by Don Miller
Ten minutes later the orchestra returned to start playing for the remainder of the ball and Sir John Witherspoon approached the table. “Miss Bennet, I believe this is my set.”
And so the second half of the ball started and started well, for Elizabeth found Sir John to be a very congenial man with many stories to tell of his exploits as the Captain of a frigate in the Royal Navy. However, her dancing partners thereafter were not as impressive as he was. Mr. Marshall was a very nice man and clearly doted on his three children. She thoroughly enjoyed talking with him, but his skill as a dancer left much to be desired. The two next young gentlemen with whom she danced were quite unpleasant—young noblemen whose innuendos were very unpleasant and made her distinctly uncomfortable. She thought they probably knew about her background and were assuming she was a young lady who might be easy prey. She found herself looking forward to the final set of the night, which was promised to Mr. Farrington. He had been among those who approached her after her dance with Matthew and when he was told he had the final dance, he was quite pleased. She had had no interaction with him since that time and looked forward to seeing him again.
Mr. Farrington found Elizabeth talking to Lord and Lady Matlock and Darcy. They had been talking about Col. Fitzwilliam and that it seemed to be holding true he would not be in danger’s way during the current campaign. As Farrington took Elizabeth away, Lady Matlock said to Darcy, “Miss Elizabeth looks particularly beautiful tonight, does she not William?”
“She does indeed,” he answered absentmindedly, as he watched her go to the dance floor with Farrington. He sensed Farrington might be a good match for Elizabeth. He knew and liked Farrington and knew Farrington was many of the things he was not: affable, sociable, and well-liked by most of the ton, even though he participated in it very little. He was also rich, handsome, and the second son of an Earl. Darcy knew Farrington had as high standards for a wife as he did, and if he had decided Elizabeth met those expectations, he would probably be a better fit to Elizabeth’s requirements for a husband than Darcy was. Darcy wondered if Elizabeth could fall in love with him.
Lady Matlock watched Darcy as he watched Elizabeth walk away and his expression convinced her even more he was enamored of her. She went to him, put her arm through his, and said softly, “William, if you are so enamored of her, why have you not asked her for a courtship? You do not need a woman with a large dowry or high social standing.”
Darcy was about to deny her assumption, but knew it would be no use. Looking around to ensure no one could hear him, he gave her an enigmatic smile and said, “I tried, aunt, but she refused me and told me she will not have me.”
So he was finally willing to admit it to her. The question was: should she admit she knew about it from her son? She decided now he had told her, he would not be too angry if she acknowledged she knew. “I was wondering if you would ever admit it to me.”
He looked at her, wondering how much she knew. “Had you just guessed it, or did someone tell you?”
“Both. It became clear your mood swings were associated with Miss Elizabeth. You wrote glowingly of her in your letters to Georgiana, and then neither you nor Richard even mentioned her being in Kent. Georgiana found out from Anne. And your suddenly changed opinions about love and marriage you expressed just before your departure for Scotland certainly implied something had happened. We finally browbeat Richard into admitting you had offered and she had declined. I was waiting for you to admit it until I offered my services, hoping that perhaps I could stand in for my son as your advisor. Would you like to talk about it?”
Darcy was at first perturbed his cousin had told, but as he thought about it, he could understand he had probably had no option. “Yes. Come for lunch tomorrow. And thank you, Aunt Helen. I must admit, since Richard has gone, I have needed to talk to someone about it again.”
Meanwhile, Elizabeth was greatly enjoying her dance with Farrington. He was all a gentleman should be. He was handsome; maybe not quite as handsome as Darcy, but handsome, nevertheless. Certainly he was almost as wealthy as Darcy and much more amiable to people he did not know. He danced well and conversed well, although he did not seem to be the reader that Darcy was. She suspected if he asked to call on her, she would probably accept. Unlike Darcy, he seemed to be someone she might be able to love. And in thinking that last thought, as she looked at Farrington, she almost missed a step. It suddenly came to her that in her evaluation of Farrington; indeed, in her evaluation of all the young men she had danced with that evening, she had compared them to Darcy—not to some idealized notion of what a man should be or to each other, but to Darcy. Why would she do that? Why could she just not forget that man and put him out of her mind? They were not compatible and that was that, was not it?
Chapter 14: Lady Matlock Listens and Advises
The next morning, shortly before noon, Lady Matlock and Lady Alicia arrived at Darcy House and were ushered into Darcy’s study where he was talking with Georgiana. “Good morning Aunt Helen, Cousin Alicia. I had not expected you, Alicia.”
“Good morning, Darcy, Georgie,” responded Lady Matlock. “I thought maybe three heads are better than two.”
“Three heads are better than two for what?” asked Georgiana.
“We have some family matters we have to discuss, Georgie, and I thought Alicia’s opinions might be valuable in our discussion. I hope you do not mind I bought her, Darcy. “
“So, do you know the problem, Alicia?”
“Yes I do, but if you object to me being here, I will be happy to spend time with Georgiana while you and mother discuss the problem.”
“I do not object. In fact, I had already decided, because she is almost seventeen and my decisions affect her, I should include Georgie in the discussion.” He gave a small, somewhat sardonic laugh. “Perhaps four heads will be better than three.”
“This all sounds very serious,” said Georgiana. “May I assume this has to do with Miss Elizabeth Bennet?”
Darcy looked at his sister with surprise on his face. “Why would you think that?”
Georgiana looked at her aunt, who said, “He knows that I know Georgie. I did not tell him you know also.” Turning to Darcy, she said, “All three of us were in on the discussion, as was your uncle. It happened over dinner at Matlock House the day Miss Elizabeth came to visit Georgie.”
“I knew something was wrong, Will, because until last fall when you returned from Netherfield Park, you were very even tempered and rarely showed much emotion. Even my mistake with Mr. Wickham did not seem to affect your demeanor as much as I thought it would. But since Netherfield Park and particularly since your visit to Kent, I have seen signs of unhappiness and discontent in you I cannot ever remember seeing, at least not for such a long period of time. And just before Aunt Helen and Cousin Alicia came, you were talking about the ball and, whether you realize it or not, you mentioned Lizzie several times, but no other women. It is obvious to me her name comes up a lot more than that of any woman you have ever known, so I have deduced for some time she is a problem. However, I had no idea how much until Richard told us you had proposed. And when I heard she had refused you, I almost decided then and there I would have nothing more to do with her. However, Aunt Helen talked me out of that, and I am glad she did. No matter what happens, Lizzie will always be my friend.”
Looking at his aunt and cousin, Darcy said, “I guess she really is growing up. I had no idea she was so perceptive. Why do not we all sit down?”
After they had seated themselves, Lady Matlock asked, “Georgie, what do you think of Miss Elizabeth?”
“She is beautiful and extremely talented and seems to be very friendly and kind. She must be very intelligent to learn all that she has about languages. In the short time I have known her, I have come to believe she is one of the finest and most caring young ladies I know and I am looking forward to having her as a friend.”
“And how about you, Alicia?”
“I assume you are asking for Will�
��s sake, because you know I have much the same impression as Georgie. I would add she is quite witty and self-confident in her abilities but surprisingly, she does not seem to believe she is as beautiful as she is or is necessarily the kind of woman men of the ton will desire. She is very self-conscious of the lack of wealth and status of her family. She honestly believed her dance card would not be full.”
“Despite what you said when you left, Will, do you want to court her? Or have you decided she is, in fact, too far below us in wealth and status to consider as the future mistress of Pemberley?”
“When I left for Scotland, I was determined to forget her. I thought that getting away from London—putting distance between us—would let me logically look at us and determine she was absolutely correct, we are incompatible and she would be an unsuitable wife.”
“Clearly you did not succeed in forgetting her,” said Lady Matlock.
“No, I did not. The problem is, as I have done in the past, I went over all the pros and cons related to her being my wife and, based on the importance I give to each pro and con, the pros win out easily if it were not for the biggest con of all, she does not love me and has no wish, at least at this point, to be my wife.”
“I wonder if that is true.” said Lady Alicia. “You know she is a very conscientious young lady. I wonder if part of her thinking is she does not want to ruin your life because she would be an inadequate wife. Maybe she has convinced herself about something she does not really believe because she does care for you and does not want to see you hurt.” Looking at her mother, she said, “I have never asked you, mother. Would you and father object to her? There is no question Aunt Catherine would and I suspect Andrew would, and possibly Judge Darcy, but how about you two?”
“Before I answer that, let us hear what else William has to say. I think he needs to give us the full story.”
He nodded, with a grimace on his face. “I suppose you are right, I should. I did several things I thought were right but she thought were terrible. Let me tell you about Netherfield and Kent.”
After he told them about his first encounters with Elizabeth, his proposal to her in Kent, and his rather angry exit, Lady Matlock said, “I can understand why she misjudged and refused you after your comment at the assembly. That was a very tactless comment and certainly designed to upset someone like Miss Elizabeth. I suspect any woman with any sense of self-worth would have refused you. But to so misjudge Miss Elizabeth, William, that is just not like you. You usually think things out so carefully.”
“I know. But I have not told you the worst. I actually thought she wanted me to ask her for her hand. I thought she would welcome my proposal--that she had been flirting with me all the time I was in Netherfield and had been disappointed when I left without making her an offer.”
“What do you think she thinks of you now?” asked Georgiana.
“I think she understands why I encouraged Bingley to leave and that Wickham is a rake, but I know she also believes she and I are incompatible. Richard talked to her the day after my proposal and explained why I did what I did and told her about Wickham’s background. He even told her about you and Wickham, Georgie, but I am confident she will not tell anyone about it. At the end of her talk with Richard, she told him she felt terrible about her misjudgment of me and that she understood me better, but advised him it had not changed her mind about us. As far as I know, she is still of the same mind. She was very congenial at the ball and seemed happy to share the supper dance and supper with me, but she certainly gave me no indication she was interested in renewing our somewhat tumultuous relationship. She was kind and courteous, but not inviting.”
“There is something I do not understand, Will,” said Georgiana. “Why did you tell me when she came to visit me the first time that you did not want me to think there could be anything between you and her? You said you and she were not compatible.”
“Because I thought I had no chance with her and I did not want to give you or me expectations. I was trying to convince myself I did not want her.”
“Then I assume the reason we are here is that you do want her and want our advice,” said Lady Alicia. “You admit you are still in love with her and want to somehow convince her you are the right man for her.”
“Yes, but I have a dilemma. I think if I approach her too soon, she will refuse even a courtship and will put up a barrier which she may not ever be willing to take down. On the other hand, I believe there are others who have recognized her uniqueness and inherent value. I fear she may commit to someone else before I can make my case again. Also, I do not want to do anything to jeopardize Georgiana’s friendship with her. Needless to say, I believe she is an excellent example of what a young lady should be, and part of what I saw in her was an example for Georgiana and the kind of sister Georgiana needs to help her through her next few years.
After a moment’s silence, Lady Matlock said, “Alicia, Georgie, would the two of you please leave us alone for a while? I would like to speak privately with William.” They both agreed, although Georgiana did so somewhat reluctantly. She could not imagine what her aunt would say to her brother she could not hear.
After they had gone, Lady Matlock stood and started pacing back and forth, which indicated to Darcy she had something to say to him he probably would not like. In the past whenever she had bad news to give him or was going to scold him about something, she always paced.
“William, has it occurred to you she is right, you are not compatible, and that your first instincts were correct, she would not be a suitable mistress of Pemberley?”
“Aunt, I have been giving it much thought and certainly I have considered your last point, but in the end dismissed it. I have tried to convince myself we are incompatible, but on the trip back from Scotland I realized in my heart I have never and will never believe that. I will agree we have many differences in our personalities, but I think most of those differences are characteristics the other needs. She will bring me out of my social shell and help me interact better with others at large gatherings and I will temper her tendency to be too outspoken and independent.”
“Perhaps you are right, but I do not see in her quite the paragon you and your sister and even Alicia seem to see. For instance, her inability to see that Wickham’s disclosures of your supposed mistreatment of him were completely inappropriate on such short acquaintance and her inability to recognize his true character at all disturbs me. She was nineteen years old at the time, not a fifteen year old girl, and should have been mature enough to recognize Wickham’s insincerity. That she should believe a man whom she had just met rather than you, who she knew to be a good friend of Bingley, a man she apparently admires, disturbs me as does the fact she did not recognize you to be an honorable man who would not treat his father’s wishes so lightly. I do not think a young woman of the ton would ever have been fooled like that.”
“I am also concerned about the way she responded to your proposal. That she would even mention to you that at one time she considered you to be the last man in world whom she would be persuaded to marry is not what I would call a well-considered and reasonable response, particularly of a young woman whose status was what it was. Again, I do not believe a well brought up young lady of the ton would have said such a thing.”
“Finally, I am worried about her family and their effect on the reputation of you and your family. If her mother and younger sisters are really as inappropriate in their behavior as you have indicated and her father so lax in his control of his family, who knows what they might do that would reflect badly on you. Furthermore, although her father is a gentleman, her relatives are not. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner are two of the finest people I know, but they are of the merchant class, and like it or not, we live in a society where class is important. People of our class deal with merchants all the time, but we do not generally make them part of the family. I fear your association with them might greatly limit the men who would consider Georgiana a suitable wife, despite her larg
e dowry.”
“All that being said, I have to admit I greatly admire and genuinely like Miss Elizabeth. I pledge if you do marry her, I will do what I can to help her become a part of our society. I will admit these last few weeks, spending time with her at teas and balls and observing her with Georgiana, I have come to understand what a remarkable young woman she is—one whom I would not be loath to call niece. I can understand why you are so taken with her, and it may well be the experiences she has had the last year with you and Wickham have been lessons she needed to learn and she has learned them well. I appreciate she has not had the social coaching young ladies of the ton normally receive as they grow up. That she is able to fit in as well as she has is evidence of her astuteness.”
“Let me finish by urging you to think about what I have said and get to know her a little better in the coming weeks of the Season. Also, do not give up looking for other possible candidates for a wife. There may be someone equivalent to Miss Elizabeth somewhere you have not met. For my part I promise I will continue to observe her with an open mind to see if my opinion of her continues to rise. I will say no more about this unless you ask for my opinion or advice in the future.”
Darcy was silent for a long time. He could certainly see that reasonableness of his aunt’s concerns. Looking at it from her perspective, he was not being logical. The problem was he thought he was being logical. As he had told her, he had examined the pros and cons and the pros associated with being married to her had far exceeded the cons.
“Thank you for your frankness, Aunt Helen. I understand your concerns and I will think about what you have said. I must admit that in the end, I suspect it will not affect my determination to pursue Elizabeth; however I will certainly talk more about it with Georgiana and discuss with her how what I do might impact her. I am afraid, aunt, I have become more selfish in the past year. I have decided my happiness is equally important to hers and that hers is not ensured no matter what I do.”