by Leenie Brown
Chapter 3
“Lizzy,” Mrs. Gardiner said softly as her niece rose and paced to the window for the third time in only three times as many minutes.
Elizabeth drew the right corner of her lower lip between her teeth as she turned toward her aunt. How could she not pace and fidget? “Mama will be here soon,” she whispered, casting a look toward the bed where her father was sleeping.
“And I am certain all is in order and ready for her arrival.” Mrs. Gardiner joined her niece at the window.
Elizabeth shook her head and wrapped her arms around her middle. Having a room ready to receive a guest was not enough preparation for the arrival of her mother.
“Mr. Darcy is not prepared. I know he has said he is, but he is not. Do not look at me like that. I know I am correct.” She blew out a breath and turned back to the window.
Her mother would set Mr. Darcy’s well-ordered world on its head, and then? Then, she would once again lose Mr. Darcy’s good opinion, and that thought caused her eyes to sting with tears and her heart to beat as rapidly as a horse flying across an open field.
“He will still love you despite your mother or your sisters,” Mrs. Gardiner whispered as she placed an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders.
Elizabeth’s brow furrowed. Her aunt was very good at figuring out what was truly bothering her, even when Elizabeth did not say a word.
Her aunt pulled her close and added, “Should it appear that Mr. Darcy is struggling to keep his equanimity, you need only send word, and your uncle and I will take your mother to Gracechurch Street.” Her head tipped to the side. “Of course, that would mean you must also return to us. You cannot stay here unchaperoned.”
Elizabeth expelled a resigned sigh and nodded slowly. The thought of leaving her father did not sit well with her. However, the thought of leaving Darcy House did not seem to disturb her only because it meant leaving her father. She had not even been here for more than a few hours each day, and yet, she had found herself growing oddly attached to her surroundings.
There was a soft rap at the door before it opened, and Mr. Darcy, the likely reason why Elizabeth was growing so attached to Darcy House, stepped into the room. Her lips curled into a smile at the sight of him.
“Is your father sleeping comfortably?” he asked softly once he had crossed to where Elizabeth stood with her aunt.
“He says the pain is not so bad today as it has been,” she answered.
“I am glad.”
“As are we all,” Mrs. Gardiner said.
“Were you watching the street?” Darcy asked with a nod toward the window.
Elizabeth nodded. “She will be here soon.”
He extended his arm to her. “That is why I have come. You should be among the first to greet your mother.” He turned his head toward Mrs. Gardiner once Elizabeth had placed her hand on his arm. “I have a footman in the hall who will take your place.”
“You are very thoughtful,” Mrs. Gardiner said with a smile.
Darcy shook his head. “No, I am self-indulgent, for I find myself quite unequal to greeting my guests on my own.”
Elizabeth turned worried eyes toward her aunt.
“I am certain you would acquit yourself of the duty perfectly,” Mrs. Gardiner said, favouring her anxious niece with a pointed look before she and Jane followed her from the room.
“I am not so confident in my abilities as you are, Mrs. Gardiner,” Darcy replied as they reached the hall.
“My mother can join us at Gracechurch Street,” Elizabeth offered.
“You are not the only one who is uneasy, Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Gardiner added. “Mrs. Bennet can be a trial at times.”
“You are worried?” Darcy asked her.
“Not I so much as Elizabeth,” Mrs. Gardiner replied.
“I assure you I am prepared for your mother and sisters to arrive and turn my well-ordered life on its head.”
Elizabeth loved the playful smile which accompanied his words — no, they were not his words, they were her words. He was quoting her, after all. How many times had she used that phrase about his well-ordered life when trying to dissuade him from his foolish notion of entertaining not only her injured father but also her mother and sisters?
“Truth be told,” he continued with a sheepish grin. “I have made no secret of my desire to one day see you as mistress of this very home.”
Elizabeth could feel her cheeks growing warm. The dour and reserved Mr. Darcy from Hertfordshire seemed nearly a thing of the past, for in the days since she had agreed to a courtship when standing in the hall at the Johnson’s ball, he had become quite bold in his proclamations regarding their future. The dining room would be the one over which she presided one day. The menu would be hers to approve. The drawing room was no longer his but rather ours. It was nearly too much for her to take in in so short a space of time, but it was not off-putting. She rather liked how he seemed to be claiming her not only as a wife but a partner.
“Therefore,” Darcy continued as Elizabeth attempted to keep her thoughts and emotions under regulation, “I thought it only fitting for you to be at my side when your mother arrives.” His smile had shifted to something more sly and cunning than sheepish. “And I wish for her to see you at my side. I have been assured that she knows nothing of our courtship, and I find the idea of revealing such a thing in such a way to be oddly tantalizing. I honestly do not know why. It is not my normal wont to taunt and tease. I leave such things to my cousin. However, upon discussing your mother with your father yesterday, I agreed that to alter her view of you could be enjoyable.”
Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open. Her father, even in his injured state, was still provoking her mother and using Mr. Darcy to do so? Oh, he was incorrigible!
“And Mr. Bingley has arrived to add to the excitement,” Darcy added.
“I fear you have lost your mind completely!” Elizabeth declared. “The whole square shall reverberate with her shrieks of delight.”
“Or she might just faint away,” said Mrs. Gardiner with a chuckle.
“We might want to hope for that,” said Jane.
“No,” Darcy assured Elizabeth as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “I have not lost my mind, just my heart.”
Elizabeth attempted to scowl at him but could not. She was not made of stone. So, instead, she just shook her head while she smiled that foolish smile she seemed to wear whenever he said anything about loving her. It was utterly ridiculous to be so easily swayed from one’s indignation by a sweet word. Truly, it was.
While she grinned and said not a word, he led her into the sitting room. Not only was Mr. Bingley present as Darcy had promised, but so were Richard and Georgiana, who was accompanied by her companion, Mrs. Annesley.
“Do you not fear that my sisters will ruin your sister?” she said, attempting, once again, to convince him of his error in inviting her family to stay in his home.
“No.” He said simply and led her to a settee. “We could stand at the window if you prefer,” he whispered.
She shook her head and took a seat. Pacing in her father’s room was one thing. Having her nervous state on display for all to see in the sitting room was something else entirely. She would summon her courage just as she always did when she was faced with a situation in which she suspected her mother or sisters would cause some embarrassment.
“All will be well,” Darcy assured her softly, covering her hand, which lay on the settee, with his own.
His touch was reassuring, yet Elizabeth still sent a prayer heavenward that he was correct.
Chapter 4
For a quarter of an hour, Elizabeth engaged in conversation and allowed her mind to nearly forget the reason why they were all gathered. However, as soon as Mr. Abram, the butler, made an appearance at the door to the sitting room and Darcy rose, straightened his jacket, and extended his hand to her, the reality of the day came flooding back.
Elizabeth paused to draw a quick breath before placing her hand in D
arcy’s. Good. Her hand was not trembling. Her nerves must only be causing her insides to quiver.
“Mama can stay at Gracechurch Street,” she whispered.
Darcy chuckled and shook his head as he wrapped her arm around his and placed her hand on his forearm. “I assure you I am made of sterner stuff than you think.”
Her response of “it is not that” fell on purposefully deaf ears, and it was probably just as well. She was in danger of becoming just as annoying as her mother was when anxious, and it would not do to have Mr. Darcy think that she and her mother were alike. They were not. However, her mother had an altering effect on most people after a period of acquaintance, and as Elizabeth stood next to Darcy while the doors were opened, she hoped that whatever change her mother might work on Darcy, it would not be the sort that would drive a wedge between them. She had just begun to learn what a wonderful gentleman Darcy was, and she suspected her heart would shatter into a million pieces if he should decide that he no longer wanted her.
“Oh, Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Bennet said as she entered the house, “I must say I was delighted by your invitation to your home. Not by the circumstances that caused it, of course,” she added quickly. “But the honour of being invited to stay in such a grand home as I knew yours must be — which I am now only ashamed I had not imagined to be so truly grand as it is — made the news of my husband’s injury nearly bearable. I cannot tell you how often I said just such a thing to one neighbour or another as I was making preparations. It is such a noble gesture, I said. He is the most gracious gentleman, to be sure, I said. And they all agreed.”
She had by this time, removed her hat and coat and was smoothing her skirts as she spoke. Then, apparently ready, she extended her hand and froze, mouth hanging slightly agape as she finally noticed her second daughter standing beside her host. She blinked as Darcy took her hand and bowed over it, extending his welcome.
“Did you have a good trip?” he asked.
Her brows furrowed, and her eyes shifted from him to Elizabeth and back. “It was excellent. There was not a thing to put us out of humour.” Again, her eyes shifted to Elizabeth.
“We are glad you have joined us,” Elizabeth said. “I am certain Papa will be pleased to see you.”
Mrs. Bennet’s brow rose. “We?”
It was one word. One short word spoken in such a tone of disbelief that Elizabeth knew her mother was beginning to put things together. And Elizabeth had to admit that it was rather tantalizingly enjoyable to be causing her mother’s intrigue.
“Yes, Mr. Darcy and I as well as Aunt Addie and Jane.” She motioned toward where her sister was standing with her aunt and Bingley.
Again, Mrs. Bennet’s mouth dropped open slightly before curling into a delighted smile.
“Mr. Bingley,” she said, moving toward him with her hand outstretched, “it is a pleasure to see you. You have been sorely missed in Hertfordshire. But,” she looked hopefully at Jane, “then it seems it was far better for you to have remained in town?”
“Oh, most certainly,” Bingley replied. “I found town had just the right sort of diversion to keep me from wishing to return to Netherfield.”
Mrs. Bennet clasped her hands in front of her chest. “And is there any happy news?” she asked. “My husband hinted before he left that there might be.”
“Indeed, there is,” Darcy replied. “However, your husband has made us promise that he be the one to share such news with you.”
“He did?” Elizabeth could not catch the words before they flew from her mouth.
“Yes, my dear, he did.”
Such a reply could not go unnoticed by Mrs. Bennet.
“My dear?” she cried.
Elizabeth thought from the wideness of her mother’s eyes and the gasp that followed her cry of surprise, her mother might expire right there on the spot. However, she did not, and it took only a moment for the questioned words to draw a conclusion from the woman’s mind.
“Oh, do not tell me,” she exclaimed with obvious delight, “that Elizabeth has captured the affections of a wealthy gentleman.” Her right hand tapped her chest above her heart.
“That is precisely what I have promised I would not tell you,” Darcy replied. “Now, shall we move to the sitting room.”
“I must see my husband,” Mrs. Bennet replied. “It seems there is much he needs to tell me.” Though she wore a broad smile, she was looking at Elizabeth very carefully, almost suspiciously.
“There are others for you to meet, Mama,” Elizabeth said. “And Papa is sleeping.”
“But my heart,” she protested, tapping her chest once again.
“Your heart will survive a wait of a few moments,” Mary muttered.
Mrs. Bennet glared at her third eldest daughter but did not say a word beyond encouraging Mary, Kitty, and Lydia to follow her.
“It is good to see you, Fanny,” Mrs. Gardiner said, taking her sister-in-law by the arm as they followed Darcy and Elizabeth into the sitting room. “All is very well. You shall be doubly delighted.” Elizabeth heard her say.
It was just like her aunt to add a calming word when needed.
“Indeed?” her mother inquired. “Both Jane and Elizabeth?”
“Oh, that I am not supposed to say. However…”
Elizabeth looked over her shoulder just in time to see her aunt give one small sharp nod of her head which caused her mother to nearly faint away.
“Mrs. Bennet,” Darcy began as soon as she and her three youngest daughters were in the sitting room, “This my cousin, the Right Honorable Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Richard, Mrs. Bennet, and her daughters, Miss Mary, Miss Kitty, and Miss Lydia.”
Elizabeth sighed inwardly as her youngest sisters giggled softly at being presented to not just a handsome gentleman but a colonel.
“And this,” Darcy continued, “is my sister, Miss Georgiana Darcy, and her companion, Mrs. Annesley.”
Mrs. Bennet did all that was proper in greeting each person, though she did keep peering curiously at Darcy and Elizabeth almost as if she needed to reassure herself that she had indeed seen what she had seen.
“Now that we have made all the proper introductions,” Darcy said as Mrs. Bennet once again looked his direction, “it might be best if we see you settled into your room and allow you to check on your husband before we have tea.”
“Oh, yes, indeed, Mr. Darcy, that might be the best course of action,” Mrs. Bennet agreed quickly. “Not that I do not wish to make myself acquainted with your sister and the colonel,” she added. “But it has been a long trip.”
Elizabeth watched Darcy’s lips twitch with amusement. The cunning gentleman was leading her mother down a merry path and enjoying himself thoroughly. Perhaps all would be well.
“I find I always wish for a basin of water and a fresh set of clothes after just about every journey,” he said as he led her from the room and to the stairs. “While you are getting settled, I shall look in on your husband and let him know of your safe arrival.”
“Yes, yes,” Mrs. Bennet muttered as she looked high and low at the opulence which surrounded her. “That is a very good idea.”
“And a maid can show you to his room as soon as you are ready,” Darcy continued as they climbed the stairs. It was a suggestion that was met with great enthusiasm.
“Your home is so beautiful,” she said as she reached the top of the stairs.
“Thank you. I hope you will also find it welcoming and comfortable.”
“I cannot see how we could find it any other thing,” Mrs. Bennet assured him.
“These are your rooms,” Elizabeth said when they came to a stop. “This one,” she said as she opened the door, “and the one next to it adjoin, and Jane and I are just across the hall.”
“How lovely!” Lydia cried, pulling Kitty into the room with her.
“Your maid will conduct you to your husband as soon as you are ready, and we shall be below, awaiting your return,” Darcy said. Then, with a small nod of his head in
acceptance of Mrs. Bennet’s words of thanks, he and Elizabeth took their leave.
“Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said as they approached her father’s room, “I must congratulate you on your cleverness. My mother’s initial raptures shall be confined to this room while you avoid them in the sitting room.”
He shook his head. “I fear I am not that clever, my love.”
She felt her cheeks grow warm first at the appellation and then the kiss he placed on her knuckles.
“It was your father’s idea. Now, shall we warn him of your mother’s impending delight?” He opened the door in front of them and motioned for her to enter the room before him.
Chapter 5
“One betrothed and another nearly so,” Mrs. Bennet said for the fourth time since tea had begun. She had taken a few moments to express her delight when she had arrived in the sitting room for tea. However, it had been a contained excitement for a lady so prone to exuberance as Mr. Darcy considered Mrs. Bennet to be, and then she had ventured into other topics of conversation, deftly guided by Mrs. Gardiner.
That woman still impressed Darcy each and every time he met her.
Darcy glanced at Elizabeth just as he had the three other times her mother had said such a thing. Embarrassment stained Elizabeth’s cheeks and caused her head to dip, but her lips wore a smile. He was almost certain he could ask for her hand now and be accepted, but he would not. Not just yet. The way she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth spoke of some worry that she still held, which he supposed was likely about how he would be able to handle her mother and sisters in large doses.
To own the truth, though he had declared he was capable of surviving the visit of the Bennets, he still held a small amount of doubt about his abilities to remain unruffled by the experience. However, when he considered that it was Elizabeth for whom he was making this effort, his confidence rose.