Katie Oliver - What Would Lizzy Bennet Do?

‘Oh. How extraordinary,’ his mother remarked, and flicked a glance at Holly, then back at her eldest son. ‘You never mentioned that Miss James was engaged.’

‘She isn’t, any more,’ Hugh said. ‘At least,’ he added quietly, ‘not to Ciaran.’

‘And thank God for that,’ Holly muttered, and suppressed a shudder. She couldn’t forget how the handsome actor had tried to blackmail her into marrying him, all so he could get his hands on her father’s money. Tosser .

‘Still – as you said, Miss James, Ciaran’s a film star, and quite a famous one,’ Lady Darcy observed. Her smile was patronising. ‘I’m surprised you let him go. You do know he’s here, filming at Cleremont, do you not?’ she added. ‘Perhaps you two can renew your acquaintance.’

‘Ciaran and I are over,’ Holly said, her words polite but firm. ‘Finished. Through.’

‘It’s all in the past,’ Hugh agreed. ‘Love prevailed, and now…’ He paused. ‘I’d like to raise a toast to my fiancée and bride-to-be, Holly James.’

There was a moment of surprised silence.

Then, ‘Here, here,’ Lord Darcy exclaimed, and lifted his glass.

‘Here, here,’ Harry echoed, and grinned. ‘Congratulations, you two! Well done, you sly dog,’ he added as he glanced at his brother. ‘I thought you’d be a bachelor well into your dotage. Didn’t think you’d ever get married.’

Holly realised that Lady Darcy had said nothing. She glanced at Hugh’s mother, seated at the head of the table beside her husband, and her smile faltered.

Sarah’s hand gripped the stem of her wine glass with white-tipped knuckles…

…and her expression could only be called grim.

Chapter 4

‘Congratulations,’ Hugh’s mother said after a moment, and managed to produce a small, tight smile. ‘What very exciting news.’

‘Yes,’ Hugh agreed, his eyes lingering on Holly as they all drank to the couple’s heath. ‘Very exciting. However, I must ask that you all refrain from telling anyone else the news, at least just yet.’

‘What on earth for?’ his mother asked, and frowned. She cast Holly a scandalised glance. ‘You’re not…?’

Holly coloured. ‘No, I’m not,’ she retorted, and laid a hand atop her perfectly flat stomach. To be honest, she was getting just a bit annoyed with her ladyship’s poor opinion of her. She doesn’t even know me , Holly thought. It was all très unfair.

‘It’s just that…’ Hugh stopped.

He looked a bit uncomfortable, Holly noticed, and she wondered why he didn’t want to relay word of their engagement far and wide.

‘Just what?’ Holly prodded.

‘I want to tell Elizabeth the news first,’ he said, his words measured as he returned to his seat.

‘Who’s Elizabeth?’ she wondered. Although she kept her voice neutral as she asked the question, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of disquiet.

‘Elizabeth Bennet,’ Harry supplied. He paused as a servant brought the soup tureen round, and he served himself a generous measure of the pale pink crab bisque.

Holly stared at him. ‘Elizabeth Bennet ?’ she echoed. ‘Like the character in Pride and Prejudice ?’

‘No, of course not. She’s our neighbour. Lizzy Bennet. She and her sisters live next door, at Litchfield Manor.’

‘Their father, Mr Bennet, was our vicar,’ Sarah explained. ‘He’s retired now.’ She sipped her wine. ‘The girls were a rather… late arrival, as he was unmarried for quite a few years. I must introduce you to the family at church on Sunday, Miss James.’

‘Forgive me, Hugh,’ Holly said, choosing for the moment to ignore her ladyship, ‘but why, exactly, don’t you want this Elizabeth Bennet to know that we’re engaged?’

‘It’s not that I don’t want her to know we’re engaged,’ he hedged. ‘It’s just… I need to break the news to her myself, first, because…’

‘Because Elizabeth fancies herself in love with my brother,’ Harry cut in. ‘Or at least, she used to do. I imagine she still does.’

‘Is that true?’ Holly asked. She met Hugh’s eyes. ‘Is she in love with you?’

‘Once upon a time, perhaps,’ he admitted, and picked up his spoon. ‘But it was ages ago, and it was gratitude, not love, only because I helped Miss Bennet through a difficult time after her mother died. She was sixteen.’ He laid his spoon back down and cleared his throat. ‘I mean to say, Miss Bennet was sixteen. Not her mother. Obviously.’

‘That’s not how I remember it,’ Harry said, a twinkle of mischief in his eye. ‘The pair of you were inseparable, as I recall.’

‘Enough, Harry.’ Lady Darcy spoke quietly, but her words were firm. ‘Of course we’ll keep the engagement to ourselves, darling, if that’s what you wish,’ she assured Hugh. ‘Until such time as you tell Elizabeth…’ She gave Holly a pained smile. ‘Until you can share your happy news with her.’

***

The next morning dawned clear and warm, and as Lizzy let herself outside, her hands cupping a mug of tea, she breathed in the scent of hydrangeas and honeysuckle that hung on the air.

The terrace flagstones were warm and smooth beneath her bare feet as she joined the others and sat down, oblivious to the sounds of birdsong from the nearby woods. ‘Good morning.’

As she’d expected, her father and sisters were sprawled – well, only Charlotte was actually sprawled – in chairs, sipping coffee or tea and reading the newspapers.

‘Good morning, my dear.’ Mr Bennet stood and bent down to brush his lips briefly atop her head. ‘You’ll have to excuse me. I’m off to the village for my morning ride.’

‘Must you ride that old bicycle through the village every day?’ Emma complained. ‘You look like Father Brown.’

‘I can think of worse things,’ he replied, unperturbed. ‘Although Father Brown really should wear a helmet when he rides. Safety,’ he tutted, then left.

Emma rustled her paper in annoyance but didn’t bother to respond.

‘What are your plans today, Charli?’ Lizzy asked her youngest sister as their father trudged off. ‘Are you going to the circus in Torquay?’

‘Dunno.’ She didn’t look up from her perusal of Hello! ‘Ooh, look at this! It says here that Ciaran Duncan’s right next door at Cleremont, filming Pride and Prejudice .’

‘Yes. I saw him yesterday.’

Charli gasped and flung her magazine aside. ‘What? You saw him and you didn’t tell me? Did you talk to him? What did he look like? Is he as gorgeous in person as he is on screen?’

‘I didn’t think it was worthy of mention,’ she said, and lifted her brow. ‘We didn’t speak; he was studying a script. And he looked exactly like Mr Wickham, in his breeches and boots and regimentals. And yes, he’s very handsome.’ She frowned. ‘Wasn’t he engaged to that department store heiress last year? The blonde one, what was her name…?’

‘Holly James.’ Charlotte retrieved her Hello! magazine and began flicking once again through the pages. ‘Yes, they were engaged for about ten minutes. I often wonder why they broke up after only a week. I bet there’s a story there.’

‘Who knows?’ Lizzy said, and shrugged. ‘Actors are odd ducks. From what I’ve heard, Ciaran is the perfect choice to play Mr Wickham. He’s a player, and not just onstage.’

‘Well, of course he is,’ Charli said, and smirked. ‘I wouldn’t mind playing with him.’

Lizzy frowned. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. He’s far too old for you, and he has a very bad reputation. Besides, he wouldn’t give you a second glance, not with Cara Winslow and all those other pretty actresses in his orbit.’