Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Arriving in their rooms, Darcy sat Elizabeth on the settee in their sitting room, lightly pressing a kiss to her forehead before heading into his dressing room for a moment to remove his boots, coats, and cravat.
He quickly returned and sat next to his wife, pulling her into his lap and holding her tightly to his chest again.
“Are you well, my love?” he asked as her tears had begun to wane. “I was not expecting any of this today.”
“Neither was I,” she said, lifting her head off his chest and wiping her cheeks.
Darcy took up the handkerchief in his hand and, moving her hands away, used it to wipe her cheeks and blot the tears from her eyes.
Tenderly, he kissed away the remaining evidence of her upset.
“If you still wish to attend the wedding, we can, but I will not attend the breakfast. I do not believe Mama … well, I think I can no longer call her by that name. I do not believe that Mrs. Bennet will be able to keep silent during the wedding breakfast if I am there, and she will be mortifying in one way or another. She will either continue as she did today or, if Papa convinces her we actually are married, she will attempt to curry favour and go on about how wealthy you are. I have no intention of being embarrassed in such a way ever again.”
Darcy could say nothing but squeeze his wife more tightly to him. “I love you, Elizabeth,” he said finally. “I will act however you see fit, but, like you, I am content never to enter Hertfordshire again. I can inform Bingley that we will leave on Monday, or sooner, if that is what you would like.”
She sighed. “I do not know what is best, William. Part of me wishes we had never come, but I am glad to finally know Mrs. Bennet’s real opinion of me.”
Elizabeth felt him stiffen. “She is a fool, Elizabeth, if you will pardon me for saying so. No one of any sense would value you so little,” he snapped.
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Will,” she said before taking a deep breath and letting it out.
“I would like to speak to Aunt Gardiner before we decide. It almost appeared as if Papa was planning to be accepting of our marriage, although it may have been wishful thinking on my part.”
It was Darcy’s turn to sigh. “I believe you may have been correct, my dear,” he replied.
“Mrs. Gardiner had shared our ideas about what to do about Miss Lydia, and he did say he had come to discuss them. I do not know what Mr. Bennet will be able to do about your sister without some assistance. However, I am unwilling to host Mrs. Bennet at any of our homes regardless of our presence after her attack on you.”
Elizabeth grimaced. “I cannot disagree. Surely, shouldn’t my mother think better of me than to assume I would ever allow you to make me his mistress?
Although, given that Lydia allowed Mr. Wickham …
liberties without the benefit of marriage, I should not be so surprised that she could think it.
” She suddenly gasped out a sob. “Oh, Will, as soon as we speak to Mrs. Gardiner, I want to return home. I suddenly do not want to face the people of Meryton who may have been told such tales of me. Did they believe them as well? At this moment, I cannot wait to return to Pemberley.” She once again buried her face in his chest, feeling mortified all over again.
Darcy lifted her head and kissed her softly.
“Elizabeth, I promise we will never visit here again,” he told her, attempting again to reassure her.
He kissed her more deeply this time, but almost immediately, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
At his groan, Elizabeth laughed and stood, walking to the door to answer it.
“Yes,” she said and was informed by a maid that Mrs. Gardiner was there and hoping to speak with them. Reluctantly agreeing, she informed the maid they would be downstairs in ten minutes.
Darcy encouraged Elizabeth to go down first, as he still needed to change out of his riding attire. After one more brief kiss, Elizabeth headed down the stairs and was soon in her aunt’s embrace.
“I am so sorry, Lizzy,” the lady said. “Your mother overheard a conversation between Jane and Mary about your being at Netherfield. Mary was upset because she had planned to attend tea with Jane yesterday, but Jane had left without her. Mrs. Bennet had not been downstairs in days, and it was not until your father and I were about to leave that we learned that she had left moments before us. I am so sorry that no one considered that she would come to confront you when she had not left the house in days or weeks.”
“It is not your fault, Aunt,” Elizabeth said.
“I have always known that I was not my mother’s favourite, although I had believed she loved me at least a little since I was her child.
However, I have two wonderful aunts who I believe will stand in my mother’s stead when I need them to.
William and I discussed this and are determined to never come to Hertfordshire again.
We discussed leaving for London tomorrow. ”
“I cannot say that I disagree with you, although it is possible after some time has passed, you may want to see your father again,” Mrs. Gardiner said.
“His intention in coming today was to ask for your forgiveness for not taking the time to speak to you about your decision to marry Mr. Darcy.
He believed the rumours and did not trust your decision as a result.
Part of him wanted to believe Mr. Darcy was unworthy of you and that you would choose to return and abandon Mr. Darcy.
When you did not, he was angry and allowed his anger to rule his actions and words.
“For what is worth, Mr. Bennet never doubted or questioned the veracity of your marriage to Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet has not been to town in several weeks and has not heard about how he has restored his reputation. All her allegations were her assumptions based on what had been said about Mr. Darcy in the past, along with what Lydia has said to her since returning home. Lydia blames Mr. Darcy for all that has befallen her, her aborted elopement, Wickham’s arrest and subsequent court-martial, and, of course, there are Wickham’s claims of his ill-treatment. ”
Elizabeth’s eyes flashed with anger. “As much as I hate to say it, you can reprimand me all you like, aunt, but my mother and Lydia are exceptionally stupid. Lydia has allowed herself to be used by that profligate rake, yet they are convinced my legitimate marriage to a truly good man will somehow cause the ruin of the family, completely ignoring the fact that it is Lydia’s actions that will do so.
They are inordinately fortunate that Mr. Bingley has not broken things off with Jane because he is aware of the ruin, and he will be far closer to the Bennets for the foreseeable future.
“I am resolved, Aunt. My father has claimed I am dead to them, and that is how I will remain. We will depart as soon as may be, and Jane may visit us in London or Derbyshire. We will not return here.”
Darcy entered the room as Elizabeth made this pronouncement.
“Elizabeth, I will go with Bingley and tell him our decision. I am certain he will understand our reasoning, and we can encourage them to come to dinner when they are in London. It is too late to leave today, but we will leave first thing in the morning.”
He came to sit beside his wife and took her hand in his, seeking to reassure her of his love.
“Mrs. Gardiner, we hope that, when the time comes, you will stand in as grandmother to our children, along with my aunt and uncle. My parents are gone, and Elizabeth’s have chosen not to be a part of our lives from this point on.
I do not know if reconciliation will ever be possible with either of them, but I cannot see any circumstances where they are ever fully restored to our society. ” Elizabeth nodded from beside him.
“I have always cared for Elizabeth as a daughter and have tried to be for her what her mother could or would not,” Mrs. Gardiner said.
“I would be honoured to stand in as a grandmother to your children, whenever that is.” She winked at the couple as she spoke, causing them both to redden.
She laughed lightly, then continued. “Is there anything further you would like to say to your father before you go? I would gladly convey a message if you would like.”
“Just remind him that this separation is due to his words and actions,” Elizabeth said defiantly.
“I will accept a letter from him, but I make no promises to return it or read it right now. I do not know if my opinion will ever change, but remind him that he was the one who said I was as good as dead to him, so he must live with that decision.”
Mrs. Gardiner nodded and patted Elizabeth’s arm.
The three stood, and Elizabeth hugged her aunt tightly for several moments, struggling to keep her composure.
She had mourned her family many times over the last several weeks, but suddenly, it seemed so much more real to her, and she was struggling not to burst into tears again.
William seemed to sense her struggle and sought to comfort her.
Gently, he pulled her away from her aunt and into his arms, silently permitting her to give in to her tears.
Holding her tightly and whispering sweet words of love into her ears, she collapsed into him and poured out her tears once again.
He sat on one of the couches in the room, holding her in his lap as she cried.
Eventually, she calmed, and the couple continued to speak with Mrs. Gardiner a bit longer about their plans, and invitations were issued for dinner at Darcy House the following week.
Finally, Elizabeth wrote a short note to Jane, relying on Mrs. Gardiner to fill her in with all the details leading to their removal on the morrow.