Married To Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Regency Variation by Rebecca Preston & A Lady

Author:Rebecca Preston & A Lady [Preston, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Philip Morgan arrived first and was ushered in to the drawing room. He, too, admired all the women, but went straight to Kitty.

“You look most beautiful tonight, Miss Bennet,” he said, taking her hand in his and kissing her fingertips.

“Why, thank you, Mr. Morgan,” Kitty said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Karl Schmidt was only moments behind Philip Morgan. Elizabeth sensed Darcy’s change as Herr Schmidt entered the drawing room. He tensed, every faculty on high alert. He would keep careful watch over this stranger to catch him in any fabrication or any hint of fraudulent behavior.

Anne introduced Karl all around the room. Every woman was most gracious to him; Darcy was civil, but reserved. The group sat and visited in twos and threes until Pixley announced that dinner was served. The two budding couples were seated on opposite sides; Mary was seated next to Elizabeth and Herr Schmidt who had Anne on his other side, while Mrs. Bennet was seated next to Darcy and Mr. Morgan who had Kitty on his other side, with Darcy and Elizabeth being at the head and foot of the table.

Conversation ebbed and flowed as the meal was served and the group gave attention to the food in front of them. Herr Schmidt talked mostly to Anne, as she was the only one at the table who could converse with him. Others asked questions and offered comments through Anne, who acted as translator. Darcy had decided to not reveal the fact that he could understand some German. He wanted to see the “real” Herr Schmidt and see if what he said in German matched what Anne translated to the rest of the group.

But as the dinner progressed, and later the conversation and games in the drawing room, he was forced to admit that he could detect nothing of an adverse nature in the man. And he could see how attracted Anne was to him, and he to her, and he decided that he would do nothing to discourage their friendship.

The men split off from the women to play chess. Philip spoke enough German to get by and to be able to interpret between Karl and Darcy. Since there were three men, it was mutually agreed that Darcy and Karl would play the first game, and then Philip would play the winner. Herr Schmidt proved to be a formidable opponent to Darcy at chess. It was a neck-to-neck game, but Karl had the winning move, and thus took on Philip. At this, Darcy was torn between admiration for the man and still being suspicious about his interest in Anne.

While the men were battling it out on the chessboard, the women engaged in a game of charades. They grew so exuberant in the game that the men could not concentrate on their chess game, so they carefully picked up the chessboard and retreated to Darcy’s den. Philip was not nearly as proficient at chess as Darcy was, so it did not take long for Karl to win that game.

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