Mr Darcy’s Legacy

Chapter 1

T he carriage moved steadily, the horses’ steps barely perceptible above the howling wind. It was a cold, cloudy day in early November, while inside the carriage, all was warmth and joy.

Sitting beside Mr Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy glanced at his beloved Miss Elizabeth, facing him from the opposite bench. Beside her sat Miss Bennet and, by her side, the ever-smiling and amiable Charles Bingley.

After months of distress, Mr Darcy’s life was complete. Delight replaced torment, love took the place of frustration, and past restraint turned into the happy anticipation of a blissful and passionate future. Elizabeth was with him where she belonged and where she generously agreed to be after he proposed a second time.

She forgave his ridiculous pride, his laughable arrogance, and his ungenerous intervention in separating Mr Bingley from Miss Bennet.

Eventually, all was well. Fate had given him a second chance, one he embraced tightly, careful not to lose it again.

He had been engaged to Elizabeth for over a month, as was Bingley to Miss Bennet. It was a time of utter happiness, the beginning of the rest of his life.

Lost in his thoughts, Darcy looked at Elizabeth and met her wondering gaze. He smiled, and her eyes laughed back at him while she bit her lower lip in a gesture that aroused his senses: those lips he had tasted countless times during solitary country walks, those eyes that had captured his attention—and then his admiration—almost from the beginning of their acquaintance.

He first intended to procure a special licence and marry as soon as possible. However, after talking to Elizabeth, he decided they should have a proper engagement to enjoy, discover, and become accustomed to each other while avoiding speculation about a hasty marriage. The Bennets had suffered enough from the gossip aroused by George Wickham’s elopement with their youngest, Lydia; they had to behave appropriately to avoid further distress. Even more, the engagement was a good time for Elizabeth to spend with her family—especially with her father and Jane—as they would leave for Pemberley after the wedding and likely remain for several months. He selfishly allowed her more time with her family now so he could have her all to himself later. And she gladly approved his plan—through kisses and smiles of delight.

“What a perfect coincidence that you had to travel to London, Mr Bennet,” Bingley said. “I believe it was an excellent idea for Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth to join you.”

“I am sure you think so,” Mr Bennet answered with his usual false candour hiding his sarcasm that Bingley failed to perceive. “As I do not wish to begin our relationship with deception, I must admit I could have postponed my business with Mr Gardiner for a while. However, I could not bear to hear more about visits with or to Mrs Phillips, the Lucases, and all the other four and twenty families in Meryton congratulating us for the coming happy events. Your engagements signalled the end of my peace of mind and tranquillity. so escaping to town—which I rather dislike—was my only salvation.”

Elizabeth scolded him affectionately. “Come, Papa, you are too harsh with our friends and relatives.”

“Undoubtedly, although you are not allowed to speak so, young lady, as you intend to leave your poor father.”

“But, Papa, you should be happy that you will always have an escape if you ever require one again. You may visit us whenever you like,” Elizabeth continued in jest.

“Indeed, sir, whenever you like,” Darcy added, and Mr Bennet turned to him.

“The prospect of your libraries was among the strongest motives for giving my blessing to your marriage,” Mr Bennet replied, half-serious, half-joking in his usual way.

“That, and because Mama would have gladly made herself a widow otherwise.” Elizabeth laughed again, joined by the others as Mr Bennet sighed and shook his head at such a true statement.

Their conversation continued in the same manner, moving from one subject to another with perfect ease, familiarity, and affection.

Mr Bennet had come to know and appreciate both his future sons-in-law. Moreover, his opinion of Darcy improved with every moment they spent together, and the feeling was mutual. Darcy learned to accept the elderly gentleman’s wit— not with the same delight as Elizabeth’s teasing, but with equal ease. While Bingley usually spent his time at Longbourn with the ladies—never leaving Jane’s side—Darcy divided his time between strolls with Elizabeth and long talks with her father. Both activities made Elizabeth happy, and her pleasure was the reward he sought.

The journey passed pleasantly, and they reached London in the early afternoon. The first stop was in Gracechurch Street, where the Gardiners received them with such warm greetings that the two young gentlemen remained for a couple of hours.

“Tomorrow, I shall talk to my solicitor about Mr Bennet’s situation. Perhaps he may have some advice,” Darcy said to Mr Gardiner as the gentlemen enjoyed a drink. “Mr Talbot has been in our service for over thirty years and has always proved worthy of our trust. His sons—all three of them—are equally diligent and reliable in their duties. I have not yet required anything from the Talbots that was unsuccessfully accomplished.”

“Very well then,” Mr Bennet answered. “Considering Lydia’s marriage, I want to be certain Wickham will never be able to acquire more than he deserves.”

“Sir, you should not worry about Wickham,” Darcy responded hesitantly.” I shall keep him under close observation.”

Mr Bennet dismissed him with a gesture. “You have wasted enough of your fortune and time on Wickham, and I shall never be able to repay your generosity. It is finally time for me to stop being lazy and careless and to put my life in order. I must avoid any such unfortunate circumstances in the future.”

“As you wish, sir.” Darcy ended a conversation that was unpleasant for all. “Would it be convenient for all of you to have dinner at my house tomorrow? I know it is short notice, but we are family now; hopefully, a formal invitation is unnecessary.”

“Tomorrow evening would be perfect,” Mr Bennet replied, and Mr Gardiner readily agreed. “Now, let us return to the ladies. I can see that Bingley has only tentative control of his patience, and I suspect Darcy has similar feelings.”

The visit with the Gardiners added more to Darcy’s contentment. He appreciated them from the first moment they met at Pemberley. Their acquaintance strengthened in the following weeks as they searched for Wickham and Lydia.

During the carriage ride to the other side of town, as Bingley chatted joyfully, Darcy realised that, while his relationships with Elizabeth’s relatives had improved, he was increasingly distressed at the notion of talking to his own relatives. And yet, the problem needed to be solved—without delay.

“I must stop and talk to the Matlocks,” he suddenly told Bingley. “I shall walk home from there so you can send the carriage to my house once you get home.”

“Very well…but you do not seem too happy at the prospect. I imagine you expect opposition to your betrothal.”

“I do. Lady Catherine has shared her disapproval around town with a lack of restraint or consideration. And I imagine the Matlocks were none too pleased with the news. I must speak to them and settle things properly. I shall not tolerate any behaviour that might distress Elizabeth.”

“Good luck then. Shall I see you tomorrow?”

“Yes, please come early for coffee. I do not expect you will have a pleasant conversation with your sisters either.”

Bingley sighed. “I shall come very early—you may count on that.”

∞∞∞

Darcy stopped momentarily at the door of Matlock House and breathed deeply before knocking. He briefly considered delaying the visit until the next day but quickly abandoned the thought. It was wise to have this discussion as soon as possible and take the proper measures if necessary.

“Welcome, Mr Darcy.” The butler bowed, inviting him in. The familiar halls seemed colder than usual, and the sound of his steps echoed in the large vestibule like a preamble to a sinister occurrence.

The family was gathered in the drawing room: the earl, Lady Matlock, and his cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam—who immediately rose from a chair and moved towards him.

“Darcy, what a pleasure to see you.” Lady Matlock smiled. “I spoke to Georgiana two days ago, but she mentioned nothing about your arrival.”

Darcy tried to remain calm and smiled despite the turmoil in his heart.

“I am happy to see you all,” he said. “I hope you are in good health. We decided to come to town only yesterday. Mr Bennet had some business, and we joined him—Bingley, his betrothed, Miss Bennet, and Miss Elizabeth—soon to be my wife. I trust you received my letter with the news of my engagement.”

He glanced at his uncle and aunt while the colonel handed him a glass of brandy.

“We did. And I shall not deny that we were astonished. We did not expect anything of the kind as we never heard anything about your courting anyone—much less a young lady of no consequence, utterly unconnected to our circles,” Lady Matlock declared coldly. “We hope there was a mistake that you have remedied by now.”

Darcy took a long breath before answering in a moderate yet firm tone, “There is no mistake, and you should have given me more credit. I am not a man to trifle with my life or with a young lady’s future.”

Darcy struggled to keep his countenance and hoped no one saw how angry he was as his uncle continued his excited rant.

“We gave you all the credit in the world until this absurdity that could likely ruin your future—and your sister’s. It is of her you should be preoccupied, young man!”

“This conversation is as improper as it is unfair,” Darcy responded. “There is nothing that preoccupies me more than Georgiana’s wellbeing. And I have no doubt that my marriage will benefit her as much as it will benefit me. Elizabeth is not only the perfect choice as a wife and Pemberley’s mistress but also as Georgiana’s sister and protector.”

The tension in the room attained its height as uncontrollable rage burst from the earl. “This marriage will benefit no one except that Bennet girl. She is a country nobody! Catherine told us all about her and her family. Do you know what people in our circle are saying about you? Everyone is certain you have lost your mind and fallen into the trap of a fortune hunter! How could you abandon your cousin Anne after so many years of betrothal?”

Darcy swallowed some brandy and stepped back, glaring at his relatives. “I thought Lady Catherine would make a fool of herself by speaking nonsense around town. It pains me to know that you so readily believed her. At your word, all of London believes that I am a thoughtless man who would marry an unworthy woman—even a dishonourable man who disregards his family’s wishes and ruins his cousin’s future. What a lovely gift to receive from my closest relatives—especially since you are so worried about Georgiana’s future. I am sure such rumours will be helpful to her and to the respectability of the Darcy name. And for your information, I was never—but never—engaged to Anne!”

Darcy was surprised by the sharpness of his own voice. A lump in his throat made the words difficult to speak, and he had to leave as anger overcame him.

He feared such a situation might occur, and its gravity struck him. Strong opposition had already arisen against his marriage—against Elizabeth. Heavy, undeserved blame was cast on her for a fault that never existed. All because of his family—of which he had been so proud until recently.

“You will enter the same family as Bingley—whose situation is far beneath yours. And I heard that even his sisters oppose his marriage,” the earl continued, his fury increasing. “And you will be Wickham’s brother-in-law! Can anything be more horrible than that?”

“I am proud to be Bingley’s brother,” Darcy replied, gasping for air. “As for Wickham—we all know that he deceived my father—and even you, Uncle! He was surely not the Bennets’ first choice of a husband for their youngest daughter, but she fell for his charms as so many have before. Can we blame her when our judgement was no better for so many years? I shall never admit Wickham at Pemberley. His character has been such a disappointment. Still, I am not the only one to blame for Wickham’s success in deceiving others, oblivious to his true character.”

“Surely, that is not true!” the earl interrupted. “That girl was reckless and lacked education.”

“Come now, Father,” the colonel interjected. “Many women—older, wiser, and better than Lydia Bennet—have eloped. Let us not be hypocritical.”

“Mind your words, son!” the earl shouted. “Darcy should have considered all this before making a step that would result in his family’s disapproval and the rejection of the ton.”

Darcy emptied his glass before speaking with forced calmness. “If I have to choose between Elizabeth and the ton—my decision is easy and already made. I expected your blessing for my marriage, but I do not need your approval. I hoped you would be generous enough to meet my future wife before judging her, yet it seems I was wrong. I also wish you might join us for dinner tomorrow evening, even if it is probably useless to issue such an invitation,” he ended bitterly, setting his glass on the table.

The colonel stepped forward decidedly. “If you invite me, I shall be happy to dine with you tomorrow and to see Miss Elizabeth again. As I have told my parents, I was delighted to meet her in Kent, and I believe her to be one of the most admirable young ladies of my acquaintance.”

The earl’s countenance became darker while Darcy smiled at his cousin. “We shall be happy to have you, cousin. And all of you, of course,” he addressed the Matlocks. “I shall leave you now, and I pray our future conversations on this subject will be more reasonable and fairer.”

“Darcy, wait,” Lady Matlock called. Darcy turned to her, guarded.

“We did not know you were never engaged to Anne, and we can accept that Lady Catherine had exaggerated when considering you as her daughter’s betrothed. However, we hoped you would find a wife more appropriate to our position, your name, and your worthiness. Any young heiress in town would have accepted you without hesitation. Why her? Why this country girl?”

Darcy smiled as Elizabeth’s image filled his thoughts and calmed his distress. “Because she is everything the others are not. And because she did hesitate to accept my proposal, and I had to struggle to prove myself worthy of her.” Then he bowed and departed, leaving the Matlocks completely dumbfounded and the colonel with a broad grin on his face.

∞∞∞

The cold, fresh air allowed him to relax and grow calm, carefully sorting his thoughts. If he dared to hope that his uncle and aunt had a different opinion than Lady Catherine, the opposite was now apparent: they would likely not accept Elizabeth in the family—at least, not at present. His duty was to protect his betrothed and defend her against any opposition. And it was his privilege to present her to society and show his admiration and affection for her. He had asked her to be his wife for the right reasons, and he would never change her for the world.

He dreamt of taking her and leaving for Pemberley immediately. However, he could not allow any suspicions to shadow Elizabeth’s character, nor could they hide from ridiculous, malicious gossip.

Darcy decided to take the opportunity of those few days in London to remedy the damage caused by Lady Catherine. Anyone seeing them together would understand the truth—if they were wise and just. If not, they would no longer matter to him.

He eventually arrived home and was welcomed by Georgiana’s warm embrace and congratulations. His sister had never disappointed him, and her genuine happiness was the best remedy for his earlier distress.

They spent the evening enjoying a quiet dinner and making plans for the following days and the future.

Darcy was content and relieved to see that Georgiana was almost as happy as he was at the prospect of having Elizabeth in their family.

Almost , he mused with a mysterious grin that Georgiana found impossible to understand. Yet it was the expression of his brotherly care; he understood his sister’s fears she tried so hard to hide.

“My dearest,” he murmured, drawing her into his embrace, “my love for you will never waver. You are not losing anything but rather gaining Elizabeth’s love to stand beside my own.”