To Conquer Mr. Darcy Read Free

Bingley married Jane Bennet, Darcy would perforce have at least occasional contact with her family, and would someday be subjected to the agony of seeing Elizabeth married to another man. He cradled his head in his hands, wondering if it were indeed possible to feel any worse than he did now.
    * * *
    Georgiana anxiously awaited the arrival of Colonel Fitzwilliam in the breakfast room the next morning, hopeful he would have some kind of information for her. When he finally arrived, she barely let him sit down before beginning her questioning. “Did he tell you anything?”
    “Good morning to you, too, Georgiana. Please, I need some sustenance before tackling difficult discussions. And I would advise against trying to talk to your brother this morning. He should have the dickens of a headache when he finally wakes up.”
    “Actually, he has been awake for some time and has already gone out.”
    He looked at her in surprise. “Where would he go at this hour of the morning?”
    Georgiana shrugged. “To see Bingley, apparently. I told him I thought it was a little early for social calls, and he said he thought it was actually rather late, whatever that may mean at seven in the morning.”
    “To see Bingley, eh? Good for him. Maybe there is hope for the boy after all.”
    Georgiana sighed dramatically. “Are you going to be mysterious as well?”
    He laughed. “Afraid so, sweetheart. I did get him to talk, but I believe that what I heard is confidential. You are going to have to trust your old Cousin Richard to take care of it this time, at least insofar as your brother allows me to help.”
    “I hate it when you treat me as if I were still only eleven,” she said with a scowl. “You can be even worse than William as far as that goes.”
    “Worse than William in what way?” asked Darcy from the doorway.
    Georgiana jumped. “Back already? Was he not at home?”
    “Oh, he was there, all right. What I had to tell him did not take long,” Darcy said grimly with a sidelong glance at his cousin.
    “I imagine that even Bingley has little to say this early in the morning.”
    “If you say so. Do you not have some business in town today, Fitzwilliam? Or even better, some that will take you very far away?”
    “William!” Georgiana cried.
    The colonel patted her hand. “No need to worry yourself, sweetheart. This is how your brother and I stay friends, now that we are too old for fistfights.”
    “Speak for yourself, cousin . Given how I feel this morning, you should feel fortunate that it is not pistols at dawn.”
    “I told you he would be grumpy, did I not?” the colonel asked Georgiana. “Never mind, I know when to retreat. It is one of the other things they teach us in the army.”
    She glanced from her brother to the colonel. “Will you be back for dinner?”
    “I expect I will have to dine with the Major General, though the very idea is enough to make me lose my appetite. I should be back in the evening.”
    “If you live that long,” grumbled Darcy.
    Colonel Fitzwilliam smiled beatifically. “Glad to know you are feeling better, Darcy.”
    As he left, Georgiana turned to Darcy. “What was that about?”
    He gave her an oblique look. The last thing he needed was a disagreement with his sister, given that she seemed to be the only person he cared about who still thought he had any redeeming features, now that Bingley had joined Colonel Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth in the ranks of those who were disgusted with him. “Ask me again when you are older—say, after your first grandchild is born.”
    “William, I worry about you,” she said softly.
    Her gentleness was more than he could handle. “I appreciate your concern, but you need not worry. If you will excuse me, I have some business I need to tend to.”
    She watched his retreating back, wondering if he would ever think her old enough to trust.
    * * *
    Contrary to his expectations, Colonel Fitzwilliam was able to return to the Darcy home by early