The Choices Series: Pride and Prejudice Novellas

by Leenie Brown

  Lady Sophia tilted her cheek upwards for his kiss as she explained. “Georgiana is to have a new sister, and it is far better for her to meet her before my brother and his wife.”

  “But I do not wish to have Miss Elizabeth overwhelmed on her first visit either,” Darcy cautioned.

  “Georgiana is incapable of overwhelming anyone,” stated Lady Sophia.

  “Yes,” said Darcy with a smile, “but I fear just your presence alone will be enough to overwhelm.”

  Georgiana giggled while her aunt huffed. “Such insolence.” It would have seemed rather a stern scolding had it not been for the smile that was broad enough to make her eyes crinkle slightly.

  “I am a bit much at times, am I not?” she said. “It is why my brother has never quite known what to do with me, especially now that I have an establishment of my own and the money left me by my husband. And I suppose that is exactly why you wish for me to meet this young lady before your uncle does. She is not…” she tapped her lip, “how shall we say it? Up to par with Lord Matlock’s exacting standards in some way? But —” she held her finger in the air, “Miss Elizabeth is someone of whom I will approve, and you wish me to give her my support.”

  “Precisely.” Darcy took a seat near his aunt. “We must marry. There is no other option, so it is imperative that you give both of us your support.”

  Lady Sophia’s brows rose quite high. “Must marry?”

  Darcy’s face turned a faint shade of pink. “We were found in a compromising situation.”

  Richard laughed at his cousin’s unease at saying such a thing. “They were reading in the library unchaperoned, and the young lady had removed her slippers.”

  “Reading?” Lady Sophia crossed her arms and gave Darcy an unbelieving look.

  “I assure you we were reading just before we were discovered. Unfortunately, I was just leaving, and Miss Elizabeth was putting on her slippers as her aunt entered.”

  “Indeed?” One finger tapped her arm as she waited for further explanation.

  Darcy rubbed the space between his eyes. He had known she might have some difficulty believing such a story, and he had expected a small amount of questioning, but he had not expected to have to defend both his honour and that of Miss Elizabeth with his sister present. “She does not wish to marry me.” He tried not to grimace at the confession.

  Shock suffused his aunt’s face. “You are marrying someone who does not wish to be Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy? I had not thought that possible.”

  Darcy sighed. “I did not make a good first impression. I was in a foul mood, and I said something which I should not have said, although it was not meant as it was heard.” He sighed and cast a sidelong glance at his cousin. “There were also stories she had heard that were disparaging. Things have been put a right as much as I am able, but I cannot force her to like me.”

  “And you wish for her to like you?” Lady Sophia was studying him through slightly narrowed eyes.

  Darcy attempted to shrug as if the question were unimportant. He did not wish to expose his heart to his aunt or his sister. “We are to marry. It would be best.” He knew from the raised eyebrow and the small smirk on his aunt’s face that his attempts at hiding his true feelings had been unsuccessful.

  “Very well. We will do our best to convince her of your worth, will we not, Georgiana?”

  “Of course, Aunt.”

  Darcy sighed. The smile his sister wore was far too similar to his aunt’s. “I appreciate your willingness to take up my cause, but I fear the weight of proving myself must fall squarely on my shoulders. She will trust me less if she suspects I have given you the task of convincing her of my worth.”

  “So, she is someone of whom I will not only approve but also find it hard not to love?”

  Darcy heard the true question behind her words. “Yes,” he said, acknowledging both to his aunt and to himself once again that he did indeed love Elizabeth Bennet.

  Lady Sophia’s eyes and smile softened. “I see,” she said. “Then, I am even more eager to meet her and to lend my support to you both, no matter the objections my brother shall raise.”

  Darcy shifted slightly in his chair. “You know how my uncle does not approve of my friendship with Bingley?”

  “She is from trade?” asked Georgiana. She had heard many discussions of her brother’s friend.

  “She is not a tradesman’s daughter, but her mother is, and one uncle is in trade and another is a country solicitor. Miss Elizabeth’s father is a gentleman, but of little standing. She brings little by way of wealth or position to the marriage.” He had risen and was pacing in front of his aunt and sister. The thought of his uncle’s condemnations made him uneasy. He had endured it with as much fortitude as he could muster when his uncle disparaged Bingley. But, imagining him saying such things about Elizabeth left an unpleasant feeling in his stomach that spread to his heart.

  “A person’s worth does not come from social position or wealth, but from character,” Georgiana repeated one of the arguments her brother had used on many occasions with her uncle when discussing Bingley. She smiled at Darcy’s look of surprise. “I would not say so to my uncle, for I am not so brave as you, but I believe it is true.”

  “As do I,” said Richard.

  “Ah, young, revolutionary ideas,” teased Lady Sophia.

  “And yet ideas that I believe we learned from you,” said Richard.

  She shrugged. “I believe you possessed the intelligence to discover such truths on your own. I merely assisted you in your discovery.” She laughed along with her niece and nephews. “Has tea been arranged?” she asked, glancing at the clock.

  “It has.” Darcy gave a look of caution to his sister. “Almond cakes are one of Miss Elizabeth’s favourites.”

  Georgiana giggled. “I will not eat them all, Brother.” The fact that he knew one of Miss Elizabeth’s favourites cemented in her mind what she had suspected when she was listening to the exchange between her brother and aunt earlier. She has heard the inflection of voice as things were said. She had seen the pain in his eyes as he spoke of Miss Elizabeth not liking him. There was only one explanation. Her brother was well and truly in love.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

  Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide as the carriage Darcy had sent for them drew to a stop in front of a very grand townhouse. “Half of Derbyshire and a good portion of London,” she muttered in amazement.

  “It is a very fine house,” Mrs. Gardiner agreed. “But it is just a house. One with finer furnishings and more staff, but a house none-the-less. I imagine it runs quite well now and will continue to do so once you have gotten your feet under you.” She placed a hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “Your intelligence will aid you in learning the management of this and any other establishment Mr. Darcy owns, but it is your heart that will make it a home.”

  Elizabeth smiled at her aunt. How many times since last night’s discussion had her aunt encouraged her to consider her heart and what it was saying about Mr. Darcy? She had even listened patiently and, if truth be told, with a greater interest than she had ever had before as her sister read to her about love from Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. She had spent several hours considering what both her aunt and sister had said, and in the late hours of the night, she had come to a realization that perhaps the feeling of the tilting and swirling of the earth under her feet was as her aunt had suggested ─ she did care for Mr. Darcy. She drew a deep breath and then, covering her aunt’s hand with her own, she said, “I believe both my heart and my courage are ready for the challenge.”

  The door of the carriage opened, and the steps were put in place.

  “Though,” she whispered as she prepared to descend the steps, “my legs are trembling at the thought.”

  Mrs. Gardiner followed her nieces out of the carriage and took Elizabeth’s arm as they ascended the steps to Darcy House. “I am pleased,” she whispered.

  Elizabeth took in the grandeur of the entry. The ceilings were high and
the floor shone. The furnishings were elegant. She smiled in relief when she saw Mr. Darcy step out of what she assumed was the sitting room to greet them.

  “I hope you do not find it overwhelming, but I asked my aunt, Lady Sophia, to join us today,” he said.

  “Not at all,” said Elizabeth. “I shall have to meet my new relatives eventually, shall I not?”

  Darcy chuckled. “Indeed. She insisted on bringing my sister, and my cousin has taken up residence for a few days.” He noted how she pulled her lip between her teeth as she had on their walks whenever something had concerned her. “You have nothing to fear,” he said softly. “I have told them the details surrounding our betrothal. They are the most agreeable of my relatives, and their support will be invaluable when you meet the less agreeable relations.”

  She squeezed his arm where her hand lay on it. “I trust you.” Her cheeks coloured slightly at the admission.

  “Truly?” His heart leapt a bit at the hope those words gave him.

  She smiled at him impertinently, a smile that he had not seen since before the ball at Netherfield.

  “Did I not tell you that I would try?” She shrugged slightly. “When I put my mind to a task, Mr. Darcy, I quite often am successful in accomplishing it.”

  He caught the eye of his butler and tipped his head toward the sitting room. The servant gave him a nod and said to Mrs. Gardiner and Mary, “If you will follow me.”

  Darcy stopped Elizabeth when she moved to follow her aunt and sister. “You will pardon my surprise, but it was not many days ago when you did not trust me.”

  She smiled up at him. “I have done a great deal of thinking, and I find no reason not to trust you.”

  “I am glad of it,” said Darcy as he led her into the sitting room.

  The light in his eyes at her admission had taken her by surprise. It was an expression she had not yet seen from him. A tendril of pleasure wrapped itself around her heart as she realized that her good opinion was important to him.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~

  With tea finished, Darcy once again had Elizabeth on his arm as they began their tour of the house. “Every room in the house is open to your viewing. Nothing is to be omitted.”

  She lifted an impertinent brow at him. “It is a good thing I have a fondness for walking, or this could be a very tiring excursion.”

  He laughed lightly. “I assure you, Miss Elizabeth, it is not that large a house.”

  She gave him a disbelieving look. “And just when I thought I could trust you,” she teased. “I assure you, sir, that this is indeed a large house. Remember to what I have to compare it. Longbourn is modest in size, and my uncle’s townhome could fit into this one two, if not three, times over.”

  “And remember, Miss Elizabeth, to what I have to compare it. I assure you that compared to Pemberley, this house is not large.”

  “Do you mean to frighten me, sir?”

  He smiled at her. How he enjoyed her teasing banter. “I merely wish to prepare you.”

  Mrs. Vernon shared an amused look with Lady Sophia. “Shall we begin above or below stairs, ma’am?” It was not the thing to be done, but Mrs. Vernon had over the years developed a sort of friendship with Lady Sophia.

  “Below,” said Richard. “I am sure it is the most frightening.”

  Darcy glared at him. “You do not need to accompany us.”

  “I shall desert you shortly as I plan to spend some time in the workshop.”

  “But,” said Lady Sophia, “you wish a few more treats before you do.”

  Richard laughed. “You are correct. Might I suggest we begin with the kitchen, so that Darcy can be rid of my presence as quickly as possible?”

  “Very well,” said Mrs. Vernon, “If the lady does not object, we shall begin in the kitchen.”

  Elizabeth nodded her assent, and the tour began below stairs. Richard, true to his word, left them after pinching a few treats in the kitchen.

  The running of the house was on a grander scale than that of Longbourn. The kitchen was larger, and the storerooms and servants were greater in number, but as her aunt had said, the operations were very similar. For all that her mother flitted about and chattered, she knew how to manage a household and had passed on much of her knowledge to her eldest daughters.

  Mrs. Vernon then took them above stairs, first to the public rooms before ascending the grand staircase to the guest rooms and, finally, the private family living quarters.

  Elizabeth peeked into each room. They were all finely furnished. The decor was very much to her taste.

  “And these are my rooms,” said Georgiana, opening the door. “This is the sitting room. Over there,” she motioned to her right, “is my dressing room and here,” she opened a door that led off the sitting room to the left, “this is my bedroom.”

  “It is beautiful,” said Elizabeth. The room was decorated in soft shades of blue with accents of cream and yellow. “Very like a garden on a spring morning.”

  Georgiana smiled. “It reminds me of a meadow at Pemberley. It is always dotted with white and yellow flowers. It is one of my favourite places.”

  “You shall have to show it to me. Will the flowers be in bloom when we arrive?” She looked to Darcy.

  “They will be,” he said. He was happy to hear the eagerness in her voice when she spoke of seeing the meadow. He offered her his arm again as they proceeded out of Georgiana’s room and moved on to the master suite.

  “This is Mr. Darcy’s room,” Mrs. Vernon was saying as she opened the door.

  Elizabeth peeked inside the room, a nervous feeling settling in her stomach. “It is very dignified,” she said, feeling she must compliment it in some way. It was a very beautiful room.

  “Brown is my brother’s favourite colour,” said Georgiana.

  “One of them,” corrected Darcy. “There are many colours I favour, but brown is very calming.”

  “And boring,” said Georgiana, earning her a scowl from her brother.

  “A colour is only boring if it is not complimented with other shades of that colour or set off by some other colour,” said Mary.

  “Indeed,” said Elizabeth, wishing for the conversation surrounding the decor of that particular room to be at an end. “I believe brown is very adaptable as it can compliment many other colours. Besides,” she said as she moved toward the next door where Mrs. Vernon stood, “both chocolate and gingerbread are brown. I am sure a colour cannot be truly boring if such lovely treats are that colour.” She now stood inside what was being explained to her was a sitting room which was shared by the master and mistress of the house. Knowing that this was to be a room used by both her and Mr. Darcy did nothing to decrease the feeling of unease in her stomach.

  “It is lovely,” she said, for it was. She could not fault any of the decor nor the arrangement. If she had been given such a room to decorate, she would have chosen many of the same things. She particularly liked the shelves of books near the fireplace where two comfortable chairs stood.

  “You can change whatever you wish,” said Darcy. There was that unease again. He was worried about her.

  She shook her head. “I like it just as it is. I am sure it cannot be improved upon save for a few fresh flowers in season.”

  “Through here,” said Mrs. Vernon, “is your bedroom and dressing room.”

  “I had this room redone just a year ago,” said Darcy, “but it is yours to do with as you would like.”

  “You chose these things?” asked Elizabeth in amazement. This room was so different from his bedroom. The furnishings were still elegant, but the design was delicate.

  “Lady Sophia helped.” There was that hint of unease in his voice.

  “You have done very well,” said Mrs. Gardiner. “Very well, indeed. This is lovely.”

  Mary ran her hand over the back of a chair which sat near the fire. “Do you not love it, Lizzy? It is as if you had done it yourself.”

  “It is,” agreed Elizabeth. She turned to Georgiana. “La
vender is my favourite colour.”

  “So you like it?” asked Darcy.

  “Yes. Very much.” The smile on her face let him know that she was indeed pleased.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  “I like her very much,” said Lady Sophia after Elizabeth had left. “You may have not selected her in the traditional way of choosing a bride, but you could not have done better. A gem is what she is.”

  He watched the carriage moving away from his house. “I believe, Aunt, that I would have selected her if given the opportunity; however, I fear she would not have accepted me. So,” he said turning from the window, “I find myself grateful for her aunt’s lack of discretion.”

  Chapter 5

  Two days later, Richard entered Darcy’s study, a paper in his hand and a piece of wood under his arm.

  Darcy looked up briefly from his papers. “Did you lose your way to the workshop?”

  Richard took a seat in front of Darcy’s desk and placed the diagram of a jewelry box on top of the papers Darcy was reviewing. “Will she like it?”

  “It is lovely,” said Darcy.

  “Yes, I know, but will Miss Elizabeth like it?” He pointed to the design to be carved in the top. “Is this a flower she would appreciate?”

  Darcy shrugged. “I cannot be certain, but it does seem to be something she would like. I have never thought to ask her which flowers she prefers.”

  Richard drummed his fingers on the desktop.

  Suddenly, a thought occurred to Darcy. “She said her room was decorated as if she had done it herself. There are some pieces of yours in there. Remember?”

  “Quite right!” Richard stood and snatched the diagram from Darcy. “Do you mind if I borrow one? I can follow the pattern from before but add a few distinguishing features.” He was nearly at the door before Darcy could reply that the idea was excellent.

  The door opened as Richard reached for the handle.

  “Father.” Richard nodded to the man who stood behind Mr. Daniels.

  Lord Matlock looked at the wood Richard held under his arm and then, with a raised brow and a pointed look, said, “Colonel.”