Mr. Darcy Takes the Plunge by J. Marie Croft

times since our arrival last month."
    "Oh." The disappointment was evident in Georgiana's voice. I must find a way to let Fitzwilliam know he had better step up to the challenge before it is too late. Oh no! I wonder whether Richard has invited many of his officer friends to the ball and if this nefarious Lieutenant-Colonel Dun might be one of them.
    The shopping expedition became a search for accessories for the ball, and it continued most of the afternoon with only a brief stop for tea and sweets. Before parting company, the four had each purchased new gloves after a hands-on attempt to find the perfect fit. They discovered the clerk at the jewelry shop had a heart of gold, and they used common scents when purchasing expensive perfume. Georgiana had suggested a certain fragrance to Elizabeth and hoped it would prove to be a powerful in-scentive if and when her pernickety brother asked that particular lady to stand up with him.
    I hope Elizabeth's costly Eau de Cologne shall not be wasted on that prosaic, colourless Lieutenant-Colonel Don Juan, er, John Dun, Georgiana thought.

C hapter II
    A Picture Hanging in a Gallery is Worth
a Few Off-the-Wall Comments
    Jane patiently waited for Rachel, the maid whose services she shared with Elizabeth, to put a few finishing touches on her sister's upswept chestnut curls.
    "Those two little blossoms look very charming in your hair, Lizzy. Your handsome barbarian will be quite undone by your pretty flowers and flirty powers."
    "Thank you for the compliment, I think. I shall not allow it to go to my head; in fact, I doubt it will even find its way in through all these thick curls. By the way, whomever it is you are talking about, he is certainly not my handsome barbarian. Now, which bonnet will best perform the task of hiding what Rachel just spent such a prodigious time and effort perfecting?"
    "Decide quickly, silly sister, or we shall be tardy. You would not want to sully the impeccably prim and perfectly proper impression you left on whomever's parents the night before last."
    "Oh, do leave off, Jane! I am embarrassed enough already at that absolute bumble-broth. Although Georgiana and Anna said nothing disparaging yesterday, I wonder what their parents must think. What must he think of me?"
    "Are you referring to Mr. George Darcy or his son? If the latter, it is blatantly obvious what he thinks, Lizzy."
    Elizabeth blushed, snatched up a bonnet at random, and hurried down the stairs. She and Jane encountered their father in the foyer as he was preparing to join some London friends at his club.
    "Pleasure-bound again, girls?" Mr. Bennet greeted his girls. "I happened to notice a carriage with a certain rather impressive crest on its door parked at our curb. Are you leaving us to spend more time with the rich and illustrious Darcy family?"
    When his daughters acknowledged they were, indeed, invited on an outing with those friends, Mr. Bennet said, "As I understand it, George Darcy is richer than Croesus, who, by the way, was the king of Lydia ... but I digress. George Darcy is so wealthy ... "
    "How wealthy is he, Papa?" Lizzy dutifully asked.
    "He is so wealthy that when it rains, he spreads out large books for his guests to wipe their feet on; and those are the tomes that dry men's soles."
    "I am embarrassed to admit I am not familiar with the reference," Jane said.
    Lizzy stopped giggling and explained, "'These are the times that try men's souls' is a quote from The American Crisis by Thomas Paine, Jane."
    "Well, I do not know of which times that author was speaking, Lizzy. But you and another Thomas are trying my soul right now; so please refrain from being a pain before we cause an English crisis. The carriages are waiting. Make haste."
    A footman opened the door to the Darcy barouche, and the Bennet sisters were surprised to find only Georgiana and Anna inside. Elizabeth beckoned her father over and made the introductions. With his easygoing, open and friendly manner, Mr. Bennet