Mr Darcy's Mail-Order Bride

by J Dawn King

  Soon, Elizabeth returned downstairs to see to the woman who, indeed, was the new cook and housekeeper for Netherfield Ranch. Eventually, she turned her attention to the men.

  Darcy knew what was coming and he had no regrets. As soon as the door slammed behind the single women, he had heard the familiar creak of his bedroom door. The Bingleys would have their bed, while he and Elizabeth would be across the yard in the bunkhouse. Thank the Lord!

  Elizabeth greeted the morning sun with a smile. The second night she had spent in her husband’s arms left her feeling cherished and admired. His tender caresses and winsome words made all the worries seem to disappear.

  They were still several steps from the main house when their worries returned with a vengeance.

  “I always have one piece of toast, lightly buttered with my tea. I will accept nothing less.”

  “You cow!” Lydia screamed with vigor. “The war between the States ended years ago. I am nobody’s slave. Fix it yourself.”

  Elizabeth turned to Darcy, a wry look on her face. “Who knew she was aware the war was over? I’m stunned at Lydia’s knowledge of current events.”

  “I am assuming the two have not yet learned to get along?”

  “You think?” She reached up and kissed his cheek, looking back to the house with a heavy sigh. “’Such a smart man I married.”

  “Perceptive too.” He quickly added, kissing her back.

  Elizabeth snorted. “And humble.” She hugged him to her, laying her head on his chest for a second, then stiffened her shoulders and marched into the house.

  Bingley was descending the stairs so she first inquired of Jane.

  “Mornings are the hardest for her. I begged her to sleep as long as she might.” He glared at his sister. “Though how she could do so with the bellowing from these two heifers would be a miracle.”

  “Charles,” Caroline interrupted and Lizzy, again, had to wonder what she had been taught. “I have been sitting here for almost a half an hour and no one has seen to my meal. I cannot imagine being so poorly treated.”

  Lydia began to reply when Elizabeth raised her palm for silence.

  “Allow me to explain the rules of our household, Miss Bingley.” When Lydia started to gloat at not being addressed, Elizabeth included her as well.

  “This is my home. In my home everyone pulls their weight.”

  This time it was Lydia who interrupted. “Where are your servants, Lizzy? Mr. Darcy is a rich man. Surely you don’t have to do housework anymore? I can’t imagine.”

  Elizabeth took in a shuddering breath as she felt her husband move alongside her.

  “I will state this only one more time. In this home, everyone pulls their weight. Everyone cares for their own needs and helps others.” She looked between the two miscreants. “Maggie and Mrs. Nichols have already left for Netherfield to see to the delivery of your luggage. You will be leaving to stay with your brother and sister-in-law, Caroline, as soon as a room can be prepared for you there.

  “I prepared food for ourselves and for the men at the bunkhouse so you lovely, accomplished ladies are on your own. If you want bread, you make it. If you want to turn it into lightly buttered toast, you make it. If you want tea, you make it. If you want your clothing cleaned or pressed, you do it. You will clean up after yourself and make sure your room is tidy before you leave it in the morning. Am I clear?”

  Caroline Bingley either had no sense or she had an overly-inflated grasp of her own importance. A look of sadness covered her face as a lone tear pooled at the corner of her right eye.

  “But, Charles, I was not born for this, you know I was not.” The young woman walked to her brother as if her body was wracked with pain so that each step jarred the sorest of muscles.

  Elizabeth was duly impressed. Miss Bingley should be on the stage. She whispered to Darcy. “Is there a theater in Oregon City, by chance?”

  The low rumble of his chuckle was answer enough.

  Bingley finally spoke up. “Might I ask, Caroline, what was it you learned at Mrs. Fletcher’s School? Did you not learn how to manage a household? How to care for a husband, family, and a home?”

  Instantly gone was the puppy-dog attitude. It was replaced with a smirk.

  “I will have you know that I can draw, paint, embroider pillows, and converse in both French and Italian. I have been taught every aspect of what a man desires most in a wife.”

  At that the eyebrows of both men threatened to reach their hairline.

  “Is that so?” Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest, her shoulders back, and chin lifted. “What most men desire from a woman this early in the morning is breakfast. Therefore, it is your task to prepare a meal for all those not yet down to the table. That would be Jane, Kitty, Mary, Lydia, Georgiana, and yourself. The ingredients are in the pantry.” At Caroline’s frustrated huff, she added. “Of course, you will need to light the stove first.”

  Lydia, never one to find the course of wisdom and follow it, pointed her finger at her nemesis and laughed uproariously. “That will show you, Miss High and Mighty.”

  “Lydia?” Though she had been gone from Baltimore for the past four months, she well remembered her youngest sister’s most hated task. “While Caroline is preparing your meal, you can start washing the men’s socks and shirts. I suspect you will have plenty of time to finish before it’s time to meet at the table.”

  “Lizzy!”

  “No, don’t ‘Lizzy’ me, Lydia May Bennet. Had either you or Caroline acted like the ladies you insist you are, your time would be spent this morning in activities you desired—after you cared for your own clothing and room.”

  Both Caroline and Lydia plopped their fists on their hips and wore a similar look of displeasure and rebellion.

  “I believe they look close enough to be twins.” Darcy injected, though neither of the young ladies thought him funny.

  Charles jogged to the bunkhouse for the remainder of the coffee left on the edge of the stove. At Elizabeth’s request, he returned with some biscuits Elizabeth had left covered in the oven so Jane would have something to nibble on. The men left for Netherfield soon after.

  “Jane,” she knocked softly on the door. Not only did she not want to wake her sister if she slept, she didn’t want to wake any of the other girls as well. The two downstairs didn’t need any assistance, though they would have commanded obedience from any of the three remaining upstairs.

  “Come in, Lizzy.” Jane’s soft voice drifted through the barely opened door.

  Jane Bingley looked miserable. Her complexion was an odd sort of green around her mouth and the rest of her face was pallid.

  “Is it like this every day?” Elizabeth couldn’t help but inquire. Her sister nodded. “I brought you bread. I hope it helps.”

  “Thank you. It usually does once my stomach empties.” Jane reached behind her to the wooden slats of the headboard and gripped it tightly. “I heard Caroline and Lydia.”

  “I imagine you did. I’m hoping our other sisters either slept through it or are fearing to go downstairs in case I put them to work as well.”

  They both chuckled.

  “Oh, Lizzy. I am so happy.”

  It was the last thing Elizabeth had expected to hear.

  “How is that, Sister?”

  “Charles is just what a young man ought to be—tender and caring. And so attentive to me in every way.” She sighed, her eyes softening with devotion. “To know I am carrying his child makes the misery of each morning worth the discomfort. He will be an excellent father.”

  “I am exceedingly pleased for you.” And she was. “So what does your good husband think of the forceful woman he discovered in my home yesterday?”

  Jane giggled. “I was a bit like one of those Amazon women you used to read to me about, wasn’t I?”

  Shared laughter felt normal between them. They had missed each other dearly.

  “You were definitely pretty mighty.” Elizabeth was delighted to see her sis
ter’s color change to a soft pink.

  “Lizzy, I am finding that if I don’t take charge of my happiness, then I will not be happy.”

  “What about Charles?” Elizabeth had not been surprised when Bingley had not stepped in to control his sister, and she had been slightly appalled that he had let Jane take the lead the night before. It was a definite unbalance of power.

  “I know what you are thinking and he’s not like that at all.” Jane smiled slightly and her eyes lit with fire. “My husband knows how much I value peace, therefore he does whatever he can to remove conflict.”

  Elizabeth shook her head back and forth, in complete disagreement with her sister.

  “Oh, yes, Sister dear.” Jane was insistent. “When Caroline decided to travel with us to Pemberley instead of stay in Portland with the Hursts, she made certain promises which she broke within seconds of entering your home. And so you know, Lydia made promises as well.”

  “That she broke.” It was not a question.

  “Yes.” Jane looked her straight in the eye and Elizabeth was pleased at her determination. Things might work out well for the Bingleys after all. “Charles will return after looking at the ranch. If you noticed, Caroline’s belongings were not taken to Netherfield this morning. They should still be stacked in the back of your parlor. They will be loaded up and he will take her to Oregon City and stay with her until they board the stagecoach for Portland. Whether she wants it or not, she will not be living with us.”

  “Jane!” Elizabeth was impressed.

  “Charles is a gentle man. He does not raise his voice and he does not demand. He quietly, and with a smile, goes about his tasks. But when he’s crossed by someone who threatens my peace and contentment, he acts without delay.”

  “I…I am happy to hear it.”

  Jane giggled. “I love it when he’s manly.”

  Elizabeth rolled her eyes, then realized she loved it when Darcy was manly as well.

  By the time the men returned from the ranch, all the females were sitting around the dining table except Caroline and Lydia. Miss Bingley was leaning back against the drain board, her arms stiffly at her sides and a scowl on her face. On the back porch, Lydia’s stance was the same. None of the work had been done as required.

  Elizabeth was more than joyous to have Caroline Bingley removed from her home. Lydia, she could handle.

  Earlier she had taken the other girls to the bunkhouse for breakfast and a chat. It warmed her heart to see how quickly Georgiana and Mary started speaking exclusively to one another. Kitty followed Georgiana like a shadow.

  Elizabeth asked, “What are your hopes and dreams, Kitty?”

  “I want a home of my own and a handsome husband who loves me as much as Charles loves Jane.”

  “That’s an admirable goal, sister.”

  “Mama said there is more chance we can find mates in Oregon than in Baltimore. I hope she’s right.”

  Elizabeth chuckled, until she considered how bad things must be for her parents to give up all three daughters at once.

  “Tell me, Kitty. How are things at home?”

  “I’ll be honest, Lizzy, it’s been rough.” Kitty’s whole countenance looked weighed down by a millstone. “Papa did even less after you left, claiming you abandoned him. Mama frets more and more each day because of the lack of money. What you left Uncle Gardiner was spent foolishly on pretty ribbons for Lydia. Mother has no sense of money at all. When men came demanding payment for taxes on the house, there was no money to pay. By the time Jane arrived, we had loaded up all of Papa’s books and the furnishings to move in with the Gardiners.”

  “But their house isn’t large enough!”

  “And that’s why we are here. Papa let Mama pack us off without even a goodbye. The only daughter she wanted to keep was Lydia. Had Lydia not insisted she also wanted a husband of her own, it would be only Mary and me here. We lost our home in more ways than one, Lizzy.”

  Elizabeth was so stunned she could think of nothing to say. Placing her arm across Kitty’s shoulders, she pulled her close as the girl wept. At almost seventeen years of age, it had to feel like she had been abandoned. Looking to Mary, Elizabeth observed the same pain as her sibling and that which Georgiana had worn when she’d first arrived at Pemberley. It was horrid to think the people who should love you more than all others, loved their own selfish desires more. She would gladly knock her father over the head with his heaviest book if she thought it would do any good.

  “I am so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered into her sister’s hair until Kitty finally calmed. “If you only knew how pleased I am that you made the trip. We welcome all of you to our family.”

  By evening, it was just as Jane had said it would be. Caroline Bingley was gone. Although Elizabeth had packed a small picnic for the two travelers, she stood firm in not providing a meal or even a cup of tea before she left. If she gave in, Lydia would know it, and that would have been intolerable.

  The socks and shirts had been given a cursory rinse. None of the stains had been scrubbed clean and Elizabeth knew if she dared to put one of the stockings close to her nose, it would still bear the fragrance of the wearer.

  Just before retiring to the privacy of the bunkhouse, she told Lydia she would have to try again in the morning after the clothing worn on that day had been added to the pile.

  “You have Maggie here to see to the clothes. You are mean, Lizzy Darcy. You want to ruin my hands so they are as unattractive as yours. You aren’t being fair.” Her voice rose with each word. “Kitty and Mary haven’t done a thing all day. Only I have been made to work like a servant and it’s not fair!” The last word was accompanied by a stomp of her foot, not yet done with her tirade.

  “I’ll show you. I’ll show you all.” Lydia bent forward and Elizabeth almost expected her to stick out her tongue, so childish was her behavior. “I’ll leave here and marry the first handsome man I find. Then I’ll have a house bigger than this and more money than I can shake a stick at. You just wait and see.”

  “Go to your room, now.” Darcy’s voice brooked no argument. Lydia glared at him before she spun on her heels and obeyed. “In fact, I think it’s time we all retire. We can hope for a better tomorrow.”

  Darcy had placed Dan at the front door and Melvin at the back. Leaving a volatile female like Lydia in the house, he worried she might try to burn it down before morning. It had been a long day of hard work and he doubted the men would be able to stay awake. Yet, once Wickham and Denny had run off, there was no threat except from wild animals. They were protected as long as they stayed in the house.

  There had been a heated discussion between Mary, Kitty, and Lydia over who would get the lone spare room. Darcy had given it to Mary as the eldest single girl. Lydia had flounced off in a fit. He was happy Elizabeth was his wife and no other Bennet sister. His appreciation and admiration grew second by second.

  Arriving at the bunkhouse, he stopped his wife before she could walk through the door. Bending down, he scooped her up, kissing her in surprise, hopeful his leg would hold. It did. They were due some time alone, and he vowed to himself not to think of what might be going on in the main house. He had more important matters to care for.

  Neither Dan nor Melvin heard the young lady creeping down the stairs and approaching each door to see who snored the loudest. The sun had just started its early morning rise and silence still reigned over Pemberley and the surrounding land. Not even the forest creatures had begun to stir.

  Lydia Bennet had gathered together her most precious items, and a few of Kitty’s, as well as the last of the coins she had talked Bingley out of while they were in Portland. Stuffing everything into a carpetbag, she kept her walking boots and stockings off until she was far enough away from the house that she could make noise with impunity.

  How dare Lizzy act like the queen of the house towards her! Their mother had long proclaimed Lydia as the liveliest of all the Bennet girls. She would show them! She was not made to se
rve.

  The dim light from the early October sun made it easy to see the road. She would rather ride a horse, but she hadn’t yet been to the barn. She was angry enough she was willing to walk the whole way to Oregon City, even if it rained. Once there, she would either find a husband or obtain transport to Portland where there would be more men to choose from.

  The dampness of the early mist muffled her footsteps until she was beyond the first curve in the road. Placing her bag on the ground, she quickly donned her footwear and set out walking. Her ire kept her focused on the end destination.

  “Drat!” she spoke to the autumn air. “I forgot to grab something to eat.”

  Instead of blaming herself for her own foolishness, she wished Elizabeth was there to lash out at.

  Kicking a rock out of the ruts from the heavy wagons which had brought their luggage to the Darcy home, she reflected on how jealous Kitty would be when she married ahead of her. At just sixteen, her mother would be beyond joyful at having another daughter, most particularly her youngest, well settled. She could imagine the glee on her mama’s face and that kept her mind occupied for almost a half of a mile.

  Her husband would be taller than Bingley, but not as tall as Lizzy’s mate. He would be fair haired with lovely blue eyes that only ever looked…no gazed. He would only ever gaze at her with love in his eyes as he bought her everything she wanted. She would have servants so her greatest responsibility would be to see and be seen by only important people.

  She’d walked another half a mile when her feet started hurting from where her old boots rubbed. They hadn’t had time to replace them before they had left Baltimore.

  Lydia was somewhat embarrassed for her feet as they were long and narrow, with equally long, well-knuckled digits at the ends. Kitty used to tease her about having eagle’s claws instead of toes. Well, she would show Kitty. She would marry a man who liked a woman with hawkish feet.