A Wife for Mr. Darcy

to change its spots, and so he had said nothing. In any event, he had witnessed how expertly Elizabeth had handled Caroline Bingley at Netherfield Park, and he hoped she was up to the unique challenge of conversing with Lord Fitzwilliam. Hopefully, Georgiana had warned her about him because she had them sitting together at supper. His sister was probably correct in thinking he was more likely to be on his best behavior with an unmarried woman than with Mrs. Gardiner. Despite Georgiana’s youth, rumors of her cousin’s reputation had reached her ears.
    Darcy was waiting at the bottom of the staircase for his guests, and from the look on the faces of Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, it appeared that each had had a good day—he at Viator’s Bridge and she in the gardens with Mr. Ferguson—because they were both obviously in a stellar mood.
    After greeting the Gardiners, he stood waiting for Elizabeth. After pulling on his waistcoat, tugging at his neckcloth, and checking his cuffs for the tenth time, he looked up to see Elizabeth descending the stairs, and the sight took his breath away.
    “Miss Elizabeth, you look exceptionally beautiful tonight.” Although she was wearing her hair up, some of her curls fell softly on the back of her neck, and the effect was perfect. And he too felt something stir, and he hoped it would go away quickly.
    “Thank you, sir. Your sister was kind enough to allow me to borrow her dress.” Surely, it was all right to acknowledge she was wearing Georgiana’s dress. After all, he had paid for it.
    “An excellent decision. My sister was perceptive enough to realize how lovely it would look on you.”
    “We have come a long way, Mr. Darcy, since the Meryton assembly when you were of a different mind.”
    “Yes, but you know me well enough to know that I praise only that which I truly admire.”
    At that point, Colonel Fitzwilliam came into the foyer, and he looked glorious in his brilliant red regimentals. The colonel truly was—what was the best word to describe him—oh, yes, gorgeous, and a smile came to her lips. She could easily imagine women stopping and staring at him whenever he came into a room.
    “Miss Elizabeth, you are absolutely luminous tonight,” the colonel said, bowing. “‘She doth teach the torches to burn bright.’ You see, I am not as guarded in paying compliments as my cousin here. When I have such beauty before me, I do not pick and choose my words. I announce it to the world.”
    “Colonel Fitzwilliam, I can see the influence spending an afternoon with Lord Fitzwilliam has had on you, but your praise is appreciated.”
    “I admit that it is a Fitzwilliam trait to speak freely, and it is one of the few things Antony and I have in common.”
    “However, with regard to Mr. Darcy,” Lizzy said, “since he is so judicious in his use of compliments, I would find myself quite flattered to have earned even one.”
    “Did I hear my name mentioned?” Antony said as he joined the party. Lizzy quickly judged His Lordship to be quite handsome, but was surprised to find him out of fashion as he was still wearing the colorful jacket and waistcoat of the fops who had preceded the fashion followers of Mr. Beau Brummel. She wondered if the reason for his out-of-date attire was that he had not paid his tailor.
    Taking Mrs. Gardiner’s hand, His Lordship kissed it, and he kept his lips pressed to her ungloved hand for so long that she had to gently pull it away.
    “Did you have a pleasant afternoon, Mrs. Gardiner? Did your husband regale you with his fish stories, including the big one that got away, or was he able to catch it?”
    “Milord, I was very pleased with my catch,” Mr. Gardiner answered, and when Lord Fitzwilliam left their company to seek an introduction to Elizabeth, Mrs. Gardiner whispered to her husband, “Do you see what I mean? He is scandalous.”
    “Well, my dear, I am not going to say anything to him.”
    “Because he is an earl?”
    “No, because I am in his debt,” and he said this with a gleam in his eye, and Lord Fitzwilliam, having seen it, winked at him.
    After they were seated at the dining table, Antony complimented Darcy on his company. “With so much beauty in Derbyshire,” he said, bowing his head in the direction of each of the three ladies, “I have no reason to go back to London.”
    “Please feel free to make yourself at home, Antony. Unfortunately, we are all departing tomorrow,” Darcy said.
    “Surely, not on my