Page 96 of Shields and Roses

"Oh, Bingley, I really think I should stay here until your other guests arrive, and Sir Phillip as well. With just you and Miss Bingley in the house there is too much appearance of impropriety."

"Oh, Darcy! Be honest. You are perfectly happy here and just do not wish to leave yet," Bingley said cheerfully.

Darcy colored with embarrassment. "I...well, yes," he admitted.

"Oh, fine. I will expect you tomorrow evening when all the other guests arrive to give you protection from my dear sister. And what about you, Sir Phillip? Will you join us?"

"I appreciate the offer, Mr. Bingley, but I think I shall stay here," said Sir Phillip.

"Well, the offer is always open, even if you just want to join us for an evening if the wedding plans get too loud."

"I might take you up on that, Mr. Bingley," said Mr. Bennet with a wink.

"Of course, sir, anytime," Bingley replied. "By the way, we spoke of Wickham. What about that Collins fellow who was working with him? The one you were having watched?"

Darcy and Bennet looked at each other with identical wicked grins, and Lizzy chuckled slightly. Bennet answered the inquiry first.

"Oh, your friend Mr. Darcy came up with a solution to that problem. In fact, it is a better solution than any of the ideas Richard put forth."

Darcy acknowledged the compliment with a regal nod, having overcome his earlier embarrassment. He continued the response.

"It is not so much a permanent solution, but I did come up with a way to remove Collins for a time and prevent him from contacting Aunt Catherine or giving her notice of how her plans have failed."

"What did you do?" Bingley asked. "From the way you are all reacting it must be something sneaky."

The others all erupted into chuckles with an evil-sounding edge to them. Clearly the answer was a sneaky plan.

"I procured a little something from Mr. Jones, the local apothecary to keep Collins docile and somewhat confused. I have had my two men hire a carriage and they are taking Collins off to Scotland on the pretense Wickham sent word that the woman who was to be the bride will be waiting for Collins at the border. My men told him they had plans to go that way anyway and offered him a ride, along with providing sympathy for his debilitating bouts of carriage sickness."

Bingley burst out laughing. Over his amusement, Darcy continued, "Of course, they will not be taking the most direct route. In fact, it may take them several extra days to get there, but Collins will be kept so befuddled he will probably not notice. The man should take no harm from the experience in the long run, but he will be incapacitated until they find a nice spot a good way over the border and leave him there."

"Fitzwilliam Darcy! You are cruel!" Bingley gasped between laughs.

"Maybe so," Darcy replied, still grinning wickedly, "but I would have loved to have seen Richard's face when he read the express that I sent this morning detailing the plan, which we put into effect yesterday."

"On a Sunday?" Bingley asked.

"I know, but Saturday afternoon I got a message from my man Polson that they were having a great deal of trouble keeping Collins from contacting my aunt or coming here and doing something stupid. I was nearly at my wit's end when suddenly it came to me. He was expecting to be married secretly. Where else do you do that except in Scotland?" Darcy declared. "Then the rest of the plan came to me. I rode off to see Mr. Jones and then carried the powders he provided off to the inn where I gave them to Polson with enough money for the carriage and everything else they would need for the next few weeks., I received a message from him early this morning that the first day of travel had gone according to plan with a drugged Collins childishly believing every word they told him."

"If all continues well, we will not have to worry about the poor young man for a month at least," Bennet said. "That will see Jane married and the rest of our plans, once we think of them, all set in motion."

"Well, count me in, whatever the plans may be," Bingley said.

"Good man," replied Bennet. "Well, to start, if my wife has not already done so, allow me to invite you and your sister to dinner here tonight. That big house you have leased is a lonely place for just two people and if you have dinner here, we can have our little chat before or after it."

"Thank you, sir," said Bingley. "I suppose I had better go tell Caroline before your wife asks and my sister finds an excuse to turn her down."

"You run along and do that. I am sure whatever topic drove you all from the parlor should have passed on by now." Bennet waved them off.

"It was lace, Papa," said Lizzy, standing.

"Oh, my. Well, see if you can turn the conversation by mentioning dinner. Off you all go now. I have thinking to do."

"Napping to do," Lizzy whispered to Mr. Darcy, who nodded.

"I heard that, missy," her father said. "Be gone!"

Laughing softly, the small group left Bennet to his "thinking" and went off to face Mrs. Bennet again.