by Lauren King
Instantly, Elizabeth blushes. Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Mr. Darcy wants more than friendship! What is she going to do? What should she do? She knows what she must do. Why cannot she just have a suitor like Mr. Darcy? Why is her life ruined because of her stupid sister and her oblivious Mother? This is not fair! She likes Mr. Darcy very much, and now she knows he likes her too. Must she give him up? Why did this have to happen to her family? She is usually not a whiny person, but this consequence that she must bear from her sister’s stupidity is vastly unfair.
Looking down at her hands, Elizabeth responds softly and shyly while blushing profusely. “I do feel the same way about you, Mr. Darcy.” Her heart palpitates faster than normal and her joy explodes inside. She cannot help the elation that shines through due to her being able to impart that sentiment to him. For once, she wants to feel this exultation; she wants to be blissful for a little while, and then she will inform Mr. Darcy of her family shame. She will accept his decision at that point. She simply wants a small amount of happiness to overshadow the gloom in her heart regarding her family and her future. The mere fact that Mr. Darcy wants to be more with her can heal her dread.
“I am very glad to hear that, Miss Elizabeth.” Darcy smiles even wider, and he can see that Miss Elizabeth is very shy now. He wants to see her beautiful face. “Will it be too much for me to ask to call upon you again tomorrow, Miss Elizabeth?”
“No, sir; it is not too much to ask.” Elizabeth replies quietly as she looks up at Mr. Darcy with a blushing smile.
“Will you allow me to take you for a walk in St. James’ Park tomorrow? Naturally, Georgiana will be with us and your Aunt or your companion may come too if that is to your liking.” Such progress! How can he not be excited to have such a beautiful young lady by his side.
“Yes, I would like to take a walk in St. James’ Park, sir.” Elizabeth remains slightly bashful.
“With me, I hope?” Darcy teases. Goodness! Since when does he tease a young lady?
Elizabeth gently giggles and covers her mouth with one hand as she looks up at Mr. Darcy to see him smiling contentedly. “Yes, with you, Mr. Darcy.”
“Will eleven o’clock be acceptable? Then after you can have luncheon with me and Georgiana at Darcy House?” He will not be able to just go home after taking a walk with her. He wants to stretch out the visit for as long as possible.
“I think that will be fine; thank you.” Elizabeth says tenderly while she delightfully looks directly at Mr. Darcy’s handsome face. How can one man be so handsome? His attractiveness is all and good, but what she admires most about Mr. Darcy is that he is responsible for his actions. He realized that he caused a misinterpretation between them; consequently, he addressed it with her, explained it, and apologized for it. Obviously, he has many other remarkable characteristics which she fully appreciates; she feels giddy every time she thinks about him.
Oh my! This bliss is not like anything she has ever felt with any other man. When Mr. Darcy leaves, Elizabeth tells her Aunt about her decision and her feelings for Mr. Darcy. She is elated with Mr. Darcy’s declaration, but her family troubles niggle in the back of her head. Mrs. Gardiner says that she trusts that Elizabeth will do what is best.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20th
Darcy and Georgiana are at the Gardiner residence right at eleven o’clock to collect Elizabeth to go for a stroll in St. James’ Park. Mrs. Gardiner declines on joining them, but Mildred will accompany Elizabeth on this outing.
Their stroll in St. James’ Park is leisurely and is filled with laughter. Darcy is mesmerized by Miss Elizabeth’s free spirit, her caring ways, her rational sensibilities, her willingness to listen and learn, her intelligence, and her beauty. As they walk and chat with each other, they meet Miss Elizabeth’s acquaintance – Mr. Andrew Thompson. Mr. Thompson is walking with his sister, Miss Mariah Thompson and another young lady – their cousin Miss Edwina Landon who is visiting from Bath. All the introductions are made; all the greetings and courtesies are conveyed by everyone.
Mr. Thompson asks, “Miss Elizabeth have you been able to go to the London museum to see the new statues that came from France and Italy? They also have the landscape paintings that I know you like.”
“I have not had a chance yet, Mr. Thompson. Have you seen them?” Elizabeth converses congenially.
“I was planning on going this weekend. Perhaps I will see you and Mrs. Gardiner there. I will gladly escort you both if you are inclined, Miss Elizabeth.” Mr. Thompson volunteers most readily.
Darcy stands right next to Miss Elizabeth but without touching her; anyone paying attention could guess that Darcy is not merely a new acquaintance to Miss Elizabeth. He enjoys looking at her and listening to her while she interacts with others. For some reason, he is not intimidated, at all, by this young man’s conviviality with Miss Elizabeth.
“I thank you, Mr. Thompson. However, I do not know my Aunt’s engagement calendar, thus I cannot answer for her. I hope when you view the art, it will be to your liking.” Elizabeth can tell that Mr. Thompson is interested in her but not as adamantly as was Mr. Allston or as Mr. Darcy is currently.
“I am eager to see them. Mariah wants to go, also; I will be taking Mariah and Edwina, so if you and Mrs. Gardiner are inclined to go, then please join us. It will be my pleasure to be at your disposal. Mrs. Gardiner could send my Mother a note if you both would like to attend with us.” Thompson declares easily and affably.
“Yes, Miss Elizabeth; try to come with us. It will be fun.” Miss Mariah says enthusiastically with a warm smile towards Elizabeth.
“Thank you for including us; I will let my Aunt know. I truly cannot answer for my Aunt, Miss Mariah. I will let my Aunt know to contact Mrs. Thompson with her answer.” Elizabeth says considerately and nicely.
“We understand, Miss Elizabeth.” Thompson says pleasantly. “It is good to see you again; please, send my regards to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. I have promised these young ladies to take them to get some pastries, so we will be on our way. Have a good day, Miss Elizabeth. It was good to meet you, Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy.” Thompson’s farewell smile is more towards Elizabeth than to anyone else.
All farewells are relayed. Elizabeth notices Miss Landon’s admiration gaze upon Mr. Darcy. She is a pretty young lady around Elizabeth’s age with blondish hair and a smug, arrogant look about her.
Before Miss Landon bids her farewells, she asks, “Pardon me, Mr. Darcy, but are you acquainted with Mr. Liam Watson from Oxford?”
“Yes, I am acquainted with Mr. Liam Watson from Oxford. He graduated a year ahead of me. Are you acquainted with Mr. Watson, Miss Landon?” Darcy responds cordially.
“He is my cousin, Mr. Darcy.” Miss Landon says with a coy smile and bright eyes that are fully engaged solely on Mr. Darcy. “He resides in Bath most of the year, now.”
“How nice; please, send him my regards when you next see him, Miss Landon. Good day to you all.” Darcy bows politely then extends his arm to Georgiana and Elizabeth.
Darcy can tell that Miss Landon was trying to be coy with him and show off that there is some sort of connection between them. While Miss Elizabeth was talking with Mr. Thompson, with his peripheral view, Darcy saw Miss Landon gazing at him, and then she looked at Miss Elizabeth with snobbish glances, every now and then. He did not like that, at all.
Mr. Liam Watson is a gentleman from a decently wealthy family. Darcy and he were friendly with each other but not good friends. Mr. Watson was very snobbish to those lesser in wealth than him when they were at Oxford. Miss Landon acts similarly to Mr. Watson which is unappealing to Darcy.
Darcy also noticed how friendly and forthright Mr. Thompson was to Miss Elizabeth. Are they very close family friends? Darcy hopes that it is only friendship. Mr. Thompson seemed charmed by Miss Elizabeth. Conversely, Miss Elizabeth seemed only friendly towards him which is a relief for Darcy.
Elizabeth saw that Miss Landon was not happy that Mr. Darcy offered Elizabeth his arm. Mr. Darcy only spoke
politely and succinctly to Miss Landon, but it was clear that she was hoping for more. Miss Landon looked self-important, conceited, and smug. Miss Landon was brazen to show her partiality to Mr. Darcy. In the end, Elizabeth was glad to see that Mr. Darcy was not too charismatic to possibly mislead a smart but, nonetheless, impressionable young lady such as Miss Landon.
Luncheon at Darcy House is entertaining and conversations flow easily.
Georgiana asks, “Elizabeth, do you have plans to travel up north next summer?”
“My Aunt and Uncle have mentioned visiting the Peak District, but I do not know if those are solid plans. Why do you ask, Georgiana?”
“I thought that if you were visiting the north, then you could stop by Pemberley and visit us. We would be happy to have you and your Uncle’s family come for a visit; would we not, William?”
“Most certainly, Georgiana; Miss Elizabeth, you all are most welcomed at Pemberley. Please, extend our invitation to your Uncle’s family. Your Uncle has said that he likes to fish; we have a well stocked pond at Pemberley that any fisherman would enjoy.”
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy; that is very kind of you to offer. I will communicate your invitation to my Uncle’s family.” Elizabeth replies most contentedly. She has smiled all day today. Her spirits are high, and her joy is addicting. It is all attributed to being with Mr. Darcy and to the knowledge that he seems to like her as much as she likes him. She does not want this feeling to stop progressing or to disappear, altogether.
After luncheon, Georgiana plays the piano forte as entertainment while Elizabeth and Darcy talk. Elizabeth loses all negative thoughts of her life when she talks with Mr. Darcy. He puts her at ease with his kindheartedness. He looks genuinely satisfied with her presence just as she is with his.
Goodness, Darcy wants to hold Miss Elizabeth’s hands. He wonders how soft they would feel in his hands. He wonders how soft her enticing red lips would feel against his lips. Lord, he is quite taken with her already. The more they talk, the more he can see her in his life by his side. He is only worried about her Mother, but the Bennets do live in Hertfordshire which is far from Derbyshire; consequently, he would not have to tolerate her much. He is already thinking about a future with Miss Elizabeth because she intrigues him and delights him in every way. He finds her entirely charming. He truly wants to officially court her soon.
This Saturday, he will ask to officially court Miss Elizabeth. There are plenty of charming, friendly gentlemen like Mr. Andrew Thompson and Mr. Lucas Allston to divert Miss Elizabeth’s attentions away from Darcy if he is not careful. Miss Elizabeth is a good, proper, intelligent, and beautiful young lady that any gentleman would be privileged to know. Richard had said that Mr. Lucas Allston has already called upon her. Darcy cannot let any other gentleman have a chance to further their attentions towards her and have it develop into something serious. He does not know how much Miss Elizabeth has entertained those gentlemen’s attentions, but he does not want any further progression. It would be arrogant of him to think that he is a very good catch for any young lady; however, it is the simple truth. He simply wants to find an intelligent, suitable, honestly caring, and beautiful young lady who loves him for him and not for Pemberley or for the Darcy fortune and connections. He feels that Miss Elizabeth is this young lady.
When Darcy and Miss Elizabeth reach her Uncle’s front door, Darcy asks if her Uncle’s family has decided if they will attend luncheon with Darcy and Georgiana this Saturday.
“My Uncle and Aunt have said that they would be delighted to join you and Georgiana for luncheon this Saturday, sir.” Elizabeth answers cheerfully.
“Are you delighted to join us also, Miss Elizabeth?” Darcy asks flirtatiously.
Elizabeth sees Mr. Darcy’s flirtation, and she becomes shy again. She responds softly, “Yes, I am, Mr. Darcy.” She lightly blushes.
“I am extremely glad to know that, Miss Elizabeth because I look forward to Saturday very much so that I can gaze upon your beautiful face and hear your enchanting voice again. I, keenly, wait two more days.” Darcy gives her his most handsome smile that he can elicit. Then, he reaches for her hand and reverently bows over it before leaving.
Oh my goodness! Her heart is beating so fast that she is afraid it will pop out of her chest. Breathe; breathe calmly. When Mr. Darcy and Georgiana leave, Elizabeth seeks out her Aunt to tell her what has happened between her and Mr. Darcy.
At supper, Mr. Gardiner tells Elizabeth what her Father wrote in his most recent letter.
“I have sent my carriage for Jane; she should arrive tomorrow afternoon with your Aunt Phillips and your two servants Toby and Leah. Everyone except for Jane will return to Hertfordshire the next day. Your Mother and Lydia along with your Uncle Phillips will also start their trip to Blyth on Friday morning using your Father’s carriage and some drivers that your Uncle Phillips knows. It is a four to five days trip to get to Blyth. I hope once Lydia has been removed to Blyth, then things can settle and resolve itself. I am very sorry for all of you four girls to be affected so gravely by Lydia’s appalling behavior and decisions. I will try to help as much as I can, Lizzy. I hope you know that you will always have a home with us here.” Mr. Gardiner offers with genuine generosity and love.
Elizabeth answers bleakly, “Thank you, Uncle, Aunt. I always appreciate your kindness. I am fully ashamed of Lydia, and I am disappointed in my Mother for never listening to what was so obvious. I want to talk with Papa and Jane, but I also want to discuss something with both of you.”
“What is it, Lizzy?” Mr. Gardiner asks with much curiosity.
“With your permission, I would like to stay here in London and work for you as your accountant, Uncle. You need a new accountant anyways, and I am willing to work so that I can help Papa. It would be one less mouth for him to feed. Our family is broken at this point; I want to try to minimize the adverse consequences as much as possible.” Elizabeth states depressingly; she does not see a happy way out of this despair for her family’s reputation.
“Lizzy, please, try not to be so depressed. Your Aunt and I will help you. Of course, you are welcomed to stay here with us. As for you working for me, talk to your Father about it carefully, first. We can revisit this situation after your Father is settled a little. Let us wait for Jane to get here and see if there is any more information.” Mr. Gardiner is impressed, again, at his favorite niece’s responsible behavior and her thought processes. She will make a wonderful wife for any man; the gentleman would be lucky to have someone like her.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21st
Elizabeth diligently works at her Uncle’s office and the numbers seem to be consistent so far; Mr. Clarke embezzled 40 pounds weekly. Mr. Gardiner’s investigator still follows Mr. Clarke and says that there are things being sold from the Clarke residence weekly. Mr. Gardiner checked on Mr. Clarke today to demand what Mr. Clarke was doing about paying back the last 580 pounds that he stole. Afterwards, Mr. Gardiner tells Elizabeth what happened with his encounter with Mr. Clarke.
“Mr. Clarke is slowly selling his home furnishings for money to live on. His oldest son of eight and ten is working at a large warehouse. His two younger boys have been sent to live with their grandparents. Mr. Clarke is getting slightly better, but he still cannot work yet. He does not have much spare money to pay back what he stole. I told him that as long as he pays me back a consistent amount every week, then I will stay lenient with him. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to bring this to the authorities. I will return tomorrow to collect the first payment of twenty pounds each week. I will hire a person who knows about buying furnishings to come and estimate all of Mr. Clarke’s furnishings. I want my money as soon as possible. I do not think Mr. Clarke will stay in London once he gets healthier.”
“Uncle, for all the months that I have accounted for, it shows that he stole 40 pounds each week. I still have five more months to figure out, but I think it is safe to assume that he took about 160 pounds for each of those months too. However, we just do not kn
ow if he embezzled for only one year as he had claimed. We will not know for certain until I figure out the numbers. You should just try to get back as much of the 2,080 pounds as possible and then keep following his whereabouts to make sure he does not move out of town without paying or even if he does move, then we will know how to reach him, in case we need to.”
“Yes, you are right. That is why I want to bring the furniture estimator with me next time so I can get the money faster, in any way I can. I will also keep employing the investigator.”
When they reach Mr. Gardiner’s home, they are met with a glad but depressed Jane. The sisters hug each other tightly with immense sadness. Afterwards, with tears, Jane hugs and thanks her Uncle for being so kind and good to her entire family.
Supper is a lengthy discussion about all that has happened and all that will happen. Aunt Phillips is younger than Uncle Edward by two years but is older than Mrs. Bennet by two years. She is gossipy but is not as flighty as Mrs. Bennet. Since she has no children, she has always been close to Mrs. Bennet, but evidently she still could not curb Mrs. Bennet’s ways, either. Uncle Phillips is a solicitor in Meryton, and he is a decent man. He is trying to help where possible.
Everything is discussed in detail, and at the end of supper, no one wants to talk about it much more. Everyone feels resigned to being affected in some way by Lydia’s dreadful actions. The household retires early, and the two sisters share a bed so they can talk. They speak about everything that has happened to each of them over the last weeks.
Jane is very happy for Elizabeth in regards to Mr. Darcy, but she is also sad that it may amount to nothing due to their family troubles. They both contemplate how their lives will change – unfortunately, not for the better.