by Maggie Way
After they separated, Anne flung an arm around his shoulder and leaned in. “You, me, and some beers, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“If it’s anything like that time you went to Ireland, perhaps it’s best you not share.” He nudged her with his shoulder.
“Ah, Ireland. And the sublimely perfect Ollie.” She sighed happily.
“I thought you said his name was Seamus.”
Anne pulled away, pushed up her sleeve and scratched at a raw, red-welted area, surrounding by rough patchy, scarred skin.
Bill averted his eyes because he knew Anne was self-conscious, knew she hated everything about the fact that she had eczema. Not that Bill was convinced that was Anne’s real issue. All the money in the world and no successful treatment could be had.
Lady Catherine stepped close to them. “This is quite the reunion. Perhaps we should have come in a day early so as to do this in private.”
“You know you love the attention, Mother,” Anne said.
“What I would love would be a grandchild.” Lady Catherine swung her focus to him. “Any chance that’s a possibility, William?”
Marriage was their one bone of contention. She wanted him to do it yesterday, and he wasn’t sure he’d do it ever. He shook his head. “Illegitimate children. Hmm. Don’t think that’s a wise move for someone in my profession.”
Anne tossed back her head and laughed.
“Shall we take this back to the conference room?” He gestured toward the inner offices. Hoping to change the subject and deflect the interest away from him.
“Anne, where’s your cousin?” Lady Catherine asked.
She flicked her hand toward the Colonel. “Really, Mother, perhaps you should get your prescription checked.”
Lady Catherine stared down her nose at her daughter.
Anne sighed. “He’s still outside on the phone. Probably complaining about being here… Well. You know.” She widened her eyes and then moved to the door and pushed it open.
“Your presence is requested,” she said to someone they couldn’t see. Bill had spent time with Darcy off and on as they were growing up. Though, while he and Anne had run roughshod over the property, Darcy had been more inclined to fish in the lake or read by a tree.
Anne gave an exaggerated, beckoning wave then stepped away from the door, holding it open with an extended arm. She sighed heavily, rolled her eyes, and then stepped away, preceding him.
“Here he is, Mother. The Prodigal Son.” Anne did a flourish of hand gestures as she presented Darcy. He was like Bill remembered—tall, dark, and reserved.
“William.” Bill stepped forward, hand extended.
“Bill. Good to see you again.” They did a brief shake
“You as well. How’s Georgiana?” Around William Darcy, Bill felt the need to stand with his hands on his hips and feet wide apart. Much like Darcy did. He was also overcome with the urge to make a fire from rubbing sticks together and camp. Without a tent. Darcy was, in Bill’s estimation, more a man’s man than he was. Of course, Bill was more a people’s man. Equal opportunity, God created everyone equal, and all that. But next to Darcy, it was hard for anyone to feel equal. He made quite the impression; his physique was a large presence in the room without him so much as having to say a word.
“She’s doing well.”
“I’m told she’s planning a gap year.”
Darcy shook his head. “Not if I can help it.” He deadpanned.
Bill smiled. “I’ll add it to my prayers.”
Darcy grunted in a way that Bill knew was a laugh. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Bill turned to the others and clasped his hands together. “Now that we are all here, let me make the introductions and then we shall take this to the conference room.”
Elizabeth couldn’t believe her eyes. It was the odd man she’d nearly ran down this morning. Clearly his impersonation of a statue was not because the hour was early, the view beautiful, or the coffee contributing to a transcendental state. No, this man was a stiff. His laughter a short one-syllable sound. If one could count a grunt as a laugh.
“Allow me to present my cousins, Miss Jane Bennet and Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
Ack! She hated that he prefaced the introduction with the fact that they were cousins. It felt incongruous with the professionalism he professed to desire.
Bill stood next to Jane and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Meryton Matchmakers was their brainchild, and I must say they do a wonderful job with it.”
Lady Catherine snorted.
“May I introduce Mr. William Darcy,” Bill said.
“My cousin,” added Anne quietly.
Jane took a small step forward but didn’t extend her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Darcy.”
He nodded. “You as well, Miss Bennet.”
His attention swung to Elizabeth’s, and the distant looks she’d seen in his eyes earlier remained.
“We’ve met,” Elizabeth said and continued when Jane gave a puzzled expression. “This morning when I was out for a run. Mr. Darcy was outside Lottie’s.”
He nodded, offering no further explanation to her story. There was no gentle teasing about their earlier encounter. No ease that came with the beginnings of a familiarity. Nope. There was a force field around Darcy that’s sole purpose was to keep people away.
Maybe it was the electric pulse from said force field playing havoc with cameras, which would explain why his pictures were the way they were. And if one were to be honest—Elizabeth prided herself on being honest—she was glad the pictures were blurry. Had they been clear she might have, on occasion mind you, fantasized about the mysterious man. He was very striking in a rugged outdoorsy way. As it was, the state of his pictures allowed her to have little opinion, and their run-in today was all the first impression she needed. Thinking he was an impersonal stiff helped her cleave tightly to her bubbling anger. If this granite man were going to put her out of business, it would not do for her to be swoony.
“Let’s take this into the conference room.” Bill held open the glass door and Jane led the way. As it would happen, Darcy fell in line next to Elizabeth but said nothing. As they approached the conference room, they passed Mary and Lydia’s office. Jane motioned to someone inside to join the group, and Elizabeth assumed it was Mary.
Sure enough her sister burst through the door, notepads clenched in her arms, and careened right into the Colonel.
“Oomph,” he said and caught her.
“Holy Lord,” she cried, “take me.” She stared up at him, her eyes wide.
“I’m sorry?” Fitzwilliam asked.
“I mean, how embarrassing. I’m sorry to nearly run you down.” She was still being held up by his grip on both her shoulders.
“You want me to take you somewhere?”
Elizabeth heard the laughter in his tone.
“Actually, I wanted the Lord to open up a hole and take me away from here. I meant to think it. Not say it.” Mary batted her lashes several times. Elizabeth stepped closer.
“I’m Henry.”
“Mary.” She sighed wistfully.
“Mary,” Elizabeth said, hoping to draw her stare away from the Colonel and back to her job. Maybe she could snap her out of what had come over her.
“I’m going to let you go. You steady?”
“Mm-hm.” Mary nodded.
One hand at a time he released her shoulders. Mary swayed toward him a bit but stayed upright.
Henry stepped away, and Elizabeth moved to stand in front of Mary.
“Ready?” She tried to convey with her eyes that Mary needed to snap out of it. Elizabeth was aware of Lady Catherine’s presence and her repeated sighs and harrumphs.
Mary, still captivated by Henry, murmured, “Sure, sure. I’m ready.” She nodded for emphasis.
They continued into the conference room, and when Henry sat next to Mary, she giggled. Elizabeth and Jane shared a look. One that said perhaps someone should sit b
etween Mary and the Colonel and block her view of him.
Clearly he was a distraction for Mary, and Elizabeth wasn’t sure how to handle it. This was a never-been-seen before Mary. Kitty or Lydia, sure, giggly girl was something they’d been for years—ever since they’d become aware of the opposite sex. But Mary? No. She was more devout than Bill. Elizabeth shrugged and took a seat at the end of the oval table next to Jane. Darcy and The Bourgh stood. Bill sat next to Elizabeth.
Lady Catherine cleared her throat, put on thin-framed glasses, and then clasped her hands before her. “I won’t beat around the bush. I have asked for this meeting because I am going over my investment portfolio and need to make some changes. This little endeavor here is on my list to investigate further.” She held out a hand, and Henry handed her a small tablet. Elizabeth wasn’t sure from where he’d produced it.
“According to my records, this company has made a profit, albeit a small one.”
“We are seeing the profits grow each year. Double basically.” Elizabeth interjected.
The Bourgh stared down her nose at Elizabeth. No one said anything.
“As I was saying. A small profit is nice but doesn’t do much to boost my overall income. I’ve had some research done and well…quite frankly, in order for me to keep my money in this small little affair, I’ll need a great return.” She scowled at Elizabeth.
Elizabeth held the stare and tried to stave off the heat flooding her cheeks. She knew it! Hadn’t she instinctively known this was coming? Oh, how she wished she’d been more prepared. How she could have gotten more prepared was uncertain, but she wished it nonetheless.
“What are you proposing?” Jane asked mildly. Her hands folded neatly in front of her, resting on the table.
The Bourgh stared down her nose at Jane. “Either we start seeing an increase in monthly profits to this level.” She showed the tablet to Jane and Elizabeth. The number was shockingly high. It was more than doubling their yearly profit, it was quadrupling it, monthly. Impossible. “Or you buy out my investment, and then you are free to do as you want.” She swiped her finger over the tablet and showed another figure. “This is what my percentage is worth.”
Elizabeth gasped. She hadn’t meant to show her surprise, but it was double what they owed her. Hoping to cover up her shock she asked, “Of course, you will let our accountant review your figures and our books and come up with what we think is a reasonable buy-out price?” Over her thin little glasses The Bourgh inspected Elizabeth, who held her return gaze steady.
“You have two weeks.”
This time Jane gasped, her hands pressed to her chest. “Two weeks!”
“Sixty days.” Elizabeth countered and watched both The Bourgh and the ever-silent Darcy. He stood next to his aunt, arms crossed, and rocked on his heels. Briefly, he ducked his head but not before Elizabeth caught the slight wisp of what she thought might be a smile.
Was he about to go in for the kill?
“Thirty,” Lady Catherine responded.
“Forty-five.” Elizabeth sat back, reclined the chair and crossed her arms. Two can play this game.
“Fine, you have forty-five days to get your accountant's final assessment.”
“What if they can’t afford to buy you out? Is there no other option?” Bill asked.
“Of course, they can improve their bottom line.” Lady Catherine put a hand on Darcy's shoulder. “My nephew has put together some interesting research for me. From it I have decided that if Meryton Matchmakers were to go more automated, go global, then the profits would follow. People are looking for something other than what’s out there. Something fresh. For the love of Pete, even mountain men in Alaska have an online matchmaking site.”
“We pride ourselves on the human factor, making genuine connections. Not algorithms,” said Jane.
“And it shows. You’ve made some money, but your growth is much slower than it should be in this day and age. Technology has to be involved.”
Elizabeth wondered if her face showed the same panic and uncertainty Jane's did?
“The point here is you have forty-five days to decide which it will be. Pay off my aunt or automate.” Darcy raised one brow as if waiting for an argument.
“In the meantime, my daughter Anne will be staying behind to work on getting you updated with technology. Darcy and Henry will be staying behind briefly to get things moving in the right direction. They’ll need space to work.” Lady Catherine whipped the glasses from her face and jabbed them at Elizabeth. “You have anything left to say?”
“I have plenty, but I’ll save it for another time.” Elizabeth tried to smile, but it felt so forced and awkward. Her mind spun with possibilities. Could she take a second mortgage on her house? How much did she have in savings? Her IRA?
What she really needed was to get Jane alone and brainstorm.
“Lydia and I will move out of our offices, and you can have our space,” Mary told Henry.
“I don’t want to put you out,” he said.
“But I like being put out—I mean—I don’t mind,” she fairly cooed.
The Bourgh grunted and swiveled on her heel. She paused at the door and turned to face them. “I will be at Rosings Park all week if you’d like to discuss more. But let me say this. Part of my issue with this company is that you all profess to help others find true love, yet not a single one of you are married.” She shook her head. “Why ever would I come to you for love guidance?”
Chapter Five
Mary jumped from her chair and faced Henry. “Follow me and I’ll show you to your new office.” She beamed.
“Mary!” Elizabeth hissed under her breath.
“What? You expect me to be rude?” She glared at Elizabeth before returning her megawatt smile to Henry.
Elizabeth considered Darcy, who’d not moved more than a foot when he stepped out of his aunt’s way.
“Lady Catherine is trying to take away your job and give it to a computer. Mr. Darcy thinks love and marriage can be found by putting starred rankings under pictures…or…or—swiping in one direction or another.” Elizabeth felt heat rush into her cheeks. She stepped closer to him. “If this were a virtual matchmaking world, I’d swipe left.” She made the motion that matched her words.
“This isn’t personal,” he said and stared down his nose at her. “I've been asked to review my aunt’s financial affairs. She’s interested in maintaining a stake in your business, but for it to earn to its potential things have to change.”
Elizabeth crossed her arms and snorted. “It may not be personal to you, but it’s personal to me. To us.” She hoped her glare was menacing or at the very least intimidating. She pressed her lips together for good measure.
Darcy appeared unaffected. “Perhaps that is why you have difficulty with objectivity. You should step away from the emotional aspect of your business and view it in terms of profit and success.”
“Every time we match people and make them happy, we profit and are successful. We’ve had over one hundred matches and a ninety percent success rate. Show me the flaw in that?”
“Shall I introduce you to your bottom line—”
Elizabeth snorted and repressed the urge to stomp her foot like a petulant child. Instead, she gave her head a quick shake. “Love isn’t about the bottom line. We’re about more than falling for someone’s profile picture. We’re about spiritual, intellectual, and emotional connections. It’s the right person, Mr. Darcy. A soul mate. Neither of those is plural. In fact—”
Henry stepped between them, his hands making the time out sign. “Truce. Let’s all take a breather. It’s understandable why you are upset, Miss Bennet. I would be as well. Let’s separate, regroup, and meet back here this afternoon to go over all the options. I promise then you’ll have sufficient time to rail at us. Until then, Darcy, Anne, let’s follow Mary here and get situated. Please excuse us, ladies.” He nodded to Elizabeth and then Jane.
“Sure,” said Jane quietly. She hadn’t moved.
“I’m sorry. I really am.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “The Colonel is right, though. No one should make any sudden decisions or moves. We have time—”
“Not that much, Bill,” Jane said.
“I could probably come up with half of it by taking a second mortgage and cleaning out my retirement accounts.” Elizabeth slid into a chair and sighed.
“No!” Jane said. “We will not do such a thing.”
“This is what I mean. Don’t run out and sell your house just yet. Let the dust settle. Let me talk to Lady Catherine. There are so many more solutions. I could buy into the business, we could find other investors—”
Elizabeth snorted. Not likely.
Bill continued. “We need to pause and catch our breath.”
Elizabeth sprung from her chair. “I need air. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I need a plan.”
“I do as well, but I need time to consider the options.” Jane stood slowly. “I agree with Bill. Let’s go in our office and start talking options.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I can’t work here. Not yet. I feel as if my privacy has been invaded, and I’m too angry to see clearly. Let’s go somewhere else. Let’s go to Lottie’s.”
Jane nodded. “You go ahead. I’ll grab a few things and meet you there.”
Elizabeth twitched to leave but doing so made her feel as if she were abandoning her sister. “I’ll help you.”
“No, go. I can tell you need to get out. Go with her, Bill, and make sure she’s okay.” Jane squeezed her arm. “It’ll work out, Lizzy. I promise.”
Elizabeth wanted to believe her. She wished she had Jane’s optimistic outlook, but in this situation it was very difficult to not feel as if the world was falling apart around her. And she was helpless to do anything about it.
Knowing tears were close, she swiveled on her heel and rushed from the room. She had no option but to pass by the office the others were now sharing. Mary was carrying her computer and her calendars toward Elizabeth’s office.
