Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"What is it exactly that you wish to show me?" Miss Goddard asked.

Saye had taken her below stairs, supposing he had done his duty to the party by dancing with his hostess and one or two other lady bumpkins. Now it was time to really make Miss Goddard see what she was missing, and perhaps get a kiss or two besides.

"Oh, I want to show you a lot of things," he said with a wicked grin. "And see lots of things from you in return."

"You, sir, are absolutely terrible."

"You would not wish for someone too sedate," he informed her as they strolled down a small hall. "I think I am just what you?—"

The sound of pounding and a man calling out interrupted what he had been about to say. "That sounds like Mr Darcy," Miss Goddard said nervously. "Behind that latched door."

"So it does." Saye walked over to the door and unlatched it while he called, "Darcy? Get the stallion back in the barn, man, I am opening the door."

Well, well, well, he thought as the door swung open. Progress has certainly been made. His eyes took note of his cousin's dishevelled hair and partly undone cravat and the slightest blush of whisker burn on Miss Elizabeth's lower face. Nicely done, Darcy.

"Saye, I insist on knowing something," Darcy said, looking surprisingly stern for a man whose breeches were certainly causing him significant discomfort. "How much a part of this farce were you?"

"Farce?" Saye did his best to appear innocent. "I am not sure I follow."

"I know that Fitzwilliam had no earnest intentions in pursuing Miss Elizabeth." Darcy crossed his arms over his chest. "Tell me the truth, Saye."

Briefly, Saye considered lying. Why give it up now?

"I cannot help but notice," said Miss Elizabeth, "that the colonel's new estate seems to undergo changes in name rather regularly. And if the truth must be told, his attempts at courting me were...lacklustre."

Blast! The clever sort of woman was Saye's least favourite, but she would do well for Darcy. After a few moments, he laughed. "It worked, did it not, Darcy? Here you are, happy in a closet with Miss Elizabeth rather than rotting in hell with Lady Catherine."

Darcy took a step towards him. "Saye?—"

"See here, Darcy, I know you probably dislike the fun at your expense, but all's well that ends well, hm?"

"That is not what I intended to say. I can stand to be the object of a caper, but it does not follow that I shall not have my own share of the amusement as well. For now, we must conceal the fact that Miss Elizabeth and I are to marry."

Beside him, Miss Goddard exclaimed with a delight that mirrored Saye's own. Darcy had got his heart's wish and, from the pink of her cheeks and the look in her eyes, he surmised that Miss Elizabeth had as well.

"Keep it quiet? No can do, mon ami ." Saye gave the pair a regretful nod. "Too much money on the line."

"Ah yes, the money," said Darcy. "Cannot think the fellows who bet on Fitzwilliam will be eager to hear it was all a humbug."

"Devil take it!" Saye narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "You are not going to?—"

"You may have my discretion," said Darcy, "as long as I have yours. I mean to have some amusement of my own now, at Fitzwilliam's expense."

Saye turned to Miss Elizabeth, who was looking at Darcy like he had just finished hanging the moon. "And you, madam? Do you mean to tell me you wish to be a party to some scheme at the expense of my brother?"

She directed her attention to him and smiled sweetly. "In fact, it was my idea."

In a short time, the sewing was sent back to Longbourn in the care of Darcy's coachman. Elizabeth encountered her father just as they had sent the man off. Any concerns he had for her whereabouts were easily dismissed with, "Locked in a room? Papa, you can clearly see I am not. Mr Darcy has only been helping me arrange to get a package back to Longbourn. For the wedding."

"Oh, well, of course, if it is for the sake of the wedding, no effort is too much," Mr Bennet replied with a wry smile and a roll of his eyes. Then he nodded at Darcy, patted his daughter on the back, and ambled away in the direction of the card room.

"Now," said Elizabeth to Darcy. "Let us go find the colonel."

A set was reaching its completion just as they came into the room. The crowd was thick and gay, though the ragged edges of a good party had begun to show. Curls were falling out of coiffures, cravats were decidedly less snowy, and the matrons on the side had grown flushed and distracted-looking. Given the advantage of superior height, Darcy was quick to spot his cousin amid the dancers and gestured towards him to show Elizabeth as well.

Colonel Fitzwilliam had been dancing with one of Bingley's friends from London, a pretty girl whom Darcy identified as Lady Harriet Thorpe with a half-chuckle that Elizabeth did not fully comprehend. The colonel escorted his partner to her chaperon, and then came to join his cousin and Elizabeth. Lord Saye and Miss Goddard, with perfect timing, also emerged from the crowd to re-join them.

"And where, my dear girl, have you been hiding all evening?" Colonel Fitzwilliam asked her with mocking severity.

"The duties of a bridesmaid prevail over all else," she replied.

Miss Goddard tittered nervously, her eyes darting about as if she expected to be exposed somehow. Pranks were evidently not the usual course for her.

"Fitzwilliam," Darcy interjected in what sounded to Elizabeth like an exceedingly stern tone. "Miss Elizabeth and I need to speak to you."

With exaggerated good humour, the colonel pretended to grimace then hung his head. "I think I know what this may be about. Let us go into the hall."

He looked a little surprised that Miss Goddard and Lord Saye continued with them but said nothing about it. The hall was full of lingering people, so the viscount suggested moving onto the terrace that overlooked the maze. Elizabeth afforded it only the briefest glance before turning to Colonel Fitzwilliam, who spoke before she could.

"I suppose you would like to see me drawn and quartered." He leant over her with his exaggeratedly twinkly eyes while Elizabeth fought not to laugh.

"Because of the wagers?"

He nodded regretfully. "It all just went so far beyond our control, did it not, Darcy?"

Darcy, standing behind her, only made a small, non-committal noise.

"I blame myself," said Lord Saye generously. "You know how fond I am of a good gamble."

"I was upset," she said to the colonel. "At first. I cannot deny that."

"I beg your forgiveness," he said quickly.

She waved that aside, putting a smile on her face. "But when I really thought about it, I came to understand the compliment of your affections, sir, and well…" She glanced at Darcy, then finished her sentence. "I accept."

The colonel also glanced at Darcy. "You accept? What do you mean?"

Elizabeth reached both of her hands to grasp both of his tightly. "We shall be so happy together at Stank Hill!"

The colonel tried to remove his hands, but she did not allow it, squeezing even more tightly and beaming at him even more delightedly. "Ah…yes," he said awkwardly. "I mean, Miss Elizabeth, I hope that?—"

"Welcome to the family," Lord Saye said warmly while Miss Goddard beside him offered well-wishes albeit with an incongruous nervous giggle.

Elizabeth finally let go of the colonel's hands, and Darcy stepped forwards and clapped his cousin on the back. "If I had to lose, at least I lose her to a worthy gentleman like you, Fitzwilliam. I wish you both every happiness."

The colonel was beginning to get a panicky sort of look about the eyes and was darting glances all around him. "There…there are considerations…I mean…you do not truly wish to marry a soldier, Miss Elizabeth—do you?"

"But you will not be a soldier," Elizabeth said cheerfully. "A husband and landowner must tend his hearth!"

"I shall write to Father directly tomorrow," Lord Saye promised. "See if he cannot get things moving on the sale of your commission."

"The war cannot go on much longer," Mr Darcy added. "And Stink Hall needs you."

"I think an engagement might be a bit…hasty," the colonel said urgently. "And as much as I admire?—"

"But the wager ," Elizabeth pressed. "It was for an offer of marriage, yes?"

"Absolutely," Lord Saye added. "That was the wager, for Miss Elizabeth's hand in marriage."

The colonel gave him a slight frown. "I think there has been some...confusion?—"

"And now you have won, just as you wished to," Elizabeth concluded brightly.

He was caught. Even in the darkness, one could see the colour of his complexion had darkened. He seemed not to know what to say next. Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at Darcy, thinking he should be the one to finish it off.

Darcy stepped close to his cousin and leant in, speaking in low tones into the colonel's ear. Elizabeth heard little of it but did hear a few words that caused her to raise her eyebrows. For such a proper gentleman, Darcy certainly was adept at knowing when to put propriety aside.

His words raised the colonel's eyebrows, too. Pulling away from his cousin, he said, "Faith, Darcy, do you kiss your sister with that mouth?"

Darcy smiled and looked very satisfied with himself. He stepped back and pulled Elizabeth against his side. "I shall tell you whom I do kiss with this mouth. My intended wife." And then he smiled down at Elizabeth and did just that.