A Wife for Mr. Darcy

will get careless and expose themselves.” Seeing the look of bewilderment on their faces, he continued, “Or we may find ourselves with too many birds as the pheasants will flock to Netherfield from adjacent properties seeking sanctuary from the shooting going on all around them.”
    Louisa and Caroline stared at Mr. Darcy. Was it even possible for birds to understand the concept of a sanctuary?
    “Darcy, what a cutup you are!” Charles said, laughing. “I am glad you are willing to find humor in the situation because you have come from London to shoot, and despite the fine weather, we have not had the guns out.”
    “You have had other things on your mind, and speaking of the weather, since it is such a beautiful day, may I accompany you to Longbourn?”
    “Of course. I was just about to ask you to join me.”
    “Then I shall go change my clothes and meet you at the stables.”
    Caroline waited for the servant to close the door behind Mr. Darcy before lashing into her brother. “If you persist in continuing with this ill-advised courtship, Louisa and I shall return to London.”
    “Caroline, you have already said that you were going back to town after the ball,” Charles answered, refusing to back down.
    “Then it is settled, and I shall write to our sister, Diana.”
    “I thought you already had.”

    On the ride to Longbourn, Charles thanked Darcy for lending him his support. “I saw Caroline and Louisa looking to you for assistance, but since you did not express any objections to the match, they may yet change their minds, especially Caroline, who looks at you as if you were the Delphic oracle. They truly mean well. It is just that they have become obsessed with status and ignore everything else.”
    “You have no need to thank me,” Darcy answered, ignoring the comment about Caroline. He tried to say as little as possible about the lady because he would be hard-pressed to find anything positive to say about someone so petty and mean. “It was impertinent of me to attempt to impose my views on you. Like your sisters, I, too, was eager for you to make a good match, but since I have observed how greatly Miss Bennet and you complement each other, I can comfortably say that you are, in fact, marrying well.”
    Darcy realized his withdrawal of any objections to the match was a complete about-face from his earlier position that such a marriage would greatly harm his friend’s chances to advance in society. But then Darcy thought back to the most recent season. Although he never missed a ball, his friend had avoided the more intimate card parties and dinners because most of the conversations were laced with spiteful comments from those ladies who were not yet married and replete with sexual innuendo from those who were, and Bingley had shared with Darcy that he had found London’s closed society to be repressive, almost suffocating.
    As Bingley had said, he was not a Darcy, the grandson of an earl, and as such, he was not shackled with preserving a line that went back to those who fought with the Conqueror. His obligation to all of those Darcys who had preceded him required that he produce a male heir or Pemberley would pass to his cousin, David Ashton, and it would no longer be Georgiana’s home. So Bingley would marry Miss Jane Bennet, and they would remain in the country at Netherfield and have a house filled with laughing children while Darcy would return to London and Miss Montford. If he could not marry for love, then why not Letitia?
    “Do you have a particular date in mind when you will make Miss Bennet an offer?” Darcy asked.
    “Oh, it will be very soon. Very soon indeed,” Bingley answered, grinning from ear to ear.
    “Bingley, are you saying that you are on your way to Longbourn for that very purpose? If so, I shall turn back immediately and not interfere with such important business.”
    “Yes, I am going to Longbourn to propose, but I wanted you there because you are my closest friend and because it is a house full of women. I need more than Mr. Bennet’s presence to balance the equation. And speaking of engagements, how do things go between Miss Montford and you?”
    “Slow but steady.”
    “I only met her the one time, but she seems to be quite pleasant. She even meets Caroline’s definition of an accomplished lady.”
    “She is very pleasant, truly accomplished, and according to my sister, paints tables like no other.”
    “Will there be an announcement soon?” Bingley