A Wife for Mr. Darcy

the reason Gaius and Lucius were in Scotland, and if it weren’t for her interference, the bossy Mr. Campbell would not be coming to Netherfield. As soon as he arrived, Athena and Darius would be subjected to endless recitations of sums, spelling vocabulary words, and reading poetry and stories with morals.
    “Surely not,” Mr. Collins said, rising. “Miss Elizabeth is an unmarried woman. I can assure you my cousin would never be alone in a room with a man who is not her relation.”
    “I can show you,” Athena said, looking straight at Jane.
    Charles did his best to alert the couple of their approach. He walked slowly, but loudly, and pretended to have a fit of coughing. Jane hoped it would be enough. As the door creaked open, she was reminded of the time Mr. Carter’s wagon had overturned on High Street in Meryton and how everyone had gathered around to see how many of his chickens had been killed. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

    After successfully crossing the foyer, Darcy had shut the door to the billiards room and started laughing. “Now I understand Antony a little better. There is something to be said for clandestine meetings. Do you know he once had to climb down a trellis, for reasons I won’t mention, and he had to jump the last few feet and landed in a hedge? I never thought the story was funny until now.” And then he put his arms around Lizzy’s waist and picked her up and spun her around.
    Although Lizzy would have gladly stayed in Mr. Darcy’s embrace, she realized that one of them had to keep a cool head, and it was not going to be Mr. Darcy.
    “Why are you stepping away from me? Do you not trust me?” Darcy asked.
    “Of course I don’t trust you. You are a man.”
    “I have waited all these many months for you, and now I am to be denied a few kisses?”
    “You have waited for me! It was not I who was running back and forth to London. It was I who waited for you.”
    “Let us agree that we were both waiting, but what is the harm in a few kisses now that we are together?”
    “Because we cannot stay here. The servants will be coming in to stoke the fires and…”
    “The servants will not come in here until we are called in to supper. They have enough to do without tending fires in empty rooms.”
    “All right. I shall concede that point. However, Mrs. Crenshaw knows I am here. Surely, she is wondering what has happened to one of her guests.”
    “She thinks you are with Georgiana.”
    “Why would she think that?”
    “Because that is what Georgiana told Bingley to say.”
    “My goodness, what a clever girl.”
    “You don’t know the half of it,” he said, laughing at the thought of all of his sister’s maneuvering. “Now, may I kiss you?”
    “You said we were going to talk.”
    “I did not say that was all we were going to do.” He briefly kissed her before putting his arms around her again. He could hardly believe that after all this time and all the hurdles, he was finally free to hold the woman he loved. But then he suddenly stepped back and asked, “Was Athena in the foyer when you came in?”
    “Yes. Why?”
    “Elizabeth, you have to leave immediately,” he said, taking her by the hand and walking with her to a door that was hidden by the wood paneling. “There is a door just like this one on the other side that will exit into a hallway leading to the foyer. Please go quickly. I do not trust Athena.”
    Darcy had barely thrown off his jacket, chalked his cue, and tossed a few balls in the pockets before he heard Bingley knocking on the door, and he was not surprised to see Athena among the group.
    “Hello, Bingley. I hope you don’t mind that I did not immediately join your party. I have been in carriages too often of late, and I was not quite ready to sit down again. Please forgive me, Mrs. Crenshaw,” he said, bowing, “if I caused you any inconvenience.”
    “None at all, sir,” she replied.
    “Mr. Darcy, this little girl was having some fun at our expense,” Mr. Collins stated. “She thought Miss Elizabeth was in here with you.”
    But Athena knew what she had seen, and the little schemer dropped to her knees, looking under the table to see if Elizabeth was hiding there.
    “A lady in a billiards room? Well, that would be very odd,” Darcy answered. “But no harm done,” he said, looking down at the kneeling Athena.
    “That is very generous of you, Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Crenshaw said, but she was not amused by her daughter