Cyrano ~ by Cindy

"Miss Bennet is uncommonly fine," Colonel Fitzwilliam said to his cousin as they returned to Rosings. They had called at the Hunsford parsonage, and the colonel had been much taken with Miss Bennet, a friend of Mrs. Collins whom Darcy had met the year before in Hertfordshire. Having already heard of her from his cousin, he wished to know more.

"Yes, uncommonly fine," Mr. Darcy agreed.

"She is spoken for?"

"No, she is not." He spoke rather tersely, having been surprised that the object of his constant thoughts had managed to be in Kent the same time as himself.

"We must ask Lady Catherine to invite the Collinses and their guests to dine at Rosings one evening very soon."

Darcy quite liked that idea, but he did not voice his opinion aloud. It would not do for anyone, even this cousin with whom he shared a close bond, to know of his interest in Miss Elizabeth Bennet. He did not realize he had already given much away in the telling of the Hertfordshire visit.

After that first dinner at Rosings, however, when he played witness to his cousin slavering all over Miss Bennet, and she flinging barbs in his own direction in return, Darcy knew he had to keep his cousin from poaching on what he now considered his territory. She was just as lively and full of wit as he remembered, and he would be a fool to let someone else have her.

"I wish a word with you, Fitzwilliam," he said the next morning after breakfast. The colonel was playing billiards, and Darcy had joined him in order to discuss this matter, as well as escape his aunt and Cousin Anne.

"Yes?" The colonel was only half attending. His mind was partially on the game and partially on a particularly fine pair of dark eyes, ones that had sparkled with humor the evening before.

"I must confess that I have developed a tendre for Miss Bennet," Mr. Darcy continued, "and I require your assistance."

The colonel, lining up a shot, almost ripped his billiard cue into the green baize table before him. He recovered quickly enough, however, and gave his cousin his most winning smile.

"Indeed, Darcy! It is about time you found yourself a young lady." A dashed fine young lady...

"But you heard how she spoke to me last evening! I cannot imagine how to go about reversing that opinion."

"You're a smart fellow, Darcy, surely you can think of some way to gain the young lady’s attention."

"I have her attention," Mr. Darcy dryly replied. "I was hoping for her affection."

The colonel sighed and put down his cue.

"Just tell her how you feel. Plain speaking was ever your forte, and it seems to suit the lady, as well."

"But I don’t know what to say." Mr. Darcy began to pace the room, stopping only to pick up a billiard ball and toss it from hand to hand. "You must help me. I have seen you with ladies and cannot discern a lack of courtly phrases and witticisms when you are with them. Or perhaps, like our aunt’s clergyman, you keep a ready supply on hand and dredge them up when they are suitable?"

The colonel laughed. "Mr. Collins is an ass, but as long as Lady Catherine wishes to keep him toadying for her favor, what can we say?"

"What to say – that is my predicament."

"I doubt Miss Bennet would wish to be showered with flowery compliments."

"Especially by myself," Mr. Darcy grumbled.

"That will teach you to insult ladies within earshot before discovering if they have more hair than wit. But listen up, cousin. Mrs. Collins has told our aunt that Miss Bennet enjoys a good ramble, and Aunt Catherine has suggested the park as a safe place to wander. You could conspire to meet her there. Today."

"Today?" Mr. Darcy frowned. "But letters have arrived from Pemberley, and I must write to Georgiana in London…"

"And all that may be handled with some dispatch either now or before dinner," the colonel said. He went back to lining up his shot, but not before frowning at Darcy and indicating that the ball he held should be returned to the table.

"This is true. Perhaps…"

"Yes?" The colonel looked up from the table.

"Perhaps you could tell me what to say." Mr. Darcy began to pace again, worried he would inadvertently say the wrong thing to the lady, not realizing everything he said was anathema to her.

"First, you must appear as if by chance. As if you take a stroll in the park every day, and she is intruding on you. Oh, not in a condescending manner, Darcy!" he exclaimed upon seeing the look of horror crossing his cousin’s face. "I daresay you’ve done enough damage in that quarter already."

Mr. Darcy flushed to the roots of his dark hair. "Is it that obvious?"

The colonel shrugged. "I doubt even our aunt could detect your preference, which is probably just as well, as you are promised to Anne."

"I do not need a reminder of that," Mr. Darcy said stiffly. "All the more reason to spike her guns. So I will walk in the park and act as if we met by chance?"

"Yes. Then strike up a conversation. Ask how she is enjoying the area."

"Ask her…"

"Surely you can do that, Darcy. I’ve not known you to be shy around women."

"Women, no. Miss Bennet…"

To her dismay, he fell into step with her and began to ask how she liked Kent. She replied that she liked it well enough, and then was silent, hoping he would take the hint and trouble her no more. Alas, it was not to be. Instead of acknowledging the awkwardness of the situation and excusing himself, he actually continued on in her company.

"This is one of my favorite haunts," she hinted at one point, but he was not to be deterred. She tried to concentrate on the bird song about her, or the way the sunlight danced in and out of the thickly-shaded park, but still he remained, quietly, by her side.

"You enjoy a solitary walk, I presume?"

Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically. He comprehended her silent message at last.

"Solitary," she stressed, but still Mr. Darcy would not go away.

In fact, he saw her to the parsonage and then headed to Rosings, where he was met by the colonel, eager to hear of his cousin’s rendezvous. Mr. Darcy had to wonder at his cousin’s questioning. Was the colonel more interested in himself or his companion?

"What did she say?" the military man demanded, pulling Mr. Darcy into a small parlor where they could speak in private. "What was she wearing? You were out there with her a long while…"

"She said she liked solitary walks, she had on a straw bonnet and a blue spencer, and she wore a light-colored gown underneath." Her dark eyes glittered with dislike and her mouth was like a prim little rosebud, he recalled.

"What did you talk about?"

"I asked how she liked Kent."

"Just like that? That was all?"

"Yes, of course. It was your suggestion," he said defensively when the colonel shook his head.

"Darcy, when I suggested that, I meant inserting it casually in the conversation, not make it the entire conversation."

Mr. Darcy turned red. "I told you I cannot speak to Miss Bennet without saying the wrong words. It is a great struggle."

"We shall have to think of something else…"

The colonel hit upon the very idea the next evening at dinner. The Hunsford party had been invited to dine once more, and again he found himself captivated by the lively Miss Bennet. Not only did he admire her person, he approved of her continued friendship with Mrs. Collins and he respected the way she refused to toady to his aunt.

He was mildly curious as to how Mrs. Collins had come to be wed to her obnoxious husband, and asked Darcy if he knew.

Darcy denied knowing how it all came about, admitting he had left Hertfordshire almost immediately after Bingley’s ball.

"Ah, yes – when you said you needed to pry Bingley from the clutches of Miss Bennet’s predatory elder sister," he had said with a laugh.

"The eldest Miss Bennet may not be as grasping as I have depicted her in earlier correspondence, Fitzwilliam, but neither did she show a marked partiality for my friend."

"If she is as open as her sister, I am surprised you did not detect a preference."

"Miss Jane Bennet is a quiet, reserved young lady, a far cry from the outspokenness of Miss Elizabeth. Or the raucousness of the youngest sisters, for that matter."

The colonel would have liked to have discussed Miss Jane Bennet further, but doubted the topic would sit well with the Miss Bennet currently residing in the parsonage. He gave Darcy another suggestion instead.

"Why not ask Miss Bennet how the marriage between her cousin and his wife came to be? Coming from you it will appear as if you are interested in her home and family, and should provide a stepping-off place for other conversation."

Darcy sighed. "I shall try."

If Elizabeth was surprised previously by the attention of Mr. Darcy on her walk, she was even more so the next time he joined her. Not only did he offer formal greetings as he strolled by her side, but he asked how she found life at the parsonage.

"Well enough," was her short reply.

"And this marriage between your friend and your cousin. It meets with your approval?"

Her expression said that was none of his business, but she answered just the same.

"It was Mrs. Collins’ decision, sir, and not mine…"

"But do you think her truly happy?"

"What brings happiness to one person might not be the ideal of someone else, Mr. Darcy."

She was pleased when he did not seem to have a reply, but once again, he stayed with her until the house was in sight.

"I don’t believe Miss Bennet enjoys my company," Mr. Darcy admitted. He and his cousin were once again in the billiard room.

"Perhaps the lady prefers another?"

Mr. Darcy looked at the colonel in a new light, refusing to think of Wickham in connection to Miss Bennet. "You?"

The colonel had the grace to blush. "I could only wish it were so. I am, as you know, doomed to marry for money, and dark-eyed chits without a feather to fly with are not to be considered."

"But if you had the funds… I do believe you would cut out your own cousin!" Mr. Darcy exclaimed.

"I would not!" The colonel threw his cue down with a loud crack. "Have I not supported you in this courtship attempt? Have I not made suggestions as how to engage her in conversation?"

"To what purpose?" Mr. Darcy wondered. "To deliberately lessen my chances with the lady?"

"Are you accusing me of such a dishonorable action as sabotage, sir?" the colonel demanded.

"If the boot fits…"

"I do not have to stand here and listen to this – from my own cousin, no less." He stalked from the room in high dudgeon and Mr. Darcy was left with only one topic for his afternoon walk with Miss Bennet. And in the meantime, he had much to resolve in his own heart where it concerned the lady.

Elizabeth had a peculiar thought as she met Mr. Darcy a third time in the park. His questions were rather odd – disjointed, even. That day he spoke of Rosings and how she would prefer the luxury of staying there when she next came to Kent. He assured her she would find her way about his aunt’s mausoleum in no time.

What did he mean? The only way she would be a guest at Rosings were if she were married to one of Lady Catherine’s family. In her mind, that could only mean Mr. Darcy or Colonel Fitzwilliam. Both were impossible – Mr. Darcy because of his dealings with Mr. Wickham, and the colonel because it was unlikely the gentleman would offer. She could only guess as to his financial status, but was sure it was nothing compared to Mr. Darcy.

The entire situation flustered her in the extreme, and she was pleased when they eventually reached the parsonage.

The colonel sent word down before dinner that he was too ill to join the family. In truth, he was still angry with Darcy’s insinuations. Demanding satisfaction was out of the question, but there was more than one way to seek revenge.

There was the little matter of Darcy’s involvement in Mr. Bingley’s courtship of Miss Bennet’s sister. Miss Bennet would no doubt be interested in knowing the real reason the Bingleys left Netherfield…