Chapter 8
Anne Darcy’s health remained dire but began to show ever so slight an improvement. The hacking cough had subsided somewhat, but her breathing remained labored, and her frailty was pronounced.
Seeing that his new wife’s health was relatively stable, Mr. Darcy left for London to deal with urgent business matters, among them, the completion of the legal proceedings to transfer ownership of Rosings into his name.
When he arrived at Darcy House, his entire staff congratulated him on his marriage.
“Sir, the mistress’s suite has been aired and freshened for Mrs. Darcy,” said the housekeeper, Mrs. Hammond
Mr. Darcy appeared puzzled at first when he heard this. He collected himself and said kindly to the retainer, “Thank you, Mrs. Hammond, but the new mistress will remain at Rosings for the foreseeable future.”
Mr. Darcy detected a small smile on Mrs. Hammond’s face, which was not surprising as the staff dreaded every visit by the master’s mother-in-law. He avoided using the new title of “Mrs. Darcy,” as he now had someone else firmly in mind who would occupy that cherished position.
Before going back to Rosings, he stopped at Rockingham House to see his uncle, the Earl Fitzwilliam, for news about his cousin.
By now, the Colonel ought to have arrived at the Peninsula.
He also wanted to dispense with the chore of visiting the new Duke of Northampton while in town since he could be required to go into deep mourning and be unable to carry out business-related duties.
“Ah, Darcy! No worse for the wear after a week of living with your mother-in-law, I see! I wager Catherine has not relinquished her hold on Rosings.
“Sir, I am doing surprisingly well. Anne's condition was deteriorating dangerously, but has since stabilized, and Lady Catherine does in fact defer to me on matters concerning the estate. She meant her words when she said I would be master of Rosings after the wedding.”
“Very good! Or rather, it could have been far worse. Let me thank you again for sacrificing your potential marital bliss for the family. Your extremely generous gift to Richard of Rosings might just be enough of an enticement for him to give up his army career.”
“Sir, I am gratified that my action could enable Richard to settle down in safety. I have to agree that Rosings is a rare find of an estate and worth keeping in the family. Have you heard news of Richard, sir?”
“I am glad you asked. Indeed, I have. The war department got a dispatch yesterday that the ship Richard was on was attacked by some French frigates close to Porto, the Portuguese port of landing. Our own naval ships were close at hand to prevent too much damage. What a senseless, foolish act on the French part! Richard was injured in his leg by shrapnel. The wounds were quite serious—he lost consciousness because of blood loss. He is on his way back to England to heal.”
“I am heartened Richard will be home soon. He is the youngest full colonel in the army. He ought to be proud of his accomplishments, and I am certain you are too, sir.”
“I am indeed proud. His wounds, thankfully not fatal, are serious enough to send him home, and that is what every parent desires for his soldier son. Richard is a good boy.”
“That he is. Will he be back in England in time to visit Rosings over Easter? If so, he will learn to manage the estate sooner rather than later.”
“If the conditions for the voyage are favorable, he may be back in as little as three weeks. We did not foresee Anne’s resilience, or else Richard would have been the one marrying Anne instead of your having to perform the chore.”
“We can only hope all will work out for the best in the end. Anne is the one suffering. If my presence makes her days lighter and happier during this time, then it is worthwhile for me.”
“Darcy, you are a good man. You deserve to have the best wife after taking good care of Anne in her last days. Would you consider a duke’s daughter? I heard that the gentleman soon to be the sixth duke of Northampton has five comely daughters!”
“Is the current duke in danger? I was hoping to pay him a visit soon before… I would be prevented from joining in social activities.”
“Indeed! The fifth duke has gone back to Oxford. He is gravely ill, stricken with the same affliction that took his two brothers. What a waste of a good life! The Whigs had high hopes that the new generation of Whigs in the Lords would balance the rabble-rousers in the Commons. Young Devonshire, as you well know, should be moldable. Northampton is young as well and could have a brilliant career within the party. They are the future of the Whigs! The heir-presumptive to the Northampton dukedom is older, almost fifty years. He could be set in his ways. He may even be a Tory!”
“Is there much known about this heir presumptive other than he is a Fitzstuart?” asked Mr. Darcy, with an apprehension he could not name.
“It is interesting you worded the question this way. Mr. Fitzstuart is a minor country gentleman with a modest estate. Thank God he is not a storekeeper after so many generations of obscure existence! Since his grandfather’s time, the family has forsaken the royal surname in favor of the matriarch’s. He is a Mr. Bennet…”
Mr. Darcy abruptly stood up and started pacing. The Earl had never seen his famously stoic nephew so agitated.
“From Hertfordshire?” he asked curtly, fully convinced that he had the right answer.
A minor landowner with five daughters—they could have been any family anywhere in the kingdom.
Yet he had a premonition, as soon as his uncle mentioned five attractive daughters, that the lady who had stolen his heart was among them.
Until that moment, he had not realized that he was determined to have Elizabeth for himself once he was free.
She was the one—a country girl with a pure heart, who ultimately caused him to decide to take the fateful step to marry his cousin so no one in his family would dare object to her connections to trade when he chose her to be mistress of Pemberley.
Now, that barrier had crumbled. She could soon become daughter of a duke!
Wait! A duke’s daughter! It was a matter of time before she descended into the abyss of upper-class mores; or would she be deceived by one of those debauched wastrels before she even had the chance to be corrupted?
Her innocent, trusting self would not discern the treachery of high society.
After all, she fell for the cheap lies of that scoundrel, George Wickham.
Yet, he must endure standing helplessly to watch this impending disaster unfold.
I am a married man!
Mr. Darcy sped up his pacing. His thoughts jumped from one disastrous scenario to another.
The Earl was mildly dismayed by his steady and sensible nephew’s frazzled behavior, a condition never seen before.
“Darcy, your relationship with the Bennet-Fitzstuart family appears far from indifferent. Would you care to enlighten me about your uncharacteristic agitation at the mere mention of the Bennet’s name?”
“Forgive me, sir. I… did not mean to cause any alarm by my… discomposure.”
Mr. Darcy regarded his uncle as a parent.
He had looked up to Lord Fitzwilliam all his life, partly because his uncle was the brother to his beloved mother, and partly because he was parent to his cousin, the Colonel, with whom he was particularly close.
When his mother died, he leaned on his uncle and cousin’s shoulders for support and comfort because his own father, crippled by grief, could not help his young son.
The Earl was avuncular, very easy to talk to, far more so than his own father, who was taciturn and stolid by nature—much like himself.
After his mother’s death, George Wickham tried mightily to ingratiate himself with old Mr. Darcy, sensing a rare crack in the tight bond between father and son, but he was unsuccessful because the elder Mr. Darcy had been apathetic toward everything around him.
Even with this uncommon closeness between uncle and nephew, Darcy could not imagine telling his uncle the reason behind his uncharacteristic agitation.
“This news came as a great surprise. I met the Bennet family while I was in Hertfordshire, staying with my friend Bingley at his leased estate, Netherfield Park. The Bennets were Bingley’s nearest neighbors.
I had no inkling that the family was related to a dukedom.
That was why I almost jumped out of my chair when you said their name. ”
“This is fortuitous, and in a good way. I know nothing about this Mr. Bennet, or rather, Mr. Bennet-Fitzstuart. The fourth duke, before his untimely death last year, was a Whig, albeit a lackadaisical one. We could count on his vote when we asked for it. The current duke pays no attention to anything not related to finding a cure for his paralyzing affliction. Furthermore, he comes from a clerical family, apolitical by design. Perhaps you could help predispose the future duke to our way of thinking before Percival gets to him. The Tories are besieged on all sides. People of all classes are extremely unhappy with the current government. Support from Northampton could materially brighten their outlook.”