiled back.