An Unexpected Legacy

by Don Miller

  Late Sunday afternoon, Lord and Lady Monttard and Elizabeth arrived at Matlock House and were warmly greeted by Lord and Lady Matlock and Col. Fitzwilliam. When they entered the sitting room they saw Lord and Lady Denby, but, to Elizabeth’s disappointment, Margaret was not there. When she went over to greet them, they told her that Margaret had been called away to her favorite brother’s home, because her brother was very ill. He had contracted some kind of flu, had terrible fevers, and the doctors feared for his life. They did not know when Margaret would return, and they told Elizabeth that Margaret said she would write as soon as she could. Her brother’s small estate was only a one day carriage trip from London. Viscount and Viscountess Gladney, the oldest son and wife of Lord and Lady Matlock were also there. Just as Elizabeth was about to ask if there were to be any other dinner guests, Mr. Darcy and Georgiana were shown into the room.

  When Georgiana saw Elizabeth, she hurried over to her, took Elizabeth hands and said, “It is so good to see you. I was so pleased to hear the news about you being Miss Dumont. You have to tell me all about it.”

  By this time Mr. Darcy had reached her, bowed, and said, “Miss Dumont, it is good to see you again and greet you as Miss Dumont.” Then giving her a big penetrating look, he continued in a lowered voice, “I apologize ahead of time if I sometimes forget and mistakenly call you Miss Elizabeth. I am sure you know I am always willing to correct my mistakes to accommodate you.”

  Elizabeth returned his look for a moment, and then replied, “It is good to see you again, Mr. Darcy, and I do appreciate your efforts on my behalf.”

  Georgiana, standing next to them, did not miss the look, and understood the implications of what her brother had said. She could not tell if Elizabeth was pleased or not.

  “I expected you and Georgiana to be at Pemberley. I am surprised to see you here. I am sure Georgiana told me last week she was going to Pemberley to join you there, and that you both would be there for most of the summer,” continued Elizabeth.

  He smiled at her, and said, “I discovered a situation had occurred in London I thought made it imperative that we return. For one thing, we could not possibly miss the Denbys’ ball. I hope you will reserve me a set at the ball.”

  “The only sets that have been reserved so far are the first and the second by my grandfathers. Therefore, Mr. Darcy, you may be the third one on my dance card. Did you have a particular set in mind?”

  “I would be most pleased if you would give me the supper set,”

  “The supper set?” she questioned, with a teasing smile. “You do realize that will require you to put up with me through dinner, do you not? Are you sure that you can deal with that?”

  “I know it will be a challenge, but I think I can handle the pressure.”

  “Then the supper set is yours, sir.”

  Col. Fitzwilliam, who had been moving toward them, heard this last exchange and exclaimed, “So you beat me to it again. I should have known you would not hesitate.” Turning to Elizabeth, he said, “Then Miss Dumont, would you reserve the last set for me. “

  “My goodness. I shall have my dance card filled before the day is out, if it continues like this. But in answer to your question, Col. Fitzwilliam, I will be happy to give you the last set.”

  Lord and Lady Matlock and their other guests were observing this exchange with interest. Lord Matlock turned to his wife, and said, “I guess I had better get my request in also.” And he raised his voice enough so that Elizabeth could hear him and said, “My dear Miss Dumont, may I put in my bid for your third set?”

  Turning to Lord Matlock, she gave a curtsy, and responded that she would be happy to give them that set. And then at a nudge from his wife, Viscount Gladney put in his offer for a set and was given the fourth set. Elizabeth then asked Lord and Lady Matlock if there were any other gentlemen guests expected, so that she could start filling up the rest of her dance card. Lady Matlock made a light chuckle and responded that she would have to wait until the ball to fill up the rest of her card.

  When they all filed into dinner, Elizabeth was pleased to see that she sat between her grandmother on her right, Mr. Darcy on her left, and directly across from her were Georgiana and Col. Fitzwilliam. It suddenly dawned on her that this was probably not a coincidence. This dinner and the seating arrangement were all a part of a plan by Lady Matlock to bring Darcy, Georgiana, and her together. She, therefore, assumed that Lord and Lady Matlock approved of her as a potential wife for their nephew. She knew the Matlocks, particularly Lady Matlock, had been trying to find Darcy a match for years and that he had resisted all attempts. Thus she, assuming she was correct that Lady Matlock approved of her, was not surprised with Lady Matlock’s efforts to further Darcy’s attachment to her.

  The company was very congenial and the dinner conversation enjoyable. They spoke about the war, the latest fashions for men and women, the theater, books and poetry, and what Darcy had been required to do in dealing with the storm damage at Pemberley. Elizabeth was very impressed with the passion that Darcy showed talking about Pemberley, his responsibilities with respect to it and its tenants, and the amount of manual labor he apparently did himself in managing the repair effort. When Elizabeth commented about his involvement in the work, Lord Matlock, having heard her comment, said, “Yes, Darcy is probably the most personally involved estate owner in all of England. Among many in the ton, it is a black mark against him. Not that it would dissuade any of the many young ladies that pursue him from marrying him, but I assure you, once married, they would all probably complain about this aspect of his management style and try to change him. However, even at his young age, he probably knows more about how to manage an estate the size of Pemberley than most older, experienced estate owners. Certainly Gladney and I and Lady Catherine call on him all the time for advice.”

  “Yes, father,” said Lord Gladney, “he is very valuable to us in that respect, but you know that this and some of his other rather unusual behaviors will probably keep him from ever being made a peer, no matter how rich he is.”

  To which Darcy gave a sardonic response, “And you know how much that upsets me. With all due respect to my honorable Fitzwilliam relatives, the Darcys have never been concerned about regaining their earldom, and you know I am no different than my ancestors.”

  Looking at Elizabeth, Lord Matlock said, “My nephew and I have had this discussion many times. I fear that in this respect, he is an immovable object. What think you Monttard? You were made a Baron by the King. Has it been an advantage to you?”

  “Ah, but my case is much different than Mr. Darcy’s. I have many dealings with the Crown through my shipping line, and I do believe that being a member of the peerage helps there. Although I must admit, my life was perfectly acceptable prior to being elevated to a baron. I can sympathize with Mr. Darcy in one respect, and that is, that being a member of the peerage puts certain responsibilities on you relative to the Crown that may not be something someone like Mr. Darcy would like.”

  They continued the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of being a member of the peerage until dessert was finished, and then they returned to the sitting room, at which time Lord Matlock invited the men to his billiard room for a glass of port and possibly a game of billiards.

  The sitting room to which the ladies repaired was a large room with a large fireplace and sitting area at one end of the room and three card tables and two small couches at the other end of the room. Georgiana asked Elizabeth and the other ladies if she would mind if she took Elizabeth off to the end of the room containing the card tables because she wanted to learn more about how Elizabeth had come to be Miss Dumont. At everyone’s agreement she and Elizabeth sat on one of the couches at that end of the room, and Elizabeth gave her the details of the events of the week that changed her name from Elizabeth Bennet to Elizabeth Dumont.

  Eventually, the men returned and Darcy, looking around the room and seeing where his sister and Elizabeth were sitting, headed in their direc
tion and asked if he could join them. At their acceptance he pulled a chair from one of the card tables and sat it at the end of the couch so that Elizabeth was between him and Georgiana.

  Looking at Elizabeth, he said, “I have gotten bits and pieces of the story of your change of name, and I suppose that Georgiana can fill me in on all the events that occurred, but Lord Denby told me that I would have to ask you why you chose to be named Dumont rather than a Carlson? Lord Denby is, after all, an Earl.”

  “I was given a choice, but given that it was the Dumonts who found me and made all of it happen, I felt an immediate connection to them which I could not explain. I feel very much like their daughter rather than their granddaughter. So I chose to be a Dumont, although I like the Carlsons very much. Also, I hope that someday I will be able to meet my mother. Lord and Lady Monttard have promised me that if Col. Fitzwilliam and his colleagues can finally remove the threat of Napoleon, they will try to bring my mother to England. If she will not come, they have said they will take me to Italy.”

  “And have you thought about what you will do with the Dumont Shipping Line when you inherit it?”

  “My grandparents and I have discussed that a few times, and it is my intention that I, or I and my husband, should I marry, will continue to manage the line, relying, of course, heavily on the very competent staff Lord Monttard already has in place. I would like to pass it on to one of my sons, assuming that I have one, or, if not, to a daughter. After my grandparents and I spend some time at Staunton Park, our estate in Devonshire, my grandfather has promised to take me to many of the shipping offices he has in England, Scotland, and Ireland. He will introduce me to the staff and start to teach me what he does relative to managing his shipping line. I know it may not be a very lady-like thing to do, but I think I may actually be interested in getting somewhat involved in helping my grandfather manage the line for a while.”

  “That does not surprise me in the slightest. And I am sure you will do an excellent job.” He gave a small chuckle, and continued, “Actually, given what I know about you, I expect you may make the line prosper even more that it is now.”

  At this point, Georgiana, realizing that her brother would probably like to be alone with Elizabeth for a while, asked to be excused, arose, and went to sit with Col. Fitzwilliam. Darcy gave her a look of appreciation when she asked to be excused, and then turned to Elizabeth.”

  “I hope you do not mind being alone with me for a moment, but I have something I would like to ask you.”

  “This sounds very serious,” she responded, “if you had to come all the way from Pemberley to ask me whatever you are going to ask me.”

  He paused for a little bit, and then said, “I am sure you know why I rushed back to London. I was hoping to see you at Longbourn when I visited Bingley in July or at Pemberley when your aunt and uncle…. excuse me, the Gardiners brought you to there. Because it was clear you would not be going to Longbourn or Pemberley, I thought I had better come here and make my case before you are inundated with offers of marriage from gentleman of the ton.”

  He looked down, weighing carefully his next statements. “I know you told me in Kent that I was the last man that you would ever marry, and I do not want to distress you, but I find I cannot completely give up my dreams without trying one more time. I have found that neither distance nor absence has been able to let me forget. My feelings for you have not changed. In fact, I think they have increased. And I realized this before I heard about you becoming Miss Dumont, so please, believe me, the declaration is not in response to your new position in society, only its timing. In some ways, I wish you were still just Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I would have a little more confidence I may still have some chance with you. However, your life and position have changed, and so I need to ask this question: ‘do I have a chance with you?’”

  Elizabeth looked directly in his eyes for some time, as if trying to take the measure of the man. “Mr. Darcy, the simple answer to that is ‘Yes,’ but there is a ‘however’ associated with it. The circumstances that have arisen in the last two weeks have suddenly made me a different woman, with a different outlook on what I expect out of life. I know I totally misjudged you before our encounter at Kent, and I must admit that my, what I thought was, intense dislike of you has been changed into admiration, respect, and…”

  She paused as if trying to determine how to continue. “I guess I will have to admit it: more than a little affection. You are a difficult person to understand, Mr. Darcy, and just when I think I know you, I discover another way in which I was wrong. I am coming to realize that you are one of the best men I have ever known. But, here is that ‘however.’ I do not know any other young men of the circle in which we move except Col. Fitzwilliam, and he almost lives up to your standard. I have not thought of you as someone I could marry until very recently. In fact, I thought I disliked you intensely. I am still not sure whether we would be right for each other. To be frank, I need to understand what I want to do with my life and meet more men of our circle and see how they stand up to you. I am no longer in a position where my future security is at stake, so I can afford the luxury of looking around.”

  Then she reached over and touched his arm, “If it will give you any consolation, I will concede I am starting to believe I will find no one better, but I need a little time and to know it for certain. And I need to understand the depth of my feeling for you. Can you understand that?”

  Darcy did not know whether to be happy or upset with what she had just told him. She had ‘more than a little affection,’ but wanted to meet other men of their circle. He knew of several men in their circle who were good men and would probably make her good husbands. And he was sure some of them would be interested in her and possibly seek to gain her favor. He wanted to tell her he and she were perfect for each other, indeed meant for each other, but how could he convince her of that when she had so little experience in their social circle. He realized he had been staring at her for some time without answering her, so he finally said, “What can I say to that? I am convinced we are perfect for each other, but I can understand your concerns. I suppose I should do the same thing; that is, continue my search for an acceptable wife. My problem is, I have been looking for a long time and finally found the perfect mate, so I will probably do nothing but watch and wait and press my case when I have a chance. I hope you will tell me as soon as you know that I am out of the running.”

  He then stood, and said, “I think we should probably join the others.”

  Seeing the emotions on his face, she almost lost her resolve. She thought it highly likely they would be happy together, but there was still that little bit of doubt, and she said nothing more, but arose and walked over to join the others.

  When they joined the others, Lord Monttard said, “That looked like a very serious discussion. Is there anything you would like to share with us?”

  Elizabeth looked at Darcy, who looked reluctant to speak, so she said, “Mr. Darcy and I have had a somewhat turbulent relationship for the months we have known each other, and we were merely trying to clear up some unresolved uncertainties.”

  A slightly inebriated Viscount Gladney, who had drunk a few too many glasses of wine at dinner, said, “Uncertainties? What does that mean, uncertainties? Any fool can see he is in in love with you. If you have refused him, then you are a very foolish lady.” And then looking at Darcy, he said, “What say, Darcy. Did she turn you down?”

  Elizabeth could sense the anger level in Darcy rising, and as he started to say, “Gladney, with all due respect…,” she grabbed Darcy’s elbow, making him stop and look at her.

  After a brief shake of her head, she gave a look that would freeze water at Lord Gladney, and said, “My Lord, I thank you for your advice and be assured I will not forget you gave it.”

  Before Lord Gladney could say any more, Lord Matlock said, very firmly, “Andrew, that is enough! I think it is time that you retired.”

  The Viscount stared at his
father for a moment, then stood and stalked out of the room. He was followed by his wife, who turned at the door and said, “I am sorry. I know he will regret what he said in the morning, and we will send an apology to Miss Dumont.” She then turned and exited the room.

  Lady Matlock, who had seen how Elizabeth had stopped Darcy from saying something he might regret, was very impressed with Elizabeth’s composure and the way she had put her son in his place. She continued to watch Darcy, as the Viscount left the room, and thought she saw both love and appreciation in his face, as he looked at Elizabeth. She thought to herself, “She is, indeed, what William needs. I only hope she can find it in her heart to love him, because I think he needs her more than she needs him.”

  “Well, that was unpleasant,” said Lord Matlock, “but let us put it behind us. The night is still young and I, for one, would like to know about what is in store for Elizabeth and Lord and Lady Monttard in the coming months.”

  They had talked for more than an hour, when Lord Monttard indicated it was time for them to leave. As they were saying their goodbyes, Darcy went to Elizabeth and asked her if he could call on her the next day at 10 AM. She told him that she was unavailable in the morning, but if he could visit at 3 PM, she would be delighted to see him. And then the Monttard party departed.

  After Lord and Lady Denby had also departed, Darcy and Georgiana delayed a little while before heading for Darcy House. Lady Matlock asked them to gather in the sitting room again for a few minutes.