Paxton shook his hand. "Welcome to Hillington Hall. Lord Huntingdon."
Edward smiled warmly. "A pleasure to see you again, Paxton, but I no longer use either the title or family name. Captain Edward Huntingdon, at your service." Darcy noticed that he bowed like a soldier now, heels clicking together.
"You are welcome by whatever name you choose," said Paxton. "Do sit down, and let me order some refreshments."
Darcy still could not believe Edward was actually there. "You are clearly much improved to be travelling and walking."
"Far better than I was two months ago. The surgeon is very pleased with himself." Edward peered at Darcy's face. "And you - have you been brawling?" he asked with disbelief.
Darcy rubbed his chin. It must be starting to bruise. "I am afraid so. Carlisle came out worse than I did, though."
"Which Carlisle?" asked Edward with interest.
"Your brother Charles. I am sorry to say he has not improved in your absence. And it is a long story as to why we fought," said Darcy. "Edward, while I am beyond pleased to see you, what on earth brings you here of all places? I thought you planned to go straight to Pemberley."
"I am grateful for your offer of refuge there, and I intend to take advantage of it, at least temporarily." Edward spoke with a confidence he had lacked four years earlier.
"However, there have been some changes in my plans, and it does not suit me to skulk around England as if I had no right here, hiding my presence from my family, so I decided to come to Bentham Park and face my father directly. I stopped here first in hope of finding you, since I do not imagine my conversation with my father will be lengthy. Then I shall go to an inn for the night, and on to Pemberley tomorrow."
"You are welcome to stay here tonight," said Paxton. "Since I already have your sister and your grandmother here, one more Carlisle would be no trouble."
"My sister? Darcy, you said in your letter that no one from my family ever sets foot here. I thought no one would know if I came here first."
"Yesterday at this time, that would have been true," said Paxton. "Today is the exception. Lord Charles has already been and gone, and the Dowager Marchioness and Lady Eleanor are upstairs."
Edward raised his eyebrows. "A party? What is the occasion? It cannot be in my honor, since no one knew I was arriving."
Darcy said, "Your family is in an uproar. Eleanor has fled Bentham, and your grandmother is here to chaperone her and to protect her from your father's wrath. Lord Bentham is not yet furious with me, but he will be soon; and Charles has come within an inch of challenging me three times in the last two days."
"Good Lord! I do have fine timing in coming home for a visit."
"To say the least!" Darcy said.
Paxton handed him a glass of wine. "I was planning to meet with your father later today. Perhaps I should delay my visit to your father until after yours, though, since he will be in a ferocious temper after seeing me. You might prefer to go to Bentham first while he is still in a good humor."
"What I have to tell him will anger him as well," Darcy said. "On the bright side, it would be embarrassing for him to expel all three of us in one day."
Edward snorted. "This sounds ominous."
"It is," Darcy said. "Your father has demanded that I marry your sister. I am going to tell him that I refuse."
Paxton said, "Then I will make matters worse by telling him that I intend to marry her, whether it pleases him or not - and I know it does not."
"Marry her? I cannot believe that my sister is old enough to marry anyone. She was not even out yet when I left. And why is she here?"
Paxton grinned. "A great deal has happened recently." Briefly he recounted the events of the previous evening. "So now both your sister and grandmother are in residence here; and perhaps equally important to you - speaking as one racer to another - there is a pair of horses in the stable that I daresay you have missed."
His eyes alight, Edward exclaimed, "The greys are here? Where are the stables?" He rose to his feet, looking around him as if he might find horse stalls in the corners of the sitting room.
Darcy offered to take him to the stables. Paxton chose to stay behind, thoughtfully giving them some privacy. If Edward's leg was troubling him, it was not apparent in the pace he kept on the way to the stables. "Take care, though; the stable master here protects those horses as if they were the crown jewels," Darcy said.
"And well he should! They are the crown jewels, as far as I am concerned," said Edward.
It was dark inside the stables after the bright sunlight outside, but Darcy had no difficulty finding the proper stalls. With a smile, he stepped back to let Edward through.
Edward's face lit with joy as he entered the stall. Argent lifted his head and whickered eagerly, his ears pricked forward. Silver whinnied in the adjoining stall, dancing in place, quite unlike the exquisitely trained creature he was.
"Oh, my beauties," said Edward, his voice a bit unsteady, as he reached a hand around the horse's neck. Silver turned his head to nuzzle Edward's ear, while Argent leaned over the barrier between the stalls to nibble at his shoulder. "My sweet beauties." The stable master tromped over to Darcy. "What is all this?" he demanded.
Darcy gestured toward Edward. "That is my cousin, who raised and trained them. He has not seen them these four years while he was in the war." The stable master peered inside the stall, then turned back to Darcy. "You should ha' told me they was the Viscount's horses," he said reproachfully.
Darcy hid a smile. "I did not realize it would matter."
"Oh, everybody knows 'bout his lordship and his horses. Should ha' been born with four hooves, that one."
From between the horses, Edward said mildly, "I heard that."
"And I'd wager it's not the first time you heard it. milord." the stable master said with a laugh.
Darcy cleared his throat. "My cousin does not wish anyone to know he is back yet. He is Mr. Huntingdon to you."
The stable master gave him a look that said he might as well have suggested pretending that the king was a beggar. In a low voice, he said, "Don't you worry. Nobody round here ever believed any o' those stories about his lordship."
"Good," Darcy said, though he was not certain what the man was talking about. Surely the locals would not have heard that ridiculous story about cheating!
Edward had found a brush and was combing Silver's flanks. "Not that he needs it," he said apologetically to the stable master. "Their coats are in beautiful condition. It has just been so long since I could do it."
A quarter hour passed before Edward could tear himself away from his most prized possessions. "I suppose I ought to see my sister and grandmother as well. They would not be pleased to discover that I gave precedence to the greys!" When he thanked the stable master for his excellent care of the greys, Darcy could have sworn the man was glowing with pride.
On their return to the house, Darcy took him upstairs, then knocked on the half-open door of the bedroom. "Lady Eleanor, are you fit to receive visitors? There is someone here who wishes to see you."
Elizabeth came to the door and opened it fully. "Visitors are quite welcome. Eleanor is exceedingly bored of lying in bed." She cast a puzzled look at Edward, but held the door for him.
Darcy leaned down toward her, relishing the scent of lavender in her hair. "Viscount Huntingdon," he said quietly.
"Edward!" cried Eleanor. "Is it really you?"
It was a happy reunion, with tears of joy on the part of the astonished ladies. Elizabeth had to work at convincing Eleanor to remain still to avoid injuring herself further.
The Dowager Marchioness brought an end to the commotion. "Oddly enough. Edward, we were just speaking of you. I am very glad you are here, as we made a rather confusing discovery this morning." Darcy stepped in at this point, having some idea how Edward was likely to take this news. "You are not going to like this, Edward. In fact, I suggest that you and I discuss it in private."
"Nonsense," said the dowag
er. "We are his family."
"You are the ladies of his family," Darcy said. "This is as vile an insult as can be leveled at one gentleman by another."
Edward's eyes narrowed. "I think you had best tell me about this straight away."
"Very well." Darcy took a deep breath. "We discovered quite by accident this morning that your family has a different view of the events that led up to your duel. In short, they were told that you had, in fact, cheated in the race."
"What?" Edward exploded, jumping up from his chair. "And they believed it? This is unforgiveable! Who else believes this? I must know."
Darcy said soothingly, "I can assure you that none of my acquaintances believe it, and when the subject has come up at the club, everyone seems to think Piper was an idiot not to realize you simply had the faster team. There has never been the least hint that anyone believed his assertions. I cannot begin to guess how your family came to their own conclusion."
"I can tell you one thing, which is that I will never forgive any of them for believing it! That my own father could think me a cheat!"
The dowager said, "We all believed it, Edward. At first I said it was utter nonsense, but when your father kept saying it was true, I could think of no reason why he would keep repeating it unless it were true. Which of us should have argued with your father, who should know best about these things?"
Edward did not even look at her, instead pacing the room, shaking his head from time to time. His hands clenched and then stretched as if unable to remain still.
"I cannot forgive myself for failing to ask more questions," Darcy said. "Your family's reaction to the duel did not make sense, but it never crossed my mind that they could believe Piper's lies."
"I am the one who should have realized there was a problem. But my father still should have known better, and I will not forgive him for it quickly. It has been a very long four years." Edward rubbed his injured leg.
"The question is how your father came to believe this," the dowager said. "He would not have come to this conclusion on his own, so someone must have told him. But who and why?"
Darcy had been waiting for this moment. "Your brother Charles is the obvious culprit. He stood to benefit most from your disappearance, and Piper was a friend of his."
Eleanor burst out. "Charles would not do that. He is too cavalier about other people's lives, but he is not malicious."
"He stood to benefit, certainly," said the dowager slowly. "But Charles took Edward's absence badly. That was when his reckless behavior began."
Edward tapped his fingers on his knee. "Has he tried to step into my place?"
The dowager huffed in annoyance. "I cannot tell you one way or the other. I am not welcome at Bentham Park these days, and anything I learn comes from other sources."
Frowning, Edward said, "I do not understand. Why would you be unwelcome? It is your home!"
"No longer. Your stepmother and I are not meant to live in the same house. She managed to make my time there sufficiently unpleasant that I preferred to establish my own household."
"But if neither I nor you are there, who counsels my father? Charles?"
"She does," said Eleanor bitterly. "Charles as well, I suppose, but he is so rarely there, and he has his own quarters in London. And he has not tried to take on your titles, or to be declared heir."
Elizabeth spoke for the first time. "It is none of my concern, of course, but Lord Charles told me recently that, although he felt he had no choice but to accept your father's verdict, he still could not believe in his heart that you would ever cheat. Pardon me if I am speaking out of turn, but I thought you might wish to know."
Edward turned to her with a puzzled look. After a pause, he said, "Do I know you?"
Eleanor said quickly, "My apologies. Pray allow me to introduce my dear friend, Miss Bennet."
With a curtsey, Elizabeth said, "We last met some twelve years ago, on which occasion I helped Eleanor put crickets in your bed."
Edward laughed. "Well met, Miss Bennet. I can think of no one whom I would rather have put crickets in my bed."
Darcy had heard quite enough of Carlisle men flirting with Elizabeth. Placing his hand over hers, he said with an edge of warning, "And, as of two hours ago, she is also my betrothed."
"Lizzy, you wretch!" cried Eleanor before anyone could offer their congratulations. "Why did you not tell me?"
Elizabeth looked up at Darcy with dancing eyes. "The circumstances were somewhat informal. I thought perhaps I should wait for an actual proposal - and an actual response - before I said anything."
He leaned down until his lips almost touched the tempting flesh of her ear. "Miss Bennet, you wicked little minx, will you do me the great honor of agreeing to be my wife, preferably before you drive me into utter madness? Or must I carry you off and make love to you until you agree?" Tired of denying himself, he brushed his lips against the shell of her ear, and was exhilarated by her quick intake of breath.
Her eyes widened, but her look was one of mock seriousness. "Must I decide between the two options? They both sound quite appealing."
All the blood left his head and rushed to his loins. By God, if there were no onlookers, he would... no, best not to consider what he would do. Instead, he laughed at how neatly she had turned his teasing back on him. "Be warned; that counts as an acceptance," he said softly. At her smile, he turned to the others. "Very well. Now we are formally engaged."
Eleanor and the dowager congratulated them, followed by Edward, who still had a preoccupied look. Concerned for him, Darcy turned the discussion back to the previous subject, although he kept his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, his thumb delicately exploring her back, where no one could see it. Elizabeth could feel it, though - he could tell by her flushed cheeks and quick breaths.
Forcing his attention back to Edward, Darcy said, "We should ask your father where his information came from."
"There is no need." Edward said levelly. "I already know who did it. There is only one person with both the motive and the means."
"Who?" Eleanor demanded.
Edward hesitated, as if unsure whether he should divulge the information. "His wife," he said, with finality. "She can concoct a convincing story, and she is the one who stood to benefit from a breach between my father and me."
The room was eerily silent, then the dowager began to nod slowly. "Just as she benefitted from separating me from my son. I thought she just hated my dogs."
"But why..." Eleanor began.
Edward returned to pacing. "She knew I disliked her. She had first set out to entrap me, and I had no patience for her or any other fortune-hunter. I especially did not like the way she used Charles to reach me. The final straw came after she married my father, when she began keeping company with that damned fop Deyncourt. I confronted her and told her to end it, and if she did not. I would tell my father. She must have seen the duel as an opportunity to rid herself of me, and she made the most of it."
Eleanor's head had shot up. "What is this about Lord Deyncourt?"
Edward looked away as if he were suddenly uncomfortable. "It is nothing of any importance," he said stiffly.
"It is important to me!" exclaimed Eleanor. "Father wants to make me marry him."
Her brother swore softly, then said, "I can guess whose idea that was. You need not worry, Eleanor - one way or another, you will not marry that man. I will make certain of it."
"But why do you object to him?" Eleanor asked.
Edward stared at his boots, saying nothing. Finally, Elizabeth rose and whispered something in Eleanor's ear.
"No!" cried Eleanor, her face a study in horror.
"Are you certain?"
"Lord Charles sounded certain, and I suspect that is why he sought so hard to arrange a different marriage for you." Elizabeth glanced back over her shoulder at Darcy.
Suddenly Charles's insistence on Darcy's engagement to Eleanor too on a different light in his mind. Most likely Lord Bentham would not agree to end
the arrangement with Deyncourt unless there was a marriage he wanted more; and for whatever reason, he did seem to want to increase ties to Darcy. Charles must have thought his presence a godsend. It did not excuse his behavior, but at least it made some sense of it.
"Miss Bennet," the dowager said sharply. She cocked a finger to beckon Elizabeth closer.
With an amused look, Elizabeth repeated the process of whispering. The dowager's lips tightened, and then she stood, the tip of her cane hitting the floor with a distinct thump. "That is quite enough. Edward, you need not confront your father about this, because you may be certain I will take great pleasure in doing so myself!"
"No," Edward said. "I must think this through and decide how to proceed."
Symons appeared in the doorway, his lips pursed in disapproval. "Lady Mary Huggins is calling. She is asking for..." He paused, then sighed heavily, as if this were too painful to speak. "For anyone who wishes to see her."
Hiding a smile, Elizabeth rose. "I imagine she is here to see either Eleanor or me. I will go down." But before she could leave the room, Edward moved ahead of her, hurrying out the door without a word. The sound of his footsteps pounding down the stairs echoed behind him. After a puzzled glance at the others, Elizabeth followed him at a more sedate pace. Darcy caught up with her in several long strides. "I wonder what that was about," he said.
"I have no idea!" She halted on the landing where the stairs turned to face the hall. At the foot of the stairs stood Edward, wrapped in a passionate embrace with Lady Mary. Her cheeks burning, Elizabeth turned away from the spectacle and began to mount the stairs again. "I think we had best go back up, then come down making a great deal more noise," she whispered.
Darcy stopped her by catching her wrist. "I prefer Edward's idea."
Before Elizabeth could even comprehend his meaning, Darcy's arms were around her, sweeping her to him, his mouth descending on hers. Taken by surprise, she was overpowered by the exhilarating sensation of being engulfed in his embrace, her entire body pressed along the length of his. It was a heady pleasure far beyond any kiss in a carriage could be, and it made her forget where they were and who might come upon them at any moment. And his kiss - it seduced her and left her wanting more. Her hands slid around his neck to pull him closer as she moaned her pleasure.