A Wife for Mr. Darcy

sit and wait and say nothing.”
    “Lizzy, I understand there are different rules for people of rank and always have been, but I cannot reconcile the Mr. Darcy I have come to know with the callous man you are describing. I think Miss Montford and he may have come to an agreement not to proceed with a courtship, which would explain why he is here and not in London. I know nothing of the Montfords, but I suspect the problem might lie with her parents. They may want to press forward because an alliance between their families would be quite a feather in the Montfords’ cap.”
    “I am sorry, Aunt, if you think I have been too harsh because Mr. Darcy is guilty of nothing. He never made any promises to me of any kind. Our relationship, if you can call it that, has consisted entirely of a handful of conversations and even fewer dances, and he most certainly may come to his own home whenever he chooses. I just wish he had waited a few more days, so that I would not have been here.”
    “But, Elizabeth, I think the reason he came now is because he cannot stay away from you. When he arrived, he declared that he had come for the shooting alone, but he will not shoot today as he is going with you to Shepherd’s Cave.”
    “But it does not matter if he chooses to come or not,” Lizzy said, shaking her head as if to dislodge any thought of Mr. Darcy. “Today is my last day in Derbyshire, so I intend to enjoy the company of Miss Darcy, who is very agreeable, and Colonel Fitzwilliam, who is charming, and Mr. Darcy as well.” Lizzy walked to the window, and while gazing at the vast gardens and the woods beyond, she said, “Being at Pemberley is like going to sleep in my own bed and awaking in a beautiful and exotic foreign land. It makes for a pleasant dream, but reality comes with the first light.”

It seemed that the Darcys had clothes for every occasion, including a chest full of dresses, boots, bonnets, and breeches for when they went “caving.” But Lizzy had never worn uglier clothes in her life. When they arrived at the stables, the outfit actually got worse because, once they were in the cave, Lizzy would need to put on a wide-brimmed farmer’s hat that was coated with coal tar to make it waterproof. Mercer had come up with the idea for the coating during his years as a coach driver, and now he was inflicting it on his master’s guests.
    “The ceiling of the cave drips, miss, and you don’t want that mineral water plopping down on your head and ruining a pretty bonnet,” Mercer explained.
    “Do not worry about your appearance, Lizzy. The men do not look any better,” Georgiana said while glancing at her ugly brown riding coat. When the two gentlemen came out of the stables carrying their farmer’s hats, Georgiana started laughing. “Well, we may now proceed, as Farmer Will and Farmer Dick have arrived,” which made Darcy laugh. He found his sister to be delightful, and his most unguarded moments were when he was with her.
    Because the trailhead was two miles away, Mr. Darcy had decided to travel there by carriage in case it should start raining and had sent the horses ahead with the grooms. As soon as Lizzy got in the carriage, Miss Darcy and the colonel’s plans became evident. The colonel chose to sit with his cousin, requiring Mr. Darcy to sit next to Lizzy. But as much as she liked the pair of intriguers, she could not support their efforts to bring Mr. Darcy and her together. It was time to put the gentleman behind her.
    Once the wagon reached the trailhead, Darcy, who left nothing to chance, wanted to go over every detail with the grooms before sending them back to the stables, and while they waited for him, Lizzy went over to Sugar.
    “Sugar is also the favorite of my nieces, the daughters of Lord Fitzwilliam,” the colonel said after watching Lizzy stroke the dappled gray’s face.
    “Do they come here often?”
    “Not often enough, as their father tries Darcy’s patience like no other. Usually, it is I who brings them, but, occasionally, Darcy will gather them up when Georgie and he are coming for a few weeks. The girls have drawings of Sugar on the walls of their nursery.”
    “Sugar is perfect for me. With her wide girth, I feel quite secure.”
    “Ah, a wide girth! That puts me in mind of my Aunt Catherine,” and Lizzy stifled a laugh. “That may seem unkind, but every time I look at Sugar, I cannot help but think of the august personage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, as they are