Fitzwilliam Darcy Elopes

by Beth Wood

  Although she was not happy with the situation, Caroline entered the carriage, certain that by the time they arrived in Hertfordshire she could convince her brother to bypass Netherfield Park and simply continue on their way to London. In order to give herself as much time to convince her brother as possible, she also set about delaying their travels in as many small ways as she possibly could. In the end, she was not able to convince her brother not to stop in Hertfordshire, but she did cause so many late starts and delays that the trip which should have been completed in two days took a total of five. They did not pull into the drive at Netherfield Park until a full week had passed since Mr. Darcy took his leave of Pemberley.

  When news reached Longbourn that Mr. Bingley was returning to Netherfield Park, Mrs. Bennet was beside herself with glee. Jane Bennet was much more quiet, but still discomposed. Although she was anxious to see Mr. Bingley again, she had received no word of him since his departure from Hertfordshire in November. She had no hope that he was returning to the area for her benefit. Indeed, she reasoned, it would have been better if he had waited to return until all their troubles had been settled. In her own mind, she was ill equipped to manage the turmoil caused by his return while in the midst of worrying about Elizabeth and Lydia. She spent much of her time in the days leading up to his arrival vacillating between a hope that he would call, and a hope that he would not. It was not known which day he would arrive, only that he had requested the house to be made ready. Each evening that came and went without further news of Mr. Bingley’s arrival, Jane’s heart became more conflicted. She would not admit her desire to see him again may be stronger than her desire to avoid him for the time being.

  * * *

  As the sun began to set on the first day of their journey from Scotland to London, Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. By the end of the day, he and Elizabeth had progressed to the point that their calves were resting against each other, but they dared not attempt any greater level of intimacy while Mr. Bennet was with them in the carriage. It was only a matter of time now before Mr. Bennet would retire to his own room and leave them in privacy to enjoy their wedding night.

  After securing rooms for the night, all three were shown to a private parlor to enjoy a light repast before retiring. After only a few bites, Elizabeth excused herself to retire for the evening. Although Darcy wanted to rush after her, he thought she would be more comfortable if he gave her a few moments to herself before joining her in her room.

  As she entered her bedchamber, Elizabeth was relieved that Sally had already laid out her bedclothes and was prepared to assist her. As the two carriages were travelling together to ensure they arrived at the same Inn for the night, Sally had not had much time to prepare the room before Elizabeth arrived. After Elizabeth was prepared for bed, she excused Sally, asking to have a bottle of wine sent to the room.

  When Elizabeth had asked her Aunt Gardiner for advice concerning her wedding night, one of the things she had been told was that partaking of a glass of wine would help her relax and enjoy the experience. Her aunt had been quick to assure her that such measures would not be necessary regularly, but that the apprehension most women felt on their wedding night could be relieved by the glass of wine.

  Elizabeth intended to wait until Darcy joined her to open the bottle of wine, but as more time passed, her nervousness grew, and she decided it would not hurt to have one glass on her own. She settled on the settee close to the fire and poured herself a small glass, leaving the bottle next to her on a small table. After another ten minutes had passed, she reasoned that one more glass of wine would be welcome.

  * * *

  Mr. Darcy had only planned on giving his bride fifteen or twenty minutes to herself before he joined her. As he prepared to excuse himself from the company of Elizabeth's father, he was delayed by answering a question regarding their plans on announcing their marriage. After explaining that an announcement would be put in the paper after Lydia had been found, Mr. Bennet asked him how they would attempt to find her. After Darcy explained Colonel Fitzwilliam's involvement, Mr. Bennet asked about their plans for dealing with Mr. Wickham once he was found. Although Darcy was anxious to join Elizabeth, he did not want to ignore Mr. Bennet's questions, either. By the time he was finally able to excuse himself and make his way to Elizabeth's chamber, it had been nearly two hours.

  When Darcy first entered the room he did not see his bride. She was definitely not in the bed, though the covers had been turned down. A quick search of the room found her to be reclining on the settee by the fire. When he approached, his heart sank to see that she had fallen asleep while waiting. He quietly leaned down and kissed her forehead before lifting her in his arms to carry her to the bed.

  As he carried her across the room, Elizabeth's eyes opened briefly. She smiled at him lopsidedly, then put her hand to his face.

  “I am afraid I did not wait to open the wine, dear husband,” she slurred out, “but I am well relaxed for the night.”

  “I am sorry that it took me so long to come to you,” Darcy apologized. “It would appear your father had many questions concerning our plans that he did not care to discuss in front of you.”

  “What kind of questions?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes half closed.

  After giving Elizabeth a very brief overview of the types of questions posed by her father, he asked her to not concern herself with it any more that night. If needed, they could talk about it more in the morning.

  “You are such a good man,” Elizabeth stated, stroking her thumb across his cheek. “Now take me to bed.”

  Although Darcy was unsure how much wine she had consumed, her words gave him relief that she still wanted to consummate their marriage that evening. After sharing a lingering kiss, he laid her on the bed, then quickly began removing his clothes. Before he had even removed his coat, her soft snoring reached his ears. She was clearly exhausted. As much as he wished to engage his wife that night, he would not take advantage of her state. He wanted her to be responsive. With a sigh, he removed all but his lawn shirt and breaches then retreated to the settee where he had found her. He lifted the bottle of wine to pour himself a glass, when he realized the bottle was almost completely empty. Although it concerned him that Elizabeth felt the need to imbibe so much wine before enjoying their wedding night, it did explain her current state. Setting the bottle down, he resigned himself to a night of merely holding her in his arms while he slept, and hoping her head would not ache too much in the morning.

  * * *

  When Elizabeth awoke the next morning, she had a vague recollection of being held during the night, but found herself alone in her bed. As she tried to open her eyes, she was met with a much brighter light than she had expected. As she stirred, she sensed movement in the room and soon found her husband had joined her at the bedside.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, brushing her hair from her face.

  “I am not sure,” Elizabeth confessed. “Everything seems a little fuzzy, and my head is aching.”

  “Here, take this,” Darcy directed, dissolving some powders in a glass of water and handing it to her.

  After drinking the glass, Elizabeth handed it back, thanking him.

  “I must admit that when my aunt warned me that I might feel some discomfort the morning after our wedding night, this is not exactly what I expected,” Elizabeth confessed.

  “No, I would imagine it is not,” Darcy replied with a smile. “Perhaps we will be fortunate enough for you to feel that discomfort tomorrow morning.” When Elizabeth looked at him in confusion, he went on to explain, “The discomfort you are feeling now is due to the bottle of wine you consumed before I was able to join you last evening.”

  Completely embarrassed, Elizabeth tried to look away, but Darcy turned her face back toward his.

  “Do not try to hide from me,” he requested. “Although I will admit to some concern that you felt the need to consume wine in preparation for our wedding night, I would never impose myself
on you without your consent, or ability to respond.”

  “I really did not intend to drink an entire bottle of wine,” Elizabeth confessed. “My aunt had told me that having a small glass of wine would help me to relax and enjoy myself. While I waited for you I decided to have another glass. I must have partaken of more wine that I had intended.”

  “Do not distress yourself, my love,” Darcy replied. “I was delayed with your father much longer than I intended.”

  After only a few more minutes of conversation, Darcy excused himself to allow Sally to help Elizabeth dress. It was not until then that Elizabeth realized Darcy was already dressed for the day, and the sun was much higher than it should have been. As Sally helped her prepare for the day, Elizabeth inquired as to the time.

  “It is nearly 9:30, Mrs. Darcy,” Sally replied.

  “Why did no one wake me?” Elizabeth asked with some distress. “We had planned to be back on the road at dawn.”

  “Mr. Darcy explained that you needed to rest longer this morning than he had anticipated.”

  Elizabeth knew that time was essential as they were making their journey. They wanted to arrive in London as soon as possible. Now, both days of their travel to town, they were getting a much later start than they anticipated. The first day they were late due to the necessity of waiting until morning for the wedding, then explaining the situation to her father. Now, they were late because she had foolishly drunk a bottle of wine the night before and was unable to rise when expected. She did not even want to consider her mortification at being so intoxicated she was unable to fulfill her duties the night before.

  When Elizabeth emerged from the bedchamber she declined any breakfast, asking instead that a basket be made up to partake of in the carriage. As quickly as possible, they were loaded in the carriage and making their way down the London road. There was very little conversation for the first several hours of their day. Elizabeth's head still ached slightly, and she leaned into the wall of the carriage, trying to rest as much as possible. Not wanting to disturb her, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bennet both decided to pass the time reading.

  As they left the last coaching Inn of the day before they would find one for the night, Elizabeth turned to her father and requested that if he had any questions for her husband this evening that the time had come to ask them in order to allow Mr. Darcy the opportunity to retire as soon as they reached the Inn. Showing only a slight flush, Mr. Bennet insisted that his curiosity had been had been sated the night before, and did not currently have any pressing matters to discuss with his new son.

  Chapter 4

  Fitzwilliam Darcy stood speechless in front of the proprietor of the Inn where they had stopped for the night. It would appear The Fates were conspiring against him.

  “I am sorry, sir, but we only have one room available for the night,” the man was saying. “It is fortunate that even the one room is available. One of our guests originally wanted two rooms, but arrived on his own and allowed for the other room positioned off his private sitting room to be opened up for another's use.”

  Although Darcy wanted to decline the room, particularly after learning they would be sharing the sitting room with another guest, it was already quite late.

  “I will take it,” Darcy replied with a sigh. This was the third Inn in which they had attempted to find lodgings this evening. Darcy had not anticipated any difficulties in procuring rooms for the night on their travels from Scotland to London. Unfortunately for him, the small hamlet where they had decided to stop this night had the inauspicious honor of hosting a bout of fisticuffs earlier in the day. As he eyed the gentlemen revelers in the public rooms, he thought it would be best if he escorted his wife and her father to their room as quickly as possible. After making arrangements for some extra bedding to be brought to their room, he returned to their carriage in order to collect his travelling companions.

  * * *

  After briefly explaining the situation to his very disappointed wife and her father, Darcy escorted his companions into the Inn. Any hopes that Darcy entertained of traversing the Inn undetected were dashed as they passed the common rooms and his name was called out. As he turned in greeting, he was disappointed to see the face of one of his uncle's colleagues from the House of Lords. Silently reminding himself that they wanted others to gossip about his marriage, he took a deep breath before responding.

  “Lord Wilmont, a pleasure to see you, sir.”

  “This is a pleasant surprise, Mr. Darcy,” the Earl of Wilmont replied. “I had always thought you were too reserved for such an exhibition.”

  “In truth, I am only here by coincidence,” Darcy explained. “My companions and I are simply passing through on our way to London.”

  “I thought I understood from Lord Matlock that you were summering at Pemberley this year,” Lord Wilmont replied, eyeing his companions for the first time. “This is a rather roundabout way of travelling to London from Derbyshire.”

  “Although I would not typically travel this route to London, I found I had some business to attend to in the north before returning to town.”

  Mentally cataloging all the towns of note along the road to the north, Lord Wilmont once again eyed Darcy's companions. As of yet, they had not spoken as they had not been introduced. As he looked on, Darcy pulled the young lady's hand in the crook of his arm in quite a possessive manner. Certain that his conjectures must be wrong, as Mr. Darcy was much too proper to consider anything even hinting of scandal, Lord Wilmont asked just how far north Darcy's business had taken him. When Darcy replied that they were returning from Scotland, Lord Wilmont requested to be introduced to his companions. He was momentarily blinded by the smile that appeared on the younger man's face.

  “May I present my wife, Mrs. Darcy, and her father, Mr. Bennet of Longbourn, Hertfordshire.”

  “Delighted, I'm sure,” the Earl replied, a bit stunned.

  “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Wilmont,” Elizabeth responded.

  “I was not aware you were to be married,” Lord Wilmont replied when he had recovered slightly. “Your uncle made no mention of the event when I saw him last week.”

  “Lord Matlock is currently ignorant of the happy event,” Darcy explained. “We are on our way to London where I intend to introduce my wife to the remainder of the Fitzwilliam family.”

  “She has not even been introduced to your family?”

  Sensing the Earl's confusion, Elizabeth hoped to use it to their advantage.

  “I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with both Miss Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam. I feel they will be very delightful relations.” After a slight pause, she continued with a twinkle in her eye. “I have also been granted the inestimable privilege of being granted an acquaintance with Lady Catherine de Bourg, though she has yet to learn of our recent nuptials.”

  At the mention of Lady Catherine, Lord Wilmont recalled the many times that Lord Matlock had expressed a desire for his sister to abandon her dream of marrying her daughter to Mr. Darcy. Matlock had always felt that if he need not worry about offending his sister, it would be possible to arrange a politically advantageous match for his nephew. Chuckling, he realized that Darcy had finally decided to take a wife of his own choosing, without regard to the aspirations, political or otherwise, of the rest of his family.

  After only a few more moments of polite conversation, the men parted ways, allowing the Darcys and Mr. Bennet to retire to their room for the evening. It did not take long for Lord Wilmont to share the news with others in the common room. Although he had only been in conversation with the new Mrs. Darcy briefly, he was struck by her beauty and liveliness. Laughing at Darcy's willingness to elope in order to claim such a gem for his wife, the Earl had no qualms in relating his conjectures that the young couple had eloped due to the fact Lady Catherine did not approve of his choice of wife. It did not take long for the story to be circulated that not only did Lady Catherine not approve, but that the Fitzwilliams did not appr
ove, either.

  The conjectures came as quite a surprise to one Lord Hastings, Viscount Anthony Fitzwilliam, who was enjoying a pint of ale in the common room. Although he was ten years Darcy's senior, he was fairly certain he would have been informed if Darcy was courting a young lady, whether it was a lady that his father approved of or not.

  * * *

  Colonel Fitzwilliam was pleased with his men. Only two days after receiving the express from his cousin, they were able to track down the wayward Lieutenant Wickham hiding out in the slums. The men had been handpicked for their unique backgrounds. He had predominantly chosen soldiers that had grown up in the rougher parts of London. His soldiers were enlisted men, not the pampered officers that paid their way into an easier living. They did not have the resources to consider buying a commission, so their military career would consist of constantly following the command of others. Yet, they were good men who were attempting to better their lives. They had also served alongside Colonel Fitzwilliam in battle, and were loyal beyond measure to the officer that battled alongside them instead of sending them forward as replaceable pawns, as some others were wont to do.

  The day he received the express from Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam left his card at the Gardiner residence. Now that Wickham had been found, he turned his horse in that direction once again, hoping they had made it to London. It was important to his cousin that Miss Lydia have a respectable place to reside once they arrested Wickham. He needed Mr. Gardiner to travel with his men to apprehend Wickham. This way, he would be on hand to remove his niece from the premises as quickly and quietly as possible.

  * * *

  As surprised as the Gardiners had been to find Colonel Fitzwilliam's card waiting for them when they returned to London, they were even more astonished when the man himself appeared at their home not more than an hour after their arrival. His men had found their missing niece. Without taking time to fully refresh himself from his travels, Mr. Gardiner immediately set out with the Colonel.