The Lady of the Mount and Patience Rewarded: Two Stories of Darcy and Elizabeth

by Don H. Miller

  From the way Georgiana said it, Mrs. Gardiner could tell something was wrong. “Why is she in her room? Is she not feeling well?”

  Georgiana was not sure what to say, so Darcy said, “I am afraid it is my fault. She and I had a talk this morning that did not go well. She became very upset and went to her room in a state of some distress. I believe she may not be here because she does not want to see me again before you leave.”

  “What did you say that could have upset her so?” said a concerned Mr. Gardiner. “It must have been of significance, because Lizzy is not usually one to let a difference of opinion upset her. In fact, she often revels in it. Verbal combat is an activity she dearly loves.”

  “This was of a very personal nature, Mr. Gardiner. However, I believe it is best she tells you of it rather than me.”

  There was silence for some time until Mrs. Gardiner stood and said, “I think I had better go speak with her.”

  When Elizabeth invited Mrs. Gardiner to enter her room after she knocked, Mrs. Gardiner said, “Lizzy, what is the matter? It appears to me you have been crying.”

  “I have been, Aunt Madeleine. I have made a mess of things and all I want to do is leave. I cannot face Mr. Darcy again.”

  “What could you have done that would be so distressful?”

  “He told me he wanted to marry me, and I told him it was impossible. The problem is, I did not realize until that moment that I had developed more feelings for him than I realized. I do not think I am yet irreversibly in love with him, but I fear that if I spend much more time with him, I might become that way and I cannot, because we can have no future together.

  “He wants to marry you and you have refused? I do not understand. If you love him, why do you not marry him?”

  “Surely you can see that a marriage between us could not work. The difference in our background and status is just too great – even greater that the difference between Mama and Papa. I could not live with such a marriage, and it is bound to happen, because he will eventually learn I have neither the proper training nor character to be his wife, just as Mama was not qualified to be Papa’s wife, no matter how much they loved each other when they were married.”

  “Lizzy, you and Mr. Darcy are far different than your mother and father. You are both intelligent, caring, resourceful people. You are adaptable. Your mother and father were not. Furthermore, I cannot imagine why you think you are lacking in either training or character.”

  “I am not sure Mr. Darcy is that adaptable. He has been brought up to expect a wife with certain behavior and capabilities which I do not have. As for my character faults: I am too independent, argumentative, and free-spirited. I do not believe he understands how ingrained those qualities are in me and how they will be a detriment to me as a high society wife. I have never been to a high society event and do not know if I will even be able to abide them. You know I will not be the compliant wife Jane will. Furthermore, I know little of the rules and mores of the upper-class, nor am I trained to manage a house and staff the size of this one.”

  Mrs. Gardiner considered what Elizabeth said and could understand her concern. Living with her parents and being of the character she was, would certainly affect her outlook on marriage. Also, Mrs. Gardiner believed that Elizabeth’s knowledge, or lack of knowledge, of the ton, made her believe it was an even more stratified, formal environment than it was. She had an idea.

  “Lizzy, I understand your concerns, but believe that they are groundless. Let me make a suggestion. Let us go home without you either accepting or denying Mr. Darcy’s request, but do not shut him out. I told you I could find a sponsor for you to attend ton events, and I shall do so. Once you have attended some of those events, you can better understand that environment. I will also introduce you to some very pleasant and kind nobility, who I believe will tell you that you are entirely acceptable as a candidate for many men of the ton, including Mr. Darcy.”

  Elizabeth, who had been lying on the bed, arose and walked around the room for a few minutes, thinking about what her aunt had said. Was her concept of upper society incorrect? Were there those who would find her entirely acceptable?

  “Are you all packed, Lizzy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then let us join the others, so you can have some lunch before we leave. Also, I think you need to talk with Mr. Darcy before we go to let him know your decision.”

  When they entered the dining room, everyone was still eating, and they welcomed Elizabeth. Darcy looked at her questioningly and she returned his look, smiled tentatively and nodded. He smiled but said nothing. After lunch was completed, she went to him.

  “Mr. Darcy, may we speak privately for a moment?”

  A few moments later they were seated in a pair of chairs in the parlor where the others were congregated, but out of earshot across the room. “Mr. Darcy, I am sorry I ran out on you, but my emotions took over, something that rarely happens with me, and I had to leave. I want you to know how honored I am by your statement that you wish to marry me and that, if I were of your class, I would be thrilled to accept you, although, if I were of your class, I would probably not be who I am. I am sorry, but until I know more, I cannot accept an offer of marriage from you for the reasons I have stated. However, my aunt spoke to me and suggested an approach which I think has merit. I believe I told you she has a friend in the nobility whom I suspect you know, Lady Marie Dumont, the Baroness Monttard, who is providing funds to help her start a home for homeless young women. My aunt has spoken with Lady Monttard about me, and she wants to meet me. My aunt thinks she would be willing to sponsor me at upper society events if she thinks I am suitable for her sponsorship. When it was first mentioned to me a month or so ago, I was not particularly inclined to accept her offer, but my aunt has convinced me I should. She believes my impression of the ton is too disparaging and that if I participated in ton events and met some of Lady Monttard’s family and friends, I would discover that perhaps a marriage between us would not be quite as disastrous as I envision it.”

  He looked at her, twisting the ring on his finger as he often did, when nervous or contemplating. “I assume this would occur at the beginning of next Season.”

  “The timing was not discussed, but I made the same assumption.”

  “Then you do not want to see me in the intervening months.”

  “I would not avoid you if we happened to be in the same place at the same time, but I do not think it would be appropriate for you to go to Hertfordshire just to call on me.”

  He smiled, thinking of the plans he had for convincing Bingley to return to Netherfield. He would assume her last statement would allow him to see her if he was at Netherfield with Bingley. However, he wanted to ascertain her state of mind, so he asked, “Does that mean if, for instance, I discover you are visiting Lord and Lady Monttard, who live only two houses from Darcy House in London, you would allow me to call on you if I am in residence there?”

  “Yes,” she said with a chuckle, “but I hardly think that is likely.”

  “One never knows what will happen. However, back to your aunt’s suggestion. I think it is a good one, even if I am concerned that I may lose you to some of the very good men I know who frequent those events – not the least of which is my cousin, Col. Fitzwilliam, although he is currently in France leading his cavalry detachment.”

  This time she laughed. “I hardly think the eligible young men of the ton are going to be interested in a poor country girl who has to be sponsored to attend those events. I am sure the only partners I will have are those to whom Lady Monttard introduces me and who are then somewhat obligated to dance at least one dance with me.”

  “First, let me remind you that I am a young man of the ton, and I am interested; therefore, I assume others will be. Furthermore, Lady Monttard is acquainted with many of the best eligible men, not the least of which are her two grandsons, Matthew and Mark, and Lord Vollenbrook, the eldest son of the Marquess of Willingham, whose townhome is between o
urs and who happens to be my uncle. I could name several others; thus, you may be dancing more than you think.”

  “Is Lady Monttard a woman of some importance in the ton, even though she is only a baroness?”

  “She is one of the most important. Her husband is probably the wealthiest man in England outside of the royal family, and she has been a close friend of the Queen since their youth. Believe me, if Lady Monttard sponsors you, people with take notice of you. If she became attached to you, she and Lord Monttard could give you a £50,000 dowry and not even notice it was gone. Mind you, I do not think she will, but I just want you to know you may be sponsored by a Lady whose family is worth millions of pounds.”

  Elizabeth gasped. “You cannot mean that. I did not know anyone was that wealthy.”

  “Other than royalty, there are very few in the world.”

  “I am amazed that she would stoop to befriend my aunt. She must be a very unusual woman.”

  “Lord Monttard is one of the English nobles who did not inherit his title, who created his wealth by his own efforts, and who still works to maintain it. I have heard he sometimes refers to himself as a glorified merchant. He and Lady Monttard do not have the disdain for the merchant class held by most of the members of the nobility and seem to care very little what others of the nobility think of them.”

  “Then, I hope my introduction to the ton will be an enlightening experience and that I will find I have made another mistake in judgment. If I could misjudge you so terribly, why not all upper society? I certainly let my prejudice of that society influence my opinion of you.”

  As they were speaking, Mr. Gardiner approached them and said, “I think it is time we go, Lizzy. I believe all the bags have been packed, and I know the Rodgers’ are expecting us for dinner.”

  Darcy nodded and said, “May I escort you to your carriage, Miss Elizabeth? “

  Elizabeth smiled and nodded and put her hand in the arm he offered. Before they could get to the door of the parlor, Georgiana came up to them and took Elizabeth’s other arm. “I hate to see you go, Lizzy. I so enjoyed our time together. I hope you will write me a letter as soon as you are back at Longbourn.”

  “I promise you, I will, Georgie. I have only known you a few days, but I feel very close to you. If we do not see each other in the next few months, I will look forward to seeing you in London during the Season.”

  The three of them walked together out to the carriage, where Darcy handed Elizabeth into it. He then turned and said his farewells to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner and offered his hand to Mrs. Gardiner to help her into the carriage. As he shook Mr. Gardiner’s hand, he said, “I regret we did not have an opportunity to speak together privately. I hope I may call upon you when we are both in London.”

  “I would be pleased to have you call, Mr. Darcy. And thank you for your invitation and the hospitality you have shown us.”

  Shortly thereafter they were on their way to Lambton, where they stayed for Sunday church and then headed for Hertfordshire. Little did they know that on the next morning Darcy and Georgiana began a trip to London.

  Chapter 7: London and Hertfordshire

  It was a rainy Friday morning when Darcy’s carriage arrived at the Hurst’s townhouse in London. It was a small, but comfortable townhouse belonging to Mr. Edward Hurst, a gentleman with a medium-sized estate in Somerset and was currently occupied by Mr. Hurst’s eldest son, Bertrand, and his wife, Louisa, who was Bingley’s sister. Mr. Edward Hurst was rarely in London, so the townhouse had, for all practical purposes, become the property of Mr. Bertrand Hurst, who lived there most of the year. It was there that Bingley stayed when he was in town.

  When Darcy knocked, he was invited in by the butler, who knew him well. “Tolliver, is Mr. Bingley here?” Darcy asked.

  “He is not, but he is expected to return within the ten or fifteen minutes. Would you care to wait? Mr. and Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley are in the drawing room.”

  Darcy had no interest in being in the company of Miss Bingley but having ridden all the way to the Hurst residence from Darcy house, he was not going to leave if Bingley was to be home shortly. “I believe I will wait. If you will announce me, please.”

  As he entered the drawing room, Tolliver said, “Mr. Darcy.”

  As he feared, Miss Bingley immediately arose and hurried over to him, taking his arm in a very familiar manner, “Mr. Darcy, how wonderful to see you. We were beginning to believe we would never see you again.”

  Darcy pointedly removed Miss Bingley’s hand from his arm and bowed to her and the Hursts. “Miss Bingley, Mr. Hurst, Mrs. Hurst, it is good to see you again. I am back in town briefly to take care of some business. I wanted to talk to Bingley before I left; therefore, came here on the chance that he would be here.”

  “Good to see you again, Darcy,” said Mr. Hurst. “Bingley went to the haberdashery to pick up some gloves. We expect him to return any minute. May I ask how the work on Pemberley is coming?”

  “Quite well. They are in the process of finishing the décor in the last three damaged rooms. It has seemed like a long nine months, and it is good to get it finished.”

  “I do hope your beautiful Pemberley was not too damaged,” said Miss Bingley.

  “The damage was rather extensive, but it was contained to the front part of the house and did not damage any of the family wing and only one bedroom in the guest wing. None of the major public rooms were damaged. The stonemasons have been able to repair the exterior walls in such a manner that one could never tell there had been a fire. I am quite pleased with the results.”

  “And how is dear Georgiana? Did the fire disrupt her yearly routine?”

  “Yes, she spent several months with her Aunt and Uncle Matlock. She did join me at Pemberley about two months ago. This is the first time I have been away from Pemberley since I left you in Netherfield. I was surprised to hear Bingley had quit Netherfield. He seemed to enjoy his time there, particularly the company of Miss Bennet. May I ask what happened there?”

  “We finally made him see she was not an appropriate mate for him. Her family and her low status would not help him attain a good standing in the ton. Also, your opinion that you could not discern any exceptional regard for him in her looks made him question whether she was allowing his attention because she favored him or because her mother insisted she show him favor. After you left, we had little trouble convincing him you were correct – her expression showed no special regard for him. Therefore, he became discouraged and decided to leave. As you know, he and I went to Scarborough from Netherfield until after Christmas, and then we returned here.”

  “Therefore, he has been here since mid-January?”

  “Yes, although we did take a trip at Easter to see our aunt in Bath. It has been a rather boring season. We have not received as many invitations to parties and balls as we had hoped. And Charles has not found any young ladies in which he is interested. I believe he said something about returning to Scarborough in a month or two.”

  “Hurst, did you spend any time on the estate in Somerset this year?”

  “Yes, when the Bingleys were in Scarborough, we were at my father’s estate. We also returned in mid-January, although we went back once more during July.” When Louisa nudged him with her elbow, “Oh, yes, I suppose I should tell you our big news. Louisa is with child.”

  Darcy was surprised that Hurst was so sanguine about her pregnancy. They had been trying for years to conceive an heir. “Congratulations. That is wonderful news. I assume you are pleased.”

  “Yes, we are,” said Louisa. “We had about given up hope. We have been married for over four years. The main reason we went to see his father in July was to tell him. The lack of an heir has been one of his disappointments with us, because he wants to ensure the continuation of the estate in the family. The visit during July with him was the most pleasant we have had with him in years. He will be especially happy if the child is a boy.”

  They heard the front door open and the un
mistakable voice of Bingley greeting the butler. Bingley soon burst into the room and headed for Darcy. “Darcy. I could hardly believe it when Tolliver told me you were here. It has been above eight months. I am very glad to see you.”

  Darcy, who stood to shake Bingley’s hand, replied, “And I am happy to see you. I have not heard from you in almost four months; therefore, I had to come by to see if you were still alive.”

  “Yes, I am very much alive, but rather bored. Perhaps now that you are back in town, things will become a little livelier. It has been a very disappointing Season. Even the performances at the theaters were not as good.”

  “I have a private matter I would like to discuss with you. Would you mind if we go into the library for brief time?”

  “Of course not. Excuse us, everyone, we will return later.”

  After they were seated in the library, Darcy said, “I have come to ask you about Netherfield. Have you canceled the lease or are you intending to return?”

  Bingley face showed his distress at the mention of Netherfield. “I still have the lease, but it expires October 1 unless I renew it. I have never been happier than I was there, but when things did not work out between Miss Bennet and me, I just could not stay there anymore. I am not sure why I have not canceled the lease.”

  It was obvious to Darcy that Bingley had not forgotten Jane. “I know that when I left, you asked me what I thought of Miss Bennet, and I told you I could discern no particular regard for you in her countenance, but I believe I also told you that you needed to decide for yourself. There are people, such as me, who tend not to show their feelings in their facial expressions. Did you ever ask her how she felt or tell her how you felt?”

  Bingley sighed. “No, I was too much of a coward. You know how difficult it is for me to talk seriously with women. I hoped I would be better able to tell from the way she acted that she favored me, but, as you said, she does not show her feelings in either her demeanor or her expression. I was afraid to show much affection for her because of the problem I had before when I did ‒ you remember, with Miss Ingersoll. I was afraid Miss Bennet’s parents, as Miss Ingersoll’s, would find cause to say I must marry her even though she did not love me. In the end, Louisa and Caroline convinced me she held me in no exceptional regard, and I left. I often wondered whether I should have, but I am too embarrassed to return. I am sure if she did have feelings for me, she is very upset at the way I left without saying anything to her and would be unwilling to accept my attentions again. I thought I could forget her, and I tried meeting other women, but I have had little success. She is the finest woman I have ever met.”