31. Chapter 31
A fter leaving Fitzwilliam with Uncle Edward, Elizabeth went to the parlor. Her aunt and sisters looked at her in anticipation.
“Fitzwilliam and I are engaged,” Elizabeth announced, her happiness clear to all.
They each jumped up to embrace her with exclamations and wishes of joy.
“Oh, let me see,” Aunt Madeleine said, taking Elizabeth’s hand to admire her ring. “Elizabeth, it is beautiful!”
Her sisters also took turns looking at it and complimenting her betrothal ring.
“My niece, the mistress of Pemberley!”
Elizabeth laughed. “Thank you so much, Aunt, for the support and advice you have given me.”
Aunt Madeleine hugged her again. “Oh, I am only glad I was able to help. Your uncle and I are so pleased you have found such an excellent man. He will love and care for you the way you deserve, I have no doubt. We could not be happier for you.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Thank you, Aunt Madeleine. Fitzwilliam asked me if I would be comfortable marrying a month from now. I know Mama will not like the idea at all. She will want to boast to her friends about having a daughter engaged to a rich man and parade the two of us around the neighborhood for as long as she is able. I am not opposed to marrying in a month, but I wanted to get your opinion. What do you think? Is it possible to get everything done in the space of four weeks?”
“Oh, certainly! When planning a wedding, there are some things that require only a week or so to accomplish, while other things like your wedding gown and trousseau will probably take longer. If the modiste can have your wedding gown and a few other things ready at least a handful of days in advance, the rest of the trousseau can be obtained later if necessary.”
“Not to mention I recently acquired quite a few new things thanks to you and Uncle, so I shall not be in dire straits in any case,” Elizabeth said.
“Very true! I suggest we visit Madame Dupont in the morning to learn her availability. I suspect whatever it is, she will not wish to lose the opportunity of designing the wedding gown and trousseau for the new Mrs. Darcy of Pemberley,” Aunt Madeleine said, quirking a brow.
“Another thing that takes time is the reading of the banns. Everything else that must be accomplished for the wedding can easily be done in a week or so.”
At that moment, her uncle and Fitzwilliam came in to join them. Uncle Edward congratulated her while her aunt and sisters expressed their congratulations to Fitzwilliam.
“Perhaps Miss Darcy would like to join us this evening for a celebratory dinner?” Aunt Madeleine asked. “I expect your cousin will be here sometime today as well.”
“I am certain my sister would love to be here,” Fitzwilliam replied. “If I may have use of the escritoire, I will ask Fitz to accompany her.”
“Of course! Please, help yourself to whatever you need,” Aunt Madeleine said.
“Thank you.”
Elizabeth walked with him to the escritoire. He penned messages to both Georgiana and his cousin, then gave them to Fletcher. Afterwards, Elizabeth told Fitzwilliam that her aunt suggested she visit the modiste before settling on a date for the wedding.
"We shall visit the modiste in the morning. Perhaps Georgiana would like to come,” Elizabeth said.
“If I know my sister, she will definitely wish to accompany you,” he said with a grin.
Later, when his cousin and Georgiana arrived, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam told them of their engagement. His sister and cousin expressed their delight at the news and offered their congratulations. Georgiana also happily accepted the invitation to join Elizabeth in shopping for her wedding clothes.
A few days later, Darcy was in his study attending to correspondence when he came across an invoice from a modiste that his sister did not use. The note that accompanied it read:
Mr. Darcy,
We are, of course, happy the future Mrs. Darcy has chosen to do business with us, and we look forward to serving her future needs. Before we can begin work on her order, however, we request that you establish an account at the shop.
We are at your service.
Had Elizabeth placed an order with her modiste under his name?
Surely not! He noticed the amount was not very much, but it still did not make sense.
If she needed to purchase something and did not have the funds, she would have at least mentioned it, would she not?
Darcy would be happy to buy her whatever she desired.
Deciding to raise the subject with her later that evening, he reached for the next letter and was shocked to find another invoice, this time from a cobbler!
Again, there was a note requesting his presence to establish an account on behalf of his betrothed.
Darcy found more letters, all from shop owners claiming various amounts owed to the tune of three hundred pounds!
What was worse was that some of the invoices were dated back to before he had even proposed to her!
Darcy stared at it all in disbelief. There must be some mistake.
That evening, Elizabeth and her family came to Darcy House for dinner.
Darcy took a moment and asked Elizabeth and her aunt to join him in his study.
When he showed Elizabeth the letters, she was aghast. Elizabeth assured him that she had made no purchases in his name.
Darcy then asked her if she would accompany him to these establishments so that together they might get to the bottom of it.
Mrs. Gardiner agreed, saying, "We certainly shall accompany you, Mr. Darcy. I suppose the shopkeepers could have mistaken who would be paying for the purchases, but it seems so unlikely. I cannot help but wonder if there are dishonest business practices going on here."
Several days ago, Darcy wrote to the merchants from whom he had received invoices.
He informed them he would visit to settle matters, arranging specific times with each shop.
Now the time had arrived to visit the merchants, and Elizabeth was on her way to meet him.
When the ladies' carriage came to a stop in front of the first establishment they were to visit, Darcy and Fitz greeted them and handed them down.
Darcy smiled at Elizabeth and kissed her hand. “Ready?”
She nodded. “Ready.”
When they walked in, they nodded politely to another couple, then abruptly came to a halt. At the counter, the shopkeeper was dealing with a belligerent woman. The woman was none other than Caroline Bingley!
As soon as he spotted Miss Bingley, Darcy moved Elizabeth to his left, away from her.
He pulled Elizabeth’s hand through the crook of his arm, keeping his hand over hers.
He shared a look with his cousin. Fitz seemed to be thinking the same thing that he was—this appointment was bad timing!
Darcy supposed it was inevitable they would eventually cross paths with Caroline Bingley in public.
He would now see if she respected his wishes by refraining from addressing him.
“Madame, please! We will soon resolve the issue with your order,” the shopkeeper said with obvious frustration. The man drew in a breath, then released it. He then turned his attention to them. “Good day! How may I help you?”
“Fitzwilliam Darcy. I am here to discuss an invoice.”
Darcy saw Miss Bingley’s head snap in his direction.
An expression of relief appeared on the man’s face. “Yes, Mr. Darcy! Thank you for coming! I made sure your intended would be here as well.”
My intended?!
“Mr. Darcy, I did not know you were to be here!” Miss Bingley simpered.
Darcy and Elizabeth exchanged bewildered glances. “I am not engaged to that woman!”
“Pardon me?” the man replied, looking confused.
“You have been misinformed, sir,” Darcy said. “I am betrothed to this woman, Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
“What?! No!” Miss Bingley shrieked. She turned eyes full of hate on Elizabeth.
“I—I beg your pardon, Mr. Darcy,” the man said, looking back at Caroline Bingley, then again at Darcy. "It appears that—"
"No!" Miss Bingley shrieked again. With a shrill cry, she suddenly wrenched the pin from her bonnet, raised it in her fist, and ran towards Elizabeth. Darcy put Elizabeth behind him just as Fitz grabbed Miss Bingley. She let out a piercing scream as he restrained her and took the pin from her grasp. She fought Fitz’s hold on her, but with one simple maneuver, he took away her ability to move at all.
"Let me go! She shall not have him! Get away from him!" Miss Bingley yelled.
Several people were staring and murmuring at the scene she was making.
"He is mine, you hussy! Mine! I am to be his wife!" She then let out another piercing scream.
“Shall I call for the constable?” the shopkeeper asked, looking agitated.
“That will not be necessary,” Darcy said. “I know this woman’s family. We shall take her to them.”
As Fitz loaded Miss Bingley into Darcy's carriage, Darcy escorted the ladies to their own carriage.
Elizabeth looked at him. "I suppose we have our answer now regarding all the mysterious purchases made by your 'betrothed'."
He sighed. "Yes, I believe we do. I will contact the other merchants to inform them as well."
She nodded.
After assuring her that he and Fitz would be along as soon as they had dealt with Miss Bingley, he assisted Elizabeth into the carriage and sent her and her aunt and sisters on their way.
Fitz marched Miss Bingley into the Hursts' drawing room with her hands behind her back, then released her several feet away from Darcy. Her family looked on in shock.
“Darcy?” Bingley said with a question in his voice.
Darcy told Bingley how his sister had attempted to attack Elizabeth. He then informed him that she had been going around town claiming to be his betrothed and placing orders with various merchants in his name. Bingley and the Hursts stared first at Darcy, then at their sister, speechless.
"Darcy, Fitzwilliam, I apologize," Bingley said. "I do not know what has come over her."