Because of Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 18

Lucas was finally coming home! In celebration, Colin invited all of Lucas's family and friends for a homecoming bash at the Langbourn estate. Darcie and George would also be returning home, and Colin had genuinely missed their presence the last two weeks.

He had kept himself busy though without the distractions, especially those from Jane and Ann. It was true, "out of sight, out of mind". Those conflicting feelings were now but a fleeting memory, and thank goodness! He was able to focus on raising capital and came up with a plan to discreetly put the word out that LD was looking for private investors.

After the last of Lucas's family had gone off to bed, Colin, George, and Darcie finally had a moment alone together. Lucas was fast asleep on the couch. They broke out the Macallan because, of course, only the Langbourn whisky was served during the festivities.

"You know, Lucas isn't snoring," observed George. "I guess all that weight loss solved that problem!"

They shared a good chuckle at his expense as usual but were all keenly aware of how close they had been to losing him.

This prompted Darcie. "Colin, I invited Jane to be a part of my wedding party."

Colin simply raised an eyebrow.

She ignored him as she continued, "Well, I do like Jane a lot and technically there would be no wedding if not for her! And Lucas insisted that she be present."

Not wishing to betray his alarm, he said in an indifferent tone, "It is your wedding. You can invite whomever you wish."

To which Darcie then quickly rattled off, "Oh, that's wonderful! I asked her to stay with us at Langbourn prior to the wedding. You know, that way she will be able to participate in all the necessary wedding party particulars like the dress fittings and dance lessons and such."

She was talking so fast that Colin became suspicious. "Darcie, why do I feel that you are not telling me everything?"

Darcie was vigorously twirling the tassel of the throw pillow in her lap. "I know that you are not overly fond of her because your plans with Harvard have been dashed . . . And I know how you do not like the lines of business and personal to cross . . ." Here, she stopped the twirling and slapped both hands down on the pillow. If she was talking fast before, she was supersonic now. "She said that she could attend the wedding itself but did not feel that she could participate fully as a bridesmaid, which is completely understandable as she said she would not be able to cross the pond so many times for all the meetings and activities that I specifically require for all the members of the wedding party. I mean, she practically turned pale as a ghost when I told her of the weekly dance and etiquette lessons. But Lucas would not accept her refusal!" Here she aptly threw the throw pillow at George, who had been uncharacteristically silent. "George, this was your plan!"

George took the pillow and threw it at sleeping Lucas, who didn't even budge. "Well, the damn bloke refused to have the wedding if Jane wasn't a part of it, and Darcie here refused to budge one bit about all the ridiculous obligations she expected of her bridesmaids!" He scowled and threw an imaginary pillow at Darcie. "Honestly, Darcie! No one cares about the old Victorian period as much as you do, and you can't force people to pretend that they do!"

"Regency!"

"What's the difference? It's all the same namby-pamby stuff!"

Colin exasperatedly interjected, "Just spit it out! What is it that you both did that I have to undo?"

Darcie pointed at George who finally answered, "I invited her to take a four-week sabbatical with LD. She could stay here and get personalized training on the imager as well as meet with our engineers and researchers. The wedding party obligations would be a side note during her stay. That seemed to persuade her. She accepted the offer."

"That's it?" Colin had expected something half-baked and foolhardy from them. "Dr. Bennett is never to be put out or put upon. We owe her something that we can never repay, so you and Lucas should not have pressured her in such a selfish manner."

Darcie lowered her head at this. Colin continued, "But that was a good idea, George. It does seem that she is enamored of our imager, and if that is but a small way that we can thank her, then so be it. She is always welcome at Langbourn. I only ask that you two be in charge of her comfort and entertainment while she is here. I will not have the time to properly do so." Partly, that was true, as he anticipated many meetings and dealings with investors, but mostly he wanted to avoid the disquieting sensation of unrequited interest.

Buoyed by Colin's generous mood, Darcie then added confidently, "I've also invited Charles, Catherine, and Ann."

Colin was mid-sip when he choked on the precious whisky and spit it completely across the tea table and onto Lucas. The burning sensation in his windpipe made it hard for him to breathe. All he could do was cough furiously, which was what finally woke up Lucas, who then jumped up and was upon Colin in a flash! Lucas picked him up from the chair and trapped Colin's arms in a big bear hug from behind and was squeezing the breath out of him while trying to lift his whole body up and down.

"I've got you, Colin! Cough it out, spit it out!"

Darcie screamed, and George was yelling at Lucas to stop when Colin managed to stomp hard on Lucas's foot. That finally caused Lucas to release him, and both fell to the ground.

"What the bloody hell!" hoarsely roared Colin.

"I thought you were choking!" cried a flustered Lucas while holding his foot.

George slapped the back of Lucas's head with the throw pillow. "You call that a Heimlich maneuver? Remind me never to choke in front of you."

Colin got off the ground and plopped down on the sofa. A sudden headache had come on, and he needed to lie down. He covered his eyes with one forearm to keep out the light. "Darcie, I don't think it is wise to push a renewal of relations with the Burkes so quickly."

"But, Colin, they were our family. We can renew a personal relationship without renewing the business relationship. I would think that Uncle Charles would be warier of starting any kind of relationship with us. If anything, it is we who need their help and not the other way around!"

Was it possible that one could feel faint while already lying down? That was how Colin felt at this moment.

Darcie continued, "We had such a lovely time these past two weeks with Ann, didn't we, George? She and Aunt Catherine were such wonderful hostesses, and I feel that Uncle Charles truly is sincere in his contrition."

George came to Darcie's defense. "He has asked us for forgiveness. I think it our Christian duty to extend it. I believe that all of us will know to keep business separate from the personal. We've all suffered from that bad combination to ever forget its lesson."

Darcie dabbed away tears as she said, "They are a fundamental link to my memories of Mum and Dad. It would mean so much to me if they were present for my wedding." Lucas now grabbed Darcie into a big bear hug.

Colin sighed inwardly, "Ugh. The two weakest links. No wonder Father left control of the company to me. Darcie and George would have handed it over to Charles by now." He was not worried about LD so much as he was about his own emotional equanimity. Jane and Ann would both be at Langbourn at the same time. There would be nowhere for him to escape to this time.

It felt like there was a vise slowly squeezing his head until his eyeballs popped out. He simply replied, "As I said before, Darcie, it is your wedding, and you can invite whomever you wish."