Chapter 8 #2
“Is the demise of the incumbent duke an imminent certainty? Is it worth visiting the current duke to find out his leaning?” Mr. Darcy asked thoughtfully.
He knew his true reason for hesitating to contact Mr. Bennet was that he was doubtful of a favorable reception by the heir presumptive of the dukedom.
Mr. Bennet and he rarely met in company, and when they met, they ignored each other.
At the Netherfield Ball, he despised the Bennet patriarch’s lax attitude toward disciplining his two youngest daughters’ unruly behavior.
He suspected the dislike was mutual, but for different reasons: he for Mr. Bennet’s indolence, and Mr. Bennet for his perceived haughtiness.
Did he regret not having made any effort to get to know the future duke better? Perhaps, but what’s done, was done.
“My intelligence says the Duke is gravely ill. Of course, the Tories have the same intelligence, and may have already begun their campaign to win over the next duke.”
The Earl pondered for a moment and said, “Needless to say, there is the tried-and-true way to gain the alliance of the next Duke through strategic marriages to the family. Mr. Bennet has five beautiful daughters, I heard. Is it true? You must have met them.”
Mr. Darcy was again taken aback. This question hit too close to home. He composed himself and answered carefully.
“All five Miss Bennets are handsome, particularly the eldest two. The younger ones, however, are shamefully indecorous, especially the youngest. She has no business being out in society. I believe she is not sixteen years of age.”
“Well, well. That sounds promising…” The Earl ignored the second part of Darcy’s assessment of the Bennet daughters.
“You are of course not eligible at the moment but will be… soon enough. I do not wish Anne ill, but it is the truth, and why you agreed to marry her. Perhaps Richard will marry one of the two eldest, and you will marry the other, if she has not been snatched up. You do have the advantage of having made their acquaintance. This will create an ironclad alliance between the Fitzwilliam family and the Dukedom, and the allegiance of the Duke to the Whigs.”
“But Richard is injured and needs time to convalesce,” said Mr. Darcy almost vehemently, surprising himself; his reaction did not escape the Earl.
“Your anxiety over the mentioning of a family of slight acquaintance is noteworthy. Has one of the Miss Bennets caught your fancy? That cannot be. You agreed to marry Anne.”
On seeing Darcy not forthcoming with a reaction, the Earl continued.
“Darcy, you are like a son to me. In many ways, you resemble your esteemed father. He was one of the most honorable men I have had the good fortune of knowing. He was a man of deep feelings but few words. After your mother passed, he locked himself away from the world. I hope you can trust me if there is anything I can do to help. You can count on me.”
Mr. Darcy was moved by this heart-felt offer of assistance from his uncle. He had leaned on the Earl before, precisely during the time of his father’s isolating himself. He hoped that sharing his thoughts with his uncle might help him clarify and calm the tumult in his head.
“Thank you, Uncle William,” said Darcy, reverting to the familiar address he had used as a boy.
“I cannot explain to you the uprising of emotion in me when you told me about the Bennets.
I had not known that these emotions existed.
When I was in Hertfordshire, I was attracted to the second eldest Miss Bennet to a degree I have never experienced in my life.
The feelings were—pardon my melodramatic description—visceral.
My rational side convinced me that if I did not remove myself from her…
allurements, I would be in real danger of declaring my…
self for a woman entirely unsuitable to be mistress of Pemberley.
The vulgarity and uncouthness of her family and her connections to trade were most objectionable.
I would have shamed my family name and become the laughingstock of society.
So, I did what was sensible: I left Hertfordshire and promised myself never to return.
“My plan was to find a lady just like Miss Elizabeth Bennet—someone not corrupted by the despicable, immoral ways of the ton and with unassailable connections. Fortune and exalted breeding no longer matter. Deep down, I believe her to be irreplaceable. to be frank, I agreed to marry Anne so that my obligations to the family would have been fulfilled, and I would be free to marry where I wanted with the blessings of the family, even when the lady had objectionable connections. When I found out, just now, that the only blemish on the lady I admire has been removed, I could not control my… elation. But then reality set in. Miss, or rather, soon to be Lady Elizabeth Bennet, could be out of my reach even if she condescends to be courted by an untitled gentleman. Uncle William, you must think me daft to behave like a callow, love-sick youth. I am thoroughly ashamed of myself.”
“Darcy, on the contrary, I am heartened that you possess such a passion for a lady who touches your heart. Since your father’s death, I have only seen you avoiding ladies.
I did see you gazing at Lady Caroline Lamb with admiration at the Christmas gathering, but she is married, and I had no worries that your admiration would go beyond what was honorable.
I am confident you are no longer carrying a torch for her, unlike young Devonshire.
“Any young lady of sense would welcome your attentions. You did not mention whether Miss Elizabeth Bennet is intelligent, but I assume she must be to have captured your heart. Regardless of how things turn out between you, it is your good fortune to have experienced such ardent feelings for a lady. When you grow to be my age, you will look back on your youth and be glad you did not miss one of life’s most treasured experiences of meeting someone who makes your heart race,” said the Earl wistfully, as if he had been speaking about his own lost love.
“I wish with all my heart that you and Miss Elizabeth Bennet will find each other in the end.”
“Sir, I thank you for these words of wisdom and encouragement. I do not know whether Miss Bennet thinks anything of me. My partiality to her could be all on my side. Regardless, I am a married man and should not be thinking about another lady just because she is now eligible.”
“Your Miss Bennet will remain a minor gentleman’s daughter until her father ascends to the dukedom, which may never happen if the current duke overcomes his health crisis.
You have time to do your courting if you so choose.
If you do, there will be hardly any young men who can compete with you on honor, lineage, intellect, and fortune, not to mention face and figure! ”
Mr. Darcy, by now, had calmed completely and could not recall why he had been so agitated minutes ago.
“Sir, I thank you for your compliments, though I do not deserve them. I do wish to be of use in securing the support of the Northampton Dukedom. On the morrow, I shall be returning to Rosings. Richard will be home soon, and if he is well enough, Anne and I will welcome him to convalesce at Rosings. Even the spring drizzles are more pleasant in the south.”
“Truer words have never been spoken. The southern counties enjoy such gentle beauty and climate while we northerners must endure the damp and cold mist in the coming months.”
During his half-day trip back to Rosings, Mr. Darcy could not keep a pair of luminous eyes out of his mind.