Mr Darcy’s Legacy

Chapter 14

T hey gathered in the dining room—just the four of them. Jane had been invited to the theatre, to a large party, including Mr Bennet, the Gardiners, and other friends. Bingley was proud and eager to present his future bride. Darcy nodded with affection as Bingley recited the names of those they would meet; it seemed all of London wanted to see Jane.

Briefly saddened, Darcy reflected that Elizabeth would have been received that way if not for his family. But in the end, with the duke’s help, he hoped the problem would be resolved for them too.

Usually, Elizabeth adored having Jane with her, but that evening was about a secret, a family secret that had the power to change their lives. And this time, ‘family’ meant Darcy, Georgiana, and Lady Edwina.

“I have looked over the letters,” Lady Edwina said. “Mostly, they are from Fitzroy to your mother. My poor friend must have read them countless times as some are almost torn apart.”

Darcy remembered his mother’s parlour and the noise the panel made when it slid open. It was strange that his mother did not conceal it from him, for he was only a child and could have been indiscreet at that age. His mother knew him well, as he never told anybody about the portrait. Then, as he grew older, he seemed to forget about it.

“There are some papers your mother wanted Fitzroy to have. They are sealed and tied with a ribbon. I do not know what we should do about them. I do not understand why she did not leave a single word besides the letter from the solicitor, as if she left it for destiny or us to decide to go further with her memories…or not.

“We call him the duke, but back then, he was not. His father lived for three more years, but when he died, it was too late for them. Perhaps those letters were written after their separation and never sent. In any case, we can read only the letters intended for us. As for the others, you can decide whether you will give them to the duke.”

They silently waited for Lady Edwina to continue. “Do you want me to read the letters?”

Again, nobody spoke. They wanted her to make the decision. Edwina smiled as, around her, three children waited for her to choose.

“Elizabeth, you should read them since you are the least involved, my dear!”

Lady Edwina’s tone was a sweet command; she wanted to see whether Elizabeth was strong enough to take on such a role.

Elizabeth looked at Darcy, but his face was blank—unwilling or unable to express his feelings. She remembered the earlier discussion and decided that Lady Anne indeed wanted the world to know her story, and a mother’s ‘world’ was her children. She also remembered how close she had come to losing Darcy, and tears appeared in her eyes as she took the first letter.

“At the time, Fitzroy was a marquess, of course, but he used his family’s arms,” Lady Edwina said.

Indeed, the family crest was at the top of the letter. Elizabeth could see the green griffon so masterly transformed in the ring Georgiana still wore.

My dearest,

Elizabeth stopped and looked at Lady Edwina, seeming to need permission.

“Continue, my dear,” she spoke with a smile. “It is indeed the first letter. Some do not have dates, yet Anne was scrupulous about putting them in order.”

“He called her ‘my dearest’ after their first meeting…” Georgiana whispered—not a reproach but a wonder. She was imagining the kind of love that springs to life instantly at such intensity. No incertitude or analysis but a feeling understood and accepted by both…after a ball.

My dearest,

I could not possibly sleep. I do not need rest, food, or air, love is enough for life.

I am under a spell. I need to see you as soon as possible. I shall find a solution.

Fitzroy

“I covered up for her during those first days.” Edwina smiled at the memory. “My God, I almost forgot that part of the story! I had an old aunt, Countess Edwina of Rothes—I take my name from her—they were wealthy, with no children but many nieces and nephews waiting around for their inheritance. The count and countess were two old people living in their own world, surrounded by dogs, horses, and an army of servants.

“My mother received an invitation that week from the countess for us, the young ones, to spend a few days on their estate. The dear old woman preferred children and young people who were less aggressive when it came to their inheritance. Lady Anne was so desperate to see Fitzroy that I feared she might elope and start a scandal. Despite my illness, I announced that we would go. It was not far from London, five miles or so, a splendid ancient mansion surrounded by a vast forest. My mother was enchanted by my decision and forgot I was ill. The invitation was so rare that we agreed to go.”

I will wait for you outside, close to the park entrance on your street.

Please come to the door, just for a second so I can see you, or send me a message about where and how we can see each other!”

I love you

Fitzroy

“Oh, my God!” Lady Edwina was almost shouting in her emotion. “Fitzroy was in a carriage close to my house! He had just sent the coachman with the letter, waiting outside for her answer. At first, I was terrified because I knew Fitzroy and the young gentlemen of his age and rank. They were at that time totally unrestrained, going from assembly to assembly all night long, and not the most decent ones!

“Meanwhile, Anne was a rosebud, pure and innocent. Suddenly, I was the only one capable of defending her. She wrote a short message that we were going to my aunt’s estate and he could follow us. She was happy, but I was terrified. I needed to talk to Fitzroy and persuade him to find another victim. Anne was sleeping when we arrived in front of my aunt’s manor, overcome by fatigue. I jumped from our carriage and went like a mother lioness to his carriage, which was still a little distance away. I was ready to tell him I would go to his father or the king or God, only to renounce her and return to London. Unfortunately for what was to happen later, in the carriage, I found not the young marquess—the future duke—but a young man desperately in love. It was so evident that my suspicions fell away, broken like crystal glass. He was as much in love with her as she was with him. I can say that even now, as an old lady who has seen a lot in her life, I can remember no love like theirs.”

Lady Edwina was reliving the excitement of those days, painting a picture they all could enjoy.

“My aunt and uncle liked Fitzroy because, for once, a young person did not want anything from them like the rest of us did, so they were full of benevolence, not needing to hide from false flattery. When he said that he accompanied us, they joyfully invited him to stay. We spent a memorable week at the Rothes mansion. The atmosphere was so different, and at first, I thought their love changed the air within that stone building, but there was something different.”

Lady Edwina held the letters, gently playing with them like a fan.

“They exchanged five more messages during the first day and night,” she said, giving Elizabeth one.

I can hardly wait for the morning; come, my love, we should walk before breakfast.

Fitzroy

The letters were so intimate, so full of sentiment, that Elizabeth had the feeling she was reading her own words or Darcy’s. They shared the same urge to be with their loved ones.

“I do not remember that morning, but they probably did take a walk.”

As she handed the letters to Elizabeth, Lady Edwina would take a quick look at each of them, deciding whether to let an incredibly daring message be read. She feared that, with such passion, inevitably, some would appear that should not be unveiled at the dinner table. The letters would remain in their possession, and it was for each of them to decide whether they wanted to read those intimate ones.

But after that first night’s messages, Edwina began searching and then looked at them, obviously puzzled.

“What is it?” Darcy asked. He was eager to hear all, as he wanted dinner to end so he could go to Elizabeth’s room. He tried not to be impatient. He would have preferred to marry her immediately, as he had suggested to Elizabeth more than once because the wedding day was not essential for him. He understood her reticence but clearly he did not approve it. His love was suddenly so close to his mother’s feelings. As strange as it might seem, he sometimes forgot that the messages were for his mother. They were more like a well-written novel that Edwina was narrating and his beloved Elizabeth was reading. Or they could be about them.

Edwina looked at him, astonished, and finally said, “For the next days, there are no messages!”

“Perhaps Mama misplaced them,” Georgiana said, not understanding her concern.

“No, no!” Edwina said. “They are in a precise order. Perhaps they are lost or perhaps—”

She stopped; her thought was impossible to share with Lady Anne’s children.

But they were of age—the girls clearly less initiated than Darcy was—however, they were young women capable of understanding that, during those days, Anne and Fitzroy had been together all the time without the need for written messages. Lady Edwina was in a state of shock about a story thirty years old. Anne had been with Fitzroy the second day of their love—and the second night! As incredible as it might seem, knowing Anne, Edwina had to admit they were lovers! Love could perform incredible changes.

How could she have been so na?ve and not seen the change in her friend during those two long days? Lady Edwina was more than shocked: she was angry with her long-dead friend. Anne had kept all her secrets, even from her. She had been the first one Anne ran to, telling her she was in love, but all that followed was veiled, obviously a decision Anne had taken to protect their love.

“We returned from my aunt’s, and I became seriously ill. I was delirious for many days, and everybody thought I was going to die. It was not consumption but a severe lung infection. My mother was hopeless, so your grandmother decided to stay with Anne and try to help. As I have already told you, my mother and your grandmother were close friends. This is how Anne had all the liberty to see Fitzroy. My brother was also ill, the house was in an uproar, and her doings were not observed as they would have been during normal times.”

I shall come to collect you at ten o’clock. I shall be waiting for you near the corner, as usual.

I feared someone would see you coming home so late…or so early! We have to be more prudent in the future, but how can I when my only thought from morning till night is to see you, to feel you, to be near you. I discovered that one of my uncles has an estate near your house where I can be a guest when you return home.

Almost all the messages were short and full of indications for the next meeting.

“They lived together, and no one knew!”

This was the wildest thing we did, sleeping in your bed till morning. Perhaps the best way of being together is to let them catch me and oblige me to marry you! Will you then be my wife? I imagine your father coming to mine with the news—all my father’s plans overturned. I shall not be a prince in an unknown German state but obliged to marry the Earl of Matlock’s daughter.

“You will recall that his father wanted him to marry a German heiress with ties to the royal family.”

Lady Edwina was again speaking with eyes open to the past; they listened to this fragmented story with saddened hearts, for unlike the two protagonists, they knew the ending. It was so sad, so tragic.

“I do not understand what happened!” Darcy said. “And it is obvious we shall not discover much more. The letters are short, and no details about the events can be known.”

“There were love declarations but not the circumstances of their love and meetings,” Georgiana said sadly, wishing to know every detail.

“Yes! And I know so little. I was ill for two or three weeks and, afterwards, too feeble for her to share her thoughts. She might have told me things, but I have no memory of them. And the situation developed with such haste that it had already ended when I was well again.”

I am so happy, Anne. It is the happiest day of my life, but then again, I say that every morning when I wake up and remember you are mine.

“No doubt, after he proposed to her and she accepted, he gave her that ring. What happiness there must have been! They thought that somehow the duke would be induced to accept their marriage. I wish I knew the complete story, but I have an impression that it was not because of my illness that she did not tell me more; rather, they decided it should be that way. I suppose Fitzroy knew from the beginning his father would oppose the marriage, and they decided to keep the secret from everybody.”

I long for you—for your body next to mine!

Elizabeth stopped, blushing with embarrassment, and tried not to look around the table. She had taken a letter without Edwina seeing her, as the lady seemed utterly lost in the past. But the colour in Elizabeth’s cheeks did not fade; Darcy was sure it was not only the letters that troubled her but also her own feelings. She could not read anymore.

So Darcy stood, kissed Lady Edwina’s hand, and invited everybody to retire for the night.

“We have had a most difficult day. It is time for reflection and rest.”

Only Georgiana looked disappointed and sad. She would have liked the evening to go on, to read all her mama’s letters. so Lady Edwina handed her the letters with a smile that filled Georgiana’s heart with happiness. Her godmother considered her old enough to read all the messages. It was a rite of passage from girlhood to maturity that Lady Edwina performed for her in her mother’s absence. Georgiana was so delighted that she forgot to say goodnight, eager to be alone in her apartment with the cherished missives. Only the letters for the duke remained on the table. They were still tied with a ribbon, as nobody dared to open them.

Darcy took them, saying to Edwina, “I shall decide in the morning what to do with them.”

Lady Edwina remained silent, as it was not her decision. She caressed Elizabeth’s face tenderly. “Very well. I shall see you all tomorrow.”