Vampire and Prejudice

Chapter 21 - Darcy

I was the cause for much desperation for Mr. Lamb. My rapid decline was suddenly cured, and I dutifully drank down all the red glasses of sustenance offered to me. On his instruction, I was not to think of traveling before I regained my strength and to that end I positively gorged myself on blood—I had a glass in the morning, in the afternoon and before bed. My recovery was speedy, but Mr. Lamb walked around with a furrowed brow, thinking it perhaps another symptom. I knew I should confess the true facts of the situation to my physician, but I stayed silent, nursing my newfound hopes for happiness.

Miss Elizabeth was not wed.

Miss Elizabeth was at Rosings.

Miss Elizabeth was perfectly within my reach and could not escape me. Nor was I prevented from paying her as much attention as I pleased for fear of retaliation from Miss Bingley or nasty gossip sprouting around.

Mr. Lamb insisted that though I was recovered and seemed well enough for now, that I should take a companion who would keep an eye on me. The notion was irritating. I was not a child to be looked after at social functions, but ignoring his advice could not work in my favor. I had promised before the assembly of my peers to always follow the instructions of my physician on matters such as these, and it would be bad form to break with it now.

Taking Bingley was out of the question. He was still sullen, even with all diversions of town at his feet, and I had no patience with his broken heart while mine was singing with joy. But London was a big place that accommodated many of my friends and I could have my pick. The perfect nursemaid materialized in my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. He was free to accompany me and would not demure much in the presence of my grand aunt.

Lady Catherine was undoubtedly in for a surprise, but had she not begged me to come for some time now? We sometimes met in London, and she liked to keep in contact with influential people, but her object in asking me to Rosings was of a different nature—Lady Catherine was eager for me to take ownership of her daughter. A decades old scheme which had somewhat failed, seeing as I had no father and mother to influence me in my decision. I was my own master and was resolved not to make Anne my mistress.

It would have been a perfectly prudent marriage with many benefits. My heart was not in it, of course, and neither was hers, but those considerations were immaterial. We were both rich and well connected, and little else mattered in the eyes of Lady Catherine, who would like nothing else than to combine our wealth. Unfortunately, I did not need a wife. For a vampire, one was not required since there was very little chance of me dying without an heir. I would always be there to look after Pemberley and fulfill every duty that position required of me in perpetuity. Besides, Anne would make a poor vampire. That was a truth Lady Catherine did not want to hear, but in a few decades, her views on the matter would be of no consequence.

Seeing Elizabeth again after many months of agony was like staring into the sun. It was undoubtedly ill-advised, but I would rather go blind than stop. If anyone noticed I had a particular favorite in the group, nobody marked upon it. Well, nobody except Fitzwilliam.

"She is a pretty little thing, I'll give you that," he said on our way to Hunsford Parsonage. It irritated me to hear Elizabeth called pretty—a poor description of all that she encompassed.

"It is not for you to give or withhold," I returned. "You are free, however, to enjoy her smiles and fear nothing from me."

"You are nothing if not generous." Fitzwilliam laughed. "She did smile more at me than at you, and perhaps in time you will feel you must reconsider your position."

Fitzwilliam was older than me, but only by a few years. My face bore nothing of that truth, and I was convinced that I was the more handsome of the two of us to begin with. It would be poor manners to point that out.