A Wife for Mr. Darcy

would have preferred someone who would have raised the family’s standing in London society. Of course, I accomplish no such thing. In any event, they are to return to town after the ball.”
    “Where, hopefully, they will stay so that they can cause no more mischief,” Lizzy added.
    “And what of you, Lizzy? Now that your sister is to be married, has anyone touched your heart?”
    “There are few single men in the neighborhood who can afford a wife with such a meager fortune,” Lizzy quickly answered. “As for the many officers encamped nearby, I cannot see myself marrying an officer and following him from camp to camp. Therefore, as Mama often says, I am hoping Mr. Bingley will throw me into the path of other rich men. If that plan does not meet with success, then I shall rely on you, Aunt, to introduce me to eligible bachelors when I visit London.”
    “And what of Mr. Darcy?” Aunt Gardiner asked.
    Both Jane and Lizzy exchanged glances and said, “What?” at exactly the same time, causing their aunt to study them with that peculiar look unique to mothers who think their children might be up to mischief.
    “Jane mentioned in her letter that Mr. Darcy is a friend of Mr. Bingley’s and that he is staying at Netherfield Park. My interest in Mr. Darcy is that I grew up in Lambton very near to the Darcy estate.”
    “I did not know that Lambton was so near to Pemberley, but, of course, until recently, I did not know that Pemberley even existed. Did you know the Darcys?” Lizzy asked.
    “Not personally. But when Pemberley was open to view, I did go with my parents to see the house. It is a lovely Georgian stone mansion that absolutely glows in the setting sun. All the public rooms were beautifully decorated by Robert Adam, and I must admit that the pale green in their dining room has been my favorite color ever since.”
    “Did you ever meet Mr. and Mrs. Darcy?” Lizzy asked.
    “Yes, I did. It seems that the elder Mr. Darcy and Lady Anne truly enjoyed Pemberley and spent a good deal of time there. The present master’s father vastly expanded the gardens and supervised the changes himself. However, my father had moved the family to London to set up his own apothecary shop before the undertaking was finished—if a garden can ever truly be finished.”
    “What did they look like? Mr. Darcy and Lady Anne?” Jane asked on behalf of her sister.
    “Mr. Darcy was quite tall with black hair and very handsome. Lady Anne was petite and powdered her hair, as women did in those days, and wore those enormous hats with lots of feathers. But what I remember most about her is that she had green eyes. I had never met anyone up to that point who had green eyes.”
    “Her son has gray-green eyes,” Lizzy told her aunt.
    “Does he?”
    “Yes, and he is very tall with dark hair. He too is handsome when he does not furrow his brow, which is something he often did when he first came to Hertfordshire, but not so much of late.”
    “If that is the case, then he must be comfortable with his company. His neighbors have made a good impression on him.”
    There was nothing more to be said on the subject as Mrs. Bennet and the three younger girls had found their hiding place. Mama asked numerous questions about what warehouses Jane should visit when picking out her trousseau, but before she could answer, Lydia, who was bursting at the seams with good news, told her aunt that she was to go to Brighton as the most particular friend of Mrs. Forster, the wife of the colonel commanding the regiment. As pleased as Lydia was, Kitty was equally displeased because she felt that she should have been included in the invitation. Mary was quite vocal in her disapproval of the arrangements before being quieted by her mother. From the look on Jane’s and Lizzy’s faces, Mrs. Gardiner understood that neither was happy with Lydia’s visit to Brighton. Both considered their youngest sister to be immature and one who frequently acted without any thought about consequences. Mrs. Gardiner continued to listen attentively to what Kitty and Lydia had to say about some of the more attractive officers, including a detailed portrait of a very handsome Mr. George Wickham.

There was a clock in every public room at Netherfield, but the only one that kept accurate time was in the foyer. So if Darcy wanted to know just how late the Bennet family was in arriving at the ball, he would have to go out into the foyer where Bingley’s sisters were