Chapter 14
Four days later, Elizabeth was completely surprised when, after a ring at the bell, Mr. Darcy was announced in her parlor.
Elizabeth immediately rose from her seat where she had been embroidering a ribbon for her hair. She felt her surprised expression gradually shift to a wide smile, which she couldn’t have curtailed if she tried.
With a bit of effort, she tore her attention away from the tall, handsome gentleman long enough to notice the man he had brought with him.
He was wearing an army officer’s uniform, and Elizabeth quickly recognized him as Colonel Fitzwilliam.
She remembered dancing with him at his mother’s ball in February.
“Mr. Darcy, it is a pleasant surprise to see you,” she said. “And you as well, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”
The Colonel nodded his greeting with a twinkle of humor in his eyes. Suddenly, Elizabeth was aware that she should have greeted them in the other order since the colonel was higher ranked. She couldn’t take back her words, however, and no one seemed to mind over much.
Mr. Darcy greeted her with a genuine smile. “Lady Elizabeth, I am truly glad to see you doing well,” he said.
“Won’t you have a seat?” said Elizabeth.
Colonel Fitzwilliam sat next to Lady Priscilla, and Mr. Darcy sat next to Elizabeth. “Would either of you care for some refreshments? Tea or coffee? My cook just made some of her famous ginger biscuits this morning.”
With grateful acceptance from her guests, Elizabeth ordered tea to be brought in. Then the group settled in to chat.
“I am surprised you even have coffee in the house to offer it to us,” said Mr. Darcy. “I have always assumed it was a decidedly masculine drink.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I suppose it is,” she said. “My father, or rather Mr. Bennet, introduced me to it about five years ago after I pestered him about it for years. The smell always intrigued me, and I always wondered if it would taste as good as it smelled.”
“And did it?” he asked with a bit of humor in his eyes.
“Not in the least,” said Elizabeth. “Not until I added copious amounts of cream and sugar, enough so that the drink threatened to spill over the edge of the cup. Papa just laughed at me. I have since become more used to it. I quite like a cup of coffee first thing in the morning now, though I will admit that I still add quite a bit of cream and sugar.”
Mr. Darcy chuckled, and the sound sent pleasant shivers down Elizabeth’s spine.
“If you will promise not to tell anyone, I will admit that I much prefer my coffee the same way,” he said conspiratorially.
“When I drink it at home, that is how I prepare it. However, in public, I must present a far more masculine facade, so I drink it nearly black.”
Elizabeth shook her head with a smile. Then she changed the subject. “I am surprised, though very pleased, to see you here,” she said. “I did not expect it.”
“How could I not come when you were kind enough to tell me where you had gone?” said Mr. Darcy.
“I missed you a great deal at the last assembly at Almack’s.
In fact, I was quite worried when no one could tell me why you were not there, especially when I found that the knocker on the duke’s house was down.
I am enormously grateful that you found a way to ease my concern. ”
“I could do nothing else,” said Elizabeth. “I assume that, by now, all of society knows that I am no longer in the city.”
“I would think so,” said Darcy, “but I do not know for certain. I have paid little attention to whispers amongst the ton since you left.”
“Well, if you haven’t been listening to whispers, what have you been doing with your time?” asked Elizabeth.
With that, their conversation shifted into their usual waters, and time flowed swiftly.
~~~~~
Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam was looking forward to seeing Lady Elizabeth again.
She had made quite a good impression on him when they met at his mother’s ball.
She was neither simpering nor overly proud, and her conversation was accompanied by an intelligent sparkle in her eyes that was difficult to look away from.
His interest in this reunion faded, however, as he listened to Darcy speak about her…again…and again…and again.
The entire journey from London to Bath, if Darcy was speaking, he was talking of Lady Elizabeth, how he had met her in Hertfordshire before she even knew who she was and how they had met every week at Almack’s.
By the time the two of them reached Bath, Richard was convinced he knew as much about their relationship and interactions as the couple themselves did.
When Darcy suggested they call on the Lady at the earliest possible time, Richard hesitated to even join him. Why should he waste his morning when he was certain to be left out of the conversation, assuming Darcy had his way?
In the end, however, he agreed to accompany Darcy to observe Lady Elizabeth. Richard wished to see for himself if the Lady returned Darcy’s regard as much as his cousin implied.
Now, sitting in Lady Elizabeth’s parlor, it was clear as day. Within only a single minute of their arrival, the Lady had clearly forgotten Richard was even in the room.
Richard turned to Lady Priscilla. “And what do you think of this pairing?” he asked.
As she mentally composed her reply, he studied her face.
He was not particularly familiar with Lady Priscilla Prescott.
When she was a debutante, he was still in school.
He had heard that after her marriage, she didn’t get out much in society and mostly stayed in the country, so he had never met her then, either.
It was only since the death of her husband, two years ago, that he had even become aware of her. Even then, however, she did not circulate much among society until she obtained the position of Lady Elizabeth’s companion.
She seemed to be about his age, though possibly a couple of years older.
She was still young enough to be quite lovely, but she was definitely past the first blush of youth.
Her expression was placid, though there was a hint of sadness about her eyes that never shifted, and her shoulders seemed weighed down despite her upright posture.
“I think that the two of them have a very rough road in front of them,” said Lady Priscilla after a few moments.
Richard was startled into looking at Darcy and Lady Elizabeth again, but they seemed completely happy with each other’s company. “Why would you say that?” he asked.
“The duke does not approve of Mr. Darcy as a husband for his daughter,” said Lady Priscilla. “Though he does not have anything particularly against Mr. Darcy, the duke would never approve of any mere ‘Mister’ for Lady Elizabeth.”
“Ah,” said Richard. “I suppose that makes sense. Not only does Darcy not have a title, but he is not even in line for one.”
“Exactly,” said Lady Priscilla. “In his mind, he has gone through a great deal of trouble to preserve her heritage, and he does not want all that effort to be wasted and for her to end up without a title after her marriage.”
“What do you mean? What kind of trouble did he go to?” asked Richard. “I mean, I know she grew up in Hertfordshire instead of with her father, but I don’t know why.”
“I don’t know why, either,” said the Lady.
“It is true, nonetheless. She lived with Mr. Bennet of Longbourn since she was four years old, and for most of that time she was treated as Mr. Bennet’s illegitimate daughter.
She was ignored and ostracized by everyone around her except her older foster sister and her foster father. ”
“If that is the case, it is surprising that she can be so happy rather than bitter and vengeful,” said Richard. “I think if I was treated that poorly and then discovered I was nearly royalty, I would parade my status around for months if not years.”
“She told me that she considered doing so,” said Lady Priscilla, “but in the end she simply slipped away without anyone but her father knowing who she truly was.”
“What would you have done?” asked Richard. “Would you have slipped away into the night, or would you have sought revenge for your pain?”
Lady Priscilla’s expression grew hard and unyielding as she said, “With what I know now, I would choose revenge. No, rather, I would have fought back even before it was over. Somehow, I would have fought back.”
Richard had the distinct impression that Lady Priscilla was not speaking of Lady Elizabeth’s circumstances. More likely she was speaking of the way her late husband treated her.
Her expression softened again, though there was more sadness in her eyes and more weight to her shoulders than before. “When I was Lady Elizabeth’s age, however, I believe I would have made the same choices she has.”
From that short exchange, Richard had an overwhelming sense of the years of hardship and difficulty Lady Priscilla had borne under the thumb of her late husband. Somehow, watching this lovely lady refer to such a life made him desperate to protect her from it, but that made no sense.
She was no longer being oppressed by a demanding or harsh husband. She was comfortable as Lady Elizabeth’s companion. In short, there was nothing to save her from.
Richard steered their conversation into less emotionally charged waters, and time flowed swiftly.