Pride, Prejudice & Secrets (24 page)

“It is a several day journey, Elizabeth.”

“But I would assume there are passable coaching inns along the way?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Several,” he said, nodding. “But Georgiana would be left to her own devices…”

“…with Mrs. Annesley? She seemed quite capable of providing your sister with company. And it is not as if we could pretend that a new husband and a new wife are not more interested in each other than even one’s sister. She may be young, but she will also be marriageable in a few years.”

“True,” Darcy said, conceding the point. “Then I assume we are to Pemberley?”

“We are, sir. Then should we not seal our agreement with a kiss?”

“When I next kiss you, Elizabeth,” he said, his eyes boring into hers, “I am going to kiss you all over. Every part of you. You may depend on it.”

Seeing the intensity in his eyes, she instantly blushed crimson at the image in her mind, and she had to lower her eyes.

“Remind me not to joust with
you
, William,” she said contritely. “At least on certain subjects.”

“That might be wise, my love,” he agreed contentedly. “Perhaps we should return to the house now.”

“Very well,” she said, taking his offered arm and trying to calm herself after the mutual give and take of their conversation. “I should write a few notes myself to Aunt and Uncle Gardiner as well as to Charlotte. I would like her to stand up with me since Jane is absent.

Darcy kept his silence and yielded to her superior good sense.

When Elizabeth and Darcy returned to the front parlour, Elizabeth was pleased to find it empty. She heard the sounds of a raised voice drifting down from upstairs, and she knew her mother was indeed voicing her disapproval.

“I think it would be best for you to write your notes first, William,” she said, “while I get Hill to send a servant for an express rider.”

Darcy nodded and sat down at the writing desk as she left the room on her errand. She returned while he was writing and sat down beside him as he finished his first communication, folded, sealed, and addressed it. As he pulled out another sheet of paper, he looked over at her and, seeing her amused smile, raised an eyebrow interrogatively.

“I was just remembering an evening at Netherfield when another young lady admired the evenness of your writing,” she said merrily, and he grimaced.

“Just one of the burdens to bear for a good friend,” he replied with equal cheer, dipping his pen and beginning to write. “If for no other reason, Miss Bingley has proved useful in training me to write while she talked.”

“But, if I understand you correctly, you ignored her, and I do not want you to ignore me!”

“Perhaps it will be a month and a half,” he said menacingly as he wrote, and Mary, who entered the room at that moment, was quite mystified as to the reason for the laughter of her sister and the completely confusing young man she was to marry.

Elizabeth looked at Darcy fondly as he wrote, and her mind returned to the topic she had spent so much time pondering in the past weeks.
Our time together has wrought changes in both of us, to be sure,
she thought,
but he started out admiring me while I disliked him intensely. Or I thought I did, at least. Yet now I like so many things about him, when at first I believed I would have to settle for respect alone. Has he really changed? Or have I? Is it even possible to determine?

She had no answers to these questions, and she was not even inclined to search for them, despite her idle thoughts. She was quite content with her situation.

Whatever the reason for my affection now, it terrifies me when I remember desiring to break our engagement mere weeks ago. It is astonishing, and yet I cannot explain it. But I know I would be heartbroken if we were to be separated now. That is the reason for my trepidation, for I am convinced that I would suffer even worse than Jane did after Miss Bingley and her sister convinced their brother to leave Netherfield.

But she was not a person to dwell overlong on such disagreeable thoughts, and she merrily commanded herself to lay the thought aside; it really was, as William said, a question for the future. She was easily able to consider a more pleasing topic, such as the easy way Darcy could be teased and his learning to tease her back. But she resolved to call a halt on her provocations after he so effectively turned the table on her in the garden.
It is fortunate we will be married in only three days if the boldness we are both showing is any indication!

Chapter
15

“He had a certain frankness and generosity, qualities indeed which turn to a man’s ruin unless tempered with discretion.”

— Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, Roman senator and historian

Friday, May 1, 1812: Hertfordshire

Guests began arriving early at Netherfield on the day before the wedding, and Elizabeth stood at Darcy’s side to greet them, wishing to spend the day with more agreeable company than her disappointed mother. Her father had done her the service of simply informing his wife as to when she would be married, omitting any mention of his daughter’s blunt demands. Thus, while Mrs. Bennet did not directly blame Elizabeth, still she was not pleased by the termination of her planning.

Elizabeth might have argued that more than a few dresses were already complete, but she did not have to do so since, after listening to a half day of complaints, her father forcefully ordered his wife to cease her protests. The wedding would be held as ordered, and he would listen to no further objections.

Mrs. Bennet was shocked at hearing such a rarity from her husband and initially imagined she might evade the obedience demanded. But Mr. Bennet was unwontedly firm on this occasion, and she eventually muttered her acquiescence. But if she ceased her complaints in her husband’s presence, she did not do so in Elizabeth’s. Thus, her daughter decided the evening before to spend the day at Netherfield, making use of the coach Darcy thoughtfully sent for just such a possibility.

Bingley’s coach was the first to arrive, and Darcy was rather surprised to see that his friend was accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Hurst as well as Caroline Bingley. Bingley almost trotted up to Darcy and Elizabeth and greeted them enthusiastically.

“Well, the big day is here!” he said enthusiastically, rubbing his hands together briskly. “I was surprised by your express, but I suppose I should not have been. New husbands and all that, hey?”

Darcy had to smile at the unabashed cheerfulness of his friend.

“And Miss Bennet! Congratulations. And what wonderful news about your sister! Will she and her husband be in attendance?”

“No, sir. She is accompanying her husband to Bermuda. He is in the navy, you know, and was ordered there with his squadron.”

“Oh, too bad!” Bingley said, his disappointment plain to see. “I had hoped to tender my congratulations personally. Please include my best wishes in your next letter. And include those of my sisters as well.”

“I shall indeed do so, and I am sure Jane will be gratified.”

“Yes, indeed,” Bingley said, looking around at the house in which he once resided. “It seems like an age since I was here. I remember the last time I saw you, Miss Bennet, when we all danced together here on the twenty-sixth of November of last year. And now your sister is married and journeying to an island on the other side of the world, and you will marry my best friend tomorrow.”

The greetings of Miss Bingley and her sister were more restrained than their brother, though they were more civil than Elizabeth expected. She had no way of knowing that the two sisters had disparaged her marriage to Darcy at some length, even before learning of the accelerated date of the ceremony. Miss Bingley was devastated at the smashing of all her hopes, but as Louisa suggested, it would be well for both of them to remain on good terms with both Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. That would allow them to retain the right of visiting at Pemberley as well as the advantages accruing by being in Darcy’s sphere.

“Mr. Darcy has many friends besides Charles,” Louisa had said, “and remaining on friendly terms will afford you the chance of meeting them. Like you, I cannot comprehend how this self-sufficient upstart could capture the affections of Mr. Darcy, but we can do nothing about it. We do not want to break the connection, Caroline; you are almost five and twenty, after all, and you are not getting younger. I advise discretion.”

It was a bitter pill for Caroline Bingley to swallow, but swallow it she did, and her conversation was passably agreeable as they walked into the house.

“Has dear Georgiana arrived, Mr. Darcy?” she asked brightly. “I long to see her.”

“I brought her down yesterday, but she remains indoors with Mrs. Annesley,” Darcy replied. “She is somewhat tired from the journey and is only now breaking her fast. Would any of you care to join her? She would be pleased to see you.”

The suggestion was met with general acceptance, especially from Mr. Hurst, and the party set off in the direction of the breakfast parlour.

Bingley’s enthusiasm was not yet exhausted, and he said to Darcy as they walked, “Good Heavens, Darcy! One more day, and you will be an old married man! You will probably forget me and abandon me to the clutches of the mothers of the
ton
!”

“Nonsense, Charles. You are my friend, and you have a standing invitation to visit me any time, either in town or at Pemberley — except, of course, for the first month after the wedding.”

“When I shall be locked in his chambers,” murmured Elizabeth. Though she said it so softly only Darcy could hear, Bingley did glance her way. Since he saw nothing in their expression, he let the matter drop and went in to breakfast.

Lord and Lady Matlock arrived an hour later, and Elizabeth recognized their intense curiosity as they emerged from their coach. But she had expected them to be curious, and the fact they would be in attendance was a mark of approval in itself.

“Hullo, Darcy!” his uncle said in greeting, his voice overly voluble. He was becoming somewhat hard of hearing and thus was often unaware of the volume of his voice — unaware, that is, until his wife laid her hand on his arm.

“Ah, was I ‘booming’ again?” he asked contritely.

“Yes, dear,” his wife said, smiling, “but I believe your nephew will forgive you. It is a special occasion, after all.”

Turning to Darcy, she said, “You are looking very well, Darcy, but never mind that. We will wait no longer to meet your future bride.”

“Right you are!” boomed Lord Matlock, then looked sheepish and said in a much lower voice, “Please excuse me. I keep forgetting. Blasted nuisance getting old!”

“I daresay,” Darcy said dryly then turned to Elizabeth, who was already blushing prettily. “Aunt, Uncle, allow me to present my betrothed, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth, this is my uncle, Andrew, Lord Matlock, and his wife, Lady Matlock.”

“I am very pleased to meet both of you.” Elizabeth gave a curtsey and wished fervently she could control her blushes.

“Darcy, she is exquisite!” Lady Matlock stepped forward and offered her hands to Elizabeth. “Very much like Jane yet different. I do hope you are brave enough to meet the challenge of convincing Darcy to be more amiable and less reserved, my dear! It will be a monumental undertaking, but have courage; the rest of the family will be offering you all possible support, and I am sure you will succeed.”

Elizabeth gave Darcy an inquiring glance, then, emboldened by his warm smile, looked back to the pleasant-faced woman of middle years who tucked Elizabeth’s arm in hers as she started into the house. There was something about Lady Matlock that encouraged openness, which is possibly the reason she felt emboldened enough to say, “Perhaps you will instruct William in how to instruct me! The more I learn about the responsibilities of being his wife, the more terrified I become!”

Lady Matlock only laughed lightly and said, “You cannot be more terrified than I was when I married his uncle. Our parents arranged everything, and I met him exactly three times before the wedding! I was so petrified that I…”

Darcy had remained behind with his uncle when the two women passed inside, and Lord Matlock looked down gravely at Darcy. “Well, there you have Jessica’s opinion, Darcy,” he said, consciously trying to moderate his voice. “And George certainly sang her praises, and you know how enchanted we were with his wife. But your Aunt Catherine is still in high dudgeon about the whole matter.”

“Then she will just have to get over it,” Darcy said coldly. “Did George tell you what she tried to do? To send Elizabeth off in her coach while she was deathly ill?”

“He did and he told me he was entirely on your side in the matter. He has his own problems with her, as I think you know.”

“Actually, I was not acquainted with his situation until the night George came to dinner, when Richard explained the matter. I will have difficulty getting over it, Uncle. I get furious every time I think of it. Yet Elizabeth has already urged me to let my anger go; she said she did not want to be the cause of a rupture in my family.”

Lord Matlock nodded then clapped Darcy on the shoulder. “Put aside all this ill will, boy! It is time to think good thoughts, thoughts of your future life. Henry and Cynthia should be here in another quarter hour or so, and Richard will be along bye and bye. Now, if only George could be here! He wanted to, you know.”

“I know,” Darcy said. “He sent a note that it was simply not possible. I believe he will leave for Bermuda in another few days.”

“And will be gone for perhaps years,” Lord Matlock said morosely. “I am proud of all my boys, but — and do not tell the other boys — I may be prouder of George than any of the others. Being the son of an earl did not hurt Richard, though I do not know how much it really helped him, but I know it did nothing for George. He had to earn everything the hard way. I am not sure I have spent even twelve months with him in the last twenty years. He has done well in the navy, but it is a hard life, Darcy. A hard life.”

“It is that,” Darcy agreed. “But George hopes we will have put paid to Boney in a year or two, though he is worried about the worsening situation with America. I believe one of the reasons Jane Bennet affected him as she did is because he yearns to settle down. I could hear it in his voice when he talked of being at sea almost continually for two decades, almost all of it at war with the French. It is time the nations on the continent joined with us to halt the depredations of that monstrosity in Paris and let people like George have some kind of life. I understand your pride in George, Uncle. He has earned it, and I hope I can spend time with him in the years to come.”

Lord Matlock nodded but said nothing, and Darcy knew it was time to change the subject. He cursed himself for his last statements; he had meant well, but he had the years to know George better. His own father might not.

Hurriedly, he said, “Let us get in out of the breeze, Uncle, and for Heaven’s sake, let us also change the subject! I recommend a taste of some of Bingley’s excellent brandy.”

“A splendid idea, Darcy,” his uncle said loudly, and Darcy only smiled and made no reference whatsoever to the volume of his uncle’s voice.

Henry Fitzwilliam, Lord Matlock’s eldest son and the heir presumptive to his title, arrived as predicted within the quarter hour, and Elizabeth instinctively realized at first glance that he was not like the other Fitzwilliam sons. There was something in his carriage and the set of his mouth as he assisted his wife from the carriage that reminded her of Lady Catherine. Her quick suspicion was bolstered by Darcy’s stiff formality as he performed the introductions when the couple approached.

“Cousin, allow me to present my betrothed, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth, this is my cousin, Viscount Henry Fitzwilliam and his wife, Lady Cynthia Fitzwilliam.”

“I am pleased to meet you both,” Elizabeth said, taking her lead from Darcy and giving a carefully correct curtsey. She kept her eyes downcast, but she was still able to see through her lashes that both Henry and his wife acknowledged her greeting with cool nods before Henry turned to Darcy.

“I assume Mother and Father have already arrived, Darcy?”

“They have, though Richard is not yet here.” Darcy struggled to control the irritation he felt at the slight done to Elizabeth but knew it would do no good to express that emotion.

“As usual,” Henry said with a sniff. “Both he and George act as if their affairs had the weight of the kingdom on their shoulders. Well, shall we go in and meet the rest of the party, my dear?”

Lady Cynthia gave a patrician nod appropriate to the elder daughter of a duke, and the couple passed by Darcy and Elizabeth to enter through the door held open for them by one of the servants.

Darcy looked at Elizabeth and shrugged in resignation, but she only smiled cheerfully and took his arm. “Come, do not distress yourself, William. Now, if we hurry, we can observe how Caroline reacts when she is introduced to your cousins.”

That thought was indeed diverting, and they quickly followed the other couple into the house.

Richard arrived an hour and a half later, galloping up the Netherfield drive in a spray of dirt and gravel. He reined to a halt just as Elizabeth and Darcy came outside, and Elizabeth could not hold back her smile as he jumped from the saddle, grabbed the saddlebags, handed the reins to the stable boy along with firm instructions to walk him for a half-hour, and bounded up the steps with his white teeth gleaming in a huge smile.

“Well, well, well, so the day is upon us, Darce!” he said briskly, pounding his cousin on the shoulder. “Why the sudden surge of impetuousness? There I was on Wednesday, wondering whether you would be married by Christmas, when I am suddenly summoned to stand up with you tomorrow. Mr. Gardiner did warn you to be firm, did he not?”

“Not as impetuous as your brother, who achieved marital bliss before me…”

“A new record in the family, I believe,” Richard said, giving Elizabeth a sweeping bow more fit for St. James’s than the drive of a leased estate in Hertfordshire.

“He has not been treating you badly, I hope, Miss Bennet?” he enquired, his voice and expression almost dripping with feigned concern. “Taking you for granted, forgetting to solicit your opinion, issuing orders? All capital crimes in the marriage establishment, I understand.”

“He has been the perfect gentleman, Colonel,” she said, laughing delightedly. “And you, sir, are irrepressible! I do not believe you will ever change.”

“Why would I change? I presume Mother and Father are already here?”

“For some time,” Darcy answered. “We were just thinking of sitting down to luncheon.”

Fitzwilliam grimaced and slapped at the dust that coated his uniform. “I have to bathe first. Mother will have my ears if I show up this dirty, almost thirty years of age or not.”

“And smelling of horse,” Darcy said with a smile. “I saw how you had lathered up Nelson when you pulled up.”

Richard flipped a hand in dismissal. “That horse just loves to run, Darce. I took pity on him and loosened the reins a few miles back to let him stretch his legs. Well, if someone can direct me to my room and send up some hot water, I shall join you as soon as I can.”

Darcy delayed luncheon until Richard came downstairs, freshly scrubbed and clad in a clean uniform from his saddlebags, then he introduced him around.

“Richard, you may remember my friend Bingley,” he said.

“I do remember him, but it was more than a year ago if I remember correctly,” Richard said. “Thank you for hosting us today.”

“You are more than welcome, Colonel. It was good of you to come so far to join us.”

“I would not miss it,” Richard said, his white teeth gleaming in his tanned face. “But I must leave directly after the ceremony. Trying to get the regiment trained, you know.”

“And Richard, this is Miss Caroline Bingley. Miss Bingley, Colonel the Honourable Richard Fitzwilliam, my cousin.”

Darcy watched Caroline Bingley closely to see whether his introduction inspired any interest, and the narrowing of her eyes made him believe Richard had definitely caught her eye.

“Charmed, Miss Bingley,” Richard said, giving her a fashionable but less flamboyant bow than the one with which he favoured Elizabeth.

“Colonel Fitzwilliam, it is such an honour to meet you! Mr. Darcy has spoken of you so often!” she said, and Darcy hoped his face was under control and his aversion to Caroline’s usual cooing attentiveness not visible.

“And this is Bingley’s other sister, Mrs. Hurst, and her husband, Mr. Hurst” Darcy said. “Mrs. Hurst, Mr. Hurst, my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”

Mrs. Hurst was obviously impressed to meet the son of an earl but not overly so, since she had already met Lord and Lady Matlock. And Mr. Hurst looked to be more interested in luncheon than the nobility.

Satisfied with this first step, Darcy went still further and arranged the seating so that Richard sat by Caroline Bingley at the foot of the table while he sat Elizabeth by his side.

It worked out well in London,
he remembered with amusement.
Caroline is a handsome young lady — if she would just learn to stem her pretensions!

During the meal, he kept an eye on the couple, and Richard was his usual self, making jests and spinning stories involving much waving of hands that elicited giggles and even peals of laughter from his attentive dinner companion. And whenever Richard paused, Caroline was as excessively attentive as always, completely capable of carrying both sides of the conversation. But Darcy knew Richard well, and he could easily perceive that this conversation was not at all similar to the mutually enraptured exchange that his brother held with Jane Bennet when they first met. Darcy was certain Caroline had no hint that her attentions were not being received as she hoped since Richard was too much the gentleman to display his dislike for such servile attentions openly. Towards the end of the meal, Caroline was chattering on quite happily, with Richard only having to offer an occasional comment. When everyone stood at the end of the meal, he made the usual courtesies, bending over her hand and telling her that he desired some private conversation with his parents. Darcy could tell that Caroline was well pleased with this first meeting and clearly expected there would be others with this eligible son of the nobility.