Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A Tale of a Gentleman and an Officer

“I hope they are in good health. That isn’t the problem about which Charles means to talk, I hope?” Why ever would Jane be in London, seeing doctors, without Charles? Apprehension brought Darcy forward on his seat. If anything were to happen to her beloved sister Jane, Elizabeth would be devastated.

“Oh heavens, not in the least. She and the child are visiting her aunt and uncle Gardiner. Please calm yourself. Charles will join her there shortly. She is doing splendidly, and so is the little one.”

Relieved, Darcy rested back again in the chair, fumbling for his pocket watch and instead finding the locket Lizzy had slipped inside. The feel and look of it was familiar and an immediate comfort to him, bringing a quick grin to his face. Lizzy knew him so well. The locket had been given to her when she was a small child by her mother, and it meant the world to her. It contained some of Lizzy’s first baby locks. What a conniver she had become! Well, maybe I can find out what’s wrong and have my solicitor take over the problem. I can send off a message to Hastings & Griggs tomorrow and then leave early Friday morning, back home by the afternoon. Thirty miles is not a great distance. That thought brought back a vivid remembrance of one of his and Lizzy’s early battles, that long year before they wed, and in particular, his opinion that the thirty miles between Rosings Park and her parent’s home, Longbourn, were not nearly enough. He winced with the memory. God but he had been insufferably arrogant with her in those days.

“Do you know what Charles was contacting me about?” Darcy asked finally, replacing the locket in his pocket.

“I haven’t a clue. He doesn’t share his personal information with me, and I don’t share my private, personal life with him.”

The hairs on the back of his neck stood in alarm, and his eyes glanced up quickly as Caroline advanced toward him with his tea. He tried in vain to deflect his vision from the exposed mass of white flesh bouncing toward him. Her low-cut gown, though perfectly in fashion, left nothing to the imagination. Nothing about Caroline was left to the imagination.

Suddenly, the immense parlor seemed too small to contain them both. In panic, Darcy began to rise, but she pressed his shoulder, encouraging him to sit back and relax. Her breast just slightly skimmed his ear as she leaned across him to pour cream into his cup. “Let me service you, sir,” she whispered. “It’s not often I have the opportunity to please a man as handsome as yourself.” Deep cleavage loomed before him.

Elizabeth will rip my head off. His thoughts were calm, his castration inescapable.

“You will stay for dinner, won’t you?” Caroline continued as she settled back into her chair. Darcy was squirming in her presence, and his reaction thrilled her. It was, after all, a reaction she was completely expecting. She could afford to go slowly now; they had all night. “Hopefully, Charles will be home by then. He must be mortified to have had to leave like this; he’s such a kind soul and would be devastated if he thought he had offended you in any way. Pray, do not become angry with him over this and storm off.”

“No, of course not, Caroline. Charles is the finest of friends. I don’t mind in the least.” His hand clutched Lizzy’s locket.

“What do you hide in your pocket, by the way? I am intrigued by what little I have seen as you keep returning to it over and over. Is it some extravagant watch fob you’ve purchased? A diamond stickpin, perhaps, or a pearl? I do adore pearls.”

“Far from it, Caroline.” He held the locket loosely in his hand, the chain dangling. “As you can see, it is a very simple, inexpensive locket.” She reached out her hand, and he reluctantly placed it there. “It is my wife’s,” he said meaningfully.

“A child’s heart locket, with a cutting of hair. How quaint.” Her lip curled as she swiftly assessed what little monetary value it held. Smiling politely, she turned the locket over and over in her hand and then returned it to him.

***

It was seven o’clock in the evening, and Charles had still not returned, so Caroline called for the dinner to be served. They ate a delicious meal and talked of old friends and common acquaintances. Caroline could be a very warm and charming companion when it served her purpose, and she had many humorous stories of Carlton House escapades. A gracious hostess, she frequently signaled for the wineglasses to be refilled.

“Caroline, this has been a very pleasant evening, but I am growing concerned about Charles. I hope nothing’s happened to him on the road.”