A Wife for Mr. Darcy

with his sister. He was glad to be away from Netherfield Park. Although he enjoyed Bingley’s company, he could not say the same for his sisters and brother-in-law. With the exception of Jane Bennet, whom they were damning with faint praise, they found nothing to admire and considered the local society to be inferior in every way. Darcy could not agree to such a general statement, but as a rule, society in the country varied little from one month to another, which was to be expected. Anything new was immediately seized upon and shared, including what had happened at Lucas Lodge. While he was listening to Miss Elizabeth play on the pianoforte, Lady Lucas had made a remark to Mrs. Long concerning how much attention he had paid Elizabeth. As a result, he had decided not to fuel the fire by dancing with her, which was unfortunate because she was a skilled dancer and pleasant company. In addition to visiting with his sister, Darcy had another purpose in going to London, and that was to begin a courtship with Miss Letitia Montford, an attractive lady of twenty-two years, and a granddaughter of an earl and, thus, his equal in rank. Because the Darcy estate was entailed away from the female line and Georgiana could not inherit, Darcy must have an heir, and for that he needed a wife.
    As soon as his carriage pulled up in the front of the Darcy townhouse, Georgiana was out the door. She had not seen her brother in weeks. While he was in Hertfordshire with Bingley, she had been in the country staying with friends. Georgiana quickly brought Will up to date on what was happening in London. Some of the families who had spent the summer at their country estates had returned to town, among them Sir John Montford and his daughter.
    “Miss Montford is truly lovely and has a most pleasant disposition,” Georgiana began. “I twice invited her here for tea, and in return, I was invited to dinner. She is very accomplished. Her sketches are so well executed that they are prominently displayed in their drawing room, and she has a gift for painting tables which to my mind is unmatched. And did you know she speaks French and Italian?”
    “I see you have decided that Miss Montford is to become my wife.”
    “I would never be so presumptuous as to tell you whom you should marry, but of all the ladies who earned your notice during the season, Miss Montford was clearly superior to all of them. If you were to ask my opinion on the subject, I would not hesitate to name Letitia.”
    “We shall see,” Darcy said in an attempt to tamp down her enthusiasm. If he gave any indication that he agreed with her choice, Letitia Montford would be their only topic of conversation. “I will be in town for at least a week seeing to my business affairs before returning to the country to go shooting with Bingley, and I most certainly will call on Miss Montford. I assume your plans are unchanged and that your preference is to remain in town?”
    “I have no wish to speak ill of anyone, but if you and Mr. Bingley are to spend all of your time shooting, that would mean I would have to spend all of my time with his sisters.”
    “I understand. You need say no more.”
    In the week that followed, Darcy spent a fair amount of time with Miss Montford and her family and friends. He found Letitia to be a lovely woman, who deserved the high praise she received for her many accomplishments. Her only flaw was that she was rather dull, and he was sure he would not have noticed just how lacking she was in any sense of irony or wit if it had not been for Elizabeth Bennet.
    Elizabeth was unique to his experience. She liberally voiced her opinions but seemed unaware of the accompanying hazards, or maybe she didn’t care. No matter. There was an excellent chance he would not see her again as he was determined to spend most of his time shooting and riding and had no intention of attending social events in the neighborhood. In ten days’ time, he would return to London and begin a courtship with Miss Montford in earnest.
    Fortunately, the approach to Netherfield did not require that he pass through the village of Meryton as he was sure its inhabitants would assign some romantic reason for his return. As he turned down the lane, his only thoughts were about Bingley and if he had made the necessary arrangements with the gamekeeper for the shoot, but he noticed that at the bend in the drive, a woman was walking toward the manor. Much to his surprise, it was Elizabeth