A Wife for Mr. Darcy

fabricating a story about one of her guests, and she sent for Tom Smart and asked him to escort Athena to the nursery. Shortly thereafter, Lizzy and Georgiana came into the billiards room, walking arm in arm, and both smiled as they passed Athena on her way out.

    “Lizzy, whatever possessed you to leave the library and go into the billiards room?” Jane asked on the ride to Longbourn. “My heart was in my mouth at the thought of everyone finding Mr. Darcy and you alone.”
    “It wasn’t but a minute or two after Mr. Darcy and I had started talking that we heard Mr. Collins approaching. We hid between two bookshelves for what seemed like an eternity,” a very pleasant eternity, Lizzy thought. “We were afraid he might come back, so we hurried across the foyer. We were talking when Mr. Darcy practically pushed me out of the room, and it was a good thing he did. I had barely circled around to the foyer when I could hear Mr. Bingley knocking on the door.”
    “From Mr. Darcy’s sour look all through supper, I suspect you did not have ample opportunity to talk. He is not very good at hiding his feelings.”
    “That is because he does not try. He is a man who is used to having his own way and scowls or pouts when he does not get it. It did not help that Mrs. Crenshaw never stopped talking, and of course, there is Mr. Collins, who requires no further comment. But the reason Mr. Darcy excused himself after our meal is in my pocket.” Lizzy showed Jane a note Mr. Darcy had written to her.
Dearest Elizabeth ,
When, where, and how are we to meet? I have much to discuss with you, but no place in which to discuss it. Please advise .
Love, Will
    “Poor Mr. Darcy,” Jane said, laughing. “He is very unhappy that he cannot be with you. I am sure Mr. Bingley could empathize with him as he has the same complaint.”
    “I understand Mr. Darcy’s frustrations, but there are good reasons why unmarried ladies should not be left alone with their suitors,” Lizzy said, while thinking of the passion of Mr. Darcy’s kisses and his reaction to them. “When he leaned against me in the study at Netherfield, it was impossible not to notice that there seemed to be a third party present, and I had to be very careful, because it would be two against one.”
    Jane nearly doubled over laughing. Lizzy had always been more comfortable in discussing the relationship between a man and a woman, but now that she was experiencing love for the first time, Lizzy had thrown off all restraints. It gave Jane hope that a week from Saturday, her wedding night would be pleasurable—something she had not anticipated.

    Mr. Darcy was neither smiling nor laughing. Because all of his efforts had been directed toward disentangling himself from Miss Montford so that he might be with Elizabeth, he had not given any thought to what would happen once he got to Hertfordshire. Since the weather had turned cold, there were to be no strolls along woodland paths or walks to the gazebo or riding in the park. It seemed as if their brief respite in the library and billiards room might be the only time they would be alone together until they were married. He would have to wait until Charlotte’s wedding and hope that he could have a few minutes to speak to Elizabeth alone.
    As for their engagement, it could not be publicly announced for several weeks, at a minimum, or it might prove embarrassing to Miss Montford and risk Sir John’s ire, and it would not make him look very good either—courting one woman while romancing another. Good grief, what a mess!
    And there was no guarantee he would even have time to talk to Lizzy at the wedding breakfast. Since his efforts to ingratiate himself with Bingley’s neighbors had succeeded, he would have all the local gents wanting to speak to him, and he would have to be personable to their wives or risk offending anew. What he needed was something to draw people’s attention, so they would not notice if Elizabeth and he managed to slip away. Yes, some kind of diversion was required, but what? Fireworks? A bonfire? And then an idea came to him, and he knew just what to do. He went to his desk and began writing,
Dear Antony…

Finally, the day of Charlotte’s wedding arrived, and the house hummed with activity as everyone made ready for the wedding. Mr. Darcy had made his carriage available to the Bennets, and Lydia and Kitty had climbed in ahead of their mother and older sisters. Because of their lack of seniority, the