Chapter 42 Trusting Mr. Darcy
As the sound of pounding hooves diminished, Elizabeth turned to look back. The woman was a fine rider. She was beautiful, poised, well-connected, and rode with ease. She could never compete with such a paragon. Her shoulders drooped slightly, and he observed the change at once.
“Do not give her another thought. She is nothing to you, my darling. I loved her once, when I was a boy and did not yet know how to judge character. She has none to speak of, as she has made plain to us today.”
Elizabeth fixed her eyes on his face and waited, listening intently.
He turned away and looked toward the path from which he had ridden.
“I was out by the castle, checking the ruins to ensure the area was safe enough for us to host a picnic there. I heard a rider approach and turned, thinking it was Richard, but it was Christiana. She has no shame nor sense of what is proper and good. She knows I am a married man and am no longer available, yet she rode up and dismounted. She pulled my letter from her reticule and waved it, thanking me for inviting her to visit. I was flummoxed, Elizabeth. She was the last person on earth I would have expected to meet on the Pemberley estate. She came at me. Had I not raised my arm to stop her, she would have thrown herself upon my neck again. She is a calculating woman who well knows the power her beauty holds over a man.”
Elizabeth’s intake of breath was audible. Did that woman hold power over Mr. Darcy? She shut her eyes against the thought. She preferred not to know.
“That woman wants you, Fitzwilliam. She knows she cannot have you for a husband, so she is willing to settle and be your mistress.”
He watched as her lovely mouth trembled, and he placed his hand on her face, rubbing his thumb along her sweet lips.
“You have nothing to fear, my darling. I do not want her. I have a wife, and she pleases me.”
Their eyes caught and held, and straightening, she said, “Very well, sir. I will try to put her out of my mind. If this was not a clandestine rendezvous, then the rendezvous meant nothing at all. It is nothing I need fear.”
His hand dropped away from her face, and he too straightened. “Elizabeth, did you and Jane really need my assistance, or was that request merely for show, and to send Miss Ashbrook on her way?”
Her eyes clouded. “Sir, Jane is troubled. Please come with me to the garden for a few minutes and listen to her concern.”
Darcy and Elizabeth walked into the rose garden arm in arm and sat with Jane, who was sipping her tea.
Elizabeth said, “Jane, Mr. Darcy will listen to your concern over Caroline if you care to share it with him. Perhaps between the three of us, we can work something out.”
Embarrassed, Jane glanced at her brother-in-law, then lowered her eyes to her hands as she spoke.
“Mr. Darcy, Caroline has asked to spend the London season with us. Charles has already agreed to let her reside in our home and told me of his decision this morning at breakfast. He did not ask whether I was willing to have her as our guest. By the time she moves in, we shall have been married less than two months. I am fearful she will not restrain herself. Should she forget that she is a married woman and resume her flirtations with other men, I do not believe Charles will be able to control her. She went first to Louisa, but Mr. Hurst refused to receive her, and so she turned to Charles.”
She looked helplessly toward Elizabeth. “Lizzy, she hates the very sight of me. I am so troubled by it that I begin to think perhaps I should delay the marriage altogether. The thought of living with Caroline and her vicious temper through the winter months makes me feel unwell. I quite lost my appetite as he told me of this change in plans.”
Darcy’s expression tightened. “Miss Bennet, have you mentioned how you feel to Charles?”
“No, sir, I was too stunned to discuss it with him this morning, and he and Mr. Hurst were off directly after breakfast to shoot with Mr. Dudley. They mean to learn more about the inner workings of their new firearms.”
“Miss Bennet, it was my understanding that Charles and Lewis are to drive to Hawkhurst Manor with you and Miss Mary today. Is that still the plan?”
Jane looked down at her hands, which were clenched in her lap.
“Sir, if Charles is going to bend to every request of Caroline’s, I do not see a way forward between us.
Pleasing her and meeting her expectations appear to be more important to him than my peace and happiness.
I can never be happy living with Caroline, and I begin to wonder if I should cry off. ”
Elizabeth flushed. “But Jane, jilting a man would bring a scandal down on you and our unmarried sisters.”
Jane was weeping now. “I know, Lizzy, and it pains me to consider such an eventuality. I love Charles, and it will break my heart, but I have felt sick since he told me. I do not know what to say to him. If I refuse to have her, will he think me ungracious?”
“Miss Bennet, I will speak to Charles if you will give me leave. He is too amiable at times and does not think things through. I am certain he prefers to be married to you and living in peace in his London townhouse than to be hosting his sister for the entire season. I will remind him how she forgets herself and takes great enjoyment in flirtations and intrigues. I admit, I have thought her past behavior a ruse to make me feel jealous, but she has been on the marriage mart for seven seasons now, and I have learned only too well how she can be. Her behavior brings her to the very precipice between propriety and ruin. Charles may be forgetting what he has suffered in the past, and I will also remind him that even a married woman can bring ruin upon her family. Leave this in my hands and do not fear. Go with him to visit the manor. If it is not to your liking, say so. He will gladly take you to visit the other estates that are for sale because he enjoys nothing more than to spend his days at your side.”
He turned to Elizabeth, who was now smiling.
“Sir, thank you for this. We were both in a quandary as to what should be done.”
Darcy stood. “I will leave you, now, and join Charles at the range. We can discuss the matter there in privacy. I will deal with this immediately.”
He whistled, and his horse lifted its head and came to him. Elizabeth watched her husband mount and ride away. He was a man of his word, a man who took care of his family and those he loved, and he would help Jane because she was his sister now.
Jane placed a hand on her arm and brought her thoughts back. “What think you, Lizzy? Will it all come out right?”
“It will. I have every assurance that it will. By the time you sit down to luncheon, all will be well. Now come, you need to change your gown for your trip to Hawkhurst Manor.”
Jane took her sister’s hands. “And what of you, Lizzy? Are you well? That woman was stunning in her dark green riding habit, the jaunty hat, and wielding a whip. Everything about her was designed to please a man.”
Elizabeth inhaled long and slow. “Yes, she was dressed for the hunt. But Mr. Darcy does not care for her, and he assured me he was uncomfortable in her presence. She came uninvited and sought him out. He will speak with her father and ask to have her sent away before she brings scandal down on her house and ours. Clearly, she knows not how to comport herself as a gentlewoman.”
Jane wrapped her arm through Elizabeth’s as they walked into the house.
“Lizzy, as your elder sister, I think the wisest thing you can do is learn to ride. Ask Mr. Darcy to teach you, and perhaps someday he will invite you on his early-morning rides. It makes no sense that he should be out alone while that woman is on the prowl.”
“My dear, the workings of your mind astonish me, but I believe you are right. I will ask him tonight to teach me. And if he ever invites me to ride with him, I will go.”
Elizabeth left her sister at the front entrance. “I need to think. My mind is very unsettled with that woman residing so near to Pemberley. I shall be in the tree house, in contemplation, surrounded by nature. If I am needed, pray send Peter for me.”
Then she breathed deeply of the fresh air and walked along the meadow path that followed the stream.
She welcomed the quiet and the occasional bird song.
She took in the wild flowers that grew in profusion about her, and lifted her face to the speckled sunshine that filtered through the canopy of leaves overhead.
And very soon, she felt that all was right in the world.
Darcy rode to the range and left Rowan with the footman, who led the horse to water and began to rub him down. He stood for a moment watching his friend. Bingley was entirely absorbed with his new rifle, giving no thought to the fact that his marriage prospects were on the verge of failing.
Darcy strode forward. “Charles, might I have a moment of your time? I know you drive out later this morning, and I must speak with you before you leave.”
Bingley held out his rifle, his face alight with satisfaction. “Darcy, this is the finest firearm I have ever owned. I am glad Dudley had enough on hand for me to purchase one.”
“Yes,” Darcy said evenly. “I am satisfied with mine as well. Come, my friend, let us walk to the stream.”
The two men walked about five hundred feet away. Darcy stopped and regarded his friend in silence. After a moment, Bingley shifted uneasily, glancing down at his jacket and then his breeches. “What is it, Darcy? Have I got a rent or a stain that has escaped me?”
Darcy shook his head with sympathy. “No, Charles, nothing so mundane as that. I was studying your face to see how you were bearing up under your great disappointment.”
Bingley flushed. “Disappointment? Do you mean there were not enough rifles to go around, and I must give mine up?”
Darcy’s tone remained calm. “No, my friend, I know nothing about the rifles. As far as I am aware, there are plenty to go around. I was speaking of your broken betrothal. I truly believed you would be more affected by it.”
“Broken betrothal?” Bingley stared at him. “I know not of what you speak, Darcy. Jane and I breakfasted together this morning. She was perfectly amiable, as always.”
Darcy regarded him steadily, one brow lifting.
Bingley looked away toward the trees. “Or at least I believe she was as serene as ever.”
Both Darcy’s brows rose now, and Bingley grew uneasy. “What is it, Darcy? What do you know?”
Darcy asked quietly, “How is Caroline?”
Bingley’s face reddened. “Oh, you speak of her winter visit?”
“I do,” Darcy said. “Did you ask Miss Bennet if she approved of hosting a guest two months after her wedding? She will still be a newlywed, Charles. I would imagine that newlyweds prefer each other’s company to that of an interfering sister who knows not how to conduct herself at balls and soirees that are overflowing with single, handsome gentlemen.
Am I mistaken, my friend? Perhaps you would rather spend your evenings at your sister’s side than with your wife.
If that is so, I shall invite Miss Bennet to stay with us, and I will look about for a suitable husband for her. ”
Bingley was struck dumb. “What are you saying, Darcy?”
Darcy said nothing. He merely studied his friend’s countenance, waiting to see if his words would take root. Would Bingley be wise enough to choose the love of his life, strong enough to oppose a married sister who already had a husband to govern her?
At last, Darcy exhaled. “Well, Charles, I believe I have said enough. I hope, my friend, that you are both wise and strong enough to fight for your future happiness. I must go. I have a meeting with my steward.”
He turned and walked away. Bingley watched him go, his heart pounding, his face flushed. A sick heaviness settled in his stomach as the enormity of his mistake struck him. Excusing himself to the other men, he went at once to seek out his betrothed.