Page 48 of Master of Himself

Charles worried about the long-term effects of their swap. He couldn’t fathom successfully passing himself off as Darcy in town. “We can’t continue this way much longer. December is fast approaching. Your family will expect you home at some point.”

“Yes, I’ve also thought of the holidays, and we must find a solution quickly.”

Charles watched the light shimmer on the water’s surface. “Since we’ve had no success in the past sennight, I am convinced that the rain is essential to the reversal.”

“I agree, but on the off chance that the weather isn’t a factor, we must continue our nightly efforts.”

“But what can we do that we haven’t already tried? We’ve taken up boxing, for God’s sake.”

Darcy laughed. “It’s not so different from what happened that night, just with more finesse,” he said, clapping Charles on the back. “Henry can be quite exhausting. Have we pushed you to your limit?”

Charles wasn’t ready to admit defeat. “No, not yet, at any rate. Perhaps he has another harebrained idea we can try.”

As they walked back to the house, his thoughts returned to Jane. Although he was hesitant to be seen in public, this in no way hindered his desire to see his angel. “We might, perhaps, call on Longbourn tomorrow,” he said. Then added, “If you have no objections, of course.”

Darcy regarded him with a puzzled expression. “Why should I object? You are master of the house and must do as you choose.”

Charles could think of several examples to the contrary. “Well, yes, but not always and not lately.”

Darcy slowed his pace. “You know, Charles, I am perfectly aware that before the switch, Caroline had been in the habit of applying to me for decisions that should have fallen to you. I admit now that I should have deferred to you in those instances, but now that she applies to you, you must follow your own preference.”

“I’ve finally come to the same conclusion and plan to take advantage of it,” Charles said with a laugh. “I must admit that I took no offence to her habit until she turned all her attention to me. You’re our guest, after all, and she’s desperate to impress you.”

“Yes, well, she has no notion of it, but she has failed miserably.”

When they later applied to Henry for his opinion on new solutions, he had no shortage of ideas.

“We can drink a toast to the gods, recite incantations, and howl at the moon.”

“I’m certain one of those methods will succeed,” Darcy said without much conviction.

Henry shrugged at this comment. “It’s worth a try. Who knows? The solution just might be something we haven’t tried yet.”

Charles refused to be discouraged. They had to pursue every possibility, no matter how outlandish. If howling at the moon would reverse the spell, he would do so with gusto.

Chapter 17

Thursday 21 November

Having achieved no success last night with Henry’s excellent ideas, Charles braced himself for another challenging day. His only consolation was the promise of spending time in Jane Bennet’s company later that morning.

“What shall we do this morning, Mr Darcy?” Caroline inquired at breakfast.

“Charles and I plan to call on Longbourn,” Charles said, glancing at Darcy.

“Again?” Caroline said in disbelief. “You’ve already called on them this week.”

“No, indeed, we haven’t,” Charles said. “We ran into the Bennet sisters in the village, but they were…in undesirable company, so we didn’t linger.”

“I don’t suppose you’d care to join us,” Darcy said with a sly smile.

Caroline pressed her lips together, probably to smother a scathing retort. “Maybe another time,” she said.

Charles had no doubt she would have said much worse had Darcy not been in the room, or the man whom she perceived to be Darcy.

As he and Darcy approached Longbourn’s gate, Charles could barely contain his joy at the prospect of seeing his angel again. Having only had a brief glimpse of her on Tuesday, he was eager to see her this morning.

Upon being announced to the drawing room, Mrs Bennet and her three younger daughters rose to receive them, but Jane was nowhere in sight.