Chapter 13 #2
When Mrs. Gardiner departed, Bingley entered the room, finding Elizabeth seated on William’s lap as he continued to reassure her.
He would have departed the room immediately, but his friend noticed his entry and encouraged him to sit with them as he reluctantly moved Elizabeth from his lap to the seat beside him.
Keeping his arm around her, the closeness providing comfort for both, they told Bingley all that had transpired since they had returned from riding that afternoon.
“Good God,” Darcy exclaimed at one point in their tale. “Can all of this truly have happened since eleven this morning? My dear, you must be starving. Bingley, will you call for tea?”
Bingley agreed, and the story continued as they ate and drank, restoring all of them somewhat.
At the end of the recitation, Bingley understood their reasons for departing early and not staying for the wedding.
“My sisters are arriving tomorrow, I just learned, so it is probably best that you will be gone and not have to endure their reactions to your wedding. I know that Jane will be sad that you are missing her wedding, Elizabeth, but I believe she will understand, given the circumstances.”
“I hope she will, Charles,” Elizabeth said.
“But I am not certain how Jane will react to anything these days. Where Mama, I mean, Mrs. Bennet, got the idea that I am William’s mistress, I will never understand.
The wedding announcement was in the paper, and our infrequent appearances have been discussed in the gossip columns multiple times since our wedding nearly three weeks ago.
Where did this idea even come from? Who else believes it?
Surely, Jane knows it is untrue. She could never believe it, knowing me as well as she does. ”
“She knows the truth of your marriage, Elizabeth,” Bingley quickly said. “I am not certain what makes her so … hesitant right now, but when we come to London, I hope she will be restored and more herself. Perhaps getting her away from Longbourn and all that is happening there will be of aid.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I trust you are correct. Would you mind if I had dinner in our rooms tonight? Today has been rather distressing, and I want little more than to retire early. William, please do not feel you must cut your evening with your friend short. You will not see him again until after his wedding, and I imagine you both have things to discuss.”
Bingley quickly agreed, and William offered to escort Elizabeth to their rooms, telling Bingley he would eat with his wife but would come down later for billiards and a conversation. As soon as they were in their rooms, Elizabeth was in William’s arms.
“I am so sorry, my love, for this ridiculous situation we have found ourselves in due to bad behaviour by my family,” Elizabeth nearly sobbed. “You were right in your opinions of them in April, and I pray you do not regret your marriage to me.”
William squeezed her tightly to him. “Never, Elizabeth, never could I regret you. I love you; I was utterly miserable those months without you. What I failed to express then, and probably only truly realised after you had refused me, is that I need you in my life to make me better. I am better because of you in my life. Nothing else matters as long as we face whatever comes together.”
“Oh, Will!” Elizabeth cried. “I love you too. I am so thankful we met again at Pemberley. I truly was miserable when we visited your estate—I was so torn between desperately hoping to see you again and dreading it. But I was so certain you would hate me for how I had rejected you, but the more I realised the man you truly were, the more I knew I had lost.”
Their embrace grew tighter, and his lips met hers for long, blissful moments.
For the second time that afternoon, they were interrupted in this activity by a knock on the door, this time by servants delivering their dinner.
These were quickly dismissed, and dinner was ignored while the couple once again reaffirmed their love for the other.
Eventually, they did eat, and then Elizabeth encouraged her husband to seek out his friend for a time.
William agreed, albeit reluctantly, and the couple parted.
Elizabeth spent the time ensuring the servants were prepared to leave in the morning before sitting at her writing table to write in her journal.
Paging back through the last year, Elizabeth recalled many of the events and circumstances that had brought her to where she was.
Reading over one entry following her return from Kent, she had a sudden thought.
Setting aside her journal, she took up pen and paper and began writing a letter to her aunt to request specific information from her father.
She wrote a second note to send to Charlotte Collins and wondered who else she might ask.
A note was written to Jane as well, explaining the circumstances of their leaving, as well as asking some questions about the things their mother had spewed that day.
When William returned a few hours later, he was surprised to find his wife still up and grew concerned when he noticed her pacing. “What is wrong, dearest?” he asked.
“It occurred to me to wonder further about this idea that Mama has about my being your mistress,” Elizabeth said, her ire raised.
“Many of these rumours about you started after my return from Kent after I had commented to Mr. Wickham implying that he had lied to me about your dealings with him. It was nothing overt, just an idle comment that could be interpreted in many ways, but it made me wonder. If Charlotte wrote to anyone in Meryton about your being in Kent while we were there, or even if Maria mentioned anything about it in the wrong company, could this be yet another rumour that Mr. Wickham somehow managed to spread?”
Taking a deep breath, she attempted to calm herself.
“Of course, this also could simply be Lydia and Mama’s attempt to discredit me for my happiness while they are both so miserable themselves.
It may be nothing more than that, aided, no doubt, by Wickham’s rantings against you to a foolish, impressionable child. ”
He took her into his arms, both to help calm her and to stop her pacing. “Love, what do you intend to do about it?” he enquired. “It seems obvious that you have taken some steps toward learning more about it.”
She met his eyes and nodded. “I wrote a letter to Aunt Maddie requesting that she gather some additional information from Mama and Lydia as well as she can. I also wrote a letter to Charlotte to see what she may know. If the rumour had spread in Meryton, I have little doubt that Lady Lucas would have written her daughter about it.”
Darcy nodded. “I understand your desire to know and understand what has been said and how far it has gone. I can easily imagine that Wickham would take any tiny bit of knowledge he has and twist it to make it suit his purposes. Those who matter know the truth, and we will deal with anything else as it comes up,” he told her, raising her chin so she would meet his eyes again, then leaning down to press a light kiss to her lips.
“I love you, my Elizabeth, and nothing will change that.” She melted into his embrace, and soon, they fell into their shared bed together.
Early the next morning, they lay on the pillows and talked, neither willing to yet rise for the day.
“Bingley and I discussed his sisters’ arrival today while we played billiards last night.
He had mentioned in a letter that he had asked me to stand up with him, and they immediately set off to attend the wedding.
They will be in for a surprise when they arrive later today and learn I have already gone,” he stopped to laugh slightly.
“Miss Bingley is unaware of our marriage, and I did not relish being near when she learned of it. Nor do I ever intend to stay in the same house as her ever again.”
“She does not like me much,” Elizabeth said, drawing a chuckle from her husband.
“That is quite an understatement, my dear,” he said, kissing her nose.
“Last fall, we were all gathered at Lucas Lodge, and I was admiring you as you were playing the piano. Miss Bingley approached me as I watched you and made some comments about how I must be regretting the company. Instead of agreeing with her, I made a comment about your fine eyes, which, by the way, is a considerable understatement as well. I believe my admiration of you quite coloured her against you, which is why her vitriol against you has always been so strong. She believed you to be a rival in my eyes—a patent untruth.”
Elizabeth arched her eyebrow in the way he adored, and he laughed. “It was an untruth, my love, because you had no rival. It was only my stupid misplaced pride that kept me from declaring it at the time.”
She sighed and snuggled deeper into his embrace. “I misunderstood your looks back then; I was so certain you looked at me to find fault, not to admire. I was so convinced that you could find something admirable about me whatsoever, especially after having been found ‘merely tolerable’ before.”
“I can never apologise enough for that statement, love,” he said.
“You have never been merely tolerable but always incredibly lovely. After years of being chased by ladies such as Miss Bingley, I had grown to believe all women were like them, and, well, I thought to warn you off. I was a fool, and I have been thoroughly chastened for my idiocy at that moment, well, for my idiocy during my entire stay in Hertfordshire last fall.”
Elizabeth pressed a light kiss to him. “We were both fools, William, but all has been resolved. We will be the happiest couple in the world, even happier than Jane and Charles because we have already faced trials, and we have overcome them.” She paused for several moments and seemed to be in deep contemplation.
“I worry for Jane and how she will deal with her new sisters-in-law, as well as how she will cope when real trials come to her marriage.”
“They will figure it out together, Elizabeth,” William told her.
“Bingley told me he intends to take a firm stance with his sisters, especially Miss Bingley and does not intend to let her make her home with him for at least the first year of their marriage. I question whether he can hold to that, but at least he will attempt it. I wonder how long they will last at Netherfield after the wedding, especially considering all that has occurred here.”
Soon, their conversation was interrupted by their personal servants, and they rose and began to prepare themselves for their travel.
After breaking their fast with Bingley, they departed Netherfield for the last time.
Bingley was nearly ready to leave for Longbourn and had several letters to deliver when he arrived—two from Elizabeth and one from Darcy for Mr. Bennet.
Elizabeth knew its existence but deliberately chose not to ask what it contained.