The Houseguest A Pride and Prejudice Vagary Read Free Page A

looked up,
her blue eyes turning to saucers as she gasped and stopped playing. Elizabeth
followed her gaze, and her mouth dropped open as her eyes widened in shock at
the sight of Darcy before her.

“Brother! I did not know you had returned!”

“Only just. I heard the music and decided to come say hello.”

Elizabeth and Georgiana had risen with his entrance, and he made a quick bow as
he acknowledged Miss Bennet. The ladies curtsied in return.

“Was your journey pleasant, Brother?”

“Yes, quite uneventful. I'm afraid I have some letters to write. I'll see you
at dinner?”

At her nod, Darcy quit the room and headed to his study. He would have to sort
out this business of Elizabeth Bennet later. For now he knew he had a stack of
correspondence to deal with, and it would be rude to question Georgiana in
front of her guest; he would simply wait until Elizabeth went home to wherever
it was she was staying and then speak with Georgiana later. Surely there was an
explanation for all of this. Didn't Elizabeth have family in town? Maybe she
was visiting them and Georgiana had invited her to call; yes that made perfect
sense. That must be it.

Darcy walked behind the mahogany desk and settled in the comfortable leather
chair; he took a deep breath and stared into the fire. “Focus old man!” He
shook off his reverie and decided to delve into his work. There was a large
pile of letters in the center of the desk and he set to work organizing them
into three neat stacks: the first for business, the second for invitations, and
the third for personal correspondence. Seeing that the stack of business
letters was the smallest, he decided to start with that one first. After
writing several “odious” letters, as Miss Bingley would have called them, he
looked at his other two stacks. The stack of invitations was, as always,
precariously high and he did not have the energy to deal with it at the
moment. 

He had vaguely entertained the thought of hiring a secretary, someone to handle
his business letters and respond to invitations. But it didn’t take up that
much of his time, and invitations were only so various when he was in town,
which was only half of the year, if that, so it never seemed that necessary,
and he pushed it out of his mind. 

Darcy liked to be busy. It kept his mind engaged and focused. His father had
always told him to stay active, that idleness led to mischief and a soft mind.
His aunt, Lady Matlock, liked to remind him that if he would marry, his wife
would manage both households and all the invitations, cutting back his workload
and freeing up his time considerably. He had responded with, “So would hiring a
secretary, and would likely cost a lot less.” She had only shot him a withering
glare and moved to a new topic. 

Darcy turned to his slightly shorter stack of personal correspondence. As
usual, there was one very blotched and ill directed, obviously from Bingley,
which he decided to put aside in favor of the letter underneath which was
clearly from his sister. Odd, he had received a letter from her the day before
he left. He then noticed that it had been directed to his aunt’s estate and
then redirected to his London town home, as it had arrived on the day of his
departure from Somerset.

Breaking the familiar seal, he opened the letter and began to read.

21 January, 1812
Darcy House

London

Dear Brother,

I am sure you will be surprised to receive
this letter as you probably just received one yesterday filled with all the
latest news on my rather uneventful life and feminine education. Yet something
exciting has happened! I will not leave you in suspense, but will get straight
to the point.

As you know, I have been corresponding
regularly with Miss Elizabeth Bennet since my departure from Hertfordshire last
November. Her letters of late have led me to believe she was slightly
depressed. Upon questioning, she let me know that her sister Jane was here in
London visiting her aunt and uncle