“She expressed her opinions, and I shared mine.”
“Aha!” the earl said, gleefully. “If you had the audacity to express your opinions, then I know she does not like you, but that should not bother you. In fact, I would take it as a compliment.”
Lizzy did not know how to respond, and thinking it best to ignore his statement, she asked if he frequently visited Rosings Park.
“Despite my deep attachment for my dear cousin, the lovely Miss Anne de Bourgh, I go but rarely because my aunt lives there as well. However, I do see Anne every time she comes to London, and she is an excellent correspondent who keeps me informed of family news, which is how I learned of your romance with my cousin.”
“But that does not explain how you knew where to find me in town. I only came to London yesterday.”
“My house is across the square from the Darcy townhouse, and my manservant saw the Darcy carriage. Gregg, whose charms are second only to my own, has been flirting with a housemaid in Darcy’s employ, who spoke with a groom, who overheard a conversation between Darcy and his butler about seeing to the wishes of a certain Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who was staying with the Gardiners in Gracechurch Street. This should be a lesson to us all that we should never say anything in front of the servants that we do not want repeated. On the other hand, if one wishes to spread a rumor that is the most efficient way of going about it.”
Lizzy now understood why Fitzwilliam Darcy became exasperated whenever he spoke about the head of the Fitzwilliam family. Darcy, through a clenched jaw, would express his frustration with a man whom he knew to have a fine mind and a caring spirit but who was completely undisciplined and denied himself nothing.
“Allow me to give you an example,” Darcy had said during one of their conversations about the earl. “Antony was one of the few members of the House of Lords to voice his opposition to confronting the Americans on the high seas. I was in the visitors’ gallery when he gave a speech warning that boarding American vessels and taking sailors off their ships would lead to war with the United States, and it might yet happen. It was an act of parliamentary courage, but did he remain in the House to discuss the matter with other members of the Lords? No! He went straight to his club, where he gambled the night away. Damn frustrating man!”
His frustration with his cousin was the reason Darcy had not mentioned Lord Fitzwilliam when discussing their wedding plans, but how could she not invite His Lordship to their wedding? The two were first cousins, and so Lizzy informed the earl of the date and place for the nuptials.
“You obviously have not consulted Darcy. He would not want me there,” he said, pouting.
“If you wish to attend, you are welcome.” Even though Lizzy knew that His Lordship was reeling her in, she was finding it hard to resist.
“Thank you so much, but it would probably be best…” But after pausing for a moment, he asked, “Do you know if the Granyards will be there?”
“No, milord. It is Mr. Darcy’s wish that the reception be limited to immediate friends and family.” Lizzy was content to remain ignorant of how large the wedding list had grown since she had departed Longbourn. “We shall have a reception for our friends and family in the spring at my parents’ home in Hertfordshire.”
“It is just as well then that I cannot go because if Lady Granyard is not going to the reception, there really isn’t any point. Unless, of course, you are going,” he said, turning to Mrs. Gardiner.
“Yes, my husband and I will definitely be going—together,” she answered with a flutter. She had been relieved when Lizzy had taken over the conversation, but now he was speaking to her once again in a highly suggestive manner. “I do not think I mentioned earlier that I am the mother of four—two boys and two girls.”
“Oh, I just adore children,” Fitzwilliam said, cooing. “I have two little jewels of my own. Sophie is nine, and Emmy is eight. I do not see them as often as I would like because…” He sat up straight in his chair. “…because they live in a dark castle with a drawbridge guarded by dragons, and in the center of the castle is a throne where their mother, the Queen of Darkness, reigns. The castle is surrounded by a moat filled with crocodiles, which Lady Eleanor hand-feeds the pieces and parts of anyone who has ever crossed her. But, occasionally, I don my suit of armor and charge the castle. After rescuing my children, I take them to Briarwood, my country estate. For a few peaceful days, we have the best time until their mother, riding in her black chariot with her hair on fire, comes for them. But children must have their mothers.” After letting out a long sigh, he added, “Eleanor and I just don’t get on.”
Lizzy and her aunt looked at each other. They don’t get on? Who would have guessed?
“But, Miss Elizabeth, I am sure you have much to do to prepare for your wedding,” he said, rising, “and so I shall leave you. Hopefully, after you have married, you will invite me to your townhouse. I am sure Darcy pays his coal bills, so it will be a lot warmer in your home than it is in mine.”
After being assisted by Rothwell with his overcoat and after putting on his top hat and placing his cane under his arm, he again addressed Elizabeth. “I shall conclude by saying that your soon-to-be husband is a royal pain, a stick in the mud, an enemy of fun, and the most decent man I know. However, on more than one occasion, he has pulled my derrière out of the fire, for which I am most grateful, and I ask that you be good to him because he deserves it and because he will always be good to you. He takes care of those he loves.”
“I am in complete agreement with the part of your statement that mentioned Mr. Darcy’s goodness, decency, and his attention to those he cares about, but as for being an enemy of fun, Mr. Darcy and you probably have very different definitions of the word.”
“No doubt about that, Miss Bennet,” he said chuckling, and after a quick kiss of Elizabeth’s hand and a prolonged kiss of Mrs. Gardiner’s, Antony, Lord Fitzwilliam, departed.
After collapsing into a chair, and with a sigh of relief, Mrs. Gardiner commented on their extraordinary visitor. “I have never met anyone like him.”
“I don’t think there is another like him,” Lizzy said, amazed at His Lordship’s performance.
“Elizabeth, I do believe he was flirting with us.”
“Oh, he wasn’t flirting with me, Aunt Gardiner. He was flirting with you. Apparently, he only seduces married women. I am sure he has justified their seduction because they are not maidens.”
“I can hardly believe that an earl was in my home, flirting with me, the mother of four children,” Mrs. Gardiner said, giggling. “It really is too bad that Mr. Gardiner was not here to see it. However, I shall make up for his absence by providing him with every last detail of our afternoon.” A dreamy smile appeared on her face, and while her aunt was thinking about their unique visitor, Lizzy was wondering how Mr. Darcy was faring in Kent.
***
“I forbid it!” an outraged Lady Catherine said. “You will never have my consent to marry that unfeeling, selfish girl. She will be the ruin of you in the opinion of all your friends, and she will make you the contempt of the world.”
Darcy and Georgiana had been at Rosings Park for three days before any mention was made of Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and when her earlier visit to Kent was discussed during the evening meal, Lady Catherine had nothing good to say about such a headstrong young lady who dared to answer her questions truthfully. But on the fourth day, all was revealed, and the storm rolled in.
“Aunt, that is your opinion, and one I do not share,” Darcy said in a calm voice. His aunt could go on as long as it pleased her. Since nothing she said would change his mind, he was determined not to become angry. She was his mother’s sister, and as such, deserved his respect.
“Fitzwilliam, I am almost your nearest relation, and I can assure you that your mother would be opposed to this match.”
“I disagree,” Georgiana said in a soft voice as she
came to her brother’s defense. “I do not remember very much about my mother, and most of my knowledge of her comes to me by way of my father and brother, but this I do know. My mother and father were in love, and Mama would want for her son to be in love with his wife.”
“Nonsense! Your mother’s marriage to your father was arranged between the Fitzwilliam and Darcy families, one noble and the other with ancient ties to the monarchy. It had nothing to do with love. In your conversations with Anne, I have made note of your ridiculous romantic notions of men and women falling in love, but the reality is that only peasants marry for love, as they have nothing else to offer.”
“You say that my parents’ marriage was arranged, and I believe you, but the fact is that they did fall in love and that is what they would want for Will,” Georgiana quickly rebutted, her voice growing stronger.
Darcy admired his sister’s attempt to change the mind of their aunt Catherine, but she was up against a woman who had no experience with disappointment, except in her own marriage.
“Aunt Catherine, the thought of being estranged from you is painful to me,” Darcy began, “however, if you will not receive Elizabeth at Rosings, then I shall not come here until you do. It is your choice.”
“Fitzwilliam, I see that you have been taken in by Miss Bennet’s arts and allurements, and in a moment of infatuation, you have forgotten what you owe to your family. She has drawn you in.”
“‘Drawn me in.’” Darcy said, smiling. She most certainly had drawn him in. “If that is how you wish to phrase it, I shall not quarrel with you. But I know this. I love Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and it is the kind of love that is strong and good and will weather all storms. I am less than a perfect man, but she has accepted me, with all my faults.”
“Your faults? What nonsense. You have none. But Miss Bennet does. Not only is she presuming to quit the sphere into which she was born, she is dragging you into a family tainted by scandal. Do not think I do not know of her sister’s patched-up marriage to the son of your father’s steward. Of what are you thinking?”
Darcy was about to bring this conversation to a close when he saw Anne rise from her chair near the fire. “Stop! Mama, I insist that you stop!”
Anne had remained silent throughout the exchange. While watching the drama unfold, she had hoped that her dear cousins would be able to convince her mother to recognize the marriage without her becoming involved, but this had gone on long enough.
“Anne, please…” Darcy said, concerned for his cousin. After such an angry exchange of words, he would have to leave Rosings, but Anne would be left behind to deal with her enraged mother. He did not want that.
“No, William, I have something to say, and I mean to say it.” Then she turned her attention to her mother. “Mama, I love you, and I loved Papa. But you did not love each other, and I can assure you that it was painful for me to have my father living most of the year in London while you and I remained here in the country. I do not want that for William.
“As for Miss Bennet, she is a warm, charming, gracious, and giving woman, and she loves William—deeply—and is committed to him with all of her heart and soul. She asks nothing of him, except his love. Now, you say that such an emotion exists only in the lower classes, but you are wrong because I have seen it with my own eyes.”
For the whole of Anne’s speech, Lady Catherine remained quiet. She loved her daughter more than anyone or anything, and she lived in fear of losing her at any moment to illness or disease. It was not her intention to upset her, but she was unalterably opposed to the mingling of classes and said as much.
“Mama, you do not go up to town as often as I do because if you did, you would see that trying to prevent the ‘mingling of classes’ would be like attempting to hold back the tide. Impoverished aristocrats are marrying their sons to the daughters of merchants every day. When I was in town on my return from Derbyshire, I learned of Lord Corman’s engagement to a Miss Abernathy, whose father made his fortune in herring! Now, if the son of a duke can marry the daughter of a purveyor of fish, you certainly cannot object to the marriage of a gentleman’s son to the daughter of a gentleman.
“And I have one more thing to add. William is not asking for your permission to marry. He is here as a courtesy to you. With or without your blessing, Elizabeth and he will marry on December 24th. I, for one, shall wish them joy, and if you wish to see Georgie and William again, you should do the same. Do you really want to be estranged from yet another family member? Is it not enough that Antony and you do not talk or that his sisters rarely visit because they are afraid of you? Think of the consequences before you say another word.”
With that, Anne sat down, and the only sound was the clock ticking away the minutes. After an uncomfortably long silence, Darcy went over and took hold of his aunt’s hand, but she would not look at him.
“I hope you will take Anne’s advice because nothing will change my mind about marrying Elizabeth. However, I do not wish to impose upon your hospitality, so Georgiana and I will leave in the morning as there is much to do. Elizabeth and I will have a reception at Longbourn in the spring, and I hope you will attend.” Darcy then signaled to his sister that they should retire.
The next morning, with her mother still in her bedchamber, Anne was the only one to see her cousins on their way.
“Oh, William, I wish I could be there for your wedding, but as you know, I do not travel well in the winter. By the way, when is the next full moon?”
“On the twenty-eighth. But you need not worry as Elizabeth borrowed a book on astronomy from the circulating library in Meryton and wrote down all the dates for the full moon for the next two years.”
“Then you are obviously in good hands.”
“Anne, you seem quite chipper this morning. Considering that things did not go well last night, I find your good cheer puzzling.”
“Oh, I disagree. I think things went very well. You managed to have the last word with Mama. Can you ever remember that happening before? And because of that, I am hopeful that we shall see you in the spring.”
Darcy nodded his head in agreement as well as in admiration of his fragile cousin who had taken the field and won the battle, if not the war.
Chapter 27
The day after Lord Fitzwilliam’s visit, Lizzy and Mrs. Gardiner ventured out with Madame Delaine, Georgiana’s modiste, who knew where all the best warehouses were located. Since Lizzy and Mrs. Gardiner’s French was only marginally better than Madame’s English, it proved to be an interesting experience for all parties, but by the end of the day, Lizzy had the material for her dress, and some of the “whatnots,” as Mr. Darcy put it, to go with her bridal attire, all of which was put on his account.
“I told Mr. Darcy that Papa put away one thousand pounds for my dowry,” Lizzy explained to Mrs. Gardiner, “but he said that because of Lydia’s marriage to Wickham, he had no doubt that it would become necessary for her to ask our father for assistance, and the money for my dowry would be there to help her.”
“That is very generous of Mr. Darcy, but of course he is a man with real assets, unlike Lord Fitzwilliam, who apparently does not have the money to pay the coalman.”
An enjoyable morning was followed by an equally pleasant afternoon. When Lizzy arrived at the Gardiner residence, there was a letter waiting for her from Mr. Darcy. However, with the memory of his previous letter fresh in her mind, she put it in her pocket to be read in the privacy of her bedroom.
After supper, thirteen-year-old Margaret, the older of the two Gardiner daughters, treated her cousin to a number of delightful pieces, including a Scottish air, on the pianoforte. Following the completion of her performance, their governess escorted her four charges upstairs, and Lizzy and her aunt shared their shopping experiences with Mr. Gardiner, who was polite, but clearly uninterested in their excursion. To engage her husband’s attention, Mrs. Gardiner told him of Lord Fitzwill
iam’s visit, and he laughed so hard that he nearly popped a button on his waistcoat. After wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, he managed to sputter, “Do I have anything to worry about, Mrs. Gardiner? Should I work at home to keep the wolf at bay?”
That comment reminded Lizzy of Mr. Darcy’s letter, and she excused herself. But before closing the door behind her, she could hear Uncle Gardiner saying to his wife, “All I can say, my dear, is that Lord Fitzwilliam has damn fine taste in women, and he has definitely put an idea in my head. Shall we retire early tonight?” Lizzy could hear her aunt giggling.
Once in bed, Lizzy stared at the letter. Surely, it must be better than the one he had written to her on his journey home from Scotland, and after another moment’s hesitation, she broke the seal.
Dearest Elizabeth,
Be not alarmed, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those words which were so repugnant to you when last I wrote. I write without any intention of paining you.
And Lizzy hugged the letter to her chest and thought how clever he was to open his missive by mocking that first awful letter he had written to her when she was at Hunsford Lodge.
Being unsure if I would have the time to write to you once I was in Kent, I penned this letter while in town, and so it will contain no news, only my love.
I have never written a love letter (and you can attest to that fact). So what do I say after I confess that my love for you is so strong that no wind could bend it nor rock could break it? I imagine that most gentlemen would make reference to that wonderful moment when he first saw his lady love. But I cannot do that because I was abominably rude to you at the assembly, and the first time I saw you smile was when you were laughing at me for being such a boorish man. I must also omit references to Lucas Lodge, the ball at Netherfield (where you were the prettiest girl in the room), and, most definitely, Hunsford Lodge.
So I must move past our unfortunate beginning to the day I saw you at Pemberley. You were sitting on a bench without a bonnet. (Didn’t your mother warn you about getting freckles from being out in the sun without a bonnet or parasol?) Your face was turned toward the sun, and because your eyes were closed, I was able to gaze upon your freckled countenance for several minutes. When you opened your eyes to find me staring at you, I thought that you might run away, but you did not, and in that moment you sealed your fate because I knew exactly what you were feeling, and it wasn’t anger, animosity, or dislike; it was something quite different.
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