"And shall you not kiss your aunt and your cousin?" Aunt Catherine commanded through her lofty tones, if not through her words, the very first day of their arrival at Rosings.
Darcy and Richard both sighed before obligingly pressing a kiss on each respective hand. Aunt Catherine's hand was outstretched, stiff, poised, as it always tended to be. Anne, on the other hand, appeared frailer than ever as she extended her trembling fingers.
Darcy did not wish to bestow any special attention upon his cousin, knowing that the mistress of Rosings would be quick to remind him of his supposed, although altogether imaginary, engagement to her daughter at the slightest of provocations. Such hesitations, however, did not prevent Darcy from noting with some concern that Anne appeared as if she could hardly make it another year.
"And, Darcy, my dear, when shall we have the wedding?"
It did not seem as if his aunt needed any reminding whatsoever.
Darcy cleared his throat, his hands firmly pressed behind him. "I do not know of what you speak, Aunt Catherine."
"Of you and Anne, of course! Is anyone else in this room engaged?"
Darcy cast a sideways glance towards Richard, who seemed to be sporting a secretive smile.
He hoped that his cousin was smiling at Darcy's annual misfortunes, rather than contemplating an engagement for himself.
"No, Aunt Catherine," Darcy stated with as much firmness as he could while maintaining a facade of respect, "No one in this room is engaged to be married, including Anne and myself."
"You are being silly."
"I assure you, Aunt Catherine, that I am not."
Their aunt waved her hand dismissively, as if she didn't believe a single word, before commanding every person back to his respective room. Darcy and Richard bowed to both ladies before retreating with relief.
"Oh, and my dearest nephews," she called out before they could turn the corner towards the primary staircase, "do dress for dinner quickly. The parson and his guests are to join us tonight."
"Yes, Aunt Catherine," they both replied - and Darcy noticed, quite immediately, the alarming cheerfulness that seemed to pervade Richard's voice all of a sudden.
He waited until they had both walked further down the family wing.
"You seem frightfully eager for dinner," Darcy stated with affected calm, as they approached his room.
Richard's grin was as silly as Bingley's always tended to be. "I suppose there is no harm in your noticing."
"Are you scheming for my demise - or Aunt Catherine's?"
"Hardly." Richard laughed. "Although I suppose I may resort to that if we come another year as single men."
"Hm," Darcy grunted. He stopped by his door, uncertain of how to continue.
His uncle had asked him to talk reason into his cousin, but reason had never been Darcy's weapon of choice.
His arsenal had always been padded with charm, handsome features, and ten thousand pounds a year. Most women hardly needed further convincing once he deployed aspects of all three.
If Richard was indeed incapable of being persuaded - perhaps Darcy ought to work on this Miss Elizabeth Bennet instead?
But would his cousin ever forgive him if he were to steal the heart of the woman he loved?
"Do act your best tonight, Darce," Richard warned with a teasing tone before opening his own door. "I fear my reputation is quite at stake."
Darcy smiled in false humor, and Richard promptly disappeared.
Alone once more, Darcy sighed.
He had met plenty a lady over the years - from the clawing Miss Bingleys to the shy Georgianas to the plain Miss Grahams to the most scheming debutantes. Surely, Richard's Miss Elizabeth could not be as different as his cousin claimed for her to be.
He could only hope for a swift and simple ordeal, lest he offend his cousin more than he had to.
A country miss with no fortune and little experience in town - the entire attempt ought not to last more than a day or two.
"You see, Miss Elizabeth, your friend Mrs. Collins has chosen far more wisely. It hardly stands to reason that a second daughter of an impoverished family not choose to accept the very best proposal she shall ever have the honor of receiving," Aunt Catherine savagely declared over dinner, an hour after she had fully redressed Mrs. Collins's fashion, Miss Mary Lucas's manners, and Miss Elizabeth Bennet's hair.
If the great lady had managed to raise an outstanding daughter herself, perhaps the rhetoric may yet be pardoned. Given that Anne truly had no claim at all to charm, character, or achievement, her mother's words rang ever hollow in Rosings's overly decorated hall.
"I hardly dare to disagree, Lady Catherine," Miss Elizabeth replied civilly to the great lady's highly uncivilized claims. There was a brightness to her eye that indicated humor, as if she was the one managing to tease Lady Catherine rather than the latter wielding uncouth social powers over her.
Miss Elizabeth was hardly classically beautiful. Her darker coloring denoted hours spent outdoors. Her frame was neither frail nor slim - though one could hardly call her stout. This was no woman of vanity, though her manners and attire did speak of a ladylike upbringing.
Whenever she moved, however, a spark of intention, of life, whirled around her like a breath of fresh air. She acted properly; she answered dutifully.
Yet underneath all the decorum, there seemed to run currents of mischief and a keen childlike delight.
"Of course you shall not," Aunt Catherine loudly proclaimed, triumphant in her guest's concurrence. "Young women these days - always trying to aim higher than their pedigrees. It is blasphemous, I tell you."
The majority of those present nodded mutely. Miss Elizabeth pursed her lips, as if needing to dissuade an obstinate smile.
Darcy frowned.
The woman was strange - unconventional - and utterly baffling.
"I hold no such ambitions, Lady Catherine," Miss Elizabeth stated, when she seemed to have conquered her urge to laugh, "and I most readily agree that choosing to evaluate people by their economic circumstances is a most unbecoming trait of a lady - be she young or old."
To Darcy's left, Richard nearly sputtered out his food.
Clearly, his cousin was amused.
Miss Elizabeth smiled with a lowered visage, subtly enough for Darcy to note yet just as subtly enough for Lady Catherine to miss altogether.
"Indeed," Aunt Catherine declared from the head of the table. "I dare say my Anne shall never be subjected to such hardships."
The table murmured its assent, and the meal continued in relative silence until Aunt Catherine could muster another reason to speak harshly of her supposed upstart guests.
By the end of the evening, Darcy had learned that Miss Elizabeth played poorly, spoke quickly, processed thoughts even more quickly than she spoke, and defied every expectation he had ever had of a single lady.
"Did you quite like her?" Richard asked, before the cousins retired for the night. The hopefulness in his tone perturbed Darcy somewhat.
"Miss Elizabeth is most definitely unique unto herself," Darcy replied, his hand already on his bedroom door.
Richard's bright and beaming smile yielded Darcy no comfort. "That indeed she is."
"Is that not the most interesting thing you have ever heard, Miss Elizabeth?" Richard prodded, smile bright, as their small party enjoyed their usual morning call at the Hunsford parsonage. The earl's misguided son had just finished recounting a tedious conversation from a recent family dinner - a conversation Darcy would have much rather not relive.
Miss Elizabeth's responding smile was kind and polite, if not particularly engaging. "I suppose it must have appeared so to your sister."
"Most definitely, to all of us." Richard nodded, clearly well satisfied with his own social performance, as Darcy struggled to hide his sigh.
A mere seven days in Hunsford had been enough to make it quite evident to Darcy that while Richard embraced fully the role of admirer and suitor, Miss Elizabeth did not share his enthusiasm.
Too well-bred to directly renounce his cousin, the young woman entertained his cousin patiently, almost with the indulgence of an adult towards a child. Miss Mary Lucas clearly appeared impressed, but Mrs. Collins and her more sensible friend merely exchanged knowing looks at Richard's every other childish exclamation.
Was the kindness of the son of an earl not enough to engage Miss Elizabeth's ambitions? Did she aim for higher connections, or perhaps for greater wealth?
Darcy frowned just as Richard launched into another vivid description of the most mundane activities in Matlock House.
He doubted the womenfolk desired to know how their guest argued constantly with his brother over their cook's roast beef, but Richard clearly thought the topic one of grappling interest.
Once more, Miss Elizabeth's long-suffering look reemerged.
"Is that not most remarkable, Miss Elizabeth?" Richard concluded his tale, having no qualms in exposing his very pointed preference for one of the single ladies present.
"I'm certain it must be so," the lady from Hertfordshire replied with another civil smile.
Richard beamed brightly, even pausing to give Darcy an exciting look. It was a look that Darcy could not reciprocate.
"Are you well, Mr. Darcy? You appear rather discomfited." Mrs. Collins voice pierced through the room, much like her knowing gaze tended to do.
Darcy nodded politely. "I apologize for my disengagement. I'm afraid my thoughts remain with some issues in London."
"Is everything well, sir?" Miss Elizabeth inquired. Darcy regarded her closely, particularly the way her captivating eyes seemed to exude genuine concern.
Was she playing her cards for something else? Was her interest not sparked by Richard due to his position as a second son?
Darcy cleared his throat.
"Merely matters of business," he stated with feigned arrogance, as if he spoke with the full measure of his wealth. "One cannot be too careful with one's properties. An abundance of possessions requires careful guardianship and care. It will not do to let one's accumulations fall into neglect."
"You color yourself a busy man then, Mr. Darcy."
"It is inevitable." Darcy sighed loudly. "To foster a vast fortune is as much labor as it is joy."
"I fear I do not pity you then, sir." Her reply surprised him - and earned her a reproving glance from Mrs. Collins.
"I beg your pardon, ma'am."
She smiled, eyes astute. "If it is by choice, sir, that you invest yourself thusly in your holdings, then I must admire your diligence - though I fear I do so just as much as pity your burden."
"You do not aspire to live a wealthier life, Miss Elizabeth?"
"I consider material comforts a generally desirable part of life, though hardly its goal." Her voice was level, her tone kind. She was not clawing, nor shy, nor abrasive. A week into their acquaintance, the woman remained an enigma. "One man's cross may be his poverty, another man's his wealth. I assume you only mean that you are one with the latter, sir."
Darcy paused, rather dumbfounded.
"You observe well, Miss Elizabeth."
She answered him with a small, polite smile, before resuming her conversation with the rest of the room.
Darcy remained where he had been seated all morning, not the least bit clearer on his path forward than he had been seven days ago.
A/N: Elizabeth puzzles Darcy. Serves him right!