Chapter 17
Elizabeth was sitting at her desk in her study, making some final preparations for tomorrow’s journey to London to speak with her father. Lady Priscilla was sitting nearby, working on some needlework and occasionally offering a bit of advice when asked.
She looked up from her work when she heard a commotion coming from the front of the house. As the noise grew nearer, she looked at Lady Priscilla, whose expression had turned rather grim.
Suddenly, her father appeared at the door.
“Elizabeth, you will return home at once. I did not give you this house and this freedom just so you could throw it in my face by scampering about all of Bath in the company of Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy! How could a mere “mister” ever think himself good enough to even speak to you?”
Elizabeth wanted to scream in her father’s face for denigrating the man who held her heart, but with a great effort of will, she refrained. Instead, she said, “I don’t understand. I thought you were excellent friends with Mr. Darcy’s father. Why should I not be friends with your friend’s son?”
“Friends?” cried the duke. “All of London and likely all of Bath knows that you and Mr. Darcy are not friends. Besides, that was many years ago, and it has no relevance to our conversation. You will cease seeing Mr. Darcy. I demand it. And, to ensure that you do, I will be escorting you to Pollaner where you will stay for the rest of the Season. Even Darcy would not follow you there.”
Elizabeth had to prevent herself from grimacing. She would much rather have been isolated in London, since it would have been far easier to escape. Even for this, however, they already had plans in place. “Will you be joining me there?” she asked.
The duke growled in annoyance and frustration. “Only long enough to get you settled. I have missed enough of the Season due to your brother’s stupidity. I have no intention of missing any more. Would to God I had never had any children.”
Elizabeth nearly doubled over from the pain his words caused her. She knew he did not truly mean them. She knew he cared for her and her brother at least a little, but the knowledge did nothing to ease the pain that was compounded by the fact that everyone in her life had felt that way about her.
Everyone she had ever met had wished she had never been born.
There were only a few exceptions: Mr. Bennet, Jane, Mary King, and of course Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth recalled their faces and their welcome smiles, and she soon recovered from her father’s hateful words.
By that time, however, he had turned to Lady Priscilla.
“And you! What kind of companion are you to allow your charge to gallivant all around Bath with someone so unsuitable, so much so that it has caused rumors to reach my ears all the way in London? You are hereby dismissed, and I will not be giving you any references. I want you out of this house within an hour.”
Without giving Lady Priscilla a chance to say anything, he turned back to Elizabeth. “Elizabeth, you will make yourself ready to leave after breakfast tomorrow. We have a ridiculously long journey ahead of us, and I don’t want to waste time.”
Then he left the room, obviously confident in the certainty that his orders would be obeyed.
Elizabeth glanced at Lady Priscilla, and the Lady looked back and gave her a tiny smile.
They didn’t speak. Even now, it was just possible that they might be overheard by the duke or even by the servants who were being paid by the duke.
They just nodded to each other. Then Lady Priscilla rose from her seat.
“I wish you well, Lady Elizabeth,” she said as she walked out the door.
~~~~~
Elizabeth did not see Lady Priscilla again before she left, though she was certain the separation would not be permanent. They would see each other again in Mr. Darcy’s London home once Elizabeth managed to escape her father’s leash.
The journey to Essex was long and uneventful.
The duke did not seem inclined to speak much, and Elizabeth had not brought much to entertain herself with, since she had packed so suddenly.
She did have a book, which she read in short spurts, but she could not read for long when the roads were not perfectly smooth.
Finally, late in the afternoon the following day, the carriage arrived at Pollaner.
Elizabeth and her father entered and were welcomed by Mrs. Hampton.
She immediately made her way up to her room where Anna, who had not accompanied Elizabeth to either London or Bath, had a hot bath ready for her.
With a sigh and a few words of gratitude, Elizabeth sank down into the warm water and allowed it to soothe her fatigue.
~~~~~
The duke left the estate early the next morning, before Elizabeth even went down to breakfast. As Anna was helping her prepare for the day, she informed Elizabeth of her new restrictions.
“Before your father left, he told me that you are not allowed to leave Pollaner until he returns,” said Anna.
“Does that mean I can’t even go outside?” asked Elizabeth. For the first time, fear struck through her. If she was not allowed outside, she would struggle to get through this.
“Oh, no,” said Anna. “You may wander the gardens as much as you like. You can even take your phaeton out as long as you have two groomsmen, one in the carriage and one on horseback, with you. It is only that you cannot leave the estate.”
“I see,” said Elizabeth as relief swept away her concern. “In that case, I believe I will go for a walk after breakfast. It has been some time since I was in the country, and it would be marvelous to experience the fresh air of spring.”
“As you will, my Lady,” said Anna. “I shall have your pelisse and a warm shawl ready for you.”
Once she was ready for the day, Elizabeth went down to breakfast, expecting to be the only one there. Though she had been assured that her brother was home, he had not joined them for dinner last night.
She was pleased to be greeted by Edward’s smiling face when she entered the breakfast parlor.
“Good morning, Edward,” she said. “I am very glad to see you.”
“And I, you,” he said. Then he returned his attention to his food.
There was silence for a few minutes. It was odd. Edward was among the chattiest individuals she had ever known. After a separation of some months, she had been certain he would immediately fill any silence, but he said nothing. He did not even look up at her.
Eventually, she broke the silence herself. “How have you been faring?” she asked.
Edward scowled. “Well enough, I suppose,” he said. “Father came down hard on me when he discovered my misbehavior in February. My tutor has been far more strict with me ever since.”
“Will you still be going to Cambridge this month?” asked Elizabeth.
“Yes. Thank God,” said Edward. “I can’t wait to get away from this place.”
Elizabeth was shocked. It was the first time she had ever heard Edward complain about Pollaner, though he had been stuck here for most of his life.
“I imagine it will be nice to be around other young men your age,” she said.
“That will be nice,” he said. “Mostly, however, I just wish to get out from under Father’s thumb.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something soothing, but Edward quickly continued.
“Not that I will ever truly be away from his influence. It’s just…
I mean…I only did what I know my father has done a hundred times or more, but I was the one punished.
I don’t understand what he expects from me.
I don’t know what I am supposed to do or how to behave.
I hear one thing from Father, another thing from my tutor, and then I see them both behaving in a completely different way from what they say. How is one ever to know what to do?”
Elizabeth paused before responding. There was a great deal to comprehend in such an outburst, after all. “I think, perhaps, when deciding what is right, it might be a good idea to balance one’s own desires with the needs and wants of those affected by one’s actions.”
Edward’s fork paused on its journey from his plate to his mouth as he stared at her for a few moments. “What do you mean?” he asked as his fork resumed its path.
“Well, you could do as our father raised you to do. You could take full advantage of your wealth and status to do just about anything that pleased you without thought to the consequences of your actions to you or anyone else,” she said.
“However, that will likely lead you to become very much like our father, or worse, like some of the other men from his class.”
She paused to let the idea sink in. Then she continued.
“However, what you may not realize is that such behavior either leads to an ever-increasing sense of emptiness and boredom, or it leads to illness and constant drunkenness.
Additionally, if you take no thought for those around you, you could end up harming a great many people in the process.
“All of father’s tenants will someday depend on you for safe and secure homes as well as for the ability to earn their livelihoods. If you take no thought for the future, their lives could be ruined by a single poor choice from you.”
“That is too much, Elizabeth!” cried Edward. “I don’t want that much responsibility. I can’t handle that much. You know it as well as I do.”
“I suppose that was too big of an example,” said Elizabeth. “After all, you are not the kind of person who would bet too much on gambling or who would completely shirk your responsibilities. Let us turn to your experience earlier this year.”
“You, too?” asked Edward. “Will I never be done with this? The maid has been sent elsewhere, and the child will be taken care of. What else is there to think about?”
“I am not trying to chastise you, Edward,” said Elizabeth gently. “You asked how to tell what you should do. So, I am telling you. In her case, it is rather tricky. Father mentioned in passing that the maid, herself, might have been partly to blame. Yes?”
Edward scoffed. “Mostly, I would say. She has been making eyes at me for months whenever Father is not around, even dropping hints about what she was willing to do. Additionally, she came into my room with nothing but a thin nightgown on. Multiple times. What else is a man supposed to do?”
“I honestly don’t know the answer to that,” said Elizabeth.
“However, it is a perfect way to test what I was saying. Think about what will happen to her going forward. She has apparently gotten what she wanted from you, but she will have to raise a child without a father. It will not be easy, even with financial support from you. The rest of her life will be difficult in exchange for a few pleasant encounters with you.”
“Are you saying that, even though I gave her what she wanted, I was still wrong to do so? Am I to be the judge of everyone’s lives?” Edward seemed close to tears. “I can’t do it, Elizabeth. It is too much. I just want to enjoy people and have fun. I don’t think that is too much to ask.”
Elizabeth was taken aback for a few moments. For most of her life she would have assumed that right and wrong were fairly easy to discern. She was not so strict as her foster sister, Mary, but she firmly believed there was right way to behave and a wrong way.
Now Edward was making her re-think everything she had known. He was correct that he should not be held responsible for the actions of others, but she still thought he was wrong to take advantage of the maid’s offers. However, she could not explain why she thought it was wrong.
In the end, she settled on something she was certain her kind-hearted brother would understand.
“It is not,” she said. “Maybe the issue with the maid is too complex, after all. If she truly did seek you out, then she is at least partly to blame. She most definitely should not have done so. I think all I am really trying to say is for you to do what you like and what you think will make you happy, but at least try not to hurt others in the process.”
Elizabeth returned to eating and let Edward think about her words for a time.