A Convenient Darcy Marriage

by Rebecca Preston

  “And you have not changed your mind about Mr. Collins?”

  Expecting the question sooner or later, Elizabeth shook her head. “No, my lady. I have given my heart to Mr. Darcy.”

  “Fitzwilliam Darcy?”

  When Elizabeth nodded, Lady Catherine did the same. “He is a handsome young man. I do not know him very well. I knew his father and he was a fine gentleman.”

  “Yes, so I have heard.”

  “Is the young Mr. Darcy a gentleman like his father?”

  Elizabeth hesitated before answering. “Since I did not know his father, I cannot say whether he is like him. And Darcy has given me reason to question whether he is the kind of gentleman I have heard his father was. But, in the time we have been courting, he has shown a tender, caring side that I admire and respect. He treats my family with respect, though he did not do so at the beginning, when he first arrived with the Bingleys.”

  “That was when you first met him, correct?”

  “Yes. I overheard him saying things about my family that I did not appreciate.”

  “The very first time you were introduced to him?”

  “Yes, unfortunately.”

  Lady Catherine took another sip of tea, looking at Elizabeth over the brim of the cup. “It takes quite a woman to go from hearing derogatory things about her family from a man to courting him later. You are more forgiving than most.”

  “I suppose.” Elizabeth thought about the arrangement she and Darcy had made to keep her from having to marry Mr. Collins. If she hadn’t seen an attractive side to Darcy, besides his physical appearance, she wouldn’t have been able to bring herself to agree to the arrangement. But there was something about him that drew her to him and made her want to give him chance after chance.

  “You must care about him very much.”

  “I suppose I am beginning to care for him quite a lot,” Elizabeth admitted. “Though, sometimes I do not want to.”

  “You are suspicious of him? You do not trust him?”

  “I am not sure how to feel, to be honest, Lady Catherine. I want to give him all the chances I can to be the man his father was said to be.”

  “What is it in his behavior that you object to?”

  Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. She remembered the arrogance that he portrayed and how he looked down on nearly everyone, whether they had money or not. He was the one who didn’t trust people. She was inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt before judging them. He looked at appearance and wealth before examining a person’s behavior.

  However, he had changed. She had to give him credit for that. She wondered if she should tell Lady Catherine that Darcy showed a great deal of arrogance and pride when he first arrived that made her think he was not much of a gentleman, and more of a cad with a rude mouth, when Lady Catherine herself often showed those same behaviors. She had relayed more gossip to Elizabeth than nearly anyone else in Hertfordshire and Meryton combined. Even the Bingley sisters were on Lady Catherine’s target list in the past. She could be vicious and mean, though Elizabeth had never heard of the lady saying anything about her own family that was derogatory.

  “I overheard him saying something about my family that was not exactly nice the day that I met him. People I spoke to said that he was quite prideful, and when Jane began to see Bingley, I had an opportunity to get to know Darcy better. I witnessed several occasions where he showed himself to be less than a gentleman. But since we have been spending time together, I believe he has changed somewhat. I see him as being more sympathetic to others than he used to be. That is a good thing, because I did not care for his previous behavior and would not have given him the time of day had I not seen that there was potential in him.”

  “He is blessed to have you, my dear,” Lady Catherine said. Elizabeth smiled.

  “Thank you for the compliment, my lady.”

  Lady Catherine nodded, and sipped her tea. She reached for a pastry on the tray near her and dipped it lightly in her tea before taking a bite. She chewed gracefully and swallowed before saying, “Did Mr. Collins ever have a chance with you?”

  Elizabeth paused. Lady Catherine was patroness to Mr. Collins, and knew him better than most. She would not be his patroness if she didn’t see good things in him. She hoped that Lady Catherine wouldn’t ask her probing questions. She wasn’t going to be able to tell the woman that she was somewhat repulsed by Mr. Collins and had no love for him whatsoever in her soul.

  “I am afraid not.”

  “You only agreed to it so that your sisters would not have to marry him?”

  Elizabeth was taken aback. She shook her head. “I never agreed to it at all, my lady. It was my parents who talked to Mr. Collins about it, and did not consult with me until I had already made… I was already talking to Mr. Darcy.”

  “Oh?” Lady Catherine looked surprised. “That was not my impression.”

  “Yes, I am afraid those is the facts of the matter.”

  “I hope that you know what you are doing.” Lady Catherine looked thoughtful, leaning forward and patting Elizabeth on the knee. “It seems to me that you are playing with fire. Mr. Collins is a steady man, with a good reputation and income. Mr. Darcy has a less than stellar reputation with the women, and is quite a runabout. He has never been committed to anything in his life. I do hope that he will commit to you without trouble or strife.”

  “I am not afraid.” Elizabeth smiled. “He and I talk very well. We get along well. I am… I am falling in love with him. I… I have not been able to admit that to anyone else. I have even denied it myself. But every day, and the more time I spend with him, the more I see good qualities emerging. It makes me want to keep giving him a chance, even when we argue.”

  “You argue with him?” Lady Catherine raised her eyebrows.

  “Yes, why?”

  Lady Catherine grinned. “If you are courting and already arguing with him, and still continue to court him, you are already committed to him. I do hope this works for you, my dear. You deserve to be happy. You really do.”

  Chapter 27

  Darcy passed through the open door of Longbourn and stopped just inside, looking around the foyer.

  “Hello?”

  He was surprised that the front door had been left open. He had never seen it that way before. Everything inside the house looked unchanged, except for the fact that there was no one there. It was quiet like he had never seen it before.

  “Is anyone home?” he called out once more, taking a few more steps in, removing his hat and holding it in both hands in front of him.

  “Mr. Darcy?” The housekeeper came around the corner from under the stairs, a cloth in one hand.

  “The door was wide open,” Darcy said in a firm voice, looking down at the older woman. She looked a bit frightened. “Is there a reason for that?”

  “We wanted a bit of fresh air in the house,” the housekeeper replied in a weak voice.

  “If you were employed at Pemberley House, you would not be keeping your job. Open a window if you want fresh air. Don’t leave the front door wide open. You do not know who might enter.”

  “Oh, Mr. Darcy, do you suppose there is anyone out there who would want to harm anyone in the Bennet family?”

  Darcy narrowed his eyes at her. “I do not know, but I suppose there are animals that might not know the Bennets well enough not to attack them.”

  “Animals, Mr. Darcy?” The housekeeper looked doubtful.

  “Leave the front door closed from now on,” Darcy demanded. “Where are the Bennets? I am looking for Elizabeth.”

  “Miss Elizabeth is in her room. Shall I go get her for you?”

  “Yes, do that. I will wait in the parlor.”

  “Yes, Mr. Darcy.” The housekeeper hurried up the stairs, pulling up her dress a little so she wouldn’t trip on it. He watched her go up before turning to the parlor door.

  “Such incompetence,” he mumbled, turning the knob and going through the doorway into the parlor. It
was clean, and smelled of the fresh lilacs someone had placed near a window. He sat down and stared through the glass at the bright blue sky outside.

  He hadn’t heard from Elizabeth since their visit with Charlotte, and was surprised by how much it bothered him. He wanted to see her every day now. When he went several days without seeing her, he felt an emptiness he couldn’t explain. When he saw her again, it was as though she filled that void and he no longer felt empty.

  He was surprised that he was falling for the young woman. He had manipulated situations before to help someone else or to get something he wanted. He’d never hurt anyone, but he had not exactly been truthful along the way. Some individuals were unfortunately stepped on as he went through with his plans. This courtship and marriage had seemed like a fun game at the beginning, a good way to get Elizabeth out from under the threat of marriage to Mr. Collins, which she clearly didn’t want to. Now, he was caught in the web and had fallen for Elizabeth.

  She wasn’t a plain girl; was very pretty, in fact. She had a nice figure, a lovely smile that lit up her whole face, and a laugh that was contagious. She was also stubborn, head-strong, and had a quick wit. All those factors made her appealing to Darcy. He didn’t want a woman who couldn’t hold her own. He didn’t want a woman who would dote on him and agree with everything he said just to keep the peace.

  It was time now for him to admit to his feelings and commit to her. He wanted to set a date, which was why he had shown up at Longbourn unannounced. He was happy to see the rest of the family seemed to be off doing their own things. It would give him time to speak comfortably to Elizabeth alone. He hoped there would be no interruptions from her sisters or parents while they spoke. He was fairly certain Elizabeth wanted to go through with the marriage. It was no longer a farce to her. It wasn’t to him anymore, either.

  He was surprised that he felt a bit of nervousness as he waited for her to come down. He chided himself for it. There was no reason to be nervous. He was doing something that they both wanted. He was going to marry her. He was going to take her to Pemberley House. And he would be happy. He was sure of it.

  He waited another five minutes before the door opened and he saw her. He felt a small thrill go through him. She looked beautiful. It was obvious she had chosen to have a relaxing day, probably in her room reading, because she didn’t look like she was expecting company. Her hair had been hurriedly tied back, and loose strands of hair circled around her cheeks and ears. She looked slightly tired around the eyes, but it did nothing to make her any less beautiful in his eyes.

  “I am sorry.” He stood up. “It looks as though I have interrupted your slumber.”

  She shook her head, coming over to where he was, and sitting next to him on the couch. He sat back down and turned to face her. “I was not sleeping. I was only resting and reading. I am glad to see you, Darcy; it has been several days since we went to Charlotte’s. I have been wanting to talk to you.”

  “You should have sent me a message. I would have come over right away.”

  Elizabeth bit her bottom lip. He would have dropped what he was doing to come see her if she had wanted him to. It made her heart skip a beat to think about it.

  “No matter. You are here now.”

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” Darcy asked. She grinned at him.

  “You are the one who came here with something to say. I will let you go first.”

  Darcy narrowed his eyes and grinned back at her. “Well, I suppose you have a point.”

  “So, what is it you wanted to talk about?”

  “I think we should stop the game we are playing with everyone.”

  Elizabeth felt a little sick to her stomach. He knew about Charlotte and Mr. Collins. He had thought about it over the last few days and was calling off their arrangement. She felt like she might burst into tears. He saw the look on her face and shook his head vigorously.

  “No, Liz. I do not wish to call off the courtship or marriage. I wish to end the game of it. I do not want to pretend to be fooling people when my feelings are the way they are. I want to marry you. I want to set a date and make you my wife.”

  The relief that flooded through Elizabeth nearly made her fall of the couch. She closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath. “I am so glad to hear you say that, Darcy. I… I have been hoping that you would eventually feel the way I feel.”

  He gave her a small smile. “So, you do have feelings for me?”

  “Of course, I do, Darcy. We have spent so much time together. I have seen… a change in you. Behavior that I did not at first think you capable of.”

  “I am a gentleman,” Darcy said, puffing out his chest. She could see the sparkle in his eye and knew he was teasing her. She nodded.

  “You are a gentleman, Darcy, of course you are. But you must admit, at first you did not have good things to say about my family.”

  “I do admit that I was a bit of a scoundrel when we were first introduced. I… I suppose I did not look past the superficial to what lay beneath.”

  “Exactly,” Liz nodded. “And it was very difficult for me to get past the role you played in splitting up Jane and Bingley. You knew how much she cared for him. My goodness, you even knew how much he cared for her. But you still did nothing to keep them together for happiness’ sake.”

  Darcy shook his head. “Must you bring up that when we were talking about our own courtship and wedding? I want to set a date. I do not want to argue about Bingley and Jane.”

  “You did not want them together, and it caused a great deal of pain,” Elizabeth said.

  Darcy looked frustrated and sat back, putting one arm over the length of the back of the couch. “I have said it before and I will say it again without a problem. Jane would not have been happy. Those Bingley sisters would have torn her apart. They would have been cruel to her, and cruel to their brother for having brought her into the family. Please try to understand that what I said and did was only to protect her. Additionally, I am flattered by the level of power you give me in the lives of my friends. Do you really believe that anything I said would have stopped Bingley if he truly wanted to be with Jane? Nothing anyone could have said would have taken him from her, if his love was truly as deep as…”

  “As deep as hers was?” Elizabeth finished for him. He nodded. She sighed. “I suppose you are right, Darcy. It is a shame. It is a true shame.”

  “And now you have Lydia and Wickham to worry about. Jane will be fine. She will recover in time and find a love of her own. Mark my words.”

  Chapter 28

  Elizabeth wished he hadn’t brought up Lydia and Wickham. She steered the conversation away from it immediately.

  “I suppose we should try to settle on a date to be married, should we not?” she said, standing up.

  “Where are you going?” Darcy looked up at her, unsure whether she expected him to stand or not. He did anyway, out of instinct. “Do you need something?”

  “I am going to get the housekeeper and tell her to bring in some fresh tea and biscuits or pastries or cookies. Whatever they have decided to bake. I can smell that they have made something fresh. Can you smell it?”

  He smiled, sitting back down. “Yes, I can.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “I could eat.”

  “All right, I will have them make us a tray of food. I am famished, to be quite honest with you. I have not eaten since breakfast.”

  She moved to the door of the parlor and looked back at him before going through it. “Do not go anywhere.”

  They smiled at each other. He shook his head after she went through the door to find the housekeeper. “Where would I go?” he murmured, amused with his future bride.

  While she was gone, he heard the sound of people coming through the front door. He was a little disheartened, but it was their home and he should have expected it. He would just have to take Elizabeth for a ride in the carriage, which he had thought to bring today. That way they could speak alone abou
t what they were planning for the wedding. He assumed that she would want to have her sisters take part, and that her mother would want to help with arrangements.

  Now that it was really going to happen, Darcy felt different than he had before. He’d always been satisfied playing his games with people, manipulating situations so that they turned out to his benefit. This time, he’d taken it seriously and it had turned into something unexpected for him.

  He heard three of Elizabeth’s sisters in the foyer, talking loudly. It appeared Kitty was unhappy with the time Lydia was spending with Wickham. For a moment, Darcy was afraid Lydia had brought Wickham back to Longbourn with her, but the way Kitty was talking it didn’t appear to be so. The young woman would never have spoken about a man that way if he was present to hear it.

  “You do not even know him, Kitty. You are only acting jealous and spoiled because you do not want me to be happy.”

  “Of course, I want you to be happy, Lydia. But I want you to be safe and content, not just now but in the future, too. I want you to have a happy life, not just be happy in the moment.”

  “What makes you think he would not make me happy in the future?”

  “I do not think he has a very good reputation with women. He was always moving from one lady to another, so I have heard, and he even had his sights set on Lizzie at one point!”

  “You are lying!” Lydia responded hotly. “He did not.”

  “He did. I heard it, and saw them talking at several dances, and he certainly looked like he was trying to get more from her than she was willing to give. Although she responded a few times in a way that I thought was very flirtatious.”

  Darcy heard Lydia gasp. “How dare you! How can you talk about Lizzie that way? Or my Wickham?”

  “Your Wickham? Oh, Lydia, do not even say something like that. You know Mother and Father are not going to approve.”

  “They know very little about him. Why should they not approve?”

  “For precisely that reason,” Kitty responded. “They do not know him, and what they have heard about him has not been the best.”