by Lauren King
“For your information, Mama – all the young men that have ever showed interest in Jane and me were all scared away once they saw how you, Lydia, and Kitty behaved and spoke – especially you, Mama. Is that truth enough for you?” Elizabeth stares grimly at her Mother as she continues. “It is talked of in Meryton that the young men were afraid to be forever related to a mother-in-law such as you. Yes, you! I have never wanted to reveal all these things to you because I did not want you to be hurt by it, and I had hoped that you would improve – how wrong I was.” Elizabeth’s eyes start to glisten out of anger, but she pushes it back. “Consequently, you still seem to think that the men were merely stupid not to pursue Jane, and it was the men’s loss for not doing so. Just for once, I want you to know the complete truth of the damage that you have caused your family by being who you are and not heeding other’s counsel about restraining your improper words and improper behavior. You can only attract despicable, contemptible husbands like Sergeant Denny for girls like Lydia with your comportment.” Elizabeth’s entire face is hot with irritation and resentment; she takes a deep breath and stops herself from continuing with this toxic discourse. It is useless; she has said enough.
Remaining in his seat while holding his beloved wife’s hand, Darcy’s fierce eyes lock on Mrs. Bennet’s as he forbiddingly grits out each word with contempt, “That is absolutely the last time you will ever have the privilege of seeing or speaking to my wife, again.” He states it directly to her; he does not cut Mrs. Bennet because she is probably too dim-witted to know that she is being scorned. He wants to be certain that there is no room for misunderstanding. If Darcy’s rage could have burned Mrs. Bennet, then she would be a fried crisp by now.
And there it is – William’s ultimate decision; Mrs. Bennet is not allowed to ever see or talk to Elizabeth again. Mr. Bennet is, yet again, ashamed of his wife’s words, especially in front of these two gentlemen. He simply cannot believe this. “Mrs. Bennet, I will have a word with you in my book room immediately, please.” Mr. Bennet states solemnly, as he gets up to leave the drawing room. What more can he say to his wife so that she can curtail or control her dislike for Elizabeth? How can she dislike her own child so much? What has Elizabeth done to offend and make Mrs. Bennet dislike her so much? With things the way they are, Elizabeth will no longer visit Longbourn; he is certain of it. More accurately, William will not allow her to come to Longbourn – understandably so.
Concurrently, Kitty cringes at Elizabeth’s honest revelation. She is embarrassed to think of her past behavior; she cannot imagine how ignorant and foolish she was when she was still following Lydia’s lead. Since they arrived home from Elizabeth’s wedding, Kitty has not conversed with Lydia, at all. Their Father has forbidden Lydia and John from visiting Longbourn, altogether. Their Mother has had to go visit the Dennys at the military family barracks. Their Father did not allow the Dennys to stay at the cottage any longer than one week after they returned from London. Lydia and John ended up staying for another week with the Phillips’ until John found space for him and Lydia to stay in the military family barracks until his regiment decamps for the north in March. As punishment for Lydia’s theft, Lydia’s yearly dowry portion will be back to what it was originally – 40 pounds. John, begrudgingly, accepted the punishment terms; Lydia did not say a word.
One afternoon when Kitty and Mary walked into Meryton to purchase some writing materials for their Father, they saw Lydia by herself looking from the outside into one of the windows of one of the dress shops. When she turned around, all three sisters saw each other, but Kitty and Mary were the first to look away casually without further acknowledgement of her. Kitty did not feel any regret because Lydia still looked defiant when their eyes met. Kitty was glad to leave Lydia’s hatred behind; she does not want to live with it anymore.
Mary’s mortification at her Mother is at an all time high. Goodness gracious, her Mother is too much! She will have to be brave and stand up for herself if her Mother should try to demean her in the future.
As Mr. and Mrs. Bennet walk out of the drawing room, Jane moves towards Elizabeth and William with extended hands to comfort; she sincerely apologizes. “I am sorry Mama spoke about you both in such a horrid way. I should not have asked you to come; I am so sorry, Lizzy, William.”
“Jane it is not your fault how our Mother speaks and behaves. I am sorry that I reacted to her...ignorant absurdity. I could not let her speak about William like that. It is bad enough that she hates me and talks bad about me, but I will not let her talk so abominably about William. Moreover, I want Mama to finally know the damage she has wrought. I want her to realize her misperception, for once.” Elizabeth confesses straightforwardly without any hesitation.
Darcy acknowledges Jane. “This is not your fault, Jane.” Darcy is mainly concerned for Elizabeth. “Dearest, have some tea or would you like to go out to the garden for a bit?” Darcy says calmly but inside he is still livid at Mrs. Bennet. She is not worthy of being Elizabeth’s mother. How can she be so acerbic towards her own daughter? Elizabeth has done nothing to warrant such dire discrimination and prejudice.
“I will have some tea, first, darling.” Elizabeth smiles gently at her loving husband as Darcy continues to observe her for further disturbances to her disposition.
“Mr. Morgan, I am embarrassed and I am truly sorry you had to hear all that.” Elizabeth expresses forthrightly.
“Albert, Elizabeth…” Morgan gently corrects Elizabeth.
Elizabeth acknowledges his reminder with a nod and a small smile. They have chosen to call each other by their Christian names now that Morgan and Jane are to be married.
“I understand your discomfort; you do not have to apologize to me.” Morgan feels sorry for Elizabeth’s position; he still cannot grasp how much Mrs. Bennet dislikes Elizabeth. He is glad that Elizabeth defended herself because people like Mrs. Bennet do not know when they are in the wrong; everything is always someone else’s fault. He sees this type of person in court and prison all the time.
Once again, Mrs. Bennet has managed to blight the happiness of this occasion. After a quarter hour of tea and chatting, Elizabeth and Darcy go out to the garden for a stroll. Darcy wants to be alone with Elizabeth so they can talk openly.
“Are you alright, dearest?” Darcy embraces Elizabeth’s entire body within his and then kisses her forehead adoringly as they stand under the shade of the large tree in the garden. It is nice and sunny today which should brighten Elizabeth’s disposition. He remembers that she has said that too much rain depresses her.
“Yes, I am used to my Mother’s barbs. I am still sorry that you had to hear them.” Elizabeth responds sadly as she hugs her husband tightly around his waist while he encompasses her inside his great coat. She adores this position.
“Do not worry about me, sweetheart. I would have felt better had I spoken up sooner and stopped your mother from voicing her ludicrousness, but I am certain that my simple statement was fully understood by her and everyone else present. Do not ask me to hold my tongue against her again or allow you to be in her presence anymore, dearest.” Darcy rubs Elizabeth’s back to soothe her. He needs to calm down so that she is not affected further by all this.
“Please, do not be upset with me, darling.” Elizabeth squeezes his body tighter to ease his tensions. She knows that it aggravated him immensely not to fully deal with her Mother, himself. “I just wanted to handle this myself; I do not want anyone to criticize that you were ungentlemanly.”
“I am not upset at you.” Darcy caresses her back to reassure her of his love. “I want you to know that I do not care who criticizes me. I will not stand by next time and allow anyone to abuse you. I do not care who is present; they will be put in their place.” Darcy looks directly at Elizabeth so she knows that he will not yield in this matter a second time.
“I understand, darling.” Elizabeth caresses his cheek and goes on her tip toes to kiss his lips before saying, “I am sorry that I prevented you from doin
g your husbandly duty; I will not ask it of you again.” Elizabeth states most sincerely, “I love my husband more than any words could ever profess.”
“As I love you, wife.” Darcy responds in kind and then they embark on a most passionate kiss before releasing each other. Darcy is angry inside for not stopping Mrs. Bennet’s hateful comments. Even though he did it for Elizabeth due to her beseeching, it irks him to no end.
When Darcy and Elizabeth go back inside the drawing room, they see that Mary and Kitty are talking with Morgan. They are told that Jane went to talk to their Mother and Father. About another quarter hour later, luncheon is announced. While seated at the dining table, Darcy and Elizabeth are seated next to each other on the right side of Mr. Bennet; they converse predominantly with Mr. Bennet, Mary, and Kitty. Jane and Morgan sit at Mrs. Bennet’s end. Darcy’s and Elizabeth’s heads do not even glimpse once at Mrs. Bennet’s direction throughout the entire luncheon.
Darcy hands Elizabeth into their carriage first, and then he enters right after her. They have already said their farewells to Mr. Bennet, Mary, and Kitty inside the house; therefore, they get into their carriage before Jane and Morgan; they will not see or acknowledge Mrs. Bennet again.
Arriving at the Gardiner residence, they all go in so Elizabeth and Darcy could greet the Gardiners to express their joy of Jane’s and Morgan’s engagement. Afterwards, Elizabeth and Darcy leave for Darcy House knowing that Elizabeth’s court presentation and Jane’s wedding will be towards the beginning of the Season – April 1st and April 30th, respectively. Jane and Morgan have asked Elizabeth and Darcy to stand up with them at their wedding and have been accepted. It will be a busy couple months for Elizabeth.
A few days after Morgan’s announcement of his betrothal, Morgan visits Darcy at Darcy House in a state of agitation.
“Are you quite alright, Morgan?” Darcy asks quizzically while handing Morgan a glass of Brandy. Elizabeth has gone shopping with Lady Matlock, Jane, and Georgiana for another fitting of Elizabeth’s presentation gown, thus he is home alone to attend to as many of his business correspondences as possible so he will have time to spend with Elizabeth this evening.
“Darcy, I cannot believe how forward and audacious Mrs. Crawford has become. She came to my house earlier to tell me again how better suited she is for me. I stopped her after the second sentence so she started to cry. Once she stopped crying, she said that she can please me and she loves me. Lord, I was afraid that she was going to do something indecent right inside my drawing room to cause a compromise. Fortuitously, my brother was home, so I told him to stand right outside the drawing room while the door was left wide opened. I ended up standing near the door too; I was uncomfortable with her there. I should not have accepted her call, but at least I had our housekeeper there; that is better than no woman present at all.”
“Good Lord, Morgan. So is everything settled, then? She knows that you will be married in April? She acknowledges that you are not interested in her, at all?” Darcy cannot believe the audacity and forwardness of Mrs. Crawford.
“Yes, she knows all that. She apologized to me for what had happened and that her parents got involved. She said that she did not tell her parents that I was at fault for anything; she told them that I was never dishonorable towards her. They had inferred it because they saw how distraught she was. She hoped that they did not cause me any problems. Calmly and nicely, I told her that it was already resolved the day that I spoke to all of them, thus I did not want to revisit that situation anymore. I told her that I know she will be fine soon because she is a good person that many gentlemen would be glad to know.” Morgan takes a sip of the Brandy before continuing. “I just wanted to appease her so that she did not do anything…harmful and so that her feelings towards me would wane. I did not want her to do something dangerous, again, closer towards my wedding day. I do not mean to sound unfeeling, but I cannot help it if I do not return her sentiments, and she is unhappy about it.”
Darcy nods in understanding.
“Nonetheless, I tried to ease her into leaving her romantic thoughts of me behind. When she left my house she was downcast, but I think she accepted it, finally. I did not dare remind her that I did not want to associate with her anymore. I just showed her to her carriage and the footman handed her in. I was even afraid to touch her hand in case she thought anything of it. Good, God; I hope she does not do anything drastic to try to get my attention, again.” Morgan shakes his head in disbelief and sighs heavily.
“I think you should notify your parents immediately and have them notify her parents who should have someone watch over her until she shows signs of true improvement. I think she may still be unstable with this final news that you will marry for certain and that you have no romantic feelings for her.” Darcy imparts his opinion forthrightly.
“I think you may be correct. I will let my parents know. I pray to God that she does not do anything…bad to herself again.”
Both Elizabeth and Jane are stunned when they hear their gentleman tell them about what Mrs. Crawford had done. They feel pity for her because she must truly love Morgan immensely in order to behave in such a manner. However, it sounds like she may be mentally unstable, and that could be dangerous for all. All four people do not know what more Morgan can do to resolve this problem except to stay as far away from Mrs. Crawford as possible so she has time to dissipate her feelings for Morgan.
THURSDAY, MARCH 5th
Elizabeth has started to take calls and pay calls as is expected of the newly Mrs. Darcy – especially now that her honeymoon has ended. Lady Matlock has educated Elizabeth on the topics that are usually discussed safely during calls. Elizabeth speaks well; therefore, Lady Matlock feels that she can maneuver and endure the ladies of the Ton with success by using her wit, intelligence, and good manners. Lady Matlock will continue to accompany Elizabeth both in making calls and receiving them at Darcy House to display and affirm her support of the new Mrs. Darcy.
Another important social aspect for this season is for Elizabeth to be presented at court; Lady Matlock has generously offered to sponsor Elizabeth to be presented. She will also mentor Elizabeth to get her ready for this special occasion which will include many aspects that Elizabeth must know well to assure a successful presentation in front of royalty.
Elizabeth and Darcy stated that they were in no rush to have Elizabeth participate in that aspect of society, if at all. Lady Matlock eloquently reminded them that they needed to be involved in some society because Elizabeth will be judged as Mrs. Darcy and their future children will be judged upon the Darcys’ standing in society. She understands that Darcy, himself, does not care of the Ton’s opinion because he is an exemplary gentleman, but he must ensure that his wife and children will also receive the same amount of respect. Unfortunately, sometimes we all have to do things that we do not want in order to secure our family’s happiness or respect from others in society. It is a situation that most everyone abides by if they want an advantage in life. Furthermore, they do not have to participate in every event of the season; they can choose what they want to attend. Their rare attendance will actually make them more exclusive and valued. Elizabeth and Darcy decided to do their best to be part of society for the sake of their children. Elizabeth will do all she can and will tolerate the scrutiny if it will be advantageous for their children’s futures.
Elizabeth has learned much from this entire process regarding society and the Ton. Some of it is interesting because she has always liked to observe people’s behavior. There were times when certain women did not wish to forget that Elizabeth’s family’s social standing was decidedly below William’s even though her father is a gentleman. However, they were smart enough to remember that Lady Matlock and several other important ladies of society have already accepted Mrs. Darcy even before her marriage; therefore, it behooved them to do the same – or at least not to cause large ripples – in case they ever needed Mrs. Darcy’s favor. It was easy enough to accept Mrs. Darcy because o
f her genuine niceness and wit; she was not arrogant which made conversations with her a delight. Consequently, the majority of the ladies accepted her, but everyone knew that she was under silent scrutiny. The ladies that did not wish to accept Elizabeth were titled and conceited towards many other ladies too; therefore, they would have fastidiously scrutinized her in any case, no matter who she was; in view of that, Elizabeth did not allow their comments to upset her.
Elizabeth was getting used to these tea times, but that was not to say that she liked them. She liked a few of the ladies; she tolerated many of them and there were a few that were to be avoided in the future except for the barest of polite greetings. She reminds herself that she is doing this for her children’s futures. Under no circumstances would Elizabeth let her children traverse society with disadvantages if she could help it. She is going to uphold the Darcy name and advance it in society as much as she could.
The presentation gown is finished and all preparations for Elizabeth’s presentation day have been finished. Lady Matlock has approved of everything relating to Elizabeth’s presentation – even her curtsy. They are only waiting for the actual event itself. Elizabeth is only nervous because she does not want to disappoint William by being, in any way, unfitting of him. He has assured her that he could never be disappointed in her for any reason; presented at court or not, she is exactly all he needs and desires. She melted in his arms purely from his words.
CHAPTER 12
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1st
Elizabeth’s gown and required feathered head piece are exactly as it should be. Her hair and maquillage is just right for the occasion. Her Darcy jewels are breathtakingly exquisite, as usual. She had thought that her wedding jewels were splendid, but the jewels that William had given her for today’s court presentation surpassed anything she had ever imagined in her fantasies. She was in awe when he placed them on her. Magnificent, brilliant, yellow diamond necklace, earrings, bracelet, brooch, hair combs, and ring adorn her. Their design is impressive and refined; they clearly bespeak of opulence and affluence. These are jewels that are spectacular and extravagant enough to be seen by royalty. This heirloom is, indeed, worthy of generations of admiration.