Title: Two Brothers
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Sir Felix and Bertram belong to me.
Summary: The visit of two brothers to Pemberley has the potential for romance.
"Darcy is to be married," Bertram Calder announced to his brother as he entered his study. He sat in the chair opposite him and waited.
Sir Felix Calder looked up at him from his book. "Is that all? Hardly surprising, Bertram."
Bertram ignored the indifference in his tone. Sir Felix rarely became excited about anything. "To a girl from the south. Hertfordshire, I believe. Bennet is the name. It was not a name I recognised. Daughter of a minor gentleman, I think. I thought Darcy would have married someone of standing." Sir Felix and himself rarely left Grantholme, their home in Yorkshire. It was some fifteen miles from Pemberley and the Calder family lands bordered part of Mr Darcy's estate. Sir Felix had no desire to travel to London and certainly not during the season. Bertram was also happy to stay with his elder brother. Though more gregarious by nature he liked his quiet life. Nothing stopped him from going but he only wanted to go if Sir Felix went. He would have little fun without him. "It is said his family does not approve. By all accounts she is pretty. There are quite a few disappointed ladies, apparently."
"Bertie, Bertie." Sir Felix stopped him. He could chatter for hours. "You gossip more than a woman. Where did you hear this from?"
"Helena. Aunt and Uncle Bentley are in Town." Bertram replied. Their cousin kept them well informed of the going-ons of society.
"And this concerns us how? You do not normally bother me with the bits of romantic trivia Helena writes us." To the casual observer Sir Felix would seem irritated by his brother. Looks were deceptive, though. Sir Felix had a great amount of affection for his younger brother. They had been orphaned some ten years ago when he was six-and-ten and Bertram three-and-ten. Bertram had grown from a boy to a man in his care, though still a little childish at times. Eton and Cambridge had not cured him of that, possibly because he was so used to looking to his older brother for guidance.
"When Mr Darcy marries he will naturally return to Pemberley. To celebrate this he will most likely throw a ball. As his close neighbours we will be invited. I can have a little fun and you, dear brother, will actually have to leave the house," Bertram said, smiling at his brother.
"What makes you so sure I will go?" Sir Felix asked his brother.
"Because you will not want to appear rude by refusing. Instead you will sit in a corner, on your own. Not because you are shy or nervous but because company makes you exceedingly bored. That is unless you are looking for faults in other people."
"Or perhaps I shall be going to ensure you do not make a fool of yourself by asking every girl there to marry you," he sounded stern but was smiling as he spoke.
"I will not," Bertram protested. "Not every girl. Some are bound to be married already. Do you think they will be many girls there?" he asked, quite serious for once. Not being in Town limited the opportunities for courtship. He made sure he took advantage of every chance that arose.
"I imagine so. Miss Darcy will be there, I should think," Sir Felix replied.
"No. Miss Darcy is more suited to you," Bertram said thoughtfully. "She always seems rather nervous around me."
"That is because you talk endlessly and very little is sensible. Maybe, then, Miss…Bennet," he hesitate to recall the name, "has sisters."
"Yes. All married knowing my luck," Bertram said despondently.
Sir Felix smiled at his expression. "Or she has brothers. Or no siblings at all. We will not know until we meet her."
"Think Helena will marry me?" Bertram asked.
"No and I beseech you to spare us the embarrassment by not asking," Sir Felix told him. "We lack family as it is without you insulting what we do have. Now, we have established Darcy is to be married, to have a ball to which we will be invited and which you hope will contain girls. Anything else or can I continue my work?"
Bertram nodded with a rather impish expression on his face. He stood up and chose a book from one of the shelves. He sat back down and opened it, starting to read. He kept cheekily glancing over the top at his brother. Sir Felix was leant over his desk writing on a sheet of paper.
"You were reading a book when I came in," Bertram pointed out, grinning. "It did not look very work-like." He knew about his brother's secret habit of reading not-so-serious books, regardless of what he claimed otherwise.
"It was on estate management," Sir Felix said haughtily. "You cannot speak anyway. What have you got there?" he asked, pointing at the book Bertram held.
"Locke. What else could have come from your shelves? What was it then?" Bertram was revelling in his brother's discomfort. "A novel, I wager." Sir Felix tried to slip it under one of the open ledgers on his table. "Udolpho? Or that new one?"
"Be quiet, Bertram, I am trying to work."
Bertram looked smug and carried on reading. He smirked as something came to mind. "Something filthy then. Fanny Hill!" He knew it would not be so but it was amusing to watch Felix's reaction. He then ducked as a screwed-up piece of paper came his way. "Missed!"
Three months later:
"So you were right," Sir Felix said as he read a letter. They were sat eating breakfast. "Mr Darcy has invited us to a ball in honour of the new Mrs Darcy. It is to take place on the 11th."
Bertram smiled. It was good news. He had been eager for some event. The last gathering he had gone to seemed a long time ago. There was no use persuading Sir Felix to host anything. He was very determined in his avoidance of society. It was only manners that led him to consider Mr Darcy's invitation. "I shall need a new suit." he said.
"For once I have to agree with you," Felix said. "Though clothes should not be your first thought, Bertie, you are neither a women nor a dandy."
"Say what you wish, Felix," Bertram was not bothered by his brother's words. "The ball will be filled with the fashionable London sort probably. I do not want to look provincial in an old suit."
"I do not think that much change will have happened in several months but I shall send for my tailor nonetheless," Sir Felix told him. His brother did have strange ideas at times. Maybe it would have been better if they had spent time in London. The solitary life was not probably suitable for someone of Bertram's nature. Hopefully, then, he would meet a likeminded person at Darcy's ball. Somebody he could become friends with. Sir Felix was always conscious of the fact that isolation was his choosing not Bertram's. He did not want his younger brother to become too used to being a recluse. It did not complement his character.
"Does it say who will be there?" Bertram asked.
"He mentions Mrs Darcy's family will be there but only briefly. Other than that, no," Sir Felix put the letter down. "You shall have to be surprised then. I shall reply and say we shall see him on the 11th."