Chapter 25 Darcy House
When Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam returned from their morning ride, they found all the ladies already assembled in the breakfast parlor. The two men paused at the doorway, taking in the lively hum of laughter and chatter.
Richard leaned closer and said under his breath, “Your womenfolk appear exceedingly happy, Darcy.”
“They are remarkably cheerful.”
Richard grinned. “Even your wife. A pity she does not know what she missed.”
Darcy cast him a dark look. “Enough, you wild military man. Have you no respect?”
“I have a very healthy respect for the sanctity of marriage vows and the sacred traditions of the wedding night.”
Darcy huffed. “I have heard enough.”
He ran lightly up the stairs to bathe and change.
As he scrubbed his hair, he reflected grimly upon his situation.
I have only myself to blame. My unruly tongue placed me here, and only by practicing restraint will things between us improve.
By the time he was dressed and descending again, he was resolved to behave better for her sake.
He entered the breakfast parlor and bowed to his wife. “Good morning, Mrs. Darcy. May I serve you more food?”
“No, thank you, sir. I have already served myself twice. We are all packed and ready to leave as soon as you wish.”
“Ah, the Bennet women,” he said with wry affection. “Punctual to a fault.”
“We are, sir. Never let it be said of a Bennet woman that she was the cause of tardiness.”
Darcy went to the sideboard, poured himself a cup of coffee, and took a scone. He sat opposite his wife, an ideal vantage from which to admire her without straining his eyes or his neck.
Elizabeth said, “Mr. Bingley has just informed us that Miss Caroline will not be accompanying us to Pemberley. She intends a lengthy visit to her relations in the north.”
Darcy nodded. “Yes, Charles told us this morning. She left at five.”
Bingley corrected him. “My carriage departed at half past four. She hoped to reach Leicester by evening.”
Richard lifted a brow. “What was her hurry, Bingley?”
“I have no idea,” Bingley replied. “She swore she would not spend another hour in this godforsaken county and insisted I call for the carriage. She and her maid were packed and ready when I came down. So I obliged her. And may Godspeed.”
Darcy raised his cup. “Indeed.”
Jane looked gratified, while Elizabeth asked, “Will she spend the entire summer in the north with your relations?”
“Yes, Mrs. Darcy,” Bingley said. “And it is my cherished hope she will make a match with my cousin Augustus, a wealthy sheep rancher, and remain there with him and his family.”
“Then I wish her well, and hope she does make a match.”
Darcy set down his cup. “Elizabeth, shall we depart within the half hour?”
“We are ready to leave now, sir. We have all finished eating and are merely waiting for you.”
“Very well, then. We will be off.” He turned to Bingley. “When may we expect you at Pemberley?”
“I have business with my solicitor in London,” Bingley replied, though his eyes were on Jane, “but I hope to be on the road in a fortnight.”
Darcy turned to Mr. Hurst. “Do you and Mrs. Hurst travel north with Charles, or shall I expect you sooner?”
“We shall accompany Charles,” Hurst said. “I have some business in town first, but afterward, we are free for the summer. I hope the trout are biting when I arrive.”
Darcy grinned. “I have never fished Pemberley’s waters without bringing home a fine catch.”
“That is what I like to hear,” Hurst said contentedly.
Darcy turned to his cousin. “Are you ready, Richard?”
“I am. My trunk is loaded, and my stomach is full.”
After their farewells, the Darcys’ party took leave of Netherfield. At Elizabeth’s request, they did not stop at Longbourn.
“Thank you for offering, Mr. Darcy,” she said quietly.
“But I have no wish to be in my cousin’s presence again, and my relationship with my mother has ever been strained.
I bade farewell to my father at the wedding breakfast. Perhaps we might invite him to Pemberley this summer, or if Jane and Mr. Bingley wed, I shall see him then. ”
Darcy had nodded his assent, then mounted his horse, and the small caravan departed.
When they reached London, the party was met only by Mr. Higgins and Mrs. Nichols, as Darcy had arranged during his prior stay.
He wished to keep his return to town a secret from both his neighbors and his uncle, the Earl of Matlock.
He needed time to strengthen his bond with Elizabeth before it could be condemned by his relations.
Darcy escorted his wife to the mistress’s chambers and stood in the doorway as she entered.
“Elizabeth, I had both the master and mistress’s suites refurbished after my father passed away. But it has been five years now, and you may wish to repaper or change the furnishings. You can see to that when we return for the season in late November.”
Elizabeth surveyed the room. It was elegantly appointed, every surface polished and orderly. She turned to him, her expressive eyes betraying her unease.
“Mr. Darcy,” she said softly, “at the risk of lowering myself in your eyes even further, I do not see anything that needs renovation or refurbishment. Perhaps it is because I come from a modest background, sir. Will it lower me in the eyes of the servants and cause them to gossip to others, thereby making you a byword, if I do not order extensive changes?”
He paused, struck by her insight.
“I had not considered it, my dear, but you are certainly correct. Servants gossip to the servants of other houses, and the ondit soon finds its way to the mistress through her lady’s maid.
There is no such thing as privacy. In light of that, you might order a new coverlet or drapes, or perhaps you might feign ennui with such pursuits and leave everything as it stands. ”
Elizabeth laughed softly.
“Then let us craft our own ondit. Let it be said that your bride is a bluestocking who cares nothing for houses, furnishings, gowns, or jewels.”
His grin was wry.
“My dear, that would not be rumor but fact.”
She tilted her head, studying his face.
“Does it embarrass you, sir? Will it lower your standing in society to be married to a bluestocking?”
Darcy hesitated, then replied with quiet gravity.
“Elizabeth, some men are threatened by women of intellect. I, however, hold such women in esteem, Elizabeth Montagu among them. I believe we are all God’s children, each with something to offer our society.
Whether you are derided for neglecting to spend my fortune on refurbishments or for your learning is for you to decide, and I will abide by it.
I realize now that we shall be the subject of gossip, whatever we do.
So long as it is not over the compromise, I shall be contented. ”
Darcy left her and went to his study to work. Half an hour later, Richard joined him.
“Darcy, will you visit my parents tonight to tell them of your marriage, or shall I bear the news?”
Darcy ran a hand through his hair. “I wish I could put it off, Richard. You know how cantankerous Uncle Henry can be. He will play the earl, and I shall have to endure an hour of sermonizing. I am too newly married, and too happy, to listen to such drivel from a man who neglects half his parliamentary duties and is unfaithful to his wife.”
Richard waited patiently while his cousin paced. Darcy sighed. “Still, it would be disrespectful for him to hear it from someone else.”
“He will hear nothing,” Richard said easily. “He knows no one in Hertfordshire. I am the only person besides yourself who knows, and I shall keep your confidence.”
Darcy paused. “You are right. He cannot hear it from Hertfordshire. But what of Mr. Collins? Might he inform our aunt?”
Richard shook his head. “I think not. He has a healthy fear of her. He obeyed her command to marry with great haste. Were he to reveal that her favorite nephew married another woman, she would vent her wrath upon him first. And when she learned that her nephew had married his cousin, the very woman he should have taken to wife, she would likely send him packing.”
Darcy laughed. “Very true. He struck me as a man who knows when to hold his tongue. I shall enjoy the summer in peace before I need to inform either of them.”
“I agree,” Richard said. “Best to enjoy your first few months of wedded life untroubled.”
“Then I shall not visit tonight. We leave by half past seven tomorrow morning. Though I suspect my aunt has spies among my servants. When I discover them, they shall be dismissed. My staff must have loyalty to me, not to the Countess.”
“Good luck. She pays them handsomely, and for that reason, they will never reveal who betrays you.”
Darcy rang for the butler. “Higgins, see that no servants have the night off. I do not wish for one of them to run to Lady Helen to report that I am in town and that my wife is with me. Have breakfast served by six and the carriages ready by seven.”
“Very good, sir,” Higgins replied.
“Thank you, Higgins. That is all.”
But as the butler turned to leave, Darcy called him back. “On second thought, have luncheon served in half an hour and the carriages ready by two. I shall ride Rowan to give Ares a rest, but I will take both mounts with me. Richard, will you take my chestnut?”
“I will,” said Richard. “But I shall bring Cloud as well. I’ll alternate mounts on the journey north.”
“Excellent. Higgins, send Peter Miller to me. Have him bring a small trunk to the library. There is a set of volumes I mean to take to Pemberley. Also, send for Kendall. I have work that must be completed before we depart. That will be all.”
Then, turning to his cousin, Darcy asked, “Will you travel with us this afternoon or go to Matlock House first?”
Richard’s brows rose. “No, Darcy, I have no wish to see my parents. They will interrogate me about my whereabouts, your whereabouts, and Mother will demand to know whether either of us has found a prospective bride. She will then enlist me to find one for Phillip as well.”
Darcy chuckled. “Then I am glad you are coming with us. I shall see you in the breakfast parlor for luncheon. I must inform the ladies of our change in plans.” He sighed. “It seems a waste of time to have traveled south to London only to turn about and journey north again three hours later.”
“Not a waste, Darcy,” Richard replied. “It is imperative to preserve wedded bliss for at least a few months, especially since your wife has not yet fully accepted you. Besides, you have business with your solicitor, do you not?”
“Yes, I do. There are some investments I must attend to. And I wanted to take Rowan back with me for the summer.” Darcy sighed.
“As usual, your counsel is sound. Nothing is more important to me now than avoiding a confrontation between the Earl and Elizabeth. I must make haste if we are to depart by two.”
Darcy ran up the stairs and tapped on his wife’s chamber door. Ellis opened it. “Yes, sir?”
“I will speak with Mrs. Darcy.”
“She and her sisters are in the garden, sir. She wanted exercise.”
“Thank you, Ellis.”
Darcy descended the stairs and stepped out through the library’s French doors. He spotted the four ladies among the roses, their laughter mingling with the morning breeze.
“Ladies,” he said, “I am glad to find you all together. I am sorry to say that there is a change of plans. We leave for Pemberley at two o’clock.”
Elizabeth turned to him. “Is everything well, sir?”
“Yes, all is well,” he replied. “But the weather is fine, and I have much work awaiting me at Pemberley. I am eager to be on our way. I have sent for my solicitor, and we will depart as soon as I have concluded my business with him.”
“I will ring for Ellis and have her inform Jenny,” Elizabeth said.
“By the way, Elizabeth,” Darcy added, his tone softening, “your books are being packed as we speak. Shall I leave one of them out for you?”
Her eyes brightened. She turned to her sisters. “I have a mind to read the first book of The Odyssey to you. We can alternate between serious study and The Castle of Otranto.” She looked back at her husband with a smile. “Yes, please leave Book One out for me. I think my sisters will enjoy it.”
Darcy’s gaze swept the young women’s faces.
Georgiana smiled eagerly, but Jane and Mary looked less inspired.
He chuckled softly. “Well, I wish you luck, Mrs. Darcy. Luncheon will be served in half an hour. You may rest after if you are tired, or Georgiana can show you part of the house, if that pleases you. I fear you will not have time to tour it all until our return. Does that disappoint you, my dear?”
“No, sir,” she replied. “What I have seen is elegant and beautifully appointed. The library is the largest I have ever beheld, and Georgiana tells me it is the size of a pincushion compared to Pemberley’s. I find that hard to imagine.”
“You shall see for yourself in three or four days, Mrs. Darcy,” he said with a smile. “Reserve judgment until then.”
He inclined his head and returned indoors.
Once again seated in the carriage, Elizabeth wondered at their sudden haste to depart. Perhaps her husband had pressing business at his estate in Derbyshire. She gave it no further thought and opened the book upon her lap. She began to read aloud from The Odyssey.
“Now all the rest, as many as had escaped sheer destruction, were at home, safe from both war and sea, but Odysseus alone, filled with longing for his return and for his wife, did the queenly nymph Calypso, that bright goddess, keep back in her hollow caves, yearning that he should be her husband.”
Jane frowned slightly. “Lizzy, is this quite proper reading for gentlewomen?”
“All gentlemen, our fathers and brothers, study these very works at university. If we are to understand human nature and the men in our lives, we too must study and learn to reason for ourselves.”
Georgiana’s expression was pinched. “Is it very violent? Will it give us night terrors?”
Elizabeth took her sister’s hand. “Not at all, my dear. It speaks of battles and passions, yes, but nothing that should frighten you. Especially if we discuss our readings together.”
And so the four women began their study of The Odyssey. After an hour of reading and reflection, they closed the volume and turned to lighter fare, asking Mary to continue their next chapter of The Castle of Otranto.