Twenty-two
It was six days before Darcy rode back into Bath, weary and dusty from the road. He was met on the steps of the Fitzwilliam’s residence by Charles Bingley who shook him by the hand.
They went into the house together and after the initial hellos, they hid themselves in the study, a tumbler of amber liquid grasped in the hand of each man.
“I thank you for the service you have done me, Darcy.”
“I did nothing expect chase after them, needlessly, for all was well in the end, he fully intended to marry her.”
“Nevertheless, I am grateful for your concern and of notifying me so quickly. He is a good sort of fellow is he not, generally? Not someone to be ashamed of, a good match even?”
Darcy gave him a commiserating smile. “He is a gentleman, I think, perhaps just carried away with the romance of it all. He has an estate, a good name. All a brother could want I should imagine.”
Bingley looked at him askance. “What are you not saying, Darcy?”
Darcy tugged at his neckcloth “He has mentioned payment of her dowry and he expects it soon.”
Moving to the window, Bingley swallowed hard. “What does he believe it to be?”
“What everyone has always believed it to be, twenty thousand. Can you honour it?”
Darcy’s gaze moved downwards, drawn by the shaking of Charles Bingley’s leg. He sighed, realising his duties were not yet over. “They will be back in a few hours, let us rest on it tonight, it is already getting late. We’ll discuss it with him tomorrow.”
After bathing and changing, Darcy wandered into the parlour and was pleased to find only Lady Fitzwilliam and Georgiana within. His sister embraced him warmly. “Oh, I am so glad to see you home safe.”
“Georgiana, you talk as if I had come back from war. It was only Scotland.”
“Nevertheless, I was worried. I was dreading you getting into a fight with Mr Yorke and being killed.”
“Do not be so dramatic. There was no need for anything of the sort. They are married and both quite happy to be so. They will be back in Bath this evening, I should imagine, all being well with their journey.”
“But you are come earlier? You did not ride the whole way on horseback?”
“Of course not, I should be very sore if I did.” Darcy smiled at her but the truth was he had made much of the journey on horseback. Only extreme weariness had occasionally driven him into the carriage. The simpering, giggling Mrs Yorke and the arrogant, money-grabbing Mr Yorke had been irritating companions and made Darcy sick to his stomach.
“So, how have you ladies been amusing yourselves in my absence?”
“Darcy,” his aunt exclaimed, “we could hardly go gallivanting about town when we had misplaced Miss Bingley and the situation was uncertain. I am still so astonished by the whole business. We have been very quiet here. Though Georgiana has been to Laura Place to call upon Miss Bennet a few times.”
“Oh, they have not left Bath then? Mrs Mountford was talking the other day of quitting the place.”
“No, that has been put off. Mr Turner’s business kept him in Bristol, so Jane is now staying with Lizzy and Mrs Mountford, and they won’t be leaving until Mr Turner returns. Although I think Lizzy said he is expected back today, or perhaps tomorrow.”
Darcy gave his sister an amused smile. “Oh, it is ‘Lizzy’ now is it?”
Georgiana smiled shyly. “It is what Jane calls her. I have had such nice visits with them. You do not mind do you, Brother?”
“Of course not. I could not wish for better friends for you.” Nor could he wish for better for himself. Elizabeth was still in Bath and growing ever intimate with Georgiana. He had worried endlessly about his note and how she might receive it, though he did not regret for a moment sending it. Now, to see her again! He would only have to be in company with her once – a single look at her expressive face would give him his answer. “Aunt, perhaps we ought to have them to dinner again, if we are all to depart soon, I know you have enjoyed becoming reacquainted with Mrs Mountford.”
“Mmm, perhaps. I suppose we ought to do something for the new Mrs Yorke too and give the whole matter some respectability, perhaps tomorrow night. Georgiana, might you go to your uncle and ensure he has made no conflicting arrangements?”
Georgiana got up to do as she was bid and left the room. Darcy moved to a chair closer to his aunt.
“Mr and Mrs Turner will be included in the invitation too, I hope?” He asked.
Lady Fitzwilliam wrinkled her nose. “The tradesman and his wife? Darcy, I have no objections to you and Georgiana associating with them if you find them pleasant, but your uncle is an Earl. Some standards must be upheld surely?”
“You cannot issue an invitation to Laura Place without including them, it would appear rude.” He paused. “Besides, I hope to call the tradesman my brother soon, so you ought to get used to him.”
Lady Fitzwilliam’s expression was one of unaffected astonishment. “I see, you mean to marry Miss Bennet?”
“I do, if she will have me.”
“She is hardly likely to refuse such a match,” said his aunt laughing.
Darcy’s smile was wry. “You would think not, but I daresay stranger things have happened.”
“I like Miss Bennet, Darcy, but such a marriage will not benefit you, she appears to have as many lowly connections as good ones.”
“That’s true, as well as Mr Turner, she has an uncle in trade, and another who is a country attorney. Her father favours a joke over propriety and her mother,” Darcy sighed. “While Elizabeth is the daughter of a gentleman, her mother is not. She is shrill, silly and often coarse.”
“I have heard there is no dowry.”
“How can that matter to me? I have wealth enough for both of us.”
“So you are determined?” Lady Fitzwilliam enquired.
“Quite so.” Darcy nodded.
“With or without the approval of your family?”
“I do not wish for there to be a rift, a separation between us, but I will marry where I chose. I have married out of duty before but this time, I am determined to act only in a way that will secure my own happiness. The consequences of my choice will have to be whatever they are, but I would dearly like to have your approbation.”
Lady Fitzwilliam looked up from her needlework with a smile. “Well, if Elizabeth Bennet will make Fitzwilliam Darcy smile more often, how can I object? I will invite them, the Turners also.”
Darcy took his aunt’s hand and kissed it. “Thank you.”
Twenty-three
Jane and Elizabeth had the pleasure of getting ready for the Fitzwilliam’s party in the same room, Mr Turner having dressed earlier and retired downstairs for a glass of port by the fire. He was a hard-working man who rarely had the opportunity to relax and so was content to browse his newspaper and stare into the flames while he waited for his wife.
“So is Mr Darcy returned with the newlyweds, Lizzy? Will he be in attendance tonight do you think?”
“Jane, I have no more idea of whether he will be dining with us tonight than you do. I don’t know why you think I would.”
Jane smiled serenely. “Oh, but you seem on such good terms with him these days.”
“He is a good friend now, which seems odd, I admit, after our past differences. And the party we made at the assembly rooms the other night was very agreeable, so suited, one with the other. I would hope he is there tonight, so we all might enjoy being in such company again.”
Jane smiled.
“Jane, you must stop looking at me so.” Elizabeth had said nothing of Mr Darcy’s note. Although it promised much and gave assurances that excited much pleasure, theirs had been such a long, complicated and fraught relationship as to make Elizabeth wary of giving voice to her dreams. When she saw him next, when it was settled, then she would tell all. When Jane looked at her expectantly, she added, by way of concession. “I confess I enjoy his company. He is a man who I can respect, his knowledg
e of the world, his steady character, are all pleasing to me.”
Jane’s smile grew broader.
“Stop it. Do not be so suspicious of me. He is merely a man I enjoy talking with. I like his intelligence and although he has not the pleasing, directly engaging manners of other men, he has perhaps other, more valuable qualities, which I greatly admire.”
“You are very cruel, asking me not smile,” said Jane with a shake of her head, “while every sentence you utter provokes me to it. I do so adore these descriptions of his fine character, with not a mention of the fact that he is also very handsome and imposing.”
He was handsome. To Elizabeth he had become the most attractive of all men and the physical pull she felt towards him astonished her. She remembered every single time they had touched over the past few weeks – their fingers brushing accidentally at the dinner table, then his strong hand holding hers when he had bid her goodnight. Their legs bumping underneath the table at Mollands. His hands about her waist when he had lifted her from the gig on the day of the picnic. And the other night, at the assembly, they had touched so much. Not just while dancing, but his hand had often wandered to float over the small of her back, protective and possessive. She had put her hand on his coat sleeve to bring him back to her, whenever his attention had dared to wander elsewhere! He was her Mr Darcy now, wasn’t he? Then he’d bent down to whisper in her ear, asking permission to call and she had shivered, yet was not a bit cold. His nearness excited her and she craved more of it. Caroline Bingley and her ridiculous, unnecessary, untimely farce of an elopement annoyed her more and more with every passing minute.
She was not to be ill tempered tonight, however. Tonight, she hoped, would be a night of sweetness, a night when all that had been wrong would be put right. Elizabeth grabbed her sister’s arm and pulled her till they were both before the looking glass. “How are we, would we pass mamma’s inspection if she were here?”
“You look very lovely, Lizzy,” said Jane laughing, “and very rich.”
“Oh, I will never be even a tenth as lovely as you and my riches are borrowed, your jewellery is your own.” Elizabeth touched the diamond necklace at her throat, once again loaned by Mrs Mountford. Her sister, however, wore sapphires bought for her by Mr Turner.
Jane squeezed her sister’s hand tightly. “I think there is a gentleman waiting nervously in Milsom Street, who will believe you are the loveliest woman in the world tonight and who will not even spare me a second glance. I am also quite certain you will not have to borrow diamonds in future, for he will see to it you have a set all of your own. Stop dissembling, Elizabeth I have been waiting such a long time to see you in love with someone. Although I confess, I am quite surprised at the object of your affections.”
“Not as surprised as I.” Elizabeth admitted. Then her voice was suddenly tremulous. “I am so scared, Jane.”
“You, scared? My brave Lizzy, surely not. Be easy. What scares you?”
Elizabeth bit her lip. “It feels odd, to have to depend on someone else for my happiness.”
“You have always been such an independent character. So self-sufficient that I suppose it must seem strange, but I am afraid that loving and being in love requires a certain amount of surrender. Are you not sure of your affection?”
“I am too sure. I am desperately sure. If something prevents my being with him, or if he should change his mind about me…” Elizabeth shook her head unable to finish, such was the pain these admissions gave her and her sigh was heavy.
“I think there is not a chance of anything like that. Has he not always loved you, for such a long time?” Jane kissed Elizabeth’s forehead and put a soothing hand on her arm. “All will be well.”
Elizabeth wanted to trust in her sister’s assurances. Had she not, in his note, been described as his loveliest, sweetest Elizabeth? Had he not told her his wishes and affections were unchanged from four years previous?
“Elizabeth, be still.” Mrs Mountford commanded.
“I am still.”
“You are not, you fidget. You fuss so much you make the carriage rock more than the cobbles beneath it.”
The journey to Milsom Street was short, it seemed like they had only just entered the carriage when they drew up outside the Fitzwilliam’s townhouse and came to a stop. The fluttering of Elizabeth’s stomach increased and her anxiousness amplified as they were shown up to the drawing room. She looked about for Mr Darcy but he was not present. The Miss Yorkes and the new Mrs Yorke, were all huddled together in a corner and Elizabeth supposed she was to go and give her congratulations but was saved from doing so by Lady Fitzwilliam, who bid her to take a seat by her side. Mrs Mountford took Jane and Mr Turner off to introduce them to their host.
When she had settled herself onto the well-plumped, gilt edged settee, Lady Fitzwilliam leaned in for greater confidence.
“You must forgive the younger gentlemen, Miss Bennet. They have been holed up together for many hours on a matter of business. They will join us shortly I am sure, now your party is here. Darcy, I know, left word with the footman to be informed of your arrival.”
Elizabeth looked at her shoes.
“What think you of this whole business of running off to Scotland to marry on the quick without family approval?” Asked the Countess. “I trust you would never agree to such a scheme?”
Elizabeth was startled by the question and thought carefully on her answer. “No, I think I would not. However, do not each and every one of us have our own peculiarities of circumstance and character that might make us act in very different ways to different situations? I would not like to say I would ‘never’ do such a thing, maybe there are incidences or states I might find myself in that would prompt such rashness, but I would not do it by choice.”
“I think you are too generous, Miss Bennet. I believe it is merely the case that some people are silly and irresponsible and some people are not.”
Elizabeth was amused. “Tis rather a hypothetical question in my case anyway, Lady Fitzwilliam. I have not the opportunity to act so. In order to be a runaway bride, one requires a bridegroom.”
Lady Fitzwilliam laughed and then gave her an odd look. “Yes, of course. I must admit to being somewhat surprised at Mr Yorke’s choice. For some time I thought his affections tended in another direction.”
Elizabeth smiled to show she understood. “Perhaps, but it seems they took a little detour, to the satisfaction of all concerned.”
“Well, perhaps not all.” Lady Fitzwilliam inclined her head towards the elder Mr Yorke who sat glowering in the corner. “It seems the twenty thousand pounds Miss Bingley came with is to be paid in instalments - very small instalments. Poor Darcy has been cooped up all day trying to make peace and arrange matters to everybody’s satisfaction.”
“The Bingley’s were not able to honour the dowry?” Elizabeth said, surprised. “I always thought them wealthy.”
“Charles Bingley has spent a great deal of money propping up his wife’s estate in Surrey. Yorke’s father fumes about it. They’ve had nothing so far and are not likely to have anything until Michaelmas.”
“It seems so sad that the joy of their wedding is so quickly soured by talk of money.”
“I suppose, which is why it is better to do things properly. To settle matters before the marriage takes place. Mr Yorke has been hasty and a little greedy I think. If you will permit me saying so, you have had a lucky escape.”
Elizabeth made no reply. It was not a subject she wanted to dwell on so she changed it. “When will the Colonel be married?”
“Next month.” Lady Fitzwilliam’s countenance brightened considerably at the thought. “He is to be married in London and we travel down for it once we quit Bath.”
“And then they will settle at Rosings?”
“Yes, thanks to Darcy’s generosity. He is an exceptionally good man. He has made many sacrifices for his family. I speak not only of Rosings but of his marriage.”
“You speak of it as a s
acrifice?”
“I do. I do not know all the particulars but was most surprised at the engagement. Despite Lady Catherine’s insistence, I never thought him inclined towards his cousin. She took Anne to London for a season, despite her ill health and hawked her around, pushing her at every titled fop and nasty little fortune hunter she could find. Darcy came forward and offered to put a stop to it. I think he did it out of kindness for Anne.”
Elizabeth realised her mouth hung open in a most unladylike fashion and closed it.
Lady Fitzwilliam patted her hand. “Now you know all our family secrets, I hope we may dispense with Miss Bennet and I might call you Elizabeth?”
“Oh, of course, I am flattered, Lady Fitzwilliam.”
And then he entered. Just as she was reeling from what she had heard, she saw the drawing room door open out of the corner of her eye and saw his neatly pressed trouser leg; the shine on a shoe that she was sure was his. She realised she knew his tread, the weight of his step above all others. Yet she could not look around. She felt the eyes of the room upon her. Jane and Mrs Mountford’s, even Lady Fitzwilliam’s gaze seemed set her way. She felt a blush rise from her chest and willed it gone, though she had no hope of quelling it completely.
It was upon this moment of consciousness that Mrs Yorke intruded, though Elizabeth was still somehow aware of Mr Darcy and where he was in the room. She knew he had gone towards her sister to say hello. She meanwhile curtseyed to the new Mrs Yorke. “My congratulations, I wish you much joy.”
“Thank you, dear Miss Eliza. I am all happiness. I hope our rather sudden departure from Bath did not cause any distress, we simply could not wait.”
“Oh, no distress on my part I can assure you. I cannot say how it might have inconvenienced others.”
The new Mrs Yorke’s brow furrowed. “Well, there is no better husband to be found I can assure you. May I wish you better luck next time.”
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