Chapter 9
Everything at Rosings remained the same.
Anne was coughing and weak. Lady Catherine was anxious about Anne’s health and was rather subdued.
The only thing that had been added was Mr. Collins’s nauseating flattery toward him.
The parson was continually consulting him about everything from sermon drafts to tiny parish matters.
Mr. Darcy was used to treating people in his employ or under his protection with the utmost courtesy, but Mr. Collins’s subservient manner was trying his patience.
However, he had a niggling feeling that he needed to restrain himself in reprimanding Mr. Collins because the parson was a cousin of the Bennets.
Two weeks after his return to Rosings, Mr. Darcy was summoned by his uncle, the Earl, to Kennington Castle just outside Oxford to attend the fifth Duke’s funeral.
After the graveside service, Mr. Darcy spotted the new Duke surrounded by a throng of gentlemen clamoring for an introduction.
The former Mr. Bennet, amicable and humorous to his friends but aloof and sarcastic with strangers while in Hertfordshire, looked uncharacteristically discomposed, almost anxious.
As he walked over, Darcy worried the new Duke might not receive him cordially.
To his surprise, His Grace greeted him while he was still on the outer fringe of the crowd.
“Ah, Mr. Darcy!” hailed His Grace. “I am pleased to see a familiar face.”
“Good afternoon, Your Grace. Please accept my condolences on losing your cousin at such a young age.”
“Thank you for your kind thoughts. On occasions such as this, whether congratulations or condolences are in order is a dilemma. The deceased was a third cousin of mine. I did not know him at all. By all accounts, he was an upright man and a brilliant scholar. It is a pity he is no more, leaving me with a most bewildering dukedom.”
Under his breath, the duke whispered, “Would you get me out of this gaggle of gentlemen? They act like match-making mammas fighting over a rich eligible young man.”
Mr. Darcy was taken aback momentarily by this request before he remembered the former Mr. Bennet’s love of jesting.
He smiled and said rather loudly, “Sir, allow me to introduce to you Lord Fitzwilliam, my maternal uncle.” Then he lowered his voice so only the Duke could hear.
“Perhaps he could be of use in helping you navigate the social and political scenes. He is just over there by the church door. If you would excuse me for a moment, I shall bring him over.”
“No. Please lead the way. I have long admired Lord Fitzwilliam.”
The disgruntled crowd had to open a path for the Duke and Mr. Darcy to pass, none too pleased that young Darcy had stolen their chance of entering the new Duke’s inner circles.
With Lord Fitzwilliam involved, there would be no need for their services to guide the Duke through their elevated circles, as Lord Fitzwilliam knew everyone and was on good terms even with the Royal household.
“Mr. Darcy, I finally understand and can sympathize with your much-maligned reticence while in my neighborhood,” muttered the Duke. “I must consult you on how to perfect an attitude forbidding enough for the unwelcome horde.”
“Your Grace, I hope I did not offend with my, as you described, forbidding stance. I am not gregarious by nature. Added to that natural tendency, I have had the misfortune of being considered in want of a wife since I became master of Pemberley five years ago. I have had some time to practice a cold, disdainful mien,” answered Mr. Darcy hesitantly.
He was unprepared for this frank and unflattering assessment of his own presentation to others.
Immediately after the introduction, His Grace said conspiratorially to the Earl, “Since I am uncertain how to address you, as I am now of a higher rank, I shall call you Fitzwilliam, and you should call me Bennet. Fitzstuart sounds foreign to me.” His Grace turned to Mr. Darcy and said, “I hope you will also adhere to this custom, and our lives will be far simpler. You will not mind this pretense of familiarity?”
Both uncle and nephew nodded in agreement.
The Earl said, “My nephew and I are honored to be allowed to address Your… you, sir, without the honorifics. If I could be of service in any capacity, I would be exceedingly pleased. I have heard that you have five beautiful daughters. Although I have no daughters of my own, Darcy has a younger sister. She would be overjoyed to make the acquaintance of …”
The Earl turned to Darcy for help with the Christian names of the Duke’s daughters.
“Lady Jane, Lady Elizabeth, Lady Mary, Lady Catherine, and Lady Lydia. Yes, sir, Georgiana would be delighted to get to know your daughters.”
“Even my Lizzy? I heard she was not handsome enough to tempt you for a dance,” quipped His Grace mirthfully.
If there had been a hole to crawl into, Mr. Darcy would have gladly hidden in it.
However, his wit returned in time for a rejoinder.
“Sir, I wish to ask forgiveness for such an inane remark. As you experienced a few moments ago, being the target of too much attention can be disconcerting. I was frustrated with Bingley’s insistence that I dance, which is not among my preferred activities under any circumstances.
I am thoroughly ashamed to have spewed such an inexcusably ungentlemanly remark about a young lady I had not even looked at for more than a moment.
Miss… Lady Elizabeth is one of the handsomest ladies of my acquaintance.
She was definitely handsome enough to tempt me for a dance.
I was fortunate she condescended to accept my second request to dance at the Netherfield ball. ”
“Bravo, Darcy! I am very pleased that you had not intentionally slighted my Lizzy. Although a parent should not have favorites among his children, I am shame-faced to admit that I favor Lizzy because of her sense and wit. To show you that my favoritism is judicious, I rate my two youngest as the silliest girls in all of England.”
“Lady Catherine and Lady Lydia are still very young. Excuses could be made for them.”
“I wager Miss Darcy does not need youth to excuse her behavior,” the Duke said, expecting a self-satisfied expression from Darcy since the young gentleman was so strict with decorum. What he saw instead surprised him—Darcy’s face turned red.
The Earl came to Mr. Darcy’s rescue. “Bennet, Darcy has been father and brother to Georgiana these past five years. He has done an exemplary job of bringing up his young sister. However, it would be unfair to expect him to be perfect as he was a bachelor until just weeks ago. Georgiana is on the cusp of being launched into society. If anything, she needs to be pulled from her too-sheltered existence. Friendships with the young Lady Fitzstuarts will be of great value to her and her family as well.”
“Congratulations are in order then, to you and Mrs. Darcy. She was the former Miss de Bourgh, was she not?” asked the Duke with curiosity.
Mr. Darcy tried to hide his surprise that the Duke should know his bride.
The Duke detected Mr. Darcy’s dismay and, amused, said, “There is no mystery about why your marriage was expected in Meryton. Even though I tried to keep gossip out of my bookroom, Mr. Collins, my cousin who is under the patronage of your esteemed aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, insisted on invading my tranquility and talked enthusiastically, and incessantly, of your impending nuptials. Ah, young ladies all over England must be cursing your bride, especially one particular lady of your party at Netherfield.”
The Earl quickly injected, “Bennet, Darcy’s wife, my niece Anne, is very unwell.
That was the reason Darcy needed to marry her in a hurry.
It is as convenient a marriage as any could be.
” The Earl, being a politician and strategic thinker, wanted to ensure the Duke would not dismiss Darcy as a potential son-in-law.
“I see—Rosings, another favorite topic of Collins’s monologues,” said the Duke, with a faraway look. After a moment, he continued softly, as if he were talking to himself, “I would do everything in my power to see to it my daughters marry whom they wish, and not one I or society would dictate.”
The Duke asked a little sheepishly, “Did I say that out loud? I hope you did not take my comment as a condemnation of arranged marriages at the level of society to which you gentlemen are accustomed. Until a few days ago, I was but a minor country gentleman with my modest estate entailed away from my own daughters. The concept of marriages of convenience always seemed above my station, although my wife was of a different mind and attempted to marry my Lizzy to the heir presumptive. Now that my station has changed, I ought to adjust some of my values, but I am afraid one cannot teach an old dog new tricks.”
Both Mr. Darcy and the Earl thought more highly of the Duke after this. Mr. Darcy, especially, admired the Duke for thwarting the attempt to take Elizabeth from him…
What is this? Taking her from me? Absurd!
The Earl immediately replied, “Sir, your conviction to do what is right is admirable. People like me are set in their ways, and the younger generation, like Darcy, may feel bound by tradition or familial obligations to do our bidding. Darcy is his own man, but he married my niece because my younger son is away fighting on the Peninsula, and the heir presumptive is a notorious Francophile. We feared that if he inherited, he would sell the estate for cash to aid Bonaparte.”
“My good sir, I am heartened to hear that you were not driven by the desire to accumulate more wealth. I understand that both of you, especially Darcy, profit handsomely from your investments in the Northampton Canal Network alone, not to mention the princely holdings you both possess. In truth, how much material wealth can one honestly enjoy?”
His audience had the impression they were talking to a philosopher.
At length, the Duke remembered his present company and said with his customary wry tone, “Gentlemen, I am thankful that I made your acquaintance. Mr. Darcy, I did not actually know you when you were in my neighborhood. My impression of you was entirely gleaned from the gossip of my wife and daughters.”
Then he turned to Lord Fitzwilliam and said, “Sir, I have been watching you adroitly turn away gentlemen of all stripes from coming close to Darcy and me. Between that and what I have encountered since arriving here yesterday, I have realized how woefully unprepared my family and I are for this new life.”
“Your Grace… Bennet, you have the advantage of being in the top rank of the kingdom, aside from the Royal family. You, Her Grace, and your daughters have nothing to fear. If gentlemen swarm around you, you could ignore them with impunity. There is really no need for my directing them away.”
“I had thought so myself, but in practice, it appears rather difficult. Fortunately for me, I can remain in my new bookroom. But my wife and my girls… they will need guidance and protection in this uncharted territory.”
The Duke changed topics suddenly. “Have you visited the Kennington Castle library? I have, of course, heard of both of yours.”
“Darcy and I visited the fourth Duke several times when we participated in financing the canal works. Darcy, on his own, came quite regularly to meet with the Duke and discuss technical matters concerning the engineering aspects of the canal project. Did you not, Darcy?”
“Indeed, I did. I was fascinated by the canal networks at the outset and urged my father to invest when the opportunity arose. The Duke was gracious to allow me, a first-year student at Cambridge, to learn his plans and the ingenious ways he had devised to overcome the most challenging landscape for locks. I spent many afternoons with His Grace at the Kennington Library. It houses a magnificent collection.”
“I have not yet browsed the collection. I arrived here yesterday in time for the reading of the will. Afterwards, there has been much contention from various members of the extended family as, I imagine, inevitably happens on such occasions in great families. They gave me such a headache that I retired early to my room, which is rather a strange place. Within Longbourn, my bookroom is my sanctuary. Here, it is not so much.”
The Duke stopped and seemed deep in thought.
After a few moments, he said to the Earl and his nephew, “Fitzwilliam, Darcy, I shall proceed to the manse to take leave of the fifth Duke’s family, which consists only of his mother and the widow of his elder brother.
They are kind, genteel ladies, unlike some of the relatives of the fourth Duke.
“I had planned to go back to town tomorrow, but in view of the wolf pack—please excuse the unkind moniker—I am ready to leave today. I hope to meet my family at Northampton House when they arrive. Would you allow me to impose upon you when we are all back in town? I need your advice on how to prepare my family for this stupefying life.”
The Earl invited the Duke to ride with him and Darcy back to town.
He sensed that the Duke was in urgent need of counsel, and the carriage ride would afford some privacy for them to discuss the Duke’s needs ahead of any potential rival’s offers.
The Duke was taken pleasantly by surprise, as he did not even know how to order a carriage at his new home.
He would rather leave learning to do such things for another day.
Because of the Duke’s request, Mr. Darcy decided to stay in town for a few more days. He could not suppress the desire to see Miss… Lady Elizabeth once again, but was exceedingly apprehensive of meeting her as a married man.