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“If you suppose such a thing, then you do not know your brother very well.”

“I know him well enough to know he would not have you travel by coach when you might enjoy the comforts of the luxurious Darcy barouche. You must leave it all to me. I shall even ask Mrs. Annesley to accompany you. She is very fond of you. I believe she will be very agreeable to the scheme.”

“And what shall you do during the height of the Season without a proper companion?”

“My aunt, Lady Ellen, will be happy for my company. There, you see, you shall have no more excuses.” Georgiana walked to her writing desk and secured pen and paper.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I shall send a note to my brother asking him to call on me as soon as possible.”

Darcy arrived at his sister’s home within an hour of her summons, surmising it must be terribly important, for rarely did she do such a thing. His apprehension soon turned into dread. Leaning against the mantelpiece, he tempered his speech. “Whatever do you mean in saying that Miss Elizabeth Bennet is travelling to Kent? What can be her purpose in Kent?” Part of the reason I am eager to leave town is to escape my irrational fascination with her.

“Brother, Miss Elizabeth has been invited to visit her dear friend Mrs. Charlotte Collins. She is the parson’s bride. Surely you would not relegate Miss Elizabeth to a public coach when there is more than enough room for her to accompany you and Cousin Richard.”

“A single woman travelling alone with two gentlemen is entirely unseemly.”

“Ah, but she will not be travelling alone. Mrs. Annesley has agreed to accompany her. It is all rather convenient, for Mrs. Annesley has friends in Kent that she might visit.”

Darcy brushed his fingers through his hair. His sister might have promised she had no intention of playing matchmaker between Elizabeth and him, but she was surely doing a fine imitation. Convenient dinner parties of four: Georgiana, Mrs. Annesley, Miss Elizabeth and me. Of course, he had drawn the line where theatre appearances and other public outings were concerned. It was inconceivable he would do anything that might give rise to speculation of any sort of attachment with his sister’s pretty friend from Hertfordshire.

He prayed the weather would be fine so he and Richard might ride on horseback alongside the carriage most of the way. He was feeling the danger of Elizabeth’s presence, and it was not a very comfortable position in which to find himself. How clever he had been in requesting Elizabeth’s hand for the waltz and thereby spoiling the intentions of the rakish Lord Stanley Davenport. The unintended consequence was the lingering remembrance of her in his arms. Days had passed, and yet the scent of lavender flooded his senses with little more than a thought of the soft caress of her hand on his shoulder, his hand on her waist.

How shall I endure the long carriage ride with her to Kent?

CHAPTER 10

THE FOOD OF LOVE

“Calm yourself, old fellow. What is a half hour delay in the grand scheme of things?”

More than ten minutes had elapsed since Mrs. Gardiner went to fetch her niece. Darcy ceased his pacing back and forth and commenced staring out the window at the awaiting carriage. “You know how I value timeliness.”

“I would not be as fastidious as you for a kingdom,” said Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s older cousin and one of his closest friends.

“No, I do not suppose you would be, but then you and I do not enjoy the same lot in life. I am expected to be punctual, whereas you—” Darcy tore his eyes away from the window just in time to see Elizabeth enter the room. The sight of her took his breath away. He reminded himself to breathe. What is it about this woman? How shall I endure the next several hours in her presence?

Richard cleared his throat, effectively gaining his cousin’s attention.

Darcy bowed. “Miss Elizabeth, good morning. Allow me to introduce you to my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Richard, this is Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

Richard reached for her hand and executed a perfect bow. “Miss Elizabeth Bennet, what a pleasure it is to make your acquaintance.”

“The pleasure is all mine, sir. Your cousin Georgiana has told me so much about you. I feel I know you.”

He raised her ungloved hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “I am my young cousin’s favourite, and thus she has a tendency of exaggerating my good qualities. I sincerely hope I do not disappoint you.”

Darcy fought to keep his mouth from gaping open. Why, I have yet to take such liberties! It mattered not that the lingering touch of her hand upon his shoulder and the gentle caress of his hand about her waist were seared into his memory for all time. The warm glow on her face and the glint in her eyes told Darcy more than he wished to know about how Elizabeth received his cousin’s attentions. The modest smile she reserved for him was now in full bloom and directed at Richard. Release her hand already you fool!

Darcy walked to Elizabeth’s side. “Shall we take our leave?”

Her hand now freed, she tore her eyes away from Richard long enough to look at Darcy. “I beg your pardon, Mr. Darcy. I fear we will be delayed just a while longer. In my haste to come down to greet you, I forgot something I really cannot leave behind.”

Darcy pulled out his pocket watch and noted the time. “I had planned to commence our journey long before now, Miss Elizabeth.”

“Oh, my! Georgiana told me that you would be a stickler for time. I supposed she was merely exaggerating.” She and his cousin exchanged a knowing glance.

Is this what I have to look forward to for the next several hours: shameless flirtation on Richard’s part and brazen teasing from her?