A Covenant of Marriage

by C. P. Odom

  “Send her in, Hill, send her in. And tell Mrs. Bennet and my daughters they are to go back inside the parlour and stop lurking at the doorway!”

  As Elizabeth passed into her father’s library, she was amused at the disappointed look on her mother’s face as Hill began to urge her back inside the front parlour.

  “You wanted to see me, Papa?” Elizabeth said. She tried to hide her look of pity at the aged appearance of her father. She might be angered by his failings, but she still loved him dearly and hated the thought of him growing older.

  “Yes, yes, come in, child. Pray shut the door and sit down.”

  Elizabeth obeyed and sat in one of the three chairs drawn up to her father’s desk. She sat silently for a few moments as he fumbled with a sheaf of papers until he finally looked up at her.

  “You are undoubtedly aware we have had visitors this morning, Lizzy.”

  “It would have been difficult to remain unaware of that, sir. The entire household has been atwitter since they arrived.”

  “Yes, I suppose so,” Mr. Bennet said uncomfortably. “I was astonished when your aunt, uncle, and Mr. Darcy appeared today.”

  “You know they have seen Mr. Darcy socially in town,” she said, but she wondered whether he really did know. She had mentioned it when she recounted her letters from her aunt, but her father seemed to forget so many things lately.

  “Yes, yes, you remarked on it a time or two, but though I know how they came to make his acquaintance, it is still extraordinary.”

  Elizabeth sat silently. She had no idea how her aunt and uncle came to know Mr. Darcy, and she had absolutely no interest in the matter. She had tried her best to partition the memory of those distant days when she had visited Hunsford into the same closed compartment of her mind as the dreary chain of events associated with the disappearance of Lydia. It was difficult to avoid dwelling on any of those matters, but she tried her best to do so now, even if she met with only mixed success.

  Mr. Bennet seemed surprised and disconcerted by his daughter’s lack of interest. “I am sure you will never guess why Mr. Darcy accompanied your aunt and uncle.”

  Elizabeth only shrugged. “I suppose he prevailed upon his acquaintance with them to renew his addresses to me,” she said with cool disinterest, and her father looked at her with open-mouthed astonishment.

  “So it is true! Mr. Darcy seemed so serious and believable when he said as much, but I could not bring myself to believe it. You have never given as much as a hint of it these past years!”

  “It meant little to me,” she said dismissively. “I suppose he told you I refused him?”

  “He did, and it seems to have made a much greater impact on him than it did on you!” Then a thought seemed to strike him, and he smiled slyly at his daughter. “It is fortunate your mother never suspected anything of it. Her reaction when you refused Mr. Collins would have been as nothing to her knowledge that you also refused Mr. Darcy!”

  “I dare say,” Elizabeth murmured.

  Her father’s smile only lasted a moment, however, then it was gone, and he became the same aged man she knew.

  Mr. Bennet seemed to struggle with his thoughts for some time, and Elizabeth looked at him quizzically as the seconds stretched into minutes. His face worked as he seemed locked in some struggle. Finally, it firmed, and he looked directly at her for the first time since she had entered his library.

  “You are not entirely correct in your supposition, Lizzy,” he said quietly. “Mr. Darcy did not visit with a proposal to renew his addresses to you.”

  “No? What then?”

  “He came with marriage settlements.”

  “Marriage settlements!” Elizabeth exclaimed, jumping to her feet in anger. “How dare he? Of all the effrontery! That…that man—”

  Elizabeth was so furious she sputtered with rage. It took some moments before she could regain sufficient control to speak coherently.

  “Well, I see Mr. Darcy still possesses his arrogance of old,” she said bitterly. “It would have been bad enough to seek to engage me in a courtship. I had expected something similar. But no! Not Mr. Darcy of Pemberley with his ten thousand a year! Now he simply descends on Longbourn in all his importance to settle marriage on the penniless waif of the Bennet family!”

  “Lizzy—” Mr. Bennet began, but Elizabeth’s anger could not be controlled.

  “Well, summon Mr. Darcy,” she said coldly. “I had thought perhaps this ill-considered idea of renewing his addresses might bring a possibility of redemption for Jane, but now I see my mistake! Bring him here so I can tell him what I think of his marriage settlements. And if he thought me intemperate before, I shall give him more than enough reasons to believe I was the soul of civility at Hunsford!”

  “Lizzy!” her father said firmly, interrupting her tirade, and Elizabeth turned to look at him, her brows still furrowed in fury.

  “Mr. Darcy did not bring an offer of marriage to you,” he said sternly. “He brought an offer of marriage to me.”

  “What? What do you mean to you? I do not understand. Does he seek to marry Jane?”

  “Oh no, he seeks your hand still, but his offer was made to me. And I have decided to accept it.”

  Elizabeth stared at her father in mingled dismay and horror for many long seconds, and then she said flatly, “You cannot.”

  “But I can. And I have.”

  “I am of age! I can make my own decision about whom I shall marry! And I will never marry Mr. Darcy!”

  “Being of age has nothing to do with this matter,” her father said wearily. “I am the head of the family, and making this decision is entirely within my authority.”

  “This is not two centuries ago! Fathers no longer enter into agreements to sell their daughters into matrimony!”

  “I made the same comment to your uncle, and he pointed out that, while arranged marriages are not common today, they still occur on occasion. In fact, they are relatively common among the families of the highest nobility, especially if the parties have ties to the Crown.”

  “Have I been deceived? Have we discovered we have a secret connexion to Mad King George? It must be, for this proposal is as insane as he is!”

  “You are well aware that such a decision is within my authority as it was the day I refused to take your mother’s side when Mr. Collins offered for your hand and your mother was adamant you should accept.”

  “I do not care!” Elizabeth raged. “I was not yet of age when Mr. Collins made his offer. I am now four and twenty—”

  “Your age is not the point at issue, either in this case or the previous one,” Mr. Bennet said gently. “The decision was mine to make, though I took your side in the dispute involving Mr. Collins when such a marriage would have provided a home for your mother and sisters.”

  Elizabeth wanted very badly to dispute the point with her father, but she could not think of a valid argument.

  “The circumstances have now changed, Elizabeth. Because of Lydia’s foolishness and my own errors, it is highly likely none of my daughters will be settled in marriage before I die, leaving all of you in a precarious situation. This time I have no choice. If for no other reason than the good of the family, I simply must agree to Mr. Darcy’s offer.”

  “But, Papa—”

  “No, Elizabeth. You are a member of the Bennet family, and I am its head though I have little exercised my duties over the years. But the time has come for me to do so. I have the authority to agree to this offer on your behalf, and I have used it.”

  “You cannot do this to me, Papa,” Elizabeth said desperately, standing up and looking down at him, her face pale and her hands clenched at her side.

  “Will you not even listen to what Mr. Darcy has offered?” Mr. Bennet pleaded. “He has pledged his love for you, and his generosity is unpar
alleled! He offers to form an establishment for your mother and sisters—”

  “He is trying to buy me!” Elizabeth said, her mind flailing about as she tried to find an argument against the dreadful fate she faced. “When he made his proposal at Hunsford, he depended on his wealth and significance to cause me to accept him. It is the same this time though he is using different tactics!”

  “He will settle a fortune of ten thousand pounds on each of your sisters.”

  “Money, money, money! Am I chattel? He believes he can buy anything with enough money!”

  “Lizzy, the man loves you beyond all reason! And to remain so after four years—you cannot fault his constancy!”

  “But I do not love him! I do not even like him! I told him as much at Hunsford! My opinion has not changed!”

  Mr. Bennet looked at her for a moment and then sighed. “You make this very difficult, Elizabeth, but here it is: you will do as I command because you have no choice, just as I had no choice but to accept Mr. Darcy’s offer.”

  “No choice? Why, dear Father, do I have no choice?”

  “Because I am not going to live much longer,” Mr. Bennet said sternly. “You know it as well as I do. I have already had one seizure that causes me to slur my words. I am fortunate it was not worse. We both know I could have another at any time. Edward was shocked at my appearance when he arrived—so greatly have I changed since he saw me last Christmas. This opportunity to see to the security of my family is heaven-sent, and I will not let it pass by.”

  Elizabeth felt an angry retort on the tip of her tongue. It threatened to lash out at her father for using such a troubling argument, and then she suddenly looked at her father through new eyes.

  She sat down suddenly, her angry words forgotten as the icy wind of reality swept through her and gripped her heart. She could see her uncle was right. Her father’s complexion was sallow, and the flesh on his face sagged unhealthily. She could not believe she was only now seeing the changes in his health, and she could only assume that they had come in such small increments that she had not discerned them because of her unhappiness with the ruin of her family’s reputation.

  But now she could see what her uncle saw, and she could not oppose her father on this matter any further though every fibre of her being cried out against it.

  “Very well, Papa,” she said listlessly. “I cannot oppose your wishes any longer. I shall do as you say.”

  “Thank you,” Mr. Bennet said softly. “I wish it could be otherwise, but I truly think Mr. Darcy’s proposal will be to everyone’s benefit—even your own though I am sure you hardly think so at the moment.”

  “I do not see any possibility of benefit for me,” Elizabeth said in a voice devoid of emotion. “I shall marry Mr. Darcy because you command it, but I shall never forgive him for what he has done—to you as well as to me. Never.”

  “It is not as though I were trying to convince you to marry Mr. Collins! Whatever he may be, Mr. Darcy is most decidedly not the fool your cousin is.”

  Elizabeth only looked back at her father, saying nothing, but her eyes were hard and cold.

  “Perhaps you should summon Mr. Darcy so he may learn of the success of his scheme,” Elizabeth said harshly. “There are undoubtedly arrangements to be made.”

  “All the arrangements are essentially complete. I can find nothing in the marriage agreement Mr. Darcy brought that I require to be changed, but I have said nothing regarding your own allowances and the provisions for inheritance. Would you not like to examine it before I sign the document?”

  “It does not matter,” Elizabeth said with unfeigned indifference. “If you are satisfied, I am sure I should also find them acceptable.”

  “Mr. Darcy is being quite generous. Will you not even acknowledge as much?”

  Elizabeth only shrugged in dismissal. “Should you not summon Mr. Darcy to discuss what arrangements need to be made? I am sure my mother will want to have a chance to spread the news about the neighbourhood and to prepare for the ceremony.”

  “Your uncle predicted you would be highly incensed, and he recommended as little delay as possible since your mood was unlikely to be moderated by the kind of wedding your mother would plan.”

  “Perhaps my uncle is right. My disposition is not likely to improve. So, as soon as possible then.”

  “Uh…it seems Mr. Darcy has obtained a special license from Doctor’s Commons, and he…that is, even your uncle says it would, uh—”

  “What are you trying to say, Papa? You might as well go ahead and say it.”

  Mr. Bennet drew a breath. “Since he has a special license, which is a matter totally beyond my experience, it seems weddings are not limited to churches and may be performed at any convenient time or place.”

  “I do not take your meaning, Papa.”

  “Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy has suggested the wedding take place today…this afternoon…here at Longbourn.”

  Mr. Bennet looked at his favourite daughter with trepidation since he knew this was going to cause her to explode with anger.

  Though Elizabeth went rigid on hearing it, she said nothing for more than a minute. At last, she simply nodded, her face frozen and expressionless.

  “I think it an excellent idea, sir,” she said. “It would be sinful to solemnise such a travesty of a marriage in God’s house.”

  “Lizzy, do not let—”

  “Far better to conduct the ceremony in the privacy of our family’s house where our shame will not be on open display. And the sooner the better. This is a truly inspired suggestion by my…my future husband. At least, I shall not have to endure the embarrassment of my mother dragging me about the neighbourhood, showing me off, and gloating about her marvellous good fortune.”

  Mr. Bennet removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to relieve the growing headache centred just behind his eyes.

  “I do pray,” he said in a dubious tone of voice, “that this change in your life—”

  “Yes, my life will change dramatically, will it not, Papa?”

  “—will lead to lessening the anger that so often seizes you. It was never so before Lydia’s elopement, and it is your unrestrained anger, not the ostracism of the family by our former friends, that is my greatest regret.”

  He looked at his daughter for some moments, but she only stared back wordlessly, and he could see her rage was not diminished. At length, he sighed in despair and reached for the cord to summon a servant.

  Chapter 12

  The first bond of society is marriage.

  — Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC–43 BC), ancient Roman lawyer, writer, scholar, orator, and statesman

  Saturday, October 12, 1816

  Longbourn, Hertfordshire

  Darcy looked first at Elizabeth as he entered the room, and he thought again of the portrait in the Gardiner home and the wistful melancholy he perceived in her expression. He was certain the sadness was still there, but at the moment, all he could discern was her white-lipped anger. Her eyes flashed as she regarded him with contemptuous disdain, and he could not stop his sudden worry that this venture might be a monumental mistake, one to equal his proposal at Hunsford.

  He forced himself to be calm, remembering Mrs. Gardiner’s words cautioning him that Elizabeth was not disposed to sustained ill humour despite having grown progressively more inclined to flashes of anger in the years since Lydia’s disappearance.

  “Give her time,” Mrs. Gardiner had said, “and she will put aside her anger and settle down to make the best of the situation.”

  He hoped so, but right now, Elizabeth looked icily furious, more prepared to bite off his head than to make the best of the situation.

  “Ah, there you are,” Mr. Bennet said, looking up from his perusal of the marriage agreement. “I was about to sign my approva
l.” So saying, he dipped his quill pen in the inkwell and scribbled his signature.

  “There!” he said, rising to his feet and handing the documents to Darcy. “I sent a note to our parson earlier, and he should be calling soon. I shall leave you two alone, for I am sure there are a great many things you wish to discuss.”

  He looked at both of them, his concern plain to see. “Elizabeth has agreed to abide by my decision, Mr. Darcy, but you can probably imagine that she is not at all pleased just now.”

  Mr. Bennet’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “I need to inform my wife about what has been decided today, and my wedding present is to spare both of you her unseemly celebration.”

  He walked to the door and then paused, turning back to his daughter. “I beg you to remember what I said before. This man is not Mr. Collins. I know you are unhappy at the moment, but I would suggest you think about what you wish to say before giving your tongue free rein.”

  Issuing this one last piece of fatherly advice, Mr. Bennet exhaled a despondent sigh and left the room. The soft, metallic click of the door closing sounded like thunder to Darcy’s ears.

  Alone for the first time in four years with the woman he loved, Darcy’s thoughts centred on a single, unbelievable point: Elizabeth had yielded to her father’s decision to accept the agreement he had brought. She had done so unwillingly, to be sure, as demonstrated by her furious demeanour, but unhappy or not, she had acquiesced! Despite Mr. Gardiner’s assurances, Darcy had not been certain she would do so, and his smile grew warmer and more joyful by the moment.

  Of course, since Elizabeth had turned away and refused to look at him, she remained ignorant of this most unusual exhibition of Darcy’s felicity.

  “Elizabeth,” he said aloud. He had no particular message to impart. He merely wanted to have her name on his tongue, to hear how it would sound after so many months in which he dared not even whisper it because it was certain to throw him into bleak melancholy.