Memory: Volume 3, How Far We Have Come, A Tale of Pride and Prejudice (Memory: A Tale of Pride and Prejudice)

by Wells, Linda

  “Why did you buy a curricle?” Jane laughed as they walked hand in hand to the fancy yellow rig. “This is a young unmarried man’s toy.”

  “Not a family vehicle.” He chuckled and sighed. “I know, but it was so … I will sell it for a more practical carriage.” Lucas looked at it fondly. “Call it my last indulgence, even if it was a bargain.”

  “Then keep it.” Jane laughed as his eyes lit up. “You deserve a little extravagance.”

  “Not when I have to finish the cottage.”

  “Well,” She climbed up into the seat and leaned to kiss his upturned face. “I think that will come in time. Now, let us see what Mama knows and what she is doing.”

  Lucas climbed in beside her and took up the reins. “This should be interesting.”

  “WHY I NEVER KNEW LIZZY to be so, so, you had to see her! Why I would have thought I was in the presence of royalty! She is so poised! And the way that she moved around the room, greeting everyone! She was friendly and welcoming but, oh Sister, what a Lady she has become! Everyone was stunned and then on the way home, Mrs. King could not stop talking about how she so easily sent us away! It was not until I arrived home and had a cup of tea that it struck me how she threw us out! It was done so elegantly! Oh, to have such skill with guests who overstay! I must remember what she did!” Mrs. Philips paused for breath. “Well, I must say that I was very disappointed that you did not bring Kitty, but of course you did not know we were all going, did you? We had formed a conspiracy after church, and since we did have the introductions, we had to go as soon as possible! Well, not me necessarily since I have no daughters, but a chance to finally see inside Netherfield could not be missed, and I did have the excellent excuse of wanting to greet my niece, so Mrs. King was glad to stop at my house to bring me along! All of us were quite concerned with seeing how Mr. Bingley escorted that niece of Mrs. Long’s out of church, and we knew that we had to act quickly! The man is still in mourning, so that is in the girls’ favour, he will not be free until the assembly! But there was Mrs. Long at Netherfield with that niece of hers, Miss Martin! Pleased as a cat with a freshly caught rat, she was! So smug! Well, we made no bones about separating that girl from Mr. Bingley. He is so handsome. He smiled at me.” Mrs. Philips sighed and looked dreamily out of the window.

  “Well?” Mrs. Bennet demanded. “What happened? Surely he was not really taken by Miss Martin! I have seen her; she is not at all handsome.”

  “Oh.” Mrs. Philips blushed. “Well, he met Miss King, Miss George, Miss Goulding, and then,” she paused dramatically, “in came this woman and her two daughters.” She fanned herself and glared at the hot fire. “Well, their dress put ours to shame, they were every bit as finely turned out as Mrs. Hurst, but still, I could see that they were not as high as Mrs. Darcy.” Mrs. Philips smiled at Mrs. Bennet triumphantly. “Mrs. Darcy wore the simplest of gowns but the cut, the fabric, the decoration; oh it had to be the creation of a French modiste!” She glanced over to Kitty. “Like yours, dear!”

  “Madame Dupree made this gown, and she is the only modiste that Lizzy uses.” Kitty looked to a corner where Mrs. Annesley sat sewing. She smiled slightly and nodded.

  “I knew it! Well, this Mrs. Simpkins apparently claimed an earlier acquaintance with all of the family party and the eldest girl, well; she rivalled Jane in beauty, even Mr. Bingley’s jaw dropped when she entered. Up to then he had been very friendly and polite, but with that reaction, we knew our local girls had a chance! Mrs. Simkins on the way out was talking of Miss Martin and her father is in trade! Certainly not enough for a man such as Mr. Bingley, he has 5000 a year! No, he needs a gentleman’s daughter. Oh Kitty if only you had been there!”

  “I know Mr. Bingley, Aunt.” Kitty sighed. “He is most handsome, and very kind, but I do not wish to marry yet.”

  “Nonsense!” Mrs. Bennet declared. “You will marry Mr. Bingley!”

  “Mama!” Kitty cried. “Lizzy said …”

  “I could care less what Lizzy says!”

  “Well you missed a golden opportunity, you really should have been there, I am surprised that you were not, with Lizzy visiting, I would think that you would be spending a great deal of time with her, especially now.” Mrs. Philips took a sip of her tea.

  “What do you mean?” Mrs. Bennet demanded.

  “Why she is with child!”

  “What?” She looked at Kitty who stared at her in astonishment. Kitty looked to Mrs. Annesley who nodded slightly and went back to her work.

  “Sister! How can you not know? It is so clear, her round cheeks! Her bosom is quite pleasingly displayed for her husband, and although the high waistlines seem to make everyone seem plump, I saw her in profile and I caught Mr. Darcy,” she leaned forward to whisper loudly, “touching her belly and smiling at her.” Mrs. Bennet gasped. “Oh yes, she just has to be with child!”

  “That cannot be! She is gaining weight!”

  “From a baby! That is a man in love! Being so pleased with a pregnant wife?” She sighed again. “He never smiled at any of us, barely murmured a greeting, but his manner was everything proper for such an important man. He watched Lizzy like a hawk, the admiration in his look was …” She sighed again. “So rich, so handsome, and so loyal! Oh, what a fortunate match your Lizzy has made for you, Sister!”

  “He surely watched her for mistakes, you mean.” Mrs. Bennet said weakly. “Then what happened?”

  “Well quick as a wink we were dismissed. Mr. Bingley took Miss Martin and Mrs. Long’s arms and led them away; it seems that they had been invited for the day. She has no carriage so I presume that they had to come in a hack chaise.” She sniffed. “But all of us were plotting what to do when we next see them at church, and of course with the assembly coming up, I know that the needles will be flying!” She smiled at Kitty. “You could wear that gown and outshine them all!”

  “I do not want to …”

  “Kitty!” Mrs. Bennet declared. “Get your bonnet; we are going to Netherfield to visit your sister. She must save Mr. Bingley from Miss Martin! Mrs. Long is no fool; she will take advantage of you not seeing Mr. Bingley!” Standing, she called loudly out the door, “Hill! Hill! Call for the carriage, right away!”

  Hearing the commotion, Mr. Bennet appeared from his bookroom. “Belay that, Mrs. Hill.” He held up his hand. “What is all this caterwauling about?”

  “I am going to take Kitty to Netherfield.” Mrs. Bennet declared and stood before a mirror to fix her gown. “A group of girls visited him yesterday and we were not informed! Leave it to Lizzy to forget her family! She could have sent for Kitty! Ungrateful child, leaving her own sister out! Well we will make certain that Mr. Bingley sees Kitty, and marries her, to be sure! I will have a daughter in Netherfield!”

  “Mrs. Bennet.” Mr. Bennet took her arm and pulling her into the bookroom, closed the door. “I forbade you only yesterday to visit Netherfield without an invitation.”

  “That was before all of Meryton decided to visit without an invitation!”

  “Kitty will not marry Mr. Bingley, and since your sole purpose in visiting Netherfield is to see him, I know of no reason for you to go and bother the man.”

  “Then she will marry Mr. Collins!”

  “She will marry whoever pleases her, when she is ready.” He said sternly. “Sit down, Mrs. Bennet. I had not expected to tell you this when your sister was in the house, but I see no choice.”

  “What is it?” Mrs. Bennet sank down to her chair and put her hand over her heart. “Jane, Jane is ill and will lose the baby!”

  He stared at her and shook his head. “I will not think of how you concluded that, no. Jane and her child are well.”

  “My sister thinks that Lizzy is with child, I still say she is overindulged. She is your favourite, well, is she pregnant?” Mrs. Bennet searched his face for the truth.

  “You truly hate her.” He looked at her with clear eyes. “I listened to your sister’s praise and noted your disbelief. Nothing she does is enoug
h?”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Mrs. Bennet sniffed.

  “More is the pity as it has culminated with this moment. Mr. Darcy spoke to me yesterday. He will not tolerate your behaviour any longer, and has forbidden Elizabeth and their children from ever coming to Longbourn. You have been forbidden from ever visiting any of their homes. You may meet at functions around Meryton while they remain, but never here, never again.”

  Mrs. Bennet’s mouth hung open. “What did you say?”

  “It is his right to protect his family.”

  “Well this is ridiculous! Banned from coming here? Banned from … never go to town?”

  “Not to their home.” Mr. Bennet shook his head. “Why could you never appreciate Lizzy?”

  “I did!”

  “Only her fortune.” He glanced out the window to see Jane and Lucas arriving. “I imagine that Darcy has informed Mr. Lucas of his decision and our eldest daughter has come to speak to you. I doubt that he has told any others except perhaps Mr. Bingley.” Turning back to her he spoke seriously. “May I remind you that Jane has already spoken to you about your behaviour regarding their baby and family, Mr. Lucas might very well be inclined to follow Darcy’s lead in imposing some restrictions of his own upon you. I suggest that you do not test his or Jane’s ire by letting your tongue run away with you.”

  “I will go and speak to Lizzy this minute!”

  “You will do no such thing, Mrs. Bennet.” He bellowed. “And I will add this, do not dare to speak ill of her to anyone else. No one else of the neighbourhood needs to know of this break, and they only will if you are the one to say something. Your reputation is firmly linked to hers. Did you hear your own sister praise her? This will be your punishment, to forever praise what you will never be permitted to know.”

  “What … I very well will speak my mind! You cannot stop me!”

  “Mrs. Bennet, you have taken great pains to promote the fine match Elizabeth has made to every soul in the county who was forced to hear you. What are you going to do now? Make an about face? Perhaps that was possible before when so few people actually saw Elizabeth, but now you have the second-greatest gossip in the neighbourhood admiring her …” He waved his hand to the door to indicate Mrs. Philips. “And the other ladies who visited, they saw our daughter behaving like, what did she say, like a Lady? No, my dear Mrs. Bennet, you cannot afford to disparage Elizabeth. She has trumped your fury by being everything exceptional, everything that you refused to ever believe. And, I suggest that you also watch your tongue around the servants, you know that they will gladly gossip about what you say. If word gets around that Mr. Darcy has cut off his wife’s ties to you, everyone who knows you will understand that it was your fault. Remember, we still have two daughters to marry off.”

  Mrs. Bennet digested his news, and was bright enough at least to realize that he spoke the truth. Speaking poorly of Elizabeth to the world would do her no good. A thought then occurred to her. “Will Mr. Darcy still care for me when you die?” She demanded and he stared at her. “He said that he would!”

  “I will not leave that burden to Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Bennet. I will go to my heir Collins and my brother Philips and see to it that when I die, you will take the refurbished dower’s house, and I will do everything that I can to provide funds to Lucas so that he can complete the repairs.” He turned on his heel then came back. “If the house was finished now I would ask you to move in immediately and invite them to live here, gossip be damned.” Opening the door to the bookroom, he strode into the hallway. “Mrs. Philips, I need to speak with your husband and I will deliver you home. Lucas, you may come with me, this is conversation for mother and daughter.”

  Lucas and Jane were just handing over their hats to a maid and he looked at Jane. “I am sorry, sir …”

  “Come on, Jane will be well-occupied.” He retrieved the hat and handed it over, then nodded to Jane, “Good luck, dear,” and strode out the door. Lucas shrugged his shoulders and Mrs. Philips rushed past to catch her ride. He kissed Jane’s cheek and followed her. Jane could hear her mother’s wailing from the bookroom and sighing, met Kitty in the hallway. Together they entered and closed the door.

  12 OCTOBER 1811

  For the past four days, Fitzwilliam and I have lived on tenterhooks, waiting for some storm to erupt at Longbourn and settle over Netherfield, but not a word, not a rumour, nothing has come. We expected Mama to arrive somehow, breathing fire and venom, but again nothing. It seems that she took Papa’s warning, whatever it was, seriously. We wait in anticipation of our first encounter, which will likely be at a dinner to be held at Lucas Lodge next week. Jane has assured me that Lady Lucas and Sir William know nothing of what happened, and unless Mama told her, Aunt Philips does not either. I have written to Aunt Gardiner and informed her of the situation, and I wait for her reply. I am unsure of what it will be.

  Jane and Kitty spent the day here yesterday and we talked of Mama’s behaviour. Jane said that beyond the fury of that first day, she has carried on normally; behaving as if I were not even in the neighbourhood. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that she behaves as if I do not exist at all. She said that she will not think of me, but Jane says there is increased bitterness in her voice when my name is mentioned, and she does manage to get in her barbs. Kitty thought it was no worse than when I actually lived there, so I suppose that is something. She continues with her desire to remain, perhaps for Papa’s sake more than her own. They have begun to know each other, and I understand why she would wish to at last enjoy his attention. I wrote to Lydia, as did Jane. I am unsure what her reaction will be. Papa has suggested bringing her home for the Meryton Assembly. She is too young, but he sees it as possibly a last opportunity for all of us to be together before inevitably we go our separate ways.

  Today all of the guests arrive, and then the cottage building will begin and our men will be very busy. Therefore, as soon as I finish this passage, I am going to find my dear husband and demand a walk. Our much enjoyed courtship has been interrupted, and frankly, I am in need of his mouth.

  “WELL THAT TOOK LONG ENOUGH!” Lord Matlock snorted and let Darcy’s letter float across his desk. Richard nabbed it and started reading, Layton leaned over his shoulder and they both started laughing. “He put up the good fight, but nobody calls Mrs. Darcy fat or lazy!”

  “How anyone could call that tiny woman fat, I cannot imagine.” Fitzwilliam mused and read the letter again. “Unless …” They exchanged glances and looked over the letter for clues. “Well, for their sake, I hope it is true.”

  “An heir for Pemberley.” Lord Matlock raised his glass. “Here is to the hope.”

  “Heir?” Lady Matlock stuck her head in the door. “Who?”

  “Nobody, dear.”

  “She can hear anything.” Layton whispered.

  “I heard that.” She entered the room and looked at Fitzwilliam pointedly. Immediately he gave up his chair and stood by her side. Taking the letter from his hand she read while her husband settled his hands over his stomach and watched with expectation. “Well it is about time that he excised that wart from his wife! Good man!”

  “Mrs. Bennet had no admirers in this house.” He chuckled.

  “When did this happen?” Layton looked at the letter. “Five days? Whatever storm emerged has surely passed by now.”

  “With a woman as stupid as she? I doubt it! At least Elizabeth has accepted his decision, he seems relieved with that.” Lady Matlock read on. “What is this? Fitzwilliam Darcy to perform manual labour? Building a cottage?” She stared at her husband. “Is it the air of Hertfordshire? It made Elizabeth’s mother insane and now it spreads to our nephew? He cannot be serious! A gentleman does not perform the work of a servant!”

  “It is for a good cause, Helen.”

  “It is ridiculous! How many charities do we support? We certainly do not perform tasks! Darcy can buy him the labourers!”

  “Mr. Lucas will not accept charity.” He smiled
and she softened a little. “I am sure that they will not be able to perform much, perhaps it will convince Lucas to hire someone to finish the place. It is a show of solidarity for his brother. Amazing though, Lucas is putting all this work into a home he will never own, on an estate that Darcy will not allow his wife to enter, just to be his own man for a brief time before he becomes master of his own estate.” Lord Matlock looked up to Fitzwilliam and noticed that he was staring at his scarred hands. “Not all gentlemen have perfect skin, do they Son?”

  “No.” He smiled and took the letter from his mother. “About two days ride to Hertfordshire?”

  “Three, I imagine.” Layton laughed. “Are you thinking of joining this party?”

  Fitzwilliam shrugged. “It was an idea.”

  “No, this is for the other side of Darcy’s family.” Lord Matlock smiled. “He says they will only remain in Hertfordshire a few more weeks then return to Pemberley. We can harass him then, after all that is where the fox hunting is best!” He raised his brows and his sons laughed.

  “You forget, Husband, that we will be at Ashcroft awaiting our grandchild. Audrey is due within the month.”

  “He will be here soon, with Fitzwilliam blood, the child knows that you are born before fox season begins!” Lady Matlock rolled her eyes. “Here,” he pulled forward his calendar. “I wager … October 26th. A boy, of course.”

  Lady Matlock stood. “I will not play party to your ridiculous betting!”

  “Are you betting again?” Evangeline asked from the doorway. “Richard!”

  “Well why not? They will not let me go build a house with Darcy!”