2. Two

Two

E lizabeth folded her favorite shawl and tucked it into her trunk with a precise little pat. “I believe that is the last of it. Are you quite finished yet, Jane?”

Jane swirled around and cleared her throat. “Ah… almost, Lizzy. Let me just…” Jane busied herself behind the propped-open lid of her trunk, then closed it quickly, turned the key, and hurriedly sat at the vanity to plump her cheeks.

“Oh, dear,” Elizabeth sighed. “What is it now?”

“Hmm?” Jane turned on the stool. “Whatever do you mean?”

Elizabeth cocked a wary eye at her sister. “You have been behaving oddly since this morning, Jane. If I did not know better, I would suspect that we are not going home tomorrow as expected, and that you know something you are not telling me.”

“Oh, Lizzy! Such a silly notion. I do wonder where Aunt is, though. She said she meant to come up and help us with all our new gowns. I think she just wanted to see them one more time, you know.”

“Well, she deserves to. They were too generous to us, Jane. I daresay I have bought enough gowns and chemises and petticoats to last me five years.” She braced her hands on her hips and surveyed the trunk with a frown. “Or at least until Mama decides we need wedding clothes because some tall, dark, and handsome stranger moves to town.”

Jane glanced at Elizabeth through the vanity mirror. “Well, Lizzy, one thing you must admit is that Mama always likes us to be well-prepared.”

Elizabeth’s eyebrow quirked. “Oh, for a certainty. I wonder if she has my children named for me yet or if she has decided to put that particular preparation off until the next time I dance with someone more than once.”

“Oh, she has a list of names. I have seen it—I believe Lydia has circled the top dozen to claim them for herself.”

Elizabeth snorted. “Jane, I can almost believe that is true. Oh! That must be Aunt.” She closed her trunk at the sound of a knock and stepped to open the door.

Mrs. Gardiner tipped her head cautiously from side to side, surveying the room as she walked in. “My goodness. How did you two manage to fit all those gowns into your trunks in such short order?”

“Mama has taught us well, Aunt,” Jane said with a laugh. “Papa always says Mama could kit out an entire regiment if he gave her just two trunks and four of five stout lads to carry them.”

Mrs. Gardiner chuckled. “That does not surprise me. Well, I see I ought to have come up a bit sooner. I had hoped to catch you before you put your party gowns away.”

“Party gowns?” Elizabeth glanced at her sister, but Jane was already rising from the vanity to move toward her own trunk, and Elizabeth could not see her face. “Whatever for?”

“Oh, nothing much. Your uncle has guests coming this evening, that is all. Rather dull stuff—business contacts, I am afraid, but there was nothing else for it. Tonight was the only night everyone could manage.”

“Business contacts?” Elizabeth echoed, a skeptical note in her voice. “And what, pray tell, do men of business want with a quiet family dinner? If Uncle Gardiner’s partners are half as worldly as he, I should think they would find our company positively provincial.”

Mrs. Gardiner waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, nonsense, Lizzy. A simple dinner is all. I am certain they shall be as dry as dust, but perhaps you will find it in your heart to entertain them a little. You know how your uncle does like to keep up his contacts.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. It was not the sudden announcement of a dinner party, nor the fact that her uncle would be entertaining business guests. It was the odd way Jane was pursing her lips and running her fingers over the rim of her trunk, and something in the way her aunt was holding her breath as she made the announcement.

“When was this arranged, Aunt?” Elizabeth asked casually.

“Hmm? Oh! Perhaps yesterday, I should think. I am sorry, Lizzy, I ought to have said something sooner. I hope it will not be too much bother to find your new blue gown. It is not at the bottom of your trunk, is it?”

“The very bottom,” Elizabeth confirmed. “As I felt it would be positively the last gown I should have need of for the foreseeable future. What of my plum-colored one, Aunt? I think I can draw that one out with little trouble.”

There it was again. The way Mrs. Gardiner caught Jane’s eye, and the way Jane sucked her top lip between her teeth and looked innocently away.

“Ah… well, whatever you think, Lizzy,” Mrs. Gardiner replied hesitantly. “Oh, but I did fancy the things that blue one does for your eyes. You have such rare eyes, you know. Not one in ten girls with hair of such rich ebony as yours also have blue eyes—like ice crystals they are, and that gown sets them off so dazzlingly well.”

Elizabeth arched a brow. “I thought these were merely business friends of my uncle’s. Why should they be looking at my gown at all? Assuming, of course, it serves its office of covering those parts of me which must be covered for decency’s sake.”

Jane coughed. “No reason at all, Lizzy. But… are you sure the new blue gown is at the bottom? I thought I saw you put it in close to the last.”

Elizabeth crossed her arms. “Aunt, Jane, what are you two scheming?”

“Scheming! Why, Lizzy, you do me too much credit,” her aunt laughed. “They are your uncle’s guests, not mine. How should I have anything to do with the timing of their invitation?”

Elizabeth’s mouth tugged to the side as her eyes slid to her sister. “Jane, open that trunk.”

Jane swallowed. “Oh, but Lizzy, I have only just locked it. Let me see, what did I do with that key?” She slipped her hands into the pockets hidden in her day dress, then withdrew them to pat down her reticule, which lay flat on the bed. When that yielded nothing, she dropped to her knees to perform a quick search under the bed. “Oh, dear. What could I have done…?”

“Is it this key you are looking for?” Elizabeth asked, picking up the small brass thing from the vanity. “Truly, Jane, if you are going to put me on, you will have to try a bit harder than that.”

Jane shot their aunt a shame-faced glance, then took the key from Elizabeth’s fingers. “What was it you wished to see, Lizzy?” she asked innocently.

Elizabeth made a flipping motion with her hand and arched a brow.

Jane sighed, then turned to her trunk to unlock it and lift the lid on creaking hinges.

“Ah-hah.” Elizabeth strode closer and plucked the very top gown out of the trunk. It was a frothy pink confection, perfectly suited to Jane’s fair features and rosy blushes… but not at all suited for travel tomorrow or dinner at Longbourn once they arrived.

“How odd that, knowing we would be setting out in the morning, you chose to put this gown at the very top.”

“Do not be silly, Lizzy! I simply put my gown in last because I like admiring it so.” Jane’s cheeks colored faintly, though she kept her head down, fussing with the silk ribbons on her gown. Elizabeth, however, caught it, and her suspicions only grew.

“I see,” Elizabeth said slowly, her gaze lingering on her sister a moment longer. “And how many of these… business contacts should we expect, Aunt?”

“Oh, just two. Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. Fine men, both of them, I believe,” Mrs. Gardiner replied, her tone carefully even—as though Elizabeth had not already pieced together some bits of the puzzle. “Your uncle speaks quite highly of them, you know.”

“Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley?” Elizabeth repeated, her lips curving into a faint smile. “These gentlemen sound… familiar. Why, I believe I have heard mention of them somewhere. Ah… yes, in fact, I have! At nearly every party we have attended with you and Uncle—”

“Oh, Lizzy, you must not make so much of—”

“—for the last five years.” Elizabeth finished. “Two of the wealthiest bachelors in London, the ones half the females in Town are setting their caps for, whose reclusive natures have kept them largely out of the public eye since their meteoric rise to wealth. Have I got it right, Aunt?”

“Rise to wealth,” Mrs. Gardiner repeated with a laugh. “You make it sound as if they were not already wealthy, which, I assure you, both were.”

“A minor detail. Tell me, Aunt, why should such gentlemen wish to spend an evening with us ? Surely, they have livelier options for entertainment.”

“Oh, Lizzy, not everyone finds the charms of elaborate soirées or even gambling dens quite so irresistible as you seem to think. I dare say they might even find our company refreshing.”

“Yes, so refreshing that they might fall asleep in their soup. And tell me, Aunt, should I be worried that you and Jane have taken it upon yourselves to secure me in the company of any gentleman who happens to be in town?”

Mrs. Gardiner gave her a reproachful look, though the twinkle in her eyes remained. “Why, Lizzy, what on earth could have given you such an idea?”

“Oh, I am certain I do not know,” Elizabeth said, her tone innocent, but her gaze pointed. “Perhaps the way Jane has been mincing about her packing, looking over her shoulder every handful of seconds, and delaying putting that nice gown of hers up until it grew awkward.”

“Oh, come now,” Mrs. Gardiner chided gently. “Your uncle only invited them to dinner to sort out some new business, whatever you may suspect, Lizzy. But I daresay it will not be such a terrible duty for you both to put on a smile or two for the gentlemen. If you cannot manage to enjoy yourself for an evening, Elizabeth, well…”

Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head. “I am merely wary of how very eager you both seem to throw us in their path. Very well, I shall take my plum -colored dinner gown out, since it will not be as much bother as trying to get the creases out of the blue one. But Aunt, if I fall asleep halfway through the soup, I shall hold you entirely responsible.”

“Indeed,” Mrs. Gardiner said, smiling as she patted Elizabeth’s hand. “I am sure you will find a way to endure it, dear.”

As Mrs. Gardiner left the room, Elizabeth turned back to Jane, arms crossed and a knowing smile on her lips. “And you—you are not nearly as innocent as you pretend. What is it you know that I do not?”

Jane bit her lip, looking up at Elizabeth with a slightly guilty but thoroughly amused expression. “Nothing more than you, I am sure. I simply think that one evening among old friends—whether they are Uncle Gardiner’s or not—will be rather pleasant. And perhaps even enlightening.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, her smile turning wry. “Enlightening. Yes, I am sure. And if by the end of the evening, I discover the whole affair has been a grand scheme between you and Aunt Gardiner, I shall demand full recompense.”

Jane laughed. “Then you had best begin thinking of your price now, Lizzy, for I believe it shall be a most charming evening indeed.”

B ingley’s footsteps echoed impatiently against the gleaming floor of Darcy’s study as he paced back and forth, casting the occasional exasperated glance at his friend. Darcy was seated at his desk, pen in hand, though he was currently more interested in issuing a mild scolding than in finishing his correspondence.

“Tell me, Bingley, just what possessed you to drag me to that… farce of a dinner party two nights ago? You assured me it was a mere gathering, but I counted no fewer than six young ladies strategically placed around the table, all of whom seemed ready to faint dead away if I so much as inquired after their names.”

Bingley stopped his pacing long enough to flash an innocent grin. “Oh, come now, Darcy. You are being melodramatic.”

“Am I?” Darcy arched an eyebrow. “Perhaps you failed to notice that the only other gentlemen present were married or otherwise engaged. Or did you think it was a coincidence that Lady Stanwick arranged her table so I was boxed in by not one, but two of her nieces?”

Bingley shrugged, utterly unrepentant. “The ladies were pleasant company, I thought.”

“Pleasant company?” Darcy scoffed. “Bingley, one of them spent twenty minutes extolling her own embroidery, speaking of it as though it were the work of Michelangelo himself, while the other waxed poetic on the beauty of—what was it? —seashell collections.”

Bingley stifled a laugh. “Seashells, Darcy. Come, they can be quite pretty! The lady was only being polite, filling the silence since you seemed determined to contribute nothing beyond the occasional monosyllabic response.”

Darcy shot him a withering look. “Can you blame me? I agreed to attend a dinner, not a matchmaking symposium.”

Bingley chuckled, unruffled. “You have always been impossible to please. You find the ladies vacuous. You find the company dull. Would it have killed you to smile a little?”

“Smile? Bingley, if I had smiled, the entire evening would have been declared a triumph, and I would find myself besieged by Lady Stanwick’s relations for the remainder of the season. No, thank you. I am finished with these so-called dinner parties. From now on, you are to attend those affairs on your own.”

“On my own?” Bingley threw up his hands in exaggerated despair. “Darcy, you cannot abandon me to these people. Besides, that would defeat the entire object!”

“Which is?”

“Getting you out from behind that desk once in a while and thinking of something besides my business all the time.”

“Ah, I nearly forgot.” Darcy dipped his quill again. “You seek to be rid of me.”

“Not rid of you, Darcy, but perhaps… less of you. Egad, are you not weary of seeing hardly anyone but me , and the people who work for you?”

“You are mistaken. I speak with dozens of men each week who do not work for me.”

“Yes, all contracts and business partners and the like. By Jove, I wish Fitzwilliam were in Town. I could bloody well use a bit of his cleverness just now to oust you from your study—for your own good, of course.”

“Such a pity he entered the Army and made himself more useful to the crown than to us…”

“You speak as if all I do is use and manipulate you, Darcy.” Bingley’s tone sounded wounded. “It is not as if I have not exerted efforts of my own in this partnership.”

Darcy glanced up and dash it all if Bingley was not massaging that old bayonet wound as he paced. Darcy sighed. “I never said you did not, but all these things you claim are for my benefit seem rather to be things that you want, not I.”

“But how can you not want this? A little jolliness, a little pleasure in life! I know you do. You are a dull shell of a man suffering from desperately low spirits, not at all the fellow I knew in France.”

“Good heavens, I should hope I am no longer a youth of twenty.”

“You know what I mean, Darcy! You need to laugh, meet some ladies, dance a little.”

“You mean drink myself into oblivion and embarrass myself with some female whose father will be at my door tomorrow morning…”

“I mean, we are expected at Almack’s this evening.”

“Then, by all means, go enjoy yourself. I, however, shall not be joining you.”

Bingley gaped at him, genuinely bewildered. “Not going to Almack’s? Darcy, that is practically unheard of. Half of London will be expecting you!”

Darcy gave a slight, almost imperceptible shrug. “Half of London will survive without me for one evening, I assure you.”

“No, no. Not this time, Darcy. I mean to drag you from this house by main force if I must. Nearly everyone we know will be there, and you , Darcy, will enjoy yourself.”

“I cannot go, Bingley, and for that matter, neither can you, so you had best put away your dancing shoes.”

Bingley let out a huff of frustration. “And what could possibly be more pressing than Almack’s?”

Darcy leaned back in his chair. “I had a letter this morning from Edward Gardiner. Remember him?”

Bingley blinked. “Gardiner? The merchant?”

“Yes. He was one of the first men to take a chance on us, back when we were starting out with that ludicrous scheme of yours to import French beeswax. We owe him a great deal.”

“Oh, come now. Gardiner was just a good-natured fellow with a nose for profit. We made him wealthy, he made us wealthy, and then our needs diverged. We have hardly done any business with him these past five years. Surely, he does not expect us to drop everything and turn up for some business meeting when we were expected at Almack’s.”

Darcy gave him a pointed look. “He has requested that we speak on an urgent shipping matter. Apparently, he is in some straits and believes we can help. I am not one to ignore an old friend’s request, especially one who took a risk on us when no one else would.”

Bingley sighed, throwing himself into the chair opposite Darcy’s desk with a dramatic flourish. “So, let me understand this. You would have me abandon the delights of Almack’s for yet another dull business dinner?”

“Precisely,” Darcy said with a slight smile.

“Oh, Darcy, I am beginning to think you derive some peculiar satisfaction from dragging me to the dreariest possible affairs.”

Darcy gave a dry chuckle. “I derive satisfaction from keeping you out of trouble, which is precisely what you are bound to find at Almack’s if left unsupervised.”

Bingley shook his head, looking both exasperated and amused. “The ‘trouble,’ as you put it, is simply society. You really should try embracing it now and again, Darcy. You may even find it tolerable.”

“I doubt that very much,” Darcy replied. “And besides, this is not merely business. It is a matter of loyalty. Gardiner helped us establish our reputation, and I shall not brush off his request for the sake of… frivolity.”

“Frivolity?” Bingley looked almost cut to the heart. “You think Almack’s is frivolous?”

“I think most of the events you drag me to are frivolous. And given recent experience, any arguments you might make to the contrary have not a leg to stand on.”

Bingley gave a resigned sigh. “Very well, Darcy. If you insist, I shall accompany you to this… thrilling business dinner. But mark my words, I shall hold you responsible if it proves as mind-numbing as I expect.”

“Then it is settled. Now, shall we see what Mr. Gardiner wishes to discuss?”

Bingley gave one last, forlorn glance at the door, as if Almack’s were a beloved pet he was being forced to leave behind. “Very well,” he muttered, folding his arms with a good-natured grumble. “But you owe me, Darcy. You owe me a proper evening of enjoyment one of these days.”

Darcy merely smirked. “I would hardly call Almack’s ‘enjoyment,’ but if it will ease your suffering, perhaps we shall revisit the idea—after we have shown Mr. Gardiner the courtesy he deserves.”

Bingley chuckled, rising to his feet. “Lead on, Darcy. But next time, you shall have to face the consequences of Lady Stanwick’s nieces without me.”