A Wife for Mr. Darcy

The two of you do not belong together. I suspect she wishes to see the back of you, as much as you wish to end it with her, but she cannot because of her father.”
    “I have noticed a change,” Darcy said, nodding his head in agreement. “As soon as I deviated from the pedestrian, she looked almost alarmed.”
    “All right then. We are making progress. Now, I am going to tell you something that you must keep to yourself,” Richard said as he lowered his voice. This was something that even the trusted Mercer should not hear. “The king intends to award four baronies in order to fill the House of Lords with Tories who will maintain his policies long after he is gone. He suspects that the Whigs will continue to push for Catholic emancipation and the expansion of the franchise to vote.”
    “And we shall. It is a matter of fairness.”
    “I have no argument with that, but our king and Sir John do, which is why he will be one of the four barons.”
    “How do you know this?”
    “Antony told me. Say what you will about my brother, but he knows what is going on in Parliament. So I took the liberty of sharing something with my brother without asking your permission.”
    “This better be about politics and not romance,” Darcy said, and his green eyes bored into his cousin, “because anything you share with your brother has an excellent chance of ending up in The Insider ,” a scandal magazine, which he despised, especially since it had exposed his relationship with Mrs. Conway. “If this has anything to do with my courtship of Miss Montford, you have done me no favor.”
    “That is not it at all. Antony told me that Sir John is boasting to everyone at White’s that England will have one less
    Whig to make mischief once a certain event occurs.”
    “To hell he will. I am no Tory.”
    “Exactly. So I told Antony you were saying the same thing about Sir John; that is, you hoped to turn him into a Whig. Of course, I told him not to say anything to ensure that he did. My brother can be very helpful in that way.”
    “If we succeed in putting an end to this farce,” Darcy said, “I would like it to appear as if Miss Montford and her father have called an end to it. Except for impropriety, they can say what they will about me. But this will take time to play out, and there is no guarantee of success. Because of that, I must adhere to my original plan. I shall say that my purpose in going to Pemberley is to shoot, and we shall see how much damage Antony can do in London.”
    “It has to succeed, Will. We are talking about the happiness of four people.”
    “Four? Does that include Sir John?”
    “No, it includes Jasper Wiggins. Wiggins was paying a fair amount of attention to Miss Montford, but withdrew from the field once it appeared as if you were going to court her. I have made discreet inquiries, and I have learned he is still very interested in the lady, but cannot act because of you.”
    Darcy smiled. For the first time in weeks, he had hope, and knowing that they were drawing close to their destination, he turned to his manservant. “Mercer, we are nearing the inn.”
    Mercer sat up as erect as any soldier on review. “Sir? Other than the usual arrangements, is there anything you require?”
    “Thank you, Mercer, but no,” and Darcy laughed to himself, something he had not done in ages, or at least since the last time he had seen Elizabeth.

Lizzy thought she had been as quiet as a church mouse in performing her morning toilette, but within minutes of her rising, the maid appeared to assist in dressing her. At Longbourn, although Mr. and Mrs. Hill were servants, they were so entwined with the Bennets that each thought of the other as family. During their childhood, Mrs. Bennet had instructed her girls that the servants were there “to help” not “to do,” but it was the opposite at Pemberley.
    Lizzy had met Ellie the night before when the maid had come to help her prepare for bed. It was all Lizzy could do to not giggle, but amusement turned to appreciation when Ellie brushed her hair and told her that she would certainly be able to tame any wayward curls.
    In the morning, when Lizzy came down to the breakfast room, she found that her Uncle Gardiner had already left for his first day of fishing with Cubbins, and Mrs. Gardiner, an avid gardener herself, was getting a private tour of the gardens with Mr. Ferguson. But Georgiana, with Pepper, her pug, on her lap, was waiting for her. There were